You know I like to keep things simple. Living well and being healthy isn’t an exclusive, invite-only club for only those with a certain level of means or access to the newest stuff. Here’s a reminder - Not a single one of these things are necessary to a healthy lifestyle:

- A name, label or title for your diet or way of eating

- Any type of GREEN juice

- CrossFit, Yoga, Pilates

- CBD

- Infrared saunas or cryotherapy

- Intermittent fasting

- Adaptogens

- MCT oil

- Bone broth

- Superfoods

- Protein bars and powder

- Collagen peptides

Do I rock some (lots) of these things? Hell yes I absolutely do – NO shame. I’m not saying they’re bad or that many don’t have their benefits, at all, because they do. But I also think these are the things that get all the focus and attention, especially on social media and it’s not only not the whole entire story, it can also perpetuate the idea that health and wellness is wildly unattainable for SO many. It enforces the idea that taking care of ourselves is a privilege and I couldn’t disagree more. Accessibility to wholesome, nutrient-dense foods can be quite simple, really and it pains me to think some could see this world and feel too overwhelmed to ever even start.

The stressors / negative and toxic energies we choose to take out of diet and our life, the beautiful and inspiring community we surround ourselves with, managing our stress levels, how well we sleep, the personalized movement and mindfulness practices we choose to incorporate, between all the trendy elixirs – just to name a few.

“STRESS AND DIGESTION ARE LIKE THE TIDAL WAVES OF THE OCEAN - FLOWING TOO AND FROM THE WARM SANDY COASTLINE.”

Something else worth mentioning is the stress. Stress, be it emotional caused by external forces, because of the work we do or our daily family life /relationships, or stress within the body from food sensitivities, chemicals we ingest or things we are exposed to in our environment, or simply the unacknowledged stress caused by the constant comparison to others – it can be the single biggest cause of our failing health.

Stress is often the root cause of most health conditions and diseases we face. Whatever the causes, when our body is sent into an innate state of stress response, there is a releasing an excess of cortisol into our bloodstream to manage the state of our body feeling “in danger”. This is “fight or flight” mode and while our body is here and in a chronic state of the sympathetic nervous system dominance, our digestion doesn’t work, our immune system shuts down, sleep is affected, our heart rate increases and we feel chronically fatigued. We gain weight and our hair skin and nails look drab, despite how hard we try and how great we eat.

SLOW YOUR ROLL

Slow down. Take it easy on yourself and realize that our health doesn’t have to be this complicated. It isn’t about all the stuff, the labels and the trends. We simply need to honor our unique needs, our personal tendencies and make choices based on where we are at, what we can manage, afford and what will give us the best, most long-lasting results – the ones that will last us a lifetime.

If you haven’t quite dialed in your nutrition on a basic level, if you aren’t putting a focus on nutrient-dense, whole foods, you continue to add to the internal stress response within your body. You must take a step back and manage chronic digestive issues BEFORE your body is able to assimilating the nutrients from your foods you eat and the supplements you take. If you continue to "push through it" like it doesn't matter, than you're wasting your money on the cool, trendy new supplements flushing that money (and unused nutrients) down the toilet. What's worse is you will likely be left searching for more quick fixes and cool trends.

#HOLISTIC #WHOLEFOOD #DIET #DIETTRENDS #DISEASE #HEALTHTREND #SYMPTOMS