Hi!  It’s almost Thanksgiving and I can’t wait to hang out at home with my friends and family and just really reflect on everything I have to be thankful this year.  I haven’t always been the mushy type, but this year I’m feeling exceptionally blessed!  A big part of that for me is letting go of the past and moving forward with my life.  Setting big goals with my career, education, finances, and for my kids.  I’m super optimistic for what the future may hold.  Again, I haven’t always felt this positively about life, but I have been doing a ton of self work over the past year or so in an effort to change my circumstances.  I’ve never been one to be ok with fitting within the defined “normal”.  For example, just because my recent lab work read normal in most categories, what I physically felt, made me want to push the boundaries and modern medicine.  I don’t want to have just normal results or a normal life.  I want to be OPTIMAL!  And so should YOU!

A big part of feeling better has been due to me reading and researching a ton.  It started with coping with anxiety and depression.  I went to counselors to try and talk to the professionals about what was going on, and then I went to my church and spoke to someone there.  I read tons of books and even joined Brooke Castillo’s Life Coach School in an attempt to really understand how the mind works and overcome my obstacles.  What I found out, is that there is no right way to do things.  It’s whatever works for you!  You can’t control what someone says or does to you, but you can control your reaction.

Then my focus turned to my physical health as I was dealing with the return of some gut issues and abnormal labs.  Stress will do this to you people!  You don’t have to an underlying medical condition to deal with the mental and physical issues of stress and elevated cortisol!  I have done every single diet there is out there over my lifetime.  More recently I have been trying all kinds of different diet hacks to get to the bottom of what’s going on inside of me.  I’m taking more supplements, I’m meditating, I’m going to bed at a decent hour, I’m not only sticking to my diet, but I’ve optimized it by sticking to a whole foods, minimally processed diet.  It’s the little things that add up to a compound effect.

I want to elaborate a little more on some of the supplements I have chosen to show you in my video.  I’m going to list them below with a brief description.  I encourage you to consult with your nutritionist and/or physician to find what best fits your needs!

Magnesium:

• Magnesium is vital for the proper functioning of hundreds of enzymes.
• Consuming adequate magnesium might help reduce premenstrual symptoms
• It’s important for Bone Health and Calcium Absorption
• It can help you sleep at night
• It can help keep your gut regular, and in high doses, help with constipation
• Magnesium plays an important role in carbohydrate and glucose metabolism, so magnesium status can also impact the risk of diabetes.
• It’s good for Heart Health, atherosclerosis, a fatty buildup on the walls of arteries, hypertension, or high blood pressure
• Helps with Migraines
• Can relieve anxiety
• Read more here

Turmeric:

• Though of as a pain reliever and anti-inflammatory
• Antioxidant
• Western medicine has now begun to study how turmeric can help with gut inflammation and gut permeability, two measures of digestive efficiency.
• The spice is even being explored as a treatment for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
• Read more here

Melatonin:

• Can help you fall asleep
• May Support Eye Health
• May help treat stomach ulcers and heartburn
• May help with seasonal depression
• Read more here