The KB Wellness Blog

 Should you do keto?

 As a nutritionist, I have to say this is one of the top questions I am asked, and it was one of the top Google search terms for 2019. Do you know what that means? 

There are lots of shady people out there that are going to try to capitalize on your hopes and dreams that keto will solve every problem in life, from excess weight to toenail fungus. 

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I preach bio-individuality. What that means is that I think what’s right for one person is not necessarily what’s right for another. 

So while I’m not going to tell you whether you should or shouldn’t do keto – because I don’t know you, and you could be different from someone else – I am going to give you some REALLY IMPORTANT education on what the keto diet is, some potential pros and cons, and how to do it properly, so those shady people can’t take advantage of you just...

Fasted cardio is kind of a hot topic of debate in the wellness world. Does it help you lose weight and burn fat? Is it just burning carbs? How do you do it right? Does it have to be a specific type of cardio workout, or is any one type of workout more effective than the others?

Here’s my take on the technique and how you can put it to work for you, no personal trainer is needed.

 Does Fasted Cardio Burn Fat? 

The Direct Effects

To understand the direct effects of fasted cardio, we’ve got to get a handle on the two types of fuel our bodies use. There are only two options here, and your body will use one or the other. We have glucose, which is broken down from sugar and carbs and can be stored in the form of glycogen in the liver, muscle, and fat cells, and we have ketone bodies, which are made in the liver from fat. 

When we are sleeping, we aren't taking in any fuel; this allows our body to enter a fasted state (consequently, this is why we...

 WHAT PROBIOTIC SHOULD I TAKE?

DO YOU HAVE ACNE, CARB, AND SWEETS CRAVINGS, TROUBLE SLEEPING, FATIGUE, DIFFICULTY LOSING WEIGHT, OR DIGESTIVE ISSUES? IF YOU ANSWERED YES TO ANY OF THOSE QUESTIONS, YOUR MICROBIOME MAY BE TO BLAME. OTHER DISORDERS IMPACTED BY THE MICROBIOME ARE ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION, YEAST INFECTIONS, IBS AND IBD, SIBO, AND MORE. IN TRUTH...THERE ARE FEW HEALTH ISSUES OUT THERE THAT AREN'T AFFECTED BY THE MICROBIOME. 

SO, WHAT IS IT? THE TERM “MICROBIOME” REFERS TO THE APPROXIMATELY 100 TRILLION ORGANISMS THAT LIVE WITHIN (AND ON!) YOUR BODY, INCLUDING BACTERIA, YEAST, FUNGI, VIRUSES, PARASITES, AND HELMINTHS (WORMS). THE MAJORITY OF THEM ARE CONCENTRATED IN THE GUT, WHICH IS WHERE WE’LL FOCUS TODAY. 

WE'VE ALL HEARD THAT TO HAVE A HEALTHY MICROBIOME, PROBIOTICS ARE ESSENTIAL, BUT THERE ARE SO MANY DIFFERENT KINDS. HOW DO WE KNOW WHICH ONES WORK AND WHICH ARE A WASTE OF MONEY? AND EVEN WITHIN THOSE THAT "WORK", WHICH ONES WORK...

Let's Talk Magnesium

 Let's get a few things straight before we take a deeper dive into all things magnesium.

Magnesium is an incredibly important mineral for the human body.

Most people are pretty deficient in magnesium, however.

These deficiencies lead to a whole host of ailments. 

The solution to these deficiencies is twofold, magnesium-rich food and supplementation, which is often needed because our soil is depleted in magnesium after decades of poor farming practices.   

So What is Magnesium?  

For starters, it's a whole lot more important than you probably know...

•  Magnesium is one of the most abundant minerals in the body.
• 50% of magnesium is located in and on the surface of the bones.
• Magnesium is a necessary cofactor for over 300 biochemical reactions in the human body (such as muscle building, maintaining nerve function, keeping a healthy heartbeat, and sustaining optimal immune system function).
• Magnesium is not...

Let me guess, a bunch of these symptoms sound all too familiar to you? 

• Weight gain
• Fatigue
• Depression
• Anxiety
• Digestive problems
• Thinning hair
• Thinning outer third of eyebrows
• Cold hands and feet
• Low basal body temperature

Do you suspect a thyroid disorder?

If those sound familiar to you, you probably suspect a thyroid condition. And you know what? You just might be right! These symptoms are some of the most common warning signs of thyroid disorder. But how will you ever know if you're not tested properly?!

And chances are your doctor is DOING IT WRONG. I have seen thyroid testing done wrong time and time again, and it kills me because what happens is you walk away from your drs office thinking either a-it’s in your head and there’s nothing really wrong with you or b-there’s something really wrong, but no one can figure it out, and you feel totally helpless. 

If you're new here, you may not know this yet, but it's my passion and mission...

 CBD oil solutions are all the rage right now, but is it due all the attention, or is it another overblown fad (like our overhyped friend kale)? I had long thought CBD had medicinal value, but I hadn’t taken the super-deep dive into the research necessary to truly come to a decision…until now. 

Coronaviruses are not anything new. They can cause anything from a cold all the way to SARS. COVID-19 is new in humans, however, which means little is known about the virus, which, of course, makes it scary.

But being scared never helped anyone. So let's talk about the facts as we know them so far and what we can do to be prepared, not scared. 

Coronavirus Statistics

First of all, as I launch into statistics, I want to preface it by saying I in no way view people that have died as just a statistic. These are real people, and it is really sad. No loss of life is ok, but numbers are the easiest way to help us wrap our brains around this and sort out facts from fears. 

I think we can all recognize that the media hype is getting out of control and causing fear and panic, and fear and panic aren’t good for ANYONE. 

Mortality Rates & Age Factors

There are widespread reports of under-testing. The US, in particular, is being criticized for not testing...

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the U.S. age 18 and older. (aada.org)  

Anxiety can rob you of the life you’re meant to live. But if you have anxiety, you don’t need me to tell you this; you already know it. 

It can be debilitating and often feels like there’s no way out. But I found a way out for myself, so I have hope that you can too.  

What causes anxiety? 

I honestly have yet to work with someone that didn’t suffer from anxiety in some way, shape, or form.  Why is my patient population so heavily stacked with anxious people? Because I work with people that don’t feel good.

They have gut issues, autoimmune disease, thyroid dysfunction, or stealth infections. And when ONE THING is off in your body….EVERYTHING is off in your body. Our bodies are amazingly complex machines. No organ system is an island, my friend....

 My friend stared at me in disbelief, her mouth agape with confusion until she finally mustered up the words, “How the heck are regular people supposed to know what to do?!” I don’t expect them to, I told her. That’s why I’m just going to have to do it for them. Because this is just not fair. What on Earth am I talking about?

The Billion-Dollar Industry of Supplements

The supplement industry, while encouraged to use GMP (good manufacturing practices), is mostly left to the honor system. Seriously. 

The DSHEA, enacted by Congress in 1994, classifies these products as foods rather than as drugs (Ventola, 2010), which switches the burden of proof for safety, efficacy, and more to the company itself and off of the FDA.  

There are Good Supplements

There are, of course, many good supplement companies out there who make GMP-certified supplements, but for every good one, there are a dozen bad ones that “test” *wink wink*...

"I’m constantly searching for ways to make myself and my family healthier and more “bulletproof” as we go through life, and I want to tell you today about one of my secret weapons in this fight: SAUNAS."

My kids like superhero movies. Batman, Wonder Woman, Superman, Spiderman. All of 'em. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen every superhero movie ever made at this point, and they all have one thing in common, those people survive the most ridiculous stuff. There’s always a scene where something insane happens, like an asteroid falling on their head, and they get up and walk away unscathed, and I’m like, “Oh, come on!!”. But my kids? They love it. I think there’s something deep inside all of us that wants that for our lives. We all want to believe we can survive anything, and live forever, no matter what. We want to be Batman bulletproof.

Part of the reason why kids and teenagers do stupid things (like jumping...