Welcome back to Nik’s Picks: a round up of the newest wellness trends and the latest novel products that are coming to market from wellness technology to new food brands, supplements, and much more. Enjoy!
Learn: I just saw an email from my friend Mollie McGlocklin, who sent out how you can apply the 80/20 rule to your sleep!
If you’re not familiar with the idea, read this: The 80/20 rule is also known as the Pareto principle or the law of the vital few, which basically means that in many events 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Since I saw her do it with sleep, I thought I would apply Pareto’s Principle to behavior modifications.
How to 80/20 to boost your mood:
Make a list of the 10 things that you’re consistently doing to improve your overall mood.
Here are a few that you could start with:
◦Eating more omega-3’s
◦Adding a side of avocado to your breakfast
◦Having a handful of nuts and seeds for a snack
◦Exploring with the spice, turmeric
◦Adding whole grains to your meals
◦Reducing processed foods
◦Eliminating added sugars
◦Drinking lavender tea
◦Taking supplements such as vitamin D and vitamin K2
You might be asking yourself: Nikki, why do all these things have to do with food?
This is because the connection with our gut and brain is more important than one might think (so important in fact our gut is actually referred to as our 2nd brain!). 90% of serotonin is manufactured in the gut and is responsible for mood, sleep, appetite and gastrointestinal activity. It is also directly correlated with your mental health, wellbeing, and food cravings. This hormone impacts your entire body. It even enables brain cells and other nervous system cells to communicate with each other.
So as you can see: Food and supplements have a great impact on serotonin and in return your mood.
Now that you have your list of ways to boost your mood based on food:
•Look at the other options you’ve written out. Trust yourself and eliminate the ones you don’t see yourself doing. Also go in depth of ways you can realistically accomplish the others.
•Circle the two that make the biggest difference. Do more of those.
•Repeat and take notes of what works for you!
Try: Boost your mood with this Gut-Healing Fudgy Mouse that you can eat ANYTIME with absolutely no guilt.
Ingredients:
1 tsp of grassfed gelatin
2 Tbs of coconut oil
1 Tbs of raw cacao powder
1 Tbs of coconut flour
1/2 tsp raw honey
Instructions:
1. Combine and mix.
2. Let it sit for 2 minutes and enjoy! I personally love eating as is or top off your chia pudding with a dollop.
This recipe is packed full of ingredients with healing properties, for example:
Raw Honey: An all-natural antibacterial, anti-allergenic, anti-inflammatory, expectorant, laxative, sedative, anti-toxic, and fever-reducing. Used to treat chronic bronchitis, blood sugar issues, allergies, sinusitis and contains many vitamins and minerals.
Coconut: Contains lauric acid which reduces bad cholesterol, helps with weight loss, reduces body fat, prevents heart attacks, and is 200 times more powerful than beta carotene for preventing many forms of cancer.
Raw cacao: Has a high ORAC antioxidant content and is a great source of iron. Its rich source of polyphenols help protect against heart attacks, strokes, and is a powerful aphrodisiac.
Gelatin: Gelatin is rich in protein and contains unique amino acids and vitamins. It also promotes gut health by improving gut integrity and digestive strength.
New & Noteworthy: A huge part of why I started ‘Nik’s Picks’ in the first place was to share new and novel brands I am currently loving.. this is why I am so thrilled to share Nutrisense Consistent Glucose Monitor. This monitor allows you to analyze how your body responds to food, exercise, stress, and sleep in real-time. To all my fellow biohack-ery friends, this is for you.
Click here for $25 off your monitor!
Deal of the Week: Are the foods you eat, harming you? With evidence repeatedly linking inflammation and chronic activation of the immune system—both caused by food sensitivities—to some of our most dangerous and debilitating diseases, it’s more important than ever to know which foods work with your body and which ones work against it.
Our nationwide food intolerance test has been used for the past 25 years to detect a board spectrum of food sensitivities and intolerances.
Schedule a discovery call in the next 24 hours and receive $50 off and a complimentary session with me to discuss your test results and a personalized guide to navigate your results realistically (that’s a $150 value for free).
That’s it for this week. Stay tuned for next week!
Wishing you health and happiness,
Nikki Ostrower
