Integrative Health Blog

What Supplements Should I Take While Traveling?

Posted by on Mon, Dec 19, 2016

That is a great question!

In my experience, the last thing people want to do is lug a big bag of supplements on holiday or vacation. (See my previous post, Am I Taking Too Many Supplements?) And there is some evidence that we respond better to supplements if we pulse them, in other words, take supplements, then stop for a while, then resume taking them. If this is true then why not take a personal holiday combined with a supplement holiday?

On a more serious note, there are some important supplements that I would recommend if you are traveling to a less developed area of the world. In these places you will be undoubtedly exposed to various "bugs" that, while harmless to indigenous people, may make you sick. I find the best preventative measures include avoiding organ meats, raw shellfish, undercooked foods and of course local water sources. But, even if you are just going to grandma's for a few days, a good preventive measure is to supplement your gut and help you balance the good flora with the stress of traveling and unfamiliar food.

Supplements to Take When Traveling:

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Tags: digestive health, supplements, wellness coach

What to Look For in a Wellness Coach

Posted by on Tue, Dec 13, 2016

If we search the internet and look for a wellness coach, there are a plethora of advertisements for wellness coaches, life coaches and health coaches. To some extent the terms are used interchangeably- but there are indeed differences.

Health coaches work with what the name implies: health and fitness.

Life coaches work mainly with career, finances and relationships, but in some instances are wellness coaches that have “rebranded” themselves.

Wellness coaches  are trained to work with clients on any aspect of their lives that they want to address. While life coaches and health coaches will generally tell you what to do, wellness coaches try to help you find what is inside you to help you reach your goals.

So it sounds a bit confusing, and indeed it is. The truth is that there is very little regulation in the field of coaching, and anyone can call himself a coach. So, where to begin?

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Tags: wellness coach

What is a Wellness Coach?

Posted by on Tue, Nov 22, 2016

First off, let me say that wellness coach and health coach are not necessarily interchangeable. One can be well and in less than optimal health and one can be healthy and yet unwell. Health can certainly be part of wellness but there can also be many other areas that may need attention to be truly “well”.

Wellness is a relative term where a person maximizes their potential in all aspects of their lives. This maximization comes from self assessment and self awareness of areas that are opportunities for learning and growth. Often times we pursue a particular goal with abandon and tend to neglect other aspects of our lives in the process. Wellness coaching can help maintain a more balanced approach.

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Tags: wellness coach

Ask the Wellness Coach: How Do I Reduce the Stress in My Life?

Posted by on Thu, Oct 06, 2016

This is a popular question and can be approached from many directions.  I believe the approach must be developed by you and your practitioner as a collaborative effort. Too often, treatment  is based on a pathological  or psychological diagnosis. While stress can come from many areas, my style of wellness coaching does not look at the cause of the stress as much as it does the imbalance left in the wake of a stressful event.

I believe that stress is unavoidable.  You are exposed daily to Eustress (positive stress that makes us want to continue doing something) and Distress (things that cause us pain or suffering and make us want to stop doing things). Both have marked and measurable physiological and psychological effects.

Eustress is in short supply in most people’s lives.

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Tags: stress, wellness coach, emotional wellbeing

Ask the Wellness Coach: How Do I Live a More Balanced Life?

Posted by on Tue, Sep 27, 2016

This is a loaded question as balance is in the eye of the beholder. The approach to health and wellness coaching that I practice and indeed advocate is predicated on each individual finding a balance that works for them.

Oftentimes that balance is achieved through the development of an area in our lives that has been diminished or neglected due to:

  1. Pursuit of development in other areas of life (e.g., career, family, finances, relationships) with such vigor and dedication that we tend to lose sight of other things that need our attention.
  2. Events beyond our ability to cope. Life gives us experiences that are beyond our experience (e.g., death of a loved one, illness, divorce, job loss) and in our scrambling to adapt these changes, we neglect ourselves and our own needs. If our needs are not met then we feel out of balance.
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Tags: wellness coach, emotional wellbeing

Ask the Wellness Coach: Am I Taking Too Many Supplements?

Posted by on Wed, Sep 07, 2016

The  Health and Wellness Coaches hears this question often:

Am I taking too many supplements?

Many clients come in and ask about reviewing their supplements. As health coaches we follow advice from the integrative physicians and are obviously a proponent of supplementation. There are, however, reasons as to why sometimes over supplementation can be counterproductive.

Supplements can be expensive

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Tags: supplements, health coach, wellness coach