Episode 54 (Re-Release): Detox for Hormone Balance with Joy McCarthy, Nutritionist and Author

Dr. Lisa chose to re-release this episode since the new year is a time when many people embark on a detox or a healthier start. In this episode, Dr. Lisa talks with Certified Holistic Nutritionist (and best-selling author!) Joy McCarthy about: which foods to eat to support detox; how to “green” your body care products; ways to amp up your salads with powerhouse foods; and how to sneak more vegetables into your child’s diet.

Joy McCarthy is the bestselling author of: Joyous Health, The Joyous Cookbook and Joyous Detox, which was a World Gourmand Cookbook Award recipient. She is also the co-host of the Joyous Health Podcast.

In this episode, we cover:

  • How a food-based 10-day detox can be the easiest way to get started
  • The benefits of focusing on what you can eat instead of what you can’t eat
  • Sources of different chemicals that you may be exposed to throughout the day (and it may shock you!)
  • The benefits of doing a beauty detox, starting with the products that spend a lot of time on your skin, like your moisturizer and foundation
  • Why you should look up the ingredients of your personal care products on the Think Dirty App and Skin Deep Database
  • How to tell if the food you’re eating is putting a burden on your liver
  • The benefits of choosing organic food whenever possible, especially when it comes to the “Dirty Dozen”
  • Why you need more variety and colour on your plate (and why you should be eating kale and arugula!)
  • How lemon, apple cider vinegar and fermented foods can help your gut to support you body’s detoxification process
  • What Joy puts in her salad and how she gets her daughter to eat salads
  • How to fit more veggies in your life and make kid-friendly foods

How to detox on a daily basis:

  • Avoid: additives, preservatives, processed foods, sugar
  • Eat more: vegetables and other plants, especially cruciferous vegetables, citrus, herbs and spices like fennel, cilantro, parsley, mint, turmeric, ginger, garlic

Some delicious Joyous Health Detox Supporting Recipes you can try:

Nourishing Turmeric Golden Soup

Creamy and Dreamy Colourful Kale Salad

Golden Smoothie

Digestive Soothing Green Smoothie

Cauliflower Hummus

Lazy Lady Turmeric Latte

You can find Joy @joyoushealth on Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and on Facebook. Shop for her detox tea, detox program, and the Joyous Detox Cookbook on her online store.

Today’s Mama Must Have:

Dr. Lisa takes a teaspoon of unpasteurized apple cider vinegar in water before eating to support her digestion.

Joy includes meditation in her daily routine to stay sane and manage anxiety, including the Calm app and Deepak Chopra’s Daily Breath app.

Thank you for joining us today! 

Email us or connect with us on Facebook and Instagram. We’d love you to subscribe, leave us a review and a 5-star rating if you enjoyed this episode.

Please tell your perimenopausal mama friends about us, too!

Stay safe everyone!

Episode 53 (Re-Release): Supporting Your Child’s Mental Health During a Pandemic with Tasha Belix, Psychologist

Dr. Toni chose this episode to re-release since we could all use some support during the holidays and the pandemic. Dr. Toni talks with youth and family psychologist and author Tasha Belix about how to support your kids through these challenging times and have tough conversations about mental health, the pandemic, suicide, violence and racism.  We will be back the first week of January 2021 with new episodes. Happy Holidays, everyone!

Tasha is the mom of 3 girls and a registered psychologist with over 20 years of advanced training in affective neuroscience, trauma-informed care, eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) and emotion-focused family therapy. She is also the co-host of Raising Strong Kids Through Divorce podcast, author of What Do You Do With A Feeling? and founder of B’tween Girls program that builds essential relationship skills, confidence and emotional regulation in girls grade 4-9 through skills based therapy. She has spoken at Lionheart Foundation for girls with anxiety-based issues and Fast and Female Summit for young girls in sports. 

In this episode, we cover:

  • The different coping mechanisms that both you and your kids might automatically adopt when the structure around your life changes
  • How stressful, challenging times can affect your kids’ behaviour including things like sleep and toilet training
  • The importance of normalizing and speaking about how you feel all emotions including grief, sadness and anger
  • How always pushing happiness and striving for high level performance on your kids has a cost 
  • Which hard questions you can ask your kids to learn more about their inner world, giving them an opportunity to share any pain that they are feeling
  • How having a conversation about suicidal thoughts will not plant a seed in your kid if it’s not already there
  • The first place you can go when you are concerned about your kids’ mental health (hint: it’s your family doctor)
  • Tasha’s mental health recipe for everyone each day to take care of your:
    • Head – mindful activity like playing in a sandbox, sitting on your yoga mat, writing a poem, listening to music, looking out at nature
    • Heart – connecting to another human being in real life with eye contact and voice (not texting!), even if it’s only with the barista at Starbucks
    • Body – moving to sweat and release your stress hormone cortisol and feel good endorphins
  • How to know if you and your kids are super-feelers
  • The importance of moving your feelings through your body and looking for silver linings to step through depression and feel more happy
  • Using the pandemic as an opportunity to have conversations with your kids (with curiosity and love) around what they know, think and feel about what is going on in the world around the pandemic, racism and police brutality, as well as what it may feel like to be “the other”

Resources:

Tasha Belix to connect with Tasha and find more resources for your kids’ mental health

Common Sense Media for parents and educators

Something Happened in Our Town book read on YouTube

Something Happened In Our Town Animated on YouTube

Today’s Mama Must Have:

Dr. Toni recommends having a family doctor that you can connect with, share your struggles honestly and provide information on mental health resources in your area.

Tasha recommends taking some time for yourself so you can step back from your care-taking role as a parent or at work and give yourself a daily dose of care for yourself and your soul. It’s necessary, and not selfish. It could look like going for a walk by yourself, getting back to a place of worship or even simply reflecting on 3 good things that happened before your head hits the pillow at the end of the day. She provides Facebook Live videos for more self-care tips.

Thank you for joining us today! 

Email us or connect with us on Facebook and Instagram. We’d love you to subscribe, leave us a review and a 5-star rating if you enjoyed this episode.

Please tell your perimenopausal mama friends about us, too!

Stay safe everyone!

Episode 52: So, you’ve gained weight during the pandemic…now what?

In today’s episode, Dr. Lisa and Dr. Toni talk about what to do if your yoga pants are getting snugg and you have a “spare tire” around your waist. With the pandemic in full swing and the holidays coming, we share our tips and tricks on how to acheive and maintain a healthy weight.

Have you been:

  • Snacking on sweets or junk food?
  • Indulging in more alcohol?
  • Relying on leggings or stretchy pants?
  • Having more mood swings and energy dips?

Tips for shifting your metabolism, eating habits and weight:

  • Mindful eating:
    • Chew slowly and pay attention to what’s happening in your body
    • Eat without distractions, ideally with other people in your household
    • Put down your fork in between bites
    • Taste and enjoy what you are eating
  • Eat until you are 80% full
    • Prevent overeating and eat less calories
  • Avoid drinking your calories
    • Eliminate or reduce extra drinks like egg nog, hot chocolate, Starbucks
  • No BLTs: bites, licks, tastes, sips
  • Limit snacks and avoid grazing while you’re at home
    • Eating frequently can raise your blood sugar and insulin too frequently
    • Aim for 3 meals with at least 3 hour window between your meals
  • Avoid low fat foods
  • Try intermittent fasting or time restricted eating
    • Be ok with being hungry
    • Start with 12 hour fast overnight and consider increasing to 14-16 hours
    • Avoid if pregnant, breastfeeding or have low adrenal function
  • Reduce your sugar and simple carb intake
    • Or can you start with total elimination of sugar?
  • Ask yourself if you are really hungry
    • Are you bored? Sad? Happy? 
    • Had a hard day? 
    • Want to reward yourself?
  • Avoid nighttime eating
    • Avoid watching TV to prevent mindless eating
    • Brush teeth and floss
    • Drink tea instead (though not too much to prevent interrupted sleep)
  • Support sleep and sleep hygiene
  • Shut off screens at least 1 hour before bed 
    • Research shows impact of blue light for 3 hours
    • Use low level of light in evening
    • Try blue light blockers 
    • Consider red light night lights
  • Have a hot bath or shower before bed
  • Sleep in a cool room to prevent overheating (see Episode 32 on Hot Flashes for more info and tips)

Strategies to reduce stress hormones:

  • Journaling, meditation or just sit quietly, even if it’s only for 2 minutes
  • Move your body with low intensity activity
    • Yoga, tai chi, qi gong, walking, hiking, running, dancing, sports
    • Watch for increased appetite due to increased exercise (don’t overdo it!)
  • Consider supplementing with adaptogenic and relaxing herbs like skullcap, shatavari, holy basil, lavender, L-theanine

Support your thyroid health:

  • Impacted by stress
  • Check with blood work – full thyroid panel (TSH, free T4, free T3), in addition to blood sugar testing
  • Listen to Episode 42 to learn more about thyroid issues and what to do about them.

Pick one strategy to start with and add on as you can. 

Do the best you can right now!

Today’s Mama Must Have:

Dr. Toni is craving more connection with family and is feeling so grateful for her cousins setting up her grandma with an iPad and email address so they can FaceTime. Holidays are going to be different this year, but technology can help.

Dr. Lisa loves her coconut tortilla recipe for a sugar free snack with coconut or peanut butter. 

Thank you for joining us today! 

Connect with us at our website www.stephanies48.sg-host.com, on Facebook and on Instagram. We’d love you to subscribe, leave us a review and a 5-star rating if you enjoyed this episode.

Please tell your perimenopausal mama friends about us, too!

Stay safe and healthy everyone!

Episode 51 – Mastering Your Mindset with Larisa Makuch

In today’s episode, Dr. Lisa dives deep with Master Results Coach, Larisa Makuch, about stepping back and looking at how you show up in your life. They discuss actionable ways to live an intentional and joyful life, even during the pandemic. Listen in to: discover ways to foster a positive mindset and gratitude; learn how to be responsive and not reactionary to situations that arise (and to your kids!) and simple ways to live a purpose-filled life.

As a sought-after speaker, educator and author with decades of experience, Larisa is an energetic up level specialist who helps women make an impact in their world and create a powerful, purposeful plan to get there. In addition to being a Masters Results Coach, Larisa holds designations as a Master of Time Line Therapy, a Trainer of Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and the head of the Neuro-Linguistic Programming Institute.

In this conversation, we cover:

  • The importance of focusing on what’s good, even if it’s just starting with one small moment after you’ve started your day on the wrong foot
  • What it means to develop your mindset
  • How you can be more responsive instead of reactionary in challenging situations with your kids at home
  • What you can do to live a purpose-filled and joyful life as a busy mom
  • The importance of finding time to being in quiet by yourself, even if it’s only for 5 minutes, to develop a positive mindset and increase your energy

Get Larisa’s FREE Gratitude Guide: 16 Ways To Amplify Your Gratitude Practice (and feel successful doing it)

You can get in touch with Larisa on Instagram, by visiting her website and/or joining her Unleash Your Opulence Facebook Group.

Today’s Tip:

Larisa found this fun and healthy holiday snack that your kids will love: Banana Snowman Pops Recipe 

Today’s Mama Must Have:

Larisa loves her Muse Headband for her daily meditation practice.

Dr. Lisa is grateful for her husband Pete who has been managing the household during her busy season.

Thank you for joining us today! 

Connect with us at our website www.stephanies48.sg-host.com, on Facebook and on Instagram. We’d love you to subscribe, leave us a review and a 5-star rating if you enjoyed this episode.

Please tell your perimenopausal mama friends about us, too!

Stay safe and healthy everyone!

Episode 50 – Ask Us Anything

In today’s episode, Dr. Lisa and Dr. Toni are answering listener questions on how to: get a good night’s sleep in perimenopause; reduce irritability (and stop snapping at your partner or kids!); deal with headaches/migraines; manage reflux and bloating (from overindulging) and help your little ones sleep better.

What can you do to get a better sleep, especially if you’re experiencing hot flashes and night sweats?

  • Pay attention to triggers eg. alcohol intake, eating too close to bedtime, certain foods like garlic and spicy foods
  • Support your liver function with antioxidants
    • Cruciferous veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, kale
    • Supplements like N-acetyl cysteine, green tea extract, alpha lipoic acid, resveratrol
  • Support proper hormone balance and estrogen detoxification
    • Foods providing phytoestrogens and fibre like ground flaxseed
    • Herbs like black cohosh, maca, vitex
    • Bio-identical progesterone cream
  • Staying cool at night
    • Cool room
    • Little or no pajamas
    • Cooling weighted blanket like Zonli
    • L-glycine amino acid supplementation 
  • For more info, see Episode 32

What can you do to manage mood swings and irritability, especially with extra stress, uncertainty and changes around the pandemic?

  • Get stuff out of your head
    • Talking to friends, family or professional counselor 
    • Journaling, such as gratitude journal or bullet journaling – see Episode 11
  • Get the best sleep possible
  • Address your liver function and hormone balance if mood swings and emotions are flaring a week or so before your period
  • Get out of the house and take time for yourself
  • Consider adaptogenic herbs to increase your resilience and reduce the physical and emotional impact of stress, such as ashwagandha, rhodiola, siberian ginseng/eleuthro, holy basil, schisandra, shatavari

What can I do about my frequent headaches and migraines?

  • For more info, see Episode 20
  • Consider increasing your magnesium intake – it’s an essential mineral and natural muscle relaxant
  • Assessing and avoiding food sensitivities to reduce pro-inflammatory and histamine responses – common ones are gluten and dairy!
  • Get some body work to reduce muscle tension and support proper structural alignment such as massage, acupuncture, chiropractic, osteopathic
  • Watch your posture, especially if you’re working at a desk for long periods of time
  • Stay hydrated!

What can I do about my heavy periods?

  • Get your ferritin iron storage levels checked and consider iron supplementation if you have low or low normal iron levels
  • Get your thyroid hormones tested – full thyroid panel of TSH, free T4 and free T3 – and consider thyroid support if you have low or low normal thyroid function
  • Get your estrogen levels tested to see if you have estrogen dominance contributing to heavy periods
  • Astringent herbs like yarrow
  • For more info, see Episodes 21, Episode 22, Episode 48

I just started getting heartburn and bloating…what’s going on and what can I do about it?

  • Watch for triggers like food sensitivities, eating too late at night or overeating
  • Lower your stress response before eating and shut off screens to support proper digestive function and stomach acid production
  • Consider betaine HCl, apple cider vinegar or bitter herbs like gentian before food
  • Watch for peppermint tea worsening reflux from esophageal sphincter laxity 

I struggle getting my kids to wind down and go to bed at night…what can I do?

Something about kids – supporting sleep?

  • Watch your kids’ bedtime routine 
    • Reduce screen time and shut off screens earlier in the day
    • Avoid sugar after dinner
    • Hot bath or shower (even if not washing)
    • Reading and cuddle time
    • Herbal tea like chamomile or lemon balm in tea form, fruit ice pop or in their bath
  • Consider calming nutrients and other supplements like magnesium, L-theanine, inositol, homeopathic or Bach Flower remedies

This Week’s Mama Must Have:

Dr. Toni’s favourite digestive supports are Canadian Bitters and an essential oil blend with ginger, peppermint and fennel to use topically.

Dr. Lisa loves her tulsi tea with or without lavender to relax at night and get a good night’s sleep.

Thank you for joining us today! 

Connect with us at our website www.stephanies48.sg-host.com, on Facebook and on Instagram. We’d love you to subscribe, leave us a review and a 5-star rating if you enjoyed this episode.

Please tell your perimenopausal mama friends about us, too!

Stay safe and healthy everyone!