37 Health Tips For My 37th Birthday

Laura reveals some (37, in fact!) of her favourite health tips… the ones she teaches about, often recommends, and lives by. This is in celebration of her 37th birthday, on which she will most definitely be having cake (as she explains in tip #17).

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Transcript

You’re listening to the Love and Lettuce podcast episode number 32. Today is my birthday my 37th birthday. And in celebration of that, I’m going to be giving you 37 health tips for my 37th birthday.

Hey, this is Laura Lima, holistic nutritionist and founder of New Mama Nation, and host of the Love and Lettuce podcast. I am here to help mamas know what to eat to give them energy and help them feel fantastic. So they can better enjoy life with their littles. And remember, this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only, and does not replace medical advice from your healthcare provider, and is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition. As always, please consult your health care provider to find out what is right for you. With that said, let’s get to the show.

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Yes, today is my birthday!

And I have to say, I am someone who loves my birthday. I just love it. The fact that I can celebrate another year. Yes. But just the fact it’s my birthday, period. I love feeling special. I love surprises. Not that I need a surprise party. But just like people texting and maybe someone giving me a free drink or something like Starbucks, I got my free drink already today. I just love those kinds of things. The emails that you get from companies that say, Hey, it’s your birthday, here’s 20% off. Or here’s a free something on us. I don’t know why. But I have always just loved that. And I know that.

I remember when I was in elementary school. I remember specifically, I think I was in grade four or five. It was my birthday that day. And I ran around the playground telling everybody, it’s my birthday today. It’s my birthday today. I don’t know I just love it. I don’t know if you’re with me. Some people hate their birthday. And I’m like how? But hey, I get it because they don’t always understand my love for my birthday either.

Now also, you will hear my co-host, Ben in the background. He normally will be napping while I do my podcast episode recordings. But he had a later morning nap today. So he’s not going to be tired for a while. So I thought well, we’ll get through as much as we can. And if I have to pause to put him to sleep or whatever, I will, but he’s a cute co-host. Come on, you gotta admit.

37 Health Tips

So let’s get started. I’m just gonna give you these 37 Health Tips. In no particular order. They’re random. But these are all things that I thought of that I talked about a lot, or I think about a lot or there’s simply part of my own routine my own life. So I hope that you get something from at least one of these 37. Some of them I
will give you a little bit more of a background on or more detail. But a lot of them I’ll just give you the tip. And it’s pretty obvious already. So here we go.

1. Sip Water During Meals

Number one tip is to only sip water, if anything during meals. So this is a fun one to start with. Because you’re like, wait, what? So here’s the idea. When we are digesting food, our stomach should ideally only be digesting food. If you add liquid to that now water or anything else. So I don’t just mean only drink water. I mean, only SIP liquids. If anything while you’re eating. If you introduce liquids of any kind to your stomach, you are diluting that really important stomach acid. So that slows down and impedes digestion. We need our stomach acid to be super acidic.

And if you’re eating sorry, if you’re drinking liquid, even water, you are making that stomach acid less acidic, in fact are neutralizing it. And we need our stomach acid to be acidic in order to digest our food. If it can’t be that acidic, well guess what? You get indigestion and specifically in this case, a lot of people get heartburn. And you’re like, wait, what? My stomach acid is less acidic. And I get heartburn. What? Yeah, it’s counterintuitive and it’s like, what? I don’t understand.

So oftentimes if we have too little stomach acid, we get acid reflux, we get heartburn because our stomach needs to be acidic in order to digest. If our stomach can’t be acidic or if there’s not enough acid in the first place. We can’t digest properly. So we get things like burping, like heartburn, like discomfort and poor digestion in general. So a little tip for you is, don’t drink anything during your meals. And if you are gonna drink something, just sip on ideally water.

You can do kombucha. That can be even helpful if you have kombucha because it’s good for digestion. You can do tea, you can do wine, yes, you can do these things, but just sip them. So the ideal actually, so if we’re thinking about okay, well, I’m supposed to drink all this water throughout the day, right? It’s so healthy for me, which is true. But then you’re telling me not to eat or not to drink water around my meals? Like what am I supposed to do? Well, here is the typical guideline that I give.

Drink water to your heart’s content all throughout the day. But leave a space about 10 to 15 minutes before your meal where you’re not really consuming a lot of water. Okay, 10 to 15 minutes, don’t drink anything, or maybe just a little bit, then you eat your meal. Then wait at least an hour after your meal, give yourself time to digest. And if you’ve eaten a bigger meal, or if you’ve eaten hardier protein, like a steak.

For example, give yourself even longer up to two hours to truly digest before you start to guzzle that water again. So 10 to 15 minutes before the meal, and then one to two hours after the meal. Just give your digestive system a chance to work properly. And you might be really surprised this could really help you with digestion. If you are someone who suffers from heartburn, even burping, bloating, gas, all of the good stuff. Just kidding. So let’s see if that helps you. Okay, that was a long one. I promise they will not all be that long. But I know that one definitely needed some background information.

2. Eat Three Meals Per Day

Number two, eat three meals per day. And aim for no snacking. I know as busy moms snacks are our thing, right? So I get it. And if you need to snack, girl, snack if you’re hungry. You need to snack, the ideal for proper blood sugar control for proper insulin for proper energy throughout the day, both in our brain and in our muscles. Three full complete meals per day is ideal, as opposed to grazing throughout the day, three complete meals.

So I’m going to talk about what those include in further episodes. But that is the most important thing is that you’re spacing your meals out, you’re giving your body time to digest. Just like when we talk about not having a bunch of water or other liquids while you’re digesting. As you’re eating. It’s the same idea. You’ve got to give yourself time in between meals to properly break down the food. You will find that you’ll feel lighter in your gut just in your body in general when you give yourself this time, versus if you’re someone who grazes all throughout the day, that can really make you just kind of like a steady and constant bloating. That is not fun, and it’s not a good feeling to have.

So if you space your meals out, give yourself that time to digest in between, you can feel so much better. And if you’re having the proper components of a healthy meal each time which again, we’ll go over soon, you will be less likely to need to snack. You’ll be less hungry throughout the day because you’re feeding your body the foods that it needs.

3. Each Meal Should Include Protein & Fat

Number three, as I just said, here it is for each meal have protein and fat. And fiber is important too. But I’m emphasizing protein and fat my friends because you need to have a proper blood sugar level in order to have steady energy throughout the day. And I always say not just body energy, not just muscular energy but brain energy, brain power, brain bandwidth as well. Protein and fat help to give you that proper blood sugar steadiness balance throughout the day.

So aim for protein and fat and also fiber is really important for digestion as well. So protein, fat, and also fiber with each meal – that will make your meals complete.

4. You Need Salt

Number four, we need salt our bodies need salt in order to run in order to to have their huge 1000s of functions that they have on at any given moment. On any given day. We need salt. The key is that we have to have the right kind of salt and the right kind is the real stuff. The unfiltered, the unprocessed, real whole mineral salt.

There’s actually one brand now there’s not just one, but the one that I love is called Redmond. I’ll put it in the show notes. Just three, two. You can find the brand name there, but Redmond Real Salt. That’s all it’s called. That means that nothing’s been added because a lot of times what happens with table salt is those anticaking agents like their chemicals that prevent the kicking, prevent the clumping of salt are added to this otherwise really good salt.

And dextrose which is a carb. It’s a sugar and is also often added to table salt. So your typical table salt, no, thank you. It’s been processed. So it’s just sodium chloride, too much sodium compared to the other minerals that we need it to be combined with. And the addition of anticaking agents and dextrose. No, thank you. I just want salt. I want sodium, yes. And I want the other minerals that it comes in combination with naturally so Redmond Real Salt. I love it.

I also love Celtic sea salt. As well as Himalayan rock salt, so they’re all fantastic. How much salt should we have? Honestly go by your taste buds. If something doesn’t taste salty enough, add more. I know it sounds so, so hard to do. No. It is so easy. Add more if it’s too salty. Have less next time you make that recipe. Honestly, our bodies need salt.

5. Eat Brazil Nuts

Number five, Eat Brazil nuts. Yes, eat like two to three Brazil nuts every single day. Not only are they delicious, but they provide selenium and this is a harder to get mineral. And it is so important. It’s a huge antioxidant anti cancer mineral. So important for the immune system, very healthy and important for thyroid health as well. Which a lot of mamas, a lot of women in general need help with our thyroid health. So selenium is a really important mineral for those reasons and more in Brazil nuts are a delicious source of selenium.

So how for Brazil nuts? I like having them plain because they are delicious on their own. But you can also add them to any trail mix any nut mixture, seed mixture, whatever.

6. Sunflower Seed Butter

Number six. Have you ever tried sun butter/? It’s called sun butter. I think that’s the brand name and it’s sunflower seed butter. So instead of being peanut butter or almond butter, it is sunflower seed butter and it is delish. SunButter in particular I find has the same consistency as your regular peanut butter. So for kids that have to go to school with a nut free policy, SunButter is where it’s at my friends. You can buy the one that has a little bit of sugar added if your kid will not have the one that is sugar free.

But hey try the original like try that and I shouldn’t say original I think original is the one that has sugar. Try the sugar free version first because you never know they may love it. You can also add a little bit of honey to it if you if they do need that sweetness. But yes, and butter is awesome. You can use it in place of peanut butter or any nut and seed butter in any recipe including on toast and just off the spoon because whatever, right?

7. Stevia Instead of Sugar

Number seven, use stevia instead of sugar. Stevia is one of my besties honestly. I always have stevia in my purse. I love the liquid. So the brand that I get is now and o-w liquid Stevia just the original. They also have different flavored versions. I used to love the French vanilla but lately I’ve just been doing the original. I also do like the packets of stevia but I don’t know, the liquid’s my fav.

So I have one at home. I have one in my purse for whenever I get a tea or a coffee and I’m out. Stevia is so sweet. So you only need like a tiny little bit. And it is such a good replacement for sugar because it does not have the same blood sugar effect as sugar and it’s way more natural. So even compared to an artificial sweetener. It is a plant. Stevia is a plant. Yes it has been processed into a liquid or a powder form. That’s true. But it comes from a plant and nothing is added as far as chemicals are concerned.

Depending on the brand, I’m sure some brands do add things that are questionable. But the one that I have is natural. It’s stevia.

8. Sugar Over Artificial Sweeteners

Number eight. Okay, so we just talked about using stevia over sugar. That is true. And this is confusing I know to go from that to this but here it is. Have sugar over artificial sweeteners. Yeah, I just want you to have sugar and it was crazy. I don’t actually want you to have a ton of sugar but I do want you to have sugar over artificial sweeteners. So if you’re like Laura, I cannot get rid of my diet coke. I will tell you, Okay, have coke first.

It sounds crazy. I don’t want you to have artificial sweeteners in your life. They’re deemed a neurotoxin, which means they mess up our brain chemicals and our brain function ultimately. And, no thank you. I would rather you have sugar over that even though sugar itself is so detrimental and I really want you to cut down on that period. However, if it comes to artificial, I would rather you have the sugar instead. I know.

9. Hydrate Hydrate Hydrate

Number nine, hydrate, hydrate, hydrate and especially if you are a coffee lover because caffeine is dehydrating. So for every cup of coffee, you have, have an extra cup of water. Well, I shouldn’t say so. Okay, for every ONE cup of coffee, have TWO cups of WATER to make sure that you’re rehydrating your body. Coffee is dehydrating. If you also are a sweater as in, you sweat a lot like I do if you’re active if it’s the summertime, and you’re more active and sweaty. These are all times when we need more water, and not just water.

But I’m going to go back to number four for a second and say we also need salt. So if you’re finding that you drink a ton of water you’re like, but I drink so much, but I have to pee all the time. So I don’t want to add a pinch or two of sea salt to a couple glasses per day. It doesn’t have to be every single glass of water but add a pinch or two of sea salt, not to the point where it tastes salty. That’s gross. We don’t want to drink salty water. But just enough that you’re adding the minerals back in to allow your cells to better hold on to and use the water that you’re drinking.

But yeah, hydrate. So important. Our body needs water for so many functions, to nourish ourselves to carry toxins away from cells and out of our bodies for proper digestion, for pain relief for anti inflammatory action for literally everything I would say. So drink more water and especially extra if you drink coffee, or caffeine of any kind and or you sweat a lot or are very active.

10. Spelt Flour Instead of Wheat

Number 10. You spelt flour instead of wheat. So anytime a recipe calls for white flour, even whole wheat flour, all purpose or even a combination. Sometimes they call for you know one cup of white flour, half a cup of whole wheat. So use total one and a half cups in that case spelt flour. Yeah, spelt is wheat’s cousin. So spelt still contains gluten. That’s that protein that a lot of us have a sensitivity to even though we don’t know we do a lot of us do.

And gluten can cause lots of inflammatory issues in the body, lots of blood sugar issues, and lots of digestive issues as well, amongst other things. So spelt still has gluten but a lot less than wheat has. And when it comes to baking, and if you want to do like a one to one, change a one to one alternative, I have found spelt flour to be the best alternative in a one to one sense. So the recipe calls for a cup of all purpose flour, you use a cup of spelt flour.

It works for me for muffins, cookies, you name it. It doesn’t always have the same texture. But you know what, for me, it’s delicious. And for my kids too. And it’s not like the cookies are totally flat. Sometimes they don’t get all the fluffiness they might get from all purpose flour, but I don’t care. The taste is there. And for me it’s just as delicious if not more so especially because I know I’m doing so good for my body.

Now you can also buy spelt bread. So instead of having wheat bread, whether it’s white or whole wheat, just get away from that wheat, get away from that blood sugar skyrocketing thing. That is wheat bread whether it’s white or whole wheat. Same idea, still skyrockets a blood sugar. Spelt bread is a lot better for digestion and can be better for blood sugar. Although it is still a carb it is still bread. It’s still grain, but better. So try spelt instead of wheat.

11. Reduce Sugar and White Flour

Number 11. Reduce sugar and white flour for quick results or for a noticeable refresh. So if you’re just like, Oh, I’ve been feeling crappy lately, I’m just bloated and filling bloat and low energy and I’m just so tired all the time. If you’re looking for a quick refresh, honestly, just ditch the sugar and ditch the white flour.

Give it a week and see how you feel. And I can almost guarantee that you will feel amazing. You will feel lighter, you’ll have better digestion you’ll have higher energy. Your brain will be clearer and I’m not even making these things up. This is just what happens when we avoid the ingredients and the foods that are bad, weighing us down, ultimately.

So if you can avoid the foods that contain sugar, and especially sugar itself, obviously, well not especially. I’m also meaning just avoid sugar and the products that contain it. And white flour as well. Oh my gosh do it for a week. See how you feel?

12. Have Epsom Salt Baths

Number 12 – have an Epsom salts bath. Have an Epsom salt bath. You’re welcome. I said it, just go do it. Epsom salts are literally magnesium. And our skin is a really good absorber of magnesium. And I’m sorry if it sounds like I’m out of breath. I’m like, I guess I am. I don’t know why I’m standing and I’m bouncing then you can hear him breathing in the background probably. So I’m like, hopefully my voice isn’t too bouncy. I think I should ease up on the bouncing.

Okay, back to Epsom salts. So they are literally magnesium and magnesium is the anti stress. It’s the anti stress mineral. The ultimate relaxing minerals. So good for sleep. Good for just helping to shut our brain off great for stress and anxiety. So good for our muscles. They help to physically relax and calm our muscles, great for muscle cramps, the prevention thereof, and the relief of cramps. Fantastic. So have an Epsom salt bath.

13. You Need Magnesium

Number 13. Speaking of magnesium, magnesium is the number one mineral deficiency in North America. That is huge. Magnesium, we need it. And it is one of the only supplements that I would say is an isolated nutrient. It is just magnesium. It’s not like a multivitamin. You know, one that contains other minerals as well. It’s just magnesium and I tell most people to take it because most of us are deficient and not in it. And it is so important.

Again, anti stress mineral. The ultimate relaxer for brain and body. It helps with our blood sugar control, it helps with our hormonal balance. Magnesium is so important. So just know that and I would suggest taking a mineral a magnesium supplement to most if not all of you.

14. Take Extra Vitamin D During Cold & Flu Season

Number 14 – take extra vitamin D in cold and flu season. So here we are, and also going into winter with less sunlight. So again, here we are vitamin D. Very important for seasonal affective disorder. Sad. In other words, a lot of people suffer with seasonal affective disorder. And a big part of that is the lack of vitamin D from sunlight. So take extra vitamin D.

The other thing is cold and flu season, we need vitamin D for a healthy immune system, period. So take extra. My favorite is the drops. I take them right under my tongue. I give Ben his little baby vitamin D drops, the girls have theirs. And especially when they have a cold or a flu, they get extra vitamin D. So important.

15. Take Omega 3

Number 15. Take Omega three. So we’re talking about Omega three, we’re talking about all these supplements. But these are like the things that I take: magnesium, vitamin d, omega three. Omega three is anti inflammatory. It is so important for heart health, for proper blood flow throughout the body, for brain health and cognitive function, period. For eye health, for eyesight, for hormonal balance, for anti inflammation benefits. Omega three, so important.

But we tend to get too much Omega six in our diet, because omega six is found in things like potato chips and cookies and cake and all the things that are packaged pretty much have vegetable oils, which is your source of Omega six, so we’re getting too much six, which is inflammatory and not enough three, which is anti inflammatory. So increase your intake of Omega three in foods first of all. So things like cold water, fatty fish, salmon is my favorite food source of Omega three. Also eggs, especially pastured like grass fed hens, grass fed eggs, that will have a higher amount of Omega three.

But I also love taking an Omega three supplement. So this is fish oil. This is cod liver oil. My absolute fave is cod liver oil because you also get vitamin D naturally occurring and you get vitamin A. Also so important for the body and we tend not to get enough of that. So cod liver oil is my favorite source of Omega three for those reasons.

16. Eat Fat to Prevent Cravings

Number 16. Eating fat helps to prevent cravings. Yeah, and this is because it helps to balance out blood sugar and it makes us feel full longer. It virtually fills you up. Physically think about it. You’re eating fat as long as it’s the right kind. It is so good for you. It slows down digestion which means it slows down the real release of carbs into your system, into your bloodstream.

So you don’t have this huge spike of sugar, you don’t have this huge spike of blood sugar I should say, which is always followed by a huge fast drop. And when you have a huge fast drop of blood sugar, you have cravings, you have hunger, you have low energy, you have mood swings. So all you want is sugar, carbs, potatoes, anything. If you have fat in your meals, and I talked about this already today, I know that helps to prevent those cravings from even coming in the first place. So have more fat.

17. The 80/20 Rule

Mumber 17. I like eating at 20 Meaning 80% of the food that I eat is the healthiest food I possibly could get. And then 20% is where I indulge. This is where I have birthday cake on my birthday like I will be having tonight. I have ice cream or cupcakes. This is where I have those foods that are unavoidable at parties that yes, you could avoid them by not eating them and all the power to you.

But you also have the option to say you know what, I’m going to enjoy this today. And tomorrow, I’m going to eat healthy again. Then the next meal will be a healthy one. So 80/20 is what I find to be the most realistic for me. And I encourage you to try that because then you’re really super nourishing your body so it can withhold, or I should say, it can withstand eating those not so healthy foods, sometimes.

18. Women – Eat 25 to 30 Grams of Protein Per Meal

Number 18. For the typical average woman, I know what is that right, but just to give you an average, eat 25 to 30 grams of protein per meal. And I say that because a lot of us don’t eat enough protein and we need it for so many things in the body. So many important functions. So aim for 25 to 30 grams of protein per meal.

19. Natural Skincare

Number 19. Use natural skincare or look into it because a huge source of our toxins in our body and we have a lot of toxins that our poor liver has to deal with on a daily if not well, hourly. minutely, that’s not a word. But you know what I mean? Basically our liver has to detoxify virtually everything that not only we eat, but we breathe in, and we absorb through our skin.

So using natural skincare helps to reduce a huge amount of toxins. And guess what it works so well, if not better. I love using this oil based cleanser that I have the brand is skin essence. Oh my gosh, it is just so nice. It’s so natural. And yes, oil removes makeup. Yes, it does. I have to use a cloth for my makeup as well. So there is a little bit of extra work there. But you know what? Natural wins every time.

And yes, you can get other natural cleansers that are not oil based that do remove eye makeup really well. I just find that one doesn’t on its own. But using a cloth. Yes, it does. So like it does, but you have to use cloth. Anyway, investigate natural skincare. It is so awesome. So much more natural. And it just allows your body to breathe a sigh of relief because it’s a lot less of a toxic load that you’re giving it.

20. Natural Cleaners

Number 20 is to is the same idea. Use natural cleaners in your house. Because again, not only are we breathing in cleaners when we’re cleaning the toilet or using a spray on the windows or the counter, we’re breathing that in and we’re absorbing it through our skin. A huge source of chemicals and toxins and yuck, when you don’t need them.

There are so many good natural cleaners out there. Honestly for everything. There’s toilet bowl cleaners, there’s all purpose sprays, there’s window sprays. There’s so much and there’s also this thing called the E cloth. Again check the show notes. The E cloth is awesome because it literally requires water just hot water and that is it. And it removes so much dirt and bacteria because it’s a microfiber cloth. SoE cloth is where it’s at and natural cleaners.

21. Get Rid of Air Fresheners

Number 21 is one more of the same. Get rid of your air fresheners. Oh my gosh, my friend. That is such a huge source of toxins that you don’t need. Who cares how your house smells okay, I get it. I care and I put on candles natural ones when people come over but honestly, what a huge source of unnecessary toxins. So just get rid of those darn air fresheners once and for all. And if you need a scent, you can use more natural candles.

And you can also use essential oil diffusers with your own essential oil blend or one single essential oil. Not only is that awesome smelling but essential oils provide good benefits as well. They can be uplifting, they can make you feel happier, they can be very balancing for your mood, they can perk you up, they can relax you. Talk about lavender, love it. So your health is worth it. Your health is worth investigating those natural things that you can do those natural diffusers, better for you candles, your health is worth it, my friend.

22. Make Your Own Salad Dressing

Number 22. Make your own salad dressing. This is one that I talk about a lot. Use olive oil as your base. And then use vinegar whether it’s balsamic or apple cider, or red or white wine vinegar. Typically I do a two to one ratio oil to vinegar. And then I add salt and pepper. And that’s your base. You can also add chopped garlic, you can do dijon mustard, you can do maple syrup, you can do other spices, like Dee Licious. And now you are avoiding those Omega six rich vegetable oils, which are in virtually every store bought salad dressing that you can find not good for you.

Those store about salad dressings also have sugar and other crap in them that we just don’t need. Thank you very much when you can make your own salad dressing, but you absolutely can so quickly and so easily. You’re avoiding all those chemicals, you’re getting really good for you foods. And you’re you’re just providing your body with these nutrients that it needs. And they taste delicious.

23. Plan Your Meals

Number 23. Plan your meals, aka meal planning. If you know me, you know that I plan my meals every week, just dinner Monday through Friday, because it makes my week run way more smoothly when I know what I’m going to be eating for each meal. So I’ll leave it at that because I have a lot of Instagram posts out there and other podcast episodes that talk about meal planning and how to do it and why it’s so important. So yeah, meal prep, that’s where it’s at.

24. Take Digestive Enzymes

Number 24. Take digestive enzymes if needed. So for example, let’s say it’s Thanksgiving, and you are so full, you’re so tired, you can’t even move up the couch are so full. If you took a digestive enzyme or two, you would not feel that full. You would still feel full yes, they’re not miracle pills, but you would feel less full.

Because digestive enzymes help to break down your food. We all have enzymes in our gut. And they help to break down our food but certain foods that we eat, certain practices that we have like drinking lots of liquids during meals and not sitting down to eat properly. And eating too close together without giving our bodies space to digest. All of these things can lead to our enzymes not working as well as they should.

So taking a digestive enzyme, usually in a pill form is how I do it can really, really help. And it’s not just Thanksgiving meal, it’s not just like a huge meal that it will help with. It can help with every single meal if you need it to. What I like to do is I have them on hand, I have them in my purse and at home. And if I’m out and I’m like Oh man, I’m so full, I’ll take one. Or if I’m out and I know I’m going to have a big meal or I’m at home, I’m having a big meal. I’ll have one right at the beginning of the meal.

You can also have it during or after the meal, you can have an extra one if one wasn’t enough. Enzymes are so helpful for proper digestion. So try them out.

25. Take a Probiotic

Number 25. Take a probiotic, especially after antibiotics. So if for whatever reason you have to be on an antibiotic or your kid does take or give them a probiotic because antibiotics wipe out our gut bacteria. Not only bad bacteria, but good as well. And we need our good bacteria in order to function properly. In order for proper digestion, proper immune system health, which is so important these days, am I right?

So taking a probiotic, whether or not you’ve been on antibiotics actually is very helpful. So you can get probiotics in capsule and liquid and powder. Decide which one works best for you and take it you cannot go wrong.

26. Take Immune Supplements

Number 26. Take immune supplements as soon as you feel the cold or flu coming on. So you might have vitamin D, you might have akinesia the one I take is a Kena force. Again, check out the show notes for that one. Akina force is great because it’s safe during pregnancy and breastfeeding or a lot of colds and flu supplements are simply not tested during those times. So they don’t they can’t have the same claim. So I love Akina force for that reason. It’s a type of vaccination. You may have zinc lozenges, you might have a whole bunch of things for immune system.

Well, as soon as you feel the first tingle in your throat, the first scratchiness the first runny nose, you’re like, oh, you know what? I just sneezed. No, not that crazy, but you know what I mean? You know when you’re getting sick you feel rundown? As soon as you feel that way, take those cold and flu supplements, whatever you have on hand or go get some. Take them right away. The faster you take them and the more often typically that you take them, the faster that cold and flu will leave you, and the less severe it might become.

So you can still have that cold but still function. Because as moms, we can’t. We don’t have time to lay on the couch and do nothing while our bodies heal. That would be amazing. But it’s not a reality for most of us. So we still have to get through our days and hopefully feel good during them as well. So when we have cold and flu supplements like Kenisha, vitamin C, whatever, extra vitamin D, you can have that cold, but get through your day. Still having energy not being totally wiped out. So it’s less severe symptoms, and it typically will heal faster as well. So that’s fantastic.

27. Prioritize Sleep

Number 27. prioritize sleep. Sleep is so important. And I know you’re laughing you’re like I’m up three times a night with my toddler and a newborn and it’s impossible. Believe me, I’ve got three kids, including one newish born. He’s three months old, do we call him a newborn still, I think I can get away with it. So I get it.

For me, that means going to bed earlier. That means having a proper sleep routine where I get ready for bed, I brush my teeth and floss, I wash my face, I read my book, and I go to sleep. And the earlier I can get in bed, ideally before 10 If not nine, the better because I know I’m gonna get a good chunk of sleep unless someone wakes me up before that. Before I have to feed Ben in the middle of the night. And then hopefully I’ll have another good chunk before my alarm goes off in the morning.

So prioritize sleep as much as you can. Go to bed earlier if you need to. It makes such a huge difference. I know when I wake up in the morning and I’ve had a good sleep. Oh my gosh, night and day difference. I feel so much better mentally and physically. But especially mentally makes such a difference when I go to good sleep. Oh my goodness.

28. Move Your Body

Number 28. Move your body, whether that’s walking, whether that’s stretching, like doing some yoga and stretching those muscles. Maybe it’s doing a Zumba class in your living room. Maybe it’s doing tai chi, maybe it’s doing CrossFit. whatever your thing is, move your dang body because it is so important to get your blood flowing to just feel refreshed.

To get those nutrients moving throughout your body into your cells get the toxins flowing out get digestion moving immune system is just important for so many things, mental health for sure. All of it requires moving your body so move. My favorite thing to do lately is walking and then stretching. Those are my things. I also love building muscle and doing things like push ups and planks and sit ups. I just love using light weights and feeling strong and then stretching after.

29. Take Psyllium

Number 29. Take psyllium. Psyllium comes in powder form and you mix it with water and it’s not a pleasant thing to drink. It’s thick, it’s fibrous. It’s very, very textured. But it is so good for constipation. If you have trouble pooping, you go get yourself some psyllium. Also get yourself a probiotic as a side note, but get yourself some psyllium, mix it in water.

I would suggest starting small, starting with one teaspoon up to a tablespoon in a good two cups or so of water. Keep stirring as you drink it. It gets thick quickly because it’s absorbing the water. Follow that with another cup of water not right away but sip it after and just watch the magic happen. It creates really healthy good and regular poops. Some people take two tablespoons. I know for me, my magic number is two tablespoons a day. Some people go up to three some people take it twice a day.

But I would just say just try once a day, start with a teaspoon up to a tablespoon for a few days and just see how it is for you and go from there.

30. Me Time

Number 30 – me time. So big, so important. Make sure that you’re carving yourself out some me time every single day. Even if it’s for five minutes. Even if it’s reading a chapter of your book, or watching YouTube videos or scrolling Instagram for five minutes. So important. Make sure you do it because you come first, mama. You yes you, not anybody else.

Because if you’re not filling up your cup, you can’t be that person you want to be for everyone else. So if you’re thinking well I just want to you know, be there for my kids first. If you are not in proper health, mentally and physically, you can’t be there for your kids in the same way. You come first. You are number one.

31. Dry Brush Your Skin

Number 31 – dry brush your skin. I love dry brushing my skin in the morning. It takes me literally one minute, I start from my legs, then I go up, I do my arms, my stomach, my chest and my back. So good for just moving your blood flow in the morning moving your lymphatic circulation, which is something that gets stuck and gets sluggish.

So dry brushing your skin helps to move those things along, get nutrients into your cells, get toxins out of your cells and out of your body. And dry brushing also helps with sloughing off dead skin cells. It also helps with moving lymph flow, which can help with the appearance of cellulite. I know. So why not a little side benefit? So dry brush your skin. I love doing it in the morning. But some people love it at night as well.

32. Make Small Changes

Number 32 – make small changes. So all of these things that I’ve mentioned are really, I mean, some of them are bigger. But overall, there’s small, little changes and don’t make them all at once. So if you’re aiming for a lifestyle change, if you’re aiming to get healthier, start small. Increase your water intake done, make sure you have more fat in your meals done, get more sleep. And that’s it.

Start small because small changes equal big changes in the long run.

33. Eat Breakfast

Number 33 – Eat breakfast. It gives you energy, it helps you make better choices throughout the day when you’ve had a good breakfast. And even when you’ve had a bad one, your choices throughout the day for the rest of that day are reflective of your breakfast, right? If you woke up and you were like, I’m just going to have some Fruit Loops. How was the rest of your day? You’re like, well, you know what, screw it. I’ve already had Fruit Loops, I’m just going to have this sandwich for lunch.

And none of those are always bad. But you know what I mean? This, you know, that’s not an ideal sandwich. And I’m going to have this Halloween candy because I see it right here and I just crave it and oh my goodness. Whereas if you had breakfast, let’s say have eggs with some avocado on spelt bread. First of all, that’s going to last you a long time in blood sugar control. It’s gonna be nice and balanced. So that helps to prevent cravings.

And second, you’re like, you know what, I made that really good choice for breakfast. I’m gonna have this awesome piece of steak for lunch with a side salad, done my leftover steak from last night. That’s what I’m having for lunch. And that will take you to having a healthy dinner. And it will help to prevent cravings throughout the day so that Halloween candy doesn’t seem so tempting and appealing.

34. Use Natural Deodorant

Number 34. Use natural deodorant and get rid of your antiperspirant. I know I said it. I am someone who has sweat stains. Yeah, so I definitely sweat through my armpits. And believe me, I don’t want to have sweat stains. So I try to wear black I wear a lot of white. And if I’m going to wear a color like gray, I’ll make sure it’s on a day where I’m not doing a presentation or something that’s going to give me sweat stains that is true.

So I am proactive in that. I don’t want to have sweat stains on my pits No way. But I don’t want to prevent my body from sweating. Our bodies need to get rid of toxins and our skin sweating is a huge way that it does that. So if I prevent my skin from sweating, I’m essentially saying well, sorry, liver, you’re gonna have to keep on detoxifying, you’re gonna have to keep on filtering out those toxins because I won’t let you get them out through the skin. You’re gonna have to find another way.

So now maybe it has to go through your kidneys and your bladder. Maybe now it has to go through your bowel out your boob. Maybe you have to breathe it out through your lungs. But in any case, we can’t forget that our skin is a breathing organ. It is a detoxification and elimination organ and we have to let it breathe. We have to let it sweat. As annoying as it is to have pit stains, I know.

So instead, use natural deodorant so you’re not so you’re sweating, but you’re not smelling my favorite one. And I’ve tried a lot of natural deodorant is purely great. It’s a cream deodorant. So it’s like oh, I have to put on a cream Bla. It’s like so fast. You stir it you put on like a pea size or less amount you rub it in, and it dries pretty quickly and you get dressed and done. Honestly, and I used to be a Zumba instructor for like 10 years. So I sweat. Okay.

Purely great works. This is not an ad for purely great. I just have always loved it since I used it. And I mean, there’s so many good companies out there that make natural deodorant. So just, again, do yourself a favor, your health is worth it.

35. Eat For Your Future Self

Number 35 Eat for your future self. So what do I mean by that? First of all we want to eat for enjoyment and pleasure in the moment. Of course we do. We want it to taste good. We want it to be healthy now but we have to think about our future. So our future self. Would she have wanted me to eat Halloween candy for breakfast? Or would she have wanted me to eat three eggs for breakfast? Yes, three eggs.

So think about what you will thank yourself for later. So later on, let’s say at dinner time. Oh, you know what? I had three eggs for breakfast. No wonder I’m feeling so good today. No wonder my cravings are less than they usually are. It’s no wonder I’m feeling like pretty steady in my brain because of my breakfast. Thank you. Thank you past self. So eat for that future self. Always think about what would she choose? What would she want me to have eaten for breakfast? Three eggs? Yes, Halloween candy. Not so much.

36. Eat More Eggs

Number 36. On that topic of eggs, three eggs specifically, eat more of them. Eat more eggs. That is number 36 tip. Eggs are so good for you. It’s so important to eat more of them. As long as you’re not allergic to them. Obviously, that goes without saying but if you’re not then eat more of them. And yes, three eggs for a breakfast or for a meal period. Yeah, so good for you.

It doesn’t provide fiber so you can have some veggies with it, you can have some toast with it. But three eggs provides so much good protein and fat. And so many good amino acids are the building blocks of protein. So so many good amino acids, good types of fats, fat soluble vitamins like vitamin D, for example, and vitamin A, especially from grass fed hens. So eggs, so filling, and so nutritious, so eat more of them.

37. Mindset is Everything

And finally, number 37. Mindset is everything. When it comes to healthy eating to a healthy body. Keep in mind that it’s always your mind. First, to stick to a healthy eating plan to eat the eggs instead of the candy for breakfast. It’s all in your mind. And I want you to think about I am a healthy eater. Not like I eat healthy foods, but embody that I am a healthy eater. I am someone who eats healthy foods, not just like it’s something that I do. But it’s someone that I am. And I hope that you get that distinction because it’s huge.

I am a healthy eater means to you that you embody that, that you will therefore continue to make choices that a healthy eater would make. So always think about mindset first, that is where it’s at.

Well, I have to say, that was my longest podcast episode yet. And I hope that you’ve stuck with me. I mean, hey, if you didn’t, then you’re not even listening to this anyways. But if you’ve stuck with me, stuck with me until now, and I can’t talk anymore. Thank you. Thank you for listening. I so appreciate you for tuning into my episodes. And even you know, reading my Instagram posts and watching the videos that I do. I literally can’t thank you enough.

I do this for you. Because I want to get the information out there in hopefully a fun and interactive and engaging way – entertaining way so thank you. Happy birthday to me. Thank you in advance. I’m sure you’re saying it. I’m sure you’re saying it in your head. Thank you. And I’m gonna go enjoy my cake tonight. Yes, I am. And yes, I had eggs today. Yes, I did. And we will keep this thing going. And by the way, Ben has fallen asleep in my arms. If you’re watching my stories, well, this is going to be coming out after that. But I’m going to put it in my stories because he is just so cute. Oh my gosh. Okay, have a great day. Everybody. Talk to you soon. Bye.

And don’t forget to get your free copy of my new mama energy guide. Just go to http://bit.ly/newmamas for instant access. Thanks for listening to the Love and Lettuce podcast. To find out how to work with me and for more great info check out newmamanation.com This is Laura. Until next time, love and lettuce.