Highlands Health and Wellness

10/21/2024

🌸 Are you struggling with Bacterial Vaginosis (BV)? You're not alone! Many women face this common condition, which can lead to discomfort and embarrassment.

While traditional treatments often focus on antibiotics, they may not address the root cause. That's where probiotics come in! 🌱

Probiotics can be a powerful ally in restoring the natural balance of bacteria in your va**na. Scientific evidence supports the effectiveness of specific strains, particularly Lactobacill (but don't underestimate the power of certain strains of Bifidus also), in fighting BV.

If you're navigating perimenopause or menopause, hormonal changes can increase your risk of BV. That’s why considering a targeted probiotic, like Venus Vital Probiotic, which contains 8 beneficial strains and is designed for women’s health, might be a great option for you.

Curious to learn more? Check out my comprehensive review here: Probiotics for BV Review
https://www.perimenopause.help/probiotics-for-bv-review/

Let’s support each other on this journey to better health! 💖 If you want a comprehensive, integrative approach to your health you can also check out our practice www.highlandshealthwellness.com, we would love to help!

Looking for help in Healing Bacterial Vaginosis? Check out this Probiotics for BV review for some tried and trusted ways to heal your BV now! Probiotics for BV Review: The Ultimate Guide to Healing Bacterial Vaginosis. I have lots of women in my functional medicine practice who have suffered with BV...

10/10/2024

The Power of Spreading Protein Throughout the Day

Did you know spreading protein intake across meals is key to optimal absorption? 🌟 Eating moderate amounts of protein at every meal helps your body with muscle repair, hormone regulation, and even blood sugar stability. Include some protein with every meal for steady energy all day long! 🥑🥚

"

01/01/2024

From all of us here at Highlands Health and Wellness, We want to wish you a Healthy Happy and Joyful New Year!

12/16/2023

Do you tend to over eat at parties and gatherings? Try eating some fiber, protein and healthy fat before your next night out. I love a chocolate protein drink with nut milk before I go out. I often add fiber like chia seeds, ground flax seeds, avocado or sun fiber supplement to that protein drink too. Having a little snack before you go out is a great way to reduce impulsive eating, and can boost energy too so you can bring your best self to the fun!

12/09/2023

Did you know that hops have a calming effect all on their own?
If need a great suggestion for a non-alcoholic option for your holiday parties, I like Lagunitas IPNA non-alcoholic IPA if you want something as close to possible to beer without the alcohol. I also love the Brooklyn Brewery’s non-alcoholic options. These substitutes still have the carbs, but skip the brain fog, gut damage and the non-alcoholic beers are less likely to be turned directly to visceral fat (skip that beer belly!). Another favorite non- alcoholic brand of mine is Hoplark. They have product called Citra that is gluten free, has no sugar, is keto friendly, non-GMO, and has no malt or calories. I love this option for feeling like I am participating, but not adding to my waistline or damaging my health.

11/11/2023

With the holidays approaching, I know my gluten free friends out there might find themselves in need of a gluten free option for baking. Enjoy this DIY guide to gluten free flour mixes.

11/03/2023

As the cool weather comes in, I always like to have a few essential herbs on hand for soups, teas and homemade cold relief.
I love to be sure I have dried of fresh of the following items on hand coming into winter season:
Oregano
Rosemary
Thyme
Ginger
Turmeric
Local honey
Citrus fruit like lemon, lime or orange
Garlic
All of these herbs are delicious, and help to fight off a sniffle or cough and keep the immune system strong.

10/27/2023

If your goal is to live a healthy life while feeling like your best self, it can be helpful to think about training muscles for stability. The book Outlive by Dr Peter Attia is a great resource for those of you contemplating health in all kinds of ways, but the chapter on stability training was particularly interesting to me. Below is a link to the stability training videos that accompany the book. I hope you find them helpful and try them out.
https://peterattiamd.com/outlive/videos/

09/29/2023

Did you know that dehydration raises cortisol levels? If you are stressed, try drinking a glass of water and taking a few deep breaths. Sometimes it is the most simple things we forget that help the most.

09/29/2023

How can this not make you happy? Save it for whenever you need to smile 😊

Do you LOVE Golden Retriever Puppies as much as we do?» SUBSCRIBE: https://bit.ly/2Tbgfwz ------------------------------------ » SUPPORT US: https://www.buym...

09/21/2023

Have you recently thought about your grip strength? Grip strength is a great measure of overall muscle strength and longevity. It is also increasingly important as we age. It is needed for things like opening jars, catching ourselves if we stumble, and carrying things like groceries. As a population we are seeing a decrease in overall grip strength even in young people. We are not lifting heavy things as much and we spend more time doing things like overusing our hands in repetitive activities like playing video games or scrolling on our phone which can cause a lot of hand pain. Adding hand stretches, and strengthening exercises to your exercise routine can be very helpful for the long term. If you are weight training you can do things like add in plate pinches, farmers carries, or pull-ups to help increase the grip strength. A 40-year-old woman should ideally be able to dead hang for 90 seconds. A 40-year-old man for 2 minutes. Most of us are not even close to that at age 40. When we look at how strength and muscle degrade as we age, if we can’t dead hang for more than a few seconds when we are 40, in 20 or 30 years as our muscles naturally wither, opening a jar will be impossible. The good news is it is never too late to start. Even if you are struggling to open a jar now, adding age-appropriate strengthening exercises can help.

09/14/2023

Kids are back in school, allergies, colds and viruses are in the air. Have you pulled out your Neti pot or nasal spray bottle? Using a Neti rinse on a daily basis is a great preventative measure to keep colds and viruses at bay. It is also a wonderful practice to help keep allergies down. *Reminder. Use only use filtered or sterilized water for your Neti pot or spray bottle.

09/09/2023

Is there such a thing as being “too clean”?
Nowadays our lives are often far removed from dirt and nature, yet this can be “too clean” and can negatively impact & damage your microbiome.
As a society, we’re taught to…
📍Wash our hands regularly (with antibacterial soap)
📍Use hand sanitizer often in between washing our hands
📍Shower at least 1, if not 2 times/day
📍Sanitize our house from top to bottom with bleach & other conventional cleaners
Yet, we must ask ourselves, what is this doing to our microbiome?
Our microbiome thrives off of diversity and by constantly purging ourselves from even a spec of dirt, you’re not allowing it to be exposed to new (& different) “good” bacteria.
In fact, some studies suggest that owning a pet can even increase your microbiome diversity...and we all know that Fido isn't the cleanest thing.
Ways to incorporate nature to support your microbiome:
🐕 Get a pet!
🌷 Gardening
🌲 Get outside!
⛰ Hikes
🏃‍♀️ Runs through parks
Which one of these tips do you think you could incorporate into your life?

09/08/2023

Is your microbiome RICH and DIVERSE?
When looking at WHO lives in your microbiome we use both the terms richness and diversity to describe them.
Richness = the number of total bacterial species
Diversity = the number of each type of bacterial species
The way I like to think about it is:👇
Think of a large group of people in a room. If we were to organize them by occupation, RICHNESS would indicate the total number of different occupations present. (Teachers, nurses, mechanics, etc)
DIVERSITY would be how many people of each occupation there were. (32 teachers, 96 nurses, 48 mechanics, etc)
Just as in a community, when both the richness and diversity is high, it is much stronger and more resilient. If there's a lot of people with different specialties, there's the perfect person for each job.
Different species of bacteria play different roles within the gut.
Some help:
✅ Control inflammation
✅ Reinforce your gut lining (protecting you against infection & pathogens)
✅ Support your immune system
✅ Digest certain nutrients
If you don't have enough richness or diversity, it can leave your body more susceptible to disease!
Save this post so that you can easily refer back to it!

09/07/2023

❓Slow digestion❓
❓Excessive gas❓
❓Lower belly pains❓
❓Constipation❓
❓Bloating❓
❓Diarrhea❓
These all could be the signs of Dysbiosis. But, what is dysbiosis?
Your gut encompasses bacteria, fungi, viruses, and even parasites, creating a perfect thriving environment for your body. But when the harmony of these microbes, mentioned above, gets hampered inside your gut, it creates a situation that we call “Dysbiosis”.
There are three ways that Dysbiosis impacts your gut:
🖤 Overgrowth imbalance
An overabundance of inflammatory bacteria or an increase in the levels of yeast in our body are two examples of overgrowth that cause dysbiosis.
🖤 Microbiome is in the wrong “home”
Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth, SIBO, is what happens when the gastrointestinal microbiome is present in large quantities inside the small intestine (where little to no bacteria should reside!). (Check out my YouTube channel for more info on SIBO or my ebook https://amzn.to/3QtzqjP for more SIBO info)
🖤 Undergrowth imbalance
Not enough of the “good-guys” are there to keep the body balanced.
Three ways to tackle Dysbiosis to improve your gut flora-
❤️ Use gentler, broad-spectrum antimicrobial herbs when you can instead of antibiotics. (ask your alternative health care provider about this!)
❤️ Probiotics & prebiotics are your new best friends
❤️ Make sure to eat fiber-rich foods (such as an abundance of veggies!)
What’s your favorite veggie to feed your microbiome?

08/31/2023

Cell damage happens. There's nothing we can do about it. Sure, we can protect our cells the best we can by eating well, managing our stress, and sleeping enough each night, but cell damage will still happen.
There are a few ways our cells can repair themselves, but it all comes down to making sure they have the right nutrients and compounds available in our bodies to make that happen. Here are a few compounds our bodies can use to repair cell damage:
● Folate: Folate is a B-Vitamin that promotes healthy cell replication. Higher intakes of dietary folate are associated with decreased risk of many cancers (GI, colon, pancreas). Folate-rich foods include legumes, spinach, asparagus, beets, avocado, oranges and okra.
● Indole is a compound derived from the breakdown of glucosinolates - organo-sulfur containing compounds found in cruciferous vegetables (cabbage, broccoli and arugula). Not only is this what gives these vegetables their smell, it also promotes natural cell death, an important part of managing cell damage.
● Allium is another sulfur-containing compound that has been shown in laboratory studies to promote natural cell death. Allium vegetables include onions, scallions, garlic, shallots, and leeks.
● Filtered water is also important when considering supporting the body, and energy levels.
If you are in doubt, a good rule of thumb is to think about eating the rainbow and focusing on whole real foods, and clean water. The more colorful and varied you can make your fruits and veggies, the more antioxidant support they can provide.

08/24/2023

Did you know...
Detoxification, a process your body does naturally, is important for immunity and immune function? Thankfully, we can support this process by eating fiber rich foods. Fiber boosts natural toxin clearance - after the liver clears the toxins, fiber captures them and clears them from the body.
What fiber rich foods are you adding to your diet today?

08/18/2023

Many of you have asked about how to find safe cleaning products and body products. The Environmental Working Group has an app called the EWG Healthy Living App that grades your products, and breaks-down the ingredients to let you know if they would stress asthma and allergies, the environmental impact of the products and their toxicity. It shows you by ingredient how they are rating things so it is also a learning tool for what to be on the look-out for. I will post the link in the comments if you would like to try the app.