Author: Melissa Rapoport

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6 Ways to Reduce the Impact of Stress on Your Health

When it comes to chronic health issues, from high blood pressure to autoimmune conditions to headaches, the impact of stress is largely overlooked. Conventional doctors tend to focus on treating the condition with medication. And many people would rather sweep stressors under the rug than deal with the discomfort. 

However, stress and trauma have serious consequences on your gut, your immune system, and the expression of your chronic symptoms.  Improving your resilience in the face of stressors could be the magic key to keeping your condition at bay. After all, less stress = less pain!

Here are 6 ways you can reduce the impact of stress on your health:

  1. Simplify your schedule. If you are struggling with a chronic condition, it is a cry for help from your biological system. Give yourself time and space to renew and rebuild the resilience that you are lacking. Open space in your week to just be. Ask yourself honestly, “Where can I slow down?” When I first begin working with a new client who is go-go-go, their immediate answer is, “I can’t slow down.” Go-go-go is a habit, and habits can change. If this is you, you might start with, “Where can I carve 5 minutes out of my day to do deep breathing?” That’s a great place to start.
  2. Find time for sleep. Make sure you are prioritizing shut eye. Create a bedtime routine that is relaxing and supportive – take a bath, sip some tea, read a pleasant book. Avoid screens two hours prior to bed and help the whole family get on board. Doing things with support makes them much easier!   
  1. Make room for movement. I’m a big proponent of “start slow.” You don’t need to add a strenuous exercise routine right away unless you find that that helps your pain. To start, just make a plan to have a short walk outside, or put down your yoga mat and gently stretch and move your body. Consider a yoga or tai chi class for meditative movement. Even 10 minutes each day has benefits. And, 10 minutes six days a week is more impactful than 60 minutes on the weekend. Your body and brain crave consistency.  
  2. Book a massage –- or other bodywork -– for pain relief and stress reduction.  Acupuncture, craniosacral, myofascial release are all good options to check out. Breathe and let go! 
  3. Explore mindfulness meditation — This can be as simple as listening to a guided meditation on an app or with our  Learn to Relax Toolkit. You can also find a class, such as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in your area and start a daily practice. Or, you can simply make time to take deep, cleansing breaths throughout your day — setting a reminder is a great way to make sure you remember to do it!  
  4. Consider therapy — The stress and trauma from past experience sometimes holds us back from being able to let go of tension in the body. Past traumatic experience can lead to increased pain and function in autoimmune disease, and addressing it can lead to improved symptoms.  

Finding this compelling but don’t want to do it by yourself? I feel so strongly about self-care that I recently completed the Advanced Training with the Center for Mind-Body Medicine. And now I want to share new skills with you!

In fact,  my friend and colleague, Sara Santora, also a Center for Mind-Body Medicine graduate, and master yoga teacher, will be co-facilitating a 6-week group called Inner Peace Practices for only 10 people. We’re so excited!

It will be a very special experience. Promise. (And, I never make a promise I can’t keep.)

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Mythbuster: The 3 Real Reasons You Need to Detox

Here’s a marketing myth-buster: Your liver is an amazing organ that does a beautiful job filtering your blood, making toxins less harmful to the body and removing them from your bloodstream. You do not need to “detox your liver” as many health marketers would lead you to believe. 

Here’s the truth: You are exposed to toxins daily, and those toxins accumulate in your fatty tissue (even in the brain!) and when your liver gets overburdened filtering these toxins, your body suffers. The purpose of our Spring Whole Life Detox is to release the toxins and support your liver to do the job it needs to do. You will feel better and brighter. Period. 

Why detox now? Reason #1: We are making a shift from winter to spring. Coming out of winter most people tend to feel heavier, in their body but also emotionally and even spiritually. Detox helps bring vibrancy, positivity and better health by literally “lightening your load.”

Why detox now? Reason #2: We’ve been living through more than two years of a global pandemic. It has taken a toll — whether you’ve suffered with COVID-related illness, the chronic elevated stress and anxiety of living through the pandemic and the weariness that is plaguing just about everybody — you are left in need of a serious reboot.

Why detox now? Reason #3: Most people encounter many toxins every day and these toxins are undermining your health and you don’t realize it!  Where do toxins come from?  Here are some examples:   

  • chemicals in the air
  • mercury in fish
  • medications and bacteria in the water supply
  • pesticides and herbicides in food
  • hormones, antibiotics and herbicides in the animals we eat
  • even plastics from water bottles
  • And now let’s add hand sanitizers and antiviral cleaning chemicals to the list

Normally, your liver is in charge of helping rid the body of most toxins.  Here’s what happens when your body becomes overburdened with too many toxins for your liver to handle: 

  • Your immune system becomes compromised and your liver uses up your glutathione supply, not to mention many other nutrients, to process these toxins out. (FYI Glutathione is the mother of all detoxifying antioxidants, and helps prevent damage to your cells).  
  • Next, you get run down and become susceptible to infections and are at risk for developing disease, including viruses, like COVID. 
  • And if that’s not enough, your fat cells do a great job of storing toxins (ewww!) which results in excess weight.  

Supporting your liver with targeted nutrients so that it can do an amazing job lowering your toxin load is what detox is all about!  And then you feel better!  And the best way to begin is to focus on eating lots of liver loving food.

This is the perfect time to give your body the nourishment it needs to support its innate ability to regenerate and thrive. To help you feel like you again.

If you’re like me, you might be feeling any of the following symptoms: sluggish, lack of clarity, chronic headaches, poor sleep, constipation, undesired weight gain.  If you do, your body is yelling out to you…it’s time to detox!

Lastly, Detoxing is also about lifestyle — from what you eat (and don’t eat) to chemicals found in your home, hydration, sleep and self-care. It is synergistic, working together to reduce your toxin load. And, in our upcoming Whole Life Detox spring reboot, I’ll be showing you the how and the why. 

If you’re ready to jump into summer full of energy and optimism, feeling lighter in your body, consider joining me for our 14-Day Whole Life Detox. Two LIVE workshops, a private Facebook Group, all the materials and supplements you need plus me at your side every step of the way. We begin soon! Learn More

 

 

Meet Melissa: Melissa Rapoport is the Manager of Health Coaching and Lifestyle Programming at Blum Center for Health in Rye Brook, NY. She combines her graduate work in Developmental Psychology with her education in nutrition, health and coaching to create highly individualized programs that result in lifetime change. A contributing author to three international bestselling books, Melissa’s greatest joy is her relationship with her two daughters. To learn more about Melissa’s coaching practice at Blum Center for Health, click here.

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What to do right now if you have joint pain

You suffer from joint pain. You may have an official diagnosis of arthritis, or you may suspect you have arthritis. It may have gotten worse, or even been triggered by COVID-19. If you’ve visited your doctor for relief, you’ve likely been told to take anti-inflammatories and that you will need to “live with it.”

Here’s what Functional Medicine tells us: Arthritis and joint pain — whether it’s autoimmune or osteoarthritis — is an inflammatory condition that can be treated through finding and treating the root causes of inflammation which include food, healing the gut, and mitigating the effects of stress. The answer to joint pain is not “take anti-inflammatories and live with it.”

This is why Dr. Susan Blum wrote her bestselling book, Healing Arthritis – she’s on a mission to help millions of sufferers heal their joint pain. Since its release she has helped literally thousands of people learn that arthritis is NOT inevitable, and that by following her 3-step Arthritis Protocol, arthritis and joint pain sufferers will be on the road to living a pain-free life.

Here are 4 ways you can address your joint pain starting now

Heal your gut. Hard Stop.

Your gut microbiome, the 100 trillion or so bacteria that live within you, are key players in the health of your immune system and a healthy gut is mandatory for preventing and treating any inflammatory disease. It’s clear that healing the gut to heal the joints is a valid, scientifically supported approach to treating arthritis. In fact, hundreds of research studies and articles have been published in the past decade proving the gut-arthritis connection, and showing us how system-wide inflammation begins deep inside your digestive system. 

How do you heal your gut? Through using food as medicine, mitigating your stress response and using supplements to support your gut microbiome. Read on to learn about each of these.

Make pain-free food choices 

In fact, the single most important influence on reducing your pain is the food you eat!

Here’s what you need to do:

Increase the number of healthy foods you are eating.

  • Your grocery list should include antioxidant rich dark leafy greens like spinach, kale, swiss chard; and deep, colorful berries like blackberries and blueberries.
  • Make a habit of eating clean fish once or twice weekly, it’s full of inflammation-lowering omega 3 fatty acids. Buy high-quality, grass-fed, non-GMO animal products and eat them sparingly, perhaps once each week.
  • Eat loads of healthy, high-quality oils and fats like olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds.
  • Fit lots of fiber onto your plate in the form of whole grains, legumes and veggies — to feed the good bacteria of the gut. (Avoid gluten if you know you are sensitive to it, or if you have autoimmune disease).
  • Spice your foods with turmeric, the bright yellow indian spice that’s not only delicious but also combats inflammation.  

Avoid inflammatory foods

This includes highly processed foods made with white flour and white sugar, and practically everything that comes in a box.  Avoid processed flour products like baked goods and cookies, and sweetened dairy products like ice cream. Shop the perimeter of the store – buy real, whole foods in their natural state.

Even better, we highly recommend following Dr. Blum’s Leaky Gut Diet for Arthritis, which eliminates known arthritis triggers for a period of time, and then reintroduces them in a methodical way to create your personal nutrition plan. You can learn more about it in Healing Arthritis, or join us for the Healing Arthritis Challenge. 

Powerfully deal with stress: Less stress = less pain.

When it comes to arthritis, the impact of stress is largely overlooked. However, stress and trauma have serious consequences on your gut, your immune system, and your arthritis pain.  Improving your resilience in the face of stressors will keep your arthritis from flaring.  

How to destress:

  • Simplify your schedule. If you are suffering from arthritic pain this is a cry for help from your biological system. Give yourself time and space to renew and rebuild the resilience that you are lacking. Open space in your week to just be.
  • Find time for sleep. Make sure you are getting over 8 hours of sleep a night. Work backwards from your wake-up time and get into bed 1 hour prior to that. Make a routine at bedtime that is relaxing and supportive – take a bath, sip some tea, read a pleasant book. Avoid screens 2 hours prior to bed and help the whole family get on board. Doing things with support makes them much easier! 
  • Make room for movement. You don’t need to add a strenuous exercise routine right away unless you find that that helps your pain, but work towards getting there. To start, just make a plan to have a short walk outside, or put down your yoga mat and gently stretch and move your body beyond the confines of the standing and sitting of your normal day. If you’re feeling more ambitious, try a yoga or tai chi class for meditative movement.
  • Book a massage – or other bodywork – for pain relief and stress reduction.  Acupuncture, craniosacral, myofascial release are all good options to check out.
  • Explore mindfulness meditation.  This can be a simple as listening to a guided meditation on an app or with our Blum Center recordings.  It can be more regimented like finding an MBSR or TM class in your area and starting a daily practice.  It can also be as simple as breathing in and out throughout your day with intention. 
  • Consider therapy.  The stress and trauma from past experience sometimes holds us back from being able to let go of tension in the body.  We know that past traumatic experience leads to worse pain and function in autoimmune disease – and we’ve found that addressing it can lead to improved symptoms.  

Utilize anti-arthritis supplements to decrease pain.

There are several supplements that have been scientifically proven to decrease inflammation and pain. These are some of the supplements Dr. Blum outlines in her book, and that we utilize in the Healing Arthritis Challenge with specific, exact dosing:

  • Omega 3 (EPA and DHA) & Omega 6 (GLA) Fatty acids – these powerful anti-inflammatory fats have been found to reduce pain and improve physical function in Rheumatoid Arthritis.
  • Curcumin – this plant-derived antioxidant and natural anti-inflammatory  has been found to reduce pain and stiffness in Osteoarthritis.
  • Vitamin C – the link between oxidative stress and joint damage is clear. Vitamin C (and other antioxidants) have been shown to reduce pain (and oxidative stress) in inflammatory joint disease.
  • Probiotics – when we think about joint health, our attention naturally turns to the gut and the health of the microbiome (the bacteria that live in the digestive tract).  Improving the balance of the terrain in your gut with a good probiotic can help with the arthritic pain and inflammation throughout the body.

The great thing is you don’t have to do this alone!

If you want someone with you every step of the way, if you love the power of community, please consider joining me and Dr. Blum for the Healing Arthritis Challenge. Dr. Blum will teach you the exact 3-Step Protocol that we use with patients at Blum Center for Health. You will learn the best food plan for arthritis, the precise supplements and dosage we recommend for an arthritis-free life, how to build resiliency so that life’s stressors won’t affect your health, and what your gut has to do with your arthritis symptoms. In essence, Dr. Blum gives you all the tools you need to fix your gut and heal your arthritis. And I’ll be with you every step of the way!  Show Me More

To recap, the 3 actions you can start right now to decrease your arthritis pain is 1) eat an anti-arthritis diet 2) take the appropriate supplements and 3) learn to be resilient to stress. Do these things and you will feel better with less pain and much more energy.

 

 

Meet Melissa: Melissa Rapoport is the Manager of Health Coaching and Lifestyle Programming at Blum Center for Health in Rye Brook, NY. She combines her graduate work in Developmental Psychology with her education in nutrition, health and coaching to create highly individualized programs that result in lifetime change. A contributing author to three international bestselling books, Melissa’s greatest joy is her relationship with her two daughters.

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10 Ways To Beat Holiday Stress

Deck the halls, we are officially in “holiday season”. Do your holidays come with a side dish of stress? 

While holiday stress tends to affect every person in one way or another, the American Psychological Association asserts that holiday stress disproportionately affects women. Women traditionally carry the extra burden of shopping, wrapping, hosting and prepping holiday events, creating time crunches, emotional and physical stress and, let’s be honest here, burn out. Women, listen up: Tis the season for setting boundaries and taking care of yourself!

Holiday specific stressors include:

  • Family visits and holiday parties are a common source of seasonal anxiety. From planning and hosting events to a packed social calendar, too much activity may cause you to feel overwhelmed during the holiday season.
  • Many people have unreasonable expectations of themselves — and others — during the holiday season. 
  • Holiday celebrations typically involve lots of food — some of which may not be diet- or allergy-friendly for you or your loved ones.
  • Gaining a few extra pounds may be a seasonal rite of passage for some, but it can be a significant source of stress for anyone who is trying to lose or maintain their weight. Changes in exercise and sleep routines can also be a source of stress and may lead to worsening of other health conditions.
  • If you have experienced trauma, family conflict, or loss of a loved one, the holidays may cause you to feel especially sad or lonely. 

Here are 10 ways to beat holiday stress:

  • Take a daily walk with no phone, no agenda. Unplug from the world. Ten minutes every morning makes a huge difference in how you face the day.
  • Stick to your routine and schedule your priorities first. Do you usually workout on Monday, Wednesday and Friday? Go to your book club on Thursday evenings? Do something special on Friday nights? Go! Put these on your calendar in pen!
  • Cut down on emotional eating. Identify exactly what you’re feeling before you take the first bite. Are you hungry? thirsty? tired? stressed? sad? happy? Give it a name, and then choose to eat it. Choose each bite. It takes the “power” away from the food.
  • Say “No.” We go overboard to please others. Accept the commitments you want. Period.
  • Ask for help and delegate. Accustomed to doing it all? Most of the people in your life are accustomed to you doing it all too, and most likely, they don’t realize you need help. They aren’t mind readers. Ask for help, and be ready to assign a task.
  • Create a nightly tranquil self-care routine rather than plopping in front of the television. Consider taking a hot bath, and surround yourself with fragrant candles and your favorite music. You might even “unplug” from all electronics. Gasp, I know!
  • Downsize meals — consider less dishes, or host a community meal where everyone brings their favorite dish. This creates inclusion and connectedness.
  • Reduce gifting — Set boundaries and limits early, and stick to them. Decide for whom you are buying presents, and decide on a quantity. When we give with overabundance to the people in our lives we desensitize them to the meaning of the gifts.
  • Simplify plans with close friends. Save the holiday get-together for after New Year’s. For now, get together for coffee as a respite from the holiday flurry.

In essence, what all of this means is … slooow down … enjoy the sights and sounds of the holidays, and most of all fill your holiday with joy, love, gratitude and merriment. There’s much to celebrate — including a less-stressed you!

 

 Join Melissa for her Best Year Ever virtual workshop on January 11th to set intentions and goals for 2022! 

Meet Melissa: Melissa Rapoport is the Manager of Health Coaching and Lifestyle Programming at Blum Center for Health in Rye Brook, NY. She combines her graduate work in Developmental Psychology with her education in nutrition, health and coaching to create highly individualized programs that result in lifetime change. A contributing author to three international bestselling books, Melissa’s greatest joy is her relationship with her two daughters.

 

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10 Ways To Help Your Body Detox Right Now

Spring is in full bloom, summer is on the horizon and it’s time to give your body the boost it needs to once again feel vibrant, enthusiastic and energized! 

Living through more than a year of a global pandemic has taken a toll — whether you’ve suffered with being sick from COVID, the chronic elevated stress and anxiety of living through the pandemic and how it’s affected your family, or poor food choices from the altered reality that you’ve been living — you are left in need of a serious reboot.

This is the perfect time to give your body the nourishment it needs to support its innate ability to regenerate and thrive. To help you feel like you again.

If you’re like me, you might be feeling any of the following symptoms: sluggish, lack of clarity, chronic headaches, poor sleep, constipation, undesired weight gain.  If you do, your body is yelling out to you…it’s time to detox!

Even without COVID, most people encounter many toxins every day and these toxins are undermining their health and they don’t realize it!  Where do toxins come from?  Here are some examples:   

  • chemicals in the air
  • mercury in fish
  • medications and bacteria in the water supply
  • pesticides and herbicides in food
  • Hormones, antibiotics and herbicides in the animals we eat
  • even plastics from water bottles
  • And now let’s add hand sanitizers and antiviral cleaning chemicals to the list

Normally, your liver is in charge of helping rid the body of most toxins.  Here’s what happens when your body becomes overburdened with too many toxins for your liver to handle: 

  • Your immune system becomes compromised and your liver uses up your glutathione supply, not to mention many other nutrients, to process these toxins out. (FYI Glutathione is the mother of all detoxifying antioxidants, and helps prevent damage to your cells).  
  • Next, you get run down and become susceptible to infections and are at risk for developing disease, including viruses, like COVID. 
  • And if that’s not enough, your fat cells do a great job of storing toxins (ewww!) which results in excess weight.  

Supporting your liver with targeted nutrients so that it can do an amazing job lowering your toxin load is what detox is all about!  And then you feel better!  And the best way to begin is to focus on eating lots of liver loving food.

Detoxing is also about lifestyle — from what you eat (and don’t eat) to chemicals found in your home, hydration, sleep and self-care. It is synergistic, working together to reduce your toxin load. And, spring  is the perfect time to detox! 

10 Ways to Help Your Body Detox Right Now:

Eat only whole foods, avoiding food that is highly processed, void of essential nutrients and generally full of unwanted additives and chemicals. The Spring is here! Look for fresh produce at local farmers markets where food was recently harvested. It contains more nutrients and tastes delicious!  Liver loving food is rich in antioxidants, colorful whole foods, lots of fiber, dark leafy greens and cruciferous veggies!

Remove sugar from your diet. One of the most important things you can do for your health is to stop eating sugar. Sugar suppresses your immune system! And, sugar in all forms can be toxic for the body, putting you at risk for fatty liver, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. Stick with natural sugars found in fresh fruits or other whole foods, such as raw honey or pure maple syrup added in small quantities to a recipe.

Pay attention to your body and how it feels after eating certain foods. Consider a 3-week elimination diet from common allergens and/or inflammatory foods such as dairy, gluten, soy, sugar, alcohol. Each person responds differently to foods and not all foods that are considered “healthy” are right YOUR body. 

Eat an abundance of seasonal vegetables in your diet each day including a variety of colors.  Best picks for the Spring include cabbage, bok choy, broccoli, asparagus, collard greens, garlic, onions, and Swiss chard. Also, vegetables and fibrous fruits, such as berries, provide beneficial fiber, an important part of the elimination of excess waste in your body.

Hydrate! Drinking adequate water ensures good filtration of the kidneys, digestion, and bowel regularity. Eliminating waste in your body is vital to preventing toxic overload in your body. As a general rule, drink half your body weight (in pounds) as ounces. When exercising and in the warmer months, add more! Add fresh lemon and receive even more benefits for your liver. Consider a good water filtration system that uses a carbon filter.

Purge your home from harmful chemicals and environmental pollutants. Dump the harsh chemical cleaners and opt for a simple but effective solution of equal parts of water and vinegar. Be aware of harmful substances in your cosmetics and toiletries such as oxybenzone, parabens, and phthalates. Add an air purifier and/or a green plant.

Make time to unwind. Making time to rest in today’s fast paced world we often need to be reminded to do. Incorporate stress reduction each day, such as mindfulness, taking a 10-minute walk, reading, writing, listening to music — anything that slows you down and brings you into the here and now.  

Consider intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting is generally considered a time period of caloric restriction such as 14-16 hours a day. When you “fast” it gives your body time to digest and ultimately deplete our glycogen stores (stored liver glucose). When this happens, your body looks for another source of energy to function. It turns to using your fat stores. This state, known as ketosis, results in the generation of new mitochondria, reduced insulin resistance and weight loss.

Sleep! Sleep! Sleep! Studies confirm that a lack of sleep correlates with a lack of concentration, weight gain, poor eating habits, as well as puts stress on your immune system. The best way to make sure you include adequate sleep each day is to plan it. Set a bedtime each day by shutting your electronics off at a certain hour while setting up a bedtime routine to help you unwind at the end of the day. Shoot for a minimum of 7-9 hours a night.

Be positive! Ever spend time around someone who’s energy is addictive? Being pessimistic is nonproductive, and bad for your health. Just be kind … to yourself, and others.

If you’re ready to jump into summer full of energy and optimism, if you want to recover from COVID — whether you had the virus, It’s time to detox! Consider joining me for our 14-Day Whole Life Detox. Two LIVE workshops, a private Facebook Group, all the materials and supplements you need plus me at your side every step of the way. We begin soon! Learn More

Meet Melissa: Melissa Rapoport is the Manager of Health Coaching and Lifestyle Programming at Blum Center for Health in Rye Brook, NY. She combines her graduate work in Developmental Psychology with her education in nutrition, health and coaching to create highly individualized programs that result in lifetime change. A contributing author to three international bestselling books, Melissa’s greatest joy is her relationship with her two daughters. To learn more about Melissa’s coaching practice at Blum Center for Health, click here.

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9 Telltale Signs Your Gut Needs Attention

“The whole world is suffering from this COVID-19 pandemic,” microbiologist Heenam Stanley Kim said, “but what people do not realize is that the pandemic of damaged gut microbiomes is far more serious now.” 

We are now learning that there is a strong connection between your gut microbiome and your vulnerability to develop the disease known as COVID-19, and the severity of symptoms you experience. And perhaps, most importantly, we are learning that after you have COVID, your prior gut issues can increase your risk for developing autoimmunity, or for having a flare of your existing autoimmune condition. 

You see, your gut microbiome — which includes all the bacteria and yeast that normally live in your digestive tract — keeps your immune system healthy and your intestinal lining strong.  But if you develop a condition called dysbiosis — an overgrowth of bad bacteria, yeast, parasites or other microbes like viruses — you then have an increased risk of damage to your intestinal lining, something called Leaky Gut Syndrome. If the integrity of your gut lining is “leaky,” pathogens, such as COVID-19, can cross over from the gut and gain access to your body and your immune system. Because your gut health is so important, and to support you especially right now, we are running a 10-Day HealMyGut Group Coaching Program beginning October 22nd –> More Info

Remember, your gut (which includes your stomach, and your small and large intestines) is your first line of defense, and research shows us more and more every day that your gut microbiome communicates with every system and organ in your body — your cardiovascular, endocrine, respiratory, nervous, urinary and reproductive systems. Your gut is connected to your brain and mood. It’s even connected to your skin, hair and nails. 

I hope by now you can see why all of us at Blum Center for Health, and in the world of Functional Medicine, believe that The Number One thing you can do this spring for your health….is….take care of your gut microbiome!

Here are 9 Telltale Signs Your Gut Needs Attention

  • You have had COVID-19, or you are afraid to get very sick from COVID-19 
  • Have heartburn, reflux, IBS, diarrhea or constipation
  • Are frequently getting sick
  • Have fatigue or brain fog
  • Are feeling puffy or inflamed
  • Have inflammatory conditions like arthritis, autoimmune, heart disease, obesity or diabetes
  • Have food sensitivities or reactions to food
  • Have mood issues, such as depression and anxiety
  • Have difficulty losing weight

Let’s talk about the many different types of gut issues.  If you have gas or bloating after you eat, or if you experience constipation and/or loose stools, or any type of intestinal discomfort, this means that you have a problem with how your gut is functioning. If you go to a conventional doctor they will commonly diagnose you with irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS. But, this diagnosis doesn’t tell you why you’re having this problem, and they’ll likely prescribe medication to control the symptoms, which by the way only makes the imbalance worse in the long run. 

Here are three tips to heal your gut, which will not only treat your symptoms, but address the underlying problem.  And keep your immune system happy, too.

  • For your digestive symptoms, find out whether or not you’ve got food sensitivities, which could be causing the problem. Problematic foods are typically gluten, dairy and corn. The food you eat is the number one influencer on your gut bacteria.  One way to figure it out is to follow a functional medicine elimination food plan. In fact, this will be the basis of our 10-Day HealMyGut Group Coaching Program beginning October 22nd –> More Info
  • Help balance your gut microbiome with supplements: 1) We use herbal antimicrobials to help remove or “prune” the undesirables living in your gut 2) l-glutamine to help shore up the lining of your small and large intestines and treat leaky gut and 3) probiotics (good gut bacteria as a supplement) to help influence the gut ecosystem and immune system.  Depending on the severity of your gut symptoms, you may also need digestive enzymes.
  • Reduce stress by learning resiliency techniques. Stress is the 2nd biggest influencer on the microbiome – in a bad way.  We suggest learning strategies for relaxation that work for you, as this will help heal and protect you from developing dysbiosis and leaky gut. 

If this sounds like just the plan you need, consider joining me for our 10-Day HealMyGut Group Coaching Program. We’ll do this together, as a group, and I will be with you every step of the way! >>> Check it out<<<

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6 Time Sensitive Reasons to Detox in January

Phew! Welcome 2021! Never in my life has the notion of “New Year, New You” been more relevant. This time last year the word COVID wasn’t in our lexicon and politics just felt like another day. Enter the realities of COVID-19, the eruption of social justice movements all over the world, and the divisiveness of the 2020 United States election and one thing is clear: We need to detox. 

First let’s answer the question: What is detox? 

On a day-to-day basis we encounter overload from unhealthy exposures such as chemicals in the air, mercury in fish, medications and bacteria in the water supply, pesticides in your food, chemicals in your toothpaste and other personal care products, and even plastics from your water bottles.

And beyond that, and this is important, you also add to that toxin load with negative people, social isolation, hypervigilance regarding COVID, obsessively scrolling social media, listening to the news, and having to duck and cover from the onslaught of awfulness that has permeated the year 2020. 

It is Time to Detox.

6 Time Sensitive Reasons to Detox in January

Improve immune system function — When your body is overburdened with toxins, your immune system becomes compromised, setting you up for catching viral and bacterial infections, like COVID, influenza and pneumonia during the winter months. Your immune system, which mainly lives in your digestive tract, also protects you from toxin-triggered autoimmune conditions. If you want to improve your immune system, a sound whole foods detox is a must-do.

Bolster your health —  Toxins are stored throughout your body — in your fat, bones, tissues, cells and even your brain. Long-term exposure can affect your immune system (autoimmune disease, anyone?), metabolism (trouble losing weight, anyone?), behavior and mood (depression and anxiety, anyone?) and can lead to disease (hello, cancer).  Depression, anxiety, joint pain, sluggishness, sleep disorders, brain fog and the inability to lose weight can bring you down. You must reduce your toxic load to help your body function at its best. 

Recenter — It’s been a tough year. A really tough year. Starting 2021 with a Whole Life Detox, like ours, will help you regroup and find your center. Mind-body medicine promotes looking at all the areas of life that are throwing you off balance. Daily habits, such as watching/listening to too much negative news, scrolling through social media feeds, engaging with overly activating or over depleting television before bed and not having self-care time-outs that promote wellness, are areas that often need detoxing. 

Weed out energy zappers — Who or what depletes your energy? Are there people who you experience as emotional vampires? Has working remotely left your work life and personal life so intertwined that you’re overburdened, not knowing where one begins and one ends? Sheltering at home has created new challenges (and new opportunities). A well-rounded detox helps you evaluate what needs to change.

Increase energy and promote mental clarity — Who isn’t ready for a boost of positive energy?  You will experience, both from a medical standpoint and a psychological standpoint, an increase in energy, and an uplift in mental clarity. Many people report clearer thinking and the ability to deal with stressors more easily. Ready to say “yes, please”? 

Jumpstart weight loss resistance — Yes, the “COVID 15” is a real thing — stress eating, more sedentary, boredom, isolation — has led to an average of 15 pounds per person. Detoxing helps rid the body of toxins stored in fat cells, and revs your metabolism to jumpstart weight loss.

What else you need to know: We live in a world filled with toxins. With over 8,000 chemicals in circulation in the environment, you need a program that will help your liver clear them out and reduce your toxin load.  Using targeted supplements and eating a detox diet is what we mean by detox. Otherwise your liver pathways get jammed, become overburdened, and toxins can accumulate in tissues and fat cells. You may not realize that this accumulation is making you feel crappy. Let’s detox! 

Click Here to learn more about our medically-sound, safe detoxification program I am hosting this January.  We’ll do this together, as a group, and I will be with you every step of the way! 

 

 

Meet Melissa: Melissa Rapoport is the Manager of Health Coaching and Lifestyle Programming at Blum Center for Health in Rye Brook, NY. She combines her graduate work in Developmental Psychology with her education in nutrition, health and coaching to create highly individualized programs that result in lifetime change. A contributing author to three international bestselling books, Melissa’s greatest joy is her relationship with her two daughters. To learn more about Melissa’s coaching practice at Blum Center for Health, click here.

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5 Ways to Protect Yourself From the Flu and COVID-19 This Fall and Winter

As we move into fall, many people are asking, “What is going to happen when COVID-19 meets influenza and the common cold? What can I do to protect myself?”  Beginning this fall we will have to deal with a flu season wrapped in a global pandemic. Many experts are expecting it to be the “perfect storm.” 

One thing we know for sure is that COVID-19 is deadly, and it does not seem to be seasonal. Remember in March when many people believed it would “die off” in the summer when actually it surged?

We can only expect that COVID-19 will complicate our upcoming flu season.

But, there are very tangible steps you can take to protect yourself.  We’ve got you covered!

This is exactly why Dr. Blum created Immune System Strong — an 8-week LIVE online course designed to fortify your immune system to fight viruses, like COVID-19, influenza and the common cold as we move into flu season Learn more here

5 Ways to Protect Yourself From the Flu and COVID-19 This Fall and Winter

The basics: As we move indoors it will be important to wear a mask in public places at all times, and wash your hands throughout the day. COVID, influenza and the common cold are all spread person to person through respiratory droplets — talking, coughing, sneezing — from contaminated surfaces and by direct touch. So come winter, you will be protecting yourself, and others, from not only COVID, but also influenza, pneumonia and the common cold. 

Make sure your immune system is functioning at its absolute best. Since over 75% of your immune system lives in your digestive tract, your gut plays a key role in your body’s ability to defend itself against infection. It is imperative that your gut is in top working order. Signs your gut needs attention: gas, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn, food intolerances, undigested food in your stool, feeling tired or lethargic. If you get sick a lot, this is an absolute must-do. 

Eat an immune-boosting diet. Food is medicine, or food can be poison. Minimize immune-suppressing foods, such as sugar, processed foods, refined carbs, fried foods, vegetable oils, artificial anything and alcohol. 

Maximize vegetables, fruit, olive oil, whole grains, nuts, seeds, fermented foods and healthy fats, like avocado and wild caught salmon.

Detoxify your body and your environment. We live in a world filled with toxins that can harm the immune system (and even trigger autoimmune disease). These include pesticides/herbicides, hormones and plastics in food and water, solvents and mold in our homes and heavy metals in the fish we eat and water we drink. Others can come from cosmetics and products we use at home. 

Consider supplementation. There are targeted supplements that will support your immune system and make your body less hospitable to viruses. These include Vitamins A, C, and D3, Zinc, N-Acetylcysteine, mushroom extracts, and herbs, such as elderberry, astragalus, and echinacea. Not all of these are appropriate for everyone. If you have an autoimmune disease, the mushrooms and herbs may not be right for you. 

If you’re as concerned as I am about shoring up your immune system to protect yourself from infections like COVID-19, influenza and the common cold as we begin to move indoors, consider joining Dr. Blum and me for our new course — Immune System Strong. Four LIVE classes with Dr. Blum, 8 coaching calls with me, you’ll learn exactly what you need to do to fortify your immune system. We begin soon! Learn More

 

Meet Melissa: Melissa Rapoport is the Manager of Health Coaching and Lifestyle Programming at Blum Center for Health in Rye Brook, NY. She combines her graduate work in Developmental Psychology with her education in nutrition, health and coaching to create highly individualized programs that result in lifetime change. A contributing author to three international bestselling books, Melissa’s greatest joy is her relationship with her two daughters. To learn more about Melissa’s coaching practice at Blum Center for Health, click here.

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The #1 Thing You Can Do For Your Immune System Starting Today

So, let’s be real … with COVID still sweeping through communities, you might be wondering what you can do to protect yourself as we move into the flu and cold season. Yes, very soon, we will be moving indoors with closed windows and that begs the question, “How will I keep myself safe?”

With over 70% of your immune system living in your digestive tract (yes, that’s true!), it makes sense that the food you eat is the first stop in empowering your immune system to fight infections and keep you healthy. 

There are foods that are particularly good at boosting immunity, but the reality is the first order of business is to use “food as medicine” to reduce inflammation. Often when I talk with people about “reducing inflammation” their eyes glass over. It’s not easy to grasp.

Inflammation. When it’s on the outside, like arthritis, we can see it.  When it’s on the inside we can’t see it. And often we can’t even feel it. (Although I’ve heard so many times, “I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to feel that way.”) But if you get sick often, if you’ve taken lots of antibiotics in your life, if you’ve had stress or trauma, or if you eat inflammatory foods (like sugar) or the Modern American Diet, you’ve likely experienced inflammation. In fact, you’re likely inflamed right now.

Inflammation is when your immune system or other cells in your body release irritating chemicals that cause irritation on the inside.  Remember this is a normal process because this is how your body fights infections or an injury, and the inflammation resolves once the infection or injury is over.  

However, if high levels of these inflammatory chemicals are released continuously (which can happen if you are eating a lot of SUGAR), the normal functioning of your cells can be interrupted, and healthy tissue gets damaged, including your immune system. This is not so good-especially since more and more studies link inflammation in the body to many serious illnesses and conditions.

To make sure your immune system is in tip top shape, which will protect you from foreign invaders like COVID-19, influenza and the common cold, it’s important to avoid processed foods and eat an anti-inflammatory, antioxidant-rich diet, full of vegetables, fruits, cultured foods, healthy fats, planted-based proteins and minimal animal protein.  

If there’s only one diet change you choose to make it’s this: 

GET RID OF SUGAR TO REDUCE INFLAMMATION!

Sugar is inflammatory and suppresses your immune system. Sugar stimulates your immune cells to actively release inflammatory molecules that travel throughout your body causing damage and irritation. 

Avoid high glycemic foods like soda, white flour and processed sugar. When it comes to sugar, you always want to choose low-glycemic vs. high-glycemic foods. The glycemic index determines how quickly a particular food raises your blood sugar level. High blood sugar causes inflammation and damages your immune system, and puts you at risk for diabetes, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease. Any food processed with white sugar or white flour is high-glycemic and should be eliminated. That means bagels, breads, breakfast cereals, cakes, cookies, crackers, candy, and soda.

Avoid an over-focus on carbohydrates as the main source of calories for the day. Make your plate for lunch and dinner half vegetables — that’s a great start. Natural, unprocessed foods, like fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains provide health-promoting vitamins, minerals, fiber, and phytochemicals — all good for your immune system. Use rice and other grains like condiments.

Read the labels of everything that comes in a package. Food manufacturers are sneaky. They often add sugar (and a lot of sugar) to foods that need very little sugar. Yeah, I know our panels are in grams. Definitely annoying, but here’s what you need to know: We recommend keeping your added sugars at about 24 grams. And, 4 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon. So, if that granola bar you love has 24 grams of sugar — that’s six teaspoons (and your allotment for the day).

Here are some substitution suggestions for common high glycemic foods: 

Do you like soda, fruit juice, sweetened drinks? Drink filtered water, herbal teas, mineral water, fruit-infused water.

Do you consume products with corn syrup, cane sugar, or any other added sugar (check your condiments!)? Try paleo ketchup, mustard, fancy vinegars, and herbs and spices, such as basil, cinnamon, cumin, dill, garlic, ginger, rosemary, tarragon, thyme, turmeric.

Do you eat dried fruit, frozen yogurt, ice cream, sorbet, cookies, candy or other sweets? Try coconut milk yogurt with your own fruit, dark chocolate covered almonds and carob.

Do you typically eat pretzels, potato chips, corn chips, cookies and crackers made from white flour, muffins, waffles, pancakes, popcorn or bagels? Switch to gluten-free whole grain cookies, gluten-free almond meal crackers with hummus or guacamole, nuts, seeds, fresh fruit. 

P.S. If you’re as concerned as I am about shoring up your immune system to protect yourself from infections like COVID-19, influenza and the common cold as we begin to move indoors, consider joining Dr. Blum and I for our new course — Immune System Strong. Four LIVE classes with Dr. Blum, 8 coaching calls with me, you’ll learn exactly what you need to do to fortify your immune system. We begin soon!

Meet Melissa: Melissa Rapoport is the Manager of Health Coaching and Lifestyle Programming at Blum Center for Health in Rye Brook, NY. She combines her graduate work in Developmental Psychology with her education in nutrition, health and coaching to create highly individualized programs that result in lifetime change. A contributing author to three international bestselling books, Melissa’s greatest joy is her relationship with her two daughters. To learn more about Melissa’s coaching practice at Blum Center for Health, click here.

 

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COVID-19 Nutrition 101: Let Food Be Your Medicine! 

A walk through the grocery aisles early this morning was a little shocking: The produce section was overflowing and the packaged processed food aisles were … empty.

The Number One thing you can do to support your immune system is: Eat Real Food

Your immune system is fueled by the food you eat. After all, over 75% of your immune system lives in your digestive tract. This means that every bite of food you eat influences your gut microbiome, which in turn determines your body’s ability to mount the appropriate immune response to invaders like COVID-19. 

Stroll on by the cookies, the sweets, the empty-calorie crackers, the high sodium frozen dinners and opt for packaged foods with minimal ingredients. Take a peek at the ingredient list and use this litmus test, “Am I willing to eat each ingredient with a spoon?”

Here are 6 no-nonsense things you can do right now to help boost your immune system and keep your body healthy.

Choose whole, nutrient-dense foods. 

Eat the rainbow! Focus on fruits and vegetables of all colors — They  are filled with antioxidants that support your immune system, and fiber that feeds your healthy gut bacteria. Choosing foods that mirror the colors of a rainbow ensures that you eat a large variety of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and phytochemicals that have enormous protective and healing powers.  

These rainbow foods are particularly good right now: 

Green produce helps boost the immune system and detoxify the body.

All healthy diets require green-colored produce and that is particularly true now. In fact, research suggests that green vegetables are the source of a chemical signal that is important to a fully functioning immune system. They do this by ensuring that immune cells in the gut and the skin known as intra-epithelial lymphocytes (IELs) function properly. (1)  Include green vegetables, such as arugula, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, green beans, kale, peas, romaine lettuce, spinach, swiss chard, and zucchini. Enjoy fruit, such as avocado, green grapes, and kiwi. 

Orange and yellow-colored produce help improve immune function.

Chock full of beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant, vitamin A and vitamin C, these include vegetables, such as carrots, sweet potatoes, all varieties of winter squash, yellow summer squash, orange and yellow peppers and golden beets. It also includes fruits, such as oranges, grapefruit, lemons, mangoes, papayas, pineapple and peaches. 

Pro Tip: A great way to ensure you’re getting enough vegetables is to make your plate at lunch and dinner is at least half vegetables. 

Here are a few resources for getting organic, healthy foods delivered:

Check out Misfits Market — they will send you a box of seasonal produce at up to 40% less than what you would pay at the grocery store. (Use the code COOKWME-DY5XFK for $25 off.)

You might have access to a local CSA that will deliver to your door. Do a google search for your area or you can start with https://www.localharvest.org/csa/. 

Check out Butcher Box — they deliver 100% grass-fed beef, free range organic chicken and heritage breed pork directly to your door. 

Ditch sugar and processed foods.

The stress and anxiety of COVID-19, combined with “Sheltering at Home” creates the perfect recipe for craving sugary and processed foods — they temporarily make us feel energized but a big crash comes shortly afterward. Beyond that sugar and processed foods SUPPRESS your immune system. To help you kick the sugar habit, enroll in our 7-Day Sugar Detox Here

Eat high quality protein foods.

Protein is critical for immune function. What’s an adequate amount? Roughly half your bodyweight in grams a day. These include plant-based proteins, such as legumes and nuts and seeds, as well as organic, clean, humanely-sourced animal protein. 

Plant-Based Protein Superstars:

  •     1 cup cooked lentils = 18 grams
  •     3 tbsp. hemp seeds = 10 grams
  •     I cup cooked quinoa = 6 grams
  •     3 ounces extra firm tofu = 9 grams
  •     1 cup chopped broccoli = 8 grams
  •     ¼ cup raw almonds = 8 grams
  •     ¼ cup raw sunflower seeds = 7 grams
  •     2 tbsp. chia seeds = 6 grams
  •     2 cups chopped kale = 4.5 grams

Wild-caught salmon has 13 grams, chicken has 18 grams, and ground beef, 11 grams — all per 2 ounces.

Eat cultured and fermented foods to feed your microbiome and support immune health.

Include sauerkraut, kimchi, natto, chickpea miso, yogurt made from coconut or almonds. These foods give your body a dose of healthful probiotics — live micro-organisms crucial to a healthy intestinal microbiome (the microbial community in the gut) — which plays a role in supporting the immune system and warding off damaging inflammation inside the body. 

Make friends with mushrooms.

Mushrooms are medicinal!  They have immune-boosting polysaccharides that have anti-viral, antibiotic properties. Shiitake, maitake and oyster mushrooms are easy to prepare — a simple roast, sauté or simmer will do. In fact, you can throw them in everything — soups, omelettes, stir fries, stews, vegetable dishes. 

Add garlic, onions, cloves, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, rosemary, oregano and more when cooking. 

These herbs and spices not only add flavor to your food, they are anti-inflammatory powerhouses. Add them to soups, stews, vegetables, oatmeal, or just about anything! Did you know that garlic and onions offer wide spectrum antimicrobial propertiess.

Drink plenty of fluids.

Your body depends on it, as does your immune system. Water and herbal teas,of course, but soups and broths also count! Stay away from fruit and vegetables juices — they are full of sugar (yes, even the so-called healthy ones.) 

Wondering what else you can do?

Join Dr. Blum’s FREE Friday Open Office Hours Q & A, to have all your lingering questions answered: Register Now

Schedule a 45-Minute Immune Support Consult with one of our healthcare practitioners.  Schedule an informational call here

Read my recent blog post: 10 Ways to Reduce the Coronavirus Stress Response 

 

Check out Dr. Blum’s FREE 3-part video series! Last month I led live classes on the immune system and I’m happy to share with you the three videos:  How To Boost Your Immunity and Resiliency to Viruses: DOWNLOAD FREE NOW

Meet Melissa: Melissa Rapoport is the Manager of Health Coaching and Lifestyle Programming at Blum Center for Health in Rye Brook, NY. She combines her graduate work in Developmental Psychology with her education in nutrition, health and coaching to create highly individualized programs that result in lifetime change. A contributing author to three international bestselling books, Melissa’s greatest joy is her relationship with her two daughters. To learn more about Melissa’s coaching practice at Blum Center for Health, click here.

Resources:

  1. Ying Li, Silvia Innocentin, David R. Withers, Natalie A. Roberts, Alec R. Gallagher, Elena F. Grigorieva, Christoph Wilhelm, Marc Veldhoen. Exogenous Stimuli Maintain Intraepithelial Lymphocytes via Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor Activation. Cell, 13 October 2011 DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2011.09.025