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Acne

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Why I’m Obsessed With Oil Pulling

WTH is oil pulling? It’s actually really simple. Oil pulling is just swishing oil around your mouth for about twenty minutes. Since it has antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties, coconut oil is my favorite to use (and tastes best). It’s actually an ancient Ayurvedic tradition that has ancestral roots. Like so many ancient traditions, it fell out of favor and people now resort to teeth cleanings, teeth bleaching, harsh mouthwashes and toxic, fluoride-filled toothpaste. What are the benefits? I know oil pulling may seem completely odd. How could swishing oil around your mouth for twenty minutes be so beneficial? First, understand that the health of your mouth affects the entire body. Not only are you swallowing the bacteria (both good and bad) that is present in your mouth, but oral health can also play a role in heart and overall health. Harmful bacteria in the mouth can be transmitted to…

What This Health Coach Is Eating To Prepare For Her Wedding

You know what’s really upsetting? Hearing about women binge dieting to prepare for their weddings. There is NO need to try these dangerous, unhealthy diets to prepare for your wedding. Preparing for a wedding should be fun, it should be a happy time in your life; not a time where you’re cranky and constantly hungry because of a new diet you’re trying out. If you eat healthy, exercise and sleep there is literally no need for any of these crazy diets I see floating around. The issue is that most people aren’t even sure what is “healthy” anymore. Should you avoid fat? Should you avoid sugar? Should you avoid carbs? I’ll tell you what you should do and what will work: eating real food. Binge diets, low calorie diets, low fat diets and eating low-fat foods or “diet” foods (i.e.: 100 calorie snack packs, low calorie frozen dinner, etc) is…

How To Get Rid of Wrinkles From The Inside Out

We are constantly bombarded with wrinkle creams, lotions, acne cleansers and every other product on the market that’s supposedly going to give you beautiful skin. Here’s the thing: beautiful skin starts internally. Whatever is going on in your digestive tract, the vitamins and minerals you consume, the healthy fats (or lack thereof) all directly affect the appearance of your skin more than a $60 cream ever could. The foundation of healthy skin is a healthy diet, but did you know that the supplements you take internally can affect your skin more than what you actually apply to it? Let me introduce you to the mother of all healthy skin supplements: collagen. No, I’m not talking about expensive collagen creams; which are ridiculous anyway because collagen molecules are too large to be absorbed by the skin. So when you buy topical collagen, you’re just wasting your money. I’m talking about taking collagen…

My Response To The Collective Sigh Over “Paleo Diet”

This article is ridiculous for a few reasons, one being that archaeologists widely agree on what our ancestors ate, though diet DID vary from throughout regions; the Eskimo ate a shit ton of whale, the Massai ate a low of raw blood and milk, the Aborigines ate the stomachs of kangaroo, etc. “You simply do not see specific, trans-regional trends in human subsistence in the archaeological record. People can live off everything from whale blubber to seeds and grasses. You want to know what the ideal human diet consists of? Everything. Humans can and will eat everything, and we are remarkably successful not in spite of this fact, but because of it. Our adaptability is the hallmark of the human species. We’re not called omnivores for nothing.” Hoyes misses the mark here. Yeah, people can live off of anything, we see people living off of McDonald’s and Burger King and…

Natural Beauty 101

The average woman uses up to 515 chemicals per day on her skin. FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTEEN. Where’s the “natural beauty” in that? The skin absorbs whatever is applied to it. So even if you’re eating a mostly organic and local diet, if you use toxic body products you’re still ingesting chemicals. But this doesn’t take away from the fact that the first step to natural beauty is a healthy diet. I firmly believe that beauty is a direct result of health. Eating healthy fats, organic veggies and nutrient dense proteins will provide clear and hydrated skin, strong nails and great hair. Not only that, but diet directly influences mood. Happiness is hot, y’all. Here’s the good news: most organic, chemical-free makeup and body products are way cheaper than their toxic counterparts. Here is a list of some of my favorites, all of which are much more effective than the chemical laden…

The Most Effective & Relaxing Detox Bath

You know that the skin is your largest organ, but did you know that you can literally pull toxins out of your body through your skin by taking a detox bath? Detox baths are particularly effective for: flu colds acne yeast and bacterial vaginosis infections sore muscles anxiety depression autism hyperactivity, ADD, ADHD ev-er-y-thang We are constantly bombarded with toxins, from the air we breathe to the water we drink. We come into contact with more toxins, pollution and chemicals than any other generation of people in history. It’s essential to detox on a regular basis, and taking a detox bath is one of the best ways to do it. It’s also super relaxing, which is great because stress is seriously damaging to the body. Ingredients: this bath filter to remove chlorine from the water 1 cup of bentonite clay 2 cups of epsom salt It’s important to remove chlorine…

How Vegetarianism Ruined My Health

When I was sixteen I started dating a vegan. He was older, lived on his own, was in a band and I thought he was so cool. The relationship lasted all of five minutes, but he left me with something I would hold onto for the next five years: vegetarianism. It was sort of the perfect storm that led me to become a vegetarian. My mother had always told me I had the body that was “prone to getting fat”, I was compassionate and then introduced to the horrors of factory farming, I was sort of hippie-ish by nature and didn’t want to destroy the environment or kill anything, I wanted to be healthy and have clear skin, and I thought going vegetarian was my answer. How had I not seen it sooner? Of course, the answer to life’s problems was eschewing meat! I didn’t want any part of factory…

Never Diet Again

I hate diets. Diets are unhealthy, they don’t work, they’re not fun and they promote an unhealthy relationship with food. Food is awesome. It is meant to fuel the body and be enjoyed. When I think of diets I think of calorie counting, measuring food, stressing out over portions and eating processed junk just because it’s low in calories or carbs. Can you live your life that way? I can’t, and I wouldn’t want to. I haven’t counted calories or carbs or weighed or measured my food in years. And yet, I’m in better shape than I have ever been. You can be too. When people find out that I’m a health coach, they assume at least one of the following: I don’t eat fat I don’t eat meat I count calories I love soy I’m a granola eater I restrict my food intake I don’t eat bacon None of…

5 Steps To Clear Skin and How I Cleared My Acne

Have you ever seen those ridiculous acne commercials starring really attractive teens dancing around, lamenting one tiny blemish and think to yourself, “Are you f*%&ing kidding me??” Yeah, me too. My skin troubles started in the 4th grade. Literally overnight, I woke up to a face full of acne. At first, I thought it would go away and that it was a short phase. But acne has plagued me ever since. And I’m not talking about a breakout here and there. I’m talking deep, painful, cystic acne. I’m talking pus, deep scarring and skin that somehow manages to be both oily AND dry at the same time. When I say that I had horrible acne, I am not over exaggerating. I resembled a burn victim. People would stare. And to my embarrassment and horror, sometimes they would actually ask me what had happened to me, what was wrong with my face. There was…

Butter Makes It Better/Smart Balance Is Stupid

Butter is one of my favorite foods. Hands down. It makes everything taste better, it’s rich, it’s creamy, it’s awesome. I literally drench my food in butter. To the point that Scott asks, “You want some ________ with that butter?” You can fill in the blank yourself, because anything would fit. Sometimes I even eat itraw, right out of the tub I get it in from my farmer. Unfortunately, butter takes and has taken a lot of abuse over the years. It clogs arteries, makes you gain weight, will give you heart disease, etc. None of which is true of course. In fact, everyone should eat more butter. Butter used to be largely consumed until it fell out of favor and was replaced with oxidized, high omega 6 margarine. What a bummer for the American public, their health, and their taste buds. Margarine is made of cheap, industrialized vegetable oils. Mainly soy, corn, and/or canola. These…