the_functional_nurse_coach

14/02/2022

Shifting our frequency is not always easy. We get stuck in habitual mood patterns. Our mood is how we express the vibration of our frequency.
I took this picture on my drive home to Calgary from Oregon earlier this year- after a long story of of getting stuck while trying to return my mom’s vehicle back to her. The short of it, I tested positive on a rapid test for the virus & would not be making my flight home. When I went to drive, all the highways were closed. Clearly, I was not meant to leave that day and felt the universe yelling “not today!”

Feeling sorry for myself, I went back to my mom’s and fumed, cried, and blamed everything for my circumstance . I was in a habitual state of “feeling sorry” for myself and angry at the situation. That’s the thing with anger, it begs to stick around. We become addicted to negative thoughts and patterns. In my mind I was stuck with a stupid virus with no symptoms and I couldn’t even visit family. Not to mention missing several important appointments in Calgary. My mood and anger was compounding my own situation and terrible for my health. Miserable, I realized I had let many of my morning rituals lapse over the past month- kundalini yoga being one of them.

I sat in my kundalini meditation to help move my energy, refocus my thoughts and let go of the negativity. With kundalini practices, we can change the vibrational frequency of our energy back to it’s source- back to love.
I let myself become full of gratitude. Fully appreciating the mornings drinking coffee with my mom & enjoying being looked after with home cooked meals. In the end I was able to spend extra time with my grandpa ( I was negative 2 days later), and the part for my car came in & was fixed in the meantime.
When I finally left with my fixed vehicle I was met with this beautiful sunset~ The universe gently reminding me it always has our backs and a whisper… “I told you so”.
Is there a breathing technique or practice that works for you to help shift your frequency?

05/01/2022

Our bodies and health are a mystery to many of us.
However, the body is always speaking to us. It speaks to us through our behavior as well as our spirit, which doesn’t speak directly to our body yet read between the lines of all the behaviors we display throughout our lives.  It is continuously  speaking to us through chemical messengers going through our bloodstream, electromagnetic impulses going through our neurons, postures that we hold, behavior & movements we display. 
Often we don’t listen to or understand what our body is telling us. We outsource our difficulties, questions or  symptoms to Dr’s and scientists. 

Unfortunately, we often fall into ‘averages’, the numbers or measurable spaces of what the body is saying, and bio individualIty is overlooked. What is normal for me might not be normal for you.  

When treated as an average & fail to understand what is being communicated we feel confused, hopeless & powerless. Potentially denying own intuition of what our body is telling us.   
As a functional nurse coach I am here to help bridge the gap between client and provider.  The beauty of a functional medicine model is that it looks deeper in the complex web of body systems to see how imbalances in any given area might be manifesting as a particular problem or symptom.
Advanced functional testing can be helpful.  Such as a comprehensive assessment of s*x and adrenal hormones, , organic acids and melatonin, or a comprehensive stool analysis. 
The reality is however, this testing can be expensive and poorly covered by insurance.  In this case, history and physical exam findings from the provider are used to create a personalized treatment plan that is still unique and individualized. 

A treatment plan that helps client understand and value what the body is trying to communicate.
 

22/11/2021

Growth hormone is a crucial hormone that among numerous roles keeps your lean and energized. When everything is in order, growth hormone works with cortisol and adrenaline to burn fat and build muscle. Growth hormone is part of the switch between burning glucose to burning fat. Sometimes the switch gets stuck in the “store fat” position because the body perceives too much external stress, restricted calories, overexercise, insufficient sleep, or toxins.


Fixing the Growth Hormone Deficit.
🟣Eat Healthy Protein. Think foods like grass fed beef, SMASH fish (salmon, mackerel, anchovies, sardines, and herring) whey protein shakes, and pastured eggs and chicken.
🟣Exercise. Exercise raises growth hormone and the more strenuous the greater the effect. Think HIIT exercise.
🟣Eat Healthy Fats. Omega 3’s have been shown to raise growth hormone. Consuming a healthy mix of omega farts can help your body be more sensitive to insulin and keep the fat burning switch to “on”. Consider, flax, chia, MCT oil, SMASH fish.
🟣Supplements. Some key supplements include Vitamin D and creatine.
🟣Fast. Multiple studies show that intermittent fasting increases growth hormone. A 14/10 protocol is ideal (14 hours overnight fasting). I urge caution with this method if your stress levels are already too high. Fasting can increase cortisol production.

19/11/2021

Testosterone (T) is the most abundant hormone in females yet is often overlooked or dismissed by many physicians.
Testosterone is an important ally if you are looking to get leaner & lose more body fat. Some common reasons Testosterone lowers in women are:

🟣Lifestyle and diet
🟣Statins for high cholesterol
🟣Natural decline with age- biggest drop occurring between 20-40
🟣Chronic stress
🟣Surgical menopause with removal of ovaries
🟣The birth control pill

🔑

10/11/2021

Fiction: Consider a few of these facts

◾️All saturated fats produce energy.
▪️They provide the building blocks for your hormones.
◾️Saturated fats slow down the absorption of your meals so you can go longer without feeling hungry and maintain even blood sugar — one of the core basics of our health.
◾️Saturated fats are carriers and contain the necessary fat-soluble vitamins.
◾️Those include vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and vitamin K.
◾️Saturated fat helps convert carotenes to vitamin A.
◾️The short chain saturated fats are easy to digest and people with liver and digestive disorders benefit from inclusion of them in their diet.
◾️The short chain saturated fats help feed friendly bacteria in our colon.
◾️The medium chain saturated fats help to inhibit the growth of yeasts like Candida.
◾️The medium chain saturated fats are not stored as fat in the body. They actually create thermogenesis, or heat, in the body.

Saturated fats that are beneficial to the human body are natural such as:
Butter
Ghee
Coconut

Trans fat also a saturated fat is mostly unnatural substance and should be avoided.

The take away is don’t be scared of healthy naturally occurring saturated fats.

07/11/2021

This man, my grandpa turned 99 this summer. I would like to brag that he is not your typical 99 year old! Until Covid he was still skiing 1-2 times a week & dancing in the bar Apres.

Recently he was diagnosed with a thoracic hernia and would need emergency surgery to save his life.

They life flighted him to a bigger hospital in the middle of the night. The prognosis was grim from the first two physician’s that saw him. They told us his chances of not making it through the surgery were quite high and at best end up on a ventilator in ICU. They recommended we send him home on palliative care. Not an option for such a physically active individual whom is still mentally sharp. He remained positive the surgery would be successful despite his given odds.

A third physician took the time to understand that he is not the typical 99 year old man and is more metabolically fit than some 40 year olds. The surgery was successful and managed all laparoscopically eliminating the need for a full laparotomy. A week post op my grandpa was back on his airdyne 🚴‍♂️

So what’s his secret? How does he stay as fit as a man half his age?

From the outside looking in:
FOOD🔸MOVEMENT🔸
PASSION🔸PRESENCE.

As farmer he’s had the luxury of mostly home grown vegetables and limited processed foods.

Additionally he has never ‘stopped’ doing what he does From moving irrigation lines to taking care of his garden and lawn. He does some form of exercise everyday; sit ups, push-ups and riding his airdyne🚴‍♂️

He also has/had tremendous passion for various activities that he did not give up for as long as he could manage such as windsurfing, skiing, & flying his plane.🤫

He remains present: When asked what his secret is he will tell you “I don’t think about yesterday and I don’t worry about tomorrow”.
We all age, but we can do so gracefully with a lot of preventative maintenance and positive programming.

What are you doing to defy aging? Where do you find challenges?

03/11/2021

The typical North American diet sets you up for low-grade inflammation that often leads to anxiety.
Women often experience anxiety for the first time during their perimenopausal years, while others may find their anxiety is exacerbated.

If you make a change in the food you eat, you can influence a variety of systems like the brain, gut, liver, pancreas, muscle cells- all with one intervention.

🟢Anxiety must be healed in the gut first. Bone broth helps seal leaky gut and is soothing.
🟢Foods rich in B Vitamins include mackerel, oysters, mussels, and organ meats (liver and kidney). Excellent sources of folate are asparagus, kale, spinach, and liver. Deficiencies in B9 (folate) and B12 may be linked to anxiety.
🟢Probiotic foods have been shown to tighten the junctions between cells in the intestinal wall and to reduce anxiety. Consider kimchi, coconut kefir, and sauerkraut.
🟢Foods high in fibre are more likely to be high in magnesium. This can include nuts and seeds such as almonds, cashews, pecans and Brazil nuts. Pumpkin, chia and flax seeds are also good sources of magnesium.
🟢Healthy fats help to stabilize blood sugar so your brain can have a steady supply of glucose that’s not too high and not too low. Fat helps neurotransmitters move from neuron to neutron. Healthy omega-3’s and omega-6s play a vital role in reducing neuroinflammation and anxiety.

27/10/2021

#❤️

08/10/2021