The KB Wellness Blog

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...

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. 

...

 

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...

“I’ve tried everything, and the extra weight I’m carrying just won’t come off”

 I’ve heard this hundreds of times. Some women tell me their healthcare providers don’t believe them. These providers sometimes even shame them by telling these women surely they just haven’t tried hard enough and all they really need to do is just cut calories even lower or work out even longer. 

But oftentimes, these women come to me on a mere 1,000 calories a day, aka starvation level. And you know what? I always believe them. I believe them because I know the truth. 

The truth is:  

You can do all the diet and exercise programs in the world, but if something is out of balance in your body, that weight will not come off. No matter what. What DOES happen when you slash your calories to ridiculously low levels, however, is your thyroid hormone production drops, your hair starts to thin and fall out, your hands...

Anemia is the #1 hematologic disorder in the US, and it influences both morbidity and mortality, making this an important topic. In fact, 5.6% of the US population suffers from anemia and 2 billion people worldwide are affected, with the highest risk category being women of childbearing age (Raymond & Morrow, 2020).

There are various types of anemia:  

1. Macrocytic - this can be either megaloblastic or non megaloblastic and is caused by B12 deficiencies, folate deficiencies, or DNA synthesis disorders. It can also be drug-induced, such as with chemo, birth control, and seizure medications. 

2. Hypochromic Microcytic - this is caused by iron deficiency, disorders of globin synthesis, disorders of porphyrin and heme synthesis, or copper imbalances. 

3. Normochromic normocytic - this may be caused by recent blood loss, overexpansion of plasma volume, hemolytic diseases, hypoplastic bone marrow, endocrine abnormality, chronic disease, renal disease,...

What are castor oil packs?

Castor oil packs involve saturating a cloth with castor oil and placing it over the area intended to treat with the addition of heat to help drive the oil deeper into the skin. Castor oil is a very thick high molecular density vegetable oil that’s been used for centuries as a natural home remedy for a huge variety of ailments because it can work on so many different systems of the body, from the immune system to the lymphatic to the liver and more. Castor oil has the ability to penetrate through all the layers of the skin so it can come into contact with the organs you are trying to target. 

Benefits of castor oil packs

Castor oil packs are one of the most versatile home remedies you can have. Here are some of the different ways castor oil packs have been used: 

 1. Liver health

• Castor oil has been used to help reduce the incidence of fatty liver (or NAFLD, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease), to lower elevated liver enzymes...

I bet you’ve been told your brain fog and fatigue are normal. Instead of telling you what causes brain fog and fatigue and how to fix it, you’re told it’s fine. Maybe you’re a mom, and you’ve been told it’s “mom-brain,” or maybe you're 40 or over, and you’re told it’s “aging.” 

Guess what? It’s not normal.

None of this is normal. You should not have brain fog or fatigue. You should be able to finish your sentence, every single time. You should know where you last put your keys, easily. You should be able to follow your child’s entire line of thought, no matter how all over the place it may be. If not, there is something wrong with your brain. 

 Usually, it’s a sign of inflammation in the brain. But what causes this inflammation?

 7 Common Causes of Brain Fog

Reason #1 for brain fog: Mold. 

50% of buildings in the world are water damaged, and 25% of the...

Far too many people get a complete energy crash in the middle of the day, and this is terrible because this is when we all need to have our best energy! The good news is there are ways to avoid this mid-day crash, and I’m going to share them with you here, but make sure you read all the way to the end because there might be a few surprises in here!  

The blood sugar roller coaster 

One of the biggest keys to avoiding a mid-day slump is going to be what you eat. If you are putting the right types of balanced meals together, you’re going to be able to have sustained energy without any crashes.  

To have balanced blood sugar, you need to make sure your carbohydrate load isn’t too high at any given meal or snack. If you have a meal that’s pure carbs (think a giant bowl of oatmeal with bananas, donuts, or bagels) without any fat or protein to slow that absorption, it’s just going to spike your blood sugar really high, which is then...

We’ve all had days where it feels like we woke up on the wrong side of the bed, and then the whole day goes downhill from there. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

There are a few simple things I do each day to start the day off RIGHT and avoid one of those days where everything seems to go wrong.

 Tips for Starting Your Day Right 

STEP ONE: when you wake up, don’t go straight to your phone.  

Going straight to your phone will elevate your cortisol (the stress hormone) right out of the gate. 

I put my phone in airplane mode when I go to sleep at night, and I don’t turn it back on until I’m ready to deal with my day!  

STEP TWO: of course...coffee.

I like to drink a Keto coffee because it gives me nice steady energy with no crash and lets me stay in fat-burning mode too. Click here for my full recipe! 

If it’s not too cold out, I like to take my coffee outside and get some fresh air and...