NaturalCounselor Health and Wellness Blog For Women

Celebrate Earth Day by taking care of yourself, one healthy step at a time:

1. Super Simple Detox Naturally

To detox naturally we need to deal with poisons, heavy metals, pesticides, fungicides, cleaning solvents, smog, and many other harmful toxic substances that are leeching into our bodies via our clothing, our furniture, our food utensils, and even our carpets. Stay healthy with holistic detox by using seasonal organic fruits and vegetables. Don’t forget to avoid chemicals and pesticides, not only in foods but also in skin care products, make up, cleaning products, etc.

Super Simple Detox 101

Three Simple Detox Recipes

Video Tip: Detox Recipe: Super Simple and Healthy Turmeric Dressing

Detox Recipe: Kale with Cranberries and Sesame Seeds

2. Super Simple DeStress

Stress and nutrition are related and are a source of stress illness. If you want to be healthier, address your sleep needs, and feel better, use stress remedies and reducers to take care of your stress overload .

Super Simple Destress 101

Healthy Video Tip: How to Fall Asleep Faster and Sleep Longer

What Sex, Garlic and Swearing Have in Common

3. Cook at home

The food we put into our mouth goes into our stomach where it gets digested and eventually assimilated into the bloodstream. Our blood is what creates our cells, our tissues, our organs, our skin, our hair, our brains and our thoughts and feelings. Learn to cook high quality food for yourselves and those you love.

Healthier Holistic Recipe Substitutes

Asparagus, Beets and Chicken Salad Recipes

4. Eat the right foods

Drink One Extra Glass of Water to be Healthier

Healthy Breakfast to Feel and Look Fabulous

Healthy Pancakes

4 Reasons to Eat  Apples

11 Reasons to Eat Beets

8 Reasons to Eat Squash

Easy Detox with Cleansing Herbs

eat food that has healthy fat; you can find omega-3 fatty acids in olive oil, salmon (choose  your source of fish carefully because they can be highly contaminated with toxic chemicals like mercury and PCBs), walnuts, flax seeds;

Salmon and Avocado Recipes

4. Watch what you eat

Avoid unhealthy processed foods which are super harmful to your health.

Super Foods to Avoid in Order to Stay Healthy

Listen to Your Body and Be Crave Smart

5. Read labels

We read all labels carefully looking for ingredients we cannot pronounce or don’t know the meaning of. Avoid preservatives, chemicals, artificial colors to stay healthy.  Be even more careful with labels on meat and diary products because many of the terms used do not mean exactly what you think.

How to Read Labels to Find Hidden Sugar

6. Go USDA organic

Many of the the worst toxins we eat are put into our foods as additives and preservatives? Eat organic fruits and vegetables, organic meat, organic milk …  because they are free of synthetic growth hormones, genetically engineered organisms, antibiotics, chemical fertilizers or chemical pesticides.

Why Strawberries, Peaches and Cherries Can Be Dangerous to Your Health

Is Your Mouthwash Cancer Proof

7. Eat local and in season

If you eat and guy local and in season, your purchased food will have been stored for less time before you purchase it. Your organic fruits and vegetable will fresher and more nutritious. Did I mention, that it will be cheaper?

Go local and find Farmer’s Markets near you at www.LocalHarvest.org

And don’t forget to always breathe, smile and try to be happy.

© Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health Counselor and Nutrition Coach

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Will you have colorful egg art on your table this Easter? This Easter learn how to use you Easter Eggs for ther vitamin D benefits.

If you want to have a healthier Easter celebration, it might help to know the egg health benefits  free range,  grass fed and pastured poultry can provide.  The latter two are the best for your health because chickens are allowed to eat as much green plant food as they want.   

However, even eggs from free range chickens are a better source of vitamin D foods than supermarkets eggs that are not labeled as such. In other words, don’t forget to look at the label on your egg carton.

More vitamin A, more omega-3 fatty acids, and now it turns out that free-range eggs provide more D vitamin benefits than supermarket eggs — three to six times as much!

Nutrient tests of pastured eggs show that eggs from hens raised on pasture — as compared to the official USDA data for factory-farm eggs — contain:

• 1/3 less eggs cholesterol
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• Two times more omega-3 fatty acids
• Three times more vitamin E
• Seven times more beta carotene

We all know that we get Vitamin D when sunlight strikes our skin, but if you are looking for vitamin D benefits from your diet, you should use the healthiest vitamin D food sources that you can find. Free range, grass fed, and even pastured poultry eggs can be such a source.

According to Mother Earth News: The USDA says supermarket eggs contain an average of 34 International Units per 100 grams. Our tests of eggs from four pastured farms in Texas, Kansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania found that their eggs contained three to six times as much vitamin D as typical supermarket eggs. This means two scrambled eggs from pastured hens may give you 63 to 126 percent of the recommended daily intake of 200 IU of vitamin D.

And con’t forget that new studies have shown that this vitamin D deficiency may be related to much more than just weak bones — for example – diabetes, cancer, heart disease and multiple sclerosis.

Let us be egg health smart to feel and look fabulous, shall we?

Breathe, smile and be happy.

Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health Counselor and Nutrition Coach

I would like to share with you a healthy heart Greek Tomato – Cucumber easy detox salad recipe that  my friend Christine-Eliane Smith, FemiKnowlogist and Women’s Healthy Lifestyle Specialist, posted on our Feel and Look Fabulous facebook page.

Take only 10 minutes and be healthy with these ingredients.

Flax seed oil is rich in Omega -3 essential fatty acids, whcih  we need for a healthy heart; it is also rich in fiber to get rid of constipation, lower blood pressure and detox the body.

Cucumber has diuretic properties to help prevent water retention; it also has a digestive enzyme that can break down protein and cleanse intestines.

Tomato is rich in lycopene to protect our heart and prevent cancer; lycopene rich foods also help reduce sun damage during Summer hot weather.

Olive is rich in vitamin E to reduce inflammation for a healthier heart; vitamin E also helps reduce foods cravings and anxiety.

Garlic is a detox vegetable to get rid of toxic microorganisms.

10 Minute Spring Weight Loss Detox Recipe with a Greek Tomato and Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

• 2 cucumbers, sliced
• 2 tomatos, sliced
• kalamata olives
• 2 tbsp green onion, chopped
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp flax seed oil
• Himalayan sea salt to taste

Directions:
Combine cucumbers, tomatoes, kalamata olives,in a bowl, add minced garlic and green onion, top with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, a drizzle of flax seed oil and a sprinkle on some Himalayan sea salt.

Bon Appetit!

Click to listen to our discussion with Maria Liberati, celebrity Chef, award winning author and former international model about Easy Healthy Meal Ideas and Recipes with Spring Foods for Fresh and Mediterranean-Style Cooking.

Breathe, smile and be happy.

© Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health Coach and Counselor

Do you like winter? How do you feel during winter months? How about winter blues or seasonal depression? To feel fabulous you may need more serotonin in your system, a chemical that can help us get into a better mood.

You can boost your serotonin level with laughter, indulging in dark chocolate, eating more tryptophan rich foods, using aromatherapy and essential oils such as sage, lemon and grapefruit, lavender rosemary, and last but not least, sex.

Seasonal Blues, Better Sleep and Other Good Reasons to Eat Walnuts

Or you can simply eat more walnuts, one of the richest sources of serotonin and omega-3 essential fatty acids, which are both necessary to fight seasonal depression and insomnia. And speaking about omega-3 essential acids, they can also whelp you achieve a healthy heart, better memory and beautiful skin.

Fresh walnuts, like all healthy nuts, help us to suppress appetite which can help lose weight.

Walnuts are also rich in fiber, so they will help us get rid of constipation, lower blood pressure and cholesterol level, prevent colon cancer and diabetes, get rid of headaches and migraines, reduce risk of heart attack and stroke, get our hormones back in balance, and reduce PMS.

* Click to listen to our discussion on How to Deal with Seasonal Depression with Medical Intuitive Iuliana Lixandru

* Click to listen to our discussion on Beating Seasonal Depression by Practicing Gratitude with Sue Urda, the Connections Expert

© Irina Wardas, HHC

Women’s Holistic Health, Nutrition Coach and Counselor

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