Innova Complimentary Therapies

Studies have shown that refined sugars can suppress your immune system for hours after ingesting. Breaking sugar addiction is easier than you might think. It doesn’t take weeks or months. These strategies can help: ⁣⁣
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- Eat real food. You need to eat fat and protein for each of your meals. Whole foods carbohydrates like veggies, legumes, nuts and seeds are perfectly healthy. Broccoli is broccoli. Processed, sugary junk foods are not real foods. They set the stage for sugar addiction and all its ugly consequences.⁣⁣
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- Steady blood sugar levels. Eat a nutritious breakfast with some protein like eggs, protein shakes, or nut butters. Studies repeatedly show that eating a healthy high-protein breakfast helps people maintain weight loss. Also, have smaller meals throughout the day. Eat every three to four hours and have some protein with each snack or meal (lean animal protein, nuts, seeds, beans). Avoid eating three hours before bedtime.⁣⁣
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- Reduce stress. Stress eating and junk food go together. When you’re feeling stressed, you’re more likely to reach for that bag of chocolate chip cookies or whatever your vice might be. Learn to address the root cause of your stress and address it with something like yoga, meditation, or deep breathing. ⁣⁣
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- Exercise smartly. Besides creating a healthy distraction to avoid nose-diving into a pint of butter pecan ice cream, exercise tapers cravings and raises feel-good endorphin levels. Whether you’re a newbie or a seasoned athlete, you can find an easy-to-implement exercise plan here.⁣⁣
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- Determine whether food sensitivities could be causing your cravings. We often crave the very foods that we have a hidden allergy to, including gluten, dairy, and sugar.⁣⁣
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- Sleep well. Ever notice you’re hungrier for something sugary after a terrible night’s sleep? Studies show lack of sleep increases cravings.bAim to get 8 hours of quality sleep.⁣⁣
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- Implement crave-cutting supplements. These include vitamin D and omega-3s. Also consider taking natural supplements for cravings control. Glutamine, tyrosine, and 5-HTP are amino acids that help reduce cravings.

Great tips and information here and things that I try to do in my own life most of the time, not easy to stick to but baby changes over time can make such a difference to our health and how we feel on a daily basis. I try to follow 70/30 rule where I eat healthy 🍏🍒🥑🥦70% of time and 30% treats 🍔🍦🧁🍫and whatever I want lol😂. Happy reading💕

These tips come from ’s Functional Medicine nutritionist, Lisa Dreher. ⁣⁣
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Eat more dark leafy green vegetables:⁣⁣
These veggies are packed with antioxidants and phytonutrients that protect cells and DNA from damage. They are rich in fiber, folate, carotenoids, vitamins C and K, iron and calcium. They help support the immune system and reduce inflammation throughout the body. Try adding more arugula, watercress, spinach & dark lettuces to your meals.⁣⁣
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Eliminate sugar, gluten & dairy:⁣⁣
Of all foods and food additives, our patients see the greatest improvement in their symptoms when they remove sugar, gluten & dairy from the diet. These are difficult to digest and can cause inflammation, especially within the gut. And since 80 percent of the immune system is found in your gut, it is best to remove these ingredients completely for a period of time and see how you feel.⁣⁣
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Eat high omega-3, low-mercury fish 2 to 3 times a week:⁣⁣
Many autoimmune conditions are characterized by high levels of inflammatory substances known as cytokines. Eating more omega-3 fatty acids from fish (like wild Alaskan salmon and sardines) can help regulate these cytokines and reduce inflammation.⁣⁣
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Drink bone broth:⁣⁣⁣
Bone broth has been used in cultures around the world for centuries, and now science is uncovering the myriad of benefits. It is rich in collagen (the main component of connective tissue), gelatin (which is anti-inflammatory and helps protect the gut lining from harmful microbes), glutamine (which protects against and can help reverse leaky gut – a key factor in the development of autoimmune disease), proline-rich peptides (needed for proper collagen structure) and several vitamins and minerals.
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Add turmeric and black pepper to your cooking:⁣⁣
Ample research shows the potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of turmeric. Specifically, curcumin is the constituent in turmeric that provides its deep yellow color and medicinal qualities. Curcumin inhibits inflammatory cytokines. We recommend you use turmeric as it has been used traditionally – in cooking!

The truth is, dementia is a very big problem that’s becoming bigger every day.⠀⁣⁣⁣
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What’s the link between Alzheimer’s and diabetes? ⠀⁣⁣⁣
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Well, new research shows insulin resistance, or what I call diabesity (from eating too many carbs and sugar and not enough fat) is one of the major factors that starts the brain-damage cascade, which robs the memory of over half the people in their 80s, leading to a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.⠀⁣⁣⁣
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Here’s the bad news/good news. ⠀⁣⁣⁣
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Eating sugar and refined carbs can cause pre-dementia and dementia. But cutting out the sugar and refined carbs and adding lots of fat can prevent, and even reverse, pre-dementia and early dementia. Sugar causes pre-diabetes and diabetes, which often leads to significant memory loss. ⠀⁣⁣⁣
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Chronic stress takes a toll on your body and brain. Stress shrinks the hippocampus, the memory center of the brain. So, find your pause button every day and make time for some stress relief. Relaxation isn’t a luxury if you want to prevent or reverse dementia. Whether that involves deep breathing, meditation, or yoga, find something that helps you calm down. ⠀⁣⁣⁣
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Lack of sleep can cause impaired brain function, leading to CRAFT syndrome, which stands for “can’t remember a _____ thing.” Studies show poor sleep becomes a risk factor for cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease. Aim for at least 8 hours of quality sleep every night.⠀⁣⁣⁣
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We now know that physical activity can prevent and even slow down the progression of cognitive decline and brain diseases like dementia. Even a 30-minute walk can help. More active readers might want to incorporate high-intensity interval training or weight lifting.