 Oh my I so love this time of year. The gatherings, the fun activities, the special dishes that are only created this time of year. But man the way I feel after enjoying or over enjoying the holidays is not the best. I usually feel tired, bloated, cranky, sometimes my skin starts breaking out or I develop a rash. When this happens I reach for my trusty plan of eating whole foods. I give up the easy, the simple carbs - think cake, bread, pancakes etc. After a month of eating this way my body thanks me with more energy, clearer skin, a happier me and a whole host of other positive experiences. Are you making a plan post holiday to support your body to be the best it can be? Have you thought about making such changes but they feel overwhelming. Join me and others on this journey. We will kick off with a prep week meeting on January 4th followed by weekly meetings where you can ask questions or present your concerns about the program. I will also offer a dedicated Facebook Group and yes, I will give you a suggested meal plan with links to the recipes.
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 As we are rolling into fall and spending more time inside. It is important to support your immune system by eating a colorful plate without add sugars. Those sugars are inflammatory to the immune system and with fall allergies, colds, viruses and COVID going around there is no need to inflame the body more than necessary. Help support your body by eating the colorful fall fruits and vegetables like:
Using the fresh garlic, ginger and horseradish you can make a fire cider to help support your gut which in turns will help support your immune system. Try out the recipe below. I love a good shot of fire cider in the morning or sometimes in the late afternoon. You can also enjoy it in a variety of recipes, even mocktails.  Fire CiderIngredients:
You can use the Fire Cider to make a vinaigrette, Add a tablespoon to your smoothie Add a couple of tablespoons to soups or curries a dash to your herbal tea or in a mocktail  Holiday Fire Cider Mocktail
Place ice cubes in 400 ml cocktail glass. Arrange orange peel strip along inside of glass. Add fire cider, orange juice, salt and cinnamon. Top with sparkling water. Sir and enjoy.  Tomorrow, October 9th, is the annual PANDAS/PANS awareness day. I really think we need more than a day of awareness, a month would be really nice. So many children are shuttled into programs or medications that do not get at the root cause of why they are having symptoms of anxiety, OCD, irritability, restrictive eating, anger and more. Young children, 1st grade get arrested for behavior they don't have control over. Their little brains are on fire and they can not think. When my daughter was young, she would have 45+ minute temper tantrums. No amount of redirection helped. Not even bargaining helped. She would just rage and rage on until she exhausted herself. She had social anxiety so much that when she was evaluated for a special needs program for preschoolers, she hide herself under my chair. Visibly afraid of the evaluator who was being so gentle, offering various toys to encourage her to come out. We tried play therapy only helped minimally. Occupational therapy helped with the sound sensitivities however there was so much more going on.  Eventually we found a helpful chiropractor who started her on the path towards healing. She helped us uncover our daughters food allergies that was making it hard for her to think. Hello gluten! Did you know gluten allergy can cause a multitude of symptoms beside GI troubles. Gluten allergy can cause acne, headaches, migraines, joint pain, numbness, hyperactivity, weight-loss, bloating, gas, itchy skin, rashes, anemia, depression just to name a few. However it wasn't just gluten that was her problem. I eventually deduced she had PANDAS, but I needed to find a practitioner to treat her. Thankfully our chiropractor found a functional neurologist who helped us get to the root cause of what was going on inside her. My daughters body was still battling the streptococcus infection she had at age 2, the mycoplasma pneumonia infection she picked up someplace and a raging case of candida from the all the antibiotics I had in my last trimester, during labor and the dose they gave her a 6 weeks due to some mystery illness they felt was best to treat with an antibiotic versus finding out why she had a high fever. The end result was her body was on fire from the gluten allergy, which for her is actually celiac, and fighting all those infections. Once we treated the infections, removed stressors like us fostering children. She began to thrive. Need help getting to root cause of what is going on for yourself or your child? I can help. I've been trained as a Function Nutrition Coach, to help you discover what is going on inside. If you have been treating your symptoms with medications for months or years and it hasn't improved. Consider functional nutrition coaching. Schedule a FREE 15 minute strategy session.
 □by Bluebird Provisions As fall dips into winter and we are finding ourselves indoors more, we may become exposed to the common cold or maybe the flu. To help support our immune system during the cooler months make an immune boosting broth at home to sip. Bone broth is an ancient nutrient dense food that has been used for centuries. It contains minerals in forms that you body can easily absorb.
Research from the University of Nebraska Medical Center study that found chicken soup not the kind that comes in a red and white can. But the old fashion kind you can make at home or find on grocery stores shelves. (brands such at Kettle & Fire, Epic, Trader Joe's and Nona Lim just to name a few) This kind of chicken soup produces amino acids that reduce inflammation in the respiratory system and improved digestion. The research also discovered it can boost the immune system and heal disorders like allergies, asthma and arthritis. Make this souper food, (whoops) super food at home with the following recipe and add in a few medicinal herbs and foods, such as astragalus root and mushrooms. Both of these items can be found locally here in Greensboro at Deep Roots Market or from Haw River Mushrooms, which can be found at the Greensboro Curb Farmers Market.  □by Pascal Debrunner  On September 13th I will host a Food Saved Me book launch party in my backyard. This a virtual event with Danielle Walker with and special guest Guy Raz, creator and host of the How I Built This podcast.
The event starts 8 pm, so we will start gathering around 7:30. Danielle and Guy will sit down and have a chat, then they will head to the kitchen to make a new recipe and cocktail to celebrate this milestone. We may possibly have a chance to come on video live to ask her a question or tell your own Food Saved Me story. To top of the event Danielle will be celebrating with GIVEAWAYS and so will I. Note this is local to Greensboro, NC  Many times our healthcare model only looks at your malady, the symptoms not you as a person. Functional Medicine and Functional Nutrition Coaching takes into account you as a person. It is personalized medicine plus coaching. Any diagnosis you may have from irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, brain fog, and even cancer that you might be suffering from is unique. How it began in your body is unique to you. I have discovered personally that unique issues need unique solutions, take for example my daughter who was diagnosed with PANDAS/PANS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections/Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome) needed to change her diet, address the candida overgrowth in her gut and body. Traditional medicine wanted her to do therapy and medications. The therapy helped some but once we addressed her underlying causes through diet change and botanicals she started to become a neuro-typical child. This was all supported by scientific research. How do we uncover the root causes of your issues so that we can create an individualized remedies and action plans that work to bring you towards resolution?  It's YOUR StoryYour story is unique to you, so we will be able to find answers in your story. Because your symptoms didn't appear out of no where, though at times it feels like that. This is a story of how the environment in your body became the perfect storm for your health concern. Just like my daughter. Your story isn't in your genes alone, or the lab test or even the detailed health history inventory. However when you share your story with me, the beginning of your symptoms, how you felt, what you were going through, who presently is supporting your healing journey, then slowly all the pieces of your puzzle come together. We will find where your body and life got out of alignment. Then the root cause of your symptoms will start to disclose themselves.  MediatorsMediators are things that make your symptoms better or worse. I will help your look for the mediators in your story, even you can begin to discover them for yourself. It could be a certain food, the quality of your sleep, stress in your relationships or your job, even the level of physical activity, or a multitude of other factors. Can you find your mediators in your story? Look back at events in your life and how you felt. You too, can make the connections. Possibly your child's anxiety started after they had a cold or the flu. Or perhaps your arthritis flare-up occurred after you had an upsetting conversation with a loved one. Or maybe that vegan recipe your foodie friend recommended you eat, makes your ears turn red. It's all in your story, that is unique to you. As a Functional Nutrition Coach I am trained to help guide you in the telling of your story so we can uncover crucial information about your symptoms and find a solution that is unique to you as your story is. Sometimes you will know the parts of your story on your own. So that you can make the associations. Other times you may need a helping hand to make those connections and identify the interventions that will work for you. Learn more how I can help you find those mediators in a short get to know you 20 minute session. This content is for informational purposes only. It is in no way intended as medical advice, as a substitute for medical counseling, or as treatment or cure for any particular health condition. Be sure to always work directly with a qualified health practitioner before making any changes to your diet or lifestyle that may feel out of your realm of comfort or understanding. Finally, please understand that you assume all responsibility for the use, misuse or non-use of the information stated here.
Here are 8 Signs YOUR body is addicted to sugar.
Have you ever thought about doing a sugar detox? Is just the thought of doing it alone overwhelming? Want the support of a group? Join the wait list below and I'll let you know when the next session opens.  Almost Instant Grain-Free Porridge Too many sweet treats & breadsThis past year has been challenging for many. We each have chosen to use different coping mechanisms. I love to create, be it in the kitchen or in the studio it's my happy place. I have done more baking in the past year then I've done in a long time. Yes, I do mostly low sugar baking but even eating too many low sugar baked goods still adds up in total amount of carbs and sugars I was consuming not to mention a few glasses of wine or cider.
Unfortunately this coping mechanism caused the nasty dragon I call candida to raise it's head in my body. I've battle candida most of my life. I was given way too much antibiotics in my youth - hello modern medicine. This time candida presented itself as a rash on my body.  Have you ever visited a doctor only for them to say take this pill our use the cream and let me know if it helps. Have you wished you had more information about why you were experiencing your health challenge. I'm here to tell you - you do know more than you think about your own body. In fact your body is giving you clues all the time on what is going on inside.  For a limited time I have limited spots for a Root Cause Journey. Where I will help you figured out what is going on inside. What is a required for this journey?
 Looking at health through a functional lens means you are looking for the root cause of the symptoms. It comes down to would you rather take a pharmaceutical drug (OTC or prescription) to treat a symptom or symptoms that are caused by the medication, OR look for the root cause of the symptoms? Maybe it is something you are eating? Let's just say for ease that gluten is causing brain fog or achey joints. You could take an ADHD type medication for the fog in hopes that you will get better focus or you could give up gluten. If we're talking about achey joints you could take an anti-inflammatory and risk damaging your liver over time or give up gluten.
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AuthorMary is a life long advocate for helping others take control of their own health. She enjoys running, yoga, crew, SUP boarding, and hiking. She enjoys reading, and creating. 
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