Vitamin ‘S’ The Most Important Vitamin of All Time!!!!!!

Vitamin S is the most important vitamin and nutrient for the body, mind and soul, and yet many people do not get enough of it.

I thought with February being heart month, this would be a good time to discuss this important nutrient.

In my years of coaching I have found that so many people suffer from a deficiency of this vitamin.

What is this key nutrient?

It is Self-Love! Self-Love is the most important nutrient for us and it is the one we struggle with the most.

Since February is all about the heart, why don’t we all commit to being our own Valentine? To working at loving ourselves more and judging less?

Just think we could save so much precious time and energy doing things we en-JOY and feeling good instead of wasting our precious time by using it up in self criticism and judgement. You all know what I am talking about here. 🙂

I have  written before on self-love so to keep this simple, here is the link:

Maggie’s Blog Post on Self-Love & Tips to Help 

I hope you have found this helpful and that you work at getting in your Vitamin S everyday! 🙂

sign up for maggie’s newsletter for inspiration & health tips

Link to Maggie’s main blog for inspiration

Link to maggie’s business coaching blog

Maggie Holbik.com is  a Certified Life Coach, Business Coach, and Board Certified Nutritionist who believes in Love, Self-Love, Loving Others and just Love, Love, Love! 🙂 For more blog posts on life’s inspiration visit Maggie’s other Blog at http://www.MaggieHolbikBlog.com … thanks for stopping by~

Name(required)

Email(required)

If you need help in loving yourself more, contact Maggie to see if Life Coaching might be something of benefit for you. Maggie offers FREE 15 minute discovery chats to discuss the possibilites of getting you to the place where you love your life and it loves you back! 🙂(required)

Submit

Δ

Healing Though Your Story

“If you own the story you get to write the ending.”
Brene Brown

When it comes to our health, a big key, to personal healthy empowerment is in realizing
1) there is always HOPE and
2) WE are a key proponent in our own health care

As Brene Brown’s quote states ‘you get to write the ending’. As a Life Coach and Nutritionist, I hear often people telling a story about their health that would be better left untold, if truth be told. 🙂 It is easy when in pain or suffering, to lose hope and to tell a story that stems from the pain and hopelessness.

If you are suffering, I encourage you to start sharing a new story and envisioning your own happy ending. Some useful phrases might be:

. Everyday my body is getting stronger
. Everyday new research is happening and helping with healing
. In the past I was very sick, but now I am getting better and stronger everyday!
. I believe in miracles and know that I am deserving of one
. I love my body and am showing my body through supporting it to support me!
. My body is always working for my highest good even though I don’t understand it all

These are just a few ideas to add to you daily ‘story’. I would love to hear the ones that you come up with.

MaggieHolbik.com is a Certified Life Coach and Board Certified Nutritionist who focuses on helping people to have more JOY in their lives. She also works with the physical body and brain to assist in determining toxic heavy metal loads and safe removal as well as liver health which can be an underlying culprit in many health areas such as weight gain, blood pressure issues, digestive health, brain fog, and more.

Seeing My New Medical Specialist

Today I saw my new medical specialist for the first and last time. 🙂 For many years, once a year, I have been seen by a specialist for the monitoring of my hemochromatosis gene that I carry. A couple of years ago my specialist retired and I was referred to a new one who I saw today for the first time.

It was such a Joy to meet this new doctor. I enjoyed my old one but this one was just one of those people who you love the minute you meet them. I am sure it helped that she was wearing the same shoes that I have, just in a different color. 🙂

I also enjoyed this doc because we chatted about food and how it affects the body and how changes can make a difference. We discussed which blood tests are markers for inflammation. We discussed the latest research regarding genes. We discussed my blood work, ultrasound and a prior MRI. She showed me my labs, my charts, and answered any question I had. She treated me like an equal partner in my health care and I felt excited to be a willing participant. I also felt happy and proud that the changes I have made have made a difference. In fact, I am doing so well, I never have to see her again, which is kind of sad, because I loved her 🙂

Anyhow, why am I sharing this story? I am sharing this story to offer hope and encouragement because this is what we talked about when I was there. For example fatty liver is an epidemic and yet it can be totally reversed. Yes it takes time and changes need to be made, but I want everyone to know that reversal is possible. This doctor shared that with me and it confirmed my own belief that it was possible. With proper diet, lifestyle changes and recommendations from your health care provider, it is possible to make great strides in improving this situation and others.

I couldn’t wait to get home to write this so that it might be a blog post of hope and encouragement for everyone. So many people reach out to me as my clients or just through messaging asking me about fatty liver, and other issues, and ask is there hope? So I want everyone to know that there is always hope and there are always things we can do to improve our health. I myself, am seeing this happen for me!

Alright I am going to call this post a wrap but I would like to leave you with a couple of thoughts. There is always something that WE can do to improve our own health, that WE are active participants in our own health care, and that it is okay to ask about your results, labs, etc. so that you can better understand what it all means and in turn you can become a better participant in your own health care.

MaggieHolbik.com is a Certified Life Coach and Board Certified Natural Nutrition Clinical Practitioner who is like everyone else, learning as she goes, trying to make positive changes, and hoping she can positively impact others to feel empowerment and to help them make positive changes in their own wellness of body, mind, and spirit.

Name(required)

Email(required)

Comment(required)

Contact Maggie to inquire about nutritional or life coaching or to schedule a complimentary 15 minute discovery chat with Maggie.

Submit

Δ

 

Cravings? Who would have thought!!!

The more I learn about bananas, the more I am blown away!

Anthony Williams, the Medical Medium, shares a lot about bananas.  If you are like me you will also be impressed with bananas after reading this!

Here is an excerpt, but do yourself a favor and  read the entire post of his (link at bottom of this article):

“Bananas are also an excellent “brain food” great for heavy thinkers and are known to help build strong muscles as well as strengthen the nervous system.

Bananas contain powerful anti-fungal and antibiotic compounds as well as protease inhibitors which can help stop viruses in their tracts. This makes them highly beneficial for chronic illnesses such as shingles, epstein barr, parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, and lupus. Bananas are also particularly good for lowering blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome, neurological disorders, diarrhea, atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, coronary artery disease, chron’s disease, stroke, and kidney, colon, and lung cancers.

Bananas contain high levels of fructooligosaccharides (FOS) which along with insulin helps to promote nutrient absorption and assimilation. Bananas support the natural acidophilus bacteria in the bowel which helps promote a healthy and functional digestive tract as well as keep the immune system healthy and strong. Bananas can prevent ulcers by strengthening the surface cells of the stomach lining which helps to create a thicker barrier against digestive acid and pepsin-the two main causes of ulcers. Bananas are also an excellent food for athletes as they can help replenish energy and revitalize the body instantly.”

*******

Personally, I am an extremely heavy thinker so the part about it being good for heavy thinkers really caught my eye. One of the big things I have noticed both for myself and my clients, is that when we eat more bananas and other fruits of any kind, we no longer crave sweet things. This is due to the fact that our body and brain get the natural sugars that they need to function and that helps to alleviate cravings. Cravings come about for a reason!

I do hope you incorporate more bananas into your daily diet. It’s especially beneficial for the children and the elderly as they are both easy to eat and easy to assimilate.

Here is the link to the full banana article. Enjoy!

http://www.medicalmedium.com/blog/bananas

Maggie Holbik.com is a Certified Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Life Coach who resides in Ontario, Canada. She is enjoying her own personal journey of incorporating more nutrient rich and life giving foods into her own daily routine and has seen remarkable success both in tremendously improved health and in natural weight loss as her body is balancing itself and regaining homeostasis.

Name(required)

Email(required)

Comment(required)

Contact Maggie for a complimentary discovery chat via phone, Zoom or Skype to see if Life or Nutritional Coaching might be something you would like to learn more about. Maggie is always open to chatting and welcomes any questions you might have. We are all on this journey together! 🙂

Submit

Δ

 

 

 

Inflammation & Depression

Depression is a hot topic in the world today and so is inflammation. If you suffer from either of these or both, you are not alone.

Although there are many contributing underlying factors that contribute to depression, science now confirms that inflammation can be correlated to depression.

A study published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry supports the premise that increased inflammation may play a role in depression. The large study examined data from 14,275 people who were interviewed between 2007 and 2012 using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to screen for depression and had blood samples drawn. They found that people who had depression had 46% higher levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of inflammatory disease, in their blood samples. The study was only able to establish an association between depression and inflammation but not causation, though it confirms the association of depression with high levels of inflammation as measured through CRP.

Finding ways to reduce inflammation in the body is helpful in a myriad of ways and in this case beneficial specifically for depression.

Here are some simple ways to become pro-active in reducing inflammation in general.

1. Choose anti-inflammatory foods and avoid foods that trigger inflammation. Here is a good resource by Dr. Axe https://draxe.com/anti-inflammatory-foods/
2. Exercise is a an excellent way to help with inflammation. Exercise keeps muscles active, moves the lymphatic system and improves circulation as well. It’s an overall win-win when it comes to maintaining your health. A study found that just 20 minutes of exercise a day reduced inflammation. Exercise increases your your serotonin level (that’s the “feel good” neurotransmitter), which helps decrease negative emotions and increase positive ones also. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/315255.php
3. Try taking up yoga and/or meditation. Both of these practices have numerous benefits and help with inflammation and are especially beneficial to help with anxiety and depression. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/yoga-could-slow-the-harmful-effects-of-stress-and-inflammation-2017101912588

There are numerous things one can do to combat inflammatory responses in the body including supplementation which I will discuss in specifics in a future blog post.

Finding out the underlying cause or pathogen that is contributing to the inflammation is most beneficial also, but in the theme of keeping things simple for this blog post, a recap is to work on your diet, incorporate exercise into your daily life, and take up a new practice of yoga, meditation or even walking in nature. All of these things will help with inflammation that may contribute to depression and a host of other conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and more.

MaggieHolbik.com is a Certified Life Coach and a Board Certified Holistic Nutritionist who resides in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Maggie offers complimentary 15 minute discovery chats via phone, Skype, or Zoom to see if Life or Holistic Nutrition coaching might be a fit for you.

Name(required)

Email(required)

Comment(required)

Contact Maggie to schedule your 15 minute discovery chat or to inquire about her services. Maggie helps people with wellness of body, mind and spirit.

Submit

Δ

Transformation is One Step at a Time

Today I want to talk a little bit in regard to our health and implementing new habits. One of the biggest mistakes I often see people making, is not being gentle enough on themselves!!!

Making change is a process. Just like a caterpillar turns into a butterfly one day, healthy changes take time and are based on the whole experience being a journey.  Whether you are adding in more healthy foods, more exercise to your life, or working on changing thought patterns and negative beliefs, keep in mind that when you feel overwhelmed, or that you are struggling, this is just a transitional phase. Just like that butterfly working and growing to get out of that cocoon!

All of the steps and changes are a process that require compassion for your body and for your mental health.  The kinder you can be to yourself, the gentler the transition.

Change often triggers emotions and can bring up emotional ‘stuff’, especially when detoxing happens by adding in more nutrients and removing toxins from the body and mental body. Things can get stirred up both physically and emotionally. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing and it won’t last forever, although it sometimes feels like that. The more challenging it feels, the more you need to be compassionate and empathetic with these changes.

As I have written about frequently in the past, when making changes, it’s always best to focus on where you are heading and what the future will look like. See yourself in that new found healthy and free to be you place just like the butterfly that becomes free to fly and be who they are.

Keep your focus and sights on your healthy future, feel the new feeling as though it were already here, be gentle on yourself always, and be open to the miraculous changes that take place as you become your own butterfly!

Maggie Holbik.com is a butterfly who resides in Ontario, Canada and in the month of June, which is coming up soon, she loves to watch the butterflies as they dance together amidst the lilac bushes.

Maggie coaches individuals to help them make life changes that involve, more peace of mind, more Joy, more nutrition for body and soul, more freedom, and more personal empowerment to be the best version of butterflies that they can be!

Name(required)

Email(required)

Comment(required)

Contact Maggie to schedule a no-charge 15 minute personal discovery call to see if you are ready to make the changes necessary to have more personal empowerment, health, and Joy in your life. There are no silly inquiries and Maggie is always open to listening with an open heart and a Joyful soul that is ready to help you!

Submit

Δ

 

Vitamin B1

I will be exploring the B Vitamins in detail in some up coming blog posts but today we will start with Vitamin B1, also known as Thiamine.

Vitamin B1 or Thiamine, is a water soluble vitamin,  that helps the body break down and release energy from carbohydrates, proteins and fat in our food and also helps keep our nervous system healthy, which is really important especially when it comes to stress and anxiety. Thiamine is considered a co-enzyme that is used by the body to metabolize food for energy and to maintain proper heart and nerve function. It is especially important for supporting energy levels and a healthy metabolism

A Thiamine deficiency although not common, can occur in cases of excessive alcohol consumption, gastric bypass surgery, Chron’s disease, anorexia, or from a poor diet lacking in nutrients.

Symptoms of deficiency are: muscle, wasting, weight loss, cardiovascular problems, confusion, irritability, poor coordination, lethargy, fatigue,  muscle weakness, and even psychosis.

Some food sources include pork, poultry,  whole grain breads and cereals, soybeans, soy products, dried beans,  green peas, lentils, squash, wheat germ, oatmeal, nuts, rice, yeast, asparagus, potatoes, mushrooms, and sunflower seeds.

One of the best ways to ensure the avoidance of any deficiency is to eat a well balanced dieting consisting of foods packed with both macro and  micro-nutrients and to supplement for added protection.

Maggie Holbik.com is a Board Certified Nutritionist who resides in Canada. Maggie helps people on the path to wellness and vibrancy of body, mind and spirit.

Name(required)

Email(required)

Comment(required)

Contact Maggie to set up a 15 minute no-charge discovery conversation about your personal health journey and how you might improve upon it. Maggie offers coaching on both nutrition and wellness of body, mind and spirit.

Submit

Δ

 

Pathways to Health

As a person who has been studying health and wellness for most of my adult life and having attained the title of Board Certified Holistic Nutritionist, one of the things that really fires me up and excites me, is that there are indeed many pathways to health.

Oftentimes people feel overwhelmed when they think of making health and lifestyle changes. However, realizing that there are many pathways means that there are truly many things that can make a difference and even small things! This truly is exciting.  At least to me 🙂

As a Life Coach of many years I have come to realize that everyone, including myself is and has been at different stages in our lives when it comes to health and wellness and what we do to improve that area.  Sometimes we are more pro-active then others and sometimes not so much. The good news is that at anytime we can add in more good and it WILL make a difference. All steps start with the first.

For example, I am currently working with someone to help them improve their daily diet in an effort to add in more nourishment. We are working on adding in two servings of fruit per day. Now some of you may eat lots of fruit and others, like my client, not so much. So for her two servings of fruit is going to be a big catalyst in her wellness protocol. It will also be a launching pad to more good things. A new pathway perhaps! 🙂

Just like every body is different and every health challenge is different  so are the roads to wellness. I encourage everyone to just start on the path. Jump on the road to adding more nourishment and vibrancy into your life. Look for ways to add in more…. more goodness, more nutrients, more water, more joy, more walks, more nature, more love, more fruits, more peace…. just MORE! And before you know it you will have created a new pathway to better Health! 🙂

MaggieHolbik.com is a Life Coach and Nutritionist who resides in Northwestern Ontario Canada and did yoga outside in her back yard today for the first time! 🙂  First time outside, that is. See she’s adding in more… more yoga, peace, sunlight, listening to the birds…. What will you add more of?

 

Name(required)

Email(required)

Comment(required)

Contact Maggie for a free 15 minute discovery conversation to explore healing options for you and how you can add 'more' into your life!

Submit

Δ

Are you Withering Away?

I am sure most of us can relate to this. Perhaps you yourself  have cared for a house plant that was struggling or you have seen a withering plant somewhere along the way. Many plants naturally wither and/or close themselves up at night in order to preserve energy, rest, or to protect themselves from predators.  Other times we see plants withering because they lack water or nutrients or even sunlight.  On houseplants you might see spider mites, bugs or other parasites.

When the plant is in this state it becomes lifeless (lacks energy) and is limp and deprived of nutrients, sunlight etc.

We are very much like plants. When our bodies lack nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, sunlight, water etc., we lose our energy, we become lifeless, pale in color and perhaps we are even a host to parasites, bugs and viruses! We become weak and our immune systems become compromised.

There is hope though! When we start to add in nutrition in the way of nutrients that the body so desperately needs, and we start to remove toxins and invaders, we can start to rebound just like plants do! And if you have ever watched a thirsty herb for example, the simple act of watering can make their leaves bounce back in a very short amount of time.

So the minute we start adding in things that are healing for us, they start to work. Even little bits of nutrition, water, sunlight, positive thoughts, can and do make a huge difference and immediately.

When some people think of making health changes, they get overwhelmed and shut down. But just know, that even small kindnesses given to your body, can and do have a huge impact and can help you feel better.  Even just adding in a few more glasses of water in a day, can make a tremendous difference. Who doesn’t want more energy, brighter skin and a happier life? 🙂

As the saying goes, everything starts with baby steps.  Just start taking the steps! You won’t regret it, that’s for certain.

MaggieHolbik.com is a Certified Life Coach & Certified Nutritionist who helps people to start to shift their lives to improve wellness of body, mind and spirit. She believes in helping others to find Joy and Beauty in their lives and work.

Do you Suffer from E.S.?

Today one of the biggest types of stress, is emotional stress. Emotional stress plays on our body, mind and soul.  Have you ever felt emotionally drained? Or have your spirits been dampened to the point that you give up on something that you loved or enjoyed doing?

It’s easy to ignore emotional stress and we usually wait until it’s too late . We lead busy, hectic lives and we often put the needs of others first before our own self-care. We are the first to hop to the aid of whoever needs our help, children, spouse, neighbor, friend, school fundraiser, pet, etc. etc. etc. The list goes on and on.

When we go on and on and on giving and creating an energetic output without allowing for an energetic input or re-charge, to put it simply our batteries get drained and sometimes to the point that ‘we stop working’. We don’t want to let that happen. The best thing we can do for others IS to take care of ourselves.

Think about what happens when we don’t. Often we will feel grudeful, resentful, and even bitter toward those that we love most.  Yet the answer is so simple. When we are happy, those around us tend to be happier so we are doing a DISSERVICE to ourselves and everyone when we do not take time for self-care and self-love.

If we look at self-care as mandatory instead of optional, it frees us to do more for ourselves and to enjoy it! When we enjoy we are in-Joy! I firmly believe we are here on earth to experience Joy. We are very good at experiencing many other emotions such as lack, fear, disappointment, grief, and more, but when it comes to Joy people often feel they are not deserving of it. This is so far from the truth. The truth is that we are meant to be joyous and loving beings and it starts with loving and delighting in the things that brings us joy.

What are some ways you could work on relieving some of your emotional stress by taking time for yourself?

Here is a short video I did awhile back about finding Joy and following your heart by using your Joy Meter. Perhaps you will be inspired by this. https://www.facebook.com/holbik/videos/10154969367120479/

I would love to hear from you ways that you take time for self-care and self-love. For me as an example, I finally got to that sought after place, where I felt I loved my body and had gratitude for it, but now I SHOW my body that I love it and that has made a huge difference in my self-care. I now enjoy yoga, meditation, walks, trying new recipes and more. All of these acts are acts of self-love and self-care and bring me Joy.

What about you? What is good for you?

Maggie Holbik.com is a Certified Life Coach and Holistic Nutritionist who resides in Northern Ontario, Canada and enjoys time in the city as well as spending time at her seasonal cottage where she refreshes her soul and practices joyous self-care.

Name(required)

Email(required)

Comment(required)

I would like to learn about Life Coaching with Maggie

Submit

Δ