Nutritional Yeast

I absolutely love when friends share tips on their favorite things they use, consume, explore and experience. Even more than that, I love sharing when I find something worthy of passing along. In fact, it’s really one of the driving forces behind this blog. My girlfriends and I used to have a girls night once a week and I would get my fix of the newest, latest, greatest and best of the best. Moving to Cali made me miss my little community of “girls in the know” and I felt like A Touch of Lovely would be a great place for me to keep up my end of the bargain. In honor of my girls, our girls nights of days past and all you girls hanging with your besties on a regular basis, here is the first in a new series of posts I plan to share about the stuff I’m digging lately. First up…health foods. Give them a try and let me know what you think!

NUTRITIONAL YEAST (pictured above)
Have you heard of this stuff? It sounds buuhhh-zarre and has the worst name ever, I know. But I’ve been seeing it all over in the healthy food world and finally caved and bought some from the bulk section at Whole Foods. BEST DECISION EVER. You know when you get to the bottom of a box of Cheez-Its and there are a bunch of salty flaky crumbs you pour into your palm and lick up (I can’t be the only one who has ever done that!)? Well, nutritional yeast reminds me of that flavor, minus all the scary stuff in Cheez-Its, plus all the incredible health properties nutritional yeast offers. I have been adding it to all of my salads and may have even eaten some Cheez-It flakes in palm of hand style in a moment of weakness. Here are just a few of the benefits you get from nutritional yeast. Full information HERE.

Nutritional yeast is a complete protein, meaning that among the 18 amino acids it contains are the nine essential ones that your body cannot produce. Nutritional yeast also provides the compounds beta-1,3 glucan, trehalose, mannan and glutathione, which are associated with enhanced immunity, reduced cholesterol levels and cancer prevention. You get a significant dose of the minerals iron, selenium and zinc when you consume nutritional yeast. One serving of nutritional yeast provides about 4 grams of fiber, too.

Cod Liver Oil

COD LIVER OIL
I started taking Cod Liver Oil as a nutritional supplement when I was exploring treatment options for my arthritis. This stuff works wonders for your skin, promotes healthy joints and has all the good Omega 3 fatty acids your body needs for optimal health. It’s nasty as hell but I find that plugging my nose, shooting a tablespoon immediately followed by a drink of cold water first thing in the morning makes it pretty painless. You can read more about Cod Liver Oil HERE.

Apart from being a good source of nutrients, studies have found that cod liver oil may have some very important therapeutic properties. Cod liver oil is thought to help relieve joint stiffness associated with arthritis, have a positive effect on cardiovascular health, and help repair wounded teeth, nails, hair, and skin.

Kraut

FERMENTED FOODS
I think a lot of people are getting familiar with the health elixir Kombucha, but do you know why it’s a health craze people can’t get enough of? It’s because it is a fermented food containing probiotics, the healthy bacteria that help keep your gut in tip top shape. But if the funky tea drink is not your things you can get probiotics in a number of other ways. My preference these days has been these bags of stinky goodness from Farmhouse Culture (many other brands available at your local grocery store). I am obbbbseeesssed with the Garlic and Dill Pickle (sauer)Kraut and have added it to almost every single salad I’ve made since buying it. Warning/downside: you may have to deal with a stinky house if you keep the bag open for too long. More information on the health benefits of regular probiotics consumption HERE.

There is an increasing interest in probiotic interventions,” wrote the authors of one of the most recent studies, a meta-analysis of previous research in a recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Those researchers found that probiotics were particularly useful against a common gastrointestinal problem: antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD). But studies show that probiotics can help with a great deal more — warding off infection and boosting immune systems, as well as helping to improve women’s health and perhaps even fighting obesity.