Health and Nurture Tips for Spring

Spring is for renewal and rebirth.

We’re coming out of our cocoons of winter. The clocks are moving forward an hour to give us more sunlight during the day. Flowers are beginning to bloom (which might spark allergies for many) and we perhaps have a little more pep in our step.

Below are ways to support yourself during the spring season:

Sleep before 11pm and wake with the sunrise

Our bodies don’t need to hibernate anymore, but we always want to be sure that we are getting adequate sleep. Especially in the warmer months where we have more daylight hours. That early daylight exposure is one of the most important pillars of health and continued healing. Use the sun’s rising time as a natural alarm clock and go outside and expose your eyes and your bare skin to the sun.

Prioritize movement, but not too rigorous

Ease yourself gently into movement with low impact exercises. Our bodies will naturally have the most ample energy between 6am and 10am. Go for a brisk walk, roll out your yoga mat and practice sun salutations. Whichever way encourages you to move and be fluid in your body.

Eat lighter foods and foods that make you pucker up

During the winter, we build up heat in the body to keep our internal body temperature balanced and our external bodies warm. Eat lighter foods such as leafy greens, dandelion, berries, green peas, quinoa, buckwheat and pungent spices like paprika, clove, cardamom and ginger.

Sour foods like lemon stimulate the liver, which will want ALL the tender love and care this season especially. Put lemon slices in your drinking water or use vinegar and olive oil for your salads.

Allergies got the best of you?

With flower blooming comes allergies. Decrease the amount of histamine driving foods and increase the amount of histamine lowering foods. Here is a list of foods and some other tips to mitigate allergy symptoms.

Try lymphatic massage

Lymphatic massage helps support the body’s lymphatic system and strengths the immune system by increasing white blood cell count. Dry brush your skin, lather with body oil such as apricot or jojoba and support your body’s largest organ so it looks and feels good.

Declutter your home

Spring also means, spring cleaning! Did you know that dust can contribute to allergies and asthma? Start with one area or one room of your home at a time and see how you can declutter, rearrange and rest the space. Clutter can also aid in anxiety for many people (including myself!) so clean up your space.

Be mindful of opportunities to overindulge

Warmer weather generally brings with it more gatherings and with that usually comes more temptation to overindulge on foods such as BBQ, fried foods and processed foods. Offer to bring a fresh dish to these gatherings, eat a balanced snack before going so you’re not feeling overindulgent nor tempted.

Protect your eyes from the sun

Our eyes can tolerate a few minutes of direct sun exposure (did you know we take in more vitamin D through our eyes than anywhere else on our bodies?) But excessive sun exposure can overtime cause damage to our retinas. Wear sunglasses when outside or exposed to the sun, when driving and wear a hat to add even more protection if you are spending ample time outside. Watch this interview with Dr. Raymond Douglas to learn more about how to holistically care for your eyes.

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Health and Nurture Tips for Summer

Summer is full of heat, energy and vitality.

Depending on your preference and body’s adaptability to the warmer climates, summer may increase your internal sense of harmony, or it may aggravate it.


We can support an improved state of balance throughout the year by making a conscious effort to live in harmony with the cycles of nature and adjusting our lifestyle to accommodate the arrival of each new season.

Below are 10 ways that you can support yourself during summer and the warmer months ahead:

  1. Drink plenty of fluids and restore with electrolytes. When the weather is warmer, we tend to sweat more, thus excreting more minerals and electrolytes through our sweat. By re-hydrating with plenty of water and electrolytes, we can work to replenish what’s lost

  2. Add a mid-day rest period, when the sun is at its peak. With the sun being out earlier in the day and setting later in the day, it’s at its strongest and most vital mid-day (figure 2/3pm). During that hour, give yourself 20-30 minutes of a resting period. Close your eyes and listen to a song or even laying in silence. This will help to restore your energy and combat any afternoon fatigue brought on

  3. Add cooling foods to your diet. Think foods like melons (which have a high water content), cucumber, citrus and lots of herbs such as peppermint and cilantro

  4. As always, prioritize your stress and keep your state calm. The more stressed, the more heat is built up in your body. All the best practices you know to limit and combat your stress levels, kick those in high gear during the warmer months to help keep your energetic state cool and balanced.

  5. Eat smaller portions, more frequently. During the warmer months, our digestive fires are in full force, which boosts metabolism at a faster rate than in the colder months. If you find yourself more hungry during the summer and eating more often, it’s completely normal! Stick to smaller portions, so you don’t find yourself in a heavy food coma that further drains your energy.

  6. Dress in light weight fabric and cool colors. Fabrics such as organic cotton, linen or jersey will help to keep your body cool and counter heat.

  7. Sleep on your right side. Sleeping on this side helps to activate the lunar pathway in the left nostril, which is calming and cooling.

  8. Exercise early in the day or after sun peak hours. Avoid working out when the sun is at its peak, to keep from further dehydrating you and exhausting your energy. End your workout with a few rounds of breathing and exhaling from the mouth, to allow excess heat built up to leave the body.

  9. Moisture daily. Dry skin during the summer? Each day after showering, mix a body oil into your body lotion and apply liberally. Especially if you’ve spent the day in the sun, your skin will feel dehydrated and want some hydration. The more moisturized your skin is, the cooler it will feel.

  10. Stay clear of iced caffeine. While the belief is that iced drinks will cool your body, iced coffee and caffeinated tea will not. Caffeine dehydrates the body, so be sure to have a glass of water before and after your cup of coffee, to provide your body with the hydration it needs.

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The Connection Between Menstrual Cycle and Immunity

Ladies, did you know that there is a strong connection between your period and your immune system?⁠⠀

That’s right. Your immune system intuitively flows with your menstrual cycle.⠀
As if the femxle body wasn’t brilliant already!

This is called Female Cyclical Immunity

During ovulation (roughly halfway through your cycle), your immune system pulls back just in case you become pregnant - your body knows not to attack the foreign DNA of the embryo.

Although your immune system is a bit suppressed during the luteal phase (post ovulation), if you don't become pregnant, your body wakes up your immune system in a big way when you start your period.

Our immune system kicks back into gear for all of us, and sometimes it might come back a bit too strong. This is especially true for those with more period pain - immunity and inflammation come as a pair. ⁠

Remember, immunity and inflammation are absolutely necessary for our bodies to function well. When we have inflammation anywhere in the body, it is a result of the immune system being activated. However when we experience chronic stress due to lifestyle, disease, environment, our bodies have too much inflammation - inflammation on top of inflammation.

And excess inflammation during our periods mean that we are have worse bloating, cramps and headaches. And that inflammation also affects how our brains work, which is a big reason we have bigger mood swings when our bodies are inflamed.⁠ 

This is why cycle synching is key to help balance your hormones AND help to maintain a strong immune system.

Here is what’s happening to your immune system, during each cycle phase:

Menstruation

Your menstrual week can be stressful for the immune system - and this is due in part to the fluctuation of your hormones. When you’re bleeding, estrogen and progesterone are low which makes a vast difference on your immune health. For those with autoimmunity, the inflammation experienced during the menstruation (the kind associated with cramping and bloating) can make chronic AI symptoms worse. And stress, including anxiety and mood swings, also experienced during menstruation, can greatly affect your immune system. Stress elevates cortisol levels and elevated cortisol levels can weaken the immune system.

Follicular

Estrogen levels during the follicular phase are rising, as the ovaries are preparing to release an egg. High levels of estrogen are responsible for a stronger immune response, with immune cells having a higher response to outside infections. However, this may also mean that immune cells have a heightened response to the body’s own cells (making this especially sensitive for those with autoimmune dis-ease). Whether estrogen is supportive or weakening to the immune system, is still being debated. 

Ovulation

After the ovaries release an egg, in preparation for a potential pregnancy, estrogen levels drop back down. During this period, the immune system drops to accommodate potential sperm into the body. Research is showing that womxn are more prone to catching infections and viruses during this mid-way point of their cycle, because of the lowered immune response.

Luteal

Susceptibility to infection is higher during the luteal phase of the hormonal cycle. And this is due in part to the rise of progesterone, preparing the body for bleeding if a pregnancy does not occur. A 2017 study supports that “progesterone can lower the ability to fight infections that can affect reproductive, gastrointestinal, and respiratory tracts.” 

Understanding what is happening to the totality of your body during each phase, is key to not only balancing your hormones overall, but also in helping your body to stay healthy and resilient. When you make choices that best support your health and lifestyle for each cycle, you nurture your body in the ways that it needs for that given time. 

To learn more about cycle synching and start incorporating these supportive practices into your life, check out the Cycle Synching Guide linked below.

“Our bodies are beautiful, strong and incredible. Honor it each and every day, with loving and nurturing choices.”

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Health and Nurture Tips for Fall

Fall is our time to restore, replenish and ground.

And that includes, taking care of our health and wellbeing.
⠀
With fall also being the peak of cold and flu season, caring for our health and the quality in which we are nurturing ourselves is crucial. Below are some ways that you can support yourself during fall and the coming colder months.

  1. Get morning sunlight exposure, upon rising. And if accessible, practice grounding at the same time by standing in the grass and letting the sunlight beam on your face. Bonus points for exposing your eyes to the light as well, vitamin D is readily absorbed through our retinas. If where you live doesn’t have a lot of sunlight during the colder months, consider investing in a portable sun light such as Circadian Optics or Sperti)

  2. Up level your shower game. Dry brush your skin, to increase lymphatic drainage. Followed by a cold shower to rinse off the dead skin and oil your body post shower. I love using almond oil on my face, argan oil on my body and castor oil on my scalp.

  3. Sip on warm drinks. Teas like chai, ginger, and turmeric are wonderful to not only support the immune system and digestive health, they also have an anti-inflammatory affect on the entire body. I love making these into lattes with some non-dairy milk and collagen.

  4. And speaking of warming spices, cook with more of them. Include spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, cardamom, ginger and cayenne into your meals. Squash with cinnamon, oatmeal with cardamom and fish with ginger are some of my favorite fall treats.

  5. Take immune boosting supplements. Those such as vitamin D and zinc help to promote a robust and strong immune system. (do not do this without the consult of a health professional). Foods that are high in vitamin D include egg yolk, sockeye salmon and mushrooms. Foods rich in zinc include pumpkin seeds and oysters.

  6. Eat more foods from the ground. Include more grounding foods like root vegetables, turkey, pumpkin, squash, apples, and ghee

  7. Heat up your salads. Consider steaming or sautéing raw veggies to make a warm salad. This will also help improve and aid digestion.

  8. Cozy up with some soup or a filling stew. Batch cook homemade broths to freeze for quick soups and stews.

  9. Switch up your movement activity. Trying new workouts revs up your metabolism and encourages your body to tone faster.

  10. Maintain a consistent sleep schedule. This is an always on rule, prioritize rising and waking at the same times each day. Also wear warming socks before going to sleep, as warmer feet encourage more REM sleep.

  11. Protect your nasal passages. Use a saline nose spray 1-2x a day to keep the nasal passages lubricated and apply oil at the front of your nostrils to prevent the skin from cracking. Most sinus issues during the colder months, stem from dry nasal passages.

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