Collagen and the Benefits for Your Skin and Body.

Today I wanted to talk about Collagen and the Benefits for Your Skin and Body.

Most people know about collagen right now. It’s been super popular over the last few years with tons of supplements being released on the market. It’s almost impossible to walk in somewhere and not see a variety of collagen being front and center.

But what is collagen and why does it benefit your skin and overall your body structure? 

Collagen is the foundation of bones, skin, muscles, tendons, ligaments and it’s even found in your corneas, teeth and blood vessels, it is a protein that helps bind everything together. Pretty cool right? Really collagen is such a vital part of your body that we should want it to be in our nutrition.

So how can we get more collagen and what types of collagen are there? 

There are a total of four different kinds of collagen. This is something that I never knew before doing a bunch of research and I just find it so fascinating to learn about our bodies and how they function from the inside out.

1. 90% of collagen is this first type of collagen, it is meant to hold mostly everything together from your bones, cartilage, muscles, skin and ligaments.
2. The second type of collagen is what is in your ligaments and protects your joints in places like your knees and elbows.
3. The third type is for arteries, organs and muscles. It is the protein that helps build them all up.
4.  The fourth type is filtration and provides nutrients to your skin making it elastic and supple.

As we get older our bodies produce less quality collagen, which can be felt in our achy joints and muscles, but also seen on our skin with wrinkles and fine lines and the firmness of our skin decreasing drastically.

So for the most benefits we want to incorporate these foods:

• Vitamin C: You can take this as a supplement or get it from bell peppers, citrus fruits, strawberries, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cantaloupe.
• Proline:  You can find this in mushrooms, asparagus, cabbage, spinach, watercress, bamboo shoots, and wheat germ
• Glycine: You can find this in beans, nuts and seeds.
• Copper: Large amounts are found in organ meats, sesame seeds, cocoa powder, cashews, and lentils

Your body also needs high quality protein that contains amino acids to make new proteins, without these amino acid proteins it wont get turned into collagen. Meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, legumes, and tofu are all excellent sources of amino acids.

All of this can sound overwhelming and like a lot to incorporate when it comes to what you eat, which is why there are so many supplements on the market right now.

I recommend a natural collagen supplement like Plexus Joyome Multi-Action Collagen Complex which their website says the following about what it contains;

Plexus Joyome collagen complex + Beauty benefits

Hydrolyzed Types I and III Collagen – Highly-bioavailable Collagen from Wild-Caught Marine and Grass-Fed Bovine sources to help support the skin structure and reduce sagging and wrinkles.*

FOS – The same prebiotic found in our age-defying serums.

Vitamin C – Promotes antioxidant activity, protects against the oxidative effects of free radicals, and helps to support collagen production.*

Vitamin E – An essential nutrient and abundant antioxidant, which provides photo-protective benefits to help defend the skin against damage caused by environmental aggressors.*

Biotin – Promotes healthy skin, hair, and nails.*

Ceramides – Specialized lipids, or fats, found naturally in the skin that help to enhance hydration, keeping your skin looking supple and plump, while reducing the appearance of dryness, crow’s feet, and wrinkles.*

Superfood Blend – A powerful blend of antioxidant-rich superfoods, including Acai Palm Fruit, Lucuma Fruit Powder, Pomegranate Fruit Extract, Asparagus Shoot, Camu-Camu Fruit Juice, and other natural sources of antioxidants, phytonutrients, flavonoids, and polyphenols that help to defend the skin against damage caused by free radicals.*

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Really this blend of ingredients provides the most of any I have looked at on the market. I spent a lot of time comparing products and this one just won it for me.

But if you want just the grass-fed collagen peptides and nothing else, this one from Ulta has also been recommended  

 

Orgain Collagen Peptides

 

Hopefully you have learned something new today about collagen and the benefits for your skin and body. I think you’ll enjoy the results you see by adding in some additional foods and supplements 🙂

 

Cherise ❤

Please note: I am not a doctor nor do I claim to be one. This is not medical advice, nor is it meant to treat, cure or prevent any diseases. If you have a medical concern please speak with a licensed medical professional.

Gut Health and Anxiety

Hello lovely people!

I want to talk about Gut Health and Anxiety. First and foremost I want to state that I am NOT a doctor, and this is NOT meant to treat, cure or prevent any diseases. If you have any conditions it is important to talk to a physician and get the proper medical care.

I know it’s been a while since I’ve updated this blog. We’ve had a lot of life happen! We’ve moved, had a baby after trying for 7 years, lost our 11 year old nephew unexpectedly, amongst various other life events.

With the lockdowns going on 5 months now my anxiety was at an all time high. I was barely functioning because I felt so on edge and high strung. Everything has seemed so doom and gloom and I just was not doing well.

I realized that I needed to do more for my kids, I needed to be a better mom and get this anxiety under control so they didn’t remember this time as a time of depression, but “the year we stayed home and did lots of crafts and had lots of fun with mom.”

But when I discussed anxiety medication options with my doctor, I was left feeling less than pleased. My husband works on the road, so he’s gone a lot so it’s just me and the kids. During these rundowns of possible side effects the doctor told me, “Can you stay with anyone for a while? You know, just in case some of these things happen.” one of the main side effects was suicide or attempted suicide. How crazy is that?

I really didn’t feel comfortable taking it at all, so I opted to do some research and see if there were other options available.

I started researching the body, researching anxiety and depression and trying to figure out which chemical imbalance I might have because for me anxiety was never an issue until 2015 when I sadly had a miscarriage. I had never suffered from anxiety before that point so I knew there had to be something hormonally off in my body.

According to John Hopkins (https://www.google.com/…/the-brain-gut-connection%3famp=true)

And Harvard (https://www.health.harvard.edu/dis…/the-gut-brain-connection)

The gut and the brain are connected. Your intestines send signals to your brain and this can cause a myriad of disorders; immune system, mood, mental health, autoimmune diseases, endocrine disorders, skin conditions, and cancer to name a few.

They said that this connection is why anti anxiety medication works well for people with IBS.

That was when I realized; my gut health is vital to my mental health.

So I looked up How can I make my gut healthy?

✳️ Eating more fruits and vegetables, and high fiber foods specifically;

🔸Apples
🔸Blueberries
🔸Raspberries
🔸Artichokes
🔸Green peas
🔸Broccoli
🔸Chickpeas
🔸Lentils
🔸Beans (kidney, pinto and white)
🔸Whole grains

✳️ Eating fermented foods

🔹Yogurt (live culture)
🔹Kimchi
🔹Sauerkraut
🔹Kefir
🔹Kombucha
🔹Tempeh

✳️ Eating prebiotic foods

♦️ Garlic
♦️ Onions
♦️ Leeks
♦️Asparagus
♦️ Dandelion Greens
♦️ Chicory
♦️ Jerusalem Artichoke
♦️ Cocoa Bean (yay chocolate)
♦️ Oats
♦️ Cabbage

✳️ Taking a supplemental probiotic

Now when it comes to probiotics there are various kinds on the market, but there are some ingredients that are actually histamine producers. So if you are sensitive to histamines then it can make your allergies much worse. So when doing my research on them and trying to find one that worked for me I made sure it did NOT contain the following ingredients:

Histamine producers:

Lactobacillus bulgaricus
Lactobacillus Casei
Lactobacillus reuteri
Staphylococcus
S. Thermophilus

However I DID want one with histamine degraders
(ones that help reduce your response to histamines / allergies)

B. Infantis
B. Longum
L. Gasseri
L. Rhamnosus
L. Plantarum
L. Salivarius

I also knew that there were certain strains that help anxiety specifically and I wanted those as well;

Lactobacillus Rhamnosus (L. rhamnosus)
lactobacillus Helveticus
Bifidobacterium longum

So when you are researching probiotics to get you can take a look at that list.

I have not found a single probiotic that contains ALL of them. However Plexus VitalBiome is amazing and contains;

L. Helveticus
B. Coagulans
B. Lactis
B. Longum
S. Boulardii
L. Plantarum
L. Acidophilus

If you actually got through all of this; congratulations  you’ve learned more about gut health! Haha.

As always consult your healthcare practitioner before starting any probiotics or supplements, I asked two of my doctors before I started taking Plexus products just to be sure they were safe for my body (I am without a gallbladder).

 

Cherise ❤

 

*This blog does contain affiliate links that give me a small commission on products purchased through them, but you are by no means obligated to purchase the recommended items or through my links. Though it is appreciated!

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies

So recently I had a horrible reaction to wheat (instant blood blisters in my mouth and half my face went numb), so no more wheat for me! At first I freaked out and didn’t know what I was going to make, but I came across this super easy recipe and I thought I would share! 

Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cookies 

• 1 cup peanut butter 
• 1 cup sugar 
• 1 egg 

Bake at 350 for 12 minutes and voila done! 

  

Glitterizing Your Lipstick Tubes

Lately I’ve been seeing these glitterizing lipstick tubes that are selling for $20 + cost of lipstick and I thought, “hey why don’t I show everyone how to glitterizing your lipstick tubes!?” It’s simple, but it did take me a few tries to get it the way I liked it haha. 
What you’ll need; 

Lipstick Tube 

Glitter 

Mod Podge 

Foam brush 

What you’ll do is you’ll dip the foam paint brush into the mod Podge and brush it on the tube, I make sure the little center area of the tube isn’t mod podged (you don’t want to glue it together!) then pour glitter on it, let it set for a few minutes and then add another layer of mod Podge to make it non-shedding glitter. 

Super simple, have fun glaming your lipstick tubes!  

    
   

Tyra Beauty 2 Minute Tyover Review

Tyra Beauty 2 Minute Tyover Review

Hello everyone! I know it’s been a while since I’ve updated, we’ve had a lot going on this year and I really haven’t tried much new makeup in a while!

However, this Tyra Beauty 2 minute Tyover had me curious. I kept popping across random YouTube videos where people were using these sticks that looked like they were easily blendable and eventually curiosity got the best of me.

I ordered the products from HSN (which I find to be a huge downfall for the beautytainers in the company because HSN offers free shipping, which saves $7-$12 per order)

Anyway, let’s get to it!

This is how the package came, in cute little boxes. Upon first look, they were smaller than I had anticipated. For whatever reason I was imagining them about double the size they actually were. But I figured that if they were good quality and I didn’t need to use a lot of product, it would still be okay.

This is my Before and After. I also used foundation, lipgloss, blush, eyeshadow and mascara – the total look took me 10 minutes because I was playing with the eyeshadow stick from Mally and debating how much I wanted haha. I redid the look today and it took me about 5 minutes to complete.

The highlighting and contouring of the Tyover is actually super simple. I am very pleased with the product, it goes on smoothly, it lasted from 5pm – 3am without a problem, and then I fell asleep and woke up and it was still there haha (it was my husbands birthday and we went out!) it washes off easily, but stays put during activities. I didn’t use too much of the product, but honestly with my complexion I feel like the light/medium blends a little too well into my natural skin color, so I think I need the darker shade.

However, I really loved it! It makes me want to try the other products since this made highlighting and contouring so simple. The formula is creamy, blends well, lasts long. 5 stars!

Go try some! 🙂

The Whole30

Hello Everyone!

I have embarked on a journey to do the Whole30. Right now I’m on Day 4 and let me tell you what, it’s a lot harder than I anticipated. The first day or so I was like, “This is easy, why does everyone think this is so hard? All of this food is delicious!” But alas, here I am, Day 4 and wishing I could eat some cupcakes or ice cream. I don’t even normally crave those things either, but today, I am.

All I want to do is go to the candy aisle at the grocery store and get all of the Little Debbie’s products and binge eat them all forever. But I deserve better than that, so instead I cry a little while eating my jerky bacon and drinking my unsweetened tea.

A few days ago I woke up sick of failing, failing weight loss, business, life in general. I was fed up with failing, so I decided I wasn’t going to fail anymore. The only reason I fail is because of my own self, so activate will-power, I’m completing this Whole30 and I will be proud of myself at the end and I will be happy with how I feel, look and all I have achieved within that time.

Spring and Summer are always extremely busy for us, I almost feel like I’m never home, ever. Which makes it even more of a challenge to stick to my Whole30 eating, because I have to really plan and be mindful of every single thing I eat. I cant just roll up to a fast food place, stare at a menu for a minute and pick something fried and greasy and be done.

So is it a challenge? Yes. Am I worth it? Yes.

Have you done the Whole30? What was your experience like? Leave a comment and let me know!

Baltic Amber Necklace Benefits

Hello Everyone!!

I have recently moved, thus the lack of communication on my end, I apologize! We had 3 weeks of moving and it was just absolute craziness.

Obviously along with moving and getting settled in there was going to be some muscle soreness, but I had also been getting a ton of tension headaches and I was tired of it! So I asked around to see what I could do and everyone suggested trying these Baltic Amber necklaces.

I was like, “Aren’t those just for babies?” and they said, “Nope! Good for everyone!” so I started doing some more research on them and I was seriously surprised at all of the benefits some little crystalized stones could give! 

I ended up buying this necklace from Hippie Hoopla, I had a few questions before I placed my order and she responded so quickly that I couldn’t even send a message correcting my error (I called her Amber when her name is Michelle…. lol, I hadn’t had coffee yet) by the time I wrote, “I am so sorry! I haven’t had coffee yet! I didn’t mean to call you Amber!” she had already responded with answers to my questions I had asked! Great customer service.

Okay onto some benefits of Amber (note: I am not a doctor of any sort, this is not meant to treat, diagnose, prevent or cure anything. This is purely interesting information that I found)

• It stimulates the nervous system, strengthens the activity of kidneys and intestine, used as a anti-stress, anti-inflammatory and anti-toxic agent.
•  Succinic acid is used for the treatment of various kinds of anemia, acute radiculitis and cardiovascular diseases.
• It has been established that amber acid improves cellular respiration and glucose metabolism, which provides the body with the energy needed to perform physical work.
• Succinic acid can be used for the prevention and treatment of colds.
• Succinic acid is a powerful anti aging substance (it inhibits and stops the buildup of free radicals).
• Succinic acid helps with the healing of wounds.
• Succinic acid improves heart, liver, kidney, and intestinal function.
• Succinic acid stimulates skin cells, rejuvenates them and helps them to maintain their firmness and elasticity.
• When released into baby’s skin it produces a calming effect which decreases pain and reduces colic

Me wearing it.

Michelle did tell me that the lighter the color amber the more succinic acid (meaning the more potent it is). I tend to like darker colors, but I wanted the best one because I need it!

In the 25 minutes that I have been wearing it, my sinuses have drained, my neck has relaxed a bit and I can feel my ear unclogging (allergies suck). I’d give it 10 stars so far! Can’t wait to see how it is over a longer period of time!

Never play leapfrog with a Unicorn and other life lessons.

Today as I sit here, I look out across the land where we just moved to. Lots of open space as the farmers haven’t gotten to it yet and I wonder, “why the heck is there snow? It is almost April. I shouldn’t be seeing any snow at all, this is ridiculous!”

We recently moved to a new location that is literally in the middle of nowhere. I didn’t even know it existed before the realtor showed it to us and I had a slight panic attack at the thought of moving here. But the fresh air got the better of me, along with the kind neighbors and the thought of having real food, not store bought food.

Oh, did I mention? Our neighbors to the east are Amish. They have 9 kids and she’s pregnant with the 10th! We have only been here for a couple of days, but they seem friendly. It’s strange seeing lots of little kids running through chasing chickens and driving horses.

Anyway, this morning my lovely little 6 year old decided to wake everyone up before the crack of dawn (like 4am) and so I was craving a cup of coffee.Being that our stuff isn’t even unpacked yet, I don’t have a clue where the coffee maker is amongst our hundreds of boxes. So I decided I would just get some crappy gas station coffee, because that would do.

So I get in the car and drive the 2.5 miles to the nearest gas station, hoping that there will, in fact, be some coffee there. As soon as I step out of the car, I look down and see that my shoes have just missed a large pile of horse poop and I think to myself, “Only in the country would you see horse poop at a gas station… why do they even go to the gas station? It’s not like horses use gas…”  I walk inside of this dinky little gas station, where there’s a man sipping a drink on a barstool, and another behind the counter who is drifting in and out of sleep while standing.

I look around and ahh yes, a coffee machine to my left. It only has 2 flavors and they didn’t have any real coffee, but that was fine for me, it’s what I wanted anyway. I had to stand on my tip toes to see inside the cup as it was filling because it was up so high. I walk around this 20 sq ft gas station to see what else they had there. Apparently 2 bar stools, for their own makeshift mini-bar. They had a few snacks and drinks for the tired traveler who decided, for whatever reason, to stop there.

I go up to the counter and pull out my wallet, the guy behind the counter was standing there with his eyes closed, the other man sitting there just stared at me. A few seconds later he snapped himself awake, “That’ll be 89 cents.” all I had was a $20. I’m used to those $5.95 Starbucks drinks. He didn’t even punch it into the computer, just started pulling money out and handed it back to me. That’s when I looked down and saw that newspaper, “The Daily Dairy.” I was tempted to get it, but figured I would save that for next time.

I feel like I have stepped into another world and I’m sure next time I’ll be able to tell you those men’s names, since there can’t possibly be that many people in this country town. Maybe next time I’ll stop by the Market, or the “Junk Shop, full of people’s crap.” (yes, it really says that), or maybe my next update will be “I got chickens!”

Ah life, always exciting.

Until next time,

$25.00 Skinny Wrap Coupon

So, you want to try the ItWorks Skinny Wrap but you don’t want to make a commitment yet? For a limited time I am offering a $25 coupon for one ultimate body applicator. One wrap can be used on anywhere from the neck down, you pick your target area and put it there!

*This offer is good for anywhere in the USA, unfortunately at this time I am unable to personally ship outside of the USA. However, ItWorks is a global company and if you would like to be a loyal customer or view retail pricing click here.  

Gorgeous Luscious Red Lips With MAC’s Toledo Collection, in Opera

Hello lovlies,

Ahhh is there anything better than getting that little black box in the mail? I am here to show you some gorgeous luscious red lips with MAC’s Toledo collection, in the color “Opera”. I don’t think anything smells better than a fresh MAC lipstick, I say it smells like chocolate, my daughter thinks vanilla, it may be a choco-nilla scent. In any case, it smells like candy and is awesome.  I had to put it on right away, thus the lack of my full face because I was not up for doing an entire face of makeup today, but here is MAC Toledo Lipstick, “Opera” a stunning red look that no one can pass up!

Beautiful isn’t it? I love it! It goes on super creamy and amazing, but has a perfectly matte finish – but not super matte like their “retro matte” sin lipstick.  When I was first putting it on, I thought, “what finish is this exactly?” It wasn’t quite a cream, but didn’t quite feel like a matte either, but it is listed as “matte” and I LOVE it. It’s literally the perfect consistency for lipstick, I wish every lipstick could be this way, it’s awesome.

It’s also just in time for Valentine’s Day! ❤

Did you pick up any of the Toledo collection? I’d love to see your looks!