We’re sitting down with Bridgit Danner about progesterone and women’s cycles this week on the podcast! Some questions we’re answering today…
Want to grab a free phone call with Lahana and her team of dietitans and nutritionists? This phone call we will learn about you and what you’re looking for, along with how we work. Let’s see if we’re a good fit!
Bridgit Danner has been a licensed acupuncturist since 2004 and certified Functional Diagnostic practitioner since 2015. She gave over 12,000 treatments in her years working as an acupuncturist & led a staff of 10 at her practice.Her interest in natural health grew from an interest in protecting the environment. Even as a child, she was donating her allowance to Greenpeace and writing cosmetic companies to ask about their practices!While busy running an integrative wellness center in Portland, Oregon, she developed an environmental illness due to toxic mold in her home. Already experienced in hormone management and nutrition, she became acutely aware of the powerful impact of the environment on her health. She and her family lost their house and everything in it to toxic mold, and moved 1,000 miles to the Arizona desert to heal. Bridgit now educates about toxins and detoxification through her blog, online programs, product shop and Facebook group. She also works with private clients on customized functional medicine protocols for healing.
Connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, and her website!
Struggling with endometriosis? We’re covering what you can do with your foundation {nutrition, sleep, stress, environment} can impact endometriosis! We’re answering the questions…
BOOK YOUR FREE PHONE CALL TO GET YOUR PERSONAL NUTRITION PLAN!
Lahana Vigliano is a Certified Clinical Nutritionist and CEO of Thrival Nutrition. She has her Bachelor’s Degree in Nutrition Science and currently pursing her Masters Degree in Nutrition Science. Lahana and her team help support women who struggle with weight loss, hormonal imbalances, digestive issues, chronic fatigue, and many other lingering issues that leaves women not feeling their best. She uses food as medicine, as well as herbs and supplements when needed, to support her clients. She looks at the whole body holistically making sure women are understanding how nutrition, sleep, stress, and their environment impact their health.
She creates tons of free resources in her blog (www.thrivalnutrition.com) and the Thrival Nutrition Podcast that share real food recipes + content that helps women who are wanting to feed and take care of their families healthier + more holistically. She is also the creator of Thrival Nutrition Supplements, which she formulates bioavailable and organic supplements to better support women’s lifestyle.
Connect with her on Facebook (www.facebook.com/thrivalnutrition) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/thrivalnutrition).
Depression is rampant in our society. While there are many factors that can influence your mood and cause depression, Beth and I focus in on her journey as a young adult being diagnosed with major depression and how she used nutrition, supplements, and functional lab testing to find out answers and solve depression….FOR GOOD!
Book a FREE call with us to see how we can help YOU!
A registered and licensed dietitian, Beth earned a B.S. in dietetics and completed a dietetic internship at Iowa State University. After working in a variety of specialties within the hospital, she earned a Master’s Degree in Education from Depaul University. Beth is passionate about helping people feel their best through nutrition intervention.
She believes each person is unique and should approach health individually through lifestyle changes that foster whole health. This includes eating real food and herbs, exercising regularly, maintaining spiritual connectedness, and helping people discover they can cook healthy meals for the entire family in spite of constraints with time, budget or picky eaters.
Connect with us over on Thrival Nutrition at our blog, Instagram, and Facebook!
Have you heard all about the adrenals? Adrenal “fatigue” is the talk of the town in the functional medicine / holistic space, for GOOD reason. It’s important to take care of these little guys + we’re diving into the deets in our session today with Dr. Zgraggen….
Dr. Stephanie is the clinical director of Lime and Lotus Healing Arts Center in Charleston, South Carolina and is an author and leading expert in women’s health. Her private practice is centered on functional endocrinology, lifestyle modification and whole food supplementation. Her expertise includes functionally evaluating thyroid, adrenals, male and female hormone imbalances, and digestion. Her mission is to empower women on how they can transform their lives and incorporate nutrition, supplements, and positive lifestyle choices. She has written for national publications such as Chiropractic Economics , Natural Awakenings and Nutrition Perspectives and has shared the stage at events with Elizabeth Gilbert and Marianne Williamson.
Enjoy Dr. Stephanie’s Free Gift:
Detox Your Morning Routine – Your Quick Start Guide to Balancing Your Hormones Naturally.
Dr Stephanie Zgraggen brings over 14 years of clinical experience working with women to giveyou the goods on what you can be doing this morning to start balancing your hormonesnaturally! In her E-book, she covers effective and actionable steps that you can easily add intoyour morning routine to help your body detox more efficiently. It also includes a toxicity quiz,detox quick tips and a shopping guide. Your hormones will definitely thank you for this one!
(Retail value – $49)
Discount —
Dr. Stephanie is also offering 50% off her online program:
Online Program – 28 Day Hormone Reset Detox Program
Are You Finally Ready to Detox your Body and Balance Your Hormones? Take the 28 day hormone reset detox challenge. Introducing the 28 Day Hormone Reset Detox Online Program, a gentle, guided program designed to support your body’s natural ability to balance hormones,
so you can look and feel incredible!
Retail value is $197; Podcast special – $97
Connect with Lahana over at Facebook, Instagram, and her website|blog!
Connect with Dr. Stephanie at Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, and her website!
Tired of having low libido? In this week's podcast we're going over...
Want to book your free 15 minute phone call with us? The Thrival team is accepting new clients!
About Lahana Vigliano
Lahana Vigliano is a certified clinical nutritionist and owner of Thrival Nutrition. She helps women use food as medicine + functional lab testing to help them learn more about their health + how it relates to diet and lifestyle. She specializes in hormonal imbalances, digestive issues, weight loss, and helping women feed their families healthier!
Connect with Lahana over on Facebook, Instagram, and her website!
Are you ready to tune into the science behind Ariel’s natural skincare line + why we should be avoiding toxic ingredients in skincare? I LOVE science + I aim for you to learn something in each episode + not give you “fluffy” information…..you know the information that is basic everyone knows. I want to dig with you, so we can learn together. This is what Ariel will go over in today’s episode…
Ariel is a Nutritional Therapy Practitioner and Co-Founder of Treat Yourself Inc, a wellness company that creates Holistic Self-Care Inspired by Nature. The Treat Yourself product offerings include whitening Clay Tooth Powders, Natural Deodorants, facial serums (Beauty Nectars), honey masks (Sugar Coats), clay masks (Mud Veils), and more. All ingredients are carefully chosen for purity and potency to create the highest quality and most functional products possible.
Ariel is passionate about safer skincare, herbal medicine, and nutrition. She studied at UC Santa Cruz where she received a BS in Neuroscience and BA in Psychology, then at the Nutritional Therapy Association where she became a certified NTP. She lives in Northern California where she currently practices Nutritional Therapy and continually researches the science of how herbs and certain foods interact with the body.
Through her own wellness journey Ariel has discovered the importance of using food as medicine, as well as the magic of plants and nature. She works to empower people to take charge of their health and transform themselves using holistic lifestyle interventions. Ariel is also dedicated to educating the public on cleaner personal care products and nontoxic living.
Connect with her on her website, Facebook, + Instagram! Don’t forget her skincare’s Instagram too!
Connect with Lahana from Thrival Nutrition on her website, Facebook, and Instagram!
Are you a yeller? Do you want to be? Did you grow up with having a parent as a yeller? In the gentle parenting world, parents are trying to be better, have more patience, and stand firm, but gentle. Is that even possible? We sit down with Jeanette Hargreaves, who helps mothers do just that – STOPPING YELLING! We dive into…
Jeanette Hargreaves, life coach, specializes in helping moms who lose their temper. She teaches them how to be self-regulated and break the hot-temper cycle in the family. She openly talks about her own path learning how to break the cycle (one time, she threw banana bread).
I think we’ve all been there. The overwhelming feeling of alllll the things we have to do as women and mothers. It’s so easy to fall into a trap thinking “THIS is motherhood? Ugh!”. Jenni + I are encouraging you to turn that frown upside down! What you’ll learn during this episode…
Jennifer Blossom is a occupational therapist, mom of one, wife, and founder of Blossoming Mommy and Baby! She was born and raised and currently lives in Alaska with her family. Blossoming Mommy and Baby is founded on helping moms develop the tools and skills to create a meaningful motherhood. She has personally struggled with eating disorders, panic and anxiety attacks, infertility, and postpartum anxiety. Through her valleys, she had no choice but to continue moving forward and in doing so, she discovered the tools to cultivate a gentle and nourishing approach to life and momma-hood.
Connect with Jenni on her website, Instagram, and Facebook!
Connect with Lahana from Thrival Nutrition over on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog!
Wondering how coffee can be health changing?! We sit down with Emily Morrow this week to talk about this coffee that incorporates Reishi mushroom + what health conditions that she is seeing it helps! We go over…
Get access to this coffee over here!
Emily is a nutritionist in Dallas, Texas and the blogger behind TheEmilyMorrow.com. In her practice, she helps people find the root cause of why they might not feel, look or perform their best, and creates healthy gluten free, whole food based recipes and meal plans.
Connect with her over on her blog + Instagram!
Connect with Lahana from Thrival Nutrition on her blog + Instagram + Facebook!
TO ENTER AND WIN THE GIVEAWAY on IG, Find the post on Thrival Nutrition’s Instagram with Carrie’s podcast quote + be the first to say I WANT IT! You’ll get a FREE SIGNED copy of Carrie’s new book!
Today’s podcast, we sit down with Carrie Harper talking about diastasis recit! She is an expert in this area mamas + you’ll love this episode, this is what you’ll learn…
Grab our Multivitamin on Amazon!
Carrie Harper is a fitness professional with over 20 years of experience in group and personal training. She is a writer, speaker, and teacher in all things fitness and a specialist in pre and post natal fitness. Carrie has spent the last 10 years studying and developing therapy systems to help post natal women recover from childbirth, particularly from the very common core injury, Diastasis Recti. She made the Diastasis Recti Recovery and the new best selling book “Flatten my Postpartum Belly”
Connect with her on her website, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube!
We are SO excited to have Dr. Brighten on the Thrival Nutrition Podcast talking about post birth control syndrome. We cover this hot topic with you right before her book launch at the end of the month – you’ll want to grab yourself a copy! We go over….
Dr. Jolene Brighten is a Functional Medicine Naturopathic Medical Doctor and the founder of Rubus Health, a women’s medicine clinic that specializes in women’s hormones. She is recognized as a leading expert in Post-Birth Control Syndrome and the long-term side effects associated with hormonal contraceptives. Dr. Brighten is the author of Beyond The Pill, a 30 day plan to support women on birth control, help them transition off, and eliminate symptoms of post-birth control syndrome. She is a speaker, women’s health advocate and a medical advisor for one of the first data-driven apps to offer women personalized birth control recommendations.
Connect with Dr. Brighten over on her website, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest!
Preorder her new book “Beyond The Pill” NOW over on Amazon!
Connect with Lahana over at Thrival Nutrition on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog!
Connect with Lahana over on Facebook, Instagram, + her blog!
Book your FREE phone call with me to get started on taking back your health and feeling the best you've ever felt!
Grab the Thrival Nutrition Multivitamin from Amazon today!
Welcome to the Thrival Nutrition Podcast with me as your host, Lahana Vigliano, owner of Thrival Nutrition + board certified clinical nutritionist. We’re on episode 145 talking about lessening your stress in the New Year. Stress is a heath issue often overlooked, but it’s JUST as important as eating healthy and exercising. I want you to leave stress behind this year. Well, as much as possible. I understand sometimes life throws us into crazy situations, scenarios, and things we can’t always control, BUT for the most part, stress from our every day hustle and problems are something that we CAN control.
Before we get started, I wanted to thank ya’ll from the bottom of my heart for waiting patiently for our multivitamin to come back in stock. Hopefully, that is the LAST time we will ever be out of stock and we’ll reorder on time. We’re still getting used to this whole supplement gig. But seriously, thank you for bearing with us + it’s NOW available on Amazon again! If you follow me around social media, you probably already know that, but for people that strictly follow me here on the podcast. IT’S HERE! Finally! Just in time for the New Year! Go into the show notes + order yourself a bottle over on Amazon to start your New Year nourished up!
This podcast is also a hint on what’s to come in the New Year with expanding our supplement line! We’re so excited about it + I’ll let you know more when we start the production process of product #2, but it’s going to be a good one to take if you find your stress levels hard to handle.
Let’s get a little science-y for a second for all my science nerds out there! I know for me that learning more about the body and what it’s doing helps me understand things better + motivate me to make this a priority! Stress comes in many different ways – emotionally, physically, mentally. It all triggers the basic same stress response. It puts our body into fight or flight and you’ll find that we never really get into rest + digest. Legit, our body thinks it’s running from a tiger 90% of the time. Eventually, this totally wears down on the body leaving us susceptible for health issues.
Why would our body focus on reproducing if it’s in fight or flight? How can the body fight off an illness if it’s run down? Why would it focus on digesting foods if you’re about to run?
You might be feeling extra adrenaline – which increases your heart rate, increases blood sugar due to the body getting ready to have you have access to fuel to “run” if needed, and stimulates that blood flow to areas like your muscles. These are all AMAZING effects for when you really need to “run” and legit fight or flight, BUT most of the time, our day to day stress doesn’t need extra blood sugar/fuel or our heart rate to increase.
The second hormone that is increased during stressful periods of time is cortisol. Cortisol does the same thing that adrenaline does with increasing blood sugar. Taking glycogen (which is stored blood sugar) from our muscles and turning that into readily available sugar/fuel to again…”run”.
When we’re chronically stressed, these levels are high ALL THE TIME. This increases cardiovascular disease, cancer, common colds and flus, adrenal issues, hormonal imbalances, digestive disorders, diabetes, you name it! Stress is the ultimate factor that can make or break your body.
I want to dive into the the gut + stress connection really quick because if you’re not new around here, you guys know I’m CONSTANTLY talking about gut health. It’s the foundation to every other organ and system in the body because this is one of the first place where we interact with the outside environment. If our gut doesn’t work, we aren’t able to break down the foods and nutrients we need and aren’t able to absorb them leaving a devastating domino effect with everything else.
When we are in high stress, this slows down the digestive system in the motility, how it digests, the “gates” in the gut barrier being opened leading to permeability, and how our microbiome is. High stress leads to our immune system (which is mostly in our gut) to be downregulated, which helps bad bacteria and yeast to thrive and overgrow leading to dysbiosis. Dysbiosis and gut health is ALSO linked to anxiety and depression, so if you’re struggling with those that can lead you down a rabbit hole rather quickly.
Another delicate balance that needs to be considered is your adrenals (which produces the cortisol) and your thyroid. I see thyroid issues popping all over the place and women suffering from them, which is TERRIBLE. When we’re in this fight or flight, high cortisol producing mode, our body tells our thyroid – “Hey! Slow your roll for a second!” This is why whenever you hear someone tell you that stress is the reason for your weight gain or stubborn weight loss – your thyroid is a major player in your metabolism. Remember, your body shifts to a state where it’s saving all the energy it needs in order to “run” – it’s not going to sit there and say “this is the perfect time to shed pounds!”.
High stress also triggers hypothalamus + pituitary dysfunction, which these two parts of your brain are the key communicators to your thyroid to produce thyroid hormone. Stress also blocks the conversion between T4 (inactive thyroid hormone that the thyroid makes) to T3 (active thyroid hormone). This causes hypothyroid symptoms!
See, how stress plays a role in our metabolism, thyroid, and weight?
I want to hit this point again because I think this is something SO important that isn’t talked about with diabetes + insulin resistance. So, we now know that stress releases stored glycogen to increase our blood sugar. This ALSO increases the pancreas to release more insulin. If you’re chronically stressed, you’re constantly going to have higher blood sugars + higher insulin levels. Higher insulin levels increase your overall body inflammation too! Our cells can slowly become insulin resistant leading to a more chronic issue called diabetes.
When many people are stressed, they also turn to not the healthiest foods. This can further compound the issue because we’re turning towards more carb heavy + sweetened foods versus the vegetable + proteins.
Now that we understand some really important factors about how stress can affect our health, let’s dive into what we can do.
There are obvious stress relief recommendations that I won’t really go over, but are just as important, like removing yourself from situations or people that cause you stress. Some relationships are just not worth it to have those negative health effects.
If you need help with getting this wheel turning and functioning, I would love to help you and talk with you about figuring out what will work for you, so you don’t have to go into the New Year being stressed out. Use the show notes to book a free call with me to go over how I can help you!
Connect with Lahana over on Facebook, Instagram, and the blog!
Affiliate links are used in this episode/blog!
Welcome to the Thrival Nutrition Podcast with me as your host, Lahana Vigliano, owner of Thrival Nutrition and board certified clinical nutritionist! We’re on episode 144 today talking about herbals teas that you should have for the winter! I’ve been on such an herbal tea kick this month. The comfort of a hot cup of herbs before bed can really comfort your soul and your body!
Multivitamin?
Don’t forget to book your free 15 minute phone call with me to see how I can help you start your New Years off right and healthy, so 2019 is the start of you living your best life! I know that sounds super cheesy, but I do love helping people really understand their body and live a balanced life all around with nutrition, exercise, their sleep, stress…I’m telling ya’ll that you need all your wheels turning and functioning to have that ultimate health balance.
Okay, so let’s talk teas! I want to start off with one of my favorite teas for relaxation and destressing because let’s the real, this time of the year can be STRESSFUL – holidays, winter illnesses that can keep a mama tired and stressed out taking care of the kiddos, traveling, you name it!
Chamomile tea should be in your cupboard at ALL times. Chamomile is known for it’s sleep inducing properties, but also since it’s a calming herb it can also quell inflammation that you may have going on with winter illnesses, like in the respiratory tract or the stomach. With its relaxation properties, chamomile is also recommended for anxiety. If you’re feeling real anxious with all the holiday parties and responsibilities coming up, this is the perfect tea to calm you down! Chamomile has been studied to inhibit tumor growth and take cancer cells through apoptosis (which is cell death). This herb can truly relax and keep you healthy throughout the winter.
Peppermint tea is another favorite for the winter. I’m sure you’re used to peppermint everything by now! Pumpkin spice is last season (literally) and peppermint is the new cool flavor – every winter! Outside of it’s holiday flare, peppermint tea is SUPER amazing for the digestive system. Peppermint helps diminish stomach cramps and nausea if you find yourself dealing with a stomach virus this winter. It also helps with other GI symptoms like gas, heartburn, and indigestion. This is actually a PERFECT tea to drink after your meals to help aid in digestion.
I’m sure you’ve heard of me talking about peppermint essential oils for headaches, but peppermint tea can also help if you’re struggling with headaches and migraines. Make a cup, inhale allll the smell, and drink. I do still recommend peppermint essential oils on the temple too! Those common colds during the winter are pesky and can really bring our respiratory system into chaos. Peppermint tea can help fight the inflammation, as well as open up those airways. To make a festive drink for the holidays, brew peppermint tea and then blend it with some almond milk and sweeten it with a little maple syrup and tada! A real peppermint latte for you (caffeine free!)
I’m DIGGING the Yogi Tulsi Spiced Berry Immune Support tea in my cupboard this winter! Preschool hasn’t been that kind to us like all the other years + we’ve got our share of stomach bugs + colds. Trust me when I say, the kids usually don’t pick up the viruses that go around – this year it’s been more than usual! Throughout the bugs that they’ve had, I’ve been sipping on some of this Yogi tea and it’s nipped these viruses in the butt when I feel something coming on. I’ve been drinking a cup before bed + results have been pretty amazing!
The flavors in it reminds me of winter, like clove, nutmeg, elderberry, licorice, ginger, etc. We see a lot of these spices during baking + now I have them in tea form and LOVING THEM! I highly recommend getting this tea to help your immune system going this winter!
No, it doesn’t taste like marshmallows, but marshmallow root tea is next up! I love this tea for the mucilaginous properties, which means it’s very soothing to the GI tract. It’s actually a tea that is a part of my gut protocol for healing leaky gut. I also love marshmallow root tea for those occasional sore throats that you might come across in the cold weather. You can think of it doing the same thing it’ll do in the GI system, it will help coat the throat! If you’ve heard of Traditional Medicinals Throat Coat, you’ll see that marshmallow root is in that blend!
It honestly doesn’t taste like much – sorry to burst your bubble if you were excited about a tea that might taste like marshmallows, but I love it + I find it’s easier to get the kids to drink because the taste isn’t strong!
Ya’ll definitely have heard me talk about dandelion root tea before because of its supporting the liver properties! After alcoholic drinks (maybe one too many) with all the holiday parties that you are going to, loving your liver extra hard this winter is vital! Don’t abuse your major detox organ! I buy the roasted dandelion root to make some dandelion lattes, which are on the blog, for some caffeine free drinks in the morning.
This is seriously one of my favorite teas and I refuse to run out of it because I love it SO much!
Don’t forget that with any of these teas that you brew – you are more than welcome to turn it into latte form, add some vanilla extract, or extra cinnamon spice to make fun twists on these teas. I see alot of holiday blend teas throughout coffee and tea shops and the grocery store, but I just want ya’ll to still be label readers and make sure that your tea is made with organic herbs when possible and doesn’t any extra artificial sweeteners or flavors. I buy organic because teas can easily be a place where you might not think of pesticides leaching into your drink from the herb itself and the bag that the tea is in.
Loose leaf herbs will be your safest bet with a ceramic tea cup with infuser. I also use an electric tea kettle to help heat up the water to avoid using the microwave.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to email me at lahana@thrivalnutrition.com.
Connect with Lahana on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog!
Don’t forget to book your free 15 minute phone call to let us know what health issues you’re looking to improve with food as medicine + we’ll share how we can help you start feeling better!
Welcome to the Thrival Nutrition Podcast with me as your host, Lahana Vigliano – the owner of Thrival Nutrition and a board certified clinical nutritionist! We’re on episode 143 talking about eating healthy on a budget! This is a very popular topic that I got to talk about requested by YOU, tribe! Thankful for all your suggestions all the time + know that whatever you recommend – I’ll put into queue, so I can serve you!
Before we start, I wanted to make sure that I mentioned that we have gift cards now available for stocking stuffers! You can purchase them in any increments of $25. They are actually a legit physical card that after you purchase one – I mail it to you, so you can put it in a Christmas Card, Birthday Card, etc. you name it and gift someone the gift of health. They can use this towards any appointment or package with me that they want to. Email me over at lahana@thrivalnutrition.com or go to our contact page and send us a message there!
I’ve actually talked about this I think when I first started podcasting and even did made a little freebie on it that I gave away via your email. One thing that I will start with before going into our budget-saving tips is to be REALISTIC about the amount of food your family consumes (including restaurants!) and putting buying healthy food as a top priority. This is something that my husband struggles with sometimes to this day, because he sees food coming in and then coming out in a stool. His thinking is “why are we paying so much again?” It’s a constant reminder to tell him WHY we put more of our budget towards quality food. Pay now or pay later. So, I want to let you know I UNDERSTAND, we’ve been there with a small budget and worked our way up to where we are now.
We were that typical standard American eating family buying mostly processed foods and toiletries and skidding by on $100-150 per week. Granted, it was only three of us back then and Isaiah was a BABY, so really it was only Doug + I eating. Now, we buy all organic, grass-fed pasture raised foods that are wholesome and even some of the healthy packaged foods. Our budget is about $1200 a month to be completely transparent. (Trust me when I tell you that we HAD many many fights about the food budget, as I became more aware of how bad we were eating during my degree program). We’re a family of four and we all are HUGE eaters (even my almost five year old).
Now if you’ve made healthy eating a top priority + you’ve sacrificed in other areas to bring more money into the food budget if you need to + you still need to cut costs somewhere – let’s begin!
This is the MOST common budget saving tips you’ll find online, because bulk is best. Let’s be real! Granted you may be short on space if you live in an apartment, so you might have to get creative with where you’ll put things, but bulk is definitely where you’ll save the most money! This can mean shopping at Costco or it could mean just shopping at your local grocery store in the bulk section – which is the aisle with all the bins. You can find grains, legumes, dried fruit, etc.
This also is the same mindset for buying meat in bulk. If you can connect with a local farmer who raises grass-fed beef, this can save you money per lb because a grass-fed steak at Whole Foods is like $20 a lb. You can get it at a local farmer for half the cost. Buying ground beef is usually cheaper too than buying steaks if you really need to cut cost. And buying chicken thighs or even a whole chicken is a better and cheaper option/bang for your buck than chicken breasts.
I buy my grass-fed whey in bulk and it’s about $60 for a 5 lb container. BUT, you guys, that is only .78 cents per serving. This is a great way to add good quality protein to a plant-based lunch (like a salad) versus a chicken breast.
This leads me into answering the question “organic or no?” or “grass-Fed or no?” I recommend to only buy organic animal products that are grass-fed or wild caught. Since animal products can easily become tainted and conventional animal products can be more inflammatory than organic ones, I find this area is really hard for me to recommend that this is an area you can cut corners. So again, finding a local farmer or staying up to date with deals at your local store or shopping at places like Trader Joe’s, Aldi, and Costco. These are the places that I’ve found good quality at a good price!
With produce on a budget, you can easily follow the dirty dozen list at EWG.org.
I HIGHLY recommend buying in season produce. When you try to buy out of season, like berries in the winter, you’re most likely going to be paying double and the taste stinks and the nutrition actually isn’t as high as it is when a fruit is in season! If you do want to buy a fruit or vegetable out of season, check out the frozen section!
You can find berries year around in the frozen section, for example and pay half the price. Frozen produce is *usually* inexpensive.
You can also even plan for your meals to be based on local sales. If you know ahead of time the sales that your store is going to have with produce and meats, you can work around those savings!
What I mean by this is buying produce, quality meats, grains, legumes, your basics. What that doesn’t mean is the “organic” processed foods – crackers, chips, etc. You’ll never hear me recommend buying regular processed food regardless – budget or not. But the organic packaged foods is where you’ll spend the most money with the least amount of nutrition in return. So, does that mean that you’ll have to be a little cooking more? Most likely – because for example, you won’t have ready made granola bars to snack on, you’d have to make them if you really like them.
I do want to say – there is always a sacrifice on some end. You’ll either pay for the convenience of having something ready (that’s the whole restaurant industry right?!)or you’ll “pay” in your time. I do find that when you only buy the NECESSARY items – like the produce, meats, grains, etc. you’ll be eating a more nutrient dense diet that will save your health + money in the long run.
Don’t get me wrong – I think meat has 100000% has a place in our diet as humans. I actually don’t recommend a vegan diet, but if you’re on a strict budget, make sure you make some meals without meat because meat will probably be the most expensive part of your bill. If you do okay with rice with soaked legumes or quinoa, use that to create veggie bowls! I personally still recommend for the majority of people to avoid wheat because of inflammation and what it triggers in the gut.
Eggs aren’t plant-based, but they are a wholesome non-meat protein source that you can whip up easily and add to dishes – think hard boiled on top of salads, frittatas for brinner, etc. If you can find a local farmer, you can usually find good quality eggs for an amazing price! I remember I used to get mine for $4 a dozen! If you have to buy the cheapest eggs to afford them, do it. It’s better than Cheetos or hamburger helper.
I definitely wanted to cover some of those shopping tips because that’s where you’ll be saving the most money! Some other tips I have for you are to meal plan – this is ESSENTIAL in making sure that you aren’t running out to grab a bite to eat because you have no idea what you were making for dinner and you don’t have anything thawed. FUTURE THINKING YA’LL! Don’t ever shop hungry. You will 10000% be buying foods that you really don’t need, but sound good. Personal experience here.
I know you might already be used to this if you shop at Aldi or Trader Joe’s, but buying a generic label will also save some dollars in your wallet! Like with any other product, a “name brand” will usually always cost more and that doesn’t mean that it tastes better either. And the worst thing you can do is waste food – so make sure you are only buying enough for what you can eat in a week. Since you’ll be eating more wholesome real foods, you’ll have to shop a little* bit more frequently to make sure you’re sticking with fresh produce! Wasted food = wasted money.
I hope I gave you some useful tips on how to save some money in grocery shopping and your budget. BUT, I seriously want to encourage you to re-look at your budget if you haven’t in a while and see if there is any way you can sacrifice in other areas to get good quality food in that body. Your health is EVERYTHING – we truly don’t understand the importance of it until we lose it and it’s too late. OR we end up spending that money we’re trying to save on doctor bills because we’re sick all the time. You might be really surprised how that coffee here and there or those meals out to eat could put some extra dough in bringing home the good stuff for you and your family.
I’m glad I could touch on this topic again before the new year! I’ll catch you guys next week!
On this week’s podcast, we’re talking SEX! Are you looking to improve your sex life with your partner? This is what we’re diving into….
Jessa Zimmerman is a certified sex therapist and couples’ counselor. She specializes in helping couples who have a good relationship but who are avoiding sex because it’s become stressful, negative, disappointing, or pressured. She educates, coaches, and supports people as they go through her 9-phase experiential process that allows them real world practice in changing their relationship and their sex life.She is the author of Sex Without Stress, the host of the Better Sex Podcast, and is a regularly featured expert in the media, including Refinery29, Business Insider, Mind Body Green, and Marriage.com.
Connect with Jessa over on her website + her podcast!
Connect with Lahana over on Facebook, Instagram, and her website!
BOOK YOUR FREE 15 MINUTE APPOINTMENT!
Connect with us over on Facebook, Instagram, and the blog!
—-
Welcome to the Thrival Nutrition Podcast with me as your host, Lahana Vigliano, the owner of Thrival Nutrition and a Board Certified Clinical Nutritionist. We’re on episode 141 talking about birth control and lessening the negative effects of it, if you decide to stay on birth control.
First before getting into things you can do to help lessen the effect of birth control, I want you to question about why you are on birth control. As a nutritionist and someone who is more “crunchy” and natural, I believe that there are better natural ways of birth control that won’t harm your hormones and your health. Because let’s be real, no matter what you do to lessen the negative effects of birth control – it’s still a synthetic hormone in your body and will naturally increase your risk of cancers, strokes, and other health issues. I will always advocate for something more natural when you aren’t facing death.
You might be on birth control because you want to stop a pregnancy from happening. While I won’t go into detail about natural birth control methods in this episode, I just want you to feel empowered that THERE ARE EFFECTIVE natural birth control options out there and which one works for you might be different for someone else. I will highly encourage you to look and research into those, but if you find that the pill is something you want to choose, we’ll get to what you can do in this episode to lessen the effects of the pill.
If you’re on birth control because your doctor put you on it because you had rough periods/PMS or to “balance your hormones”, I want to encourage you that birth control is not the answer. Taking birth control for this reason is simply masking the symptoms of an underlying hormone problem. You are delying the inevitable when you get off your birth control. Symptoms will come right back and the problem will still be there. I want to encourage you that you don’t have to suffer from a painful period or PMS or have this imbalance the rest of your life. I’ve personally seen painful PMS be gone with clients who focus in on diet, stress, exercise, sleep, and living a healthy lifestyle. Granted, it’s not as easy as it sounds. It takes a personalized approach for what is going on with you to be effective in balancing and supporting your body. (Which is why I am here!) Shameless plug, but if that is you, I would love to work with you to support your body with food and herbs to get your body back in balance. Book your free 15 minute phone call to see how I can help you. I’m here to be completely real and raw with you.
Okay, so getting that out of the way. Let’s talk about lessening the negative effects of birth control if you do find that this is the route you want to take.
Birth control is a total robber of your folate, magnesium, other B vitamins, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and zinc! This lowers your immune system, your energy, and honestly, almost every other thing in your body. These are NUTRIENTS that are needed for our body to function in every way.
The best way to try to avoid major nutrient depletions are to have a nutrient-dense diet (of course, this will be my answer for everything!), which means to have half to three quarters of your plate filled with veggies! Also, taking a good quality multivitamin on top of that. Another shameless plug will be that I recommend our Thrival Nutrition Daily Multivitamin on Amazon! (This will be back in stock at the end of November/early December – I wish I had more control over the process, but with the holidays it can set some things back!) Total bioavailable nutrients and at levels that can help decrease nutrient depletion that birth control will rob.
Because some of those nutrients I mentioned are depleted, like Vitamin C + E (which are antioxidants too!), you can betcha that other antioxidants in your body are decreasing as well! Antioxidants are our body’s bodyguards from free radicals. Free radicals job is so seek and destroy cells + DNA – increasing our risk for cancers and other chronic diseases.
Supplementing with extra antioxidants can help reduce the risk of negative effects that come from the birth control pill. Here I go again saying – STARTING WITH A NUTRIENT DENSE diet first! If you need help with this and need a little more hand holding than me telling you, girl I understand! Book your free phone call!
Some antioxidant supplements that I love are:
Our liver takes a hit from all the “pollution” in the world – from diet, environment, medications, you name it. This is why I recommend to do what you can to help love and support your liver because let’s be real….there are things that we don’t have control over and we need to be functioning optimally for when we come into contact with those things. The liver is our biggest detoxification organ.
Hormones are detoxed through the liver and into the GI tract (which we will talk about next!). If your liver is feeling pretty burdened, guess what? Your hormones are just building up further creating a hormone storm when they are trying to be detoxed and eliminated from the body. I wrote a whole blog post on supporting the liver over on another post. And I also talked about it with Nicole Fennell, RD from Chews Food Wisely on the podcast!
A couple of tidbits from those are to eat tons of cruciferous vegetables. I’m talking eat 1-2 servings PER meal. Incorporate them into your diet – breakfast, lunch, and dinner! Yes, you can/should have veggies in the morning – think smoothie if you can’t handle the thought of it in your eggs or breakfast. Cruciferous vegetables are broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, kale, cabbage, bok choy, collards, and other green leafy vegetables.
Some supplements that I love to further help support your liver are..
And don’t forget to eat those high quality proteins – like grass-fed beef, pasture raised chicken, wild caught fish for those amino acids and healthy fats. Add some avocados and coconut oil in there while you’re at it!
Birth control, unfortunately, destroys your microbiome. The hormones in birth control can contribute to opening up your intestinal lining and cause inflammation all up in your gut! Dr. Khalili did a study on the connection between birth control and colitis + Crohn’s. It can really throw a wrench in your balanced gut bacteria. Remember, we want balance. We’ll always have bad bacteria and good bacteria, but we can’t allow the bad bacteria to outweigh the good bacteria.
You guys know that I’m constantly talking about gut health and how it relates to practically EVERYTHING. Some ways that you can love your gut is eating a nutrient dense diet (again I’m a repeating myself, but I will until I die!), drinking/eating bone broth, eating fermented foods, and taking some gut-loving supplements:
I actually offer my gut protocol that I use for my clients on my website – this is without any additional support – just the protocol in case you are looking to support your gut on a more therapeutic level. You can get it over on my website!
Are you wanting to be an educated consumer about the products that are on the market? Are you always looking for safe places to go to find amazing good quality products? Mark Ritz, founder of Ritzfit, has an online store to help consumers with finding new companies with quality not being sacrificed. What we cover in this episode...
Email me for a discount code when we are restocked on our multivitamin - lahana@thrivalnutrition.com
Book your FREE 15 minute phone call to see how we can help you with your health in the New Year + use up last minute HSA funds to improve your health!
About Mark Ritz
Mark Ritz is the natural product nerd behind Ritzfit. Places like Thrive Market and Whole Foods have great products, but he still continues to find junk. In 2016, Mark combined my passion for nutrition and food products with over a decade of experience at Costco to create a new kind of membership site; one where we don't have to spend hours researching ingredients! Connect with Mark over on his Facebook Group, Instagram, and The No Diet Podcast!
Book your free appointment with me today!
Connect with me over on Facebook, Instagram, and the blog!
Something that is trending right now is celery juice! Have you seen it on social media or read about it in a book? In a simple answer, yes, celery juice is awesome and if you can add it to your regimen, add it in! But, a lot of people (myself included) likes to know if there is science that supports the theory and if it’s actually studied to be helpful with certain diseases/disorders. I’m here to help break it down for you.
Juicing in general can be so helpful for the body – to flood it with nutrition and not let the fiber slow it down. It’s also important to have juices that are mainly vegetables with a hint of fruit. Juice made just of fruit can be pretty taxing on your liver from the fructose content, so make sure juices are tons of vegetables with some fruit. Celery is a great vegetable to juice with because you can get lots of juice from a stalk compared to trying to juice leafy greens (good luck with that!). Celery is loaded with….
Celery has been known as a “cooling” vegetable, which is helpful for the liver, kidney, stomach, and bladder. It contains coumarin, which is a phytochemical that helps with reducing headaches/migraines, cancer prevention, and improving the cardiovascular system (especially with blood pressure by relaxing the walls!).
Celery also holds 3-n-butyl phthalide, which has been studied to help lower blood pressure by researchers at the University of Chicago Medical Center. It was the amount of 4 celery ribs.
Celery also holds more phytochemicals, such as flavonoids, which are very protective to our body to combat oxidative stress. Oxidative stress leads to cellular and DNA damage increasing your risk of many chronic diseases. In the Journal of Human + Experiemental Toxicology, rats saw on a decrease in their antioxidants, such as glutathione and superoxide dismutase, when treated with an insecticide. Rats that had flavonoid extracts from celery minimized the harmful effects of the insecticide and reduced the loss of our body’s natural antioxidants!
Apigenin,(ah-pee-gen-in) another phytochemical, in celery has been studied to help reduce the risk of gastric cancer and inflammation in the stomach. Celery also contains luteolin (lute-tee-o-lin)
Since luteolin and quercetin were able to target CSC (cancer stem cells) and prevent cancer cell invasiveness, may serve as potential anti-angiogenesis (preventing new blood vessel growth) and anti-metastasis(preventing cancer from spreading) agents.
ANTICANCER RESEARCH
There aren’t many human studies on what celery and celery can do for your health. Most of the studies are done with rats, but that’s only because there isn’t a lot of funding to look deeper into celery. Celery is loaded with nutrition and water to help hydrate you, which a lot of us are dehydrated and not drinking enough water.
Is it a cure-all? I can’t say scientifically because there isn’t really anything behind it to claim that. But from common sense and as a nutritionist, celery can definitely serve your body with the phytochemicals and nutrients that your body deserves (and wants!) to have! I can honestly say the same about carrot juice or turmeric juice or ginger juice. All of these plants have a purpose and can load up our body with nutrients that will better your health regardless.
If you are struggling with something health wise, I do think it’s wise to be working with a functional medicine doctor and a nutritionist to help provide a whole body approach for you. While people continue to look for a magic bullet, we need to address our diet, environment, stress, and exercise in our life as well for complete healing!
You can drink all the celery juice you want, but if your stress levels are through the roof, you won’t reach optimal health! We still need to focus in on a whole body approach.
LAHANA VIGLIANO, CCN
Make sure to book your free 15 minute appointment to see how we can help you to get you feeling better with food as medicine. (Yes, we can incorporate celery juice if you want! )
Celery is a food that I always opt to buy organic. Conventionally grown celery can be full of pesticides, along with ethylene gas (which helps reduce the bitter flavor). Celery used to be a very bitter vegetable, but as time went on, it became more sweet, but with that comes less nutrition compared to our ancestral celery. It’s still nutritious though, don’t get me wrong!
I HIGHLY encourage all women to listen to this podcast, not just women in menopause. We're so excited to sit down with Dr. Patrick Flynn to talk about menopause and women's health! Here are some topics we're chatting about this week...
About Dr. Patrick Flynn
Dr. Patrick Flynn D.C., is the founder of The Wellness Way, as well as an international speaker and author, but still maintains that he is a “simple, country boy who loves what he does.” Dr. Flynn grew up in Crivitz, a small town in northern Wisconsin. He was inspired early in life to understand the human body when teachers labeled him as “troubled and hyper” (reflecting a modern day ADHD diagnosis). Rather than turning to medication, he turned to education, and as a thirteen-year-old boy he read numerous books his local library had to offer. Shortly after meeting his now wife, Christy, she informed him that she was unable to have children and his direction became clear: understanding hormones and the subject of fertility. Dr. Flynn continued his studies with greater passion and built his practice around achieving the best clinical outcomes for patients by testing for and addressing the reasons for dysfunction, rather than focusing on symptoms. As such, he has been able to successfully guide patients with a wide variety of clinical diagnoses to restored function. Now he and his wife have four beautiful daughters.
Connect with Dr. Patrick Flynn over on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and the Wellness Way Instagram!
Connect with Lahana from Thrival Nutrition on Facebook, Instagram, and her website!
I know this is SUCH a hot topic within the health sphere, but NEEDS to be talked about. Why is it such a topic that becomes a heated debate? Hillary and I come to you to encourage you to research for your family. NOTHING in the medical field has ever been a "one size fits all", vaccines included.
What we're talking about in this episode....
About Hillary Simpson
Hillary Simpson is the founder of Crazymothers. She started this non-profit when she had her personal experience with her son. She wants to raise awareness about vaccine injury and encourages families to do research to find out what's right for their family.
Connect with Hillary over at Facebook and Instagram
Connect with Lahana over at Facebook, Instagram, and her website!
Book a free 15 minute phone call with Lahana to use a food-as-medicine approach with your health! Thrival specializes in hormonal imbalances, digestive issues, weight loss, chronic fatigue, and just wanting to feed your families your healthier!
If you haven't seen people talk about intermittent fasting all over social media, where have you been?! I'm sitting down with Cynthia Thurlow from CHT Wellness to go over this hot topic. We're diving into a great conversation about....
Everything you need to know about IF is in this podcast to see if this is something you should do. This is NOT for everyone.
About Cynthia Thurlow
Cynthia Thurlow is the owner of CHT Wellness and her amazing signature program - Wholistic Blueprint. She is a nurse practitioner and functional nutritionist. She has a passion to help women find wellness with nutrition and finding the root cause of their health problems from the inside out.
Connect with Cynthia over on Facebook, Instagram, and her website!
Connect with Lahana over on Facebook, Instagram, and her website!
Hair loss can really get you freakin' out - who wants to lose their hair? We're diving into health reasons that could be behind hair loss + how you can start digging to find the answer.
If you are ready to book your free 15 minute appointment with me to see how I can help you, book HERE!
Additional Links:
Connect with Lahana over on Facebook + Instagram + her blog.
During our episode with Devon this week, we sit down and talk all things toddlerhood and behavior! I love how Devon puts that this is a brand new season where your child may be testing you the most. How can we not lose our *ish during this season? Devon give us great tips...
Curious about the conference Devon is hosting? Check it out HERE!
Want to get your hands on one of the best multivitamins on the market? Get ours before they run out over on Amazon!
Devon Kuntzman, B.A. child development, RYT, is a toddler parenting coach on a mission to transform the myth that toddlerhood is terrible. Devon teaches parents it’s possible to embrace this sensitive developmental period and uncover the magic of toddlerhood while overcoming everyday challenges and keeping their sanity. As a coach, Devon empowers parents to transform their frustration, fear and self-doubt into confidence in their parenting. Over the last 15 years, Devon has dedicated her life to working with hundreds of parents and children across three continents as a coach, former nanny for high-profile families and director of an orphanage in Rwanda.
Devon is a Certified Gentle Sleep Coach, a graduate of the Wonder Weeks Academy Infant Mental Health and Development Program, a registered yoga teacher and the Founder of the Transforming Toddlerhood. Devon is passionate about toddlers, green juice, reading, traveling and holistic living. When she isn’t working with parents and toddlers, Devon can be found on her yoga mat, riding her bicycle or drinking a kombucha (not all at the same time).
Connect with her over on Instagram + Facebook!
Connect with Lahana from Thrival Nutrition on Facebook, Instagram, and her blog!
Do you or someone you know struggle with depression? This is a must-listen-to episode as we sit down with Dr. Paul Saladino. We're talking all about how functional medicine ties into depression. THIS is how we should be treating depression, instead of throwing pharmaceuticals and off you go.
We need to dig DEEPER - while pharmaceuticals can be a great way to help short-term, it's NOT a long term solution. Here is what Dr. Paul and I are covering in this episode...
About Dr. Paul Saladino
Dr. Saladino trained at the University of Arizona with a focus on Integrative Medicine, obtaining his M.D. in 2015. He is a certified Functional Medicine practitioner (IFMCP) through the Institute for Functional Medicine and currently in his final year of residency in Psychiatry at the University of Washington. His interests include connections between the microbiome and mental illness as well as nutritional biochemistry. In his practice he is passionate about understanding and correcting the roots of disease.
Connect with Dr. Paul Saladino over on Instagram and his website!
Connect with Lahana from Thrival Nutrition over on Facebook, Instagram, and her website!
Ready to use food-as-medicine? We see clients virtually all over the U.S. and local to Austin, TX. Book your free 15 minute appointment to check out our services!
Book a free 15 minute appointment with me!
We're bringing back some more hormone talk! The big T: Testosterone! I know many people, men and women, who question their testosterone levels because they feel they may have too much or too little. Testosterone is a big important sex hormone in both genders and holds health benefits of..
Before I go into natural ways you can help encourage an increase in your testosterone, I do want to say that I HIGHLY recommend you get your hormones checked and verify your levels. Of course I recommend working with a nutritionist to get your food-as-medicine + everyday lifestyle figured out, but you need to have a good functional medicine doctor by your side, especially if you ever need bio-identical hormones.
Onto, what you CAN do in your lifestyle to encourage healthy testosterone production.