The KB Wellness Blog

Ozempic, a semaglutide medication originally developed for the treatment of Type 2 Diabetes, is all the rage for weight loss these days. While it works incredibly well for both, it may come at a cost. I discuss the popular drug’s pros and cons in a previous blog that you can read here → Ozempic Pros and Cons. And in today’s blog, we’re going to discuss some natural alternatives and their clinical evidence for you to discuss with your medical healthcare provider. 

How Do Semaglutides Work?

These medications act on GLP-1 receptors and have several main mechanisms of action. It’s important to understand how they work when discussing alternatives so you can understand how and why these alternatives may work for the goals you want to accomplish. 

1. Semaglutides stimulate the release of insulin from the pancreas. This can help improve glucose regulation and control, which is helpful both for blood sugar management and for weight loss. Biomarkers...

Ozempic is an incredibly popular (and controversial!) drug at the moment. Ozempic is a semiglutide medication that acts on GLP-1 receptors and is an FDA-approved treatment for Type 2 Diabetes. It works by stimulating the release of insulin from the pancreas, reducing the release of glucose from the liver, suppressing appetite, and slowing the rate of food absorption from the stomach. Together all of these actions can reverse Type 2 diabetes and lead to rapid weight loss as well. 

Once practitioners and patients caught on to the weight loss miracle Ozempic provides, usage skyrocketed. On June 4th, of 2021, the FDA announced the approval for Ozempic for use as a weight loss medication in adults with a BMI of 30 or above, or 27 or above in the presence of at least one weight-related comorbidity (ex: high blood pressure, diabetes, etc.). Technically, Ozempic has a sister drug, Wegovy, that is the same exact semi-glutide medication, but Ozempic is labeled for use in Type 2 diabetes,...

I was recently asked, “What makes you different?” honestly…a whole lot…so much so that I thought it was obvious if you poke around my website or social media at all! But it must not be, so let’s dive into it so you can see if KB Wellness is right for you…or not!

Our Approach is Holistic and Integrative

What is an Integrative Approach?

The definition of “integrative” is “combining allopathic and complementary therapies” (Oxford Dictionary). This means we understand that no one tool can fix everything for everyone. This also means tools do not need to be mutually exclusive. You may be able to fix that elbow pain with a complementary treatment like acupuncture and red light therapy, or you may need surgery. But that doesn’t mean you can’t incorporate acupuncture and red light therapy into your surgical healing plan. Or that you need to shun surgery altogether if that turns out to be the best path for you. We...

Almost a decade ago, I made the life-changing decision to go “back to school” to become a health coach. But I didn’t do it for the reasons you might think (especially if you know about my thriving practice today). I decided to become a health coach to fix my own health and the health of my children. 

I Became a Health Coach For ME First

In my early 30’s, I had had enough. Enough of being constantly sick. Enough of going in and out of the ER with mysterious symptoms. Enough of the dozens of Drs I saw telling me they didn’t know how to help me. And enough of watching my children begin to walk the same road I did for the past 20 years. Rashes, fevers, fatigue, eczema, asthma, and on and on. 

That was it for me. I had tried conventional medicine for decades, and after getting absolutely nowhere but worse, I began to search for alternatives. It was that search that led me to the world of integrative and holistic health care, where what you ate and...

Estrogen dominance means that estrogen is more dominant than it’s “balancing” hormone, progesterone. This can mean that progesterone is normal but estrogen is way too high or it can mean estrogen is normal but progesterone is way too low. As you can imagine, treatment for these two versions of estrogen dominance should look very different, as they are in fact very different reasons for estrogen dominance!

Sadly, this is not often the case, most people do not realize that there are different forms of estrogen dominance and they simply take progesterone to “balance” the estrogen. The issue with this is that it will only mask the problem and help from a symptomatic standpoint, but it doesn’t fix the root cause of the problem, which is too much estrogen, and too much estrogen can actually do very damaging things to the body. Let’s unpack what else you need to know about estrogen and what to do about it. 

Estrogen...

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐈𝐒 𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐌𝐅? 

You may have heard the term, and maybe you’ve heard they’re bad, but what are they, and what should you do about them? 

𝐄𝐌𝐅 stands for electromagnetic frequency. This refers to the invisible energy waves given off by power lines, cellphones, microwaves, Wi-Fi routers, computers, and other electronic appliances, as well as natural sources such as the sun. Some devices give off more than others. A CT scan, for example, gives off an awful lot more EMFs than a baby monitor. 

Image: Moon, J. (2020). Clin Exp Pediatr. 2020 Nov; 63(11): 422–428.

Published online 2020 May 26. doi: 10.3345/cep.2019.01494

Are EMFs Harmful? 

The research on EMFs is controversial, but in 2011 the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer), which operates under the WHO (World Health Organization) classified non-ionizing EMFs (such as cell phones and iPads) as group 2B, 𝘢 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘯. 

...

Fasting has been receiving lots of attention in the media these days. US News and World Report lists “intermittent fasting” as one of the top 10 most popular diets of 2020, and chances are, you likely know of at least one person singing its praises. But before you write off fasting as just the latest fad diet, you should know that its use is nothing new. Even Hippocrates, widely considered to be the “father of modern medicine,” was said to be a proponent of fasting. Fasting has also been in use as a spiritual tool in religions around the world, including the Greek Orthodox Christians, a religion that dominates the regions of Greece studied for their healthy “Mediterranean diet.” 

In recent years, fasting practices have gained popularity as a tool for weight loss and fat-burning and are even thought to have beneficial effects for diabetics and others suffering from chronic inflammatory diseases. So what is fasting, and why might it be...

 

The Vagus Nerve, the longest cranial nerve in the body, literally connects your brain to pretty much everything else in your body. If that sounds important to you, that's because it is. (Kenny & Bordoni, 2021)  

  

What is the Vagus Nerve, and Why Do We Care?

So what is this magical nerve? It originates in the brain stem and spreads throughout the entire body. “Vagus” means “wanderer'' in Latin because this nerve literally wanders through the entire body controlling the parasympathetic function of nearly every major internal organ, including the heart, lungs, and digestive tract. 

 The strength of the vagus nerve is measured by something called vagal tone, which is typically measured by HRV (heart rate variability). You can think of the vagus nerve as though it's a muscle that needs to be exercised regularly to keep up its “tone”. The better the vagal tone, the better your body can function as a harmonious...

70% of Americans take at least one prescription medication

*according to the National Institute on Aging and the Mayo Clinic

 First off - this is not a medication-shaming blog. I see that far too often in the “holistic health” world, and I don't think it's right. I think that sometimes you need meds. And that’s ok. (And...sometimes you don’t need them...and they’re handed to you to mask your symptoms instead of getting to the root cause...but that’s a blog for another day!).

𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗦 𝗜𝗦 𝗔𝗟𝗟 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗘𝗗𝗨𝗖𝗔𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡 𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗔𝗪𝗔𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗦𝗦.

𝙒𝙝𝙮? Because I’ve had countless clients come to me on meds, and when I ask if they are aware of the nutrient depletion risks and ask if they’ve been tested for depletions, given education on how to avoid them, etc...the answer. IS. ALWAYS. NO. ‍

Seriously. Not one single person has gone, “Oh yes. My prescribing provider made me aware that metformin can deplete my B12 and lead to...

 Is It Worth The Hype? 

 Buzzwords like superfoods, antioxidants, and the ever-popular new kid on the block, the Reishi mushroom, are thrown in the face of every consumer looking to uplevel their health these days. The cacophony of noise in marketing can make it incredibly hard to discern what’s truly helpful for your health and what’s just hype. 

One product that has lived up to the hype for me is Organifi, but every product they make might not be right for everyone! So I’m going to give you an honest product review, complete with the benefits and full breakdown of some of Organifi’s top products. This way, you can find the products that are right for you as a unique individual with unique health needs! 

I feel confident drinking and recommending Organifi because their company is dedicated to testing for glyphosate, is always organic, and also always gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, goitrogen-free, vegan, and keto...