Are you ready for 2023?
Are you ready to welcome in the new year?
After the holiday indulgence period, this is the time of year that so many want to make a fresh start on their health. It's one of the biggest resolutions made around the world. Resolutions such as:
- Lose weight
- Exercise more
- Eat healthier
- Drink more water
Most of you know that when you feel good, you move through the seasons with ease and joy. However, I know most of you because you don't feel good. My job as a Traditional Naturopath is to use my experience and training to assist you in achieving your health goals.
Sometimes we go astray (like I did this holiday season by eating too much sugar). Other times life throws us curveballs and we get off track.
Whatever and wherever we are on our own health journeys, I hope you take a moment tonight to think about what areas of your life are out of balance and in your control. Where do you want to focus for the new year?
In 2022, many of my clients resonated with both the mental (what we think) and emotional (what we feel) body planes out of balance. It's understandable, it's been a few tough years to navigate the health, political, economic, etc. situations we've all experienced.
One of the best ways I know to combat the mental and emotional imbalances and fatigue is to get your creative juices flowing.
I had never knit a stitch before the lockdowns happened. During my studies of German Anthroposophical Medicine, I have learned that the creative/imaginative part of the mind must be addressed to achieve good overall health.
In September 2019 I gave a case study presentation at the International Medicine Meeting in Germany. After the conference there was an organized tour of the FilderKlinik Anthroposophical hospital. It was amazing to me, that in this hospital setting cancer patients were prescribed healing artistic therapies such as painting, sculpting, playing musical instruments, movement (Eurythmy) and more.
Less than six months later we had the shutdowns and that led to my physical office closing and my practice moving online. To cope with this transition, (learning Zoom!) I remembered that hospital tour and decided to learn something new that would calm my nervous system and use both the left and right sides of the brain.
My son gave me a gift of knitting needles and a skein of yarn. It was the perfect artistic therapy to keep me sane! Now, I'm not saying everyone should take up knitting, that's just what resonated with me. I would suggest you find some artistic endeavor to express your creative side in a new way. The brain likes new. Doing something that you always do (for me that was journaling and writing) isn't enough to engage.
This year, my new year's resolution is to take my mental health activity, knitting, to a new skill level and actually knit my first sweater! Wish me luck as the class I picked out is a cabled cardigan so lots of new things to do. I may make mistakes (probably), I may have to pull out my stitches and start again, but I know no matter what, I am learning. When we continue to learn we continue to grow.
What would you like to learn more about in 2023? What new skill have you always wanted to learn?
If you would like assistance to move through your health resolutions simply make a consultation appointment to get your started. You can do that right here:
Make an appointment by clicking here!
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Sandra's FASTING Plan for the New Year:
Fasting is something you may have tried before. You could be an experienced faster or you may have just read about it. It is a way to reset your metabolism. The key to good health is a flexible metabolism but many of us are stuck in a rut.
Before I get into fasting, I just want to remind you that not everyone can safely fast on their own, some need to avoid fasting (due to medication, health conditions, eating disorders, pregnancy, age, etc.) and others need to be medically supervised to be safe (such as those on insulin or other medications). This is not a recipe for you to copy, I am simply sharing my own fasting plan based on my experience with fasting.
Personally, I have like to do a 3–5-day water fast. However, that requires finding a window of time where I can be home, in my pajamas and not working or doing any major physical activity. It's my "cave" time to reset and restore.
My metabolism is more challenged, and I have diabetes on both sides of my family. I am NOT one who feels more energetic when they fast, so I have to find time to pamper myself with Epsom salt baths, napping and lots and lots of mineralized water. I usually like to read, draw, knit or paint. I find when I am creative it's easier to keep my mind off of food.
This January I don't have much time to do this. So, I am going to do a Fasting Mimicking program by ProLon® which is a scientifically proven method for mimicking a fast by using low calorie small portions of soups, bars and electrolyte drinks. It is not organic (which is my only complaint) but it does help to move through the week (it is 5 days) a little easier.
To work through this, I do a 4-step process:
- 7-day plant-based diet - I am an omnivore. I probably don't eat as much meat as most Americans but I do eat healthy meats. To prepare for a fast the first thing I take out is meat and dairy.
- I add in a morning fresh veggie juice (it helps having all the tools) of 6 carrots, 2 stalks celery, 1/2 beet, thumb nail size of fresh ginger, baby pinky size of fresh turmeric, 1/2 lemon (rind and all).
- Large bowl of whole oats/nuts
- Lunch large salad
- Dinner soup and steamed/baked veggies
- Lots of water (I like to add a little Alma powder for extra vit C)
- 5-day Fasting Mimicking program (see below)
- 7-day plant-based diet (refeed my body)
- Back to my whole food healthy diet
The program is NOT for everyone, you should only do this if you know you can safely fast. Here is the ProLon® description and disclosure:
ProLon®, FASTING MIMICKING DIET™ (FMD™), is a plant-based, 5-day meal program providing 1150 calories on Day 1 and approximately 800 on Days 2-5.
The ProLon® dietary program has been scientifically developed and clinically tested at the University of Southern California Longevity Institute and School of Medicine, one of the leading centers for research on aging and longevity.
ProLon® exploits the ability of the body during periods of low calorie intake to enter a protected mode, remove damaged cells and tissues, and undergo self-repair. Evidence suggests that this process may result in increased longevity and improved health and wellness.
The ProLon® meal program consists of proprietary plant-based soups, bars, drinks, snacks, teas, and supplement formula tablets - all designed to maximize the protective effects related to fasting, while providing micronutrient nourishment (vitamins, minerals and essential dietary components), and minimizing hunger and the burdens of fasting.* The program covers a period of 5 continuous days.
ProLon® is NOT intended for the following people:
- Children under the age of 18
- Women who are pregnant or nursing
- People that are allergic to nuts, soy, tomato or any other ingredient of the ProLon® meal plan
- People with a Body Mass Index (BMI) less than 18.5
- People diagnosed and currently suffering from a medical condition or disease, unless authorized in writing by a healthcare professional appropriately trained to treat that condition
- People that have been severely weakened by a disease or medical procedure
- People that are taking medications which may not be safely consumed with a calorie restricted diet unless authorized in writing by an authorized healthcare professional
- People with diabetes (type 1 and type 2), cardiovascular disease and cancer, unless authorized in writing by an authorized healthcare professional.
- People with metabolic disorders, particularly those that affect gluconeogenesis (where fasting is prohibited)
- People with a history of significant cardiac disease, particularly uncompensated congestive heart failure NYHA grade 2 or more or LVEF less than 40% on any prior assessment
- People with a history of syncope (fainting) with a calorie restriction in the past or other medical comorbidity, which would make calorie restriction potentially dangerous
- People that have special dietary needs that are incompatible with the ProLon® meal program
You can find 2 versions of this on my FullScript online pharmacy just sign in here and search the catalog for "ProLon":
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***A big congratulations to the 2022 new graduates of the LTS Holistic Health Practitioner certification course!
Here is what one graduate emailed me yesterday (reprinted with her permission):
"Your class has enriched my life. I have so much excitement moving forward with my practice. My mind is moving with so many ideas and questions and curiosity about health in a way that I feel such confidence moving forward." - Tonya
Practitioners if you are interested in my Online Holistic Health Practitioner class, the new dates have been posted here:
It is always such a pleasure to teach new practitioners. I say new, but many of the people I teach are practitioners who want to move the needle forward in their practice. Teaching is one of my favorite parts of my business.
Where am I teaching next?
January is a big month of teaching for me both private Avatar/EAV trainings and on January 22-23 at the American College of Integrative Medicine and Dentistry as part of their 2-year Naturopath Certification Course. It's hard to believe but it will be my 13th year teaching there!!! Wow, time does fly.
Also remember that EAV online classes are available on my practitioner website:
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Supporting a Healthy Immune System
Colds, Flu, and Seasonal weather may get you down this winter but there is hope!
When I was taught about Homotoxicology (how toxins move through the tissue systems and how to safely get them out) I was surprised to learn the first phase EXCRETION PHASE - was the very thing I was brought up learning to suppress. You know the medical/media jingles such as "The blah, blah, blah, so you can rest medicine" and many others. Messages that were ingrained in me as a child.
You must not have symptoms!
The EXCRETTION PHASE is the how a toxin enters our body and what symptoms our body creates when it has a healthy immune response. Think of symptoms such as:
- Runny Nose
- Sweating
- Sneezing
- Coughing
It was common knowledge that if you experienced any of these symptoms you were to run to the local drug store and buy something to suppress them such as an antihistamine or anti-inflammatory. In fact, if you go to your local drug store take a moment to see exactly how much shelf space is made available to these drugs.
What I learned is that this suppression medication may allow us to go to work or school or socialize easier, but it also drives the toxin deeper into our tissues and impairs our immune response. This makes for longer recovery times.
Instead of turning to such tactics, I suggest you may want to support your immune system instead with rest, plenty of healthy fluids, hot soups and to remember the old German Folk Medicine saying:
"Keep your feet warm, your head cool, your blood sugars balanced, and you will live a long life!"
This way is the way to repair a sluggish immune system. Get your wool socks out, make your soups and support instead of suppressing.
Some of my favorite things to take daily are:
- Immune boosting mushrooms
- MycoSurge (MarcoPharma)
- Host Defense (on FullScript Pharmacy)
- Zinc
- Most people take small daily doses of zinc to support their immune system and you can find multiple health studies supporting this.
- I like to use oligo-therapy which is ionized trace elements. My favorite: Multi-21 by MarcoPharma
- Vit D3 + K2
- Most people do well with 5,000 IUs of Vit D3 but others may need more. The best way to check is with a blood test. If you've been tested before and were low it may be a good idea to alternate between 5,000 and 10,000 IUs/day.
- Best time to take, with dinner. Vit D3 is a fat-soluble vitamin and chronobiology has taught us that the evening is the best time to take this.
- Manuka Honey
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Methylglyoxal (MGO) is a powerful antibacterial compound not found in regular honey which means you want the highest grade you can get. The minimum grade to look for is usually listed like ManukaGuard's 12+ MGO 400
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In whatever way you choose to celebrate this upcoming year, (and I hope you do celebrate) I wish you the best!
Yours in health,
Sandra Stewart
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