The Benefits of Ka'Chava Protein Powder

Ka'Chava is the best tasting protein powder I have ever come across. My daughter even calls it a milkshake! Yes, add water and it is that tasty! I like to use it as a great breakfast on the go or a quick snack. It can even be used before a workout as fuel or post workout for recovery. It is a great protein source that is free of cholesterol, allergens, estrogens, antibiotics, gluten, egg, soy, or dairy that is completely vegan. Just two scoops mixed with water and you're good to go!

To help your blood sugar not have the ups and downs leaving you reaching for sugary snacks, caffeinated drinks and simple carbs (for a synthetic boost of energy that quickly turns into feelings of fatigue and lack of concentration), have a Ka'Chava. Ka'Chava provides over 70 superfoods and nutrients along with natural, unrefined carbohydrates that provide slow-release endurance energy to power your body and help you push on through the day.

The unique soluble fiber in Ka'Chava absorbs up to 10x its weight in water and fills your stomach giving you that full and satisfied feeling. In addition, Ka'Chava delivers a perfect balance of complete protein, healthy fiber, and essential fats to keep your hunger at bay, while sustaining you with nutrient dense whole foods instead of loading up on empty calories.

Ka'Chava's 100% plant-based protein blend offers the best choice for people who are serious about their health. With a perfectly balanced protein profile, it contains all nine essential amino acids as well as the other key amino acids required for lean muscle growth and overall health. It's derived from a blend of pea protein, rice protein and sacha inchi protein using the latest techniques to produce a smooth texture, high protein count and easy absorption into the body. It's also completely hypoallergenic so you get all the benefits of a whey protein without any of the digestive side effects associated with whey such as gas, bloating or intestinal disturbances.

If that wasn't enough reasons, Ka'Chava helps your digestion too! The digestive tract is an important part of your immune system and your body's first line of defense. Ka'Chava has prebiotics, probiotics, digestive enzymes, alkalizing greens and dietary fiber. The prebiotics and probiotics help maintain healthy intestinal flora, boost digestive health and improve your immune response. Digestive enzymes help facilitate the breakdown of nutrients for better absorption into your body, thus increasing their bioavailability. A blend of alkalizing greens helps remove waste from the body and keep pH levels balanced, while dietary fiber helps to normalize elimination of the bowels.

For brain health the brain must be provided with the right set of nutrients to ensure it functions optimally. Omega 3 EFAs (Essential Fatty Acids) can help improve focus, memory and emotional balance, while plant-based adaptogens enhance the body's natural ability to withstand stress and fight disease by supporting the endocrine system. Adaptogens in Ka'Chava also support the adrenal gland function, which helps to increase performance under mental and physical stress.  

So many good things about this protein powder! We have it in stock at the office for your convenience or you can order online here.

Envy Pillow for a Good Night's Sleep

A good night's sleep is priceless. I have helped patients with sleep problems for over a decade now and I have realized that getting a good night's sleep depends on a multitude of factors. Stress level, caffeine and sugar consumption, how late dinner was and what you do right before bed are some of the factors that can make or break a good night's sleep. One tip I give is that it is ideal to go to sleep and wake up about the same time every night so you can train your body into a rhythm. Meditation before bed can help as well, to calm down the mind and enable you to sleep more deeply. Lavender oil is great to spray on your pillow or put into a diffuser. Lavender is known to be relaxing. 

As a chiropractor, the right support also matters. It wasn't until Envy pillow came along that I could recommend one pillow that would help the majority of patients. I am always trying to help patients find the right mattress or suggest a pillow to go between the knees (if they sleep on their side) to help. When it came to suggesting a pillow for the head and neck I was always at a loss, for there was never the perfect pillow that seemed to help. I would suggest a few and then the patient was left to figure it out for themselves. 

Once I was using Envy pillow and getting great feedback from patients I was so happy to find it! Envy pillow is memory foam with a bamboo pillow case that has sloped sides that cradle and tilt your head slightly, minimizing face-to-pillow contact AND in optimal neck support and alignment. It also has an elevated pattern in the center of the pillow that improves circulation by distributing weight and reducing pressure on the face. In this way reducing wrinkles and is wonderful after any face or sinus surgery.  

If it's something you are interested in we have pillows in the office that you can try! Your body will thank you. 

Health Benefits of Earthing

We are learning more and more these days that being able to find ways to relax, destress and calm ourselves helps us live happier and healthier lives. Meditation, exercise, massage, reading a novel, and being with a loved one are all ways to help us achieve this. More recently, an ancient technique called Earthing has hit the mainstream wellness scene.

Earthing, or grounding, is the practice of walking outside barefoot so your feet can make direct contact with the surface of the earth. This may seem different at first, but there is evidence that having your feet sink into the sand or feeling the movement of the grass beneath your toes can bring benefits such as decreased stress, inflammation and pain.

Earthing allows the exchange of positive and negative ions between our bodies and the earth. The body naturally produces free radicals (positive ions) to help combat anything unwanted inside of it, but too much of this can do more harm than good, causing excess inflammation in the body. When we connect with the earth (which holds a lot of negative ions) we actually, without knowing, transfer these ions between the ground and our bodies, reducing the number of damage-causing free radicals.

Throughout history, humans mostly walked barefoot or with footwear made of animal skins. They slept on the ground or on skins. They had contact with the earth many times a day—significantly more than we do today. We all know that the sun gives us warmth, light and vitamin D, and the earth provides us with fresh air, water, food, and a surface to live on. When your bare feet make contact with the earth’s surface, your body uptakes a natural and subtle energy. The earth produces a limitless energy supply of abundant free electrons which are electrically conductive. Our bodies, being bioelectrical in nature, are able to absorb this electrical energy that, in turn, will help balance our own internal bioelectrical environment for healthier functioning of bodily systems. Think about the last time you were barefoot with nature, and how it made you feel.

Earthing has amazing benefits. Here are some reasons you should make earthing part of your daily routine:

• Decreases inflammation, and improves or eliminates the symptoms of many inflammation-related disorders
• Reduces or eliminates chronic pain
• Improves sleep in most cases
• Increases energy
• Lowers stress and promotes calmness in the body by cooling down the nervous system and stress hormones
• Normalizes the body’s biological rhythms
• Thins blood and improves blood pressure and flow
• Relieves muscle tension and headaches
• Lessens hormonal and menstrual symptoms
• Dramatically speeds healing and helps prevent bedsores
• Reduces or eliminates jet lag
• Protects the body against potentially health-disturbing environmental electromagnetic fields (EMFs)
• Accelerates recovery from intense athletic activity

Earthing is simple, basic, powerful and free. It has been regarded as a genuine missing link in the health equation—something with astounding potential to do much good for our health and humanity. It really doesn’t take much and can be done anywhere. Swim in the ocean or lake, garden with bare hands, lay on the earth, walk barefoot on the grass or sand and watch the body begin to heal.

If you would like to read more about the earth’s natural healing benefits, Earthing by Orber, Sinatra and Zucker is a must-read.

I suggest 20 min. of walking outside barefoot to get the full benefit of earthing.  If you do have trouble sleeping or want to improve energy you can get an earthing sheet which you sleep with that produces negative ions when you sleep or a mat to put your bare feet on while you are sitting at the desk.  You can also put a Himalayan salt lamp on your night stand.  The moisture in the air will pull the salt in the air.  As you breath in the salt which is negative ions it attracts the positive ions in your body and neutralizes them, taking stress off the body just like walking outside does. To get a real therapeutic dose try our Himalayan salt booth where you sit and relax while breathing in a concentrated amount of salt to get amazing benefits not just from the negative ions but also for the lungs and skin.  

Nourishing the Thyroid
By guest blogger, Raquel Reis

Have you ever wondered why you have low energy even after a full night of sleep and countless cups of coffee or why when you exercise and monitor everything you eat you can't lose weight? Perhaps you've been given antidepressants but deep down inside you know that's not the solution.

It might have to do with your thyroid, the gland that governs our metabolism. If it is your thyroid you would not be alone for about 20 million people in the U.S. have some form of thyroid disease. If you have already been diagnosed with a thyroid condition and are doing everything your doctor and the Internet are telling you but you are still not feeling well don't get discouraged, we are here to help.

What is the solution?

The thyroid is one of the most important, and often mismanaged, glands we have working in our body. This butterfly-shaped gland located bellow the center of our neck secretes hormones that control some major functions including weight management, how we use energy, how we metabolize food, and even how we sleep. For women, hormones can shift out of balance during childbearing and menopause, and even under chronic stress, putting them at a higher risk
for thyroid conditions than men.

The thyroid gland needs specific vitamins and minerals to properly do its job. Since we are all unique in how our hormones are functioning, the best way to get a handle on what our body specifically needs is to come to the office for your personalized Nutrition Response Testing to identify your specific needs and imbalances.

There are many ways to support thyroid health easily and naturally, utilizing food and nutrients to encourage proper functioning. The way we eat can actually help, or hurt, our thyroid gland. With the right information, we can make simple choices to improve thyroid health. Here's how:

Know the possible contributors to thyroid disease:

Pesticides
Artificial sweeteners
Low fat, No fat diets (or diets high in the wrong fats)
Iodine Deficiency
Highly refined, processed and packaged foods
Mercury toxicity
Food allergies
Gluten
Sugar
Goitrogenic foods (broccoli, cabbage, kale, collard greens, mustard greens, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, radishes, kohlrabi, turnips, daikon, and rutabaga - DO NOT eat these foods raw. Other Goitrogenic foods to avoid include raw almonds, millet, canola, pine nuts, peanuts and cassava.
Fluoride
Soy and soy containing foods

The nutrients our thyroid needs are easily accessible in many foods and dietary supplements.
Look for foods and supplements that contain:

Iodine
Sea vegetables: Kelp, nori, kombu, dulse, arame, wakame, hijiki
Seafood: Haddock, clams, salmon, shrimp, oysters, sardines
Iodized Sean salt

Secondary sources: Eggs, spinach, garlic, asparagus, Swiss chard, mushrooms, summer squash, sesame seeds, lima beans

Selenium
Tuna, mushrooms, beef, sunflower seeds, Brazil nuts, organ meats, halibut

Zinc
Beef, turkey, lamb, fresh oysters, sardines, walnuts, sunflower seeds, Brazil nuts, pecans, split peas, ginger root, whole grains

Copper
Crabmeat, oysters, lobster, beef, sunflower seeds, beans (white beans, chickpeas, soybeans), shitake mushrooms, pearled barley, tomato paste, dark chocolate

Iron
Organ meats, oysters, clams, spinach, lentils, white beans, pumpkin seeds, blackstrap molasses

Vitamin A (beta-carotene)
Asparagus, lettuce, kale, carrots, spinach, sweet potatoes, liver, winter squash/pumpkin, cantaloupe

Vitamin C
Parsley, peppers (chili, Bell, sweet), strawberries, guava, papaya, citrus, kiwifruit

Vitamin E
Sunflower seeds, beans, asparagus, vegetables, whole grains, liver

Vitamin B
Egg yolks, organ meats, wild rice, wheat germ, mushrooms, poultry (white meat), liver, fish (tuna, trout, salmon), brown rice, sunflower seeds, walnuts, beans (navy beans, garbanzos, pinto beans, lima beans).

Golden Sweetener of the Incas
by guest blogger & Healing Arts Practitioner, Addison Landry

Heralded as the ‘Gold of the Incas,’ and acting as a symbol of fertility and creation, Lucama’s creamy citrus and caramel flavors give us sweetness without the guilt, and introduce us to a fascinating superfood.

The lucuma fruit, native to Peru and its surrounding islands, is a cross between mango, nashi pear and avocado. With its distinct sweetness being described as creamy with a hint of maple and sweet potato,(not to mention its extensive health benefits) what's not to love? With sugar flowing from the super market aisle and that afternoon sweet spot to feed, lucuma has come to the rescue.

To make the powder, lucuma is dried at a low temperature to ensure the retention of all its vital nutrients. It is then milled into a superfine powder. As a sugar replacement, lucuma powder is quite low on the glycemic scale, and is a great substitution for diabetics. The best part? It wont give us that sugar crash that makes us crave more sugar. This powder is wonderful to use in baked goods, smoothies, and nuts butters, as it doesn't overpower the flavors, but rather enhances them.

Lucuma is usually grown sustainability in regions without pesticides, however it is important to make sure the product you're buying is organic, as pesticides are toxic to our bodies and will cause harm over long periods of time.

This vibrant yellow tropical fruit packs a punch! Here are 8 reasons why its beneficial to our diet:
1. RICH IN ANTIOXIDANTS - Lucuma’s rich antioxidant levels allow it to help fight and prevent disease, and slow the aging process.
2. ANTI-FUNGAL AND MICROBIAL- Used in South America as a healing medicine, it aids with protecting the body against infection.
3. NATURAL LOW GI SWEETENER- It is low GI in nature, and supports basic cell function. It also assists in stabilizing blood sugar levels when consumed. unlike other sweeteners that offer empty calories. This makes it a great sweetener not just for diabetics, but for the rest of us too. It can be substituted for other sweeteners in a 2:1 ratio, two tablespoons of lucuma for every one tablespoon of sugar.
4. HIGH IN VITAMINS AND MINERALS- Lucuma is packed full of calcium, plentiful amounts of beta carotene ( which helps protect the body from carcinogenic substances), high in zinc, iron, vitamin C and cottons 14 trace minerals.
5. SUPPORTS HEART HEALTH- It has been used for centuries to help support hypertension with is ACE inhibitory activities.
6. SKIN HEALTH- from ancient records, we know that lucuma was know for supporting health and digestion. In recent studies, it's shown that lucuma oil may be helpful in healing superficial wounds, as it encourages activation of healing factors in the skin. It significantly increases the speed of wound closure, and promotes tissue regeneration.
7. IMMUNITY- Lucuma is high in iron and is known to stimulate the immune system.

With such positive benefits for our bodies and a great taste, it's a well-rounded superfood worth trying. Lucuma is great in ice cream (number one flavor in Peru). You can also add it to your morning porridge,use it in a cookie recipe, add it to nut butters, and make your own caramel sauce. Here at Healing Arts, we love trying various healthy sweeteners, and this is one we love. Give it a try and let us know what you think- we are happy to test it with your programs if you would like to bring it in!

Enjoy all the wonderful benefits of this tropical fruit - now you can eat your cake too!

Below is a recipe you can try creating with lucama:


LUCUMA CARAMEL SAUCE
Serves: 4-5
Total time: 25 min not including soaking time

1 tablespoon lucuma powder
1 tablespoon mestique powder
3 tablespoon of coconut nectar
1/2 cup Cashews ( soaked overnight, or for at least 6 hrs, drained before use)
1/4 cup filtered water
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract or 1/2 a vanilla been seeps scraped out

Place all Ingredients in a blender or food processor. I find that the best option is to use a Vita Mix- it creates the smoothest, creamiest sauce. Blend until all ingredients are combined and smooth, then taste for seasoning as it may need a touch more salt.Serve with ice cream, over fruit, or even on pancakes. Enjoy!