Why You Should Never Drink Coffee On A Plane | Holiday Q&A

How do I support my gut microbiome when my routine is disrupted? I actually carry my probiotics with me, like which I mentioned they survive temperature changes and do not need refrigeration. Also, do something in between the travel to feed the good guys. To support your gut microbiome, do not drink the coffee on airplanes. You're drinking all the microplastics that come from the interior of that paper cup. How can I regulate my nervous system when I'm around my family? The easy one is. Welcome back to Rooted in Wellness, everyone, to the solo podcast and q and A. Today's holiday season is here, and with it comes a big change in our rhythm for so many of us on many levels. More gatherings, more travel, more food and drink, more emotions, less movement, and sometimes less of all of those routines and rituals that help us feel really feel grounded and well. So today I'm going to do something a little special. I'm answering your top questions about how to support your body, your energy, your nervous system throughout the holiday season, but realistically and gently, without perfection. That's the key word. So we're going to be talking about what it means to feel well and stay well, but without restriction. Restriction is the key word. We don't want that. Enjoying food, enjoying celebration, but without the feeling of spending, spiraling, navigating all those family dynamics without losing yourself and really supporting your gut and your immune system without needing a suitcase full of supplements. All right, so think of this as your grounding guide for the season ahead and a moment to really come back into your center, even when life gets a little bit loud. All right, so join me in taking a long, slow, deep breath in side out. Acknowledge that you're here, listening to this, tuning in to navigating this together, and really coming up with a plan. This is exactly what I'm doing with all of my clients this time of year. My clients all know that this time of year is about not getting set back with their goals, not waiting until January to step into their goals, and really being prepared to deal with whatever comes up. So let's dive in. How do I support my gut microbiome when my routine is disrupted? Oh, and I'm traveling a lot. This is a great question. Your microbes love consistency. Your body loves consistency. Right? Your microbes are also very resilient. All right, so when you travel, think fiber. Eat the rainbow again. And lots of hydration, right? Fiber is key to support you. Those polyphenols that come from those colorful veggies are going to support the Microbes, they're going to feed the good guys in your gut microbiome. Here's what I do when I'm traveling. So I actually carry my probiotics with me like Megasport, which I mentioned. They survive temperature changes and do not need refrigeration. That's why it's also a brand that I absolutely love. And you're going to feel the support that it gives. You also do something in between the travel to feed the good guys to support your gut microbio. Next, whenever you eat, wherever you are, try to prioritize colorful veggies. All right? All of those colorful foods, the reds, the purples, the greens, the blues, the yellows, are going to feed your gut microbiome and your immune system. So another trick is that I travel with protein coffee. The brand that I like is strong coffee. Really yummy flavors as well that give you protein. There's also some MCT oil in there as well. Or I travel with a really high quality protein powder. If I know it's going to be a really big travel day, then I keep this with me as at all times as a backup to fill me up so that I'm not reaching for all of that ultra processed food that is going to be at arm's reach when you're hungry, all right. Or on the airplane. Keeping snacks with you is also an essential. So things like walnuts and Brazil nuts. Or if you want to make your homemade trail mix, you can add in some raisins or maybe some dark chocolate. This is also super helpful for the kiddos. Make sure that you have these things with you all the time. And again, it's also just about being prepared. I also always travel with my medicinal herbal teas. Have these teas over airport coffee. Do not drink the coffee on airplanes. Ew. It's not high quality coffee. You're drinking all the microplastics that come from the interior of that paper cup. Essential teas to travel with are things like ginger and peppermint and fennel or even digestive go tos. These are also really great to have for the kiddos on hand. Also, always travel with my beekeeper's honey with me. My family just expects it because it's so supportive and so soothing as well. And these soothing herbal teas are also going to support you in not getting backed up. Okay. When you're eating those new foods or for a lot of people. A lot of my clients report feeling constipated when they travel. Here's a great hack for you. Just do not purchase Tea bags that come in plastic bags. All right. You want to make sure that these are organic herbal teas that come in paper bags. The other thing that's super supportive for your microbes is actually listening to different frequencies, sound healing. Listen to binaural healing beats when you are on an airplane or different frequency sounds. I know over the holidays I actually listen to music. This comes from the ashram. Actually. The type of music that you're listening to is not only infusing your body, your cells, your mind, but also your foods. So listen to the things that are going to help your gut really feel calm, happy and relaxed. All right, question number five. The holidays are emotionally activating for me. How can I regulate my nervous system when I'm around my family? Ooh, this is such a great question and I think relevant for so many people. So if you have ever felt stressed and you noticed that your stomach felt off, this is no different of a scenario, right? So Ayurveda teaches us that emotions are stored in our gut. That's why we feel things in our stomach. Biologically. We cannot digest food effectively when we're in this aggravated stressed out state versus when we are in that calm, relaxed state. You've all felt it. Science now is echoing this. There's that gut brain axis that I just mentioned. It's a two way highway of emotion and digestion. But family is family, right? And we get to decide whether or not we're going to let those conversations or let those scenarios sit disrupt us. And I know it's much easier than said, right? But think about it right now. If you were to mentally prepared kind of as your own coach, thinking about what people or events or types of conversations might come up at events or at the dinner table, what are those things that are going to make you feel disrupted? Just think about it for a second now think about the difference of you going into that event prepared, choosing to go into that moment intentionally to be prepared to feel calm and maybe even having a backup plan. It's really supportive in a different way, right? Here are some tools that I use that I also teach. And if my family is listening, I love you. These could be for you too. Pass this on to your loved ones. All right? The easy one is grounding breaths, right? We've all felt that shift when we take those slow inhalations and those deep exhalations. Let's try right now. Exhale all the air out of your system. When you're ready, inhale for the count of four. One, two, three, four. Exhale for Six. One, two, three, four, five, six. You can keep repeating that as I speak because you can do this from anywhere. Before you walk into any gathering over the holidays, tune in to the power of your breath to change your state. That slow exhale is really key. Don't underestimate the power of your breath. You can even do it when you're sitting at a dinner table when conversation might be getting heated. Quietly breathe in. Quietly exhale the aggravation when the politics come up. And if need be, my gosh, go and take a bathroom break and then come back with a sense of ease. All right, next you can think about doing vagus nerve resets. So maybe you'll be in the kitchen, you can hum. Maybe you'll be at a loud event and you can quietly hum. Nobody would ever know. Or maybe you can sing out loud and sing with loved ones. And if need be, you can pull out a bowl with ice cubes and water in it and you can put your hands into that icy cold bowl of water up to your wrists. Stay in there for a few breaths. You can even make this a family activity. Pull out a few bowls with water and ice. They won't even know what it does. But I promise you, after this practice, this exercise, they will feel a change in state. This is something that really tunes into resetting our vagus nerve out of that fight or flight into our parasympathetic. You will feel a shift and you'll see others feel it as well. I also like to recommend traveling with essential oils like peppermint or lavender or even vetiver is actually proven to help calm the amygdala. That's your brain's emotional center. I love essential oils. They're so soothing. It's kind of anchoring you in a more of a spa feel. If you're at a family dinner or at a friend dinner, then you be the one to instigate. Starting with gratitude, go around the table and declare something that you're grateful for. Be the one that sets the tone for what the energy is going to be like when you sit down at that table. You'll see a change in state in everyone. And lastly, just remember your power to set a boundary. If you need to get up, step outside. Feel your feet on the ground. Breathe deeply. If you can, look up at the expansiveness of nature, seek calming, soothing sounds. If you can but seek some stillness, tune into what is aggravating you in that moment. And hey, maybe now, with this awareness and thinking ahead, you could potentially go into these moments over the Holidays, learning something about yourself, learning the moments that cause you to feel triggered, and maybe recognizing that those could be happening for you to give you the capability to grow or evolve. What a thought. We're going to use this as an opportunity for you to actually grow so that you can let go of that tension that accumulates within your body and kind of go into it with a sense of ease and grace. Oh, and another trick. Just in case the person that you are with is toxic, we can use that word angry, aggravated, or looking for a reaction in other people. Imagine sitting down or standing. You can do this right now. Actually visualize wrapping yourself in a beautiful steel cylinder. Steel cylinder. Nothing can get out, Nothing can get in. Visualize your energy being preserved inside of your container. The person outside of you with the aggravation, their energy cannot penetrate your cylinder. All right? It's a powerful visual visualization practice. Just remember you're choosing to conserve the energy that you work so hard to hold. All right? You can use that as a visual opportunity that nobody would notice, as a way for you to set a boundary. Notice your posture when you're in your cylinders. Stand tall. Breathe deeply. It's a powerful tool. Question number six. How do I stop the all or nothing mentality around food this time of year? I love holiday food, but always overdo it and feel guilty. Oh, I've been there. I remember the days when I would actually just use the holidays as an opportunity to binge eat. And gosh, I remember how terrible I felt afterwards. So this mindset is the real energy drain. So we hear practitioners talk all the time around this word balance. Yet everything in your environment over the holidays might feel out of balance, especially if you're traveling to different locations. And it can feel really stressful this time of year. So we go to food as a coping mechanism also, right? In my years of being a nutritionist here, here's what I know. Hardcore dieting and hardcore restriction, even consistent restriction over time, generally creates big binge cycles. So many of my clients and myself included, have tried this. I restrict for so long, I think I'm being really, really good. I say no to everything. I say, no, I can't have that. Then all of a sudden, if it's the wrong day at the wrong time with the right foods, ooh, it'll just dive in and binge. And for a lot of the clients that I work with, it's not just one day. It's binging for a day or two or three or a week, until finally we hit that rock bottom. Feel, and it feels terrible. Have you been there? Chances are you've probably felt a bit of that. Again, thinking ahead and being prepared, we're not going to do that to ourselves this season. Your body is a beautiful vessel that's constantly working to help you heal. So let's not abuse it. All right, here's how to break the cycle. The first thing that I would love for you to do is to remove all labels like the good food or bad foods. Food is food. Food is neutral. Unless it's food like Twinkies or McDonald's. I really put those into the category of not even being real food because there's so many ingredients in it that your body wouldn't even recognize. So hopefully those foods aren't part of your holiday travels. But otherwise, if you think about food like chocolate cake and chocolate. Chocolate cake is just chocolate cake. Cheesecake is just cheesecake. All right, avoid the labels. And when you avoid the labels, the next thing you're going to do is you're going to eat with intention. Think about the foods that you're looking forward to. Think about the foods that you want to choose over the holiday season that truly feels worth it, things that you really want to enjoy fully. I have a practice with my clients. When I ask them to think about the foods, think about what it feels like to be in front of it. What does it look like? What does it feel like to eat it? And more often than not, there's like this happiness that comes over their face. So you can do the exact same thing. But I want you to do it with this question. Are you eating those foods mindlessly again, throwing everything down the hatch because it's there, or are you doing it mindfully over time? With this mindfulness, you'll practice saying no to the foods that really cause you that digestive and mental distress. And you'll be present to the foods that truly feel worth it and indulgent. And your body's gonna love them, too. It's gonna feel just really nostalgic and beautiful within you. So the third thing is that I want you to tune into your blood sugar. Regulate your blood sugar. Some of you are seasoned fasters, and you're aware of this. You're using fasting strategically between the more indulgent meals. For those of you who are thinking you're just gonna fast hardcore and restrict your body of food, and you're doing this erratically and all, and you feel like you're starving, you might actually be putting more unintentional stress onto your body. So Instead, be intentional about your digestive breaks and when you do eat to regulate your blood sugar again, go back to that concept of eating the protein and fiber at every meal first and avoid going hungry to the open buffets and those types of events so that you're not starving. Okay? You know that you're eat everything. Then lastly, I want you to release the guilt. And for some of you, I can kind of feel you right now because you might be an emotional eater or like me in the past, maybe use the holidays as a time to really kind of think that you're feeding emotions within you when you're just doing a big disservice and punishment to your body. So can you please do me a favor and just listen to what this inner dialogue is? Maybe you're someone who is really curious about this and you want to keep a food journal. If I was working with you in those moments, I would have you pull out your phone. You would create a health section and the notes section on your phone and write down, I feel like I'm frustrated right now and I just want to eat everything. Or I got really, really angry at my family member and I just want to escape to the kitchen and eat. By noticing how you're associating the intensity of your emotions with food, thinking that you're going to see soothe yourself is a way for you to prevent the guilt that's going to happen after. Right after those binge eating cycles. The season doesn't have to be about binging. It has to be about honoring your system and going back to nourishment. So just be be aware of what you might be up against this holiday season. When you do overeat, I want you to drink some warm water with lemon and ginger. I want you to prioritize digestion. I want you to go for those walks after meals and I want you to. That's it, it's over. If you indulged in a food that didn't make you feel good, it's in the past. Let it go. No punishment, just presence like, huh? All right. That happened. Really in tune with how that didn't make my body feel good. So noted. Let's be a little smarter next time. Let's do things that are going to make me feel good. Feeling your best these days takes a lot of effort. So prioritize you. No punishment, just present. You can even think about it now. Again, it's like being prepared for the foods that you're going to eat that are going to feel nostalgic. Being prepared for the foods that your in laws are going to put out that you know you'll indulge in but are really not going to be good for you. For me, I'm thinking about holiday season and looking forward to my mom's Danish rice pudding and how much I love it and how much I overeat it. Or maybe all the chocolates that are going to get sent over from my auntie in Denmark that I love that I'll probably eat too much of. Or even my brother's homemade Indian prantas. I always eat too many, but that's okay. Now my family will join me on those walks after dinner. Or maybe I'm consuming a little bit of an apple cider vinegar shot to kind of stabilize those glucose spikes. But I'm not relying on them. All right? It's just a tool. In those moments of indulgent eating, this is a time for you to really practice self trust, nourishment and even acts of self love. Through food. You can enjoy food, even those fun foods. Food is meant to give you joy. I love food. It's probably why I do what I do. But know that there are so many healthier alternatives out there and lower glycemic, higher fiber recipes out there that you can start to look up based on those holiday classics that you can still enjoy. So go and find them. I'm wishing you all a just powerful season of love, joy, health and happiness. Namaste my friends. Fun holiday recipes coming out for you to enjoy as well.