Megan Rand

Tag: immune system

  • Medicinal Teas for Adrenal and Overall Health

    Medicinal Teas for Adrenal and Overall Health

     

    When we think of supplementation, we often think of pills, capsules and tinctures. But another method of introducing a variety of nutrients and unlocking the healing powers of nature is by consuming herbal teas. Medicinal teas have many different uses, but today we are going to talk about how tea can help support mineral balance, detoxification and support the immune system.

     

    Below is a list of teas that I keep in my cabinet and rotate as needed. Don’t get overwhelmed by how many options you have! Just start by adding one new tea at a time and eventually you will have an arsenal to lean on when you need them. My favorite way to consume most of my teas is to blend them in my Vitamix with some coconut oil, collagen, ginger, cinnamon and honey!

     

    Nettle Tea

    Nettle tea is loaded with minerals that are essential for restoring your adrenal health and is also helpful to combat inflammation. I have been drinking nettle tea consistently during my pregnancy because it is easy to become depleted of essential minerals while growing another human inside of you. Although nettle tea is not the only change I have made, this pregnancy has been much easier than my first!

     

    Licorice Root Tea

    Licorice root tea can be very helpful if you have low cortisol levels (your stress hormone).   Low cortisol levels are common in the later stages of adrenal dysfunction. If you have checked your salivary cortisol pattern with functional lab work, than you might be aware that certain times of the day your cortisol levels are struggling to reach the functional range. At this time of day, licorice tea can be used to help boost your mood and energy.   This tea is not for everyone and is contraindicated for those with high blood pressure.

     

    It is important to note that it is always necessary to keep trying to understand the underlying cause of any imbalance or symptoms. In the meantime using medicinal teas as a temporary boost can help you give you the energy or focus you need to keep working on your health.

     

    Ginger Turmeric Tea

    This tea is one of my favorites (as maybe you could have guessed by my business name). Ginger and turmeric are anti-inflammatory, powerful antioxidants and support the immune system. Drinking daily ginger turmeric tea was an important part of my protocol to restore adrenal function.

     

    You can easily make it yourself by steeping the ginger and turmeric roots in boiling water. I can usually find ginger root year round at the grocery store, but turmeric seems to depend on the time of the year. If you do not have access to the roots, feel free to substitute with powdered ginger or turmeric. I chop a 1” section of ginger root and1/4” section of turmeric root, add boiling water, and let steep for 5-10 minutes.

     

    Chaga Tea

    Chaga is a mushroom that is traditionally used in Chinese medicine. It is excellent for detoxification as it nourishes kidneys and liver. It is also loaded with anti-oxidants and minerals as well as vitamins including calcium, iron, manganese, and vitamins B, K, and D2.

     

    This my favorite recipe for drinking Chaga Tea:

     

    Chaga Chai Tea

     

    2 Tbsp chaga mushroom powder (I get mine here)

    2 cups hot water or coconut/almond milk

    ½-1 Tbsp coconut oil or ghee

    ½” ginger root

    1 Tbsp collagen

    ½-1 tsp cinnamon and nutmeg

    1 tsp-1Tbsp raw manuka honey

     

    1) Mix the chaga powder, hot water or milk substitute and coconut oil in a mug and let steep for a few minutes while you prepare the rest of your ingredients.

     

    2) Blend the ginger, collagen, cinnamon, nutmeg, honey and chaga tea mixture together on high in a blender that is made for hot liquids*. Blend until your tea is smooth and frothy!

     

    *It can be dangerous to use a blender that is not approved for hot beverages since they can explode and burn you!

     

    Dandelion Root Tea

    Dandelion root is my favorite tea to support detoxification of the liver and kidneys! As well as helping to remove toxins, dandelion root tea also helps to re-establish your electrolyte balance. Since I don’t love the taste of the tea plain, I always mix this into a tea concoction just like I do with the chaga! Please make sure that you are also drinking plenty of water throughout the day after your dandelion root tea since it is a diuretic. I avoid dandelion root tea while pregnant and nursing because I do not want to force my body into detoxification sending unwanted toxins and metals into my milk supply or to my baby! Also, do not consume if you have a ragweed allergy.

     

    Burdock Root Tea

    This is another tea that despite its somewhat undesirable flavor, it has some great health benefits! Burdock root supports the liver and also cleanses and purifies the blood. This is a good tea if you struggle with skin issues like rashes or eczema, as this can improve circulation and detoxification to the area.

     

    Pau D’Arco

    Pau D’Arco is great to combat candida, yeast and even aspergillus (mold) which many of my clients have found growing in their homes. It also supports the immune system. Personally, this is a tea that I rotate in to keep candida at bay.

     

    Chamomile Tea

    I used to just think of chamomile tea as a bedtime tea, but it is much more beneficial than just helping you sleep at night. Chamomile helps to soothe the gastrointestinal tract and combat inflammation, which is important for restoring gut dysfunction and optimal health. Having a small chamomile tea with some raw maunka honey before bed great for sleep, just avoid drinking so much that you are up all night running to the bathroom!

     

    Lemon Balm & Lavender

    My good friend always served me fresh lemon balm and lavender tea with leaves picked from her yard! I became obsessed with this tea and later learned why the two herbs were so helpful to relieve my stress and anxiety. Lemon balm and lavender both have a calming effect that can help reduce anxiety and depression. You can read about the many benefits of lavender from the Wellness Mama!

     

     

    Teas have so many amazing properties to offer us! Start rotating new teas into your routine to support your health journey. Let me know which ones are your favorites!

     

  • Autoimmune Basics: 5 Simple Steps to Transform Autoimmunity

    Autoimmune Basics: 5 Simple Steps to Transform Autoimmunity

     

    I love collaborating with and learning from other practitioners!  Today we have any extra special treat because Toréa from www.torearodriguez.com is going to give us a little lesson on autoimmunity.  In my personal practice, my number of clients with autoimmunity is on the rise and I know this is becoming more and more common in the general population as well.

    [image url=”http://gingernewtrition.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Torea-300×300.jpg” raw=”true” alignment=”left” margin_left=”0″ margin_right=”10″ margin_top=”0″ margin_bottom=”0″ width=”300″ height=”300″]Toréa is a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® Practitioner who has first-hand experience with autoimmune diseases and how to regain health.

    Combining her scientific knowledge, risk-assessment and leadership skills along with her love for adventure, community and service, Toréa delivers a very unique experience when working to transform autoimmune disease into long-lasting vitality. Toréa Rodriguez is a former biochemist, Silicon Valley executive, and professional pilot. After diagnosis and healing of her own autoimmune diseases, she is now a certified Functional Diagnostic Nutrition® Practitioner and Vitality Transformation Coach.

    Check out today’s guest blog post by Toréa —>

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    What is Autoimmunity? Autoimmune disease is characterized as the body attacking itself in an immune response. It’s one of the top ten causes of death in women and the elderly, and now affects one in 10 people worldwide. In fact, the incidence of autoimmune disease has skyrocketed over the past few decades and there are now more than 700 million people around the world are now affected.

    Unfortunately, conventional medicine and treatments have little to offer except for yet another prescription or more drastic measures such as surgery to try to negate the effects of autoimmunity in patients.

    Over 100 distinct autoimmune disease have been identified to date. These can affect at least one, but usually several, of the organ systems and tissues in the body. Further, at least 40 other diseases are suspect of having an autoimmune component. For example some diseases, like endometriosis, weren’t traditionally classified as autoimmune in origin but are now viewed that way by some researchers and physicians.

    It may, or may not, surprise you to find out that the incidence of autoimmune disease is commonplace in the industrial worlds, but rare or non-existent in contemporary cultures that still practice hunter-gatherer traditional lifestyles. The other suggested contributors to the dramatic increase are environmental factors; autoimmunity is not necessarily dictated solely by genetics. These factors can include: environmental toxins, chronic stress, minimized sun exposure (vitamin D deficiency), changes in GI microbiota, hidden infections, sleep deprivation, SAD (Standard American Diet)… I’m sure there are more too!

    So what can you do about it? Perhaps you have been diagnosed with, or suspect you have, an autoimmune disease. The good news is that there are several things that you can do to lead towards a significant reduction in symptoms or even complete remission!

    When I work with clients we always start with diet. It’s helpful to make sure that the diet achieves several things, most notably:

    1. Maximizing nutrients – we want to maximize the nutrients that will promote optimal immune function. This includes micronutrients such as selenium, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, glutathione and vitamins A, D, & K2.
    2. Calming the immune system – often times we may not know we are inducing an immune response just with the foods we eat. So I start with an Autoimmune Protocol type of diet to remove foods that may trigger or exacerbate an already overactive immune response.  Follow this elimination diet for 30-60 days before reintroducing foods again to build a custom diet template for my clients moving forward.

    From there we will look at lifestyle factors which include sleep quality, movement, recovery/rest and most importantly stress. Stress, and chronic levels of stress can damage the body and further exacerbate autoimmunity. In fact, in working with many clients, they discover that stress is the one element that will make or break their recovery from autoimmunity!!

    And of course it helps if you can find a functional practitioner to help you run some labs to find out what is happening at the biochemical level of your own body. When I work with autoimmune clients, almost all of them have some sort of hidden gut infection, that until dealt with, no amount of elimination diet or stress reduction will make them feel better!

     

    5 Simple Steps

    So here are 5 simple steps that you can start doing right now to help you transform your autoimmunity today! Remember, big issues like transforming autoimmunity, require little changes and little changes will take care of big issues. So it’s just about chaining together those little changes to make a huge impact!

    1. Take a day off! – do what ever you can to take a day off, or two or three! You may not be able to do this all the time, but try to schedule as much time as you can to devote that time to your self-care: nourishing, healing, resting, recovering, rejuvenating. Maybe that looks like booking a massage or acupuncture appointment for yourself. Or perhaps its as simple as taking a bath with some epsom salts and lavender essential oil.
    2. Get out in nature – a lot – “Weekend warrior-ing” in nature may be beneficial, but it’s not enough. I have found that I need to get out in the sunshine, feel the wind on my skin, or the earth/grass under my feet on a daily basis. Plus, regular sun exposure raises Vitamin D levels which is beneficial for those with autoimmune diseases [1, 2]
    3. Go Deeper – Investigate with a health professional (like an FDN practitioner) if you have any hidden infections or malfunctions. Functional lab testing is like having a window into the underlying biochemistry. It provides clues to how your body may be malfunctioning and the health professional can then help steer you back on track.
    4. Consider an elimination diet – I say consider because taking this on takes a bit of preparation and reading.  If you want to be walked through a program like this in a step-by-step manner with recipes and a group for support you can join the next seasonal detox with Ginger Newtrition.  Good places to start reading about it are here and here. If you are the book type, then The Paleo Approach is pretty much the best resource out there to date.
    5. Detox your environment – Yes, you could live inside a bubble, but that’s not practical to go to the grocery store in a huge bubble (which would have to be BPA free and non-toxic, right?). But you can start simply by looking in a few areas. I have written about detoxing your kitchen and bath to have a huge impact on reducing environmental toxins in your life (it’s all about the small changes taking care of big issues, right?). And if you have not grabbed Megan’s outstanding Toxic Home Makeover Guide yet, I suggest you do that right now! Its fantastic!!

     

    Ready to Go Deeper?

    As a special gift to the readers of Ginger Newtrition, Toréa is offering you a FREE 30-minute Vitality Discovery Session where we focus entirely on you… discovering areas where you might be stuck and developing a plan to investigate deeper with some functional lab testing.  Please take advantage of this offer as Megan is headed on maternity leave soon and Toréa is ready to fill in as needed!!! These sessions are normally $129 and, for a limited time, she will be offering these sessions FREE if you redeem the coupon code: GingerDeepDive. (Offer expires 30 Sept 15 at midnight PT)
  • The Benefits of Seasonal Cleansing

    The Benefits of Seasonal Cleansing

     

    It’s out with the old and in with the new for summer and the same should go for toxin build up in your body. Cleansing should occur at least once a year, but it is also suggested that as the seasons change, a good cleanse can better prepare us for the changes of the seasons. Just like the temperature, the foods we eat during each season changes. Going from spring to summer, the body is working up for some of the busiest months of the year.

     

    Traditionally, cultures all around the world have practiced seasonal cleansing in all types of different ways. Specifically for a liver cleanse, the liver is how the body takes toxins out of the body, and that is how the liver earns the spot of one of the hardest working organs in our bodies! The liver works with many other organs in our body to detox blood, produce bile, hormone breakdowns, and acts as a storage facility for our vitamins and minerals. If the liver is not functioning properly, it affects many other areas of our body.

     

    Some more important functions of the liver include removing old blood cells, helping the intestines process nutrients, chemical production for blood clotting, the breakdown and metabolizing of alcohol and consumed medications, and the production of necessary proteins and cholesterol.

     

    When people hear ‘liver disease’ they typically think of alcoholism, but that is not the only cause of liver disease or liver failure. Some other risk factors associated with liver disease include low potassium levels, drug use, exposure to certain chemicals, obesity, processed foods, viral infections and autoimmune diseases.

     

    Some things you may notice if your liver is not performing at its best include gas or bloating, constipation, heartburn, acid reflux, yellowish tint to skin and eyes, high blood pressure, difficulty losing weight, cognitive difficulties, dark urine, chronic fatigue, poor appetite, and chronic fatigue.

     

    If you want to support your liver there are certain foods you should focus on. These foods include beets, carrots, tomatoes, grapefruit, spinach, citrus fruits, cabbage, turmeric, walnuts, avocados, apples, brussels sprouts, garlic, dandelion root, leafy green vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, green tea, artichoke, olive oil, and alternative grains like quinoa, millet and buckwheat.

     

    There are many diets, supplements, and programs available to detox; you need to find the one that is best for you. Consult your doctor if you have concerns or questions. Below are some general tips that have worked for me:

     

    • Hydrate!
    • Eliminate common food sensitivities
    • Eat clean and organic
    • Exercise regularly
    • Eat a diet high in fiber
    • Take a probiotic
    • Eat light meals more frequently
    • Get the proper amount of sleep
    • Avoid alcohol and tobacco products
    • Avoid processed foods and whole grains

     

    You will find that when you are done with your detox, you should notice that you have much more energy, your digestion has improved, and your skin looks younger and brighter. You will also have better mental clarity and cognitive functioning, along with a boost to your immune system and more balanced blood sugar levels.

     

    Interesting in removing toxins naturally? If you’d like to shed unwanted weight than join us for the next Seasonal Detox!

     

    Health Hormones Group Program starts September 15th (some spots available now)

     

    If you have been considering joining our Healthy Hormones Group Program starting September 15th, I highly suggest that you start with the seasonal detox.  My clients who have focused on their detoxification pathways and liver health for a month or two before trying to balance hormones and support adrenals have been much more successful.  One of the liver’s many jobs is to get rid of excess hormones, so this is an important player in the balancing process.