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Memory Rescue: The Most Crucial Step In Dr. Amen’s Brain-Boosting Plan

You might not realize how big of a role blood flow plays when it comes  to brain health -- we certainly didn't, until we started thumbing through the pages of the new Memory Rescue by brain health pioneer, Dr. Daniel Amen.

According to Dr. Amen, the most crucial thing we can do to maintain and improve brain health over time is to increase blood flow to the area through regular exercise and targeted nutrition. Keeping our blood flowing throughout the day is so important for our cognitive longevity that its the first topic addressed in Amen Clinics new BRIGHT MINDS Program ("B" is for blood flow), which identifies and treats the eleven top risk-factors for aged-related brain conditions.

Straight from the pages of Memory Rescue, we're sharing Dr. Amen's top recommendations for blood flow-boosting foods to consume and those to avoid...

Foods to Choose SPICES: cayenne pepper, ginger, garlic, turmeric, coriander and cardamom, cinnamon, rosemary and bergamot (cholesterol-lowering properties).

ARGININE-RICH FOODS: to boost nitric oxide and blood flow eat more beets, pork, turkey, chicken, beef, salmon, halibut, trout, steel-cut oats, clams, watermelon (l-citrulline that boosts arginine), pistachios, walnuts, seeds, kale, spinach, celery, cabbage and radishes. Drinking nitrate-rich beet juice has been found to lower blood pressure, increase stamina during exercise and, in older people, boost blood flow to the brain.

VITAMIN B6, B12 AND FOLATE-RICH FOODS: leafy greens, cabbage, bok choy, bell peppers, cauliflower, lentils, asparagus, garbanzo beans, spinach, broccoli, parsley, salmon, sardines, lamb, tuna, beef and eggs.

VITAMIN E-RICH FOODS: these widen blood vessels and decrease clotting. Green leafy vegetables are major sources of vitamin E, in addition to almonds, hazelnuts and sunflower seeds.

MAGNESIUM-RICH FOODS: these relax blood vessels. Pumpkin and sunflower seeds, almonds, spinach, Swiss chard, sesame seeds, beet greens, summer squash, quinoa, black beans and cashews.

POTASSIUM-RICH FOODS: these help control blood pressure: beet greens, Swiss chard, spinach, bok choy, beets, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, celery, cantaloupe, tomatoes, salmon, banana, onions, green peas, sweet potato, avocado and lentils.

FIBER-RICH FOODS: these have been shown to lower blood pressure and improve cholesterol levels
MACA reduces blood pressure.

VITAMIN C-RICH FOODS: boosts immunity.

OMEGA-3-RICH FOODS: reduces inflammation.

Foods to Lose

CAFFEINE: while that daily morning espresso might seem like a life-saver at 7am, caffeine has been shown to constrict blood flow to the brain so moderation is key.

SUGARY SODAS: learn more about what they do in your health here. If you're still lusting for bubbles, try probiotic-rich water kefir instead.

BAKED GOODS: too much can lead to clogged arteries, hypertension and heart failure. If you quit, try making healthier versions of your fave recipes by eliminating dairy, grains and/or refined sugar.FRENCH FRIES: fries and other foods fried in vegetable oils can cause inflammation and sticky arteries. These baked sweet potato fries are a cleaner and more nutritious option.

TRANS FATS: just say no to margarine and powdered coffee creamers.

ALCOHOL: No more than a moderate amount of alcohol; I recommend no more than two to four normal glasses a week.

 

Learn more about brain health from Dr. Amen here.

The Chalkboard Mag and its materials are not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. 
All material on The Chalkboard Mag is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider for any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health related program. 

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Saltwater Sessions: What’s The Big Idea with Surf Therapy?

The euphoria of time spent in saltwater and sand isn't just for vacationers. Clinical psychologist, Dr. Lena Dicken, is the brains (and beauty) behind Saltwater Sessions, a resilience-based therapy that takes place in - you guessed it - the ocean. Learn about this unique and powerful healing modality, plus a few life-lessons we can learn from it without ever stepping into the sea...

Q: Tell us about surf therapy in a nutshell…

A: I started Saltwater Sessions because I saw there was incredible potential for a new type of resilience-based therapy, which could be channeled through surfing. Life can be beautiful, awe inspiring and full of adventure and growth. It can also be frustrating, challenging and filled with ups and downs. Surfing also has the ability to be all of these things. Saltwater Sessions uses therapeutic principles mixed with mindfulness practice to help our participants learn to manage stress levels, improve emotional communication and increase endurance for getting through challenging situations.

Humans are hardwired to react positively to water. If you think about it, most of us flock to rivers, lakes and oceans when we want to relax and recharge. Spending time in nature affects our exhausted frontal lobe (which is responsible for planning and executive functions) by giving it a break. While the frontal lobe is relaxed, other parts of the brain that allow for pleasure and empathy can take the drivers seat.

Our brains and our nervous systems adapt to how we fill our days. If our days are filled with traffic, deadlines and emails, and we never take a break to let ourselves relax and let our minds be still, when we try, it feels impossible. By training our brains to calm down on a regular basis, it eventually feels normal and natural. People begin to crave it. But only after it has become a habit and our brains have adapted by creating new neural pathways. Many people quit meditation prematurely because it’s very challenging at first and they don’t give themselves adequate time to let their brains adapt.

During sessions we spend equal time on our surfboards and on the sand. We discuss challenges we’re facing and how we relate to them. We go surf, and we take stock of all the feelings and emotions that come up in the water, then we process them back on the sand. Most of us think our fears are unique to us and that everyone else has it all together. This couldn’t be farther than the truth, and the group processing part of the program helps us understand this and not feel so alone. Through shared challenge, our participants also go through a bonding experience which helps us connect with others.

Q: Lena, you started your career far from the sand and surf wax. Tell us how you redirected your work to the beach.

A: I grew up on the East Coast but lived in Hawaii for several years in my twenties. I picked up surfing while living there, and it really changed everything. I had always loved the water and have been very active throughout my life, but through surfing I found a sense of strength, personal empowerment and joy that was completely new to me. I learned to surf on the north shore of Kauai and would get tossed around day after day. I was terrible at surfing for a long time, but I was completely addicted to the way I felt in the water and how I felt for the rest of my day afterwards. Over time I got the hang of it and went on to live, surf and travel through Mexico, Central America, Europe and Southeast Asia. Surfing gave me a pair of wings, which I credit to giving me the stamina to complete seven years of graduate school and weather the ups and downs of starting a business.

During my graduate training I interned at CLARE Foundation in Santa Monica, which is a low cost community addiction treatment center. The clinical director found out I was a surfer and asked me to create a therapeutic surfing program. I decided to channel the ways surfing had helped me into a program that could be used to help others. Along with creating the curriculum for the program, I concurrently decided to write a manual-based dissertation, which was a requirement for my doctoral program. I completed the manual and piloted the program, and I got a great response. My clinical director, dissertation chair and mentor all encouraged me to keep running the program after I completed my internship, and eventually it just made sense to turn it into a business. I still run the program through a few addiction centers throughout the area, but my main focus has turned to programs geared towards the general public.

Q: Your work first began as an addiction-facing therapy. Why is surfing such a fit here?

A: To say maintaining sobriety is hard is an understatement. It’s the reason addiction is currently a major health crisis in the United States. If a person is able to maintain sobriety for five years, they have an 86% chance of holding on to their sobriety for the rest of their lives. However, the initial stages of sobriety are the hardest. In the early stages, a person must learn to manage the difficult emotions that often lead them to feeling the need to numb out from the difficult parts of their lives.

When a person goes into addiction treatment, their curriculum often consists of various forms of psychotherapy, along with yoga, meditation and various other activities. It’s rare that any of these activities bring up intense feelings of failure and frustration that surfing can often elicit. These feelings are precisely the feelings that make someone want to give up on their sobriety.

By processing these feelings with others in a group setting, one feels less alone. And by sticking with the program for the intended eight weeks, one can see themselves progressing and getting better at something that at first seemed impossible.  Learning to surf is a potent metaphor for treating addiction. If someone feels less alone and sticks with something that feels challenging at first but gets easier, they have a powerful experience to fall back on when they might be thinking about falling back into old habits that they know won’t serve the life they want to be living. Surfing also produces a powerful rush of neurochemicals - including oxytocin, endorphins and dopamine, which have positive effects in the treatment of stress, anxiety and depression - which in turn have been shown to be highly comorbid with substance abuse and addiction.

Q: Please share 3-5 reasons surf therapy is so unique and so impactful:

A: Few activities have the ability to be equal parts challenging, enriching, humbling and fun at once. For many, surfing goes beyond sport and often leads to a more fulfilling, uplifting and meaningful life. Surfing is an ideal practice for supporting long-term mental and physical health. Lessons learned in the water become skills for increasing emotional intelligence, since the challenges of surfing mirror many of the challenges and stressors we face in relationships and in daily life.

Q: Which 3 qualities are strengthened through surf that you find invaluable for you and for your clients?

A: The first would be tenacity. To come back week after week or day after day and try something that might have felt new and uncomfortable initially, leads us to be more likely to try new things in the future and push through the discomfort that comes with not being good at something.

The second quality would be the ability to be in the present moment. There’s a saying, ‘Only a surfer knows the feeling,’ that conveys the completely unique experience of riding a moving wave in the ocean. Repeated exposure to this experience increases one’s desire to spend more time in the present moment, where the richness of life really exists.

The last quality is the ability to face our fears. While some people are afraid of the ocean in general, others happily dive right in. However, a surfer can spend a lifetime improving their skills and seeking ever more challenging and bigger waves. When you’re in the habit of facing your fears, they suddenly don’t seem so intimidating.

Q: Talk to us about the upcoming workshops/class offerings!

A: We have workshops coming up in March and April on the beaches of Los Angeles. We also have a five-day retreat coming up in May in Waikiki, quite possibly the best place to learn to surf on the planet.

Q: Have a favorite quote that comes to mind on all of this?

A:

"Fall seven times, stand up eight." - Japanese proverb

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Fava Bean Hummus from LA’s Swanky New NoMad Hotel

Originally built in the 1920s as the headquarters for The Bank of Italy, the new NoMad Hotel in Downtown LA just screams old-school swank -- or rather, pronounces it loudly with a martini in hand and a bowl of the most beautiful hummus you've ever seen in the other.

Even with soaring ceilings and a gilded lobby, The NoMad still manages to flex a distinct contemporary California design aesthetic - seasonal menus included. The NoMad menus capture the vibrancy of LA's food and drink culture just fine. From innovative cocktails to locally-sourced ingredient-driven dishes like the stunning recipe below, the team behind NYC's celebrated NoMad and Eleven Madison Park have nailed it again.

Grab a table in the lobby for an accessible yet elevated brunch, or make a reservation on the second floor in the Mezzanine for Left Coast-level fine dining with a distinct So Cal flavor. Can't bear the traffic? Bring some of those delicious vibes home with this elegant protein-rich veggie dip recipe from The NoMad's kitchen...

The NoMad Hotel's Fava Bean Hummus

For the hummus:
Yields around 4 cups

2½ cups fava beans, blanched
¾ cup and 2 Tbsp cups ricotta, whipped
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup lemon juice
1 garlic clove, microplaned
¼ cup lemon oil (recipe below)
¾ cup and 2 Tbsp spinach puree (recipe below)
½ Tbsp citric acid
1 Tbsp salt
⅓ cup tahini
lemon zest from one lemon
cayenne, to taste

Using a clean towel, wring out as much water as possible from the fava beans. Process the beans and garlic in a food processor and slowly emulsify in EVOO and lemon oil until smooth. Remove from the food processor and in a bowl over ice, fold in the garlic, whipped ricotta and spinach puree. Season to taste with salt and tahini.

For the spinach puree:
Yields 2 cups

¾ cup spinach, blanched
1⅓ cup fava beans, blanched
4 Tbsp pebble ice

Using a clean towel, wring out as much water as possible from the spinach and fava beans. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, adding additional ice as needed to facilitate blending.

For the lemon oil:

10 lemons
4¼ cups of canola oil

Using a microplane, zest all lemons, being careful not to zest any of the pith. Combine zest and oil in a pot and simmer on the stove on low heat for 1 hour. Let sit at room temp and strain when cooled.

For the pickled shallots:

3 Tbsp shallot, brunoise
¼ cup white balsamic pickling liquid (recipe below)

Pour hot pickling liquid over shallots, let cool at room temperature.

For the white balsamic pickling liquid:

4 cups white balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp and 2 tsp salt
¾ cup and 2 Tbsp sugar

Combine ingredients in a pot and bring to simmer. Chill.

To finish:

½ cup fava bean hummus
5 tsp nice extra-virgin olive oil
2 ½ tsp pickled shallot brunoise
¼ tsp black sesame seeds
½ tsp roasted pistachios
5-7 pieces of lavash
Garnish: fleur de sel, to taste; mustard flowers; chive blossoms; nasturtium leaves

Spoon the hummus into a coupe bowl, making sure to create several small swirls in order to hold the olive oil. Place olive oil in the swirl dips, and garnish around the center with the flowers and herbs. In a smaller, separate bowl, plate the lavash standing up.

Discover other healthy haunts around town with our 'LA Bite of the Month' series.

 

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Gorgeously Green-Blue Spirulina Nice Cream Bowls

#ThatFeelingWhen healthy food makes you feel euphoric long before it gets into your body.

The stream of blue donuts, smoothies and chia parfaits in Sugared Coconut's Instagram feed are hard to ignore - especially when you realize it's all ethical, vegan, gluten and nut-free.

We asked the duo behind the feed to share one of their blue-green bowl recipes - packed with spirulina benefits from amino acids to omega fatty acids, antioxidants and and a slew of key vitamins. Learn more about spirulina benefits here, then make a big batch of Sugared Coconut's nice cream and chia pudding for a gorgeously blue breakfast... [olists num=1]

All about that nice cream life? Check out a few other TCM-adored recipes here.

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Urban Om: Inside The High-Vibes Kitchen of Blogger Jules Hunt

Big City living calls for big-time balance. Jules Hunt makes it look both blissful and easy - maybe it's all that Sunday meal prep.

As the creator of wellness and lifestyle blog, Om & The City, and founder of the high-vibe wellness popup concept AWAKE | The Space, Jules' shares her devotion for non-toxic self-care in a way we love.

We created the 'In My Fridge' series because nothing is more inspiring than seeing how our community brings living well to life. Rummage through Jules' earthy NYC kitchen and grab some great ideas like these easy roasted veggie recipes to put on rotation...

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What the Heck Should I Eat: A Must Read For The Wellness Overwhelmed

You're standing in front of your fridge -- or maybe it's the grocery store, or farm-to-table deli counter -- and you're faced with choices. Lots and lots of choices.

In fact, we're faced with so many 'healthy options' these days that even making a lunch order can become an existential crisis. 

Wellness leader, Dr. Mark Hyman's new book, Food. What the Heck Should I Eat?, is his attempt to create a little clarity for the overwhelmed. Read through this comprehensive piece from the doctor on the Dr. seven scientific guidelines for making the best food choices possible...

Eating healthy is more confusing than ever. I’ve been studying nutrition for 35 years and found that even experts are confused by the science. If the people we look to for nutritional guidance keep changing their views, no wonder the rest of us are so overwhelmed!

You know what I’m talking about. One day eggs are unhealthy, then the next day they are a miracle food. One year the government tells us to eat bread, pasta and other carbohydrates as the foundation of our diet, and the next it tells us to cut carbs. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines told us 35 years ago that all our health problems were derived from eating fat and recommended we eat fat “only sparingly.” Over three decades later, they suddenly learned fat wasn’t so bad for us.

Then you’ve got the dogmatists who believe you must adhere 100 percent to a particular plan to be lean and healthy, whether that plan be vegan, Paleo, vegetarian, Mediterranean, raw food, ketogenic, high-fat, low-fat or omnivore.

Lots of factors contribute to this nutrition confusion and contention, including misinformation, personal biases and conflicting science. Chief among the reasons why so many people are so confused is our one trillion-dollar food industry provides us with all sorts of “healthy” options — low-fat, high-fiber, whole-grain, gluten-free — that are mostly not healthy.

All this confusion is enough to make you give up and just eat whatever you want, whenever you want, and in whatever quantities you want.

That’s why I wrote my new book Food. What the Heck Should I Eat? I want to help you undo all the beliefs about food that are making you fat and sick and replace them with a new understanding that will lead to health and longevity.

Why is Food. so different than every other diet and nutrition book out there? Because I organized the information to provide an honest, science-based, unbiased answer to the question, “What the heck should I eat?” I scoured the best and latest science to provide a roadmap about what to eat. This book cuts through the hype and hoopla to provide a realistic, fact-based, effective and sustainable way to eat and live.

In Food., I break down 12 categories of food, deep-dive into the science as well as environmental and ethical guidelines behind those categories and provide practical tools to sum up what I’ve found to determine what you should eat and avoid.

None of these principles involve deprivation. Instead, you’ll learn to incorporate delicious, whole foods full of flavor, texture and culinary surprises. I’ve designed this book to be practical, informative, entertaining and easy to implement into your busy life. Food. shows you how to use food as medicine to reset your body and to eat in a way that promotes health.

So, What the Heck Should I Eat?

An all-in approach to one way of eating may not be the all-in answer. You’ve got so many eating options, but advocates believe their approach is the absolute best. But what if we could abandon the hype and focus on the best traits of each approach? That’s what I’ve done with the Pegan Diet, which combines the best principles from several eating plans to optimize what foods you choose. In Food. I discuss this effective, commonsensical approach to eating that bypasses nutritional dogma for common ground.

Much of what we eat is not really food. At least, it has been so adulterated and processed we may as well not call it food. It is more of a food-like substance. And as a result, most of us are confused, baffled and frustrated, not knowing whom to believe or what to eat. In Food., I’ll show you how to scout out things like mystery ingredients and damaging additives that can hijack your health.

If there are health claims on the label, what’s inside is probably unhealthy. High-fiber, low-carb, no-sugar-added, the list goes on and on about the many health claims manufacturers boast on food packages. Chances are, they’re hiding what they don’t want you to know among the ingredients. Those gluten-free cookies might sound healthy, but flip the package around and you’ll find they contain more sugar than regular cookies! Gather some smart tips for reading labels here.

What you put on your fork is the most important thing you do every day. Food is medicine. It’s information. Food is the most powerful drug on the planet. It influences your capacity to live a rich, energetic, connected, soulful life. If you enjoy the real, whole, fresh foods I talk about in Food. that you cook using real ingredients, you are positively affecting everything around you. Food is the doorway to living well and loving well — and to fixing much of what’s wrong with our world.

Real food doesn’t have to be expensive. While it might cost a little more to buy fresh meat, fish and produce than to eat processed junk and fast food, it doesn’t have to. In fact, studies have shown that eating real food is not more expensive than eating processed food. You don’t always have to buy grass-fed steak (although that is ideal). You can eat well for less. In Food., I’ll show you how.

The real revolution happens in your kitchen. We have to cook our way out of our addiction to bad food. Shopping, cooking and eating are political acts with far-reaching benefits to our health, the earth, the economy and beyond. Cooking is fun, freeing and essential to achieving health and happiness. Unfortunately, we have handed the act of cooking, this unique task that makes us human, over to the food industry. In Food., I’ll show you how to take that power back, starting with your very next meal.

When you feel confused, ask yourself this one question: Did a human being make this or did nature? Nature made an avocado, but not a Twinkie. Eating healthy is really that simple.

Even though Food. contains a great deal of scientific information about what to eat and avoid, my hope is that it actually empowers you to make the best food choices. Cooking and eating become infinitely easier when you leave all the artificial stuff behind and focus on real, whole foods. I truly believe Food. contains all the principles to transform lives. My newest book will help you lose weight, reduce disease, positively impact the environment and feel better, while knowing you are serving the healthiest foods for you and your loved ones.

The Chalkboard Mag and its materials are not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. 
All material on The Chalkboard Mag is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider for any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health related program. 

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The Two Types of Depression According To Traditional Chinese Medicine

Depression is complex and can be different for everyone. Whether chemical, conditional or a combination of factors, traditional Chinese medicine has it's own holistic protocol for decoding the imbalances and alleviating the symptoms of depression.

Here's herbalist and acupuncturist, Mona Dan of Vie Healing, on understanding depression from a traditional Chinese medicine perspective...

In the view of Chinese medicine, understanding depression and working to treat it has a very unique and individual approach. Understanding that each individual is unique and so is their experience of depression, we find the pattern that shows up and speaks loudest. Symptoms act as the guides to understand what’s going on internally. Within the scope of Chinese medicine, we understand that organs have characteristics they express and seeing which symptoms speak loudest shows us which organs are crying out for help, creating imbalance and ruckus within.

Two Types of Depression: Deficient + Excessive

You can be depleted and down or restless and mind-racing with depression. Within those very simple examples, there can be loads of questions asked by practitioners that can lead us to a more specific diagnosis about what is really going on internally, causing mayhem. What are the symptoms of your depression, where do you feel it, when do you feel it? These are just a few very important questions that help us zero in on the main organ involved in creating your depression.

Other symptoms people won't necessarily even relate to depression may be causing huge stressors to the body, enhancing the sensations and feelings. Lack of proper blood flow and blood deficiency can affect proper nutrient supply and the proper waste removal from brain tissues.

'Deficient' type symptoms include... pale tongue, pale pinkish color in eyelids...etc.Treatment can include acupuncture and diet changes, including bone broth, warming foods and adaptogen herbs. With a deficient depression, sadness is usually involved.

'Excessive' type depression symptoms include... chest distention, flank pain, excessive sighing, nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, diarrhea, moodiness and a feeling of something caught in the throat. Also, anger is the most prevalent emotion with the excessive type of depression.
This type is usually caused by overwork, causing adrenaline rush. The response of the nervous system and endocrine system puts excessive pressure on the liver creating a tense environment within the body.

The emotions related to organs are important to hear about as well.

Liver
The liver is associated with creativity, artistic endeavor, intuition, the unconscious, the making of plans and the courage to follow them through. A healthy, well-grounded liver enables forward planning with creativity, vision and insight. The liver is active in dreams and is the creative impulse drawn upon when a problem is solved after 'sleeping on it'.

A stressed liver leads to depression with a lack of inspiration and direction, diminished creativity and loss of insight. Patients feel trapped by insurmountable barriers. A liver in excess results in irrational behavior, while a deficient liver, leads to lack of courage, indecisiveness and even sleep walking.

Lungs
The lungs react and respond through the skin and perception through the five senses. It is the point of contact between the body and the environment and helps create a sense of self. Healthy lung energy has strong contact and engagement with the world, and establishes clear boundaries between self and others.

Weak lungs tend to retreat to withdrawal, to a sense of raw exposure and vulnerability, extreme sensitivity to the emotions, thoughts and presence of others, and a sense of disconnection, isolation and separation from the world and society. Common systems of this type of of depression shows itself as constant sadness and crying.

Spleen
The spleen is responsible for mental activity to properly think through a problem. The excessive spleen leads to excessive worry, obsessive thinking and an inability to concentrate constructively. When the spleen is deficient, difficulty concentrating is a major symptom, quickly losing interest and not staying focused on the simplest of tasks. Also, there is a tendency to overeat or comfort eat, and obsess over food.

Kidneys
The kidneys are associated with memory, motivation, ambition and willpower. This is probably the most common of the organ emotions and it's because of the relationship the kidneys have with genetics and family history. This organ and emotional relationship effects feeling stable in the face of adversity.

With the kidneys, there isn't an excessive issue but there is a hot/cold issue. If the body is running hot, then there's a lack of grounding; if it's cold, this causes the type of depression dealing with more despair and fear, with loss of libido.

There are deeper layers to understanding depression and the proper diagnosis and treatment. Peeling the layers back and incorporating changes in diet, sleep schedules and lifestyle help -- with the proper herbs or medications.

The Chalkboard Mag and its materials are not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. 
All material on The Chalkboard Mag is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider for any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health related program. 

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The Resilience Toolkit: 3 Powerful Tools For Stressed Out Moms

You don't know how strong you are until you've been pushed to the edge a few times - or daily, as motherhood would have it.

Young mother of two and TCM contributor, Alisha Sanvicens, recently checked out a program called The Resilience Toolkit by  Lumos Transforms designed to equip clients, from new mamas to corporate overachievers, with "effective, simple stress-reduction solutions that build capacity and resilience." Or in other words, these tools support the ability to respond mindfully to stress and bounce back gracefully rather than just react to it. Here's the best of what this young mom learned from a day with their team...

The clichéd image of the frazzled mama wasn't pulled from thin air. Motherhood calls forth the deepest of physical and emotional reserves, reserves you didn't even know existed. Children, in addition to filling you with pure joy, also require everything from you: patience, compassion and a never-ending stream of snacks. Taking care of little ones can trigger anxiety in even the most zen of caregivers. In an unfortunate twist, during this season when self-care is needed most, women seem to have the least amount of time to fill their wells.

Enter Nkem Ndefo, founder of Lumos Transforms, and expert on building resiliency in pregnant and parenting women. As a former nurse midwife working with high-risk populations, she noticed a deep root of toxic stress in many of the pregnant women's lives she worked with. She wanted to help not only on a personal level but also on a larger scale.

Nkem's work now focuses on getting to the heart of reducing stress. She teaches women how to work with their body’s natural responses to calm stress and settle their nervous system. She also shows women how to increase their personal resiliency so they have the bandwidth to not just survive each day, but also develop an increased capacity to focus on the big work of the world they are called to.

Here are some of her tips for staying calm and building your resiliency:

Learn Your Nervous System
It can be easy to push through or ignore stress, because you’re a mother. And usually when you're stressed, it's because you have a ton you need to do! Study your body's own responses to stress so you can quickly identify what's happening. Do you get angry and bossy? Do you become passive? Do your shoulders tense up? Developing an awareness of your stress responses is crucial to getting in front of it.

Be Honest
Resilience involves knowing when it's safe to rest, then resting effectively. Ask yourself:

Does my stress match the situation? If not, do I need to take a rest? What do I need to rest effectively? Am I doing that? Did that past hour of reading Instagram really recharge and energize me, or further zone me out? Did that high-intensity workout renew or feed my anxiety?

It’s important to know if a “rest” activity is working, and if it’s not working, what’s at stake. We’re better at parenting (and life in general) when truly rested and recharged.

Stabilize
When your stress response is bigger than the situation, it’s time to physically down-regulate your nervous system. Doing this helps to re-pattern how your nervous system reacts and helps you to source energy from a calm place (rather than surviving on adrenaline).

The Butterfly Hug

One practice from Nkem’s Resilience Toolkit you can try is the butterfly hug. You can use this anytime you’re feeling stress creep in. Here’s how:
Lift both hands with palms facing you. Cross the hands and grasp the thumbs. Place the hands on your chest with your fingers pointing up toward your head and the fingertips just under your collarbone. Tap one hand gently against the chest and then the other. Continue alternate tapping.

How are you managing stress? Find some of our most useful tips here.

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Here’s Why You Should Be Using A Tongue Scraper Every Day

Oh, the humble tongue scraper. This Ayurvedic bathroom accessory may be understated in looks, but it's health benefits can't be downplayed - we're talking everything from gut health to tooth care. 

If you floss, brush and rinse daily, you should definitely consider adding a tongue scraper to the lineup too. Author Sahara Rose of the Idiot's Guide to Ayurveda explains why this ancient wellness practice is a game-changer for daily health...

You brush your teeth, cleanse your face and may even oil pull, but do you use a tongue scraper? This is the wellness secret you’re about to become addicted to. Tongue scraping is an ancient ayurvedic self-care practice to remove toxins, called ama, from the surface of your tongue, which not only freshens your breath but actually improves digestion.

Ayurveda is the ancient Indian health system focused on healing the body through digestion; not only am I an expert in ayurveda, I've written a book about it.

We begin the digestive process the moment we put food in our mouth. If our tongues are coated with bacteria, food debris, fungi, toxins, and/or dead cells (which is much more common than you think), our tongues cannot properly indicate the foods we are eating, thus send the signals to our bodies on what sort of digestive enzymes and how much stomach acid is needed. Thus, scraping your tongue is just as good for your belly as drinking hot water.

It’s not just ayurveda that toots the horn of tongue scraping. Dental research has shown that tongue scraping is even more effective at removing toxins and bacteria from the tongue than a toothbrush. When we don’t scrape our tongues, these toxins get reabsorbed by the body. This causes digestive and other issues, depending on your ayurvedic dosha, mind-body type. Tongue scraping also makes our taste-buds more sensitive, allowing us to further taste our food and preventing us from overeating.

Benefits of Using a Tongue Scraper

+ Clears ama toxins, bacteria, debris, fungi and dead cells from the tongue
+ Improves breath
+ Enhances digestion
+ Heightens taste-buds
+ Gently stimulates the internal organs
+ Increases your awareness of your current wellbeing through observing your tongue

How to Use A Tongue Scraper
STEP 1 | Extend your tongue and hold your tongue scraper. I recommend stainless steel tongue scrapers, though ayurveda traditionally uses copper. The reason I’m not a fan of copper is because it can potentially cause heavy metal toxicity. Stainless steel is just a safer option.

Step 2 | Place the tongue scraper on the back surface of the tongue and gently forward, removing the thin layer of white coating. Repeat 10 times.

Step 3 | Rinse out your mouth and enjoy the heightened sense of freshness! You’ll be hooked quickly and wonder how you went your whole life without it!

*Note: Do not scrape so far back you begin to gag. Strokes should be gentle and not cause any pain. It should be a pleasant experience!

Discover six surprising oral health tips from a wellness pro we love here.

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Afternoon Delight: Gluten-Free Recipes from LA’s Most Luxe High Tea

There's a time and place for keeping things casual, but sometimes we just want to put a pinkie up and sip tea like the queens we are. For those moments, The Peninsula Hotel in Beverly Hills, provides everything we're looking for.

The Peninsula's formal high tea includes all the tiered trays, floral print china and harp music you could hope for. The hotel's Living Room, complete with fireplace and overstuffed couches, now offers gluten-free and vegan options for their tea service -- when noted in advance. We asked Executive Chef David Codney to share a few of his favorites, including these gluten-free scones and a vegan chocolate pudding worth it's weight in English Breakfast...

[olists num=1][olists num=2]

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The #VitaminAxLaurenB capsule collection is ready to shop and...

The #VitaminAxLaurenB capsule collection is ready to shop and our girl @laurenbushnell designed it with you (and sandy cheeks) in mind ☀️Each purchase supports girls everywhere with @girlsinc 📷 @nicolezpencer #shoplinkinbio #vitaminaswim #bestswimwear #regram http://ift.tt/2CesH89

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Healthy Spice Cake Donuts You Can Sink Your Teeth Into

When our social media manager strolled in with a spiced up version of this Sweet Laurel Bakery vanilla cake (gluten-free, dairy-free refined sugar-free), all we could think about is how delicious the recipe would be as a donut. 

We picked up a silicon donut mold, slipped the recipe into the oven and, sure enough, this recipe makes the most spectacularly healthy spice cake donuts we've ever had. Bonus points for trying our vegan coconut cream frosting with a superfruitd beet powder blend! [olists num=1]

Baking up a storm? Try these gut-friendly hazelnut donuts from Sweet Laurel next!

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In The Studio With TOOOLS + Their Gorgeous Handmade Ceramics

Effortlessly cool ceramics brand, T O O O L S  was born and raised in LA by Caroline Hwang and Joel Speasmaker, two veterans of the contemporary art and design community (as if that wasn't obvious by looks alone). More than just another pretty place to put your Greek yogurt and grain-free granola, a bowl by TOOOLS is art, yet made to be enjoyed in daily use. They call it "holistic utilitarianism." We call it ideal.

We jumped from crush-status to full-on affair when TOOOLS partnered with another fave, NYC's natural beauty hub, CAP Beauty, to create a set of gorgoues stoneware bowls that can be stacked up as a sculptural object or deconstructed to serve with.

Before you get lost dreaming about all the fermented sides you plan on filling your bowls with, get to know the creative minds behind the brand with out 'In The Studio' feature... [olists num=1]

Obsessed with ceramics? Check out another local LA maker we love, EMK Ceramics.

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3 Ways to Get Your Sexy Back After A PCOS Diagnosis

What does it take to feel sexy in a body gone rogue? Women's health expert, Nicole Granato, is breaking down the battle many women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) experience when it comes to sexual well being...

While working with women suffering from PCOS and hormonal imbalances, a huge topic that comes up often is feeling sexy, feminine and in control of your body - it's difficult for a lot of women. How can you feel sexy in your body if you don’t feel you have any control of it?

How do you feel feminine when you don’t feel good in your body? Hormonal imbalance is something that effects almost every woman - some more severely than others - but how can we deal with imbalance and still feel strong, sexy, feminine and not allow our sex lives to suffer?

Here are some ways I keep my hormones balanced, sex drive healthy and focus on keeping myself PCOS free and my fertility strong.

Exercise: I do a lot of low intensity exercise to strengthen my body but not stress it out. High-intensity workouts can create a lot of stress in the body. I like exercise that almost massage my reproductive organs and strengthens my pelvic floor. These exercises help promote healthy blood flow in the uterus, promote a strong sex drive and leave you feeling calm and energized - opposite to completely exhausted. A lot of women I work with notice a 60% increase in the libido! These exercises include: yoga, pilates, pelvic floor exercises (similar to stretching, meditation and light yoga) and moderate hiking.

Self-care: I really believe feeling sexy and sexually confident is more about your confidence in taking care of yourself than focusing on what you want to change about yourself or your body. We all have things about us that maybe we want to be different or change, thinking that is what will make us feel sexier. However, I find knowing these things and taking care of our bodies -- through everything from daily rituals, self care and personal time to the products we choose to use -- makes a world of a difference. When suffering with hormonal imbalances and PCOS so much of what happens to our bodies feel out of our control. Choosing a ritual of self care daily is in your control and will help you feel more grounded, in control and confident in your body.

Morning Tonic: I drink a morning tonic every morning, a combination of herbs that boost libido, sooth the nervous system, assist in cellular repair and support fertility. I use Sun Potion herbs mostly. [olists num=1]

Learn more about PCOS and how to manage it naturally here.

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How to Heal: A Guide to Emotional Cleansing After Being Diagnosed With Hashimoto’s

Our minds and bodies are linked, which means that healing isn't just about physical cleansing, but emotional cleansing too. Last week we asked author and wellness expert, Elissa Goodman, to recommend first steps after being diagnosed with the autoimmune disease, Hashimoto's.

Below we're digging one step deeper and talking about the unavoidable process of emotional healing. Stress and emotional trauma are inextricably linked to most auto-immune conditions... 

“Cleanse” is a word we hear all the time in the wellness community, and we associate it mostly with the foods we’re eating. For example, someone may go on a juice cleanse to try and reset their digestive system, or maybe they’ll partake in my soup cleanse that focuses on eating whole, nutritious foods. I think that cleansing your body through food is great. But there’s another, just as important cleanse, that people tend to forget about… and that’s an emotional cleansing lifestyle.

I see so many clients walking around with the weight of massive stress and trauma hanging on their shoulders (and blocking their minds) –- I recognize it, because I was once in their place. I never realized how many toxic emotions and experiences I was holding onto until, at the age of 34, I was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease Hashimoto’s. I finally began to learn that our emotions, and the state of stress and anxiety that they bring, can have serious detrimental effects on our health. In my case, I believe it contributed to Hashi’s developing in my body.

That’s why, when it comes to healing yourself from an autoimmune disease, or any disease for that matter, I think it’s so important to focus on emotional factors. Here’s how you can cleanse your emotions, to give your body and mind that sense of calm they need to truly heal.

Before anything else, practice self-love. Establishing a consistent practice of self-love is critical to healing, because you have to put yourself in a positive, loving, mindset to heal. While it may seem selfish to focus on yourself and your needs, it’s an inside job and it must be done if you want to thrive long-term. There is some confusion on what self-love actually means. It’s much more than taking a bath and having a spa day. This quote perfectly sums it up:

“Self-love requires you to be honest about your current choices and thought patterns and undertake new practices that reflect self-worth.” ~Caroline Kirk

There isn’t a magical pill you can take to stop your negative self talk, your repetitive destructive patterns and your choice to put yourself last. No one can ever make you happy, loved or well until you practice it yourself. Here are some ways to get started:

Choose yourself first | That might mean you will have to start turning down activities and interests that don’t serve you in the moment. Recognize when you’re tired, overwhelmed or simply not feeling it and honor that feeling (with the assurance that there will be no guilt afterwards). Tuning into your self and your needs is a very big step in self-loving behavior.

Schedule time to provide your body rest, exercise, and comfort whatever it may need | If you need relaxation and comfort, schedule a massage. If you’re feeling depleted or tense, try foam rolling at home –- it’ll get your blood flowing and your body feeling great. If you’re feeling exhausted and need to recharge, allow yourself a 30-minute nap. If you need an outlet to clear your mind and care for your physical body, make exercise 3-4 times a week a priority, no excuses. These are simple ways that you can listen and respond to your needs in a caring manner.

Find a positive mantra to repeat to yourself for every day | If you repeat something to yourself enough, chances are, you’ll start to believe it. This is something I said to myself, “Every day and every way, I am getting better and better,” until eventually, it became true! I highly recommend picking up You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay. This book is a great start to put to use positive mantras and to accept responsibility for making self care a daily practice.

Write down 3 things that you love about yourself everyday | Owning your inner and outer beauty is a beautiful act of self-love. Make sure each day you have something different. It may seem hard at first, but you’ll be amazed at how many positive things you notice about yourself with a simple shift of mentality.

Do something you're good at | This one is such a simple and easy self-esteem booster. I always clean out my closet. It may seem like a small task, but I know organization is one of my strong suits, and at the end I always feel more proud and accomplished than when I started. Or make a beautiful dinner for others or yourself and savor the food that was made with love and care for your body. Owning your qualities, even when no one else is around to experience them, isn’t something you should be ashamed of!

Recognize your trauma and heal from it | We carry with us so many of the toxic and traumatic experiences that have occurred throughout our lives. These are things that could have happened as early as childhood or as recent as a few weeks ago. And while we may not be thinking about them at all times, they still have an impact on the way we think, manage stress and even on our body’s ability to heal.

For me, after I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and completed the treatments, I thought and hoped that I was done with cancer’s nasty effects. But what I didn’t realize at the time was that the trauma lingered on. Holding onto these traumatic experiences caused me a great deal of stress and, in part I think, contributed to my development of Hashimoto’s and made it severely worse. Carrying your trauma with you can change the way your body operates, and not for the better. That’s why finding a way to release this trauma is so crucial.

For some, talk therapy could be an effective way to obtain this release by getting traumatic events that you may be repressing out into the open, and effectively letting them go. For me, however, talking about my cancer in therapy felt like I was reliving the trauma over and over. I found my release in many different energy healing modalities. They helped me relax, find happiness and focus deeply on recovering from trauma.

Traditional energy healing | This is the strategy that I found to be, by far, the most helpful when it came to healing from trauma. I visited shamans and energy healers who helped me get in touch with the negative subconscious thoughts that were stopping me from thriving. They helped me learn how to remove these blocks within my body’s energy. Use your gut and intuition to really feel who is the right energy healer for you, and go with an open mind.

Reiki | This form of meditation involves the redistribution of energy throughout the body through touch. The focus is on creating an awareness of different areas of your body while slipping your mind out of the chaos of the day-to-day anxieties. Reiki is used to promote relaxation, calm the mind and ultimately reduce stress so you can become more balanced in mind, body and spirit. Learn more about this healing modality here.

eft Tapping | The idea behind tapping is similar to acupuncture but instead of needles, you’re using your fingers to tap pressure points. At the same time, you’re recounting something traumatic or worrying, and the tapping helps to relieve the feelings of anxiety or stress that are associated with that thought. The whole purpose is to send a flow of calming energy throughout the body to promote healing.

Release your stress | Stress is pretty hard to avoid. Whether it be a job, finances, relationships, family dramas, the list goes on and on… it’s easy to feel the effects of stress start to build up in your body. Stress in the short term is not necessarily bad, it sometimes can be used as a strong motivator if you have the right mentality. But when you stay stressed for long periods of time, it can do some serious damage to your body. Cortisol is one of those handy stress hormones that helps to prepare your body in a “fight or flight” situation. When cortisol levels are raised for too long though, like in the instance of chronic stress, it can wreak havoc on your immune system and blood sugar and cause various health issues. Constant stress also plays a role in the development of autoimmune diseases and can make the symptoms worse. There are some effective ways to manage stress though.

Mindfulness meditation | Practicing mindfulness can help you stay in the moment instead of constantly thinking ahead and picturing worst-case scenarios. It even helps your body cope with stress better in the long term. All you need to do is focus your attention on a single point of reference. That could be your breath, a mantra, body awareness and even a word. In doing so, you become present in the moment, which, as easy as it sounds, becomes very difficult today in our busy lives.

Breathwork exercises | A good breathwork exercise can help your body from entering fight-or-flight mode and diminish the harmful, immune suppressing stress response. Try breathing in through your nose for 4 seconds, and then releasing it through your mouth for 6-8 seconds. Practice daily, 5-10 minutes.

Eat a nutritious and anti-inflammatory diet | Inflammation and stress go hand in hand, so in stressful times, you want to make sure your diet contains plenty of anti-inflammatory foods. Plus, filling your meals with nutrient-dense fruits and veggies will help keep your body and mind feeling great.

The Chalkboard Mag and its materials are not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. 
All material on The Chalkboard Mag is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider for any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health related program. 

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Tell Us The Truth: Will Getting More Sleep Actually Boost Our Metabolism?

Our metabolism keeps all systems running smoothly. When it slows down everything else follows suit. What can we do to boost metabolism naturally? Functional medicine excerpt, Dr. Josh Axe, is sharing five simple and holistic changes to make now...

We tend to think a lot about our metabolisms — whether we’re wondering why we can’t seem to drop those last few pounds or wondering why some of our friends seem to be able to eat an entire pizza without gaining an ounce. But your metabolism plays a much larger role in your health than just helping you shed weight.

Metabolism encompasses all of the chemical reactions that happen in humans (and other living organisms) to help them stay alive. In fact, it’s our metabolism that’s responsible for turning the calories we consume into energy that our bodies use as fuel. Because every system in the body — from our digestive system to our nervous system — depends on our metabolism, having a healthy one results in more than an ability to look good sans clothes. A properly functioning metabolism is critical for keeping our immune system functioning properly, maintaining a healthy sex drive, supporting lean muscle mass and lots more.

Our metabolisms naturally slow down at around 40 years old, but some people may experience a sluggish metabolism before then and for a variety of reasons. Low activity levels, low muscle mass or genetics can all contribute to a slower metabolism and cause fatigue, irregular periods, feelings of cold, mood disorders like anxiety or depression and difficulty in losing weight. If you’re experiencing any of those symptoms, they could be signs that your metabolism could use a boost.

Here are five ways to give it a natural kick-start...

How To Boost Metabolism Naturally

Stop dieting | For people trying to lose weight, restricting calories is often the go-to approach -- even though it can be detrimental for your metabolism. When you severely limit calories, your body doesn’t have enough of the nutrients required to operate optimally, and because your body believes it’s starving, it holds on to the precious few calories it’s given. In the process, and to conserve energy, your body’s fat-burning ability comes to a screeching halt.

Instead of slashing calories, focus on nutrient density. This means ensuring that the calories you are eating are from whole, unprocessed foods that provide your body with the variety of nutrients it needs. This could be three larger meals, or several smaller ones, scheduled throughout the day in order to prevent your body from hitting “starvation mode.”

Hit the snooze button | It’s recommended that adults sleep between seven and nine hours each night. If you’re regularly getting less sleep, your metabolism may take a hit. If your body is fatigued or doesn’t have enough time to do its overnight maintenance, your metabolism will compensate by slowing down, in an effort to conserve what precious energy you do have. Explore these functional tips for getting better sleep.

Add HIIT workouts to your routine | If you haven’t tried high-intensity interval training (HIIT) yet, now’s the time to start. The workouts — which combine bursts of all-out effort with short rests — jump-start your metabolism more than steady-state workouts, like jogging, can. HIIT workouts are especially useful for older adults who may be short on time, but want to keep their exercise volume — and metabolism — up.

Start lifting | Don’t be scared of weights! Strength training builds lean muscle mass, which burns more calories than fat. That means extra muscle mass can rev your resting metabolic rate long after your workout is over. Bodyweight exercises like push-ups, lifting weights or using dumbbells at home can all help build muscle.

Stock up on metabolism-loving foods | Some foods support a healthy metabolism better than others. Protein, for instance, not only helps you feel full longer, but it also keeps energy levels stable and builds muscle mass (which, as discussed, will use up more calories than fat). When you eat protein-rich foods — like cage-free eggs, wild-caught fish, and grass-fed beef — your body is forced to use more calories to digest them than it does with carbs. Swapping your coffee for a cup of green tea can help too. Thanks to its antioxidants, the drink is considered a natural metabolism booster.

Yoga is another amazing tool to help boost metabolism naturally.
Give this simple daily yoga practice a try.

The Chalkboard Mag and its materials are not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. 
All material on The Chalkboard Mag is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider for any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health related program. 

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The Only Eyebrow Advice You’ll Ever Need

If eyes are the windows to the soul, what does that make our eyebrows? Something we don't want to f-up, that's for sure.

Danielle Vincent, celebrity makeup artist and founder of clean Japanese cosmetic brand, KIMIKO, believes less is more when it comes to beauty. Her ultra-fine eyebrow pencils are one of our absolute favorites for a hyper-realistic brow -- the next best thing to natural -- but for truly great brows, Vincent says time and restraint are key. Discover this brow guru's do's and don'ts of styling eyebrows...

Do: Put Down The Tweezers | Dedicate 6-8 weeks of re-growth time in order to achieve your full brow potential. Often we get into the habit of tweezing too far into the core brow, so we don’t get a full visual of potential thickness and areas that need focus. Putting down the tweezers entirely (and that magnifying mirror) - as hard as it is - will allow a specialist to give you your best possible brows. Speaking of...

Don’t: Over-trim long hairs | Length is your friend because it makes the brow appear more full and helps cover gaps. When it comes to the front of the eyebrows, cutting straight across can give brows an unnatural and brush-cut look. For the most flattering look, don’t cut straight across, only trim those individual hairs that are crazy long, one at a time and at varying lengths.

Do: Call In A Pro | Make an appointment with an eyebrow specialist. Do your research. I recommend finding someone whose aesthetic jives with yours. My archetype (pun intended) is entirely based on your facial structure. The goal is to achieve a full and natural brow that is never overdone. The right specialist will guide you through the continued growth process. I always recommend taking a photo of yourself right after an appointment, so that you may use it as an ongoing reference.

Don’t: Go right for the wax | It might be fast, but waxing is less accurate than the precision of tweezing and it comes with inherent risks, like burning the skin and even tearing off too many layers on the sensitive brow bone and lid. This area of the eye is super delicate and you want to avoid tugging at it in this way. Stick to tweezing whenever possible and treat that skin with the care it deserves.

Do: Enhance Naturally | Use the right products to naturally enhance and aid in the growing out phase, which can be awkward at times. My go-to is our Japanese Super Fine Eyebrow Pencil Automatique specifically because the texture is dry, allowing individual hairs to be drawn, which is essential to make sparse areas look naturally filled. I also love that it stays put, so those gaps don’t make a mid-day appearance. I will often polish off with a clear brow gel for hold and an uplifted finish. Use a brow growth serum daily for an extra boost.

Don’t: Overdo it with products | There are many brow products out there, but you probably don’t need to use a brow marker, pencil, powder, pomade, mascara, and gel all at once. While having options is great, don’t use them all together, because seeing some skin is a good thing! I will use several products at most and always leave some skin showing, so brows never looks blocky or heavily filled. You want your brows to accentuate your facial structure and act like frames, so your eyes stand out first, not the other way around. While it’s fun to play with brow intensity based on the rest of your makeup, a good rule of thumb is to keep it light-handed.

Learn how to fake flawless and natural-looking brows with this green beauty tutorial.

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Is it already Wednesday? We are busy planning our next vacation...

Is it already Wednesday? We are busy planning our next vacation that only requires a a sexy lacy one piece @pilyqswim #bestswimwear http://ift.tt/2GyUEp5

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Inside Candace Nelson’s Fridge (How To Be The Queen of Comfort Food + Still Look Amazing)

There's a sweet spot between wellness and comfort food, and Candace Nelson lives there. Her foodie legacy includes revamping the classic cupcake through the phenomenon that is Sprinkles (yes, she makes a gluten-free!) and, more recently, opening one of the most buzzed about pizza spots in LA, Pizzana in Brentwood.

By using real ingredients and slow, traditional methods, Candace and the Pizzana team has revolutionized our pizza habits in the best possible way. Even better than Pizzana's Instagram-worthy Corbarina quash blossom and burrata pie? Their fermented crust made of well-sourced European grains. Read up on why that matters here. 

Take a deep dive into the whole food grocery staples and lust-worthy leftovers that keep Candace on top of her game with our 'In My Fridge' series...

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Nature’s Crack: We’re Putting These Candied Kumquats On Everything

Grab nature's most photogenic citrus fruit and whip up this obsession-worthy topping for every occasion this month. These vanilla-infused candied kumquats make a bright, punchy and antioxidant-packed addition to salads, desserts and breakfasts --just the fresh spring vibe we need to pull us out of the winter doldrums.

The brilliant mother/daughter duo behind this recipe, Anya Kassoff and Masha Davydova first launched their stunning blog, Golubka Kitchen as a way to share homemade recipes with each other. We've become big fans over the years because of drool-worthy recipes like these.Their new Simply Vibrant cookbook -- a follow-up to The Vibrant Table -- is full of clean, seasonal dishes we could easily eat every day...

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Fill Your Freezer With This Protein-Rich Greek Yogurt Bark

A Gorgeous snack that's nearly effortless to make and packed with protein and fiber? Sign us up. We're swooning for this genius greek yogurt bark recipe by cookbook author and clean cooking queen, Pamela Salzman.

Here, Pamela uses chia jam (get the recipe) in place of sugary old jam or jelly and protein-packed greek yogurt to whip up a healthy snack or dessert you won't believe is this clean. Keep a stash of this genius greek yogurt bark in the freezer at all times...

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This D+ Cup Top + High Leg Bottom is EVERYTHING #sunsets...

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One-Pan Perfection: Warm Cauliflower Salad With Spiced Chickpeas

Minimal effort, maximum health benefits - the hallmarks of our ideal weeknight meal. This quickie one-pan recipe from certified wellness expert and bestselling author, Robin Youkilis, is an ideal blend of flavor and gut-friendliness.  Discover why this pro prefers her salads on the steamy side, then grab her warm cauliflower salad recipe from her new coaching guide slash cookbook, Thin from Within: The Go with Your Gut Way to Lose Weight...

From an ayurvedic perspective, raw foods are cold, dry, light and rough. Consuming too much of these foods can strain our digestive fire, particularly for those who have weak digestion. This can lead to poor nutrient absorption, bloating and discomfort. Enter: the warm salad! It's an easy way to make your salad more gut-friendly and is especially enjoyable during colder months. [olists num=1]

Get more of Robyn's tips for intuitive gut health inside this savvy guide.

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Watch This Video: Can Niacin Help With Depression + Anxiety?

this video from our friends at Food Matters, one of our favorite resources for natural healing information, recently peaked our attention on the topic of depression and anxiety.

As far too many of us know, navigating the landscape of prescription options for depression and anxiety can be scary - especially when it comes to side-effects. 

Follow along with this excerpt from the Food Matters documentary and check out what natural health advocate Andrew Saul has to say about the promise of B3 supplementation for depression and anxiety. Vitamin B3, also known as niacin, is known for promoting better sleep, lowering cholesterol and reducing anxiety and depression. The only real side effects of B3? The classic 'niacin flush' which Saul explains more about below. 

What Is Niacin?Niacin is vitamin B-3, one of the water soluble B-complex vitamins.

One of niacin's unique properties is its ability to help you naturally relax and get to sleep more rapidly at night. And it is well established that niacin helps reduce harmful cholesterol levels in the bloodstream. Abram Hoffer, M.D., Ph.D. explains: "Niacin is one of the best substances for elevating high density lipoprotein cholesterol (the "good cholesterol) and so decreases the ratio of the total cholesterol over high density cholesterol."

Another B3 feature is its ability to greatly reduce anxiety and depression. Yet another feature of niacin is that it dilates blood vessels and creates a sensation of warmth, called a "niacin flush." This is often accompanied with a blushing of the skin. It is this "flush" or sensation of heat that indicates a temporary saturation of niacin, and that is our topic here.

What Is The Niacin Flush?
When you flush, you can literally see and feel that you've taken enough B3. The idea is to initially take just enough niacin to have a slight flush. This means a pinkness about the cheeks, ears, neck, forearms and perhaps elsewhere. A slight niacin flush should end in about ten minutes or so. If you take too much niacin, the flush may be more pronounced and longer lasting. If you flush beet red for half an hour and feel weird, well, you took too much. And large doses of niacin on an empty stomach is certain to cause profound flushing.

Dr. Hoffer writes: "With larger initial doses, the flush is more pronounced and lasts longer," says Dr. Hoffer. "But with each additional dose, the intensity of the flush decreases and in most patients becomes a minor nuisance rather than an irritant. Niacin should always be taken immediately after finishing ones meal."

I have found that the best way for me to accurately control the flushing sensation is to start with very small amounts of niacin and gradually increase until the first flush is noticed. One method is to start with a mere 25 milligrams (25 mg) three times a day, say with each meal. The next day, try 50 mg at breakfast, 25 mg at lunch and 25 mg at supper. The following day, one might try 50 mg at breakfast, 50 mg at lunch, and 25 mg at supper. And, the next day, 50 mg at each of the three meals. The next day, 75 mg, 50 mg and 50 mg. Then, 75. 75 and 50, and so on. In this way you have increased at the easy rate of only 25 mg per day. One would continue to increase the dosage by 25 mg per day until the flush occurs.

It is difficult to predict a saturation level for niacin because each person is different. As a general rule, the more you hold, the more you need. If you flush early, you don't need much niacin. If flushing doesn't happen until a high level, then your body is obviously using the higher amount of the vitamin.
How To Take Niacin Safely
Now that you've had your first flush, what next? Since a flush indicates saturation of niacin, it is desirable to continue to repeat the flushing, just very slightly, to continue the saturation. This could be done three or more times a day. To get to sleep sooner at night, niacin can be taken to saturation at bedtime, too. You might be asleep before you even notice the flush.

An important point here is that niacin is a vitamin, not a drug. It is not habit forming. Niacin does not require a prescription because it is that safe. It is a nutrient that everyone needs each day. Different people in different circumstances require different amounts of niacin.

Says Dr. Hoffer: "A person's "upper limit is that amount which causes nausea, and, if not reduced, vomiting. The dose should never be allowed to remain at this upper limit. The usual dose range is 3,000 to 9,000 milligrams daily divided into three doses, but occasionally some patients may need more. The toxic dose for dogs is about 5,000 milligrams per 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) body weight. We do not know the toxic dose for humans since niacin has never killed anyone."

Inevitable physician skepticism and questions about B3's proven safety and effectiveness are best answered in Orthomolecular Psychiatry, edited by David Hawkins, M.D. and Linus Pauling, Ph.D. This nearly 700 page textbook is the standard reference for details on niacin therapy. Persons with a history of heavy alcohol use, liver disorders, diabetes, or pregnancy will especially want to have their physician monitor their use of niacin in quantity. Monitoring long-term use of niacin is a good idea for anyone. It consists of having your doctor check your liver function with a simple blood test.

Plain and simple B3 may be purchased in tablets at any pharmacy or health food store. Tablets typically are available in 50 mg, 100 mg, or 250 mg dosages. The tablets are usually scored down the middle so you can break them in half easily. You can break the halves in half, too, to get the exact amount you want.

If a niacin tablet is taken on an empty stomach, a flush will occur (if it is going to occur at all) within about 20 minutes. If niacin is taken right after a meal, a flush may be delayed. In fact, the flush may occur long enough afterwards that you forgot that you took the niacin! Don't let the flush surprise you. Remember that niacin does that, and you can monitor it easily.

If you want a flush right away, you can powder the niacin tablet. This is easily done by crushing it between two spoons. Powdered niacin on an empty stomach can result in a flush within minutes. Sustained release niacin is often advertised as not causing a flush at all. This claim may not be completely true; sometimes the flush is just postponed. It would probably be difficult to determine your saturation level with a sustained- or time-released product. They are also more costly.

There is nothing wrong with niacinAMIDE, by the way. That form of vitamin B-3 is frequently found in multiple vitamins and B-complex preparations. Niacinamide does not cause a flush at all. In my opinion, it is less effective in inducing relaxation and calming effects. Niacinamide also does not significantly lower serum cholesterol. This is an important distinction to make when purchasing.

It is a good idea to take all the other B-complex vitamins in a separate supplement in addition to the niacin. The B-vitamins, like professional baseball players, work best as a team. Still, the body seems to need proportionally more niacin than the other B vitamins. Even the U.S. Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) for niacin is much more than for any other B-vitamin. Many physicians consider the current RDA for niacin of only 20 mg to be way too low for optimum health. While the government continues to discuss this, it is possible to decide for yourself based on the success of doctors that use niacin for their patients every day.

To Flush or Not To Flush?

”We have learned a great deal from your site and your books and also enjoy them. We have also incorporated some of your suggestions in our lifestyle. My question for you is an attempt to clarify what seems to be a difference of opinion about the niacin flush between you and Dr. Hoffer. He had written that the niacin flush is normal with many people and will diminish or go away as the patient continues to use niacin at his recommended level of 3,000 milligrams per day. You, however, state that the flush is an indication of no niacin deficiency. Who is correct or am I misinterpreting one of you?”

Andrew Saul’s response: "Generally speaking, people in fairly good health usually choose to increase their doses gradually in order to minimize flushing. If they do increase the dose slowly, what I describe is pretty accurate. For instance, I've been taking niacin for years, in daily but varying doses depending on my stress level or dietary intake. I know by the flush when I've had enough for the moment. It is like turning off the hot water when the tub is full enough for a nice bath. Dr Hoffer is highly experienced with serious psychiatric cases. Such patients have a niacin dependency, not a mere deficiency. Let’s let him speak for himself..."

Abram Hoffer, MD, writes: “We are both correct. Most people flush at the beginning and gradually get adapted to it unless they stop for a few days and then resume it. A few cannot ever get used to it, and they take the no-flush preparations. But the intensity of the flush is very variable. Generally people who need it the most flush the least. That includes arthritics, schizophrenics, and elderly people with cardiovascular problems. Some schizophrenics do not flush until they get well and then they do. But the presence of the flush or its intensity can not be uniquely used measure the need as there are too many variables such as food in the stomach, whether the drink with it is hot or cold, the kind of food, other medication.

The Chalkboard Mag and its materials are not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. 
All material on The Chalkboard Mag is provided for educational purposes only. Always seek the advice of your physician or another qualified healthcare provider for any questions you have regarding a medical condition, and before undertaking any diet, exercise or other health related program. 

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