Functional Roots Wellness

01/26/2023

Love these quick little educational snippets!

Blood sugar balance is not just for those with insulin resistance, it's for all of us. It allows us to live our best, most steady lives – with happy minds, moods, and hormones.

I've been talking about blood sugar for a while and it's so integral in my practice that I have whole chapters on it in my books, Hormone Intelligence and The Adrenal Thyroid Revolution.

Protein, fats, and slow carbohydrates are the rockstars for steady blood sugar and energy. In the right amounts, at the right times, they keep your blood sugar steady and your energy humming, while preventing sugar cravings and 3 p.m lulls in energy.

🍣Protein is an important source of energy, giving you hours of fuel and keeping you feeling satisfied- which prevents sugar cravings. Studies show that swapping empty carbs (like chips, muffins, candy, white bread, etc.) dramatically improves blood sugar and hormone balance, helping to reduce PCOS symptoms, improve ovulation, and more.

While animal proteins like fish and eggs are incredible resources, plant proteins such as nuts, seeds, legumes, and more are just as important and often come with a boost of essential fiber.

🥑Healthy fats allow us to feel full and satisfied after a meal, maintain steady energy, and absorb important vitamins like A, D, E, and K. The best choices include a variety such as olive oil, avocados, nuts & seeds, fish, and small amounts of butter, ghee, or coconut oil.

🌾Slow Carbohydrates give us the right amount of energy and their complex structure gives them a slow, steady burn that doesn't jack up blood sugar. Legumes and brown rice also contain resistant starches, indigestible fibers that increase and support healthy gut flora, maintain better blood sugar balance, and improve insulin sensitivity.

Slow carbohydrates include whole grains (such as brown rice, steal cut oats, etc.) and starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes.

Use combinations of these to create healthy snacks and meal ideas of your own or try out mine next time you feel that midday crash. Also, grab a copy of my book, Hormone Intelligence, to find hormone and blood-sugar-balancing recipes like these and so many more!

12/24/2022

12/03/2022

Women's bodies are created beautifully. We believe all women should be able to know and understand the beauty of their natural feminine design. It is time all women know their body is good.

11/26/2022

11/24/2022

🦅

We all have a Medicine Woman inside of us.
It’s an energy you can call forth.🙏🏽

True leaders don't create followers,
they create more leaders.

🖊: Sheree Bliss Tilsley .spirit.medicine

09/30/2022

It’s happeniiiing…. Glorious Fall 🫶. Glitter is falling and turning everyone lovely colors- share your pretty pics!

09/21/2022

What to do when you feel the early symptoms of a UTI?

Typically, UTIs are treated with antibiotics 💊... Since we try to stear clear of antibiotics in our family and support the body's natural immune response, we are so grateful we've learned about the natural remedies & simple lifestyle interventions we can implement.

Since UTIs are more common in pregnancy, and have more ramifications, we are a bit more cautious, but that also doesn't mean we have to go straight to antibiotics. It just means antibiotics are a tool in the toolbelt, and we're SO happy we do have them, because UTIs can turn into kidney infections and the whole body can get sick🤒, or we can go into early labor.

Common symptoms:
🌺 Urgency (the need to go quickly, and then not a lot of urine comes out) 🌺 Frequency (the need to urinate ALL.THE.TIME). 🌺 Burning & sometimes pain with urination 🌺 Spasms with urination 🌺 Pain above the p***c bone 🌺 Sometimes even blood in the urine (40% of women will have this)🌺 If symptoms are worse, there can be a fever & flu-like symptoms (go see a physician)

Moving on. The tools in the toolbelt.

Just barely feeling symptoms:
- Drink 6-8 8 oz. glasses of water each day. Seriously. I measure out 3-4 mason jars of water & set them on my counter. The goal is to rinse the bacteria OUT of the urinary tract.
- Cut out ALL sugar for 5 days. Yes🍰. The bacteria have to starve & bacteria LOVE sugar.
- Urinate at the first urge
- Don't have s*x while until no symptoms for 3 days
- Don't wear a thong. 🩲 Most UTIs come from Ecoli (💩 think about it. It's basically a tight rope from a very bacteria- rich environment 🥴)

*Side note - the no sugar things goes for all infections. When the kids get sick, no sugar. They just know that's part of the routine. If we've been around people that are sick and we're headed on vacation, no sugar. Seriously 🤣. And make sure we're all getting rest. How terrible would that be, for the whole family to spend vacation days home, in bed? 🤦🏻‍♀️ It's just the basics of how we can support the immune system.

Still feeling symptoms, or possibly getting worse?
- 4 probiotic capsules daily for 2 days; then 2 capsules daily for 5 days.
1000 mg. vitamin C every 4 hours for 2 days; then 500 mg every 4 hours for 5 more days
- Cranberry D-mannose 2 capsules twice daily for a week
- Homoepathy (always in my toolbox). I've successfully treated myself based on symptoms, while other times I've called my homeopath. I prefer either option is preference to antibiotics. Typical remedies for UTIs include Cantharis, Apis, Equisetum, Kreosotum, Sepia, Sarsaparilla, Berberis Vulgaris, Nux Vomica, Mercurius, Aconite & Pulsatilla. Sometimes it's nice to have a skilled & objective person to talk over the key symptoms with.

If you're really crunchy 😉, & are comfortable with herbs/tinctures, the following can be absolutely lovely:
🌾 urinary tract flush: uva ursi leaf, marshmallow root, and yarrow blossoms 1/3C each, steep for an hour, strain/press. Drink 1/2 -1 cup every 4 hours (not tasty, but so helpful)
🌾 spastic, cramping bladder pain: 30 drops cramp bark tincture, 30 drops wild yam tincture, 5-10 drops kava kava tincture. every 2-4 hours for the first 24 hours, and reduce to every 4-6 hours for the next 24 hours (avoid the kava kava if you have any liver problems or are taking other medications)

Preventing UTIs. Some people get UTIs more often than others...
👍 Make sure to urinating after s*x
🩲Don't wear a thong...
🧻 Wipe from front to back
💧Stay hydrated
🚽Urinate at first urge (when the tubes going from the bladder to the urethral opening (ureters) are full of urine, bacteria can swim right up, so keeping the bladder empty prevents the bacteria from coming up so easily)

And when is it time to go see a practitioner?
🤒 Fever, chills, and lower back pain- probably a kidney infection. Usually antibiotics are necessary.
🤰Pregnant w/ a kidney infection. This is a big deal. Antibiotics are necessary. UTIs/bladder infections can put a pregnant momma into early/preterm labor.

So you have to take antibiotics. How to mitigate the effects of antibiotics?
- Take a daily probiotic & continue for 3 months after. Continue the steps to avoid a UTI.

*Treatment for kiddos with UTIs is different, and is not my specialty, so I don't recommend the above treatment options.

Read more about UTIs on my blog, where I discuss why we try to avoid antibiotics as well

09/13/2022

Getting out into nature is medicine… Seriously. Did you know that people that get out into nature are less stressful? Wild strawberries were a WONDERful surprise on this outing. We also saw a variety mushrooms, red currants, wildflowers, fresh “evidence” of elk 💩, a few deer, and enjoyed lots of sun ☀️!
Gorgeous day in God’s glory 🍓🫶
Let’s get outside this week!

08/19/2022

I have been getting so many messages asking about fertility and ways to support your body prenatally, so let's dive in!

Whether you’re trying to conceive the ‘old-fashioned way,’ or you’ve started on a fertility treatment journey, there’s a lot you can do to supercharge your fertility. At the top of the list of important strategies to support you in becoming pregnant is eating in a way to optimize fertility.

Did you know that most women in their childbearing years are low in these nutrients and that this can impact cycle health, fertility, and pregnancy?⁠

👉Protein⁠
👉 B6⁠
👉Vitamin E⁠
👉Vitamin D⁠
👉Folate/Folic acid⁠
👉 EFAs⁠
👉Iron⁠
👉Iodine⁠
👉Calcium⁠
👉Zinc⁠
👉Magnesium⁠

There’s a wealth of data that shows our diet and nutrition can make a powerful contribution to getting (and staying) pregnant. And where there are many reasons for fertility challenges, including PCOS, endometriosis, anovulatory infertility, and other causes, what you eat can have a profoundly positive impact on most root causes of fertility problems.

What you do – or don’t – eat influences everything: your menstrual cycle regularity, ovulation egg quality, the health of your uterine lining, your immune system, and your gut and vaginal microbiome - all of which influence fertility.⁠

Fertility powerhouse foods can make a tremendous contribution not just to getting pregnant but staying pregnant, having a healthy pregnancy, and optimizing baby’s health and your postpartum healing. So implement the foods mentioned weekly!

Want to learn more about the optimal fertility diet - the same one that so many women have successfully used to get pregnant - even after years of trying? Check out the link below for my article and podcast on how to eat to support health conception.

https://avivaromm.com/the-optimal-fertility-diet/