Practices to start implementing

Starting your wellness journey is SO FREAKIN OVERWHELMING. Let me dumb some things down for you. Let’s start out with a few basic tips that have changed my life. These investments are investments in your health. I can honestly tell you I have never felt better than I do in life right now. That translates across the board in work, education, relationships, faith etc.

1. No phone first 30 minutes of your morning: Incorporating a no-phone policy during the first hour of your morning routine can promote a healthier and more intentional start to your day, allowing you to focus on self-care, mindfulness, and setting a positive tone for the hours ahead. Helps promote mindfulness, focus, and productivity + reduces stress. Helps improve goal setting first thing in the morning. Reducing exposure to blue light and digital stimulation early in the day can help regulate your circadian rhythm and improve overall sleep quality.

2. Supplementing. Nature Sunshine products are the supplements my doctor recommended & to say they changed my life would be an understatement. Daily I take the Probiotic 11, black walnut, chlorophyll, and colostrum. I SWEAR colostrum has helped heal my immune system so much. They also have a great B-12 for anyone who is low in energy. Use code “MACKENZIE” to save money every time you order.

3. DITCH THE ANTIBIOTICS!!! Unless I am on my death bed you will not catch me taking antibiotics. If you are sick take their silver or goldenseal (this has become my new magic in a bottle). Have a bug bite, silver shield gel. Guys this stuff is magic and can be used for anything. This is my moms magic potion she would give us anytime we were sick!! Works so great to kill any bacteria. Search “silver” and use code “MACKENZIE” to save $.

4. Oil pulling with organic coconut oil: swishing around coconut, sesame, or sunflower oil for 10-20 mins helps promote oil health, gum health, teeth whitening, and overall detoxification.

5. Balancing your hormones. GOSH, there are so many things disrupting our hormones. Fragrances, cleaning supplies, deodorant — the list goes on. Read below to see my swaps to make in your household; although I am aware this I difficult. Happy Mammoth has so many good products to help you get your hormones balanced. I daily take their Hormone Harmony +, Estrocontrol as well as the Bloat Banisher.

6. Tongue scrapping before anything else in the morning. This helps remove bacteria built up while sleeping. Linking the one I use here: Tongue scraping is a simple oral hygiene practice that involves gently scraping the surface of the tongue to remove bacteria, food debris, and dead cells. This practice is believed to offer several potential benefits, including — oral hygiene, reducing bad breath, enhanced taste, and increase overall health.

7. Morning sunlight, open your blinds or spend at least twenty mins outside: Exposure to morning sunlight can offer several potential health benefits, thanks to the natural light and its impact on the body's internal clock — benefits include regulation of circadian rhythm, enhanced mood and energy levels, vitamin D, improved focus and alertness.

8. Ice rolling (linking mine here): reduces morning puffiness, improves circulation, skin tightening and toning, enhanced product absorption, eased muscle tension, and refreshed sensation.

Non - Toxic Swaps

Deodorant

Why you need to swap: We often don’t take into consideration how the simple swipe of a stick on our underarms can be so detrimental to our health. But with ingredients like the ones below (which can be found in virtually all drugstore deodorants), it makes a bit more sense… (Primally Pure)

• Aluminum – Linked to Alzheimer’s disease and heavy metal toxicity

• Parabens – Endocrine/hormone disruptors, found in 99% of breast cancer tissue sampled in this study

• Propylene glycol – Classified as skin irritant by the EWG

• Phthalates – Endocrine disruptors linked to permanent birth defects

• Triclosan – Linked to liver toxicity and thyroid dysfunction

• Formaldehyde contaminated synthetics – carcinogenic

• Fragrance – Cocktail of chemicals creating skin sensitivities and irritations

Aluminum, often the most active ingredient in antiperspirants, poses serious risks to our overall health as its carried through the bloodstream, targets the central nervous system and also settles into fatty tissue and breast tissue.

What’s the solution?? The founder of Primally Pure spoke on a podcast which was so insightful to learn more. Primally Pure deodorant is the first swap I would make when you’re starting your wellness journey. There is an overwhelming amount of research detailing how toxic deodorant is for you. We were made to sweat, it’s not bad, it’s how our body detoxifies itself. Use code “MACKENZIE15” to save. Listed below are the clean ingredients in Primally Pure deodorant. I do want to note if you’ve been using regular deodorant it is going to take a while for your body to adjust so just make that mental note as you start.

Cleaning Supplies + Detergent

Why you need to swap? Okay so we sleep every night in sheets full of toxic ingredients? Wear clothes that are loaded with toxic ingredients? OR better yet, we spend all this money or organic food just for our expensive, organic food to touch our counter tops that are loaded with hazardous cleaning ingredients?

If you really practically think about it, it doesn't make any sense…

So what do we do. I can recommend products left and right but first I want you to educate yourself. From my experience you cannot switch out your products and stay consistent without educating yourself. The Branch Basics Blog is an incredible place to start. Also listen to the founder speak on podcasts such as the Skinny Confidential.

For more affordable options, white vinegar works great for cleaning. Also make sure to check out your local farmers markets, people are often selling products with good, clean ingredients.

DO BUY products that are:

HUMAN-SAFE & PLANT-BASED Replace all toxic household cleaning products with ones that are human-safe, when possible, especially when there are immune compromised individuals, young children or babies in the home + not an eye irritant + not a skin irritant + not a lung irritant +plant and mineral based.

DON’T BUY products that have:

Signal words like CAUTION, WARNING, OR DANGER + petroleum based ingredients + antibacterial agents + parabens, phthalates, SLS + synthetic fragrances + synthetic preservatives such as methylisothiazolinone, phenoxyethanol, sodium benzoate, & potassium sorbate Our top suggestion for your replacement? Well, Branch Basics of course!”

Why I personally love Branch Basics: for starters, it’s simple. This was one of the last switches I made but I recommend it be one of your firsts. Their starter kit gives you the concentrate + bottles for every product you could really ever need. I personally cannot get over their deodorant. Maybe it’s just me but I can feel the difference in my clothes & sheets. Get $10 off your order here.

Skincare

I know beef fat on your skin sounds odd, but trust me here. Primally Pure has the best skincare I’ve found. I have been using them for two years and my skin has never been better!

Another great option is Clearstem, I use their facial SPF, moisturizer and MINDBODYSKIN and clearity!

Sunscreen

My facial sunscreen is from Clearstem! Sky and Sol is made with Tallow, Zinc Oxide, Olive Oil, Shea Butter, Jojoba, Propolis, and Beeswax. I love that this brand has such amazing ingredients and does not leave the white residue like zinc oxide does. This sunscreen is 10/10.

Food as Medicine

If you follow me anywhere you know I do not shut up about grass-fed beef. I am a huge proponent of shopping local farmers markets for your produce and meat — however, if you need one this farm is about a half hour from my house & I have held so many conversations with them + trust their work!! Grazed Provisions has so many options — my person favorite is their ancestral blend of ground beef with the kidney, liver & heart.

Liver is the most nutrient dense food on the planet, there is no food that will nourish your body the way liver does, it has great amounts of iron (3x the amount in red meat)(in which most females are deficient in + we need more of this before and during our periods), vitamin A, vitamin K2, and B vitamins! Deficiency in Vitamin A leads to infertility in both male and females. Vitamin A is required for normal testosterone production. Equally important for females, when a women is deficient in vitamin A they are unable to maintain pregnancies - resulting in miscarriages. With how important these nutrients are, you want to make sure you are buying the highest quality you can afford. Grazed Provisions truly has great prices, shipping can be a lot but if you order a LOT it evens out. Code MACKENZIE will also save you 10%.

If you’re curious where I learned this information it was in “The Fifth Vital Sign.”

Learning how amazing liver is for you I recommend the ancestral blend, but if you cannot get behind it, Paleo Valley has a supplement called Organ Complex that contains - liver, heart and kidney to.

Beef Sticks: Paleovalley is a new found brand, they have some of the best products for beef sticks, electrolytes, protein (their chocolate bone broth, you NEED it). Tap the link above for 15% off your order! Their beef sticks are 100% grass fed and taste so much better than any other brand I’ve tried. Since beef sticks are such a great snack, I have tried a lot.

Sweet Potatoes & carrots are GREAT for anti-inflammatory.