M.A. in Psychology and is a Certified Hypnotherapist & Life Coach, Certified NLP and EFT Practitioner , Author of “Living through Choice” and is an Intuitive Healer & Breathwork Facilitator.
What led you down this path?
Growing up I always felt I was different. At an early age, I heard the call to be of service to humanity. For decades, I tried to avoid the messages coming from the Universe to follow my true path, because I wanted to “fit in” to the norm of what society required of me. By 2009 I was deeply depressed, felt empty inside, I was lost, and unsatisfied with my life. When my doctor warned me that I would not survive more than 2 years, if I continued on that path, I knew I had to make drastic changes in my life. My struggle and suffering was caused by the career I had chosen ten years prior.
Tell us more about your book Living Through Choice
It helps you to:
Understand how your past (in this lifetime and beyond) influences your present
Overcome stress, anxiety, and depression
Banish anger and resentment to forgive yourself and others
Overcome addictions and other illnesses
Manifest spiritual, emotional, and physical healing
What is a life coach?
It is widely known that people who practice healing meditations, energy healing, and other holistic modalities experience deep and profound cleansing and balancing of their mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical bodies – in turn achieving an enhanced quality of life and healthy longevity.
What is hypnotherapy and how does it work?
Journey Into Your Healing and rejuvenate your mind and body with this powerful therapeutic guided meditation. This meditation will help boost your immune system and increase your inner healing power. It is excellent for individuals that have been affected by cancer and or other physical illnesses.
What is the Emotional Freedom Technique?
EFT works with the body’s energy system called the meridians. It is a form of psychological acupressure based on the same energy meridians used in traditional acupuncture to treat physical and emotional ailments. By simply tapping with the fingertips at the end points of the body’s energy meridians, the client is able to transfer energy onto the meridians on the head and chest area while they think about the specific problem and say positive affirmations.
Because negative emotions contribute to physical pain, disease, and anxiety, EFT helps release the disruption in the body’s energy system. This technique restores the mind and body’s balance, which is essential for optimal health and the healing of physical disease
10,000 B.C.: Before sugar ruled the world, honey was queen. Basically any part of Europe, Africa, or Asia that isn’t covered in ice had bees, and thus honey. There are no bees in the Americas, though, so their sweeteners are syrups from trees, agave nectar from cactus, or mashed fruits.
8,000 B.C: Sugar is native to, and first cultivated in, New Guinea. Initially, people chew on the reeds to enjoy the sweetness. 2,000 years later, sugar cane makes its way (by ship) to the Philippines and India.
Up until this point sugar was mostly enjoyed in its natural state.
Which is better for human consumption and health.
According to healthline honey is a good source of antioxidants, helps digestive issues, a potent prebiotic and much more. These benefits can promote good gut health and even support sustainable weight management.
An article on healthambition states that The processing of the sugar cane plant into table sugar essentially removes all of the phytonutrients from sugar cane juice. The nutrients play a role in fighting disease and free radicals.
Sugar is first refined in India: the first description of a sugar mill is found in an Indian text from 100 A.D.
According to cancercenter , Foods with natural sugar have an important role in the diet of cancer patients and anyone trying to prevent cancer because they provide essential nutrients that keep the body healthy and help prevent disease. Refined sugar comes from sugar cane or sugar beets, which are processed to extract the sugar. It is typically found as sucrose, which is the combination of glucose and fructose. We use white and brown sugars to sweeten cakes and cookies, coffee, cereal and even fruit. The article continues to explain that the body breaks down refined sugar rapidly, causing insulin and blood sugar levels to skyrocket.
Now, with the birth of sugar manufacturing, many cultures started to call on it for desserts, like rice pudding, sweet barley meal and fermented drinks.
327: Greeks and Romans learn about sugar during visits to India. Nearchus, Alexandria’s general, writes of “a reed in India that brings forth honey without the help of bees, from which an intoxicating drink is made, though the plant bears no fruit.” Small amounts are brought back to the Mediterranean and traded to physicians who use it for medical purposes.
500-600 A.D.: A university in Iran, becomes the meeting place for the world’s scholars (at least those west of China). Greek, Christian, Jewish, and Persian scholars gather to create the first teaching hospital. They study texts from various cultures, and by 600 A.D. They are writing about a potent Indian medicine: sugar. They also develop better methods for processing sugar cane into crystallized sugar.
1801: Franz Carl Achard, a student of Margraff, is credited as the first person to extract sugar from beets on a commercial level. Around 1837, As slavery dies out in the Caribbean, European governments enact policies to support their beet growers. With governmental support, the European beet sugar industry expanded through the 20th century.
1879: A graduate student at Johns Hopkins refines saccharin, a crystalline powder 300 to 500 times sweeter than sugar but with no calories.
1952: Calcium cyclamate starts appearing in diet sodas
1965: Aspartame (a.k.a. NutraSweet and Equal) was invented in 1965, and by the late 1970s is used in diet sodas.
1967: The bad boy, High-fructose corn syrup hits the scene.
1998: Sucralose, which goes by the brand name of Splenda and is a whopping 600 times sweeter than sugar, is approved for use in the U.S. Artificial sweeteners supplement or replace sugar in all kinds of food products.
Artificial sweeteners and other sugar substitutes are found in a variety of food and beverages marketed as “sugar-free” or “diet,” including soft drinks and baked goods.
Sugar alcohols generally aren’t used when you prepare food at home. But they’re in many processed foods and other products, including chocolate, chewing gum and toothpaste and even in processed meat.
Artificial sugar is not just the issue, excess sugar in our blood stream can lead to a host of health issues, including diabetes and cancer.
We may be eating sugars, when we think we are not.
Next time you go shopping, look at the label, you can identify excess sugars by looking for words that end in “ose,” such as fructose, dextrose, and maltose, and look for syrups and juices.
It is important to educate ourselves and take control of our health.
As artificial sweeteners fall out of vogue, ancient forms of sugar make a major comeback: agave nectar, stevia, dates, and of course honey, which is delicious, shelf-stable, and linked to many health benefits.
As these sweeteners are being studied and approved for health benefits, we are learning how they can be good for health and fatloss.
It is usually best to eat sugars in their natural unprocessed forms, i.e apple, instead of apple juice or sugar cane instead of added sugar derived from cane.
Download a Glycemic Index App on your phone and eat according to the index. This can help you maintain healthy blood sugar.
Gina A. Di Iorio, Certified Holistic Health Consultant, television personality, home health advocate, author, and speaker, discovered her passion of healthy living at the age of 15 years old. She has followed the Holistic Model: body, mind and spirit.
Gina believes taking an active role in your own health and well being starts with developing healthy daily rituals. She founded Holistic Nutritious Solutions, LLC, in 2016. Her mission is to eradicate the “privileged theory” and empower while providing access to achieve optimal health naturally.
Gina creates customized health and wellness plans for her clientele. Lecturing on topics of “Home Pollution” and “Toxic Beauty.” Gina has successfully converted homes from a toxic environment to an eco-friendly sustainable “Green Space.
Ilana was a chronically sick child, and spent much of her life studying Chinese and holistic medicine, determined to find an alternative to the western medicine practices that weren’t serving her.
She learned about the importance of gut health, and was able to heal herself through diet and holistic remedies.
She eventually became certified through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and now runs her private coaching practice Ilana Integrative Health as well as a cooking show for gut health and disease prevention, Candida Kitchen.
Fat- there are many high fat diets like Paleo- the caveman diet, Carnivore- mostly meat, almost 0 carb, Keto- the most popular and needs no introduction.Studies have shown that high fat diets can cause issues like: raise your LDL (bad cholesterol), can have negative effects on intestinal permeability, even renal failure since these diets tend to be high in protein as well.In the beginning of your journey, I generally recommend that you stick to incidental fat. Fat that comes as a normal part of your meal, i.e the olive oil used to saute your spinach, fat that comes with your meat.Saturated fat: the type found in meat, cheese, and other dairy foods. Unsaturated fat: typically comes from plant sources like olives, nuts and seeds. Naturally-occurring trans fats are produced in the gut of some animals and foods made from these animals (e.g., milk and meat products) may contain small quantities of these fats. Artificial trans fats (or trans fatty acids) are created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid. Trans fat has been clinically proven to cause weight gain, even when the participants were consuming a diet that didn’t include enough calories to maintain their weight. Trans fat not only triggers weight gain but it causes fat stored throughout the body to be transferred to the abdominal region.
Protein breaks down to amino acids through the process of digestion. Amino acids are key for muscle building, strength & recovery. I generally recommend .7 to 1 gram per pound of body weight, but there are variations, especially if you are an athlete or if you have any underlying health issue that makes it challenging to metabolize protein properly. There are apps like Samsung Health, Apple Health or MyFitnessPal where you can set your macro goals (Fat, carbs and protein).
Carbs- For most of us who want to lose weight, we should not make carbs a large part of our nutrition plan. Even though our bodies need carbs, our bodies store excess sugars as glycogen and get this, fat! Try to eat more complex carbs. Download the Glycemic Index App on your phone. Eat Carbs that register well on the Index. These will generally be complex carbs. These do not spike your blood sugar as much as simple carbs. Keeping your blood sugar steady has many benefits that are not limited to weight loss.
Now let’s put it all together!
Stay Hydrated- Use the pee test
Do not starve your body of fat and carbs . Your body prefer to use carbs for quick energy and can use fat for slow energy.
Let’s put your plate together: A. Make Half Your Plate Fruits and Veggies- preferably non starchy vegetables and fruit that register low on the glycemic index. B. Add Some Lean Protein- fill in a quarter of your plate by adding some lean proteins- Lean proteins include chicken, fish, lean beef, beans, tofu, eggs or dairy proteins, like cottage cheese or Greek yogurt. C. Round Out Your Plate with Healthy Carbs- The last quarter of the healthy plate includes higher carb foods, such as rice, pasta, potatoes, corn, bread products and other grains. For best results, try to make at least half your grains “whole grains.” Examples include brown rice, wild rice, wheat berries, oatmeal and whole wheat products. Instead of grains, you could also add more fruit to your plate to provide healthy carbs. Remember to stick to grains and fruits that are low on the glycemic index.
4. Here are few possible adjustments. As you are more active, you may slowly increase your protein size. If you move to an athlete level of activity, you may even increase your protein to half your plate, under the right guidance . You may increase your carbs on your post workout meals, especially post lifting.
5. Eat slowly and eat in this sequence: veggies and protein first, wait 6 to 8 minutes to eat your carbs. This can greatly reduce the amount of carbs you eat which can be vital if your goal is weight loss.
1 9 ounce bag of @catalinacrunch cereal (you can use any flavor you choose, I used Cinnamon Toast)
8 tablespoons of melted butter
First, you will need to turn your @catalinacrunch cereal into crumbs. There are different ways of doing this, but a food processor or mixer is going to make the easiest work of it.
In a large bowl add the cereal crumbs and melted butter, and mix until thoroughly combined.
Pour mixture into a 9” pie plate and press mixture as evenly as you can into the bottom of the pie plate and up the sides. Once you’re done place the crust into the freezer while you make your cheesecake filling
For the cake…
INGREDIENTS
16 ounces cream cheese softened
3/4 cup powdered sweetener (more or less to your taste)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream
INSTRUCTIONS
In one bowl add the softened cream cheese and using an electric mixer beat until nice and whipped. Add in the sweetener and vanilla and beat in. Set aside.
In another bowl add the heavy cream and beat on high speed until it’s a nice stiff, thick whipped cream. NOTE: I always use a chilled metal bowl for making whipped cream. I place a metal mixing bowl in the freezer for 10-20 minutes before beating my heavy cream, it helps it to set up quicker.
Add whipped cream to the cream cheese mixture and beat together until thoroughly blended together. Pour mixture into your prepared pie crust, and use a spatula to spread to edges.
Place the cheesecake in the fridge for a few hours to set up.
When you’re ready to serve set the cake out for 8-10 minutes this allows the butter in the crust to soften a bit for easier cutting and serving.
Visit The Low Carb Contessa on IG for more recipes @thelowcarbcontessa
2 tablespoons granulated low carb sweetener. (I used @lakanto golden) ***omit if you don’t like a sweet cornbread
1/2 cup sour cream
20 drops @oooflavors cornbread flavor
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 325° degrees.
Line a baking dish 8×8 inch with parchment paper or line cupcake/muffin pan or mini cupcake/muffin pan with cupcake/muffin liners, or simply grease very well.
Blend all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add all the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and blend well. I use a mixer.
Pour the batter into the baking pan or muffin tin, and bake for approximately 20 minutes for pan or regular-sized muffins, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean. My mini muffins took approximately 15 minutes.
Allow to cool and slice, or pop out of muffin tins.
Store in the refrigerator for a week or so, or seal and freeze for a few months.
ENJOY!
Visit The Low Carb Contessa on Instagram @thelowcarbcontessa for more delicious recipes .
Ilana was a chronically sick child, and spent much of her life studying Chinese and holistic medicine, determined to find an alternative to the western medicine practices that weren’t serving her.
She learned about the importance of gut health, and was able to heal herself through diet and holistic remedies.
She eventually became certified through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and now runs her private coaching practice Ilana Integrative Health as well as a cooking show for gut health and disease prevention, Candida Kitchen.
Cheesecake filling: 8oz room temperature cream cheese 1/4 cup sour cream 1/4 cup sweetener of choice 2 eggs 2 TBS fresh lemon juice 1 TSP vanilla extract
Crust: 2-3 cups of pecans depending on how thick you want your crust (I use a blender to get a fine crumb) 2 TBS melted butter 3 TBS @flavorgod “chocolate donut” seasoning (if you don’t have this, you can use a tsp or so of cinnamon) 2 TBS sweetener of choice 1 TSP vanilla extract
Raspberry topping: Smuckers brand sugar free raspberry preserves. I used 1/2 of the jar
How to: Prepare crust by melting butter in a skillet and adding your pulverized pecans, @flavorgod chocolate donut seasoning, vanilla extract, and sweetener, toast up a for 2-3 minutes. Place mixture in baking vessels of choice and press down tightly to create crust. Set aside and let set for atleast an hour.
Prepare cheesecake mixture by creaming your cream cheese, and sweetener together, once combined, add eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract and lemon juice, mix well I used a hand mixer.
Pour mixture ontop of crust, by the spoonful add warmed up raspberry preserves and swirl with spoon, bake in oven for 20-25 minutes at 350 depending on your oven, remove let cool and refrigerate 2-4hours before serving. I baked using the water bath method to prevent cracking
