Do you feel as though nobody has a clue as to what’s happening to your health and your body?

Chances are that you’re dealing with the effects of a fungus called Candida Albicans. Candida Albicans is the most frequent opportunistic and costly fungal infection in man. Research shows a link between diabetes, hypertension, and immune system suppression and the mechanisms that Candida uses to spread throughout the body. Some of the other conditions commonly associated with Candida include allergies, skin conditions, hormonal imbalances, digestive disorders, sugar cravings, gas and bloating, acid reflux, headaches, arthritis, depression, irritability, exhaustion, brain fog, anxiety, and sinus infections. READ MORE

Gain a bit of weight, feel lethargic and have trouble sleeping.

Another name that you are probably familiar with after reading my blogs is Brigitte Mars. She is the author of Love, Sex & Health and in an interview that I had with her last year she shares some of her thoughts on how we should use food, our minds and our hearts to ensure our sexual vitality. Many of us have experienced the changes in our sexual desire and function as we age.

Some of the changes can be great and some of them can be a little less than great. I loved this interview that I had with Brigitte. I learned so much and couldn’t wait to share some important points that came out of it. Brigitte is also one of my favorite herbalist authors to date!

Nancy: A common complaint I hear from women is that they gain a bit of weight, feel lethargic and have trouble
sleeping. They suffer mood swings because of uncontrolled blood sugar levels and if that’s not bad enough, their sexual vitality flies out the window. Since most of our problems can be traced to the foods we eat, what Super Foods would you recommend to change all that? READ MORE

Fat stores estrogen. The more weight you gain, the more estrogen you will retain.

Understanding the Role of Estrogen in the Body:

Estrogen
dominance is a term coined by Dr. Lee in his first book on natural
progesterone. It describes a condition in which a woman can have
deficient, normal or excessive amounts of estrogen, but little or no
progesterone to balance its effects in the body. Even a woman with low
estrogen levels can have estrogen dominance symptoms if she doesn’t
have any progesterone.

Here are a few things to remember about estrogen dominance:

• Fat stores estrogen. The more weight you gain, the more estrogen you will retain.
• Stress – that word we’re all too familiar with – produces cortisol, boosting estrogen levels and contributing to weight gain.
• A toxic liver won’t filter estrogen from the body
• So many of the foods we eat are fed estrogen to make them grow and
  produce more food. Eating meat and dairy products that have been fed
  estrogen will increase your own estrogen levels.
• Plastic containers, pesticides and cleaning chemicals produce
  “xeno-estrogens”, which are chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body.

So, what can we do about it? Read More

Tea can offer a natural and soothing way to balance Hormonal shifts. I drink tea daily because of its enormous health benefits. Here are some great store-bought brands as well as easy and yummy recipe for a tea you can make at home.

Teas have been used for thousands of years for almost any ailment known to man from curing illnesses to preparing a woman’s body for pregnancy. So it is no wonder that teas that are uniquely brewed to provide balance to women’s swirling and fluctuating hormones can take up almost an entire shelf of the tea section of your favorite health store.

I thought I would do a bit of work for you rather than having you test out tea after tea and share with you some of my favorite and effective hormone-balancing teas.

Yogi Tea is known for making superb tea blends and their Woman’s Healing Formula is no different. I love drinking this tea. It provides me all the comfort that a warm cup of tea should as well as calibrating my body’s hormones. Yogi Teas are readily available at health food stores or online.
In addition to the Yogi Tea, Organic Woman’s Dong quai Tonic is an effective and organic way to lessen fatigue, restore your energy and balance a woman’s hormones. It is caffeine-free so it won’t send you on any extreme highs and lows and this healing tonic is formulated to ease what traditional Chinese medicine practitioners refer to as “blood deficiency,” which results from stress, poor digestion, or improper eating and health habits.

Dong quai (Angelica Sinensis) The root help build the blood and clear blood stagnation. It can relieve anxiety, depression, and hot flashes and help restore moisture to dry vaginal tissues.

You can also make you own concoction from loose herbs. This tea is perfect for when your emotions are a bit down, as they often are as the weather starts to turn colder and the days become shorter and darker. Savor a cup of this sweet, uplifting, aromatic herbal tea and enjoy a moment or more of calming respite.

I recommend buying these ingredients from the bulk section of local health food store to save on costs and packaging. The recipe for this tea comes from the book Sex, Love & Health by Brigitte Mars.

When your emotions are a bit down:

• 4 cups of water
• 1/2 teaspoon of burdock root
• 1/2 teaspoon of dandelion root
• 1 teaspoon of basil herb
• 1 teaspoon of fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon of nettle leaf

Bring the water to a boil. Add the burdock and dandelion root, cover, and simmer for twenty minutes. Remove from heat and add the remaining herbs. Cover and let steep for ten minutes. Strain.
Enjoy 4 cups daily.

I receive so many questions from women who feel bogged down by fatigue, weight gain and low sexual desire. Rather than turning to the latest fad diet or new drug, there are plenty of natural and effective ways for improving your health. Read on and find out more…

Even though doctors and dermatologists can prescribe an array of highly synthetic and processed hormone replacement therapies, there are natural alternatives to pharmaceutical drugs to help you during your menopausal journey. You have probably heard or read about Bio-Identicalhormones, progesterone cream and natural hormone therapy.

Natural progesterone cream helps to relieve hormonal overloads like menopause, estrogen dominance, post-partum depression and male menopause.
There are many herbs for menopause on the market but the hormone experts such as Dr. John Lee, believe that transdermal, Bio-Identical hormones are the most natural and effective. Progesterone cream could also be called natural antidepressants and even if you are pre-menopausal, it benefits natural menstrual health considerably.

Natural progesterone cream is the baseline when it comes to the management of your body’s balance, but there is also natural estrogen, hormone testing kits and books on natural hormone replacement therapy. Keep reading to find out if you could benefit by balancing your hormones naturally and definitely read the free e-book on the differences in progesterone creams and why Kokoro products are the healthy and natural choice. www.kokorohealth.com you can get the product in Canada as well. www.balance-your-hormones.com

Another name that you are probably familiar with after reading my blogs is Brigitte Mars. She is the author of Love, Sex & Health and in an interview that I had with her last year she shares some of her thoughts on how we should use food, our minds and our hearts to ensure our sexual vitality. Many of us have experienced the changes in our sexual desire and function as we age. Some of the changes can be great and some of them can be a little less than great.

I loved this interview that I had with Brigitte. I learned so much and couldn’t wait to share some important points that came out of it. Brigitte is also one of my favorite herbalist authors to date!

Nancy: A common complaint I hear from women is that they gain a bit of weight, feel lethargic and have trouble sleeping. They suffer mood swings because of uncontrolled blood sugar levels and if that’s not bad enough, their sexual vitality flies out the window. Since most of our problems can be traced to the foods we eat, what sexual Super Foods would you recommend to change all that? Read more

You have 34 days and the chance to really get serious about tackling your diet and look your best for New Years Eve.

At the beginning of the year, most of us start out with great motivation for the goals, dreams, hopes and plans we have for the coming year. Whether it is losing ten pounds, nixing sugar, quitting smoking or exercising more, most New Years resolutions are focused on becoming healthier.

Then, before you know it, the year has come to a close and those well-intentioned resolutions you made on January 1st fizzled out before Valentine’s Day.

So what if you didn’t lose the weight or start the exercise program or follow that healthy eating program for the past 365 days?

It’s not too late.

From my experience I can tell you that most of the work on A project gets done during the last 20 percent of the time set. It’s the power of the deadline. Which I’ve mastered this one… my husband would say:) I’m really good at this!

That’s right.
The power of the deadline is a tremendous motivating factor in finally getting the project signed, sealed and delivered.

So, set yourself a new deadline – December 31, 2008- and get rolling- don’t make the mistake waiting for January 1st to plan for you New Year resolution: You can do this NOW.

Rather than looking back on 2008 as a year in which your resolutions came and went unfulfilled, I have a program that you can start today that will end this year for you on a high note.

This past October, I hosted an online class called Super Cleanse! Detox Your Body for Health and Beauty based on my new 7-day Sugar-Free Diet.

I am pleased to say that most of the people who enrolled in this challenging but rewarding course were more than pleased with the results.

Here is a snapshot of some of the success stories from the course: Click Here

The beauty of this program is that you can use it anytime of the year! You don’t have to wait until January 1st. In fact, if you’re New Years resolution last year was to get in shape, you still have over a month left to fulfill this promise!

Check it out! Here’s the link to buy your ticket to a Better You. Today.

Many of you are familiar with chia seeds from the super popular clay pot, The Chai Pet, which came in all different shapes and sizes and sprouted a pretty green coat when you watered it. But what you may not know is how abundantly nutritious this ancient food is.

Chia seeds hail from Mexico where tribes like the Aztecs devoured them for their nutrient power. Today, chia seeds have been enjoying their deserved time in the limelight because of all of the healthy goodness that these tiny seeds pack in each nutty crunch.

Here is how chia seeds’ nutritional profile stacks up. Chia seeds have:

We are all guilty of using the phrase, “Not tonight, I have a headache.”

The most common headache triggers are hormonal imbalance and blood sugar fluctuation – not to mention food allergies, caffeine, lack of sleep, extreme weather conditions, medications and stress.

Understanding the role of estrogen in the body:

Estrogen dominance is a term coined by Dr. Lee in his first book on natural progesterone. It describes a condition in which a woman can have deficient, normal or excessive estrogen, but has little or no progesterone to balance its effects in the body.

Even a woman with low estrogen levels can have estrogen dominance symptoms if she doesn’t have any progesterone.
Here are a few things to remember about estrogen dominance.

• Fat stores estrogen. The more you gain weight, the more estrogen you will retain.
• Stress - that word we’re all too familiar with – produces cortisol, boosting estrogen levels and contributing to weight gain.
• A toxic liver will not filter estrogen out of the body.
• So many foods we eat are fed estrogen to make them grow and produce more food. Eating meat and dairy products will increase your estrogen levels.
• Plastic containers, pesticides and cleaning chemicals produce “xeno-estrogens” – chemicals that mimic estrogen in the body. Read more.