Category Archives: Vitamins and Minerals

Manage Hay Fever Symptoms

Hay fever, hay fever symptoms
Natural Remedies for Hay Fever Symptoms

Allergic rhinitis (aka hay fever, seasonal allergies) 

Global warming + More  CO2 = Increased pollen counts 

  • Spring: Trees and flowers
  • Summer: Grass and weeds
  • Fall: Ragweed

Stronger immune system= Prevent allergic reactions

Seasonal allergies may trigger asthma attacks for those with asthma

For those with lung diseases and other respiratory conditions, it’s critical to manage seasonal allergy symptoms to reduce risk of complications. 

According to Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), here are the key symptoms to tell the difference between Coronavirus (COVID-19), Cold , Flu, and Seasonal Allergies

respiratory-illness-symptoms-chart-coronavirus-flu-cold-allergies
Sources: AAFA, WHO, CDC
Symptoms between Coronavirus (COVID-19), Cold, Flu, Seasonal Allergies

RD’s Choice:

Related:

 

6 Benefits of Bone Broth

bone broth
5-Minute Immune Boosting Soup
  1. Fight autoimmune diseases
  • Bone broth contains glycine and proline, as well as collagen, which help to repair leaky gut by sealing the openings in the gut lining 
    • Leaky gut and systemic inflammation may be associated with autoimmune diseases.
      • Related: According to Dr. Marcelo Campos from Harvard Medical School, “an unhealthy gut lining may have large cracks or holes, allowing partially digested food, toxins, and bugs to penetrate the tissues beneath it. This may trigger inflammation and changes in the gut flora (normal bacteria) that could lead to problems within the digestive tract and beyond”. 
    • Common autoimmune diseases include: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (associated with hypothyroidism), Graves’ disease (associated with hyperthyroidism), rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, alopecia areata (patchy hair loss), and psoriasis. 

2.  Reduce inflammation and joint pain

  • Bone broth contains glycine and proline, which have anti-inflammatory properties.
  • Bone broth is rich in glucosamine and chondroitin:
    • reduce inflammation, arthritis, joint pain, lower back pain 

3.  Boost liver detoxification 

  • Bone broth contains Glycine, one of the amino acids to make Glutathione (GSH).
  • Glutathione (GSH) helps with detoxification, rid the body of heavy metals such as mercury and lead, cleanse your liver and rejuvenate liver cells. 
  • GSH is a powerful antioxidant  
    • Antioxidants:  helps protect your cells against oxidative damage caused by free radicals
    • Free radicals: linked to aging and diseases 
    • Oxidation is a normal process, happens when we make energy
    • Oxidative stress happens when there’s an imbalance between free radical and antioxidant activity.
      • Oxidative damage increases when we become injured or have an infection (such as flu, gingivitis) 
      • Oxidative damage = Increase inflammation (may caused by leaky gut and food allergies)

4. Nutrient-packed superfood 

  • Bone broth provides nutrient-dense, easy to digest trace minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and silicon. 

5. Tighten skin (skin laxity)

  • Bone broth contains easy to digest collagen
  • Tighten skin by decreasing cellulite 
  • Collagen may help to prevent aging and reduce wrinkles

6. Improve sleep quality, mood, restore focus & clarity 

  • Bone broth contains glycine: Reduce insomnia and improve mood  
  • Related: Dr. Michael Breus discusses the sleep benefits

You can make bone broth at home with grass-fed bones or organic free-range chicken bones. It takes ~8-24 hours to cook beef bone broth and up to 48 hours for chicken bone broth on the stove or about 2 hours in an Instant Pot for the minerals and nutrients to be drawn out of the bones and into the bone broth. If you don’t want to spend that time or effort, you can also purchase store-bought bone broth or protein powder made with bone broth.

Check out this video for my 5-Minute Immune Boosting Soup 

Related: Check out my VLOG recipe for my Purple Beauty Smoothie– Superfoods for Glowing Skin 

👩🏻‍⚕️ RD’s Choice 

7 Diseases the Amazing Beet Can Help You Fight Off and 7 Ways to Enjoy Beet

Beet is well known as a liver and blood cleanser. Due to its high-antioxidant, anti-inflammatory properties, it has been linked to the prevention of lung, liver, colon cancer and many diseases.

Simple ways to incorporate beet into your diet include:

  1. Make an immune-boosting smoothie with beet, lemon, ginger, and raspberries
  2. Make a healthy side dish with roasted beet
  3. Add grated beetroot into your big salad
  4. Add fresh beet leaves into your big salad
  5. Steam beet, broccoli, cauliflower, tofu together and serve over brown rice or quinoa
  6. Make a beet and carrot soup
  7. Make a Beet Latte with beet juice, almond milk, ginger, and honey/maple syrup

Eat Egg, It’s the Most Nutrient Dense Food: Part 1

image

In celebrating National Nutrition Month, may I suggest all you beautiful people to incorporate more pastured eggs in your diet, to help get your mind and body in shape for professional and personal success?

My mom used to tell me “Eat Fish, It’s a brain food. Eat Egg, it’s the most nutrient dense food”. My typical childhood breakfast was composed of 2 hard-boiled eggs, a papaya smoothie, and sometimes a small bowl of fish congee. It was at a time when I saw chickens roaming in the backyards, eating bugs and worms.

Then, people thought eggs were bad. I learned about all the fancy labels of eggs that I didn’t know about. Some eggs are Conventional, Cage-Free, Vegetarian-Fed, etc…AKA, eggs from over-crowded chicken factory. Later, I heard about the Egg Beaters, a processed product that is fortified and supposed to “make a healthy lifestyle easier”.

Not all eggs are created equal. Let’s look at the ingredients:

Real eggs

  • Ingredients: Eggs
  • Pros: nutrition-packed
  • Cons: Bad reputation due to cholesterol content

Egg Beaters:

  • Ingredients:  Egg White, (99%). Less Than 1% Natural Flavor, Color (Includes Betacarotene), Spices, Salt, Onion Powder, Vegetable Gum, (Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum), Maltodextrin. Vitamins And Minerals, Calcium Sulfate,Iron (Ferric Phosphate), Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E),Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, (Vitamin B12), Riboflavin, (Vitamin B2), Thiamin Mononitrate, (Vitamin B1), Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, (Vitamin B6), Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin D3.
  • Debunked:
    • Natural Flavor- faux flavor, possible MSG, and GMO source
    • Maltodextrin- processed sugar
  • Pros: Less calories, fat, cholesterol
  • Cons: Highly Processed. Missing key nutrient: Choline

What is Choline? 

Dietary intake of choline has been shown to be associated with lower plasma homocysteine levels (tHcy), which may reduce chronic inflammation (leading to cardiovascular disease, dementia, and osteoporosis). Recent studies support a protective role of choline against the development of some types of cancer. Choline deficiency may increase risk of muscle damage and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (Fatty liver is linked to obesity and insulin resistance).

Choline is an essential nutrient for prenatal and breastfeeding women. Similar to folate, choline plays a critical role in the healthy development of the fetus’s brain and nervous system. Deficiency in pregnancy may increase incidence of neural tube defects and impair cognitive function.

Although some choline is made within the liver, we require dietary source to maintain good health.

According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the adequate intake (AI) for choline to prevent liver damage is 550 mg daily for men and lactating women, 425 mg daily for women, and 450 mg daily for pregnant women. The Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) for adults is 3500 mg/day.

Good Sources of Choline:
?Egg yolk- 147 mg per yolk
?Wheat germ- 202 mg per cup
?Beef- 97 mg per 3oz trimmed, cooked
?Scallop- 94 mg per 3oz steamed
?Salmon- 56 mg per 3oz cooked
?Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, bok choy)- 65 mg per cup cooked
?*Please note that prenatal vitamins don’t usually contain Choline, it’s important to nourish your body through whole foods.

Peppery Arugula Omelette with Sweet Fruits
Peppery Arugula Omelette with Sweet Fruits

If you are worried about the high cholesterol level in egg yolk, read my related post on Instagram here Dietary Cholesterol. You can learn more about cholesterol with Professor Fred Kummerow’s latest book at 99 years of age Cholesterol is not the Culprit. Kummerow was the scientist who pushed the FDA to ban Trans Fat and he eats an egg daily. The 100 years old Nutrition Scientist.