Allow Me To Introduce You Two

Hello again, my lovelies! I hope all is well in your world.

You guys already know that I'm on a mission to keep myself and you all on top of the best of health, beauty, fashion, and wellness. When I feel like something got past me, I get highly annoyed. What am I rambling about, you ask? Ok, ok. Allow me to introduce some of you to a sly little bugger who's been hiding in the shadows of my almond milk and coconut creamer. Now, I have to take some of the blame since I hadn't been making my own almond milk at home like I used to. Sometimes convenience is not worth it.

Carrageenan 

As I got into the habit of reading the labels of everything, I became confident at my ability to spot non-vegan and also unhealthy ingredients. Then I found out what 'natural flavors and colors' meant (that's a post for another day), and I was on extra alert. Soon, I noticed the ingredient "carrageenan" in my favorite old brand of store bought almond milk and also coconut creamer. Alarms went off and I decided to do some investigating. Now, I'm not an alarmist or extremist. I know I can't protect myself from every potential harmful exposure to food or environment. Yet, I want the ability to be made aware of what's being put into my food. 

After doing extensive research from many different sources, this is some of what I found:

"All told, I recommend avoiding regular consumption of foods containing carrageenan. This is especially important advice for persons with inflammatory bowel disease." Andrew Weil, M.D. (Source)

"...are a family of linear sulfated polysaccharides that are extracted from red edible seaweed. They are widely used in the food industry, for their gelling, thickening, and stabilizing properties. Their main application is in dairy and meat products, due to their strong binding to food proteins. Carrageenan is a vegetarian and vegan alternative to gelatin in some applications, although it cannot replace gelatin in confectionery like jelly babies.While some indicate that carrageenan safely passes through rat GI tracts without adverse effect when it is a dietary ingredient,^[2] other animal dietary studies have observed colitis-like disease and tumor promotion. (source: Wikipedia) 

"Research links the controversial food ingredient carrageenan to gastrointestinal inflammation, including higher rates of colon cancer, in laboratory animals." (Source: Cornucopia)

"Research from Joanne Tobacman, MD, professor at University of Iowa College of Medicine, scientist and carrageenan expert, discusses valid concerns that digestive enzymes and bacterial action convert high weight carrageenans to dangerous low molecular weight carrageenans and poligeenans in the human gut—linked to human cancers and digestive disorders. Tobacman’s evidence and conclusions are based upon human tissue samples, not animal studies." (Source)

So this is important not just for vegans like myself, but for anyone who consumes dairy products and may have digestive concerns...or want to prevent any! Yeah, that covers a lot of us.

Here's a shopping guide for you so that you can have alternative options. Go a step further. If you see your brand on this list that uses carrageenan, be vocal about it! Some companies have removed the ingredient because of increased consumer awareness and demand. I've switched from Blue Diamond to Silk Pure Almond, but I will be going back to making my own almond milk now. It's so easy and tastes so much better. I'll blog about it in the near future.

Well, the moral of the story is to research anything you don't recognize on labels or in recipes that you are putting into your body. Don't be Chicken Little and worry that the sky is falling, but just be aware! You and your family deserve the best.

Until next time.

Love & Happiness,

Nikki

Some Great Oils For Your Hair, Skin, and Body!

Hello again my lovelies!

It's been a harsh winter so far, and that sometimes equates to dull hair and skin. Using natural oils is a great way to bring back the healthy shine and glow to both! Some oils have other body benefits as well. Let's take a look.

Castor Oil

This oil is a thick, golden colored oil obtained from the seeds of the castor plant. It had been used thousands of years ago by Egyptians as a way to fight skin infections and cultivate healthy hair. Castor oil is known for its antimicrobial properties, and therefore used for athlete's foot and yeast infections. In India (and in my house growing up!), it was also used as a laxative. For your hair, castor oil has been shown to correct dryness and brittleness, and repair it by providing the necessary nutrients and vitamins to the scalp. Jamaican Black Castor Oil has been heralded by many women suffering from hair loss and thinning. The black castor oil is obtained by roasting the castor bean, which makes it darker and gives a stronger smell. It apparently works by stimulating the production of keratin, and producing shiny hair after a few months of use. Massage into scalp and wash out after 15-30 minutes. It's very thick, so remember you don't need a lot! See more here.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is a very popular oil, used both internally and externally. It is one of my favorite oils to use on my skin and hair, and also to cook with. There are 2 types available: refined and virgin. The refined oil is processed under less than hygienic conditions, so it must be bleached and deodorized to remove the impurities and because of this, it appears colorless and odorless. Virgin coconut oil is produced by extracting the oil from the coconut "meat" manually, resulting in a pure form of coconut oil. It retains its brown-yellowish color and scent. It is made up of 90% saturated fatty acids, most of which are lauric acid, which is regarded as healthy. I use the Spectrum organic virgin brand, or the Whole Foods 365 unrefined brand. It is solid at room temperature, so it must be warmed or rubbed in your palms for easier application to hair and skin.

When used in your hair, it provides proteins and other nutrients to increase strength and growth. It also has an antifungal effect when applied to the scalp, creating a healthy environment. Dandruff, sebhorroehic dermatitis, and other flaky scalp issues can be managed with the application of coconut oil.

For the skin, it provides great moisturization and softening due to its high mineral content. Antioxidants present also help with signs of aging of the skin, such as fine lines and sagging.

Cooking with unrefined coconut oil lends a sweet, nutty flavor to foods. It can withstand high heat temps due to its saturated fat content. Since this saturated fat is in the form of lauric acid, it is thought to raise the "good" cholesterol blood levels (HDL's), therefore being heart friendly. Moreover, research has also shown that the medium chain fatty acids found in coconut oil contributes to weight loss by being quickly broken down by the liver to provide energy and  increasing your metabolism.

 

Avocado Oil

Most women at some point or other have mashed an avocado and massaged into their hair as a conditioner. Or bought a conditioner with avocado oil in it. Why? Because avocado is a great moisturizer! If you have brittle or damaged hair from coloring, extensive heat use, or other chemicals, the nourishing amino acids and vitamins A, B6, D, and E can help restore health to your tresses. Vitamin E is an antioxidant that can protect your hair from free radicals, and as a humectant will help lock in moisture. The fatty acids will lend shine and softness. For a good hot oil treatment, mix 2 tablespoons of avocado oil with 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil (increase or decrease amount depending on your hair length), heat in saucepan to a comfortable temperature and massage into clean scalp and hair. Apply a plastic cap and sit under hooded dryer or simply wrap with a warm towel for 15-20 minutes. Wash out as normal and enjoy softer, healthier hair!

As for eating, you can cook with avocado oil (at high temps up to 520!), or use in salad dressings and other dishes. It is high in monounsaturated fats, which again is heart healthy because it can improve your cholesterol counts.

Sweet Almond Oil

There are 2 types of almond oil: sweet and bitter. The bitter type is extracted from the bitter almond plant and should not be used internally or topically. Sweet almond oil is extracted from sweet almond seeds and has a ton of health and beauty benefits. Its composition has been found to be closest to the oil found in a baby's skin. I routinely use sweet almond oil on my face after cleansing at night. It's a very light oil that absorbs easily, so there's no heavy, greasy feel on my face. It's good for helping with dark circles under eyes, improving complexion and glow (thanks to its zinc content), and locking in moisture. If you have eczema, dry skin, psoriasis, or other skin inflammation, I recommend trying this oil because of its high source of vitamins A, B, & E. It is also known to help with hair breakage, excessive hair fall, and split ends. It can also be used in place of store bought leave-in conditioners to bring shine to your hair. Use with an old mascara wand and apply to lashes just as you would mascara to see longer lashes! Massage some of the warmed oil to a sore area or joint for pain relief. See a few more internal benefits here.

Marula Oil

Marula oil is hand harvested from the marula fruit found in South Africa and Madagascar. The oil is extracted from the nut inside the fruit by the local women. It is pale, golden brown color and light textured with a sweet fragrance. It boasts high levels of antioxidants (vitamins C & E, flavonoids) and amino acids that help with fighting the aging effects of the environment. Omega 6 and 9 essential fatty acids provide increased skin elasticity and hydration. Antimicrobial properties make it a good fit for those with acne blemishes and scarring. Marula oil is also said to be ideal for stretch marks, sun damaged, and dry & irritated skin. Find out more.

These statements have not been evaluated by the United States Food & Drug Administration, and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease. If you are pregnant or nursing, or have any allergies to nuts, please consult your physician before trying any of these recommendations!

Some other great oils for you to research are argan, grapeseed, and black currant. What's your favorite health and beauty oil?

Until next time,

Love & Happiness!

Nikki

Bitter Sweet

Hello again, lovelies!

I'm willing to bet that you ate something with sugar today. Even if it was an apple, it contained natural sugars (fructose). The fact is, our bodies need sugar to function. It breaks down the foods we eat into glucose for energy.

The problem arises when we consume unhealthy, refined sugars (sucrose, high fructose corn syrup, refined fructose). This leads to a whole list of problems such as a weakened immune system, obesity, diabetes, and allergies among other health issues. Sugar feeds bacteria, yeast, fungus, and parasites. It depletes the body of needed minerals and affects our brain function (brain fog, anyone?). In this excerpt from the book Sugar Blues by William Dufty, Dr. William Coda Martin classified sugar as a poison since  when ingested, it causes or may cause disease.

While the healthiest foods are whole foods, you can still opt for alternatives to refined sugar in your diet. Note that even some of them on this list may not be a good fit for you if you already have certain food allergies or sensitivities, or yeast overgrowth. Do your research, check with your health advisor, and then use in moderation if applicable. I didn't include the very popular agave nectar in this list because of the light shed on the amount of fructose it contains-higher than high fructose corn syrup! It's lower on the glycemic index, and extracted from the blue agave plant causing its widely promoted healthy status. Check out this article by Dr. Andrew Weil. Again, do your own investigating and make informed decisions!

Stevia Extract

Stevia comes from the leaf of the stevia plant native to South America, and is not actually a sugar. It is 200-300 times sweeter than sugar. It has an aftertaste similar to licorice, and some find it bitter. It has a glycemic index of less than 1, so it doesn't adversely affect your blood sugar level. It also doesn't feed yeast. Be sure to buy pure stevia extract, and not some of the artificial stuff like Truvia or Stevia in the Raw. Instead, try SweetLeaf or Now brands, which contain pure stevia extract.

Blackstrap Molasses

Ironically, molasses is the by product from processing sugar cane or beet into table sugar, so you have all the nutrition left behind. Blackstrap molasses is obtained from the 3rd boiling. Be sure to use an organic, unsulphured brand. Molasses provides iron, calcium, copper, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and zinc, and is alkalizing to the body. It is dark and thick, and has a very distinctive flavor you may have to get used to, but before processed white sugar came along, it was commonly used as a sweetener. If used in baking instead of white or brown sugar, you'll need to make the correct adjustment to account for the liquid.

Coconut Sugar

Coconut (or coconut palm sugar) was originally made from the sugary sap of the Palmyra palm. It’s also made from the sap of coconut palms. The sap is placed under heat until the liquid has evaporated. Reportedly, it retains iron, zinc, calcium and potassium during this process, but it also is high in calories. Use it sparingly. It has a relatively low glycemic index, because of the level of the fiber inulin. Note that some coconut palm sugar is mixed with cane sugar...please avoid those!

Raw Honey

Raw honey is honey that has not been heated, pasteurized or processed. Pasteurized, liquid honey is easily found on grocery store shelves. You would have to obtain raw honey from a local source. Raw honey is alkaline-forming and contains natural vitamins (vitamin C and most of the B vitamins), enzymes, powerful antioxidants and other nutrients. These nutrients would be destroyed during the heating and pasteurization process. Raw honey has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, and anti-fungal properties. Be aware of its high sugar content if this would pose a problem for you.

The bottom line is to avoid as much added sugar in your diet as you can for your optimal health. I continually preach to be aware and informed of what you put into your body. I know there's a lot of information out there and new research coming out seemingly everyday, but make it your priority to stay on top of your nutrition and health. I'll do my best to help you with that!

Until next time,

Love & Happiness,

Nikki

Leather Is Coming Out Of The Closet!

Hello again, my lovelies!

So have you noticed that leather has-albeit reluctantly-come out of the closet? What? Oh, literally...the closet! There was a time when so many of us didn't think twice about rocking a bag that cost hundreds, even thousands of dollars...and was proud to respond yes when asked if it was leather. Other than owning a couture gown, that kept us up there in the fashion echelon, right?

Good thing our consciousness has expanded. According to a poll done by the Vegetarian Resource Group in 2011, 2.5% of the US population identified themselves as vegan. That was like 7.5 million people! With these numbers come the increasing call for fashion designers to acknowledge this growing market. Quite a few did, thankfully. As a former leather toting fashionista (hey, I was vegetarian, not yet vegan), I have embraced and absolutely love my vegan bags. The quality of some brands are amazing, and the designs are worthy of my critical eye. They get just as much attention and compliments as those other ones. In addition to being cruelty free, some of them are budget friendly. Bonus. I've blogged about vegan handbag brands before, and here is another list of designers who have embraced the Faux Leather trend.

Urban Expressions

I personally love this brand! In my opinion, their bags are gorgeous. On their website, they state that they use polyurethane (PU) versus polyvinyl chloride (PVC) because the former is biodegradable and doesn't require solvents to soften the materials during processing. Their bags are certified vegan. To shop their bags, you can search the site for local stores that carry them, or shop online at baghaus and ebags.

 Here's one of my faves that I own:

Isn't she beautiful? I apologize in advance for not being able to find her name inside. I bought this turquoise bag at Marshall's last summer for $39.99. I can't find it online either, but there are similar styles available.

"certified vegan" label inside

Big Buddha

I love the colors these bags offer. The website might need a bit of updating, since their last collection is dated 2011. They also state that since "every handbag in store priced less than $95, there is certain to be a style to please customers of all ages." yet there were bags listed for $105. Hmm. No worries; I'm sure they're working on it =)

Le Petit Crossbody in mustard

 (available in other colors), $45.97

Fiesta in pink, $90
Take a look at the rest of their collection here.

BCBGeneration

BCBGeneration black or lilac faux leather studded strap clutch, $14
Bluefly.com

Wyatt

Wyatt cherry vegan leather pyramid studded tote bag, $38

Bluefly.com

As you can see, I found both of these brands on Bluefly's site. You can search for other brands there also.
Have fun shopping, veganistas! Tell me about other fab vegan handbags that you love in the comments!

Until next time,


Love & Happiness!

Nikki

What The Heck Is Kombucha?

Hello again, lovelies! Hope you're staying safe and warm in this insane weather we're having across the U.S.

I wanted to confess share a love I've had for the past year or so. Kombucha. Just writing it has my taste buds jumping. For those of you who are in the know, you understand. The rest of you may thank me after this. I only say may because I know everything is not for everyone. Let's get on with it.

Kombucha is a raw, fermented tea that is naturally carbonated and loaded with probiotics (good for the gut) and B vitamins, liver detoxifying properties, antioxidants (destroys cancer causing free radicals), energy boosting properties, blood pressure reducing properties, metabolism revving properties, and more. Go here for more info. It's believed to have originated in a China, but sometimes Germany gets props also. Either way...thanks! I was hooked on first taste. This is where it may get tricky for some. It does have a kind of tangy, almost diluted vinegar-y taste, but in a good way.

  

 

GT's Kombucha Tea, 16 oz bottle $3.99-$4.99, depending on store

Which brings me to how it's made. Basically, you ferment the tea (black, green, any kind) with sugar and yeast. No worries though, the sugar is used to feed the yeast and the end product has only trace amounts of sugar in it. The yeast is provided by way of a SCOBY, which stands for Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast. The mixture ferments from 7-31 days or so, which causes a small amount of alcohol production, usually between .5 and 3% depending on length of fermentation...so parents please take note. It costs about $4-5 for a 16 oz bottle, which prompted me to ask myself how hard can this be to make on my own? I did some research...not hard at all. It just requires some patience during the fermentation time. So I went and purchased my own SCOBY and will be making my first batch. I'll let you know how it goes!

In the end, Kombucha is not a cure-all, but it does give your body what it needs to help heal itself. I say try it. You may like it or leave it. Either way, now you know about it!


Love & Happiness,


Nikki

No More Lies!

Happy New Year, my lovelies! We had an amazing Christmas and New Year, and hope you did also. I've got a feeling that 2014 is going to whip by even faster than 2013 did. I'll try my best to be prepared and make use of every single moment that I'm blessed with. I'm amped!

If you saw my latest YouTube vid, I talked a bit about my holistic health coaching business. I launched Get This Glow! Health & Wellness and I couldn't be more in love with what I'm doing. Living a happy and healthy life is everything to me. There is nothing like seeing a positive change in a client's physical, emotional, and spiritual state. Yet, so many people choose to live in an unhealthy way. Why? Because...

It's Easier

Let's face it. Change is hard. Yet so is being depressed, overweight, anxious, and resentful! At some point, we have to use our adult decision making capabilities and get out of the unhealthy rut. I found an article about the following study on about.com:

A study performed in 2005 by an epidemiologist at Michigan State University found that most Americans don't do everything they can to lead healthy lifestyles.
The study published in journal Archives of Internal Medicine, looked at four basic characteristics that are part of a healthy lifestyle:

• Being a non-smoker.
• Exercising 30 minutes or more five days per week.
• Eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day.
• Maintaining a healthy weight with a BMI under 25.

The lead researcher was quite surprised with his findings: of 153,000 adults, only three percent followed all four steps for a healthy lifestyle.

Come on, America! Thankfully, we can change these findings by incorporating small edits to our routine daily. Drink more water. Go for a walk. Add one more fruit or veggie to your meals each day. Socialize, or get together with friends or family to help elevate your mood! Try cutting out fast food, processed foods, and excess sugar for 30 days and see how much better you feel.

 

Szechuan tofu w/broccoli and rice noodles. Cook it at home so you control the ingredients. Healthier and more delicious than any fast food meal out there!

I Can't Afford It

Yes you can! If you're spending $5-7 per day on lunch at a not-so-healthy restaurant, you've got up to $35 per week that you could be spending on healthier choices. Buy fruits and veggies that are in season so that they are less expensive. Check out your local farmer's market. You support your local economy and get fresher produce in the process. Or, start your own garden. You just need a small area in your backyard, or a medium sized planter to get started. Nothing beats eating food that you grew yourself!
Cut out soda and sugary drinks. Install a simple water filter on your kitchen faucet to save on bottled water and plastic waste, or invest like we do in a water dispenser unit. We refill our 5 gallon jugs at our local grocery store for $1.86 each. You read that right.
Cook more of your meals at home and take leftovers to work with you. If cooking is not your thing, then take a fun cooking class or invest in yourself by purchasing (or borrowing from the library) a few simple cookbooks. Start a healthy potluck day at work and swap recipes. Make sure you use brown rice and other good grains such as quinoa and wild rice, as well as pasta, potatoes, beans, and lentils in your cooking rotation. Not only are they good for you, but reasonably priced as well.
See? You can afford to eat healthy...and enjoy it!

source:yummly.com  recipe: Martha Stewart

For the quick and easy roast veggie and arugula with pasta recipe shown above, go here.


I hope this post shed some insight on any blocks someone might have had to kick starting a healthy lifestyle. I feel a part two of this post coming on possibly in my near future =) In the meantime, check out my new site Get This Glow! Health & Wellness and tell me what you think!
Be well, lovelies.


Until next time,

Love and Happiness,

Nikki