Julia Scalise DN PHD

09/27/2023

Magnesium, The Anti Stress Mineral
by Julia Scalise DN PhD
Magnesium
We are living in stressful and stress-filled times. Coping with natural disasters, global unrest, bullying whether it be in-person or through social media, and just the beginning of a new school year or new job, stress is a given. Add in other life altering events such as loss of loved ones, divorce, moving or relocation, and it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and anxious. If there was ever a time to consider your need for magnesium, it is now.

Magnesium is a mineral that helps in the absorption of calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, and vitamins B complex, C and E. But it is also known as the “anti-stress” mineral.

Magnesium is essential for the formation of strong bones, lung and heart health, and all body tissues. It calms the nerves, promotes sleep, helps with digestion, and nourishes the white nerve fibers of the brain and spinal cord. In addition, it is an activator of enzymes needed to utilize proteins and other vitamins.

Magnesium is available in supplement form. It is important to note that magnesium must be in a balanced ratio with calcium. The usual ratio is 2:1 Calcium to Magnesium, unless you are specifically advised by your health providers to vary that ratio, or are on medications or have health issues that are contraindicated for magnesium supplementation.

In addition to a plain magnesium supplement, this mineral is also found in herbs in varying amounts. Herbs that contain the mineral magnesium are: Kelp, Valerian, Scullcap, Red Raspberry, Gotu Kola, Red Clover, Papaya, Oatstraw, Marshmallow, Licorice, Horsetail, Fennel, Eyebright, Spirulina and Chickweed to name a few. Foods that are magnesium rich are unpolished rice, yellow corn meal, whole grains, almonds, avocados, berries, greens, barley, and grapefruits.

Magnesium depletors are alcohol, synthetic Vitamin D, diuretics, coffee, to***co, and refined sugars.

Therapeutic uses of magnesium are:

Osteoporosis: Adequate levels of magnesium, calcium, Vitamin D3, and Vitamin K are needed to keep bones strong throughout life.

Anxiety: Magnesium has a calming effect on the nervous system. Low levels can be an underlying component of anxiety and panic attacks and mood disorders.

Menstrual cramps: Because of magnesium’s ability to relax muscles and alleviate muscle cramping and spasms, it is important for women to maintain adequate levels of magnesium if experiencing menstrual cramps regularly.

Migraine headaches and neuritis: Magnesium has been known to help those with chronic migraines and chronic nerve inflammations. The amount of supplementation needed should be discussed with your healthcare team.

Digestion and bowel activity: Magnesium has a long standing benefit for bowel motility and to aid in the absorption and digestion of nutrients. Low magnesium and levels of B5 can be a major contributing cause to chronic constipation.

All in all, magnesium is an important mineral, needed in proper amounts and in balanced ratios with other minerals, for optimal function of the body. As you can see, there are numerous functions and physiological processes that require adequate magnesium. If you have some of the mentioned issues, eat a diet or take medications that are magnesium depletors, or are suspicious of magnesium deficiency, work with your healthcare team and begin supplementation and diet revision to achieve your health and wellness goals.

09/21/2023

The Healing Benefits of Pampering
by Julia Scalise, DN, PhD

For many, summer vacations are over. Yet so many people complain they need a vacation to recover from their vacation. All the stress of preparing, packing, and doing as much possible while away takes its toll. In addition, playing catch up with household chores or returning to a nightmare work load at your job makes the benefits of a vacation sometimes seem questionable.

Next vacation may seem like a lifetime away in the distant future. And now, you may already be feeling tired, overwhelmed, and drained and wondering how you will make it to your next break period.

The holiday season is on the horizon and we all know all the added work and stress that brings.

So, to find ways to make it to your next vacation or to hold up through the holidays, consider scheduling some ways to pamper yourself to recharge the batteries.

Although the definition of pampering is to treat with excessive indulgences or experience those things that bring excessive pleasure, I suggest finding smaller, less excessive indulgences that are manageable and affordable for your lifestyle, which can be incorporated on a regular basis.

It will vary from person to person. For a busy Mom of young children, maybe an uninterrupted bubble bath or long shower here and there is all she needs to decompress and feel rejuvenated. Or to a hard working Dad, maybe an opportunity to watch or go to a sports event without feeling guilt works to get some feel good molecules circulating in the body. Or to a busy entrepreneur, shutting down devices for a few hours or a day, and spending time outdoors in sunshine and nature works.

I am as guilty as the next person. My personality is such that I am usually the ear that listens or the shoulder to cry on for those nearest and dearest to me. As a solo practitioner, with a busy practice across multiple time zones, it feels like I am “on call” 24/7 versus being “off the radar” for any extended periods of time. I have no complaints, for I love the role I play and the work I do. Yet, like everyone else, I also need to take my own advice and find ways to just take care of me.

So I do just that. What I do, how often, and when, are not as important as the fact that I do it. What rejuvenates me may not work for someone else. But what matters is that we all find the time and ways that work for us to get a little pampering incorporated into our routine lifestyle.

The benefits of pampering, whether extravagant or on a smaller scale, are better mood, less anxiety and stress hormones, a stronger immune system, more energy, and the release of all those feel-good chemicals in our brain.

In the end, taking good care of YOU makes it easier for you to take good care of others.

Wishing you health, some moments of pampered bliss, and living your best life.

09/14/2023

09/08/2023

Stock up for the upcoming cold and flu season. Make a batch or two and keep in the freezer.

I already had one request for the recipe.

Stay safe , healthy, and take good care of you.

https://www.juliascalise.com/Flu-Season?fbclid=IwAR1MwcFuqv4Gw88Pb6J713CFGz_tyXdSlB0Y_leE3gz9kGdST-w0kFkBGTY

Garlic against Flu and Cold by Dr Julia Scalise, Doctor of Naturology, Holistic Health Consultant and Energy-Work Practitioner

09/08/2023

Have you Evolved Today?
by Julia Scalise

Too many years of the rhythm of the school year and it is ingrained in me to see September as sort of an interim start of a new year, at least as far as most educational calendars go. Each September, I tend to think of new beginnings. Although I engage in continuing education year round, the “learning itch” increases just a tad more this time of year, and I tend to think of ways to make improvements in my life.

Whether you are considering formal education or just personal improvement, this is a good time to ask yourself, am I evolving?

The formal definition of “evolve” is “to develop gradually”. For those that feel overwhelmed with just their routine in day to day living, evolving is a good way to approach improvement, no matter what area you wish to improve. For it is in the gradual implementation or at a manageable pace that can make any change less daunting and draining. Even in formal school classes, you don’t learn a semester’s worth of knowledge in one day.
Whatever may be out of balance in your life, and whatever you may feel you need to work on for improvement, thinking about evolving versus dramatic change may work better for you.

When I work with my clients, I know they want to address issues and have a quick fix. Our current culture is one of instant fix, instant gratification, or instant improvement. But sometimes that isn’t possible. I stress the points that as they work on each layer of their well-being, improvements come. I also know that if too much is addressed, it is easy to become overwhelmed and momentum surrendered.

Evolving is sort of the marathon versus the sprint of a quick fix. So if you are trying to improve any aspect of your life, approach it as a longer haul and pace yourself. Make smaller, incremental changes and assess your response. Envision reasonable goals based on what you know and feel you can do to avoid discouragement in your process.

Whether you wish to improve on a physical, emotional, mental or spiritual level, determine your eventual end result and then map out a reasonable plan to accomplish that result. Take responsibility for all your actions. Find accountability partners if your goal warrants it. Then start those gradual, incremental changes that make the process easier for you. Your success will be more easily accomplished when you don’t initially set yourself up for failure. It also works better when you focus and concentrate on only one area, or one specific improvement at a time.

Only YOU know what or how you want to improve, and only YOU can find or make the choices for that improvement. YOU are the only one who knows what will work and what may not. But if you think about it as “evolving” versus “abrupt changing”, it may make for easier progression, and increase your chances for success.

Wishing you health, evolving at your own pace, and living your best life.



About Julia Scalise
Julia Scalise, DN, PhD is a Holistic Health Practitioner and author of the #1 Bestseller “Do One Thing Feel Better/ Live Better”. She is an expert in compassionately helping hundreds of clients eliminate underlying causes of health issues, discover ways to improve emotional well being, attain a more positive outlook on life and find their bliss. In practice over 16 years, she is a board-certified member of the American Association of Drugless Practitioners, American Association of Nutritional Consultants, American Holistic Health Association and a Physiological Regulating Medicine Practitioner. Learn more about Julia,

Dr Julia Scalise, Doctor of Naturology, Certified Holistic Health Practitioner, Energy-Work and Drugless Healing Consultant

09/05/2023

https://brainspeak.com/6-time-tested-steps-long-term-well/

Magic pills are not available for our well-being goals. But - there are ways to bring you to your goals faster and help you continue improving...

08/21/2023

There is a lot going on in this world that you cannot control. I suggest you work on controlling what you can

08/19/2023

Back to School Lunch, Think Outside the Box
by Julia Scalise DN PHD

Back to school lunch

It’s hard to believe that the summer is waning and in a few weeks, school bells will be ringing to return to classes once more. There is a lot to do for the beginning of the school year such as buying clothes for growing children and also needed and required school supplies. The rush may be upon you, but another stressor that happens is thinking about school lunches if they aren’t freely provided. Add into that some allergies or restrictions for your children, and packing lunch becomes a challenge for many households.

In my practice, I work with clients that wish to change lifestyle and habits and one area is to eat healthier based on their unique requirements. But like with school cafeterias, it gets difficult to always have workable or healthy options from local eateries. Morning schedules are hectic enough and putting one more thing on the “to do” list, either for oneself or family for lunch just adds to the chaos.

Gluten free and dairy free options, along with other allergen free or sensitivity free options added to fussy appetites can make what may be easy and simple for some, a nightmare for others.

Consider some of these alternatives for your children’s lunch options as well as for yourself.

Instead of scrambling in the morning to figure out what to pack, start the night before. Invest in a crock pot or slow cooker (if you don’t have one) and prepare a hearty soup, chili, stew, or pasta dish. When you awake in the morning, all you have to do is pack it in insulated lunch bags. There are many options that keep food warm for 6 hours such as a thermos, or “Warmables Cherry Pit Kid’s Lunch Kits” available on amazon.com. They use BPA free containers which come in 16 oz. for children and 26 oz. for adults or older children. Or if you wish to send something that must remain chilled there are lunch bags with that option also such as “PackIt Freezable lunch bags” which can keep food chilled for up to 10 hours.

Gluten free “sandwiches” for those needing to avoid gluten poses a problem for some households. If children are finicky, an option is to make some gluten free waffles as a substitute for bread, from recipes that work both in ingredients along with taste for them. An added treat may be to purchase a waffle iron that makes animal shaped waffles to entice the children as they adjust to different tastes and textures. You may need to experiment with your own recipes or begin buying gluten free (and other allergen free) waffle mixes that work for you. Make a batch in advance, freeze them, then use as needed.

Breadless sandwiches also work for some so instead of using grain based “sandwiches”, try using cucumbers, tomato slices, lettuce wraps, zucchini or other vegetables for appetizing looking and tasting options. Here are some other ideas. And if you do it for the whole family, it may make the morning lunch shuffle easier, healthier, and less stressful for you.

Experimenting with these products and food alternatives a few weeks before school starts helps as you learn what works and doesn’t so that once the bell rings for those “school days, golden rules days”, you can breathe a little easier and make getting out of the house in the mornings less complicated.

Wishing you health, buon appetito, and living your best life.