Updates from Leah Negrin

Hormones. Every human has them and we generally hear a lot about them in regards to women's health. I've been asked a lot recently about how to manage those monthly womanly times between cramps, heavy bleeding, extra emotions, and balancing it all. Every woman's body is different in terms of what they deal with but I compiled some information to share in case you're really struggling! ⁠⠀
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Essential Oils: ⁠⠀
➡️For Cramps: Dragon Time, Valerian, Ginger, Clary Sage, EndoFlex, Progressence Plus⁠⠀
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➡️For Heavy Bleeding: Geranium, Helichrysum, Cistus ⁠⠀
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➡️SclarEssence-helps with balancing in terms of menopause or a hysterectomy ⁠⠀
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➡️EndoFlex-helps with thyroid and adrenal support⁠⠀
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➡️Lady Sclareol-improves mood ⁠⠀
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➡️Progressence Plus-boosts progesterone naturally and can help get those cycles regular⁠⠀
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➡️Fennel-balances cycles and helps with digestion too!⁠⠀
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Foods: ⁠⠀
➡️Avocados- Loaded with beta-sitosterol, which can impact blood cholesterol levels and help balance the stress hormone cortisol.⁠⠀
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➡️Broccoli- Contains phytoestogenic compounds which may promote beneficial estrogen metabolism⁠⠀
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➡️Leafy greens-Contains so many antioxidants, leafy greens help prevent inflammation and lower levels of stress,⁠⠀
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➡️Walnuts-polyphenols, which can protect our heart and cardiovascular system by fighting free radicals in our body⁠⠀
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➡️Turmeric-Ability to ease pain with reducing inflammation ⁠⠀
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This is by no means an exhaustive list but it's a great start! ⁠⠀
I'm also teaching a class this weekend that not only chats about hormone health but about how to use oils in the bedroom 🛏️. The link to sign up is in my linktree in my profile! I'm always here to help 🙏🏻

For many years I have read a lot of information on juices vs smoothies. And it continues to be something I'm asked a lot about. To be honest, I go back and forth about how I feel about both in terms of my body's happiness, because really that's all that matters isn't it? How are you feeling with what you're doing? Are you gaining weight you didn't necessarily need to gain (because you're having a lot of smoothies that might not have the best ingredients or having them in addition to large meals) or are you not feeling truly nourished because you're not getting to chew certain meals? (sometimes chewing really does make a world a difference in our mentality when eating!) The way I tend to look at these is simple, juice and blend up a lot of veggies add some fruit in there and you're good to go! But more details below 😊

Juicing tends to have more concentrated amounts of vitamins and nutrients that are more easily absorbed (since the chewing has been 'done' already for you by your juicer). Let's say you're juicing things like cucumbers, romaine lettuce, a green apple, celery and lemon not only does that taste bangin' (at least in my opinion) but it has a whole host of nutrients in there readily available with the sugar content fairly low and primarily coming from the apple. 

Smoothies retain their fiber since you're literally blending up the fruits and veggies. Fiber is key in helping with digestion, controlling blood glucose levels and has even been associated with lowering the risk of heart disease and other chronic diseases. Smoothies also have antioxidants, vitamins and minerals and you can add delicious things like hemp, chia or flax seeds which not only provide that fiber but also a healthy dose of protein and Omega-3 fatty acids.

What are some of your favorite smoothie/juice combos? I'm always looking for inspiration!  

I have been asked a lot recently about bone health. Maybe it's the winter time and people are worried about falling and breaking bones or maybe it's because of the serious lack of vitamin D since it's really dark seemingly allllll the time....(or at least in Chicago😉)   

Different vitamins and minerals work together synergistically to keep our bones strong and healthy. These include Calcium, Zinc, Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Phosphorus, Vitamin K and Magnesium. Below are some of the foods that can be helpful not just for bone health, but for everyday life too! This clearly isn't an exclusive list but it's a great start! Don't forget to get in some exercise, especially weight baring ones as running, dancing and lifting weights which can stress your bones in a good way and signal your body to make more bone cells.

👉Calcium: Collard greens, spinach, turnip greens, kale, okra, Chinese cabbage, dandelion greens, mustard greens and broccoli

👉Vitamin C: Red peppers, green peppers, oranges, grapefruits, broccoli, strawberries, brussels sprouts, papaya and pineapples.

👉Vitamin D: Fortified plant milks, orange juice, cereals, certain mushrooms, and SUNSHINE☀️

👉Vitamin K: Dark green leafy vegetables such as kale, collard greens, spinach, mustard greens, turnip greens and brussel sprouts.

👉Magnesium: Brazil nuts, spinach, beet greens, okra, tomato products, artichokes, plantains, potatoes, sweet potatoes, collard greens and raisins

👉Phosphorus: Sunflower, pumpkin seeds, brazil nuts, cashews, almonds, pine nuts, oats, quinoa, rice and pistachios

👉Zinc: Spinach, flaxseeds, and pumpkin seeds

👉 Potassium: Tomato products, raisins, potatoes, spinach, sweet potatoes, papaya, oranges, orange juice, bananas, plantains and prunes

There is a ton more information out there but this is a good start if you're wondering about bone health!🦴 

💕As most people are aware today is Valentine's Day💕 When I was young I would desire (not straight up demand but feel unloved if I didn't get them) flowers, jewelry, chocolates, a night out-the works! Now I'm all like, yes let's go out to eat (because truly there isn't a day I don't want to eat delicious food😉) but if you'd like to spend a lot of money just buy me a plane ticket instead mmm k?🧑‍✈️

This morning I was listening to one of my favorite personal development businessmen, Darren Hardy, and he had the most beautiful message about making love. I jumped at the title of the email, because well, think about it 🤣💕 but the email was a video of Darren (from his Darren Daily) that talked about the small things that can bring joy to people's lives

It doesn't have to be this big huge romantic love gesture but it can be little acts of love! Some simple examples:

👉holding the door for someone
👉shoveling someone's walkway if it's covered in snow
👉bringing in some fruit or other healthy snack for your office-mates
👉returning someone's cart for them at the grocery store
👉letting someone go in front of you in line
👉bringing in someone's garbage cans

👉smiling at people! (well maybe less in NYC because since that always throws people off 🤣)
👉leaving an extra generous tip when you're out to eat or getting coffee

👉Being a good listener. Sometimes the best way to put a smile on someone´s face is to just let them share away

💕 Spread your love seeds everywhere!💕

💕"It doesn't require a grand or heroic gesture to positively impact someone's life." Darren Hardy💕

Well it's been a whirlwind of a week and yet again it's only Wednesday when this thought comes to mind 😂. I had been meaning to share some of my knowledge that I seem to think everyone just knows, but as I'm reminded by others, indeed everyone does not know what I know (really we all have unique knowledge even if we all had the same degrees or life experience!) Today's focus is drum 🥁 roll please......gut health!

I could write pages upon pages upon pages to discuss this with plenty of sources but we'll keep it simple for now🙂 (if you want more info feel free to DM me!) Here are a list of some foods that have been shown to help many with their gut microbiome (myself included!) It isn't just that our gut health can be helpful with digestion and bowel movements but our gut health impacts our mental health too! So let's keep both our brains happy and add in some of these yummy foods below!👇

Sauerkraut: It is rich in probiotics, potassium, vitamins C and K. Choose an unpasteurized sauerkraut as pasteurization destroys most of the beneficial bacteria. (when I'm having a legit gut health attack I eat this straight out of the jar, is it fun? NO lol but sometimes not fun=feeling better lol)

Kimchi: Fermented cabbage, has much of the same probiotics, vitamins, and antioxidants as sauerkraut. This food can be pretty spicy depending upon your choice of brand/recipe so I tend to opt for sauerkraut.

Kombucha: The booch. So many fun things about this probiotic tea can be said, but again we'll keep it simple. Basically this tea starts with a SCOBY starter, which if you have ever swallowed one of these you know they aren't the most fun, but don't worry, you can still consume this yummy beverage without having that happen🙂 One of my favorite brands is Kevita, it's lighter and has a slightly different fermentation process than some of the other booches on the market (although I love a lot of those too!)

Coconut yogurt: The GTS coconut yogurt (I opt for plain) is hands down one of the best products to help support gut health and those dealing with candida.

Tempeh: Fermented of the soybeans (or if you can find a chickpea version). Because of the fermentation process tempeh (no matter which type) has some probiotics to help pump up that gut health.

Miso: Miso paste can be turned into a wide variety things but for the sake of keeping it simple many people use it to make a miso soup or I have used it to make a 'cheesy' sauce to go on zoodles or my veggies. Miso has many antioxidants, B vitamins, and beneficial probiotic bacteria. In case you're making a soup, don't use hot water with the miso paste as it can kill the bacteria present, so use warm water🙂

Hope some of these tidbits help make your gut a bit happier this week🙂