Evolved Lifestyle Strategies

Evolved Lifestyle Strategies
Plus! New Series
The Deeper Dive into Nut-Nola and Seed-Nola:
The WHY and HOW of these two Crazy Delicious Foods

It is September 2020 and we are six months into managing our new lifestyle due to the Coronavirus that created a pandemic around the world. We have adapted over these six months to the many challenges the virus has inserted into our lives.

I would love to know what you have found to be the biggest and smallest challenges, obstacles, tragedies, and triumphs in your lives.

For me, I have been using methods of conscious tracking of my productivity, social engagements, self-care and self-exploration. So let me share with you an expansion of these four areas of my personal tracking:

1. PRODUCTIVITY

It is in my nature to be productive. Productivity gives me real satisfaction. This is important because without feeling satisfied there is little incentive for doing almost anything. The exception for people, I think, is when you must carry out a task for work or duty. Even then there is some satisfaction knowing the boss or child or teacher is happy with the completed task. For me though, I am self-incentivized for creating consistently and with high level of integrity.

My challenge for obtaining my ultimate productivity goals are 1 – getting antsy in the chair sitting…and 2 – being self-distracted by an email or text that pops during my work. NOW, I implement a task regulator (that is the name I gave it). It is a free app on my computer tick tick (not to be confused with Tick Tock the social media app) and it is my to-do list as well as a really cool focus tool based on the Pomodoro Technique. This is a time management system that helps to maintain true focus and foster creativity. It is based on 25 minutes of focus with 5 minutes break time. It is often referred to as “pomo” and I say…try it! There are others out there, this is the one I can speak to from experience that is working for me.

During the focus time of 25 minutes I am all in – no distractions allowed. After 25 minutes the timer will go for a 5 minute break so I can check email, text, or even get in a micro workout! My micro workouts are exercises like jumping jacks or climb the stairs, push ups, sit ups…run to the mailbox and back. After 5 minutes I am back ready to focus and put in the good work distraction-free for another 25 minutes. It is a game-changer!

2. SOCIAL ENGAGEMENTS

Just about weekly or twice a month I get together with either a friend at their house or have family over. This time is a gift and I treat it as such. I am full of gratitude that we are healthy and able to get together even if it is physically distant, we are in the same area speaking in person to each other. We share conversation and meals together for hours as if we are not only feeding our body but our souls too. Recently, I traveled to see my 92 year-old mother in Lancaster, PA and it was especially wonderful to have a hug and long visit with her. I traveled from Virginia and the long drive was a wonderful part of my experience!

3. SELF-CARE

This is a very important part of self care — the emotional or psychological care…I am my best friend is a mantra for my self-care. Qualities of a best friend are forgiveness, love, kindness, support, respect and truth…there are probably other qualities but these come to my mind now. So if I am falling down or remiss on any of these qualities regarding how I treat ME then I have to be truthful to myself and correct that negative behavior.

The other very important part of self care — the physical aspects. So, each day I schedule exercise time. No longer do I use chemical-based products on my skin or for tooth care. I take supplements that my foods don’t include and that help manage my immune balance. I do make every bite count when it comes to food. I fast for 12 hours each day to support optimal metabolic health. I have been doing my own mani and pedis. As far as hair care goes that is on me too — for now no salons for me just yet — I have no intentions of cutting my own hair though.

Here is the body oil I use daily on my skin applied after a shower:

Stephanie’s DIY All-over Body Nourishing Oil
(quantities here are based on a pint jar)

• 1 part avocado oil
• 3 parts coconut oil

Allow enough room, about and inch or so, in the jar for generous amounts of:

• Essential oils such as lemongrass, eucalyptus, carrot seed, rose
• Magnesium oil
• Zinc oxide (for sun protection)

People have remarked that my skin it looks so good! It feels good too! The skin is so important and there is value in sealing your skin, in a healthy way, from toxins it is exposed to every day and at the same time moisturizing the skin.

4. SELF-EXPLORATION

This is part of being my own best friend because I check in with myself. What am I feeling? Why and I feeling this way? What makes me smile? What makes me sad? What rocks my world? What fantasies do I have? What fears do I have? Journals are helpful for this and I work on being consistent with a journaling practice. I like self-talk and I like to check in with myself throughout each day.

Now, I will move into a new topic — The Deeper Dive into making and nutrition of Crazy Delicious Nut-Nola and Seed-Nola. This month I write about BRAZIL NUTS…

One of a list of valuable and yummy ingredients in Nut-Nola is Brazil nuts. Recently, I have heard and read reporting of selenium and Brazil nuts have one of the highest levels of this trace mineral. When I created the recipe for both my products I researched for many, many months testing, tasting, and analyzing to acquire the most worthy ingredients to supply dense nutrient value that could be assimilated by the body as real food supplementation. However! First and foremost the final recipe had to be delicious!

Thus the Nut-Nola contains sprouted, organic Brazil Nuts! They passed through my rigorous process to be in the recipe!

So here is the deep dive into what is so great about selenium and the Brazil Nut…I will begin by telling the story of where it comes from because it is a pretty interesting story…

It is the story of the Amazon Rain Forest, the agouti, the orchid bee, and the orchid flower. The health and future of the Brazil nut tree relies of course on the health of the rainforest but even more specifically a large-sized rodent who has diamond sharp teeth. It is the agouti who is the only creature, a mammal, equipped to chisel through the hard shell of the Brazil nut tree pods. The flower of the Brazil nut tree is so distinct that only the orchid bee can fit into the Brazil nut tree’s flowers and therefore it is the only insect that can pollinate this incredible tree. Without certain species of orchids in the forest the orchid bee would not be there to pollinate the Brazil nut tree. If all that isn’t incredible enough here are some fun facts about the Brazil nut tree:

• Most commonly found growing wild in the Amazon rain forest
• Grows to heights of 61 meters or 200 feet
• Lives for at least 500 years
• Brazil nuts grow in pods on the tree that can literally kill you if one falls and lands on your head. These pods are about the size of a coconut. They weigh up to 2.3 kg or 5 lbs..
• One pod can contain up to 10 – 25 Brazil nuts.
• The Brazil nut industry is economically and environmentally safe primarily because the nuts are harvested from wild trees. They provide jobs without deforestation.

The Brazil nut is one of the richest sources of selenium. Here is a short list of selenium’s importance in our wellness:

• Powerful antioxidant that plays a key role in aiding cardiovascular disease, cancer, cognitive decline, and thyroid disease.
• Cancer studies show improvement with selenium or reducing the risk in some cancers due to its ability to repair DNA
• Mild deficiency of selenium is found as we age and therefore including foods with selenium such as Brazil nuts (1 – 5 is enough) can improve cognitive performance as we age.
• The antioxidant properties of selenium’s selenoproteins are helpful for reducing inflammation and oxidative stress and the modification of lipids. This shows a level of maintaining healthy blood cholesterol levels.
• The thyroid holds the highest concentration of iodine and selenium in the body therefore low levels of selenium may contribute to dysfunction of thyroid functions, that of hormone synthesis and metabolism.

It is important to remember the daily recommendation of selenium for adults ranges from
55 to 70 mcg and 6 – 8 Brazil nuts have 544 mcg. A couple tablespoons of Nut-Nola can supply your recommended daily intake! This article is for information purposes only. Your physician should be consulted before changing your supplementation and adopting an exercise regimen.

That is it for this month! Look for my next read in October! Until then…

Yours in Health,
Stephanie CPT, CN

Read more on this topic here:

• https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Selenium-HealthProfessional/#h2
• https://amazonrainforestconservancy.com/who-knew-brazil-nut-trees-were-so-interesting/
• https://amazonaid.org/all-about-agoutis/
• https://www.shiripunolodge.com/orchids-of-the-amazon-rainforest/

Resources:

• 21, February. “Orchids of the Amazon Rainforest.” Shiripuno Amazon Lodge, 12 Feb. 2019, www.shiripunolodge.com/orchids-of-the-amazon-rainforest/.
• Amazon Aid Foundation. 2020. All About Agoutis – Amazon Aid Foundation. [online] Available at: <https://amazonaid.org/all-about-agoutis/> [Accessed 19 September 2020].
• Amazon Aid Foundation. 2020. All About Agoutis – Amazon Aid Foundation. [online] Available at: <https://amazonaid.org/all-about-agoutis/> [Accessed 19 September 2020].
• Amazon Aid Foundation. 2020. All About Agoutis – Amazon Aid Foundation. [online] Available at: <https://amazonaid.org/all-about-agoutis/> [Accessed 19 September 2020].