Lifestyle Factors

Here are a few things you can do on a daily basis to optimize health and ensure that your body gets what it needs from the food you eat.

Manage Stress

Stress is a modern-day reality for most of us- but did you know stress can cause our digestion to slow down and absorption of nutrients from food almost impossible. It is toxic for our immune system, and even though it's almost impossible to eliminate from our lives, we can at least learn a few coping strategies that make it less impactful on our health.

When your feeling a little stressed:

1. Aid your digestion by eating more slowly.

2. Reduce your intake of animal products and grains, and choose to eat more soups, smoothies juices and tonics.

3. Increase your intake of Vitamin C to support your immune system.

4. When you're a little stressed your body loses magnesium, so take a supplement, eat foods high in magnesium or have an epson salt bath.

5. Sip calming teas such as chamomile or peppermint.

6. Soak in a bath with a little lavender oil added.

7. Practice yoga & meditation regularly.

8. Try meditating once or twice a day- I find this helps me deal with any challenges I might face in a busy day by teaching my mind to be still.

Move Your Body Every Day

Regular exercise does more than just keep you fit. It improves your circulation and gets the blood pumping throughout your body to speed up the delivery of nutrients from your food to exactly where your body needs them. Best of all, you'll sleep better, feel great, have more confidence and, best of all, LIVE LONGER!

Protect Your Sleep

Sleep is just as important for your health as nutrition and fitness, because it gives your body time to repair its muscles, create new tissue, build protein and release human growth hormone. I think of my sleep as restorative time for my mind and body because it improves my mood, lifts my concentration, and helps me look and feel younger.

Here are some of the things I do to protect my sleep:

1. I prioritize it- aiming for 7-9 hours every night.

2. I don't have caffeinated drinks past 12pm.

3. I use soft lighting in my bedroom, keep it cool in temperate and shut down all electronics after bed-time routine.

4. I keep the same wake-up time mostly every day and aim for roughly the same bedtime to get my body into a good routine.

5. A warm bath, gentle yoga stretches, meditation or calming teas are all great ways to wind down from the day and get your mind/body ready for