Empowerment Series: Beauty from Within, A Functional Medicine Approach tomorrow night.

I spent the weekend with my two very beautiful daughters and granddaughter and family and friends in upper Michigan. As we sat around the fire pit watching the sun go down over my daughters lake we shared how none of us felt beautiful growing up. To others this may sound very strange as my daughters are drop dead gorgeous. My hope is that my granddaughter will always know and celebrate her beauty from her infant bald head to every beautiful roll in her body.

This year I will be sixty years old and feel and look better than I did in younger years. People often ask me what's my secret? I so hope you will join us tomorrow evening while I share the functional medicine wisdom that has allowed me to regain an optimal level of health, wellbeing and beauty from the inside out. We will discuss how to slow or even reverse what we attribute to aging.  This is good for both men and women!  This will be a small intimate discussion at Rise Well-Being Center in Reston, Virginia. You might be surprised with what you will discover!

If you have not been to Rise Well-Being Center it is well worth the visit. I teach yoga here 7:30am Wednesday mornings and Carpe Diem Dance at 10:00am. There are many great teachers and offerings from different movement classes, QiGong, Tai Chi and meditation to spiritual development and wonderful body work and holistic therapies all in a very beautiful consciously green setting.

Check out all the Empowerment Series Here and please consider coming tomorrow evening, Thursday, May 30th from 7-8pm .

Please sign up Here.

Carpe Diem,

Lisa

PS
Save the date for June 9th for Love Your Body Day at Reston Town Center. I will be giving a short talk on Intermittent Fasting and will be sharing a booth with Tasty6 where you can sample part of our IF Kick-Start happening in June! Rise Well-Being Center will also have a booth there and there is free yoga all day in the pavilion.  This is one of my favorite events!

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, FDN-P, AFMC

Lisa is an author, functional nutrition and functional medicine trained health coach, yoga teacher, and retired Registered Nurse with the mission to "Inspire, Educate and Empower" individuals and corporations to achieve optimal health.

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive is a self-health book offering her Seven Steps to Optimal Health.

When she is not coaching, or speaking, you can find Lisa joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance or playing with her two grandchildren. She is the mother of four adult children and believes, "Optimal health should not be a secret."

How long does change take?

A mentor of mine once said, "Everyone thinks that change is hard and takes a long time and a lot of effort. In reality, change only takes as long as you decide."

Think about this. Change only takes as long as you decide. How long does it take to make a commitment? Will you make a commitment to yourself? To your health? In an instant you can make the powerful commitment to change whatever it is you wish. How you do it is variable with infinite possibilities. Only you can decide to choose change when it comes to personal health and wellness.

You can make all kinds of excuses. You can listen to your internal ANTs, automatic negative thoughts. You can be paralyzed by your same old self limiting beliefs.

OR... You can make the bold courageous decision to change. You don't have to know or worry about how. That will come when you've made the commitment. That will come when you open your mind and heart to new possibilities.

Making a commitment changes the way you look at things. When you change the way you look at things,  the things you look at change.

I've said it before. It is worth repeating. 

The body is self healing and self repairing. If you will decide to get out of your own way. 

When will you decide to change that which no longer serves you? When will you make a New Years Resolution that will stick? You know what doesn't work already. Will you open up your mind to new possibilities on what will work? Will you believe that change is possible? Are you willing to take personal responsibility? Or are you more comfortable in the victim role?

I saw one of my colleagues today at a conference on micronutrient testing. She and her husband participated in our Intermittent Fasting KickStart program before the holidays and have been practicing IF for the past month.  Her husband at first complained at the cost. Now he loves it. One has a paleo diet. One has a vegan diet. One is a healthcare practitioner, the other a corporate vice president. Both use the supplemental juices and soups for nutrient dense, convenient prepared organic fuel. Both have more energy and improved moods. This is a good example of how one small step can yield big lasting results.

If your goal is to improve your physical and mental health, then commit to a 14 day program with us. 7 days of preparation and 7 days of supplemental support.

We may just be the one to show you the how.

Want to know why everyone is talking about Intermittent Fasting?  It's not a short term crash diet. It's a sustainable and a simple solution for optimal health.

Commit to joining us this week with a live webinar on January 17th for delivery on January 24th. You may  Register HERE.

Carpe Diem,

Lisa

PS
Neck Back and Beyond scheduled a juice tasting for today, Sunday at 1pm weather permitting. This has been moved to Monday from 6-8pm. Email me to confirm if you are interested in attending.

This week a client sent me her recent lab results and was surprised at my interpretation. Her physician had pointed out her slightly elevated cholesterol of 227 as a concern. When I worked in cardiac care as a Registered Nurse I too would have been concerned and recommended a low fat, low cholesterol diet replaced with hydrogenated vegetable oils. Crisco over lard. Margarine over real butter.

That was then. This is now.

Here's a few myths versus facts:

Myth: Those with higher total cholesterol experience more heart attacks.
Truth: Cholesterol is only a minor player in the cascade of inflammation which is a cause of heart disease. Cholesterol is an inflammatory marker. It is sent to inflamed arteries to patch and heal damaged arteries. Lowering cholesterol is like eliminating firemen.  Instead, discover the source of the fire. Excess blood sugar is the most common cause of inflammation and triggers the liver to release cholesterol. Cholesterol is vital to our survival.

Insulin resistance is a huge common precursor to heart disease.  Elevated triglycerides are a better indication of excess glucose (sugar) creating an inflammatory response. Simple processed carbohydrates and sugars predispose you to heart disease.

• Cortisol, the stress hormone creates elevated glucose in the blood. Lowering both internal and external stressors is essential to lowering cholesterol.

Truth: There is no correlation between cholesterol and heart attacks. Just as many heart attack patients had low cholesterol as high cholesterol.(1)

Myth: The higher the cholesterol the shorter the lifespan.
Truth: "Lower cholesterol is a robust predictor of mortality..." (2) Higher cholesterol protects you from gastrointestinal disease, pulmonary disease and hemorrhagic stroke. It also has a protective influence against dementia. The most protective range for cholesterol appears to be between 200 and 240. (3)

Myth: Saturated fats are dangerous.
Fact: Saturated fats are not dangerous. The killer fats are trans-fats from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.  Please empty your cupboards of them. These are omega 6 oils and inflammatory. Hydrogenated means oxidized. This causes oxidative stress which can lead to DNA damage. DNA damage leads to mutated genes, a precursor to cancer. If you have cardiovascular disease you are more prone to cancer.

Myth: Fat makes you fat and is bad for your health.
Truth: Monounsaturated and saturated fats protect you from metabolic disease (insulin resistance and pre-diabetes).  Sugar is the culprit in cardiovascular disease.

Myth: Common Thinking, "I eat a clean healthy diet so don't need to worry about cardiovascular disease."
Truth: See above. Stress causes the liver to convert glycogen to glucose. Chronic stress can lead to insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome. My own history is a personal example of this. Diet is only one factor. Uncovering hidden stressors (like food sensitivities and gut issues) and how you react to the daily external stressors are equally powerful and important interventions.

Myth: Cholesterol is the most important marker determining heart disease.
Truth: Other important markers include homocysteine, CRP, HgA1c, Triglycerides, fibrinogen, fasting insulin, glucose, eAG, LDLIII, LDL IV and VLDL levels.  I like Spectracell Laboratories Cardiometabolic profile for a more complete picture. If you are local you can go to Golden Health Pharmacy in Sterling for blood draws on Wednesday mornings.

Fortunately, my client is going to a savvy practitioner who did most of the above tests. All were well within normal limits indicating her dietary changes over the last couple of months were making a big difference!

What was elevated and a bigger concern to me was her SHBG. Sex Hormone Binding Globulin is a stress marker. Stress is most likely the culprit of her elevated cholesterol as well a her hormonal imbalances.

Here's a picture explaining why:

Please note that to make any sex or stress hormones, you must first ingest, digest, and assimilate healthy fats and b vitamins. Second, cholesterol is the precursor to all of your steroid and sex hormones. If you want to feel good you need the basic nutrients to fuel your body.

Your body is interested in your survival. Your body will respond to whatever stress you give it. It will prioritize the stress response over rest and digest, rest and repair or mate and ovulate. You don't need to digest food or repair or make babies if you are running for your life.

Here's a slide from my Holy Hormones lecture.

Stress hormones affect your sex hormones which affects your metabolic hormones. You cannot lose weight or meet your health goals if you are stuck in fight or flight or stress mode.

So Sex Hormone Binding Globulin is a serum blood test that when elevated tells you that your body is prioritizing the stress cascade over sex hormones. This will affect your ability to lose weight and your libido. It also means your body is prone to storing belly fat.

So for quality of life, what do you think is a more important marker? Also know, that you are NOT your lab tests or diagnosis. You are the witness and you have the power to heal from within.

May this weekend be full of family, meaningful and nourishing conversation and food.

Carpe Diem,

Lisa

References:

Harvard University

1.http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/23/6/847 and http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0002870362900637 and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7114080

2. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.53106.x/abstract and http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15006277 

1,3 www.heartstats.org 

2, 3 http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/majority-of-hospitalized-heart-75668.aspx http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664115/

Why Kick-Start? What's The Difference?

Food is Love.  What's the difference in a Kick-Start to Wellness Program and a cleanse? It depends. The purpose of the Kick-Start is for you to identify what your unique body needs with education and support.

Our goal is to Inspire, Educate and Empower you to find your own optimal health and wellness.

Join us a week from Thursday, September 21st for a FREE Webinar to learn more.

This is a way for you to:

1. Bring in healthy foods that are decadent and delicious, nourishing and nutritious. 
2. Minimize food sensitivities, toxins, and inflammation and 
3. Help you to prioritize self-care.  

Here we will discuss specifics on why and how you can Maximize, Minimize and Prioritize.

This is NOT about dieting or deprivation! Feeling HANGRY (Hungry and angry) is NOT our goal!
See the funny towel my sister gave me below:

Each one of us are unique and different. We can have ten people with the same medical diagnosis and all ten could have different root causes and therefore different nutrient needs, different genetic capabilities to detoxify, and different environmental factors. A Kick-Start helps you discover what your unique body needs starting with what you are eating.

This Thursday, I'm speaking at the Loft @ Lululemon Store in Georgetown for a group of runners training for the Marine Corp Marathon. Click here to for more information and to register.

Territory Foods will be serving dinner while I speak about maximizing nutrition and give a few pointers for increasing breath work and the importance of rest and repair during training.  When preparing for a marathon is NOT the time to do a cleanse!  It is, however the time to Maximize, Minimize and Prioritize YOU so you can be your best!

So how is our Kick-Start to Wellness program different from a cleanse? First of all, this is not a one size fits all program. Included in the program is a health history and symptom questionnaire and a 30 minute consult to determine what your unique body needs are so you can set the goals you wish to accomplish over the next three weeks.

It includes group support, education and motivation. Something all of us, myself included, can benefit from. Just because I know what to do doesn't mean I always do it. I need you to keep me motivated too.

Most of all, this is about self-love and life affirming food, thoughts and actions.

Email me if you would like to join us Thursday, September 21st for our Free "Why Kick-Start?" Webinar to learn more.

With Love & Gratitude,

Lisa

About Lisa
Lisa is an author, inspirational speaker and a functional medicine coach with a mission to inspire others to feel and look their best at any age.

Lisa's book Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think and Thrive outlines her seven-step process towards optimal health that is fun and transformational.

Lisa is part of the New Self Health Movement and the Wellness Inspired Network. When she is not coaching, speaking or writing, you can find her practicing yoga and joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance. 

Breast Cancer Awareness Month & Resources for Your Health!

Who is not aware of breast cancer? But are you aware that cancer is a preventable dis-ease? This is not to say that if you have cancer, it is your fault. To the contrary, what we don't know can and will kill us. This blog post is meant to inspire you to what you CAN do right now to prevent cancer and/or a recurrence.

The truth is that we all have rogue cancer cells in our bodies. Just like our gardens have weeds. Strong soil with healthy nutrients will feed and nourish strong plants. Nutrient poor soils will allow weeds to flourish. Here's how to nourish your body to support optimal wellness, and information you may not get from your oncologist. No fault of the oncologist. A few things, like nutrition, just wasn't taught in medical school. You go to the doctor to fight disease. You go to a health coach to create wellness. Here's how:

#1 Maximize what is needed for your unique body to flourish and heal: First and foremost know your vitamin D level.Vitamin D is really a hormone and the master of your genes. It should be at least 60ng/ml.

According to Victoria Wood, RD, MPH, CNS, "Vitamin D is the conductor of your genetic orchestra". It controls the expression of over 200 genes. You need adequate vitamin D levels for the body to tell cancer cells to die (called apoptosis), and to turn on cancer suppression genes. Better yet, get a Spectracell Micronutrient test and find someone knowledgeable to read it for you and make recommendations to optimize all of your vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and amino acids. These are the essential building blocks to a healthy body.

Here's an exert from my Kick Start to Wellness Program and quote from the man who mapped the Human Genome:

"Genes are absolutely not our fate. They give us useful information about the increased risk of a disease, but in most cases they will not determine the actual cause of the disease, or the actual incidence of someone getting it. Most biology will come from the complex interaction of all the proteins and cells working with environmental factors, not driven directly by the genetic code"-Dr. Craig Venter, PhD.

The food on your plate matters and it can be a powerful form of chemotherapy that can change your genetic expression at the stem cell level. Drugs, surgery and radiation cannot do this. It makes no sense to do conventional therapies without attention to the power on your plate.

I've quoted Dr Kelly Turner before,

"If we are going to win the war on cancer shouldn't we be studying those who have already won?

The famous Framingham Study looked at women with BRAC 1 and BRAC 2 mutations that did NOT get cancer. What differentiated these women? It was the diversity in their diet. Most of us eat the same food every day, yet our bodies were meant to eat a much wider and wilder diet. We can easily get caught in a rut when it comes to feeding ourselves. Have fun playing and experimenting with food. Go to your local farmers market tomorrow and buy a new (organic, non-gmo vegetable) and try roasting or sauteing it. Here's one my intern, Yonina Blech-Hermoni brought in to our nutrition group lately that was supremely delicious:

Can anyone tell me what it is? 

#2 Minimize Stress, Inflammation and Toxicity: There is a lot published on the negative effect of toxins in our food, personal care products, cleaning supplies, water, air and thoughts. I covered this in my book Savvy Secrets. What I did not cover, and is becoming a bigger picture, is the affect of electromagnetic radiation and electromagnetic frequency that we are all exposed to. Here's an important short you tube video to explain concerns and what you can do to protect yourself and your children who are particularly affected. Please take the time to watch:

Please don't jog with your cellphone in your breast pocket! When I was studying integrative nutrition I learned that 35% of 23 year old men suffer from infertility. This was not the case three decades ago. Men, please do not carry your cellphone in your front pants pocket. To get an assessment of your home and for more resources check out the The Center for Wireless Safety

Also, does it make sense to get annual mammograms to look for microscopic cancer cells? My daughters oncologist in Arizona advocated Thermography as a first line followed by an ultrasound, both non invasive procedures. If you are in the Washington, DC area you can get one this month @  Neck Back & Beyond

Remember, we all have cancer cells in our bodies so how do you boost your immune system to protect yourself? See #1  Vitamin D! In fact, Victoria Wood cites a study in nursing homes giving one set of residents vitamin D and another set the flu vaccine. Vitamin D was more effective than the flu shot in preventing the flu. We recommend Vitamin D3/K2 liquid drops to boost the immune system, K2 is essential to get calcium in the bones and prevent osteoporosis as well as for gut and immune health. Contact me for a great source.

#3 Prioritize Self Care, rest and repair, relaxation, laughter, breathing, exercise, meaningful relationships and work. I find this the most challenging of the three for myself and other busy women. Here's a few pictures of my health coach retreat I attended last month and hope to offer something similar in my home when my yoga dance space is completed. Although it's tough to match the beauty of morning yoga overlooking the mountains in Asheville, NC!

What will you do this weekend to prioritize self? 

Carpe Diem,

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500

Lisa is an author, inspirational speaker and coach with a mission to inspire others to feel and look their best at any age. She is also the Executive Director of the Integrative Wellness Program for the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders. Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think and Thrive outlines her seven step process that is fun and transformational. Lisa is part of the New Self Health Movement and the Wellness Inspired Network. When she is not coaching, speaking or writing, you can find her practicing yoga and joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance.

What's Your Gut Telling You?

Yesterday, I had the privilege of being interviewed for the New Self Health Movement's Power Half Hour series on "What's Your Gut Telling You? You can view the 1/2 hour show here but I wanted to share a few highlights.

We mentioned the importance of vitamin D to prevent leaky gut and autoimmune disease. Did you know that optimal Vitamin D levels can also reduce cancer by 50% and decrease mortality from all disease? 

This week, I also had the honor of providing an in-service to the medical and clinical staff at The Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders on autoimmunity and the gastrointestinal tract. I asked Dr. Delara Tavakoli, an integrative OB/GYN to speak. She said, 

"We are no longer in the era of scurvy and rickets; 

we are in the era of preventative medicine".

The RDA (or really dumb advice) for vitamin D is 400 international units per day. This is the minimum you need not to get rickets. Most of us need 10 times this amount for optimal health.  Normal lab ranges are between 30-100 ng/ml but if 50% of the population has cancer, I certainly don't want to be normal. I want to know what optimal is! Optimal is 60-80ng/ml in healthy individuals, or higher if you have cancer or autoimmune disease, according to Dr. Tavakoli.

Epigeneticis, the study of the expression of genes proves we are not bound by our genes. We know that, "All Health Begins in the Gut" I don't care what your diagnosis, nutrition can make a drastic difference in your quality of life and often the outcome and prognosis.  I know this for sure. As a health coach, I have the honor of being a witness to patients and clients innate ability to heal.

I've shared this online course before on Radical Remissions, created from a Harvard trained Ph.D researcher who has interviewed over 6,000 cases of radical remissions. 

Lori, a co-host of the Power Half Hour Series and author of The Gift of Disease is also proof of the power to heal first the gut, then the body. She is now thriving, symptom free and medication free, after a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. Authors who are part of the New Self Health Movement will share powerful inspirational stories of self healing in future episodes of the Power Half Hour Series.

I shared in this interview a patient with Crohn's, another autoimmune disease. He experienced dramatic improvement in just 3 weeks by following my Kick Start Program and anti-inflammatory diet. 

How to prevent and heal from chronic illness and autoimmune dis-ease? Enlist the 5 R's of functional Medicine:

1. Remove inflammatory food (sugar, gluten, dairy and processed and GMO foods and trans fats)
2.  Replace processed foods with whole foods and nutrients and effective supplements. (Get micronutrient testing and ensure vitamin D is optimal not just within normal lab results)
3. Restore probiotics and prebiotics through supplementation and fermented foods
4. Repair the gastrointestinal tract using healthful foods and proven supplements
5. Rest and digest. Rebalance using stress management, yoga, meditation, exerciseand movement to improve sleep. Change negative attitudes and address negative thoughts.

What three things can you do? 

1. Try one new vegetable this week. Begin to crowd out processed acidic food with whole organic alkaline foods found in green leafy vegetables, legumes and some fruit. 
2. Supplement with vitamin D3/k2 until your number is in the optimal range. (watch your vitamin A too and other essential vitamins)
3. Come to our nutrition support group, Join our Thursday Power Half Hour and hire a health coach!

Carpe Diem,

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500

Lisa is an author, inspirational speaker, and coach with a mission to inspire and empower others to feel their best at any age. She is also Executive Director of the Integrative Wellness Program for the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders.  

Her book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive outlines seven steps that are fun and transforming. Lisa is part of the New Self Health Movement, the International Health Coach Association and the Wellness Inspired Network. When she is not coaching, speaking or writing, you can find her practicing yoga and joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance at every opportunity.