All posts by Lauren Bolanos

Health & Wellness

Chlorella and Pain Relief

Chlorella for Pain Relief | Healing and Eating

When you’re in chronic pain, any supplement that aids in regeneration and recovery is helpful. Chlorella contains a property called “Chlorella Growth Factor” (CGF), which helps rebuild and heal tissues, especially nerve tissue damage and is excellent for treating brain and nerve disorders (Wolf 234). Chlorella also has the ability to detox heavy metals, pesticides, and radiation poisoning from your body. Heavy metals can be a cause of many debilitating diseases such as neuropathy, carpal tunnel, arthritis, and diseases of the brain such as Alzheimer’s and migraines (Rogers 158).

Chlorella also aids in digestion and liver support, making it an ideal supplement for helping your body utilize nutrients and eliminate waste. Another great benefit, is that it aids the growth of good bacteria in your digestive system and if your chlorella source is unpasteurized it will also contain enzymes, which help digest your food (Wolf 235). Your liver with thank you for any help you give it in eliminating chemical additives and pesticides. It has a heavy workload with all chemicals in our environment we are exposed to on a daily basis.

The enviornmental toxins not only affect our body, but also our mind. Heavy metals can also be responsible for mood disorders such as ADHD and depression (Rogers 158). Instead of reaching for a prescription, try the natural way first. Start your dosage small, and add more if your body tolerates it. People react differently to detoxification, so more is not necessarily better, especially in the beginning.

Sources: (1) Superfoods by David Wolfe, (2) Pain-free in Six Weeks by Sherry A. Rogers, MD, (3) Is Chlorella a Powerful Natural Detoxification Tool? by Dr. Mercola

Photo Credit: tastyhealthproducts.com

Natural Living

3 Ingredient Bronzing Moisturizer

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The vast majority of cosmetics available today have many carcinogenic and toxic additives in their ingredients list. They have been linked to a variety of maladies ranging from eczema and hives on the milder side to more serious issues like lung damage and cancerous breast tumors. Click here to learn more about ten toxic ingredients you should avoid in any cosmetic product.

I have never really been one to wear makeup since I have sensitive skin and never really learned how exactly to apply it. Recently, I had been looking for a natural product to balance out a few lighter shaded spots on my face.  Even many of the natural makeup lines contained additives that I was less than sure about, so I decided to make my own bronzing moisturizer. This moisturizer only contains 3 ingredients, all of which are great for your skin, and it smells amazing!

3 Ingredient Bronzing Moisturizer– Raw/Vegan/Organic
 
Turmeric Powder– Anti-inflammatory and antiseptic, known to even out skin tone and add glow to skin.
Cacao Powder– Smells amazing, and contains sulfer which is essencial for healthy hair, nails, and skin.
Coconut Oil– Moisturizing, protects skin from free radicals, anti-bacterial.
I am estimating the measurements that I used for my skin tone: 3 TBS. Cacao powder, 2/3 Tsp. Turmeric Powder, 2 Heaping TBS. Coconut oil. Chances are you know your own skin tone best so adjust to your liking. I recommend starting with just a little turmeric so you get a nice glow rather than an accidental yellow tone. If you have a lighter skin tone cinnamon powder (also anti-bacterial), and arrowroot starch can be used to cut the cacao powder and lighten the tone. To add a subtle red or pink undertone use a super fine mesh strainer to stain beet root powder or hibiscus powder, and add the fine strained powders to your mixture until you get the shade you desire.
Voila! your very own customized bronzing makeup!
Sources:
http://www.fitsugar.com/10-Toxic-Cosmetic-Ingredients-Avoid-204330
http://www.lovingfit.com/nutrition/raw-cacao-amazing-super-food/
http://www.bewellbuzz.com/general/benefits-of-turmeric-for-skin-and-more/
http://coconutoilforskin.com/
Health & Wellness

How To Add More Greens To Your Diet

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Throughout my life I have experimented with quite a variety of healing diets.  Weather I was eating  a high protein diet, raw vegan diet, macrobiotic diet, low sugar diet, or any other type of whole foods diet, one thing that I have directly noticed improving my overall health and well being is making sure I get an adequate amount of greens into my body every day.  Leafy green vegetables are loaded with many health benefits. They are an excellent vegan, and allergy free source of minerals such as iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium, and a wonderful way to get vitamins K, C, E, and quite a few B vitamins.
Although I love salads, eating the same salad every day can become boring, and often times hard to digest if your intestinal health is compromised.  There are so many amazing (and tasty!) green vegetables, herbs and salad greens available today, especially if you are fortunate enough to live here on the west side with all of the farmers markets, health food stores, and alternative restaurants.  Sometimes when we are really hungry or in a hurry it can be too easy to forget our nourishing greens and to get tempted to just go for something sweet, or whatever may be in front of us.  Luckily, there are many quick ways to get more greens into your daily meals and snacks, and once you get used to sneaking greens into your meals it can definitely become second nature. Below are some of my favorite ways to feed my body sufficient greens. I hops you enjoy!
Green Juices- are probably the quickest way to get in your recommended servings of vegetables. One of my favorite combinations are green apple, lemon, ginger, kale, parsley, and spinach. If you are avoiding fruit sugar then try parsley, spinach, cucumber, celery, and lemon.
Green Smoothies- great for when I’m pressed for time and want something green and nourishing on the go. Add a 3-4 de-stemmed large kale leaves or two or three large handfuls of spinach to any fruit smoothie and continue blending as usual. I love frozen blueberries, spinach, hemp seeds, unsweetened acai, banana, and almond milk together.  Spirulina, chlorella, or a good green powder are also healthy smoothie additions.
 
Scrambled eggs or omelette- quick, warm and savory, what more could I want? Add  cilantro or parsley to eggs while cooking and add in a couple hearty handfuls of spinach as well. Season with your favorite healing herbs and spices, like turmeric, or cayenne and garlic powder for extra warmth.
Kale chips – there are many amazing kale chip recipes online, can be made in a dehydrator or in an oven if you don’t have a dehydrator. Probably the most addicting ways to eat your greens.
Minty Desserts– if you are making a dessert with peppermint extract or any other recipe that might benefit from a green food coloring you can add a few drops of liquid or powdered chlorella without altering the taste of your recipe
Lettuce wraps– simply fill crispy fresh lettuce leaves with any nut pate, or a little avocado, tomato, cilantro and lemon. Roll and eat!
Garlicky chard and Kale (or any other greens)- Mince a couple cloves of garlic, chop 1/4 onion, and saute in coconut oil, after a couple minutes add greens of choice and saute until tender. add sea salt, cayenne or other seasonings to taste.
Nori Rolls- fill raw nori sheets with chopped avocado, baby greens, simple homemade dressing or dip of choice, and seal.
Health & Wellness

Back on Track

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I’ve really been enjoying this relatively new found attitude of self-forgiving and low stress healing.  It feels as though my overall  health has improved greatly within the past month or so because of my shift to a desire of and effort towards more self acceptance rather than a forceful control of all the little details.  Although I believe my new attitude has helped me tremendously, I’ve become rather lax about my routine — even experimenting with adding in local, but pasteurized goat dairy and gluten containing products like deliciously addicting sourdough  from the Wednesday farmers market in Santa Monica, and late night snacking on rich honey and date sweetened raw desserts made with high quality organic ingredients– but which none the less promote the growth of Candida and contribute to gut disbiosis.
While my symptomatic health has improved greatly, and I am more than convinced of the integral role our attitude plays in our well-being, I’m still feeling brain fog, breakouts, occasional indigestion, bloating, and other Crohn’s disease related symptoms — which are all signs of Candidiasis according to Donna Gates and other health professionals. I attribute these symptoms to my increased consumption of improperly combined ingredients, pasteurized and gluten rich foods, and over eating natural sugar.  Luckily I picked up some kefir grains from Lauren yesterday, so I can re-introduce live, home-made probiotic rich kefir into my daily diet.
Here is the healing protocol I’m planning on implementing to take my health to the next level:
-Drink at least 8 cups of water daily (including herbal teas and vegetable juices)
-Take a tablespoon of L-glutamine between meals to heal stomach lining and decrease intestinal permeability
-Continue taking Bio-k probiotic supplement at least every three days
-Drink raw kefir, coconut water kefir, or kombucha daily
-Eliminate pasteurized dairy and gluten containing foods
-Eat primarily vegetables, green juices and green smoothies, probiotic rich foods, sprout-fed eggs from the farmers market,soaked nuts and seeds, squash/red potato/beets/root vegetables,wild-caught salmon, lentils, and grains in their whole form.  Limit grains and starches to no more than 20 percent of a meal. Limit sugar sources to low sugar fruits like grapefruit, berries, pomegranate, and try not to combine fruit with other ingredients.
-Continue taking enzymes and acidifiers like Betain or HCL with substantial meals.
-Continue taking New Chapters multi vitamin and iron supplement.
-Don’t worry, be happy/appreciate — if something makes me feel sick, I think of it as an experiment and learning journey rather than attaching guilt to my actions.
-Move everyday! Walk, run, hike, dance, yoga, sweat!
Health & Wellness

Good Ol’ Lemon Juice

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lemon
Ever since I began making my own meals at home, I use up lemons like a mad woman. Nothing brings out  the savory flavors of a dish like quite like citrus and I could just about always go for a glass of stevia sweetened lemonade.  Last weekend I went to the Santa Monica farmers market and bought a massive five pound bag of lemons for the week.  I recently rediscovered a small citrus juicer that I had forgotten about, so I decided to put it to use.  I Juiced the entire bag, and bottled up the juice to store in the fridge for convenient usage throughout the week.  It was lovely not to have to pick out lemon seeds from sauce pans, and not to worry about paper cuts stinging while squeezing juice out of lemon halves. I’m definitely going to keep pre-juicing these suckers!
Health & Wellness

Mood and Gut Bacteria

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Many people are now aware of the numerous ways in which our intestinal bacterial balance affects our overall health.  Candidiasis/Gut disbiosis have been linked to a myriad of health concerns including autism, cancer, autoimmune diseases and many other serious ailments.  Even many conventional allopathic medical practitioners recommend taking a good probiotic supplement  when they prescribe antibacterial drugs to a patient. Eating habits, drug consumption, activity level, and stress all impact our inner ecology.  I find that I have a natural tendency to focus more on the importance of what I am eating rather than deeply appreciating and reminding myself of the good I do for myself when I relax, laugh, and let go of guilt for not having the “perfect” diet.  The past month or so I have been making an active effort to whole heartedly appreciate what experiences come my my way with less judgement.  While I know I still have quite a way to go, I’ve been enjoying the break from worrying if I am eating/exercising/sleeping/living adequately.  Although I can’t see all the probiotic buggies in my tummy, I definitely notice relief in my symptoms.