Balms and Manna Blog - Balms and Manna

Everything Electrolytes!

6/16/2025

EVERYTHING ELECTROLYTES!

Electrolytes are becoming quite the popular topic lately! Electrolytes are substances that conducts electricity when dissolved in water. Common electrolytes are minerals such as magnesium, potassium, sodium, calcium, phosphorus and chloride.

Though electrolytes are nothing new, they are incredibly foundational and important to overall health. And maybe even more so in this time that we are living in!

One of the ways our body buffers the effects of stress is with minerals. In fact, the first mineral we use when we are stressed is magnesium. The more stress we have, the more minerals we are going to burn through.

Summer humidity and heat causes us to sweat to keep cool but to do that, our body uses our stores of minerals. So it's crucial that when we are either enjoying a warm day outside or working out at the gym that we are replenishing our electrolytes.

Electrolytes not only keep us hydrated but are also important for heart health, metabolism, blood sugar balance, energy, brain health, bone strength and muscle function.

3 Ways to Support Electrolytes

1- Eat Mineral Rich Foods
Sodium- real salt, pickles and olives
Calcium- dairy, leafy greens and almonds
Potassium- coconut water, bananas, avocados, spinach, sweet potatoes, beets, dried apricots
Magnesium- dark chocolate, avocados, nuts, seeds, beans
Phosphorus- dairy, eggs, meat, fish, nuts
Chloride- real salt, olives, seaweed

2- Take an Electrolyte
There are plenty of electrolytes on the market. Be sure to choose one sweetened with stevia or no sugar, is sourced from food or absorbable forms of minerals and that has the right ratios of minerals. My favorite it doTERRA's Recharge. Or you can also DIY your electrolytes!

3- Address Stress
This is by far the most difficult way but also the most effective! If we slow down the rate at which we are using minerals, then it will be easier to keep them at optimal levels.

Curious where your specific levels of minerals are and which ones you need to focus on?

Schedule a Discovery Call to learn more about Hair Tissue Mineral Testing and how it can benefit you as part of my 180 Days to Wellness!

What's the Beef About Beef Liver?

6/2/2025

WHAT'S THE BEEF ABOUT BEEF LIVER?

I remember growing up on a dairy farm as a girl and my mom serving us liver, heart and tongue. Those parts that not only sounded gross to eat but had strange textures. I couldn't figure out why anyone would LIKE to eat them!

Fast forward 20 + years later to find me including beef liver as part of my daily intake. Who knew? When I realized that organ meats like tongue, liver and heart are all nutrient dense foods packed with vitamins, minerals and essential nutrients, I wanted to find a way to get this goodness into my diet.

Beef liver is high in mainly copper, vitamin A, B12 and iron but has many other co-nutrients. Sure you could take these supplements individually but God created food with specific nutrients that work together to make them more effective and absorbable. So the best source is beef liver itself!

That being said, it's hard to incorporate four ounces of beef liver several times a week. So, I take a freeze dried, grass-fed, grass finished beef liver supplement to get all this goodness in a easier delivery.

Benefits of Beef Liver
1- Red Blood Cell Production
Beef liver is one of the most effective ways to help with anemia due to it's rich content of B12, iron and folate. This is a great supplement for pregnant women who struggle to keep their red blood cell levels up.

2- Liver Health and Detox
Eating liver will in turn support liver health.

3- Supports Energy
Beef liver is high in copper, B vitamins, protein and iron which all support energy production.

4- Boosts Immunity
Rich in vitamins A, D and K which all work together in an absorbable form to keep you well.

One food but so rich in nutrients. And so simple to take!

Get my favorite brand, Ancestral Supplements at the Country Cupboard. Two capsules a day will give you the same amount of beef liver as eating four ounces several times a week.

How to Exercise With... Not Against Your Hormones

5/19/2025

HOW TO EXERCISE WITH...NOT AGAINST YOUR HORMONES

Have you ever had those days when you know you needed to exercise but just didn't feel like it? Those days when you had to push yourself to get started when your body was screaming to just sit and rest?

That is because sometimes high intensity and resistance is what we need. And other times we just need to stretch and walk. Doing the wrong thing at the wrong time can make it worse than if we didn't exercise at all.

What is cycle syncing?

Cycle syncing is a way to eat, exercise and work with your body to support your monthly cycle. Our body has different needs at different times of the month. When you work with your body, you can exercise and actually feel great every day of the month!

Exercise with your body

Menstrual phase: In the menstrual phase, your hormones are at the lowest level which can make you tired and want to stay close to home. As your estrogen starts to rise your energy increases.

FOCUS for exercise: Yoga, stretches, walking.

Follicular to Ovulatory phase: Energy continues to rise along with estrogen. You have faster reaction times and an increase in pain masking endorphins which makes high intensity workouts easier. You build more muscle and build it faster in this phase.

FOCUS for exercise: high intensity and resistance work outs.

Luteal phase: As progesterone rises, you can be more physically fatigued and have less stamina. But you’re burning up to 30% more fat when you exercise thanks to the combination of estrogen and progesterone making your body more efficient at using fat for fuel. Exercising reduces hormone-triggered water retention by helping you sweat out excess fluid.

FOCUS for exercise: Light cardio and light resistance exercises

Have you ever done cycle synching with exercise? If so, what have you noticed?

Could a Regulated Circadian Rhythm Be the Missing Piece?

5/5/2025

COULD A REGULATED CIRCADIAN RHYTHM BE THE MISSING PIECE?

Maybe it doesn't seem like it would make that much of a difference. But think about how you feel when you have a routine for the day. A predictable morning routine. A schedule for the afternoon. Our bodies crave consistency. And a sleep/wake rhythm is no different.

Our circadian rhythms are our bodies 24 hour internal clocks. Kind of like a built in alarm to tell us when we should go to bed and when we should get up.

Circadian rhythms impact many other cycles in the body. Our digestion, sleep/wake cycles, hormones, body temperature, immunity, our stress response.

Just regulating this one cycle in our bodies can have a profound impact on our mood and energy, inflammation, immunity, resilience to stress and metabolism!

How to maintain or reset a healthy circadian rhythm:

1- Have a set bedtime and wake up time. Even on weekends, try to go to bed and get up within an hour of your regular sleep and wake time.

2- Get outside and exercise in the morning. Morning sunlight in your eyes helps to stop the production of melatonin and increase cortisol production which regulates normal energy patterns.

3- Avoid artificial lights in the evening. Turn off lights and use lamps. Schedule phone to turn to black and white or wear blue light blocking glasses. This promotes melatonin production.

4- Establish routines around eating and bedtime. Eat at consistent times and avoid snacking. Start winding down for bed with a relaxing routine. These signal to the body when you should sleep and digest which all regulate the circadian rhythm.

These simple steps create big changes! I've seen women have less pain, better energy and less stress just by doing these things! Circadian rhythm resetting is just one tool that I teach inside my 180 Days to Wellness package.

If you are ready to sleep better, have more energy and are tired of not feeling like yourself, schedule a free Discovery Call to start your first step to the better you!

Schedule a FREE Discovery Call!

Doesn't Everyone Have Gas and Bloating?

4/21/2025

DOESN'T EVERYONE HAVE GAS AND BLOATING?

In case no one told you, gas and bloating aren't normal!

It's becoming so common today that we normalizing any number of symptoms because we've tried "all the things" to get rid of it and finally subside into acceptance. Symptoms like gas and bloating aren't normal! While they might be common today, they are our bodies' way of telling us that something isn't right. In the mercy of God, they don't go away because our body is crying for help to address something deeper.

So please don't ignore your body's warning signs! Especially by band-aiding them to make them go away without addressing the deeper issue. Because some day, these warning signs will turn into a much bigger issue that you can't ignore.

Let's talk about enzymes.

Enzymes help to break down food and turn those nutrients into energy. Enzymes are found outside the body in raw, unprocessed foods as well as produced by our body in our stomach, pancreas and small intestines. If we don't eat enough raw, unprocessed foods, we have to rely on the body's enzymes to break down our food. If our body is struggling to produce enough of it's own enzymes and we aren't eating enough raw, unprocessed foods, then we aren't going to be breaking down our food well nor getting the nutrients we need from our food.

So what happens when we can't break down our food well? Gas, bloating and stomach discomfort are common issues when we eat food we are sensitive too or we don't break down well. Which is why we are talking about enzymes! Here's where we dig into the root causes rather than normalizing warning signs.

Terrazyme is a supplemental enzyme blend of active whole food digestive enzymes. It contains enzymes to break down sugars, starches, protein, fats, lactose, gluten, fiber, legumes and cruciferous veggies.

You can take it regularly or just with foods that cause more digestive discomfort. If you aren't absorbing your food well (see previous post), then you want to take this regularly.

Need more support with digestive issues or tired of guessing and band aiding those annoying symptoms?

Schedule a Discovery Call to find out how 180 Days to Wellness can help you discover your root causes and feel like yourself again!

You are What You Absorb, Not What You Eat.

4/7/2025

YOU ARE WHAT YOU ABSORB, NOT WHAT YOU EAT.

You've maybe heard the saying, You are what you eat. You can eat all the right things but if you don't absorb them, your body can't benefit from your food.

So how do you know if you are absorbing what you eat? There are many factors that go into absorption. Stomach acid, stress, the health of your gut lining, bacteria overgrowths, pancreatic enzymes, genetics and toxin levels are just a few.

There are markers on many functional lab tests that can point to if these factors are impacting your absorption. Blood tests, stool tests and mineral tests are all good tests to look at how well you absorb. You need someone trained in functional lab tests to help you go through your results to identify areas of weakness that need support.

Proteins and fats are two of the main macro nutrients that people struggle to absorb. Though you can still be struggling to absorb these nutrients without physical signs, here are a few ways to identify if you might not be absorbing fats and proteins.

Poor protein absorption- undigested food in stool and/or a heavy feeling in the stomach after eating
Poor fat absorption - floating stools and/or not tolerating greasy foods well

How to support better break down and absorption of your food:

1- Eating mindfully. Eat slower, chew your food more and don't eat while driving, standing or in front of a screen. The more you chew your food, the more it gets broken down.

2- Drink 1 tsp of raw apple cider vinegar in water BEFORE meals. This stimulates the production of stomach acid which helps to break down your food.

3- Take several deep breaths before eating. The less stressed (and more present you are) when you eat, the more calm and ready your digestive system is to receive and digest your food.

3- Take enzymes. There are enzymes for different parts of our food. Enzymes help break down sugars, proteins, fats, carbs, lactose, etc. The lower your level of enzymes, the less your food will break down and the less you can absorb. Terrazyme is a enzyme supplement that contains all the different enzymes to support your body's natural levels of enzymes.

Absorption of nutrients, especially fats and proteins, affect so many things. Memory, focus, skin, cardiovascular health, hair growth, liver health, hormones, weight loss, energy and inflammation. It's so much bigger than just what you eat! It's making sure that you absorb so that you don't have bigger, more chronic issues that show up over time.

If you want to make sure you are absorbing well or are curious if poor absorption might be a root cause to some of the annoying things you are dealing with, schedule a free discovery call today to talk about how functional testing can help you KNOW!

GIVE YOUR LIVER SOME LOVE

3/17/2025

GIVE YOUR LIVER SOME LOVE

It's rare, that I find anyone who's labs don't indicate that their liver needs a little bit of love! Why is that? Because we live in a world full of toxins in our air, food, soil and homes. God didn't create our livers to have to filter such high amounts of toxins. So we all need to support our livers!

Our liver is our "filter" organ. It's main roles are to remove toxins and turn food into energy.

If your liver is sluggish, you might experience:

headaches
sensitivity to chemicals, scents, medications, supplements, alcohol and caffeine
fatigue
bloating
hormone imbalances
skin issues
digestive discomfort
PMS
sinus pain

bad breath/oral health

Tips to give your liver some love:
1- Remove toxins (see below for tips)
*Avoid alcohol, buy organic produce, meat and fats.
*Upgrade your self care products and cleaners to have less harmful ingredients. Use consumer guides from Environmental Working Group.

2- Castor oil
*Purchase organic castor oil in a dark, glass bottle. (I like Pura Dor from Vitacost or Queen of the Thrones brands). Rub 1/2 tsp on your liver (right front side below rib cage) or use a castor oil pack at night before bed. Start with 1-2 x a week and work up to nightly use.

Find yourself identifying with the symptoms of a sluggish liver? Don't want your liver challenges to spill over into issues with your thyroid, hormones and skin? Tired of wasting time and money trying to figure out your health by yourself?

Schedule a discovery call to talk through the things that are keeping you from feeling and being your best. Find out if my Six Month Personalized Wellness Program is a good fit for you!

3 Tips to Problem Free Peri-menopause

3/3/2025

3 TIPS TO PROBLEM FREE PERI-MENOPAUSE

In the last few months, it's come to my attention how little understanding women have of peri-menopause- which makes me sad! When you don't know what's going on with your body, it's hard to tune into the changes or know how to support your body. This leads to this time of life being dreaded and feared. It doesn't have to be that way!

WHAT DEFINES PERI-MENOPAUSE?
Peri-menopause is the time leading up to menopause, which is the complete cessation of the menstrual cycle.

WHAT IS HAPPENING DURING PERI-MENOPAUSE?
In peri-menopause, estrogen and progesterone levels start to decrease and ovulating eventually stops. This begins as early as the late thirties.

Progesterone decreases gradually but estrogen can have big swings. The gradual decline of hormones can create some minor discomfort but when they really become problematic is when they are imbalanced. But you don't necessarily have to experience unpleasant symptoms in peri-menopause. Tracking your hormones and supporting your levels with lifestyle changes and natural products will go a long way with making this season of life better!

HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM IN PERI-MENOPAUSE?
There isn't a clear defining moment when you cross from pre-menopause to peri-menopause. However when you transition from regular ovulation to more sporadic or infrequent ovulation, that's your first clue that you have moved to this phase. Why do I say that's the first clue? Because you can stop ovulating and continue to have regular cycles so if you aren't tracking ovulation, you might have no symptoms and not even know you are in peri-menopause! As estrogen starts to dip and soar, you might notice other things like irregular periods, heavier bleeding, insomnia, vaginal dryness and hot flashes.

3 TIPS TO PROBLEM FREE PERIMENOPAUSE
1- Track Your Hormones
If you don't know where your hormones are at, it's hard to know where you are at in the process of peri-menopause. The first step is taking your basal body temperature first thing every morning to track ovulation. Ovulation is how you make progesterone, so as ovulation decreases so does your progesterone.

2- Less Carbs, More Protein
As you move into perimenopause, you become more sensitive to insulin. This means that when you eat carbs and sweet treats, you can have more dips and spikes in your blood sugar. This leads to weight gain and fatigue. Protein helps stabilize blood sugar, satiety, cardiovascular health and bone health.

3- Strength Training
Estrogen plays a role in bone and joint health. So as it decreases, strength training can help to maintain bone density and bone health. Strength training improves muscle mass which then can help with insulin sensitivity.

Knowing where you are at with your hormones (if you are still ovulating, symptoms of high and low estrogen and where your progesterone levels are) can help you know where you are at in peri-menopause and make navigating this time of life much easier.

Want to have a smooth transition through peri-menopause? Already there and tired of sleepless nights, hot flashes and mood changes?

Schedule a discovery call to learn more about my Six Month Personalized Wellness Package that will equip you with knowledge, tools and a personal coach to help you feel happy, energized and yourself again!

Schedule Your Discovery Call

To Fast or Not to Fast. That is the Question.

2/17/2025

TO FAST OR NOT TO FAST. THAT IS THE QUESTION.

Fasting has become a hot topic lately. Yet it's not something new. Fasting has been around since very early in the history of human kind.

While the types of fasts, who should fast and when should we fast might not be simple things to answer, the actual act of fasting is simple. It's not a complicated thing to do. It's just not eating.

Why fast? There are actually quite a few benefits to fasting.

Helps with weight loss
Might slow the aging process
Supports detox
Can help reset the gut microbiome
Normalizes insulin levels
Helps burn fat
Can improve muscle mass

Intermittent fasting is defined as not eating for a specific number of hours, typically overnight. Usually this is somewhere from 13-17 hours. So for example, you would stop eating at 7 pm and then start eating again after 8 am.

Time restricted eating is setting a specific window of time that you don't eat, usually between 12-16 hours. Then during the 8-12 hours, you eat as normal. This is a type of intermittent fasting- it's just the hours that you choose rather than strictly fasting overnight.

There are other more restrictive or focused types of fasting, however these are the ones that are the most common and easily done.

When is fasting not helpful?

If you struggle with an eating disorder
If you are pregnant or nursing
If you are struggling with a stressed thyroid or adrenals

One important thing to note is that what you eat when you are in your window of eating matters! You can't just eat chips and ice cream and then fast for 17 hours and expect it to benefit you. What you eat when you break the fast also matters. Choose foods that are high in good fat and protein to help your body be satiated and to keep blood sugar levels regulated.

When you think about how God designed our bodies, intermittent fasting makes sense. He designed us to sleep for eight to nine hours and not eat during that time. This allows our body to detox and our digestion to rest.

I find intermittent fasting most beneficial when you stop eating earlier in the evening rather than pushing the time you eat again to later in the morning. Starting with a shorter window of fasting and then gradually extending it is a good way to see if fasting is helpful for you.

If you are struggling with fatigued adrenals or a low thyroid, then I personally don't recommend fasting. Any types of extremes are hard on the thyroid and it's best to make sure your body is in nourished and healthy place so that you can reap the good benefits of fasting!

Tired of trying to navigate and sort through all the health info out there?

Stop guessing. Start healing. Start living.

If you want someone to come along side you, to test and stop guessing and find root causes for your health challenges, schedule a discovery call and find out if we are a good fit for each other!

Schedule a Discovery Call

3 INGREDIENT POWER SNACKS- DARK CHOCOLATE ALMONDS

2/3/2025

3 INGREDIENT POWER SNACKS- DARK CHOCOLATE ALMONDS

These are so easy and so fast to make! I love that they have some good fats, protein and a little carbs- all in one bite! 💖

INGREDIENTS:
3.5 oz chocolate chips (I like Lily's, Hu or Whole Food brands)
2 cups almonds (raw or dry-roasted and salted)
Real salt

STEPS:
*Melt chocolate: Bring 1” of water to boil in a saucepan, then reduce to a simmer. Place a heatproof glass or metal bowl over the top (not touching the water) to create a double boiler. Remove from heat and add the chocolate and slowly melt, stirring constantly.

*Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.Stir the almonds into the chocolate mixture, and then spoon small mounds onto the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt.

*Place in the refrigerator (NOT the freezer) to set. Store any leftover clusters in the refrigerator for up to a week.