Foundations of Health : Sleep
In earlier blog posts, we’ve discussed the foundations of health. For those who missed it, the foundations of health are the core components of herbalism. When we make lifestyle choices that help the body function optimally, we set ourselves up for long-term wellness. One component that is often overlooked is sleep but I assure you, sleep is just as important as nutrition and exercise. In this post, we will dive into what your body accomplishes during sleep and how lack of good sleep hygiene causes circadian disruption.
What Happens When You Sleep?
Nearly every system in your body is affected by a lack of sleep. Listing them all would take all day, but here are some of the most important functions that occur while you rest:
Many body systems are restored while you rest
Damaged tissues and cells are regenerated and repaired
Your daily experiences are stored as memories
Your immune system is boosted
Your stress levels are lowered
Hormones are regulated and released
If you consistently get less than seven hours of sleep per night, research suggests that blood flow to the brain decreases. Your metabolism-controlling hormones are released primarily in the first half of the night, and leptin (the hormone that signals satiety and tells your brain it is full) is secreted during sleep as well. This is one reason why poor sleep is strongly linked with weight gain and obesity.
“But I Function Fine on Five Hours…”
A lot of people say, "Hey, I can get five hours and function fine". You may function fine but your body is suffering. When I meet someone with a hormonal imbalance, energy issues, anxiety, or body aches I will always ask them first how much sleep they are getting and what their sleep routine looks like.
Building a Healthy Sleep Routine
A consistent sleep routine is essential for maintaining your circadian rhythm. At the center of this rhythm is the suprachiasmatic nucleus. This is the “master clock” in your brain that tells the body when to perform its many regenerative jobs. This "clock" is regulated primarily by light and darkness.
At night, you can support this process by:
Turning off bright lights and screens.
Keeping your room dark, cool, and quiet.
Allowing yourself at least seven hours of uninterrupted rest.
In the morning, expose yourself to natural light as early as possible. This signals your body that it’s time to wake and helps regulate your sleep–wake cycle. These practices are especially important for children and teens, who need restorative sleep to support growth and development.
Your health depends on more than just what you eat and how much you move. It also depends on how well you sleep. This week, challenge yourself to create a restful environment: dim the lights, put away the screens, and commit to seven or more hours of restorative rest. Within a few days, you should see a huge difference in your mentality and energy levels.
Just a “Gut Feeling?”
Today we are going to talk about a phrase popularly thrown around but one that isn’t accurately understood: gut health. Everyone says you need to fix your gut health but there is so much information out there you don’t know where to begin. We will start with learning about how your gut microbiome came to be, the three “Rs” of holistic gut restoration, and how to prevent your microflora from being depleted.
At birth, your body receives a majority of its microbiome through the birth canal, skin-to-skin contact, and breastfeeding. It takes many years for your body to build its optimal microflora. However, many things may disrupt this microflora as you grow. Although sometimes necessary, maybe a round of antibiotics killed off a majority of your microbes. Maybe you have toxicity, bacteria overload, or other pathogens. Luckily, your appendix does store a little backup colony to help repopulate your intestinal and stomach flora should you just get over a bad infection or antibiotics. However, it is far from being enough to keep your gut healthy.
So what is the deal with your gut health? Why is it important? There are four components to your gut: digestion, microbiome, the enteric nervous system, and the immune function of your gut. One of them often overlooked is the gut-brain axis. Many claim your stomach houses your “second” brain. Why? Because your enteric nervous system has as many neurons as your spinal cord. It functions independently of your central nervous system. Your enteric nervous system is responsible for 95% of your body’s serotonin. It is produced in the gastrointestinal tract. It regulates sleep, appetite, your emotions, and more. The gut-brain axis is bidirectional. This means your gut sensations go to your brain and gut reactions go from the brain to your gut. Have you heard the famous phrase “gut feeling”? It’s a real thing. For instance, during stress your amygdala portion of your brain is activated. This is the area responsible for fight or flight type emotions. The stress-induced gut reaction then impacts the composition of your microorganisms.
Our digestive tract is filled with microbes. We have them in our stomach, our small intestine, and our large intestine. A healthy microbiome plays a key role in autoimmune disorders, mood disorders, and inflammation. The majority of your gastrointestinal microbiome is housed in your large intestine.
How do we keep our gut microbiome as optimal as possible after illness, antibiotic usage, or poor, heavily processed diets? We will visit the first “R” in the healing process of our “3-R Gut Restoration”. The first “R” is “Replace”. After an illness or antibiotics your mucosal barrier often gets destroyed. You will want to replace gastric acid, enzymes, and mucosal lining. I do have a gastric tea that contains demulcents which are herbs that help repair and replace the mucosal barrier. Bitter herbs also stimulate gastric acid and enzymes.
The next “R” is “Re-inoculate”. This means you will be re-seeding your gut’s microbiome. How? First of all, there are many Inulin-rich herbs to help feed and restore your gut microbiome. Dandelion, Burdock, and Chicory are all wonderful options. Next, you should ensure you are eating a healthy diet with lacto-fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, kimchi, etc. A quick option is also to take probiotics. Probiotics are live microorganisms. When shopping, note that the best probiotics don’t have the highest milligrams but the highest number of organisms. Also, take note of the CFU’s or “Colony Forming Units”. The Lactobacilli is a good organism to look for that is found in the gut, small intestine, and large intestines. Prebiotics will work to then feed those newly introduced microorganisms.
Our next “R” is “Repair”. There are many herbs that aid in the healing of gut mucosal lining. Astringents, anti-microbials, and demulcents are all helpful. However, on your part, eating a healthy anti-inflammatory diet is key as well.
In summary, you can supplement gut issues with herbs but you can also take matters into your own hands by following some key “healthy gut” suggestions:
-Chew your food well
-Do not stress eat (remember that gut/brain connection)
-Nourish your gut microflora with fermented foods
-Eat organic food when possible
-Eat a diet rich in fiber (to feed your micro flora)
-Throw bitter herbs into your mealtimes to help with digestive function
-Eat a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables to help calm inflammation in the gut.
Have a Marshmallow For That Cough!
It all begins with an idea.
Fun fact: You can thank Ancient Egyptians for our modern Marshmallows! They squeezed sap from the Marshmallow plant (Athaea Officinalis) and then whipped it with honey. This plant grew wild along the marshes of the Nile River and other wetland areas. It was often used in these ancient times for its medicinal qualities. The primitive marshmallow treat was quite the healthy snack because Marshmallow, which is a mucilaginous herb, was not only used as an immune booster and digestive aid but they also used it to help soothe dry coughs. In Ancient Greece, it was often used for sore throats and lagging libido. By the 1800s the entire world was catching on to this “healthy” snack. But how did we transition from that to the treat we know and love that is mass-produced, filled with corn syrup, and…not so healthy?
In the mid-1800s a French confectionary store owner whipped the mallow plant until it fluffed and poured it into a mold. By the time is cured, it more closely resembled a throat lozenge than anything else. It was a time-consuming concept and once you mixed that with the high demand of customers, they were constantly sold out. By the late 1800's, they found their answer. The Starch Mogul System was invented and the candy makers found a way to quickly produce the whipped treat by taking out the actual mallow plant, replacing it with gelatin, and adding corn starch.
However, it is still pretty easy to make your own healthy marshmallows! It's also a great recipe for kids to help with:
Ingredients:
1 Cup Water (divided)
3 TBSP Gelatin (I prefer grass-fed beef gelatin but you'll need the gelatin to achieve that classic marshmallow fluff)
1 Cup Raw Honey or Maple Syrup (pure Maple Syrup not the corn syrup variety)
1 Pinch of Salt
2tsp of Vanilla Extract
1Tbsp Marshmallow Root
Arrowroot Powder or Cocoa Powder for Dusting
Instructions:
First, we will make our marshmallow root tea. You will want to make one cup of tea. It would be wise to use 1 1/4 cup of water for the tea as the marshmallow root will soak up some of that water and we will need an entire cup in this recipe.
After straining out the herbs, pour 1/2 cup of your tea into a large bowl or stand mixture
Sprinkle the gelatin on top and let it sit for 10 minutes. This allows the gelatin time to bloom.
Take your other 1/2 cup of tea and bring it to a boil with the honey/maple syrup and salt. After it comes to a boil, turn it to medium-high heat and avoid stirring it so it doesn't boil over. It would be helpful to have a candy thermometer. Our goal temperature is 240°. If you don't have a candy thermometer, it should be ready after about 10 minutes
Turn the stand mixer (if using one) on low and start mixing your gelatin and tea together. Once it appears to be mixed, slowly pour in the honey/maple syrup mixture you were boiling. Add the vanilla extract. Slowly bring the speed to high and whip until you have soft WHITE peaks forming. At this point, your mixture will look and feel like marshmallow fluff. This can take anywhere from 5-10 minutes so be patient.
While your mixture is whipping, prepare your marshmallow pans. You can use a smaller 8x8 pan for thick large marshmallows or a 7x11 pan for smaller marshmallows. Line the bottom and sides of the pans with parchment paper. Dust the bottom WELL with either cocoa or arrowroot powder to prevent sticking together. We like to do a batch of both.
Now this is the part you'll want to let your kids help with because it is their favorite. Once the marshmallow mixture is ready, pour into the pans, dust with the cocoa or arrowroot powder, and let the kids smooth it out, pat it down, etc. with their hands until it's pretty level.
Set aside, lightly covered, for four hours or overnight.
When ready, flip the marshmallows out of the pan and cut into the size of preference. I use a pizza cutter and just cut them into strips and then jumbo blocks. Then, I like to lightly dust them again to keep them from sticking.
Now, the most important part: these do not last over 3-7 days. This really depends on the time of the year. They keep well in the cooler months but can mold pretty quickly in the humid summer months. Ensure you are keeping an eye out for any white spots (this is where using cocoa powder comes in handy).
And if you have ANY questions you can hit that consult button on the main page and I will respond with recipe guidance!
Foundations of Health
This week, I’m starting a new endeavor that means a lot to me. I will be starting “Foundation of Health Consults”. It will include a free introductory consult. I will detail this below but first let me preface with why this is important to me.
When a person goes into the business of natural healthcare it is usually because that person trusts that every aspect of our body was designed to take care of us as long as we take care of our body. It is the belief that our bodies can indeed heal themselves from common ailments when we properly take care of it. Last week, I shared one of my favorite quotes from Hippocrates: “It is far more important to know what person the disease has than what disease the person has.” Before a natural wellness practitioner starts throwing herbal concoctions at a person, they should first consider all aspects of the individual. The body is only as strong as its weakest link. This avoids the “chasing of symptoms” and allows us to heal the body and find the root cause. A great way I can do this is to run down all of the main foundations of health. From there, I branch into more specifics. For example, the main foundations of health I consider are (and these vary slightly from one practitioner to another): Water and food intake, sleep, exercise, and mental wellbeing.
From those I will dive deeper into the details of your average diet, how that food actually fuels your body system, etc. For sleep, we will work together to create a tangible sleep schedule. Exercise is often overlooked but it is just as important as the diet. A lot of people don’t want to hear that, however, these bodies that can do so many amazing things work optimally when not sedentary. Our bodies depend on movement for everything from digestion to our circulatory system. Our ancestors did not sit on the couch.
Lastly, we will discuss balancing emotions. Whether it is discussing your hobbies, your faith, your spirituality, what brings you joy, what makes you feel accomplished, or meditation, we will explore ways you find peace and relax. I often will additionally recommend more sunlight exposure followed by some calming teas, tinctures, or bach flower remedies should be interested.
This is so important to me because I see the change in our next generation. I realize in the world we live in today it seems hard to find the time to exercise. It seems hard to find real food. However, I will work with you to set goals for your entire family. Do not settle for the new idea of “it is genetic”. Yes, you can have a genetic component but ultimately, it’s up to you to decide if you’ll put in the work to combat that. If you have kids, this is a wonderful way to start implementing healthier choices in your home. We are seeing obesity rates tripling in the past few decades. We are seeing fatty liver disease and cholesterol which was once a disease of the elderly in teenagers. We can make the effort to set them up for a life of health.
I’m excited to start this journey. If you’d like to dive into your foundations of health, please click the consult link on my homepage. It will send me your direct contact and I would love to guide you.
The Birth of the Pharmaceutical Industry
It's hard to be passionate about something that many refer to as "alternative", "hippy stuff", "quackery", etc. Honestly, the majority of the population doesn't take herbal medicine and holistic remedies seriously. It's hard to imagine that for thousands of years these methods were the only way. In my herbalism courses, the first class we took was a class on History. We learned about Hippocrates (the Father of Medicine) and his studies of the human body, followed by Dioscorides, Samuel Thompson, and more. Finally, we got to the point in history where herbalism lost its momentum and in stepped pharmaceuticals. We were taught that to understand folk medicine and modern medicine, you need to know the history of both.
The biggest change to come about in medicine was in the year 1909. Up until this year, most people were still being treated with a holistic approach. However, there was a man by the name of Rockefeller (ring a bell?) who was a huge oil tycoon at the time. He had a large interest in using his petroleum byproducts in pharmaceuticals. While there were a few doctors out there prescribing pharmaceuticals when deemed necessary, the majority still heavily relied on a more natural approach. It would appear that Rockefeller was trying to come up with a solution and fast. Once again, we can only assume but sometimes you just have to follow the money. John Rockefeller got together with Andrew Carnegie in an attempt to present a report to Congress. This report would hopefully convince Congress that changes needed to be made to the medical field. In 1910, the Rockefeller Foundation and Carnegie Foundation funded a report called the Flexner Report. The American Medical Association (the AMA) chose a man named Abraham Flexner to write up the report they'd present to Congress. This report had one goal in mind. It was to prove to Congress that medical education needed to be rebuilt and standardized. Abraham Flexner's findings were that there were too many doctors in America practicing unscientific medicine. The Flexner Report heavily suggested that ONLY the American Medical Association (remember, the association that chose the author of this report) could approve medical school licensure.
Of course, Congress did indeed agree with the Flexner Report. The result? To become a doctor, you had to go to a medical school that taught the new standard: allopathic medicine. Who funded these schools? These schools were funded by John Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie. Those schools then received additional grants if they kept with the new standard and only taught the new stringent guidelines. No longer were medical schools teaching about plant-based options and nutrition first. To add fuel to that fire, Rockefeller had a lot of control over the media. He was able to discredit natural medicine quite easily. Yes, the natural medicine even Hippocrates swore by. Although, they do still teach the famous Hippocratic Oath in medical schools.
Did Rockefeller benefit from this Flexner Report and the standardizing of medical schools? He did. Rockefeller owned the majority of oil in the United States. He now could use his petrochemicals to manufacture everything that his schools endorsed from antibiotics to cough syrups to topical creams.
Now, herbal and holistic medicine is not the only way. We also need to understand that modern medicine isn't the only way either. It is when we work together to find a balance of the two that holistic and allopathic medicine can be of optimal use.
And although medical schools now discredit many of the methods of Hippocrates, the Father of Medicine, let us remember he was an herbalist. I'll leave you with my favorite quotes by him:
“The greatest medicine of all is teaching people how not to need it”
"It is far more important to know what person the disease has than what disease the person has"
"Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food"
"Walking is a man's best medicine"
Licorice Root - Not So Alternative
Plants are often viewed as alternative medicine. However, truth be told, plants are the original medicine. Today, I'm going to introduce you to a plant with so many benefits I may sound too grandiose attempting to cover them all. So, let's go back in time to Ancient Egypt where we have proof this plant was used medicinally.
You hear licorice and you think of the long, ropey Twizzlers right? I hear licorice and I think of the chopped brown roots in my apothecary. I think you'll be shocked to hear the two are very much related although current day Twizzlers, I assure you, have no health benefits.
In the 1920's Archeologists uncovered licorice root in the Ancient Pharaoh Tutankhamun's (or King Tut as some of you may know him) tomb. This didn't come as a shock because we know the licorice plant was used in its natural habitat region of Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia since at least 500BC and many claim even further back. Clay tablets from the Assyrian Empire included multiple references to the plant. In Ancient Greece, licorice root was favored for calming asthma, aiding chest problems, and healing canker sores. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, licorice was used as a general wellness herb that could remedy coughs and digestive problems. No matter how it was used amongst these different cultures, it had one thing in common. This plant held the common trait of being used as a cough remedy. In the 1760's a chemist from England decided that adding sugar to the licorice extract made it much more palatable to children for cough remedies. By the mid 1800's this sugary licorice concoction was turned into a candy treat. Well, I'm sure you can see where this is going. In 1845 the licorice gummy candy was born. By 1929 the company became Twizzlers. Although, today, that candy is filled with palm oil, red dye 40, corn syrup, and not healthy.
Licorice Root contains glycyrrhizin. Glycyrrhizin stimulates the adrenal cortex, therefore, producing hormones like cortisol, aldosterone, and androgens. These hormones all aid in the regulation of our body's metabolism and stress response. This being said, licorice root would make a great supplement for overall adrenal support. Glycyrrhizin also has an anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic action. Licorice is a wet herb. When an herb is considered as a wet herb, you can count on it being a demulcent. This means, it produces a film that aids sore throats yet also can break up mucus filled coughs. As with all demulcents, it also may be used as a mild laxative. As an anti-inflammatory, this herb may help with arthritis and inflammatory digestive conditions. Currently, there are many clinical studies on licorice root regarding everything from tumor growth to fatty liver disease. That being said, you should not take licorice root if you have high blood pressure or low potassium levels.
So, although you can head to the pharmacy for many medications to aid these ailments...is licorice root really all that alternative?