Boosting Testosterone Levels

Written on May 13, 2019. Posted in Fitness, Nutrition, Workout.

Importance of Testosterone

Not only is testosterone important for sex drive, but also for sleep, energy, and even pain response. When testosterone is imbalanced, stress responses increase and your immune system’s response decreases. Products are synthetically made and sold to boost testosterone, but typically cause many other health issues. Health effects can range any where from skin issues to heart disease.

Why it Matters to You

Our every day environment has caused majority of people to have imbalanced hormones. Many factors play a role such as having a sedentary lifestyle, eating grains, glyphosates (herbicides), and other chemicals that act as estrogen effecting men’s health. Along with eliminating these type of factors, you should also be educated on the right eating plan and workout plan to have normal testosterone levels.

5 Natural Ways to Shift Testosterone Levels

1. Food

Reduce, if not completely remove, all sugars and grains as much as possible. Sugar causes inflammation and chemicals within these products can act as estrogen, such as soy. Also, eliminate bad fats such as canola oil and vegetable oil. Check all ingredients.

2. Staples

Three staple foods include almonds, brazil nuts, and free-range organic eggs. When adding almonds, there are many creative recipes to implement more in your diet (smoothies, butters, etc.)

3. Exercise

The key to working out is doing high intensity workouts for a shorter duration. Longer workouts create high cortisol levels which restrict the production of testosterone. The best time to workout when your levels are high is in the morning.

4. Sleep

Many men have a go-go-go mentality and do not prioritize their sleep. While being driven is a great quality, sleep is necessary for your body to recover and preform better. This includes boosting testosterone levels.

5. Chiropractic Care & Adaptogens

Chiropractic adjustments allows the nervous system get back to normal which allows your body to properly produce the hormones it needs. Adaptogens like Ashwagandha or CBD oil lower stress levels and improve hormone balance.

Bonus Tip: Hormone Test Analysis

After changing your lifestyle and habits around, if you still notice issues then consult with one of the doctors to receive a hormone test evaluation. These tests will accurately show what your hormones are doing. If you aren’t a patient, call our office to schedule a consultation to set up a time to take a hormone test.

If you live in the Matthews/Charlotte area here in North Carolina, or would like a recommendation to other chiropractors in your area, contact us here. We would love to be in contact with you!

Helping ADHD & ADD Naturally

Written on April 15, 2019. Posted in Chiropractic, Health & Beauty, Kids Health, Nutrition, Teaching.

The Diagnosis

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have behavioral conditions which can cause high levels of energy, lack of focus, and impulsive behavior. Over 6 million children have been diagnosed with ADHD surveyed by the CDC. The numbers continue to rise year after year. These disorders are different symptoms of the same underlying cause.

Exchanging Medication with Nutrition

The standard response in most medical situations is to prescribe a pill. Unfortunately, these pills are not a long term answer to the neurological function for children, and also adults. In fact, many disorders and diseases are prescribed medication to mask the symptom instead of dealing with the main issue. Prescription medications have never been tested or approved for kids, yet we prescribe them anyways. Luckily, there are multiple ways to improve ADHD/ADD solely through nutrition.

Chiropractic Plays a Role

There are many misconceptions of chiropractic care helping back and neck pain only. This is far from true. Chiropractic care helps with countless issues that stem from the nervous system. 90% of the stimulation to your brain is connected to your spine. When chiropractors adjust the spine, the spine comes back into alignment to function properly. Chiropractic works well with ADHD/ADD specifically from helping their body balance itself to a homeostasis state rather than a high stressed state. Chiropractic care helps clear blockage to the nervous system so the body can perform to its highest ability; your part is to eliminating nutritional interference for yourself or your children who have ADHD/ADD.

5 Nutritional Shifts to Help Underlying Issues

1. Essential Fatty Acids

Your body needs fat to function in a healthy way. Stay away from hydrogenated oil, vegetable oil, and canola oil. Any oil with trans fat is hard for your body to break down. Healthy fats include coconut oil, avocados, flaxseed oil, grass fed meat, free range organic eggs, and hemp oil. The way these help ADHD/ADD is by fueling your brain and lowering inflammation.

2. Sugar/Grains

Grains turn into sugar as soon as they are consumed into your body. Grain is one of the top genetically modified foods and contains preservatives, round up, and other toxins. Grains and sugar both effect the neurology in your brain. Reducing, but better yet eliminating, all sugars and grains (pizza, pasta, french fries) will allow the brain to neurologically function properly and even allow you or your child to get off medication.

3. Chemicals

Removing toxic chemicals in your food and home will decrease stress levels and allow the brain to focus more. This includes food dyes, preservatives, cleaning products, laundry detergent, etc. The rule of thumb is if you can’t read it, you shouldn’t be eating it. You have to become the expert of the food you buy and start reading the ingredients.

4. Supplements

There are many supplements that will help ADHD/ADD such as magnesium, vitamin D3, probiotics, and CBD oil. The key is finding the right provider or physician you trust to suggest what natural supplements to get and where to get them. A natural way for fatty acids are chia seeds and a natural way for vitamin D is going into the sun without sunscreen.

5. Water

Remove juice and sodas and drink more water, it’s as simple as that. After 72 hours, in a freshly squeezed juice, it loses all the nutrients and becomes more oxidized. Also, most juices have immense amounts of sugar. Water is vital to clean out toxins and carry nutrients to your brain.

Raising a Healthy Family

Written on April 11, 2019. Posted in Health & Beauty, Kids Health, Mindset, Nutrition, Pregnancy. Leave a Comment

No Need For Fear

If we are being honest, the world around us has a lot of unhealthy families. We are the leading country of infant mortality, almost 40% of our children are obese, and over 40 kids are diagnosed with cancer a day. Whether it’s emotionally or physically, there are several ways to make positive change. There are some obvious tips such as not feeding kids sugar, resting enough, or chemicals in the environment. We will dive into the important changes people often miss.

Although every parent worries for their children, there are lots of practical steps to take in order to avoid many of these statistics. These three steps will empower you to take charge of the responsibility we have as parents.

3 Practical Ways to Raise a Healthy Family

Honor Your Symptoms

There is no food, supplement, or pill to take when your immune system is showing you symptoms. If your child has a fever, their body is fighting bacteria, disease, or going through change. Pediatric journals state your body has to get to 102°F to kill a bacteria and 104°F to kill a virus. If you cough, your body is trying to eliminate what is in your body. If your sinuses drain, your body is creating a mucus build up to get rid of what is in your body. The worse thing you can do is give your child a pill to mask the symptom. Honor a fever, cough, or runny nose. Allow their body to do what it was created to do (Psalm 139:14).
Introduce Chiropractic Care

This is extremely valuable to the whole family, especially children. 90% of stimulation to the brain comes from the movement of your spine. The US has the highest infant mortality rate. With chiropractic care, adjustments align the spine to function properly and in return allow your body to respond properly. Your spine can get subluxated, or misaligned, even from birth. When your body is in a stress state, or fight or flight mode, you experience symptoms such as high blood pressure, heart rate, weakened immune system, and weakened digestive system. Chiropractic helps your body adapt to your environment, not because it treats your symptoms, but because it helps your body be able to heal itself.
Understand Vaccines

This is not an article on whether you should or should not give your child vaccines. This is vital as a parent to become aware and active in researching what your children are being given. For vaccinations, research the physiological effects of giving multiple vaccines together. Don’t just research the prevention benefits, also research the ingredients and mechanisms of vaccines in the body. If you don’t study the anatomy and physiology of your children, you will never know what your doctor is prescribing. At the end of the day, you are ultimately responsible for any outcome based on giving or not giving your child a vaccine. Research beyond one article and one video; researching for yourself has a more powerful foundation for what you believe in and stand for.

Bonus Tip: Screen Time

This tip is not just for kids. It is also for parents and teens. The amount of screen time for kids is damaging and stressful to their neurology. As their brain is trying to develop it stays in a high stress response. These are then labeled with diagnosis like ADD and ADHD. Not only is it neurologically damaging but it is also extremely addictive. Regulating the use or eliminating certain devices will increase focus, development, and quality family time.

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Sciatica & Low Back Pain – 4 solutions to help treat sciatica and low back pain without surgery

Written on August 12, 2018. Posted in Fitness, Health & Beauty, Nutrition.

What is sciatica?

Sciatica is characterized by sharp, intense pain that runs the entire length of the backside of the leg. This can occur when certain nerves become pinched in the lower part of the spine running along the sciatica nerve, which is the longest single nerve in the human body.

Symptoms:

Strong, shooting pains in the limbs and lower back -Numbness and tingling in the lower extremities -Difficulty moving and exercising
Feeling stiff and unable to properly move feet -Pain when sleeping
Throbbing around the thighs, glutes, and low back when sitting or standing for long periods of times

Non-Surgery Solutions:

Since chiropractic care is the direct interaction with the nervous system, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that chiropractic adjustments can greatly improve sciatica! In fact, a 2010 study in the Journal of Manipulative Physiological Therapies found that 60% of patients benefited from chiropractic adjustments AFTER having received failed medical interventions.
Exercises to strengthen the low back AND the core are very important as well to treating sciatica. Try exercises such as forward fold, cat-cow, and plank. A standard yoga class will incorporate these moves – along with much more – so it is well worth giving yoga a try!
Don’t sit for long periods of time. Movement equals life when it comes to your health! Unfortunately, most of us have sedentary jobs that require us to sit for extended periods of time. Try getting a standing desk or utilize a wobble cushion to keep your spine moving throughout the day. After all, 90% of the stimulation that goes to your brain is controlled by the spine directly.
Lastly, eat a healing and non-inflammatory diet. This may not seem as obvious at first, but chronic and systemic inflammation lead to many underlying pains and diseases. A healing diet consists of things like healthy fats (think coconut oil, olive oil, and ghee!), high quality meats such as grass-fed beef and organic, free range poultry, and finally, reduce grains and sugars as much as possible from the diet. Turmeric is another fun spice to add into the mix due to its anti-inflammatory properties!

Acid Reflux – 4 tips for treating acid reflux naturally

Written on August 7, 2018. Posted in Health & Beauty, Nutrition.

What is acid reflux?

Do you know that it is estimated that 25 to 40 percent of Americans suffer from acid reflux? By definition, acid reflux is dysfunction of the lower esophageal sphincter. If this sphincter doesn’t close all the way after food has passed through, acid from the stomach will creep up the digestive tract and cause a skew of symptoms. Symptoms include: heartburn, bitter taste in mouth, bad breath, dry mouth, gum irritations, black stools, bloody vomiting, regurgitation of acidic food, pain in the abdomen, and belching, flatulence, and nausea.

Conventional Solutions – The Risks:

Over the counter medications such as antacids (TUMS) and H2 Blockers (Pepcid), might treat a symptom in the short-term, but are very detrimental to your health. For starters, these medications are designed to block the body’s natural production of HCl. Therefore, the body is no longer able to produce pepsin, which is the body’s digestive enzyme responsible for breaking down proteins. This can cause further abdominal pain and increases your risk of infections from bacteria that would normally be killed by a healthy pH in the stomach.

Natural Solutions:

1) Apple cider vinegar

This home remedy is so simple it is definitely worth a try if you suffer from acid reflux. Apple cider vinegar works by balancing your stomach’s pH and therefore normalizing stomach acid. Try 2 tablespoons with 8 ounces of water before meals.

2) Eat green, leafy vegetables

The benefits of leafy greens are endless! Cruciferous vegetables are amazing at balancing the pH in your stomach and alkalizing your whole body. The precursor to your body’s strongest antioxidant, glutathione, comes directly from these greens. Load up with vegetables like broccoli, kale and spinach – or try others to find your new favorite!

3) Fermented foods/drinks

Probiotic foods can help nourish the healthy bacteria in our digestive tract. Research has shown that these fer- mented foods can protect the stomach lining and even prevent regurgitation. Try out foods like kombucha, kefir, and sauerkraut. Better, yet – experiment making your own fermented foods!

4) Get adjusted

Stress from sitting all day, car accidents, sports injuries, or other traumas can lead to compression of the spine, specifically in the mid back region where nerves lead directly to the stomach. Moreover, an issue in the upper part of your neck can put pressure on your vagus nerve. This nerve controls the parasympathetic system and tells your body to relax and digest food. What ends up happening is your body is put into a chronic stress response (sympathetic overload), and in turn your body is not able to function and heal like it is designed to. It is is clear to see why a healthy, functioning spine is essential for not only acid reflux, but also overall health!

Oh my Migraines

Written on August 1, 2018. Posted in Chiropractic, Nutrition, Teaching.

MY OH MY! MIGRAINES!

What is your migraine trying to tell you? If you suffer from migraines, it is crucial to ask yourself: “What is causing my migraines?” Instead of: “How can I treat my migraines?” Functional medicine is medicine by CAUSE, not medicine by symptom. So what are some common underlying causes of migraines?

Causes:
1) Food sensitivities

2) Hormone imbalances

3) Magensium
deficiency

4) Posture and
subluxation

The good news is there are simple steps you can take to treat underlying causes
of migraines!

Solutions:

1) Elimination diet

By removing common food allergens, you can test which foods might be causing your migraines. These foods include eggs, dairy, gluten, and peanuts.
Be sure to reintroduce each food slowly.

2) Balance your hormones

Some migraines can be caused by too much estrogen and not enough progesterone. That is why some women get premenstrual migraines! Some things you can do to restore this balance naturally are eliminating caffeine and alcohol, reducing sugar and intake of flour/starches, eating a diet rich with plant based foods, getting quality of sleep, and reducing stress. Also, reduce or eliminate pharmaceutical medications with high levels of estrogen if possible.

Furthermore, hormone imbalances can be caused by a B vitamin
deficiency. Try adding 400 mg of vitamin B2 or riboflavin daily.
Finally, sleep cycles can cause hormone imbalances so a melatonin supplement has been shown to be effective at reducing migraines.

3) Restore magnesium deficiency

Magnesium is known as the relaxation mineral and so deficiency
can cause elevated levels of stress and in return, migraines. Try
adding 300-600 mg of magnesium 2x per day into your routine.

4) Make chiropractic care a part of your wellness routine

Unfortunately, many people have sedentary jobs requiring them
to sit for the majority of their day. This can lead to poor posture
and tense muscles, specifically around the neck region. In a
randomized control trial by the Journal of Manipulative and
Physiological Therapeutics, a 90% reduction in migraines was
found after only 16 treatments.

Article written by Lauren Oljar with Queen City Health Center

Signs You Have a Magnesium Deficiency (And What to Do About It)

Written on December 14, 2016. Posted in Nutrition. Leave a Comment

The USDA recommends that we take in 240-420 mg of magnesium each day. The actual number depends on age, but sadly, most of us fall short of the minimum amount on a regular basis. Without sufficient magnesium, our bodies may be unable to absorb other essential nutrients such as calcium, and we suffer from a variety of symptoms, including:

Muscle cramps
Constipation
Calcium deficiency
Poor heart health
Poor memory
Insomnia
Fibromyalgia
Anxiety
Fatigue
High Blood Pressure
Type II Diabetes
Osteoporosis
Migraines

The list goes on… Magnesium is an essential mineral. Without it, our bodies are not able to operate at optimal levels, as we fail to absorb other nutrients essential to our bodies’ overall function. If you suffer from any of the symptoms listed above, you may have a magnesium deficiency. Thankfully, there are some ways to safely supplement this mineral to ensure you’re taking in the right amount on a daily basis, and bring your body back into equilibrium.

How to Supplement Magnesium

Take a Magnesium supplement. Sounds simple, and that’s because it is! Magnesium citrate is among the most readily absorbed forms of this nutrient, however, beware of taking too much at once. There is a certain threshold that your bowels can handle, and exceeding that threshold can lead to diarrhea and other gastrointestinal symptoms that’ll make you wish you had never taken it in the first place!
Eat magnesium-rich foods. These include: seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, and sesame), spinach, black beans, squash, almonds, okra, cashews, and soybeans.
Use a topical magnesium treatment. Magnesium chloride can be applied topically and absorbed into your skin, which is very porous and able to absorb just about anything it comes in contact with (another reason to limit your skin’s exposure to toxins). If you don’t want to take an oral supplement and don’t feel that your diet will suffice to solve a deficiency problem, this is a good alternative solution. Google “magnesium oil” to find a variety of topical solutions that you can use.

Chronic diseases are rampant in our society, and many of them result from a magnesium deficiency, which directly affects the gut by preventing the absorption of necessary nutrients into our bodies. If you think you might be at risk or are suffering from chronic illness, try supplementing your diet with the recommended daily amount of magnesium, and see what happens! We’re sure you’ll see a difference in your health and life.

20 Surprising Sources of Gluten

Written on November 23, 2016. Posted in Nutrition. Leave a Comment

Whether you suffer from celiac disease, or you’re trying to cut down on sugar, gluten is one ingredient you should definitely avoid. You may be surprised to learn that it’s in many of the foods we eat and the personal care items we use every day. Here are 20 surprising sources of gluten to be aware of. We always recommend reading your ingredient labels before making a purchase, especially if there are ingredients (i.e. gluten) that you’re trying to stay away from.

1. Beauty products. Sadly this may include some of your favorite shampoos, conditioners, sunscreens, and makeup items such as lipstick or lip balm. Though not directly ingested through the mouth, they may easily seep into your body through your pores and still be able to cause damage. If you have a gluten allergy, you may want to replace your beauty products with ones that are certified gluten-free. Check your labels!

2. Chewing gum. Some manufacturers rub flour on the surface of the sticks to prevent them from sticking to the wrappers.

3. Sauces, condiments & dressings. This includes some prepared mustards, soy sauce (yes, it’s true!), salad dressings, as well as frozen veggies in sauce.

4. Oats. Though technically gluten-free, some brands may be contaminated with gluten, so it’s important to be careful here. Make sure any oats you buy are certified gluten-free.

5. Pie filling & pudding. These items often contain gluten as an emulsifier or thickening agent. We recommend that you make your own from scratch (without gluten) in order to be safe. You can use plain fruit sweetened with honey or stevia. Or, if you’d like a thickening agent, arrowroot flour is a great gluten-free option!

6. Processed meats. Be extra careful with hot dogs, store-bought meatballs, and deli meats, which may (surprisingly) contain bread crumbs. It’s best to stick with local, grass-fed, organic meats that have not been processed anyway.

7. Spices. Some pre-packaged, mixed spices, may be contaminated with gluten. It’s often used to prevent caking, which is why we recommend mixing your own from whole, pure spices instead.

8. Instant coffee, hot chocolate & other powdered drink mixes. Powdered milk contains wheat, and again, manufacturers of powdered mixes often use gluten as a bulking agent. You can get gluten-free alternatives though. Check your local health food store or search online.

9. Canned soup. Try to buy organic soups in cartons or make your own with fresh vegetables and bone broth. Many canned soup brands contain gluten or wheat as a thickening agent, so it’s important to read the ingredients.

10. Licorice. Wheat flour is often used as a binding agent.

11. Caramel color. We recommend staying away from this artificial coloring agent altogether. It may contain gluten, depending on how its manufactured, but either way, it’s just not good for you.

12. Alcohols. Though the distillation process often rids this grain-based substance of gluten, not all alcohol manufacturers will utilize a thorough distillation process, resulting in some traces of gluten being left behind. You may need to check the company website to determine if their alcohol is gluten-free. Or stay away from alcohol entirely. It weakens your immune system anyway.

13. Rotisserie chicken. Seems strange for meat to contain gluten, right? However, some rotisserie chicken makers use flour or wheat in the spice rub. Double check before you purchase.

14. Sushi. As mentioned above, soy sauce often contains gluten, along with the imitation crab meat used in California rolls, as well as some prepared wasabi. Try making your own sushi at home! It’s a fun date-night activity.

15. Pickles. Not all pickle jars contain gluten. You have to check the label to be sure. If it contains malt vinegar, which comes from barley, then it’s a no-go.

16. Chocolate. Again, not all chocolate contains gluten, but it may be used as a thickening agent. We prefer pure, organic dark chocolate sweetened with stevia instead. (Lily’s is great brand!)

17. Medicines & supplements. It may be used as a binder in some medications and vitamins. You’ll be safe with Maximized Living nutritional supplements.

18. Bleu cheese. It may sound surprising, but some bleu cheeses are actually made with bread mold. Though it’s a minuscule amount and likely won’t affect you, it’s better to be safe than sorry (especially if you’re particularly sensitive.)

19. French fries. Though usually made with potatoes, oil, and salt, if they are fried in oil that’s also used to fry onion rings and other breaded foods that contain gluten, you could risk cross-contamination. Be especially careful if you order french fries at a restaurant.

20. “Wheat-free” items. Wheat-free doesn’t always mean gluten-free. In addition to wheat, gluten may also come from other grains, including rye, spelt and barley. Again, check your labels!

Embracing a gluten-free diet isn’t as hard as it sounds, especially with more and more food manufacturers coming on board to label their products “gluten-free.” Yes, it may mean you’ll have to eat out less and prepare more foods from scratch with fresh, unprocessed ingredients, but it’s worth it, because you’ll see a drastic improvement in your health as a result!

How to Treat Candida Naturally

Written on October 19, 2016. Posted in Nutrition. Leave a Comment

Candida is a persistent overgrowth of yeast in the gut. There is a long list of symptoms associated with it, including:

Chronic fatigue
Fungal infections (i.e. jock itch, oral thrush, and vaginal yeast)
Irritability
Cravings for sweets
Brain fog
Bad breath
Digestive problems
Weakened immunity
Chronic allergies and sinus infections
Low libido
Autoimmune & skin disorders (i.e. psoriasis)

Many conventional doctors don’t believe candida exists, and the ones who do will typically treat it with prescription anti-fungals, which may mask the symptoms, and even kill off the yeast for a time, but are most often not an effective long-term solution.

Why? Because—like most other conditions—candida starts in the gut. Which means, to really rid your body of it, you must target the problem at its root.

In other words, you can’t just put a bandaid on it, and expect to fully heal. In order to get rid of candida, and keep it at bay, you must commit to a lifestyle change designed to balance and maintain your healthy gut flora. This requires several actions that you can begin implementing right away. But remember: if you truly want to see a lasting difference, you should adapt these changes as a regular part of your lifestyle from here on out!

#1. Quit and/or limit your sugar intake. Candida thrives on sugar. Did you know that, if not treated properly, it can also lead to cancer. Interestingly enough, cancer cells also feed on sugar. Our chiropractors in Charlotte NC recommend quitting sugar altogether for 3 months, and then slowly introducing it back into your diet on a very limited scale. Also, avoid processed sugars and starchy foods that metabolize as sugar, including: bread, pasta, rice, grains, root vegetables, legumes, alcohol, and most fruit (excluding granny smith apples and berries.)

To keep it simple, you could implement a Maximized Living Advanced Plan. This book is full of additional info as well as great-tasting healthy recipes that are easy to make and Dr. Holly-approved! You can also receive a customized treatment plan from our chiropractors in Charlotte NC when you come into our office for a consultation.

#2. Take natural anti-fungal supplements. You can find a variety of these on Amazon.com, including Solaray Yeast Cleanse. Look for supplements that contain caprylic acid (also found in coconut oil), milk thistle, pau d’arco, and grapefruit seed extract.

#3. Take a good probiotic supplement. Look for ones that contain a high variety of probiotic strains and CFU, such as Garden of Life Raw Probiotics Ultimate Care or Hyperbiotics (also available on Amazon.com). We sell Garden of Life probiotic supplements in our office as well.

#4. Increase your Vitamin D3 intake. Maximized Living Vitamin D3 + Probiotics lets you kill two birds with one stone! You can buy it online or from our office when you come in to get adjusted by one of our chiropractors in Charlotte NC

#5. Limit dairy. With the exception of culture-rich dairy foods like yogurt and kefir, it’s best to keep your cow’s milk intake to a minimum.

#6. Take oregano oil. This highly-potent essential oil is known for its anti-fungal properties and has been very effective with many of our patients. You can buy it in supplement or liquid form. I use the doTerra brand. It’s also a very powerful immune booster!

#7. Eat a spoon full of coconut oil every day. Not only is this a powerful brain booster (and great at combatting brain fog). It’s also rich in caprylic acid, which, as we mentioned above, is a natural anti-fungal. And here’s another bonus: coconut oil is a healthy fat. When you replace bad fats with healthy fat and lower your sugar intake, your body burns more fat for energy, instead of burning sugar. Which means you lose weight!

#8. Get adjusted regularly. Receiving care from a chiropractor in Charlotte NC is good for a host of conditions—not just for pain management as many people believe. By keeping your spine in check, you’ll ensure that all of your body’s systems are working optimally, as your nervous system controls the function of all your other organs.

Be aware that as you begin to kill off the candida, your body will begin to release a large amount of toxins into your blood stream. As that happens, you’ll experience the symptoms listed above in a greater capacity. Similar to what happens when you detoxify your body, you’ll begin to feel worse before you feel better. Feeling worse is a sign that you’re killing off the yeast and what you’re doing is working! Don’t let it discourage you. Stay the course and stay strong, and you’ll eventually get rid of candida altogether.

But remember: This does not mean you can go back to your old ways! Adopt the habits above as permanent lifestyle changes to prevent candida from creeping back into your life again.

Think you might have candida overgrowth? Our chiropractors in Charlotte NC have successfully treated patients with this condition (and its symptoms) at Queen City Health Center, so we’re well-equipped to share what works! If you’re not sure, click here to request a free consultation with Dr. Holly. She’ll spend about 15 minutes on the phone with you to learn more about your symptoms, and if we believe chiropractic care could be a good solution, we’ll get you in for an office appointment and begin helping you aggressively rid your body of candida overgrowth.

Healthy Sugar Substitutes

Written on October 5, 2016. Posted in Nutrition. Leave a Comment

We all have a sweet tooth from time to time (some more than others…). Believe it or not, there is a healthy version of just about every dessert you can think of. All you really need to do is substitute the bad stuff with better alternatives. And by ‘bad stuff’ I mean things like gluten and sugar.

Gluten-free flours and flour-substitutes abound and are trending in paleo-friendly sweets like brownies, cakes, and cookies. Lots of people have caught on to this trend and are taking advantage of it, due to increased gluten sensitivities. But you may not be aware of the dangers of sugar and the need to substitute that in your favorite desserts as well.

Besides the fact that it rots your teeth and makes you need to see a dentist more often, sugar is one of the most addictive substances on the planet—even more addictive than cocaine. It also happens to be in just about every processed food on grocery store shelves. Even if it’s not listed as an ingredient, some foods actually are metabolized by the body as sugar, including rice, bread, flour, pasta, as well as most fruits and starchy root vegetables like potatoes and carrots. Humans should not consume more than 25 grams of sugar per day, yet the average American consumes a lot more, thanks to our bread-heavy diet.

Sugar is one food that most people are just not willing to give up. But, if you knew the amount of healthy sweet treats you could create using viable substitutes, I’m willing to bet you’d change your mind! So that’s why I’m writing this post. Here are my top 5 favorite healthy alternatives to processed sugar that you can start using right away to modify your favorite desserts.

#1. Stevia. Stevia is an herb found in South and Central America. It’s up to forty times sweeter than regular sugar, without the calories or the blood-sugar spike. Because it has a slightly bitter aftertaste that’s similar to licorice, it’s been slow to gain popularity among sugar lovers, but I think it’s a great sugar substitute in beverages like tea and lemonade.

#2. Xylitol. This sugar alcohol occurs naturally in foods like berries, beets, and corn and is often found in toothpaste and sugar-free gum. It won’t raise your blood sugar, and lacks the bitter aftertaste of stevia. Because it tastes so similar to sugar, it’s a great substitute in baked goods like brownies, cakes, and cookies.

#3. Honey. This natural sweetener works great in just about anything! I definitely recommend it over agave nectar as a healthy sugar substitute. Though honey contains sugar, it’s a much better alternative to the processed varieties.

#4. Maple Syrup. Bye-bye Aunt Jemima with your high-fructose corn syrup! Maple syrup is one of the tastiest sweeteners and it’s great for much more than pancakes. Try putting it in your pumpkin spiced coffee. I promise you’ll be amazed at how great it tastes, and it’s much healthier than a Starbucks latte!

#5. Dates. There’s a reason why we find this delicious fruit in most raw brownie recipes. It’s a naturally-occurring food that just so happens to be a great sugar alternative! Its consistency also makes it ideal for the crumb crusts found on desserts like cheesecake and cobbler.

If you’re not sure how to substitute the above ingredients for sugar, just Google Paleo versions of your favorite desserts and see what pops up. Once you try the healthy versions, you’ll never look back!

Category: Nutrition