Good Fat Life Magazine - August 2020 Issue

GOOD FAT L I F E

Q3 ISSUE AUGUST 2020

INSPIRED HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

THE MICRO FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

YES, AND.

GROW A GUT GARDEN

A NEW NORMAL

Reflection

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2 | Good Fat Life

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“If you are depressed, you are living in the past,

if you are anxious, you are living in the future,

if you are at peace, you are living in the present.”

–Lao Tzu

August 2020 | 3

The World is upside down.

“If you watch how nature deals with adversity, continually renewing itself, you can’t help but learn.”

Bernie Siegel

Welcome to this issue of Good Fat Life. Between the pandemic, social justice, the economy, and let’s not forget the upcoming Presidential election, life is crazy, or as I like to say one big “whack a mole”.

Our theme for this issue is Improvisation, which we laid out in 2019 long before we knew all of this was coming. After many conversations with our readers, we added a dose of reflection and renewal, as these themes kept coming up. We need full toolboxes to help us thrive regardless of our continually changing circumstances.

One of the core principles of Improvisation is the Yes, And. Using this phrase when something unexpected is thrown at you, you are open and present to the moment, and all that is possible. In this issue, we have wonderful stories of how ordinary people like you and me have taken what life has thrown at them with a Yes, And, and created lives they love. The truth is life will always be full of circumstances. It is our choice to build resilience, find healing, and discover that challenging times hold many opportunities for renewal. Together, we’ll explore ways to build these areas of our lives, using the tools of Improvisation, reflection, and renewal.

Be well and make a decision to be your best self regardless of your circumstances. We are here to support you, as we are all in this together.

Much love, Sherri Richards

Publisher sherri@goodfatlife.com

4 | Good Fat Life

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August 2020 | 5

Contents 10 Flipping the Script 12

Money Therapy Building Wealth and Financial Freedom through Debt Management...

Specificially, Your Mortgage

13 Lighten Up 2020 Transform Your Year 14 Yes, And. 16 The Improvisation of Dance 20 Reflection 24 Microcurrent: The Micro Fountain of Youth 26 How to Change our Fashion Habits for the Benefit of All 28 The Reading Room 30 A New Normal 33 Healthy Recipes 34 Grow a Gut Garden 6 | Good Fat Life

August 2020 | 7

GOOD FAT L I F E

Publisher • Sherri Richards Marketing Consultant • Megan Bachand Art Director • Jennifer Knutson Copy Editor • Jennifer Hoelscher

Ongoing Contributor • Dr. S. A. Thiringer, D.O.

Cover Photographer • Linda Michele-Dobel

Contributing Writers • Lori Burns

Audrey Choate Sherri Richards Katie Choate June Wilson Karen Barbee Adkisson Samantha Gardner Bill McCreary Bernadette Quist Andrea Price

Contact Us Sherri Richards

440.289.8321 sherri@goodfatlife.com Visit us on the web at goodfatlife.com

Advertising Inquires sherri@goodfatlife.com 440.289.8321

Find Us

Visit us on the web at goodfatlife.com to view our online digital edition, or subscribe to have Good Fat Life magazine delivered directly to your home.

Good Fat Life

Good Fat Life magazine makes every effort to provide accurate information in advertising, editorial content, and placement; however, we cannot make any claims as to the accuracy of information provided by advertisers or editorial contributors and will accept no responsibility or liability for inaccurate information or placement. No content can be duplicated without the permission of Good Fat Life.

8 | Good Fat Life

I know this name can be confusing. The name Good Fat Life originated from our Good Fat Bars and Good Fat Company.

We found that people who understand how important it is to incorporate good fat into their diet, also care about taking other positive and proactive actions in their lives. Thus we created a lifestyle magazine as a way to connect and inspire people who care about the world they live in, including their health and well being. Our readers want to be educated in a non-biased and evidence-based way by people who are doing amazing proactive things! Living a Good Fat Life represents intentional, focused living, knowing how to make a difference in both our bodies and the world we live in.

Contributing AUTHORS My name is Lori Burns. I am a wife, mother, and student working towards my master’s degree in professional counseling. I live in Franklin, Tennessee, love watching football, the Oregon coast, and French-pressed coffee.

I’m a self-proclaimed homebody. These days, most of my time spent in front of the computer in my sweatpants, trying not to mangle my words, sometimes forgetting to eat. Life is good.

Audrey Choate is an 18-year old and has a flair for creating healthy recipes and inspirational quotes!

Her inspiration to create healthy recipes comes from having Type 1 diabetes since the age of 12.

Along with a love for creating, she is also a yoga teacher at The Space in Brighton, MI. She completed her 200h Yoga teacher training certificate in June. Please follow her instagram page, @audslifestyle, for dairy free, paleo and vegan recipes; inspirational quotes, yoga flows, and daily life updates.

Born and raised in Brighton MI, Katie Choate is a loving wife and a dedicated mother of seven children. Being a mother and a wife is her life’s devotion. Katie is passionate about life, and passionate about entertaining. Among other things Katie owns and operates two businesses. A manufacturing company with her husband, and an event planning company that helps nonprofit organizations raise funds for their organizations. Check out her blog on Instagram. There you can find helpful recipes, and tips on how to pull off the perfect party!

Italian Mamma Kitchen June Wilson is a native of Long Island, New York where she grew up with a love of the sea and all of the creatures that dwell within it. Since departing the Island, she calls Michigan home with her husband and son, their 3 dogs and a 300-gallon reef aquarium. She is a Certified Research Administrator who works with some of the most brilliant physicians in the world. She has a passion for world travel and immerses herself into wherever she is going and whatever she is doing. She is currently on the path to Yoga instructor certification and plans to extend her knowledge via its sister science, Ayurveda.

Karavan Studio owner and professional belly dancer, Karen Barbee Adkisson, has been teaching students in the art of belly dance techniques for more than 30 years.

Her expertise at the national and international level is technique and professional progression. With an analytical background, Karen’s methodical approach to belly dancing integrates movement analysis; breakdown of that movement; and then relating it in a logical fashion to her students. tv.karavansa.com/

Samantha Gardner, NTP Hands on Health Chiropractic 10192 E. Grand River, Suite 107 Brighton, MI 48116 810.494.1900 Instagram @the.qualitarian

Bill McCreary has been in Mortgage Banking since 1988, he and his wife of 39 years, Marianne are blessed with three children. In their free time they enjoy working outside around their home, boating, golfing and enjoying time with friends and family. Bill also enjoys Coaching the South Lyon Unified Varsity Hockey Team, taking great pride in not just developing fine athletes, but also contributing to the development of fine Young Adults, Men and Women!

Bernadette Quist helps companies and individuals develop and broadcast messages that resonate. Having built her career working with designers, publishers, authors, businesses, and non-profits to bring their messages to life in print and online, she now sources everything from books to car-wrap graphics. Her own avocational path, as one of many lifelong musicians who never quit their day jobs, frequently merges with her business journey. A singersongwriter, she taps into a creative side when acting as a story scout for, Good Fat Life magazine. bernadette@quistcommunications.com Jim Gilligan is at his core an environmental evangelist. He owns Snedicor’s GreenEarth Cleaners in Brighton and Howell, MI, which uses environmentally safe methods to keep clothing clean and looking good. Gilligan became Michigan’s first certified AcroYoga instructor in 2014. An outdoor enthusiast, Gilligan is an avid bicycle tourist, mountain biker, cross country and telemark skier, kayaker, Stand Up paddler, and motorcyclist. Father and step-father to five, Gilligan lives in Livingston County, MI, with his wife, Sherryl.

Since 2011, Andrea Price has been a licensed Esthetician and owner of Nourish Skin Lash & Wax. Her focus is to help clients understand the health of their skin through education and evaluating the impact of their lifestyle, environment, and their use of skin care products.

She provides results-driven, holistically-minded skin care using non-invasive modalities and nourishing professional grade products in a private, comfortable environment.

August 2020 | 9

FLIPPING THE SCRIPT

by Lori Burns

I

cope with all the changes, we’ve had turned upside down. It is a skill that recently discovered a song called to become emotional shapeshifters. In can be learned and developed through “Dance Monkey” written and some instances, every member of our practice. Flipping means managing all performed by Tones and I from family has had to reverse the usual or aspects of a situation, including the Australia. It has had global success, existing viewpoints in a situation to do internal and external… A successful especially with the younger population. something unexpected, revolutionary, “flip” requires that we not confuse I LOVE it! Her song is about how some even extraordinary. This is what I would our motives with what the world sees. people can disturb your normal routine, call flipping the script. And let me tell To move our goal’s forward, we have want you to revolve your schedule you, I have flipped and flipped and to be mature enough to recognize around their time. Kind of like my son flipped it seems. that often, perception, unfortunately, does every day. Tones and I talks about can make up our reality. her desire to see her “loved Meaning our actions one” dancing for her because and behavior shape how it brings her joy; and in turn, Put in a proper mindset though, the concept others see us and our she will reciprocate and dance helps strengthen one’s ability to view every potential for growth. for them and with them, even experience as an opportunity for growth The good news is that though they annoyed her at no matter what their reality is. In the we can control how the first. She chooses not to worry world sees us in both big about something she cannot current climate, this can be as unique as the and small ways. Flipping change, like them messing person themselves.

It is important to feel the script isn’t based on with her time. If you can’t empowered with the ability to transform intelligence; rather it’s beat them, join them. based on our ability to thought patterns into a productive, actionmanage ourselves and I don’t know about any other oriented attitude. control our actions. households, but our routines have been disrupted the past The premise of Flip the Script is Just as the girl in “Dance Monkey”, few months. It’s not anyone’s fault, to approach everything in your life things may not go as planned. But but we have had to cope with solitary with a new mindset: you can’t always you can take joy in the change, join confinement, way more homecooked control circumstances but can manage the dance, or you can spend your time meals than any of us would like, and them and add new and innovative complaining that the people you care Zoom -learning for several months now. ideas to them. Anything can be about are annoying, crazy, and bad Even the dogs have suffered (bad haircuts flipped—any expectation can be dancers. for them as well). In order to adapt and

10 | Good Fat Life

August 2020 | 11

MONEY THERAPY

BUILDING WEALTH AND FINANCIAL FREEDOM THROUGH DEBT MANAGEMENT… SPECIFICALLY, YOUR MORTGAGE.

by Bill McCreary

M

any of us take a much more positive and active approach with managing our assets than we do with managing our debt. Both are very positive for our financial health, and both should be actively managed. A very wise Person and Professional I am blessed to know is a huge proponent of knowing your numbers, and She is correct. Many of us get frustrated with the small amount of reduction in our principal balance as we make our monthly payments, so we choose to set up our monthly payments on auto-debit, and we ignore our mortgage. Ignoring our mortgage is often a mistake that costs homeowners tens of thousands of dollars, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars. I encourage homeowners to take as much pride in watching their mortgage balance reduce as they do in watching their 401k balance increase. As you pay down your mortgage as aggressively as you can, you build an asset, the equity in your home.

With a few strategy adjustments, you can watch your principal loan balance shrink, and your equity blossom.

Certainly, these options must be balanced with your budget, but even modest adjustments can add up to be significant over time.

12 | Good Fat Life

One excellent choice is to set up your payment on a Bi-Weekly plan. Many lenders offer this option, and with paying half of your payment 26 times yearly, you end up making one extra full mortgage payment annually, which you won’t even notice after the first payment. This payment structure can knock years off your loan term.

If you don’t like the Bi-Weekly, consider adding an extra $50.00 or $100.00 or $200.00 to your monthly payment, again this strategy can knock years off your mortgage and significantly improve your equity position.

If compatible with your budget, the best option is to shorten the term of your mortgage by taking a 10, 15, or 20-year loan instead of a 30-year loan, and then setting up the Biweekly payment plan. You’ll have your mortgage paid off in no time. Think of how much freedom having your home paid off can provide.

It is easy to access a mortgage calculator online, and you can play with changing loan terms, payment amounts, and see the significant savings over time.

You can also reach out to your favorite Mortgage Banking Professional, and we will be happy to provide the numbers for you!

lighten up 2020 Transform Your Year

WHY YOU NEED IT. Join Bethany and her Beautycounter Team VIRTUALLY to find out what this Clean Beauty Buzz is all about, and why you need it. Beautycounter is the Leader in Clean Beauty. Learn how we are building a safer future for all, and how you can get involved.

VIRTUAL POP-UP DATES: Join us for a Virtual Pop-Up on Facebook, where we will dive into products, offer up 1-on-1 consultations, have fun giveaways, talk about Beautycounter’s mission and advocacy, and all things Clean Beauty.

Friday, August 21st - Join our virtual Facebook group at, “Meet Beautycounter a Virtual Pop-Up with Bethany” Thursday, September 24th - Join our virtual Facebook group at, “Meet Beautycounter a Virtual Pop-Up with Bethany”

PODCAST S CHE DU LE Join hosts Karen Calcenian and Sherri Richards for their weekly Podcast where they have inspired and provocative conversations with their guests around all things supporting a Good Fat Life.

You can find them on Monday’s at 11:00am EDT on your favorite podcast station, or at Facebook/Inspiredgoodfatlife.

OPPORTUNITY CALL DATES: Join local Consultant, and Director with Beautycounter, Bethany Klein and members of her team, to learn how through the power of people we are Revolutionizing the industry, and how the Beautycounter Opportunity can work for you.

Tuesday, August 11th - Meet Beautycounter Opportunity Tuesday, September 15th - Meet Beautycounter Opportunity For secure Zoom call links please email Bethany directly at bnk.beautycounter@gmail.com

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Bethany Klein, Beautycounter Consultant 517.404.4850 bnk.beautycounter@gmail.com www.beautycounter.com/bethanyklein August 2020 | 13

YES, AND...

by Bernadette Quist

W

hen GFL’s publisher Sherri Richards chose this issue’s theme, the pandemic was not even a glimmer on the horizon, but somehow Covid-19 has made “IMPROV” the perfect subject for this PRESENT moment.

While it seems that old rules don’t apply anymore, systems and “rules” are at the very heart of what made writing this story possible. “AND, YES…” there

14 | Good Fat Life

ARE RULES for great improv as taught by the masters at Chicago’s famous Second City, the world’s premier name in improv-based sketch comedy and education for over 60 years. They are: 1. AGREE – and say Yes. Respect what your partner(s), and/or clients, bring to the current situation. Start from an open-minded place. Stay present and make whoever you are

with the Most Important Person.

2.

YES, AND. – from there, add something of your own.

3.

MAKE STATEMENTS. – this action adds an “e” to the end of the word. IMPROV becomes IMPROVE. Don’t ask questions all the time. Whatever the problem, be part of the solution.

4. THERE ARE NO MISTAKES, ONLY OPPORTUNITIES! Pre-Corona, Sherri’s first thought for this issue was to tie a story to Good Fat Life’s new partner WXW, Women’s eXchange of Washtenaw.

Dee Davey, WXW sponsor coordinator, immediately thought of local businesswoman, Josie Ann Lee Draybuck, who had presented at the WXW Forum in the past. Josie is a Second City alum who honed her IMPROV “chops” at the famous Chicago club where well-known names like Belushi, Carrell, Colbert, Farley, Radner & Fey have graced its stage.

I was fascinated to learn about how Josie had applied the rules of IMPROV to training team members at Balance Massage Therapy (BMT), the studio she founded with her wife, Christin Draybuck. AND THEN…Covid 19 happened! BMT closed temporarily and this article took a turn, kind of like Josie’s career path.

From a young age, Josie knew that she wanted to study improv. She had worked behind the counter of her family’s store, Hickory Market, then moved on to study business at U of M. From there, she spent the next year working as the “Building Manager” of a junior high in Lapeer. “It was like an assistant principal position without the pay. I oversaw all discipline for 600 7th graders, all non-union staff, athletic director, and ran the after-school programs. I was only 23 at the time, and it was quite intense. After a year of putting my heart into that position, I realized I had to follow the calling I heard. Because my school position gave me the summer off with pay, I figured this was the best time to “YES! And…” my way to Chicago. I moved down there in July and started classes in September.”

Though she loved her time at Second City, she returned to Michigan when her Dad passed away, and Josie moved back home to help her Mom run the market. It was there that she LIVED the first rule of improv.

Staying present, she practiced making each customer, the Most Important Person. This lesson reminded her about the importance of kindness, people, and the relationship between business and community. The experience changed the way she saw life. It gave her the ability to accept whatever was given to her and find positive ways to move forward.

each change is the foundation of their mission to deliver exceptional personal service!

When Josie Ann Lee met Christin Draybuck, the present shifted again.

Together, they founded Balance Massage Therapy with one goal; making sure their clients leave happy. Josie’s training system teaches every BMT team member to apply the lessons of “YES, AND” to each PRESENT moment.

Next Up, Balance Massage Therapy University (BMTU). Part of the couple’s VISION 2020, is to share lessons learned with visiting instructors, pop up workshops, regular monthly trainings, online educational materials, instructorled classrooms, and team led workshops.

With COVID-19 some of this is on hold for now. One thing is clear and present, though. The lessons of IMPROV will continue to turn problems into opportunities for Josie Ann Lee and Christin Draybuck, maybe for you and me too. Visit: lifeisactive.com!

That’s right, TEACHES, present tense!

BMT is OPEN and though things will change, the teams’ daily practice called “Define the Shift” will be more important than ever, encouraging team members to routinely engage in their roles and careers with both a leadership and ownership lens. ADAPTING to

Recognized by the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business, Balance Massage Therapy was selected as the 2018 Positive Business Project Gold Awardee. This recognition was based on the extent to which their practice aligned with the positive business, the practice’s impact, and the system’s ability to be replicated in other companies. Josie’s trainable concepts system was noted for building a positive workplace and a fantastic community.

YES, things will keep changing AND when in doubt, follow the rules!

, Star light, star bright t. first star I see tonigh

I wish I may, I wish I might.

Have this wish, I wish, tonight.

August 2020 | 15

THE DANCE OF IMPROVISATION

by Karen Barbee Adkisson

I

t was 20 years ago in Dallas, Texas, that this fundamental truth about an art form that I had already loved for years was pointed out. “What is the number one characteristic of Arabic music?” asked the workshop leader, a virtuoso violinist from Lebanon. I and a hundred other western women – students of a dance form that most know as “belly dance” - just stared at him. The answer: improvisation.

year long and culminates with a major showcase featuring some of the best Arab musicians in the country!

Because I have several students who have participated in the program for multiple years, a few core principles about improvisation have revealed themselves.

Interestingly, we see their applicability in many areas of our lives beyond dance.

I hadn’t thought about it.

You may never have enough tools to feel “ready.” Dive in any way!

Since then, I have learned that MANY belly dance students don’t think about it. More importantly, though, since that workshop 20 years ago, I have studied it intensely! My dance studio has created an entire curriculum around training dancers to work with and within it!

Carmen had been dancing with my studio for three years and admired the live music from the audience. It was with an appearance of tremendous forethought that she told me that - when she had learned a few more “steps” - she wanted to join Project Band.

The curriculum is called “Project Band.”

It involves exercises to help a dancer 1) wean herself off of coded combinations and choreographies, 2) learn how to access the vocabulary that those combinations and choreographies have helped her build (vocabulary that was previously accessible only in its original context), 3) build musical cues to solidify and stabilize the accessing mechanisms, and 4) present a genuine, personal interpretation of what she is hearing and feeling as musicians create music.

It also involves many opportunities to perform to live music to see how well things are sinking in. The program is one

Bam! INTO my trap, she stepped!

“What if you waited to learn every word in the dictionary before you tried to speak?” “What if a chef just kept buying ingredients before they started their new recipe?”

16 | Good Fat Life

skillset from memorizing things to know.

And it’s never too soon to build and/or reinforce accessing mechanisms – even if only for a few ingredients on the shelf.

It requires purposeful assimilation and contextualization with the more familiar practices in your life.

Furthermore, the ability to access under pressure takes practice.

Practicing under pressure with those few ingredients makes it MUCH easier to access multiple ingredients as the pressure grows.

Carmen’s comment was rooted in every grown-up’s fear of being wrong or making a fool out of themselves. It’s why kids learn languages so quickly. Their mistakes are cute.

BUT the beauty of building accessing mechanisms to improvised music is that – unless you are a psychic – you must EXPECT TO BE WRONG SOMETIMES. There is tremendous freedom in that!

“Why do you think that, even after spending a summer in Lebanon in an Arabic language immersion program, I am too chicken to speak Arabic?” THIS was the barrage of thought provokers that she received from me. She joined the program.

Accessing what you know is a different

And two wonderful things come from it: 1) You quickly realize that nothing terrible is going to happen when you are wrong. 2) You become a master of rapid recovery.

Try it! Do you know a dance? Any dance!

A line dance? The Macarena? Something from a TikTok challenge? Try your dance to a different piece of music and make sense of your new selection’s melody and tempo.

Breaking through some self-imposed boundaries is a good thing, even in something as simple as repurposing a few simple dance moves.

There is a tremendous benefit to overload and capacity building when it is appropriately framed.

Have you ever had one of those days (or years) where one thing after another seems to go wrong?

The first thing makes you angry.

The second thing makes you angrier.

The third thing causes you to lash out at someone who has nothing to do with any of these things. Then when the fourth thing happens, you laugh (sometimes hysterically!). Somewhere along the line, the circumstances broke you.

I believe it’s because we (I’ll include myself in this) eventually accept (consciously or otherwise) that things aren’t always in our complete control. Our analytical side is trying desperately to frame, judge, and prioritize each thing. When it can’t, it shuts off. When that happens, we can recontextualize the situation.

The WORST thing that can happen when a dancer steps onto the stage with a group of Arab musicians is for her to be immersed in her brain’s analytical side. Standing in the wings, mumbling things like “remember to travel in a circle at some point, use your arms more, look up, and catch that accent that happens in the chorus.” This diminishes her ability to listen with intent and stay in the moment. Under these circumstances, she can miss some of the most beautiful,

August 2020 | 17

One of those will be much easier than the others. Your personal hierarchy will begin to reveal itself.

soulful sounds that will happen only once and specifically for her. Who wants to miss something like that?

Part of my job is to present movement characteristics and listening guidelines for dancers to consider.

Once they understand the concept, I present another and another and another. Memorization becomes impossible. When the lessons are happening, they can feel like evil overload and/or pointless hard work.

BUT – when there is too much to consider and not enough time to consider it, a dancer is absolutely forced to trust that she is prepared - and to believe that the right movement will “occur” to her based on what she hears. In this headspace, they have the best opportunity to truly connect with the music and the musicians. The result is powerful.

Any experience that reveals to us that we were more actually prepared than we

18 | Good Fat Life

thought we were is invaluable at every level. So often that is the case when we learn to trust that we’ve done what was necessary to succeed.

Know your “Hierarchy” and develop the ability to change it.

The non-word “hierarchy” is what we use to describe the order in which we hear various tracks of sound in music.

For example, one of my students used to be the lead singer in a band.

She focuses on vocals and hears little else. Another used to play drums in her high school band. She focuses on percussion. She struggles to make herself interpret the melody.

I always test my students with “California Dreamin’” by the Mamas and the Papas. So far – in classes with an age range from 20 to 70, everyone recognizes the song! I tell one group to dance only when the lead singer sings and another group to dance only when the background vocalists come in, and a third group just moves to the tempo with no regard for any melody. Try it!

An improvisational dancer who takes the stage without the ability to focus on various aspects of the music – singularly and in relationship to one another – is extremely limited.

Therefore we spend a lot of time expanding, inverting, collapsing, and reconstructing our hierarchies, switching our focus from one instrument to another, from one piece of a musical phrase to another, from accenting one beat in a measure to accenting another. Every construct evokes a slightly different set of movement choices. Imagine doing this to improvised music – with vocals in a language that you do not fully understand!

The keyword is “focus.” What has our focus controls us – in dance and beyond.

The practice of breaking habitual points of focus is a great exercise!

The slightest adjustment of what has our attention can lead to a whole new sequence of movement and eventually reinvent our style.

Twenty years ago, I had no way of knowing the significant impact that one word would have on my dance and my life.

Improvisation.

We would be wise to find a way to get comfortable with it – whatever that way may be.

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August 2020 | 19 beauty from within by bethany

REFLECTION

by June Wilson

20 | Good Fat Life

A

still pond. The gently flowing stream. Waves washing up onto the beach. If you stare into any of these water bodies, you’re going to see something very different in each of them, staring back at you. Reflections can change from day to day and minute to minute. It all depends on how calm or turbulent things are around you.

They present change in all kinds of ways.

Some changes we deliberately choose, and some just show up with no warning.

But what we are all looking for in that Reflection is peace and happiness.

As humans, we don’t really like change.

We always like to be comfortable. We like stability. But sometimes, we need to be like water, transforming quickly from the ocean storm to the calmness of a pond. We must move in and out of obstacles as if they present no issue.

At times like this, I like to reflect on how I got to where I am. Where I came from and where I am going. Can I weather the storm as is, or should I be flexible like the water and go with the flow?

Back in 2005, I was living the life I thought was meant for me. Living on Long Island and married to my high school sweetheart. I was in-between jobs, not using my college education, and not doing a lot of Reflection. I was basing my life on what others told me should be my path. I ended up taking a solo trip out to Chicago to a convention and met a man who shared a lot of my passions.

Over those three short days, I did some thinking.

I went home to Long Island and did some more thinking. Then, unexpectedly, that man I met in Chicago drove out to meet me on a whim (and a couple of beers, without a GPS from Michigan). I remember taking him to some of my favorite

places on my island home. I introduced him to some of my friends, and we had a long talk on one of my favorite beaches about what we wanted for our futures. Looking back, I think what I was doing was reflecting on my life and on what I wanted, and I was also saying goodbye to my past.

Fifteen years to the day that I write this article, I was doing all of these things.

And I have no regrets. It seemed crazy at the time. Every time I tell the story of how I up and left the only place I had ever known, for a place I knew nothing about in less than a week and knew no one other than the man I was going with, seemed insane. But in the end, it all worked out for the best. I have a job I love, a beautiful home, a wonderful husband, a smart kid, and awesome friends.

Now, after 15 years, there hasn’t been a whole lot to reflect on. Life has been pretty run of the mill. Then, 2020 arrived. I had all kinds of plans for 2020.

Trips to Las Vegas, Paris, and India.

Renovations to our home. Road trips around our state. Then, the illness started to spread in the world. Michigan schools closed for two weeks. I was hopeful this was just a short stint. I began to work from home.

We all thought it was going to be short-lived. Just a couple of weeks, they said to snuff it out. I told my girlfriends who I was planning to go to Las Vegas with that we’ll get through it and still be able to go and celebrate our milestone birthdays together. Canceled.

Our Governor finally said that schools would not be returning for the 19-20 school year. My husband, who works as a craft brewer, was laid off along with everyone else in the brewery. Job loss.

Unemployment. Lockdown. Waiting.

Panic. Anxiety.

Reflection.

I have to admit that it did take me a couple of months to figure out the positives.

The day before we were all put on lockdown, my husband ran out to the home improvement stores to get everything he needed to finish our basement renovations. I’d work on it with him in the evenings and weekends. As of now, we are so close to finishing the room, and then I will finally have a quiet place to practice yoga. We’ve stained the deck we rebuilt last summer. I moved our minuscule backyard pond to a better location and turned the deck into a small oasis. The process is ongoing.

The most significant adjustment has been my ability to work from home.

After two and a half months of working off my laptop from the dining room table, I was told we don’t know when we’ll be able to come back to the office.

My boss asked all of the staff if we enjoyed working from home. I jumped all over it.

That week, my husband and I took my first trip out of the house in almost three months to go to my office and retrieve my desktop computer. I ordered a desk and an office chair. A week later, our guest room had become my office/ woman-cave. My husband took the television in the room and mounted it to the wall to watch the morning news while I work or throw on some music to lighten the mood. Our betta fish, Darwin, III, has also moved in as my desk mate.

I have what I affectionately call, ‘megadesk’, my PC on the desk, and my laptop on a decorative table next to it. I take Zoom calls on the laptop and can

August 2020 | 21

still be productive on the PC. Anyone who needs to call me calls my cell phone. Or, emails me which can sometimes be a lot better to make a more productive day. My son has me home, and our dogs have never been more content. It makes me think that there is a silver lining to all of this.

Change.

Transitioning into a new life takes time and patience. Like how the rapids need to move over large rocks to get to calmer waters, life goes through these moments as well.

Since May, I have had to change the way I structure my day. I get up, read, and have coffee.

Put on something other than pajamas. Then, I start into my work. It’s great since I only have to go down the hall and I’m always on time since I have no commute. I call my colleagues on the phone or Zoom with them for lunch. We’re all getting used to the change, but it’s still taking some adjustment.

In the beginning, my girlfriends and I would have Zoom cocktail hours or ‘parties’. We even celebrated a 50th wedding anniversary and watched the couple do a vow renewal over Zoom!

Since then, some of us have met for socially distanced lunches. We have our bubbles of friends we know we can trust.

I joined an online yoga community and am working on my SMART goals for the remainder of 2020. I practice yoga daily, meditate, and try to find time for everything that makes me feel good.

Happiness.

In the end, this is our goal. We go through the storm, reflect on what has happened, and make a change for what we think will achieve happiness. What we have to remember is that this is a process that is never going to end. It is always ongoing within our world and our lives.

Happiness is subjective. What works for some may not work for others. But one thing we should always try to remember is that it all starts with Reflection.

22 | Good Fat Life

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Sherri Richards Phone: 440-289-8321 Email: Sherri@mymoneyexperience.com August 2020 | 23

MICROCURRENT THE MICRO FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH

by Andrea Price

B

y now you’ve likely heard of microcurrent. It’s certainly not a new technology but it has breathed new life into clinical skincare due to the incredible results it yields without a scalpel or a needle. Microcurrent is the ultimate proven innovation in non-invasive, anti-aging therapy which lifts, tightens and rejuvenates the skin while improving facial muscle tone.

BENEFITS OF MICROCURRENT FOR SKIN •

Increases oxygenated blood flow to tissues

•

Tones the skin and stimulates collagen production

•

Is a non-invasive revision for lifting the face

•

Speeds healing

READY TO LEARN MORE? READ ON TO LEARN HOW MICROCURRENT WORKS Microcurrent delivers a tiny, low level electrical current that mimics the body’s energy. This current stimulates collagen, elastin and the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). ATP is the fuel our cells run on. Microcurrent systematically reduces the signs of aging in 3 primary ways. Boosting circulation and increasing skins own natural hydration production. By increasing circulation, muscles gain tone and skin sees a drastic uptick in color, function and resilience.

Re-educating the muscle via a cerebral effect. The brain uses a specialized proprioceptor called the Golgi Tendon Organ

24 | Good Fat Life

(GTO) – this organ gathers essential details about facial muscles and their behaviors, specifically, whether or not to fire the impulses that trigger relaxation or tone. There are 32 muscles in the face that may be relaxed or tightened – lengthened or contracted, depending on the settings used by the service provider. For example, the muscles between the eyebrows tend to be overworked and tight. The treatment will help to lengthen and relax these muscles. The muscles along the jaw-line can become lax and atrophy as we age. Microcurrent will help to firm and tighten that area.

Boost ATP production. ATP is often referred to as ‘life’s energy’, the stockpile of which has a profound effect on muscle memory.

The younger cells and muscles behave, the more youthful the appearance of your skin.

The benefits of microcurrent can be immediate, preventative and cumulative. Like any fitness workout for the rest of the body, microcurrent acts similar to a workout for the face. Over time, muscle memory is developed and cumulative results occur.

In a facial, microcurrent pairs beautifully with other modalities including dermaplaning, microdermabrasion, microchanneling and LED phototherapy.

Microcurrent isn’t just for those concerned with the aging of their skin. Coupled with acne treatments, acne clients see oil production slow and lesions heal more quickly thanks to the anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory benefits of microcurrent.

ARE THERE CONTRAINDICATIONS? Microcurrent is considered safe with little or no side effects for most people. Some contraindications include: •

pregnancy

•

cardiac pacemakers

•

metal or medical implants

•

medication that causes skin impairment

•

active herpes lesions

•

active cancer

•

cosmetic injections up to 2 weeks prior

•

implanted hearing aids

•

epilepsy or seizure

HOW MANY TREATMENTS DO I NEED? The number of treatments you need depends entirely on your skin condition and desired goals. The bare minimum is usually a package of six in order to build memory and accumulate a reservoir of ATP. Typically, clients schedule 9-12 or more for significant restoration of tone.

Who are you not to be brilliant

by Marianne Williamson “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

August 2020 | 25

HOW TO CHANGE OUR FASHION HABITS FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL

by Jim Gilligan

I

n an earlier article, I wrote about fast fashion, and it’s detrimental effects on the environment.

With the current global awakening to systematic racism, let’s take a look at the human toll of fast fashion and learn what we can do to help.

26 | Good Fat Life

Getting garments to market fast and cheap while maintaining substantial profit margins requires cheap labor.

That’s why garment manufacturing factories set up shop in countries with poor populations and an absence of labor protection laws. The folks that carry the burden of this business model

are predominantly women and children of color.

The fair treatment of workers is an essential consideration in the sustainability of a garment. Still, it is one that is often not addressed by companies that tout themselves to be environmentally friendly.

Yet ignoring the impact of garment manufacturing on its workers will never produce a truly sustainable product, one that takes care of the planet and its inhabitants.

Most labels that are genuinely committed to sustainability are also committed to ethical manufacturing, but this is something that is still worth investigating before your purchase.

How can you help?

While Fair-trade, Global Organic Textile Standard, and a whole host of national labeling certifications guarantee the ethics of a garment’s manufacture; you can also, assess this by doing a little research yourself and asking the right questions of the labels you are interested in purchasing.

Check out the Good On You website and app: goodonyou.eco/.

Good On You provides ethical ratings for over 2,000 fashion brands. Their robust methodology rates brands on the treatment of workers, the environment, and animals.

When rating the treatment of workers, Good On You takes into account the protection of workers’ rights across the supply chain, including monitoring health and safety, child labor, forced labor, freedom of association, collective bargaining, nondiscrimination, gender equality, modern slavery, non-excessive hours, and the right and capacity to make a complaint.

Take it a step further by shopping black-owned American ethical and sustainable fashion businesses: ecocult.com/black-owned-ethicalsustainable-eco-fashion/.

While we can’t do everything, each of us can do something.

It’s important to do the something that you can do.

Fast, easy and delicious summer recipes with a flair!

Grilled Chicken Cacciatore

by Katie Choate 2 lb bag or package of Chicken thawed 1 ½ cups Simply dressed Balsamic dressing for Marinade (only 90 cal) Salt Garlic powder

Sauce for top of chicken: Sautee all ingredients in a skillet on medium heat for 20 minutes.

Cover and simmer until chicken is done being grilled.

4 carrots peeled and diced 1 large zucchini sliced 4 garlic cloves minced 1 medium onion diced 4 med size campari tomatoes diced

Chicken Prep Slice chicken breast in half and lay on a cookie sheet. Season with garlic powder and salt.

Using a basting brush, coat the chicken with the balsamic marinade.

Bring your grill up to 350 degrees, Lay your chicken down and grill each side flipping the chicken over every 5 minutes, not to burn the chicken allowing it to cook evenly. It should take 15 minutes total.

Top your chicken with sauce when it’s done and serve.

Every once in a while we get a moment when all the world needs us to do is just stand there and sparkle.

I love to cook, it’s really a passion! I am always looking to create meals that are delicious and easy. My food blog is Italian_mamma_Kitchen on Instagram. Everything you would like to know is right there.

Bon Appetit!

August 2020 | 27

THE READING ROOM Books You Won’t Want to Put Down

By Gary Stuart

Healing Your Relationship with Food

War, famine, persecution, social repression, and social mores all have long-lasting effects on family systems.

But throughout human history, people have strived to survive against insurmountable odds. For over 22 years, Gary Stuart has been facilitating family constellations and studying their effect on people. In southern California where Gary has been doing his research, there is a multiethnic and multicultural populace that’s a true melting pot of all races and creeds. He has worked with clients from a wide variety of social, religious, cultural, and geographical backgrounds with vastly different lives and experiences and personal and family histories. In this text, you will hear some of the miracles of healing that happen through family constellations. You will understand why Gary says it is important to acknowledge and honor the dead. It is their presence in us, literally their DNA is in us.

This allows us to explore, express, release, and heal the family dynamics. Family dynamics that affect us and may have existed for hundreds of years or even longer. This book is dedicated to the thousands of clients who allowed Gary Stuart to enter into their lives and their family systems and histories so that their own healing could take place. The good news is that we are here today in spite of any and all challenges our forebears experienced.

Everyone ALIVE is a complete success and a testament to their Ancestor’s strength and fortitude.

Are you tired of “special diets” that don’t deliver on their promises? Does an unhealthy relationship with food have you strapped to a roller coaster of misery and regret? Are chronic health issues chipping relentlessly away at your quality of life? Healing Your Relationship with Food: The Ayurveda Answer by Ayurvedic authority Meena Puri, is filled with deep wisdom, common sense advice and true life stories that will catapult you into a whole new understanding of how to maximize your health and well-being. It will empower you to overcome your struggles with food, heal your precious life, and embrace your purpose on this planet. What’s more, Meena gives readers special access to recipes—from her own private kitchen—that will dazzle you and your family with their ability to bring color, aromas and healing to your home, one ridiculously delicious meal at a time. amazon.com

Healing Human History

28 | Good Fat Life

by Meena Puri

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A NEW NORMAL

by Katie Choate

“A new normal,” that is a slogan that has been floating around my house for years.

A way we try as a family to handle the ever-evolving changes that come with balancing seven children, a business, and the ins and outs of everyday life. Some have asked, “how do we do it”? My answer is I don’t know…we just do! It is our “normal” way of life.

When my husband and I got married, I had it all dreamed up in my head, like a wonderful fairytale with a beautiful ending. Everything would be rainbows and sunshine. We would have no conflict, and every day I’d wake up feeling energized, alive, and free to do and be whatever I wanted. What I missed in my story were all the changes that would occur in this journey, and how I would need to prepare myself for those ever-revolving changes.

In the beginning, we thought we were forming into the married life well. We had built a new home. We had the house decorated and furnished. My husband had landed a great job, we had one child, and another baby on the way. Life was exciting! We were growing as a couple.

By all standards, we thought we had 30 | Good Fat Life

it all; a new car, a new house, and a growing family. Life was life, and we were living every day to the best of our ability.

My mom called and asked if I could stop by her house to pick up the rest of my belongings, which I missed when I finally moved all my stuff out. You know things from high school and keepsakes. Among the many things my mom handed me was my baby book. It was a thick leather-bound photo album with every photo taken of me my whole childhood. I remember asking her to keep it, but she insisted that I take it to my home to share it with my children when they got older. After picking it up, I tucked it up on my closet shelf, along with all my other treasured items.

Then it happened, the first of many changes in our lives. One ordinary day like any other, my husband was working from home, I was tending to our daughter and well... our house caught on fire! I could go into the details, but I’ll spare you the agony, all I can say is it was the craziest experience ever. One minute we were by all accounts doing our daily routine. The next minute, there are flames in my kitchen, smoke everywhere,

I was scrambling, what do I do? Should I grab anything? Looking into the kitchen, seeing the wall phone melting from the heat, I grabbed what mattered most, my daughter screamed to my husband the house was on fire, opened up the front door and ran out. Standing in my front yard, I honestly just stood there in shock, not knowing what to do, waiting for my husband to follow, and just cried.

Well, I cried and screamed and panicked, and I ran down to the neighbor’s house to call 911 as if the smoke billowing out my windows wasn’t proof enough that the house was in flames. But all rational thought leaves your mind, and mine had gone for sure.

my husband too. Everything that we had ever accumulated, tied to a special memory, was reduced to ashes.

That’s when I made a choice, to remember they are just things, and even though it was hard to get over the loss of not having them, (I still feel the sting today), we were able to move on.

What mattered most was our health, and that we all made it out of the house alive unharmed. We made a conscious choice to shift the memory from a bad experience and make it a positive one.

My husband came running out of the house and realized our new car was still in the garage, and the keys were in the kitchen burning. During all this time, my mother-in-law had gotten a call that we were in trouble. At the time, she drove a GMC Yukon XL, and she raced so fast through town she made it to the house before the fire department. (What I’m about to explain is something you would see in a GMC vs. Ford commercial). My mother-in-law grabbed a tow rope, secured it to the back of our Lincoln Navigator that was in our garage, and floored it!

The GMC pulled our Navigator out of our garage, in park, backwards, into our neighbor’s yard. It was surreal.

Although these events where traumatic at the time, today, I joke that the house took seven months to build and 7 minutes to burn, and the story about the car is still an amazing moment that came during such a terrible time.

This event was our first experience of many new normal moments. Life can change in a second, one minute your life is one way, the next minute its completely different. We had lost materialistically everything, all our memories, baby pictures, keepsakes from our wedding, wedding photo album, my baby book, my Grandmothers 1920’s heirloom jewelry. The same goes for

To be totally honest, change for anyone is scary! I’m not saying this was easy; it took time and a lot of mental pep talks.

The not knowing how it will all turn out; can make us uneasy, self-conscious that we are breaking the mold on the regular everyday routine in our lives. This is what I concluded: We have to be able to take any bad situation and see the light, and that there is a place for learning and growth in any experience, it is how we process that moment that matters most.

The moments do stay with us. The memory of that event will never leave my mind. Even today, when I buy something, my husband and I both say, “it just something that can burn in a fire.” But we buy it anyway, why not! Life is short; my memories are not tied to things; they are related to the people I love.

The same mindset applied when my daughter got sick, I was scared and at first very unaware of what was going on.

Our stay at the Hospital was real; it was relevant. It was not changing.

My husband and I sat up all night, writing out what seemed to be the longest math lesson of my life, and no, I’m not smarter than a fifth-grader, as I quickly learned. The whole experience was mind-blowing, and it made me sad.

How could this be happening? What are we going to do? I don’t know anything August 2020 | 31

have the time to do an activity that their younger brother loves. (new normal).

We are back to family meals, and everyone participates in the mealtime prep (It’s a secret, don’t let them know) I like this time to pick their brains and time to share the ups and downs of the daily grind. I’m amazed at how much information can be shared when cutting cucumbers. I had missed the importance of family dinners for so long. We were always so busy “doing things” before we forgot how just to be, to take a breath and enjoy the here and now.

about this disease. All these thoughts and more flooded my brain. I was scrambling to cram this new idea into my “normal” life. But here is the reality, life had changed again. Not our usual everyday routine anymore, something new, something different was changing our daily habits.

That’s how we came up with our slogan.

Our ‘New Normal” as I would say it to my daughter as her new mantra “It’s alright! This is our new normal.

We are taking an adventure and doing something we’ve never done before. We put a smile on our faces and made the experience as positive as possible.

All said and done; I am grateful she is with us, I had to focus on the blessing and create a safe place for her, so she could feel good about the change that she would have to embrace for the rest of her life.

I’ve always been a glass half full kind of girl. I don’t think focusing on the negative has ever helped me in any situation in my life. Every experience that I have had in my life has formed 32 | Good Fat Life

me in who I am today. Part of that is being flexible and adaptable to change, knowing that no matter what, everything has a way of working itself out. I decided that I would help her by not focusing on her challenges and being proactive and educated.

“It is not the challenge that matters; it is how we respond that matters.” This philosophy is so important even today; now, we have the COVID-19 Virus, for example. It has challenged and changed all of us! We are all facing a “New Normal” in the world today if we like it or not.

For us, we have seven children, and everyone is at home. We are homeschooling, and working remotely, blogging, looking for new jobs, creating new hobbies, and trying to stay proactive. Most would think that’s a lot to handle. I’d say all things are possible with a striped shirt and a whistle! But, honestly, I love the time with them!

I can’t remember the last time, my husband and I had all our kids running in the backyard at night, playing flashlight tag. My grown-up kids are having the time of their lives, and now

This time has challenged all of us to think in new directions. In the way of our jobs, personal relationships, and fa mily relationships. In my house, It has also brought all of us together. We are stronger and more loving to each other, and I have had the blessing of seeing my children in a different light. Not as babies anymore who need my every second of attention, but as young adults, making their own way in the world. I know they need me, but the need is different, it has a new shape, a “new normal.”

The earth would die If the sun stopped kissing her.

HEALTHY RECIPES

by Audrey Choate

One of my very favorite recipes is my homemade Almond Butter Cup Ice Cream!

It has a few simple ingredients and is very easy to make! dairy free / paleo / vegan

Homemade Almond Butter Cups Ingredients: 2 1/4 cup Hukitchen gems 3/4 cup Maranatha nut butters creamy almond butter 1 tbsp coconut flour (can use almond flour) 1 tbsp coconut oil 2-3 tbsp maple syrup or sweetener of choice

Almond Butter Cup Ice Cream Ingredients: 2 cans full fat coconut milk 2/3 cup maple syrup 1/8 tsp pink Himalayan salt 2 tbsp vanilla extract Topping/filling options: Homemade almond butter cups (see recipe) Homemade bite size paleo/vegan cookie dough Directions: Freeze your ice cream maker freezer bowl for about 16-24hours In a Blender combine coconut milk, maple syrup,vanilla, and salt until creamy Place into ice cream maker right away and churn for about 1520 minutes. This forms a soft serve texture.

Place into a AIR TIGHT container alternating each layer with your filling of choice.

Freeze for about 2hours until ice cream has set!

Let thaw for about 10min and enjoy

These CAN be made keto, sub the hu gems with 3/4 cup cocoa powder, 3/4 cup coconut oil melted +1/4c raw agave nectar.

Sub maple syrup with monk fruit powder or any type of sugar free sweetener for the filling.

Directions: Line mini cupcake pan Mix together almond butter, maple syrup and coconut flour Melt together coconut oil +chocolate Pour chocolate into mini cupcake holder until bottom is filled completely, then with a spoon wipe the chocolate around the entire mini muffin paper until fully covered Place 1tsp of almond butter mixture into the chocolate filled cup Cover with the rest of cup with chocolate until almond butter is covered Freeze for about 30 minutes

August 2020 | 33

GROW A GUT GARDEN

by Samantha Gardner, NTP

Y

bacteria and yeasts that feast off the sugars and starches in them, converting it to lactic acid, carbon dioxide, and more beneficial bacteria.

ou may be asking; What is a Gut Garden?

A Gut Garden can help get you on the path to optimal digestion.

Ever feel bloated after a meal?

Want to nap after lunch? Have a random upset stomach or burp much?

These are all signs that your digestive system needs support.

Just as we all have different personalities, we have different methods that work for healing our gut, and there’s no one size fits all approach.

Growing a gut garden is about encouraging your digestive system to function properly and thrive. According to Author Justin Sonnenburg, Ph.D., in his book The Good Gut, “Nurturing our gut bacteria so that they produce the compounds that our bodies need is one of the most important choices we can make for our health.” Sonnenburg says that our gut bacteria belong on the endangered species list.

The good news is we can reverse the current status of our inner microbial world by entertaining diet and lifestyle choices that are nutritious and delicious to eat.

Why does growing a gut garden matter?

34 | Good Fat Life

• 70-80% of our immune system is located in the gut.

• A healthy gut helps us fight off infection and keeps us energized.

• Our digestive system determines whether or not we can properly assimilate nutrients. Basically, we can eat all the healthy food we want, but if we’re not digesting it, we’re creating waste the body has to deal with.

• The health of our gut affects our health as a whole.

One simple way to recolonize and grow your gut garden is to consume fermented food. Examples of fermented foods are kombucha, Lacto-fermented vegetables and condiments, kefir yogurt, hard cheeses, and fruit chutneys. Properly prepared fermented foods contain probiotics that are full of friendly

There’s a myriad of issues that come into play with healing your gut beyond just eating fermented foods. Our gut bacteria determine the landscape and the overall ability to heal. Symptoms of an imbalanced gut microbiome include...

•

Digestive issues, food intolerances, bloating, belching, etc.

•

Fatigue, joint pain, and fibromyalgia.

•

Yeast infections and oral thrush (indicative of candida overgrowth).

•

Skin problems, acne, and fungi overgrowths.

Using food as medicine is the most natural and practical approach to tackling these issues. If introducing fermented foods into your diet doesn’t improve your symptoms, I recommend working one on one with a nutritional therapy provider or doctor to help identify specific needs of your own. Removing stressors, addressing deficiencies, and balancing blood sugar is equally as important to growing your gut garden as diversifying your gut microbes.

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