#botanicalbri

It is important to remember that you always have to meet yourself where you are in your health journey; the exciting thing is that you are only one minor adjustment away from getting closer to your wellness goals, as the saying goes, “small changes eventually add up to huge results”... keep on keeping on! You are in a long term committed relationship with your mental, emotional and physical health... it simply can’t be a fling! The process of acquiring life long health is dynamic and forever changing, try not to get too attached to any one ideology with any area of your health and loosen the grips a bit on super rigid/all or nothing approach to health, wellness and longevity What once worked amazing for you one week, one year or one minute again might not work for you currently in your health journey (even if you had wild success with a certain approach many moons ago) The state of your health is related to many factors, including the relationship of your genetics and lifestyle (aka epigenetic), how adaptable you are in general when exposed to “stress, toxins, pathogens etc” over our lifetime, the average of your daily habits and the ability to continue understand and evolve your personal health requirements When dis-ease ensues in the body, it is important that you assess not only our current state (are we in a state of deficiency or excess aka hypo or hyper, is there lack of nourishment, nutrient assimilation or decreased functioning, is there stagnancy etc?) but also what was happening in your life right before a decline in health began (was there something really stressful or traumatic that occurred, were you sleeping less, was your diet subpar, were you lacking energetic and emotional boundaries etc) #briannaapproved #holistichealth #herbalism #botanicalBri #botanicals #herbalenergetics #biochemicalindividuality #functionalmedicine #teamrootcause #longevity #epigenetics #recoveringsuperspaz #DailyD #emotionalhealth #mentalhealth (at Bradley Beach, New Jersey) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLPFmptDVVc/?igshid=16a2aire5xj1c

Did you know herbs can be divided into 12 main energetic categories based on their taste, constituents and basic effects on the body!? ✔️How herbs affect energy product: . ▪ Warming-herbs that stimulate/speed up metabolism, increase energy production and warmth, brings blood flow to tissues that are pale and cool ▪ Cooling-herbs that sedate or slow down metabolism and decrease energy production while cooling or soothing irritation and redness ✔️How herbs affect the density of tissues: . ▪ Moistening- herbs that increase the moisture content of tissues, aka they lubricate/ soften dry/hardened tissues ▪ Drying- herbs that remove excess fluid from tissue, making them more firm and dense, relieving conditions of dampness and swelling ▪ Balancing -herbs that normalize tissues that are either damp or dry, balances the amount of moisture and minerals within the tissues ✔️How Herbs affect muscle tone, flow and secretion: . ▪ Constricting-herbs that increase the tone or tension within muscles and other tissues, which stops excess flow and secretion; tone up tissues that have become overly relaxed/ weak that are secreting fluids such as blood or mucus ▪ Relaxing-herbs that relax muscle cramps and spasms, relieving excess tension in the tissues; promotes easier flow/ movement and can increase deficient secretions ▪ Nourishing- herbs that provide essential nutrients that aid tissue healing, improving tissue structure and function #briannaapproved #botanicalBri #herbs #plantmedicine #herbalenergetics #herbalist (at Ocean Grove, New Jersey) https://www.instagram.com/p/CKbfpjDjI7F/?igshid=1n44uv0w8ylqv

It is SUMMA TIME and the weather is, well hot AF, so we want to make sure we stay cool and hydrated! —— Eating seasonally isn’t new around the rest of the world and believe it or not, we can optimize not only digestive health wit this approach, but also energy levels and nutrition optimization ! Let’s not forget it is also Pitta season aka hot, fiery, dry (you know your girl is Pitta dominant aka super spaz) —— Notice that you naturally crave more “cooling” foods during the summer (no one is featuring their beef stew right now)…you maybe are upping your smoothie game (aka all the sh*t in the ninja), find yourself craving fruit salads or maybe just big ass salads (plant compounds level 1000) in general and you even see some ice team level up during the summer months (hibiscus refresher anyone!?) —— Herbs have energetic qualities based on the reactions they cause in the body (they can be cooling/heating/drying etc)...in general, many sour herbs/foods, such as lemon balm, rose hips, hibiscus, lemons, limes etc have a cooling effect on the body (so more of these in the summer!), while astringent herbs can also be cooling in nature, such as rose, raspberry leaf and even black tea (thank you tannins) —— Cooling herbs to add into your summer routine can include peppermint, chamomile, dandelion, rose, raspberry leaf….don’t forget bitter and astringent foods such as arugula, fennel, jicama, basil, broccoli rabe, citrus peel (actually where most of the Vitamin C is as well), as well as hydrating fruits and veggies such as watermelon, cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, all the berries, cherries and pineapple —— #briannaapproved #summerfun #botanicalBri #bitters #pitta #summerheat #coolingfoods #hearthealth #TCM #holistichealth #functionalfood #ayurveda #shoplocal #smoothie #plantcompounds #farmersmarket (at Ocean Grove, New Jersey) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBv2rqcDyG1/?igshid=e5hnr067k36z

Did you know our salivary glands produce 1.5 liters of saliva each day!? —— Many factors can contribute to the state of our digestion, including our basic constitution, stress, our actual diet etc —- Due to a variety of factors, such as gastrointestinal imbalances, HOW you actually eat (not chewing properly, or eating under stress, trolling on social media, drink beverages while eating and even consuming cold foods) many of us do not properly absorb all of the nutrients that we actually consume…and we all know, it is not just as simple as “you are what you eat” anymore, but rather, you are what you absorb —— Herbs that are considered tonics to the digestive system and generally help to support overall digestive health include bitters, carminatives and prebiotics —— Bitter tasting herbs have a direct relationship with the nervous system and the gut. When bitter taste receptors on our tongue (and throughout our digestive system) sense the bitter taste, a signal is sent (through the taste and vagus nerves) to the brain to tell the body it is time to start the digestion process —— The parasympathetic nervous system (rest/digest and feed/breed) is activated and digestive secretions (which can include bile from the liver, insulin from the pancreas, and digestive enzymes from the stomach) are released —— I love bitters so much because they not only improve the digestibility of food, but also have a calming effect on the nervous system (via the  hypothalamus and the vagus nerve aka gut brain connection) which can put is in a more emotionally relaxed state —— Bitter herbs should be taken 15-20 before a meal, or you can use throughout the day (I add mine to seltzer water for a fun pick me up!)….some of my favorites include dandelion, gentian, artichoke, chamomile, fennel seed, Oregon grape root, ginger root, prickly ash bark, yellow dock root and rosemary ——- #briannaapproved #bitters #botanicalBri #Britanicals #digestion #digestivehealth #guthealth #gutgeek #digestion #liver #liverhealth #herbs (at Juanitos Restaurant) https://www.instagram.com/p/CBDnP2yjyla/?igshid=153l4oulm5grd

When thinking about holistic health, we have to look at the functional state of imbalances in Vital energy on a cellular, organ/system and personal level….in herbalism we refer to this as energetics and constitutional types (which is determined by the strength and functioning of organs), in western medicine we might call this biochemical individuality, or just the concept of there isn’t a one size fits all approach to ANYTHING when it comes to your health —— When dis-ease ensues in the body, it is important that you assess not only our current sate (are we in a state of deficiency or excess aka hypo or hyper, is there lack of nourishment, nutrient assimilation or decreased functioning, is there stagnancy etc?) but also what was happening in your life right before a decline in health began (was there something really stressful or traumatic that occurred, were you sleeping less, was your diet subpar, were you lacking energetic and emotional boundaries etc) ——- The state of your health is related to many factors, including the relationship of your genetics and lifestyle (aka epigenetic), how adaptable you are in general when exposed to “stress, toxins, pathogens etc” over our lifetime, the average of your daily habits and the ability to continue understand and evolve your personal health requirements —— You always have to meet yourself where you are . . Remember, what worked for you one week, one year or one minute again might not work for you currently in your health journey (even if you had wild success with a certain approach, diet, nutrient many moons ago)…the process of acquiring life long health is dynamic and forever changing, try not to get too attached to any one ideology with any area of your health and loosen the grips a bit on super rigid/all or nothing approach to health, wellness and longevity —— #briannaapproved #holistichealth #herbalism #botanicalBri #botanicals #herbalenergetics #biochemicalindividuality #functionalmedicine #teamrootcause #longevity #epigenetics #recoveringsuperspaz #DailyD #emotionalhealth #mentalhealth (at Ocean Grove, New Jersey) https://www.instagram.com/p/B_SPy8LDPb5/?igshid=3cgx25zeonw0