Vibrant Living

🤍 Maybe you don’t need to try harder.

When it feels like you can’t…

✦ Focus
✦ Remember
✦ Get organized
✦ Follow through

…it’s easy to become frustrated with yourself.

Why can’t I get it together?
Why does everything feel so difficult?
What is wrong with me?

But fogginess and overwhelm aren’t character flaws.

Sometimes they’re signs that your nervous system needs care not more criticism.

As both a Tonal Chiropractor and Registered Psychotherapist, I bring a nervous-system-informed approach to body and mind.

My latest article explores this connection and offers a more compassionate way to understand those moments when your brain simply doesn’t feel like your own.

🔗 Read the full article through the link in bio.

If your routine is basically “grab the handful and take everything with breakfast,” you may want to look at what is actually in that stack.

Some nutrients can compete for absorption, especially when they are taken in higher-dose supplement form.

Calcium + Iron: These are better taken at different times when iron absorption is a priority.
Iron + Zinc: Higher-dose iron can reduce zinc absorption when they are taken together, so spacing them out can be helpful.
Zinc + Copper: High-dose zinc over time can interfere with copper absorption, which is why zinc is not something to keep adding indefinitely without a reason.
High-dose Zinc + Magnesium: Very high amounts of zinc may interfere with magnesium absorption. This tends to matter more with larger supplemental doses.

Lentils provide plant-based protein and fibre, pumpkin adds carotenoids, pumpkin seeds contribute magnesium and healthy fats, and warming spices bring plenty of flavour without needing a lot of added sugar or salt.

This creamy Pumpkin & Red Lentil Soup is one of my favourites.

✨ Plant-based protein + fibre from lentils
✨ Beta-carotene-rich pumpkin
✨ Healthy fats from olive oil & pumpkin seeds
✨ Warming ginger, turmeric & cumin

Simple ingredients, comforting flavour, and a beautiful reminder that healthy eating doesn’t have to be complicated.

Link in my bio

https://absolutenutrition.ca/?p=249856&preview=true

Most people think fatty liver is mainly about alcohol, weight, or diet. But obstructive sleep apnea is also associated with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, or MASLD.

Why?

Sleep apnea causes repeated drops in oxygen overnight. Over time, that intermittent hypoxia can add stress to metabolic pathways already involved in insulin resistance and liver fat accumulation. So if someone has fatty liver and snores heavily, wakes up exhausted, gets morning headaches, or feels sleepy despite getting enough hours in bed, sleep deserves attention.

That is the kind of connection we care about.

If you have fatty liver and feel like you have only been told to “eat better and lose weight,” book a consultation and let’s look at the bigger metabolic picture.

✨ We’re now offering Registered Psychotherapy at Vibrant Living ✨

This is something many of you have been asking for…

⋯

“I don’t know why this keeps happening.”

“It shouldn’t bother me this much… but it does.”

“I thought I’d feel different by now.”

⋯

If you’ve been noticing patterns that keep showing up,

or feeling like something just feels “off,”

this might be for you.

⋯

This might be for you if you’ve been:

noticing the same patterns again and again

feeling stuck in something you can’t quite explain

sensing there’s more going on underneath

wanting to understand yourself in a deeper way

⋯

✨ Link in bio to learn more -- kristinenewman.com

We tend to think of bones as something fixed, but they are constantly remodeling. They respond to the demands we place on them.

So when you lift weights, climb stairs, walk, or do appropriate impact-based movement, you are giving your bones a reason to stay strong.

And no, this does not mean you need to start doing intense workouts every day.

For most people, the bigger picture is consistency. Strength training a few times a week, regular weight-bearing movement, enough protein and nutrients, and giving your body time to recover can all support bone health over time.

This becomes especially important as we age, particularly through perimenopause and menopause when changes in hormones can affect bone density.

Think of bone health the same way you think about saving for retirement. The goal is to build and protect it early, not wait until there is a problem.

Fasting insulin can be a helpful piece of the puzzle. But it is still only one snapshot. Metabolic health is bigger than a single fasting number.

Blood sugar patterns, triglycerides, HDL, blood pressure, waist circumference, activity levels, sleep, muscle mass, family history, and how your body responds after eating can all add important context. Research also suggests that combining fasting insulin with other metabolic markers can give a more complete picture than looking at fasting insulin alone.

So if your fasting insulin comes back “normal,” that can certainly be reassuring. It just does not automatically tell us everything about insulin sensitivity or your overall metabolic health.

One test that we often run that is more comprehensive is an insulin glucose challenge. This is a test that tracks glucose and insulin over a 2 hour period of time after a glucose challenge. It can be very as a more sensitive test to see what happens to insulin after challenged with glucose.

Your labs are pieces of information. The value comes from understanding how those pieces fit together.

A simple snack that brings together fibre, protein, healthy fats, and antioxidants to help support steady energy and keep you satisfied.

Ingredients
1 crisp apple, thinly sliced
1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 to 2 teaspoons nut butter
1 tablespoon chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon chia seeds or h**p hearts
Cinnamon, to taste
Optional: small drizzle of honey or maple syrup

Instructions
Arrange the apple slices on a plate.
Stir the Greek yogurt with the nut butter until smooth. Add a splash of water if you want a thinner drizzle.
Drizzle the yogurt mixture over the apples.
Top with walnuts, chia seeds or h**p hearts, and cinnamon.
Add a small drizzle of honey or maple syrup if you want a little extra sweetness

Gluten-Free Apple Crisp

September calls for apple crisp!

This healthier gluten-free apple crisp is made with fresh apples, gluten-free oats, crunchy nuts, cinnamon, and a touch of maple syrup.

Top with a spoonful of Greek yogurt to add a little protein.

A delicious way to enjoy the Canadian apple season!

Link in my bio

https://absolutenutrition.ca/?p=249850&preview=true

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