​Winter menus are loaded with meals that are warm and often heavy. When your body craves a cool, light meal or you need nourishment on the go, create a smoothie tailored to the beauty needs of the winter season with these five ingredients:

1. Fresh or ground turmeric or ginger, to reduce inflammation and fight colds (try 1/2 tsp in a serving). 
2. Raw sauerkraut, to build up immunity-supporting gut bacteria (1 heaping Tbsp in a green smoothie won’t change the taste too much, while conferring major benefits).
3. Mushroom powder, to support immune function (1/2 to 1 tsp, depending on the type).
4. Raw cacao powder, for energy and skin hydration (this ingredient does contain caffeine, so start with 1/2 to 1 tsp, depending on your caffeine tolerance).

I highly recommend our Cacao Dream super shake with Wild Orange oil,  our warming superfood Bulletproof style lattes such as the Ayurvedic Golden Latte, or our creamy Shroom Latte spiked with 5 different medicinal mushrooms to start you day!
 Adding one or more of these beauty superfoods helps keep you looking and feeling your best through a season that can be filled with pitfalls for our
skin and our overall health.  
xoxo

Massage therapy is one of the most beneficial holistic treatments available. There are so many advantages to incorporating this treatment into a regular holistic routine, and thankfully more and more people are seeing the rewards of doing this.
To achieve maximum benefit, massage therapists don’t just manipulate the muscles; they use many tools such as glass cups, essential oils, heat, and herbs. One of the most incredible massage techniques available today is the doTERRA AromaTouch Massage. The AromaTouch massage is a specific process, and a practitioner must be trained and certified in it before they can advertise that they offer this type of massage therapy in their practice. Besides this, the AromaTouch massage uses a special blend of doTERRA pure essential oils to increase the benefits of this type of massage.
Why do these things matter and why should you ask your massage therapist today if they offer the doTERRA AromaTouch massage?
The Power of Essential OilsEssential oils, especially pure, therapeutic grade essential oils, offer many benefits to the user. Here are just a few of the benefits of the essential oils in the doTERRA AromaTouch massage oil.

• Balance – This is a blend of Spruce, HoWood, Frankincense, Blue Tansy, Blue Chamomile and Coconut oil. This blend provides a calming on your central nervous system.
• Lavender – This oil promotes relaxation, and helps relieve stress.
• Melaleuca – This oil is commonly known as Tee Tree oil, this powerful oil helps combat infections.
• OnGuard – This is a blend of Wild Orange, Cinnamon, Clove, Eucalyptus, and Rosemary. This blend helps support a healthy immune system and combat disease.
• Deep Blue – This is a blend of Wintergreen, Camphor, Peppermint, Blue Tansy, Blue Chamomile, Helichrysum and Osmanthus. This blend supports wound healing and assists in relieving pain.
• AromaTouch – This is a blend of Basil, Grapefruit, Peppermint, Lavender, Cypress and Marjoram. This blend helps reduce inflammation and helps muscles relax.
• Peppermint – This oil aids in digestive, respiratory and immune support.
• Wild Orange – This oil has antiviral properties as well as has the ability to stimulate happiness and joy.

The combination brings you: a perfect blend of oils that will thoroughly relax your mind and muscles, improve your circulation, and soothe any sore or inflamed tissues in your body.
The Healing TouchThe doTERRA AromaTouch massage technique uses the fantastic doTERRA therapeutic grade essential oils and combines them with a special massage technique. This oil application technique brings the benefits of the individual oils, as well as the power of the human touch to the applicant. Human touch transmits energy from therapist to client, aiding in the proper and healthful flow of energy. Plus, the specific hand massage techniques relax the muscles, so tension is eased, and the mind becomes at peace.
Add to all of this the benefits of aromatherapy. The AromaTouch massage oil smells heavenly and can bring calm and relaxation.
This special combination of doTERRA essential oils, the AromaTouch massage therapy technique, and aromatherapy contributes to a relaxed yet focused mind. It also brings an energetic, healthful energy to the muscles and organ systems. The doTERRA AromaTouch massage is a specialty massage with all the right ingredients!
A Company That CaresIt’s easy for anyone to say their massage therapy technique is more beneficial than anything else out there. It’s another thing entirely to prove this. DoTERRA is on a mission to bring holistic health to the masses.
There are many essential oil brands on the market today. It’s a marketable product for sure. Many people want a quick fix, and the thought that applying a drop or two of oil can fix an ailment is quite appealing. Unfortunately, there are some companies that prey on this mentality and are out there to make a quick dollar. They end up watering down their oils in order to save on processing expenses while at the same time selling the product for the same prices that pure essential oils are being sold for. In doing this, these companies have caught the eye of some who begin to question the validity of any natural, holistic treatment product.
doTERRA is different, and they strive to distinguish themselves from the competition. Their products are pure. In fact, doTERRA oils are CPTG Certified Pure Therapeutic Grade. These high-quality oils bring true and sometimes remarkable benefits to their users.
Whether you’re looking for a certain oil for home use or would like to receive an AromaTouch massage, talk to your massage therapist or a doTERRA Wellness Advocate to receive the best oil your money can buy.
The purpose of massage therapy depends a lot on what the recipient desires or needs. Essentially, though, even if you go in for a massage to relax, you’re going to receive other health benefits. This is especially true if your massage therapist incorporates such things as pure essential oils into their practice. Discuss the benefits of doTERRA essential oils and the doTERRA AromaTouch massage with your massage therapist or holistic practitioner today. You’ll be glad you did!

Hormone help on the way. This is the blog topic for today!  Balancing your hormones can be complex because there’s a lot of factors that could lead to the issue.  Though if you have any of the following challenges or you already know that you struggle with hormone imbalances, you also know it’s worth searching for the answer and a solution because it’s not easy to live with these symptoms.
Signs of Hormone Imbalance

• Mood swings
• Cravings
• PMS
• Painful cramps
• Abnormally heavy or light periods
• Too short or too long of cycles
• Infertility
• Acne
• Hot flashes
• Fatigue

Balancing Your Hormones NaturallyBalancing your hormones is a holistic process because it’s not just about estrogen, progesterone, or even cortisol.  It’s important to partner with a good functional medicine doc to understand your body best, but there’s also some simple holistic habits that will help your body to naturally return to a balanced state.

• Give your liver some love

The liver has a big and somewhat unglamorous job – basically everything we breathe, eat, or absorb through the skin gets into the blood stream and eventually passes through the liver. The liver also processes, manufacturers, and regulates hormone levels.  It’s the body’s primary detoxifying organ, so keeping it happy and healthy is key to overall health and especially to balanced hormones.
Problems can show up when the nutrients the liver needs to process toxins are in limited supply.  In other words, if there aren’t enough workers on the job, and the nutrients are in short supply, the liver can’t keep up and process quickly and thoroughly. If the liver is overworked, toxins and waste build up and the excess heads back into the body, which can cause many problems.
To stimulate regular cleansing, I drink lemon essential oil in my water daily. You can add 1-2 drops of 8 ounces of water for supporting the detoxifying functions of the liver.
Dark, bitter greens like dandelions, arugula, and kale also do wonders for the liver, acting as a natural diuretic to purify the body.  Plus they bring vitamins A, C, and K to the table, as well as minerals like calcium, potassium and magnesium.

• Avoid xenoestrogens

Did you know the fancy fragrances in lotions, and the plastic container you pack your lunch in are sources of xenoestrogens?
These are endocrine disruptors – chemicals that alter the normal function of hormones.  Under normal conditions, the endocrine system releases hormones that tell other parts of the body what to do, but when chemicals from the outside get into our bodies, they have the ability to mimic our natural hormones and block or bind to hormone receptors.
Here’s the thing: xenoestrogens are a category of the endocrine disruptor group that specifically have estrogen-like effects. When xenoestrogens enter the body they’re stored in fat cells, and increase the total amount of estrogen, which can result in estrogen dominance.
You can avoid them by choosing organic foods to eat and avoiding packaged foods, using natural safe skin care products without parabens and other harmful chemicals, and avoiding plastic containers and chlorine. You can also choose chemical free, biodegradable laundry and household cleaning products.  You can even your own natural biodegradable cleaning products with safe and effective ingredients, which I will cover in another blog soon!

• Fill up on fiber and fat

Could an apple a day keep PMS away?  It might sound too simple to be a solution for a complex issue like hormones. But consuming enough fiber in your daily diet is actually one of the best places to start.
Your hormones have to be flushed from the body by the liver after they’ve been circulated.  Guess where the liver lets go of them?  In your intestines, where they pass out of the body under normal conditions.  However, sometimes they hang out and cause problems, because the body reclaims these “waste” hormones.
This is where fiber comes in – the fiber you eat can help bind to these hormones and prevent them from being reabsorbed. Boost your daily intake to 25 to 30 grams and you’ll be off to a good start.  As Aviva Romm, MD says, “When we effectively eliminate excess and toxic estrogens, we experience fewer women’s health problems including PMS, fibroids, problems with endometriosis, frequent and heavy periods, and cyclic breast pain and lumps.” (Aviva Romm, MD is a Yale-trained physician specializing in integrative medicine for women and children.
Fat is also your friend when it comes to hormone balance.  One study showed evidence that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids (found in flax seeds, chia seeds, wild salmon, avocados…) might help to prevent postpartum depression, menopausal problems, postmenopausal osteoporosis, and breast cancer.  Fatty acids are vital for proper functioning of cells and hormones.  The thing is, many diets have too many omega 6 fatty acids (found in vegetable oils, peanut oil, canola oil, soybean oil, margarine, shortening…) and the proportion of omega 6 to omega 3 gets a little out of whack. Consuming too many omega 6 fatty acids can result in inflammation in the body.  So eat up on omega-3 fatty acids by adding one of these foods to your diet and smoothies on a regular basis: chia seeds, flax seeds, avocado.

• Be a superwoman with superfoods

Fennel essential oil
Fennel essential oil has a variety of benefits when it comes to hormone balance.  You can add a drop of Fennel in water or tea to help fight sweet tooth cravings, promote healthy digestion, and a rockin’ metabolism.  It also supports liver function and circulation.
Wild Orange essential oil
Cold pressed from the peel, wild orange has stimulating and purifying qualities, making it ideal to support healthy immune system function when seasonal threats are high. Wild orange essential oil is also a powerful cleanser and purifying agent, and it protects against seasonal and environmental threats, as well as provides antioxidants, which are essential to overall health.
Maca
A tuber which is native to South America and top notch for helping with hormonal imbalances, by regulating the hypothalamus and pituitary glands in the brain.  Maca is high in calcium, potassium, iron, fiber and protein. What’s amazing about maca is that it’s an endocrine adaptogen, meaning it doesn’t contain any hormones, but it has the nutrients necessary to support normal hormone production.  Do you have hot flashes, low libido, fatigue, adrenal issues, or PMS?  Get some maca in your smoothie. Check out my Chocolate Mint Maca Smoothie below!
Basil essential oil
This herb and essential oil has a warm, spicy, yet herbal aroma, and provides great benefits to both the mind and body. Need hormone balancing?  Basil acts as a cooling agent for the skin, promotes mental alertness and lessens anxious feelings when diffused, and you can take a drop internally to provide soothing support during your menstrual cycle.
Cacao
I’m not just talking about any old candy bar here. Raw cacao and processed chocolate sold in bars and pieces are two completely different things. Processed chocolate is made with sugar, cocoa, milk, and other ingredients.  Raw cacao undergoes a fermentation process that preserves the antioxidants, and is typically used in the form of powder, beans, or cacao nibs.
Cacao contains lots of magnesium which is needed for more than 300 biochemical reactions in the body! Magnesium is critical for energy metabolism, nerve and muscle function, a healthy immune system, keeping the heart beat steady, and regulating blood glucose levels. Cacao also has phenethylamine, which triggers the release of endorphins and neurochemicals that cause us to feel happiness and pleasure.  Plus, cacao enhances brain levels of serotonin, which is the ‘feel-good’ chemical. Serotonin levels typically drop with PMS, so eating cacao can boost the brain levels of hormones that are calming and restorative for your body and mind.

Whip up this smoothie 1-3 times a week for an energizing, grounding, and hormone-balancing treat with cacao, maca, and peppermint essential oil. Peppermint is an essential oil I use almost daily. A high menthol content—like that found in the doTERRA Peppermint essential oil — distinguishes the best quality Peppermint from other products.  Peppermint essential oil promotes healthy respiratory function and clear breathing, good digestive health, and it’s great for boosting your energy!
INGREDIENTS
2 cups water
1 cup spinach
1 banana
¼ avocado
3 dates, pitted
1 Tablespoon cacao powder
1 teaspoon maca powder
1-2 drops peppermint essential oil
COMBINE ingredients, except essential oil into a blender. BLEND until smooth and creamy. Add essential oil last, to taste. Makes 16 ounces.

INGREDIENTS
3 stalks celery
1 cup pineapple
Handful of kale
1 lime
2 cucumbers
​½ drop-1 drop basil essential oil
Add ingredients, except essential oil into a juicer. Juice and add essential oil last, to taste. Makes 32 ounces.

In this refreshing and sweet smoothie, fennel meets orange – another tummy taming oil. The combination of fiber from collard greens and pear, and the essential oil ingredients can help to ease stomach issues and bloating. This is a perfect smoothie to whip up before or during your menstrual cycle, or to sip before a heavy meal!

​INGREDIENTS
1 ½ cups almond milk
1 stalk collard greens
1 pear
Juice of 1 lime
½ – 1 drop fennel essential oil
​1/2- 1 drop wild orange essential oil
COMBINE ingredients, except essential oil into a blender. BLEND until smooth and creamy. Add essential oil last, to taste. Makes 16 ounces

Demos la bienvenida a la Primavera, una temporada que a todos nos encanta!
En la medicina tradicional oriental,  la primavera es el tiempo del hígado, el gran filtro de tóxicos  y de cuyo estado depende en gran medida la salud del resto de nuestro organismo, es la época del año donde nuestro cuerpo se pone a depurar.¿Cómo podemos ayudar a nuestros cuerpos hacer esto? Llevando a cabo una alimentación libre de toxinas, de alimentos inflamatorios y de aquéllos que dejan residuos ácidos en nuestro organismo durante varios días. Alimentarse sólo a base de verduras y frutas organicas, añadir jugos y licuados verdes a la dieta, hacer una buena combinación de alimentos, cenar temprano e intentar respetar siempre el reloj biológico de las horas de comer y de descansar.
Aqui te paso unos tips  básicos para hacer un detox por tu cuenta, para que puedas hacerlo en el momento que necesites y en cualquier época del año.

1. Comer alimentos alcalinos, que no acidifiquen la sangre. Por lo tanto, comer más verduras, en especial las de color verde (col, apio, brócoli), las de sabor amargo (rabanitos, endivias, alcachofas), los germinados y las verduras fermentadas. Si son organicas mejor, porque así ingerimos menos toxinas y podemos centrarnos en depurar los otros tóxicos.
2. Consumir sólo alimentos de la temporada, locales y organicos. Si queremos eliminar toxinas lo primero que debemos hacer es no ingerirlas. Hay alimentos que consumimos durante un detox que si los compramos de la industria convencional están repletos de pesticidas, herbicidas y funguicidas.
3. Eliminar los alimentos inflamatorios porque bloquean el hígado, desmineralizan, debilitan y roban energía. Fuera café, alcohol, azúcar, harinas, alimentos procesados y envasados, conservantes, colorantes, sal refinada, gluten, lácteos, embutidos, soja, maíz.
4. Tomar súperalimentos desintoxicantes como el aloe vera, las algas chlorella o espirulina, o el de trigo de forma opcional. Estos alimentos ricos en clorofila ayudan a eliminar toxinas y depurar el organismo. Son un buen complemento si queremos acelerar el proceso de detox. Con poca cantidad de uno de ellos es suficiente. La mejor manera de tomar aloe vera es bebiendo un shot con tu jugo organico en ayunas.
5. Sustituir el desayuno habitual por un vaso de agua tibia con limón en ayunas y el resto de la mañana tomar jugos y licuados verdes desintoxicantes y depurativos. Mi licuadora favorita y las mas potente de todas es la Vitamix, por si no tienes tiempo o ganas de limpiar todo el equipo para hacer jugos.
6. Descansar, así evitamos consumir alimentos que dan energía falsa y bloquean el hígado, como el azúcar, los panes dulces, el pan, el café o las bebidas azucaradas o energéticas. Al principio podemos pensar que necesitamos el café para despertarnos y afrontar el día, pero eso es solo un síntoma de que tenemos el hígado bloqueado y demasiadas toxinas. El agua con limón y los jugos y licuados verdes son las rutinas mañaneras que más energía nos dan a la vez que nos ayudan a desbloquear el hígado y a eliminar toxinas.
7. Hacer ejercicio, como andar, practicar natación, hacer yoga o pilates. Es importante movilizar el cuerpo para expulsar las toxinas mientras que a la vez nos ayuda a estrechar la relación cuerpo-mente-espíritu y favorece un sueño reparador, indispensable para el buen funcionamiento de nuestros órganos y la desintoxicación.
8. Beber más líquido que de costumbre, especialmente infusiones depurativas, caldos vegetales, agua o agua con limón. El cardo mariano, el boldo, el diente de león, el desmodium, la cola de caballo, o la alcachofa ayudan al proceso de desintoxicación porque apoyan el hígado, que es el encargado de depurar las toxinas, fabricar bilis y facilitar la digestión de las grasas.
9. Cenar lo antes posible, y no más tarde de las 20h para no sobrecargar el hígado, ya que a partir de las 22h este órgano empieza a hacer sus funciones de limpieza y eliminación, pero para hacerlo no puede estar a la vez recibiendo comida. Debemos organizarnos las comidas de tal manera que sigamos los horarios naturales de nuestro cuerpo, durante el detox y para siempre. Si comemos a las 4 de la tarde, seguro que no cenamos hasta las 22h de la noche, y esto no debería ser una costumbre sino como excepción (como cuando salimos a cenar con amigos). Si podemos hacer estos cambios de desayunar, comer y cenar saludable en las horas que nuestro cuerpo está preparado para hacerlo, permitiremos que el cuerpo elimine de forma natural las toxinas, ganaremos energía y, en definitiva, años de salud y vida.
10. Seguir rutinas de cuidado del cuerpo que ayudan a eliminar toxinas. La piel también es un órgano de desintoxicación, así que hacer algún baño de vapor o sauna, cepillar el cuerpo en seco y/o hacer una ducha de contraste nos ayudará a eliminar toxinas. Un baño resulta ideal si añades al agua 2 tazas de sales de Epsom o Himalaya, 1⁄2 taza de vinagre de manzana, 1⁄4 taza de bicarbonato y 7 gotas de aceite esencial de lavanda. La combinación de estos ingredientes en un baño con agua tibia durante al menos media hora es una excelente manera de eliminar las toxinas del cuerpo a través de la piel. Podemos incluso aumentar los beneficios añadiendo arcilla de bentonita en polvo. ¿Sabías que en la boca también tenemos toxinas? Podemos comprar un cepillo de lengua y limpiarla cada mañana y también practicar el oil-pulling, que consiste en aplicar una cucharada de aceite ecológico (sésamo, coco, oliva) en la boca durante veinte minutos y luego retirarlo. Después lavarnos los dientes con un cepillo –reservado para esta práctica- y aprovechar también para cepillar la lengua.
11. No vas al baño? Si sufrimos estreñimiento podemos tomar una o varias de las siguientes opciones: en ayunas un vaso de agua tibia con limón, un vaso de agua con una cucharada de semillas de lino –mejor si han estado en remojo la noche anterior y si se machacan un poco para abrirse-, un vaso de agua con una cucharada de psyllium, un complemento de magnesio, vitamina C o de carbón activado, realizar más ejercicio físico así damos movimiento a nuestros intestinos.

• 12. Trabajar a nivel profundo la parte emocional para que los días del detox sean de AMOR y RESPETO hacia uno mismo por encima de todo y sobretodo el punto de partida para REAPRENDER a comer, a quererse, a respetarse, a dejar atrás los antojos y los sentimientos de culpa y a liberarnos de emociones y creencias tóxicas.

Espero que te haya gustado y si crees que puede ayudar a alguien más no dudes en compartirlo 

Tu Detox Coach