How to Apply a Castor Oil Pack (and why you’d want to)

by | Jun 8, 2021 | Health, Hormones & Neurotransmitters, Immune & Inflammatory Balance

Castor oil comes from Ricinus communis, the castor plant. Castor oil has many health benefits.  It can be applied topically or taken internally (in this post we will not be covering internal use). The main active component in castor oil is RA (ricinoleic acid).  RA relieves pain and inflammation. Because it is inexpensive, widely available, generally regarded as safe and effective, let’s talk about how to apply a castor oil pack (and why you’d want to)!

 

BENEFITS OF TOPICAL CASTOR OIL PACKS

 

HOW TO APPLY A SIMPLE CASTOR OIL PACK

  • Rub 1 tsp-1 Tbsp castor oil into the skin in your area of interest (liver, abdomen, lungs, joints, etc) or Saturate a small piece of cloth with castor oil and place over your liver or area of interest
  • Cover the area with an old towel or wrap the area comfortably with an ace bandage.
  • Throw on an old t-shirt (castor oil stains fabric, so wear something that is not precious to you)
  • Apply hot water bottle or a heating pad to the pack area
  • Sit or lay down, relaxing for 45 minutes to 1 hour (safe to wear for a few hours or overnight as well — NOT with the heating pad)

 

WHEN AND HOW OFTEN TO APPLY A CASTOR OIL PACK

Apply castor oil packs 2-3 times per week for general detoxification.  A castor oil pack can also be beneficial:

  • before an enema, colonic, or liver/gallbladder flush;
  • during chelation treatment;
  • for abdominal pain;
  • in addition to abdominal visceral massage.

DO NOT APPLY CASTOR OIL PACKS IN THESE INSTANCES

  • over an open wound
  • on abdomen when menstruating
  • on abdomen during pregnancy (castor oil can induce labor and should only be used during pregnancy if indicated by your physician or doula.)
  • if you are currently being treated for any medical condition, it’s best to check with your doctor before using castor oil.

BONUS USES

Castor oil can be very nourishing for the hair and scalp.  It is used as a serum to promote hair growth.  Eye lashes can grow in stronger, thicker and longer!  Ricinoleic acid is the compound in castor oil that may cause this benefit!  Ricinoleic acid can increases PGE2 in the scalp (and on other skin). PGE2 is a fatty acid, which seems to be vital for follicle health and hair growth.

When applied to the skin, castor oil is known to increase penetration of topicals and make it easier for things applied next to be absorbed. This is one of the reasons I love pairing castor oil with essential oils!  Interested in my favorite combinations?  Email me (sarah at yourholistichealthcoach dot com) if you’d like my Castor Oil Pack cheat sheet with essential oil blend bonus — and let me know where to email your copy!

Here’s my favorite hexane-free castor oil:

Two Surprising Reasons Behind Belly Bloat

by | May 31, 2021 | Digestion, Health, Immune & Inflammatory Balance

Belly bloat is uncomfortable and, often, embarrassing.  While some common causes of bloating can be obvious (overeating, drinking carbonated beverages, constipation), others may be more elusive. Whether it’s acute or chronic, it is good to know why bloat is happening. Let’s look at two surprising reasons behind belly bloat that you may not have explored yet.  We’ll also cover a few of my best tips for dealing with bloat (no matter what’s the cause.)

Surprising Reason #1:

SIBO.  Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth.  It sounds complicated… and it is!  So often, we hear about using probiotics as a way to ease belly bloat and digestive issues.  In SIBO, too much bacteria ends up colonizing the small intestine.  Common symptoms include INTENSE bloating after any meal (even water).  Nausea, constipation or diarrhea can also occur.

If you’ve ruled out common causes of bloating, see your doctor to check for SIBO.  Testing involves a breath test that measures the amounts of hydrogen and methane in your breath over the course of a few hours.  Treatment can include dietary modifications and/or a short course of antibiotics.

 

Surprising Reason #2:

Endometriosis!  Persistent gas and bloating is one of the most common things women with Endometriosis encounter.  Because these symptoms are commonly caused by other issues, women are often dismissed and given antacids.  When the pain and bloating persist or worsen over time, doctors may begin to look for other causes of inflammation in the gut.  Still, SIBO and IBS diagnoses are common among women with Endometriosis.  If a gastroenterologist has diagnosed you with SIBO or IBS and treatment including specialized diet or antibiotics and it is not working, it may be time to see an endometriosis specialist.

 

Figuring Out What is Causing Your Bloat

Figuring out what is actually causing you to be bloated can be harder than a 10,000 piece puzzle. While it may seem overwhelming, there are a few things to look at first.

 

Where is your bloat?

You may think that it’s your stomach causing issues, when the bloating may be coming from your intestines.  Take a look at the images below to see if you can determine the location of your bloating or gas pains. 

Notice that the stomach is positioned low in the chest cavity or at the very top of the abdominal cavity.  In women, the stomach is basically just under your ribcage below your breasts.  The small intestine is the next stop after the stomach.  If you pain and bloating happens shortly after meals, it may be in your stomach or small intestine.  Several hours after a meal may indicate the lower part of your small intestine or the start of the large intestine.  Where most people hold low on the abdomen for gas pain is actually intestinal pain rather than stomach!

 

Digestion begins in the mouth.  After chewing, the food bolus travels down the espohagus (long blue tube) and enters the stomach (kidney bean shaped blue pouch under the breasts)

In the stomach, food continues to be broken down by digestive juices.  When it leaves the stomach, ideally, food is liquified and considered “chyme” as it enters the small intestine.

Chyme travels into the large intestine.  Water is reabsorbed through the colon wall.  Bacteria continue to break down food particles and form stool that is excreted through the anus.

 

Think about your diet.

Are you eating anything new?  Is there anything different about when, where or how you eat?  Sometimes a new food or a food cooked in a different way can be the culprit.  If you normally sit to eat and find symptoms happen when you’re eating on the go or when you’re rushing, then you can likely make simple modifications and ease your symptoms.

 

Get to know your response.

Do you know how you feel after you eat eggs?  How about caffeine, gluten, dairy, sugar, etc?  Do certain foods increase your bloating response?  Do certain foods increase constipation?  Are your symptoms different at various times of the month (hormonal cycles, moon phases, deadlines, etc)? By recording your symptoms along with your intake (food, drink, stress, work, exercise, etc) and output (bowel movements, emotions, energy level, etc) you can begin to assess your body’s response.  You can use a notebook or use a form like this one that I use in my practice. 

Whether you figure out what’s causing your bloat or need to take the next step and see your doctor, 5-10 days of journaling can provide some insight for your clinician.

 

Seek support

If your bloating doesn’t ease after some simple shifts then you may want to seek the support of your doctor.  A general practitioner can assess your overall health and guide you to a specialist if needed.

 

Tips for Relieving Bloat

If you’re tired of being bloated all the time, here are a few things that may help:

Chew — Chewing food until it’s liquid is needed for proper digestion.  Chew smoothies and soups so your stomach gets the signal that food is coming and so digestive juices are stimulated.  Simply slowing down and chewing can drastically help digestion!

Sip still water – Still water (rather than carbonated) may relieve bloat.  Avoid drinking too much with meals.  Instead, sip during meals.

Get regular exercise – Walking is one of the best exercises to help relieve bloating, but there are also some yoga poses that can be great.  Child’s pose, gentle torso twists, etc.

Try peppermint or ginger tea – Peppermint and ginger do wonders for bloating and the gut in general. Try drinking 1-2 cups of either tea each day and see if it helps.  Fennel tea can be another ally for gas and bloating.  This blend from Traditional Medicinals can be helpful: https://amzn.to/3yKwTGu

Address your medical conditions – Of course, if your bloating is from medical conditions like SIBO, Endometriosis, IBS, Crohn’s or Celiac, then you need to address those before your bloating will ease.

6 Strategies to Reverse Autoimmune Disease

by | Mar 28, 2021 | Immune & Inflammatory Balance

  Autoimmune disease diagnoses are rising.  Psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, Celiac disease, and autoimmune thyroid disease are no longer rarities.  There are now more than 100 diseases classified as as autoimmune in nature… and the list is growing.  In this article, I”ll be sharing 6 Strategies to Reverse Autoimmune Disease. 

In the United States alone, over 50 million people are living with Autoimmune disease. That number doesn’t even include people who have undiagnosed, strange or difficult to classify issues like chronic inflammation, pain, moodiness and general sickness symptoms that are not attributed to any known disease.

What are autoimmune diseases?

Your immune system is your defense mechanism.  It protects against germs, viruses, bacteria, allergens, and foreign matter that can harm your health.

When your immune system gets confused it can attack your own tissues, shut down and attack nothing or ramp up and attack everything!

Autoimmune diseases can affect skin, bones, joints, brain, nerves, gut lining or sometimes entire organs and organ systems.

Traditional Treatment Approach for Autoimmune Issues

Conventional medicine usually looks to manage symptoms.  For example, anti-inflammatories and basic pain relievers like Naproxen, Ibuprofen and Acetaminophen are used for swelling and pain.  Steroids like Prednisone, immune suppressants like methotrexate, or TNF-a blockers like Enbrel may be prescribed next.  While those can ease symptoms, they can also cause a host of ugly side-effects (just read the fine print on any of the drug ads!)

Don’t get me wrong. Some medications can save lives.  They can slow or stop disease process and help people get their lives back.  They can also trigger a cycle of endless pill popping and injections, new or different symptoms and a cascade of subsequent issues.  What if there was a different way to approach autoimmune imbalance?  And, what if that way focused on more than just symptoms?

What If We Take a Different Approach?

You wouldn’t use a band-aid to treat a broken bone, so why use medications to mask/patch autoimmune issues.  While some of the newer therapies target specific genes, the traditional approach is to suppress, block, or mask the problem WITHOUT understanding the cause.

Cholesterol medication, for example, blocks the enzymes that produces cholesterol but doesn’t address why cholesterol may be high in the first place.  Those meds deplete the body of CoQ10 (which is key for heart and brain health) and give people a false sense of success.  Cholesterol may drop, but the body is no better balanced than before.  Without addressing diet, stress, physical activity and genetics, the traditional approach is basically band-aid for a broken bone (again).

What would happen if we dig in and ask the right questions?

  • Why is the body out of balance?
  • When was the last time you felt well? (How long has this been going on?)
  • What role does nutrition, exercise and stress play in your life and health?

A Functional Approach

Instead of suppressing and masking the issue, how different would our plan be if we could understand the roots of the imbalance?  A band-aid is not going to mend your arm if your bone is broken.  You need to align and set the bone and let it heal.

If you are one of the 50 million Americans who suffers from an autoimmune condition, I bet you would like to find REAL answers and get off the hamster wheel of meds, appointments and frustration.

The conventional approach does not necessarily look in the right places or or ask the right questions.

A Functional approach looks at everything.  We take steps to clear the muddy water, THEN assess and map out the points of assault or imbalance.  This approach not only asks what you are experiencing but also, why is this happening, how long has this been going on, where does your body need support?

When we know the cause of inflammation, we can support the body so foundational healing can happen.  Stress, food allergies, food sensitivities, gut permeability, parasites, blood sugar issues, toxins, genetics, nutrient deficiencies, sleep issues, constipation/gut imbalance can all be parts of the equation.

To cool inflammation in the body, you must find the source and understand why the body is inflamed. Again, conventional medicine and the traditional approach asks “what” but not necessarily why, what else, or how long?

Functional Nutrition, like Functional Medicine, teaches practitioners to assess and understand the body as a system in addition to it’s parts.  The Functional model looks for causes, holes, stressors and assaults.  The goal is to restore balance by understanding the interconnectedness of life, stress, body and mind.

Working with a Functional Nutritionist

If you have an autoimmune disease, I strongly encourage you to work with a Functional Nutritionist. Together, you can identify root cause(s) and take steps to sure up your foundation.  The process often feels like detective work.  It involves trial and error… patience, practice and trust (but I’ve never had a client say it wasn’t worth it!)  People who see me have often seen many practitioners already, had a ton of labs and tried what feels like everything.  They come in feeling defeated and wondering if anyone can help.  After the initial assessment, most people report feeling heard, finally feeling as though someone is looking at the big picture while also caring deeply about the details and about the connections.  Hope is a feeling that people talk about when working with me.  There is also frustration that other practitioners don’t work this way.

6 Strategies to Reverse Autoimmune Disease

When clients see me about autoimmune imbalance, we often start with these 6 strategies.  They help calm, clear and firm up a healthy foundation.

Eat a whole food, anti-inflammatory diet. 

Focus on dark green leafy vegetables, garlic, sweet potatoes, berries (these are rich in polyphenols), wild salmon and other sources of omega-3 fats, seeds and nuts. Enjoy herbs like turmeric, ginger, and rosemary. Eliminate inflammatory foods including refined oils, processed foods and sugar.

Address food sensitivities and food allergies.

Whether through an elimination diet*, standard allergy testing or IgG food testing, we can determine what foods are not working well for your body.  Test specifically for Celiac Disease. This is a blood test any doctor can do.  Gluten is a common cause of inflammation and autoimmune imbalance. *My Seasonal Detox can get you off to a good start!

Support your gut.

80 percent of your immune system is in the lining of your gut. If the gut is irritated or if the gut lining becomes too permeable then your immune system can think something is up and activate improperly.  The easiest way to support gut health is to reduce toxins and triggers, then rebuild by focusing on a nutrient-dense whole food, anti-inflammatory diet.

Exercise regularly.

Research shows that exercise is a natural anti-inflammatory. Do not add stress or overexert yourself.  Start moving in whatever ways you are able.  Take a short walk or do seated arm raises and leg lifts.

Work on your stress.

Stress makes your immune response worse. Whatever you can do to identify and ease stress in you life, do it! Some people find yoga, breath work, time in nature, exercise, a warm bath or massage helpful.

Sleep for 8 hours every night.

The research is in! Lack of sleep or disturbed sleep impacts metabolism, memory, recall and focus, causes cravings for sugar and carbs, makes you eat more (and feel less satisfied with what you’re eating) and drives up your risk of all major illnesses. Getting enough sleep and sleeping well are essential for vibrant health and reversing inflammation.

 

If you are suffering from an autoimmune disease or suspect that you have an autoimmune imbalance…

Are you frustrated with the conventional-medicine approach?

Feeling ready to finally get to the bottom of it and get your life back?

Are you already using one or more of my 6 Strategies to Reverse Autoimmune Disease?

 

Click this link and schedule a free Discovery Call.  When you schedule your call, you’ll get instant access to a 7-Day Anti-Inflammatory Meal Plan to get you started.  Let’s talk about what else we can do to help you feel better.

3 Reasons to Change Your Diet Even if You Don’t Think You Have Any Digestive Problems

by | Jan 29, 2021 | Digestion, Health

You may be wondering how there can even be 3 reasons to change your diet even if you don’t think you have any digestive problems.  I mean, why would you want to change if you think everything is okay?

In the office, I hear it all the time… “I have no symptoms or problems that point to my digestive system, at all.  I’m pooping a couple of times a week. Only have occasional gas, no food allergies. My digestion is fine.”  So, why would you need to change your diet even if you don’t think you have any digestive problems?

Interestingly, the same people who don’t believe that their digestive system is an issue also talk about headaches. They have missed periods, heavy periods and joint pain.  Anxiety, depression, thyroid imbalance and more.  Believe it or not, all of those issues can have links to the digestive system and gut health.

What is the Digestive System?

Before we look at reasons to change your diet even if you don’t think you have any digestive problems let’s look at digestion.  Here is a primer on the process of digestion and the digestive system.

Where it Begins

Digestion begins in the mouth.  Amylase in your saliva begins breaking down carbohydrates.  The mechanical action of chewing continues breaking down food to make it easier for your stomach to continue the process.  What you swallow is called a bolus.

Once you swallow, it takes about 6 seconds for the bolus to move down your esophagus, past your epiglottis and lower esophageal sphincter into your stomach.

Where Most of the Breakdown Happens

Your stomach does most of the work breaking down what you eat. Protein digestion begins with Pepsin mixing into the bolus.  Other stomach secretions are added and continue to liquify the bolus. Now it’s called chyme.  Chyme passes through the pyloric sphincter into the small intestines.

In the duodenum (the first section of the small intestine), pancreatic enzymes (lipase) and bile are added to the chyme and fat digestion begins. Bile helps make fats water-soluble by breaking them into fatty acids and glycerols. (This is one reason why people who don’t have their gallbladder can have difficulty digesting fats!) The duodenum is the body’s primary location for digestion and biggest area for breakdown of nutrients.

Where Most Absorption Happens

Chyme moves through the small intestine from the duodenum to the jejunum, and absorption of nutrients begins.  Most absorption happens in the jejunum before chyme enters the ileum.  However, B12, bile salts and other products of digestion that weren’t absorbed in the jejunum are absorbed in the ileum.  The Ileum walls have villi that facilitate absorption and the majority of GALT cells and Peyer’s patches that modulate the immune system.

Where It Ends

The ileocecal value opens the ileum/small intestine to the colon/large intestine.  Water and electrolytes are reabsorbed here.  Remaining indigestible waste leaves the body through the rectum, out the anus and into the toilet!

 

Digestion is more than just probiotics and your gut

As you can see from the path we traced, digestive isn’t just about the gut.  Organs range from the mouth and salivary glands to stomach, gallbladder, intestines, and anus.  Any disruption or imbalance in any step or accessory can cause issues with your health.  It may not be that you suffer with constipation or diarrhea or gas, but you may experience fatigue or headaches, acne or joint pain.  You may have an autoimmune imbalance or a thyroid problem or mental health challenges.  Digestion, absorption, and elimination are all critical to overall health!

 

Let’s look at 3 reasons to change your diet even if you don’t think you have any digestive problems

According to an article in the journal Gut

The condition and function of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract are essential to our well being. After the respiratory tract, the GI tract constitutes the second largest body surface area, comparable in size to a tennis court. During a normal lifetime 60 tons of food pass through this canal, which is important for well being, but also constitutes an enormous threat to the integrity of the digestive tract and the whole body…

The GI surface is protected by large quantities of important secretions, from saliva in the oral cavity to colonic secretion in the large bowel. These secretions contain factors… for the lubrication of the mucosa and for functions of the GI tract but also hundreds of ingredients of importance for intraluminal microbial defense. The secretory functions are extremely sensitive to foreign chemicals.(1)

Knowing that the GI tract is both very important to health and very sensitive makes it important to protect.

1. Stress, Your Immune System and the Microbiome.

Stress affects the composition of protective intestinal flora.  Even if you have no gastrointestinal symptoms, you likely have stress in your life.  That alone can impact your health.  It is VERY well documented that stress has a major impact on the immune system.  80% of the immune system stems from GALT cells in the intestines. So, protecting your gut with a healthy diet makes sense. (2)

2. Weight Issues and Risk of Disease.

A standard Westernized/American diet is associated with worse microbiome diversity and many accompanying issues, include obesity and other diseases. (3)  Releasing excess weight and getting your body to a comfortable and healthy weight for your frame is one way to support your health.  Simple dietary shifts and strategies can often help!

3. Mental Health.

Scientists know that there is a link between your gut and your brain. This is the brain-gut connection, or the gut-brain axis.  Communication between your gut and brain is a two-way street, involving your immune, hormone and nervous systems.(4)  People with gut conditions like IBS or inflammatory bowel disease are more likely to be diagnosed with anxiety or other mental health conditions. Some studies suggest that regulating your gut bacteria could influence your mood and may help to prevent and treat mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression and schizophrenia.(5,6)  Autism spectrum disorders are also being studied for links with microbiome diversity and how changing microflora may help.(7,8)

 

Next Steps

What do you think?  Do any of the 3 reasons to change your diet even if you don’t think you have any digestive problems resonate with you? Making dietary changes to help support your microbiome can have benefits.  What changes you make depends on your current diet and your unique health circumstance.  Are you working with a Functional Nutritionist or Dietician? Ask them what steps make sense for you and your health.  If you don’t have nutritional support on your trusted team, reach out and schedule a discovery call with me.  We will spend 15-20 minutes together, I’ll listen and ask a couple of questions and then share my thoughts on next steps you might want to explore.

Sources

  1. “Ecological control of the gastrointestinal tract. The role of probiotic flora” from the journal Gut 1998;42:2–7
  2. Psychological Stress and the Human Immune System: A Meta-Analytic Study of 30 Years of Inquiry (nih.gov)
  3. Links Between Immigration, Obesity, and the Microbiome – The Atlantic
  4. The Brain-Gut-Microbiome Axis – ScienceDirect
  5. Gut microbiome from patients with schizophrenia modulates the glutamate-glutamine-GABA cycle and schizophrenia-relevant behaviors in mice | Science Advances (sciencemag.org)
  6. Differences in gut microbiome composition between persons with chronic schizophrenia and healthy comparison subjects – ScienceDirect
  7. The fifferences between the gut microflora of children with autistic spectrum disorders and that of healthy children | Microbiology Society (microbiologyresearch.org)
  8. Mental Illness: Brain Disease or Gut Disease? | Psychology Today

Healthy Eating Tips Every Vegetarian Needs to Know

by | Dec 7, 2020 | Cooking, Nutrition

Healthy Eating Tips Every Vegetarian Needs to Know

Are Meatless Mondays intriguing?  Wondering what vegetarians eat and how vegans get protein?  Tasty, healthy, socially conscious plant-based meals can be part of any diet… and yet, this dietary approach is always prompting a lot of questions.  How about digging in a little with me as I share the healthy eating tips every vegetarian needs to know?

What is a vegetarian diet?

  • A vegetarian diet is one excluding meat, poultry and seafood.
  • A fully plant-based vegan diet is further excluding eggs and dairy.

Now, you might be thinking that vegetarian diets all include a lot of vegetables… right?  Unfortunately, not all do.  There are plenty of junk foods that are vegetarian and vegan.  Oreos, twinkies, potato chips, mashed potatoes, french fries, processed meat substitutes, etc are all junk food options.  Grains, nuts, and plant fats are also vegetarian and vegan.  Occasionally, those foods are okay, but a diet of those alone is lacking!  While we think that the terms “vegetarian” and “vegan” are health conscious, they do not necessarily mean “healthy.”

Well-planned, balanced, nutrient-dense vegetarian and vegan diets, on the other hand, focus on plant foods that are packed with nutrients.  This type of diet can be appropriate for people of all ages including infants, children, teens and pregnant and breastfeeding women, adults and seniors.

Are there health benefits?

Yes! First, vegetarians often have healthier body weight, lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure than non-vegetarians.  In addition, rates of heart disease, cancer and Type 2 diabetes is also lower in plant-based eaters. These health benefits may result from higher intake of fiber and phytonutrients from fruits, vegetables, leafy greens, whole grains, and nuts along with lower intakes of saturated fats.

Healthy Plant-Based Foods

Vegetables:

  • Veggies are packed with vitamins, minerals and fiber.
  • Choosing vibrant colors, especially orange, red and dark green ensures that your diet will contain plenty of vital nutrients.
  • Broccoli, bok choy and collard greens provide calcium; Spinach, iron and bell peppers, Vitamin C.  The list goes on and on!
  • Fresh is best, frozen is fine.  Most frozen produce is flash frozen at the peak of freshness so you do not lose any nutrition AND you get the benefit of the best flavor!
  • For canned veg, be looking for brands that don’t add salt.  Choose BPA free cans to reduce exposure to those extra toxins.

 

Fruits:

  • Colorful, seasonal fruits supply fiber, phytonutrients and anti-oxidants that help your body fight free radicals and stay healthy.
  • Eat a wide variety of colorful fruits, including fresh, frozen and canned with no added sugar.
  • Berries are low glycemic, meaning they do not trigger a big spike in blood sugar when eaten in moderation.  Their fiber content is part of the secret that maintains blood sugar balance.

 

Grains:

  • Whole grains can be part of a healthy diet.
  • Quinoa and millet are high in protein and gluten-free.
  • Wild rice, buckwheat and gluten free oats are packed with fiber and nutrients.
  • Steer clear of refined flours, pasta and breads in favor of whole grain options.
  • Some people are sensitive to gluten, lectins and phytates.  These are natural components of most grains.  If you feel tired, bloated, achy or otherwise “off” after eating grains, this may be an issue for you.

 

Proteins:

  • It’s a myth that vegetarians have a hard time getting enough protein!
  • All plant foods are made up of amino acids, and amino acids are the building blocks of protein!
  • Just like gorillas can get their protein from grasses and plants, so too can you!
  • Beans, peas and lentils are packed with protein and have the added benefit of iron, zinc and fiber.
  • Nuts, seeds and soy products are also great choices.
  • My favorites, quinoa and hemp contain all the amino acids to make a complete protein!

Fats:

  • Healthy plant-based fats promote brain health and have cardiovascular benefits.
  • Fats are needed for fertility and to create easily passed stool too!
  • Coconut oil, avocado and avocado oil and olive oil can be part of a healthy diet.
  • Nuts and seeds are also sources of healthy fats.

 

Dairy:

  • Dairy milk, yogurt and cheese contain calcium but it is a form that the body cannot easily absorb.  On the other hand, non-dairy alternatives are fortified and don’t include the risks of hormones and animal by-products.
  • Nuts milks, hemp milk, oat milk, coconut milk and soymilk are all readily available.
  • Rice milk is another option.  However, it tends to be overly sweetened and is generally not an everyday choice.  All rice is a natural source of arsenic.  Some varieties contain more than others.  In general, rice should be an occasional food.

 

Beautiful, Healthy Plant-based Meal and Snack Ideas

A healthy vegetarian or vegan eating style depends on variety. Here are some ideas to get you started.

 

Breakfast

  • Spread mashed avocado on a slice of whole-grain or gluten free bread and top with sprouts and hemp seeds for a balance of protein, fat and fiber!
  • Spread almond butter on a whole-grain toasted bagel and top with thin apple slices.
  • Soaking ½ cup gluten free oats overnight in 1 cup non-dairy milk and topping with nuts and fresh fruit or dried cranberries in the morning makes for a quick breakfast
  • Whole-grain toaster waffle topped with blueberries and tahini

 

Lunch

  • Veg burger or falafel with non-dairy cheese, mushrooms, tomato, lettuce and pickles on a whole-grain bun
  • Salad: leafy greens, cut-up vegetables, beans or tofu, fruit, nuts, hemp seeds
  • Peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole-wheat bread with carrot and celery sticks
  • Avocado roll with seaweed salad and miso soup

 

Dinner

  • Start with chili made with beans, lentils and quinoa. Then, top with shredded non-dairy cheese and add a side of cornbread and salad
  • Whole-grain pasta with tomato sauce plus vegetables (mushrooms, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers and onions) and a gorgeous green salad
  • Pizza with or without cheese, topped with your favorite vegetables and arugula
  • Tacos or burritos filled with beans, corn, diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, cilantro and avocado
  • Vegetable stir-fry with quinoa
  • Butternut squash soup with a mixed salad and whole grain flatbread
  • Use baked russet or sweet potato as a base.  Then, top with sautéed mushrooms, broccoli and melted Daiya cheese and chives.  Or, try hempseeds, avocado, minced parsley and pine nuts.

 

Snacks

  • Hummus with pita wedges, celery sticks, bell pepper strips and carrots
  • Prepare and keep sliced veggies and fruits in the fridge for quick snacking and meal prep.
  • Top a bagel with nut butter
  • Coconut Yogurt layered with crunchy granola, hemp seeds and sliced fruit
  • Enjoy a cup of vegetable soup and whole grain crackers
  • Mashed avocado topped with crushed red pepper and a pinch of salt

 

What is your dietary approach?  Is plant-based eating something you would try?  Sharing is caring… do you have any other healthy eating tips every vegetarian needs to know?

Want a copy of these tips in a handy pdf? Click here for instant access –> Healthy Eating Tips for vegetarians