Healthy Highlights July 2024
I don't know about you, but I am so ready to lean into the cooler and cozier days just around the corner. I'm feeling a renewed sense of motivation to eat well and keep my body moving. It must be from summer vacations, getting out of my routine and eating out a bit more than usual that's igniting this feeling, but I am here for it!
I have a summer special for those on my email list—I want you to walk into the next few months feeling your absolute best. Let's dig deep and uncover what's behind those pesky symptoms. If you want in, sign up for my newsletter at the bottom of this page. Trust me, you don't want to miss out!
Here are my healthy highlights to wrap up the month of JULY!
Healthy Highlights
Healthy Habit
Intentional rest breaks are so essential for maintaining hormone health. If we let ourselves get too wrapped up in our to-do's or even fun things we want to do, we can get burnt out! Our bodies and minds need breaks, my favorite way to keep myself feeling balanced is by scheduling intentional rest into my day. I particularly focus on brain breaks like walks without headphones, or body breaks where I intentionally set time aside to lounge and read a book. Get in tune with your body and mind and you'll begin to notice what it is you need to counterbalance the energy you've carried throughout the day! Think of every time you take intentional rest as a vote for better hormone health and a happier body overall.
Recipe
Summer Squash Soup! A new recipe I tried out because I was craving soup, but wanted something a touch lighter for summer! It's simple to make with an immersion blender and soup pot. All you need to do is dice the vegetables, boil the potatoes, drain the water, add the other vegetables in with the broth and blend it all up. Lastly, add spices, ghee and cashew milk as you'd like for creaminess. Top with bacon or crumbled sausage and fresh herbs! A light and fresh meal, perfect for a summer evening.
Functional Test
The Comprehensive Thyroid Panel. This is particularly important to run if you have (ever) had children, or plan to in the future. Babies are expensive to your body, using up mineral stores and completely relying on maternal thyroid production for brain development in the first trimester. You can see, that if heading into a pregnancy you aren't (or weren't) at optimal thyroid function and your mineral stores are (or were) depleted, you will likely come out with less than you went in with. And after pregnancy, dealing with mineral depletion and low thyroid function while handling a new baby is a recipe for metabolic disaster! Pregnancy is actually a common trigger for hypothyroidism—which you would definitely want to resolve. If not holistically, with medication from your doctor.
Now, let's talk about why you'd want to run this test over the standard blood panel for assessing thyroid function, comprising only of TSH.
1. Your TSH can look "normal" while you are having dysfunction producing or converting thyroid hormone. This is invaluable information because it gives you insight into where the dysfunction is happening in the first place, and a potential path to resolve it!
2. The comprehensive thyroid panel looks into two types of antibodies which can signal autoimmunity. If there are antibodies present, exceeding the optimal range, this gives you a reasonable amount of work to do—and I would like to note that most presentations of hypothyroidism are autoimmune in nature!
3. The final reason why you'd want to run this panel, is that it is nearly impossible to get your doctor to run this panel through insurance. It's an unfortunate reality that people who have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism or have a family history often can't get this test approved by their doctors, but that doesn't mean you should wait to get answers if you have concerns about your metabolic health! Since we’re talking about doctors, please remember I am a functional health coach and not a doctor by any means. I do not diagnose or treat conditions. I also do not take insurance, which is one of the reasons this test is available!
Book your functional test here! Be sure to join my email list if you want in on exclusive offers.
Self Care
15% off Clearstem Skincare. A skincare favorite is back in stock for the end of summer! SunnySideKick—a brush on mineral sunscreen, is the perfect way to reapply sunscreen after your makeup is done! It's SPF 30, dermatologist tested, and coming from a CLEAN skincare brand so your hormones will be happier for it, too! I have yet to try Clearstem's brand new Skinspray All Day facial mist, but it looks dreamy and they have a cute duo set with a gorgeous lilac fanny pack that's caught my eye. Enter my code ABBYHAAS at checkout for 15% off your order!
Note: If a sale is running, you can still use my code to get the higher discount!
Podcast
This podcast highlights the importance of cellular health and simple practices to keep your cells happy! Hint: a lot of it has to do with the sun! Once you have the basics down and you are ready for a more in depth cellular protocol, I recommend utilizing BodyBio PC Oil and the CellCore Foundational Protocol. Just please remember that the basics, those silly little daily habits like getting sun when you wake up and turning the lights off after sunset, are often the most powerful tools you can utilize for your cellular health. Start there before jumping onto supplements, friends! Supplements are just that, supplemental to an already balanced lifestyle (:
Your Cellular Health = Your Overall Health The Top 2 Tools to Build Cellular Health w/ Justine Stenger
Book
Worthy by Jamie Kern Lima. I think anyone who has struggled with their health may have a little self worth work to do. After all, a lot of the reason our health declines may be due to people pleasing behavior, pushing through obligations when our bodies are screaming at us to stop, and even eating foods that give us symptoms because other people are doing it. This is an essential read for anyone on a healing journey, it's helped me distinguish the differences between self confidence and self worth and deepen my “why” for healing and staying HEALTHY!
“Our bodies are our gardens—our wills are our gardeners.”
I hope you've found something useful in this newsletter, friend! Please let me know if you try anything I've mentioned here. I respond to all of my DMs on Instagram @alchemybyabby.
To an abundance of health and happiness,
Abby
