Elique Organics

An Apple A Day To Take Your Skin Woes Away

January 5, 2020A Healthy Body, Nutrition, Skin Foods, The Healthiest Skin, Ultimate Hydration2 Comments

There are many skin foods that will hydrate you on a cellular level but there’s nothing quite like the simple little apple to create a dewy tone, revive your skin and also nourish your nervous system for a body that is more alert, clear, energized, well-rested and better able to handle stress. All of this equals gorgeous skin.

Apples are filled with fiber and little sugar which makes it a slow-burning and constant source of energy for our body to balance blood-sugar levels and sustain nourishment to our brain, which is one very hungry organ.

Apples are loaded with flavonoids (powerful antioxidants) that boost immunity and fight free-radicals but quercetin and catechin, the flavonoids in apples, go the extra mile for our skin. In a study published in 2016 quercetin was noted for its ability to reduce redness, itching, and inflammation of damaged skin and it is also thought to help restore skin barrier function, increase hydration, and reduce water loss. Hello supple & hydrated skin!

Catechins (also found in green tea) protect against inflammation caused by Ultra Violet Radiation and inhibit the death of fibroblast cells, which are responsible for making collagen and elastin. And a study published in 2011 revealed women who regularly consumed catechin-rich foods and beverages (like apples & green tea) noticed a boost in their skin, with improvements in hydration and elasticity.

And an apple’s skin also benefits our skin. The skin of an apple contains phloridzin, another powerful antioxidant that has been shown to mark against glycation, a primary culprit for premature aging, hyperpigmentation and skin dryness. Glycation happens when sugar and carbs stick to proteins in the blood and form large clumps that damage arteries, cells and tissues. Phloridzin keeps glucose in the small intestine where it can work to maintain balance in the gut, manifesting into a healthier skin and keeping it out of the bloodstream. Phloradizin has also been shown to increase type 4 collagen found at the base of the epidermis.

Apples are also high in potassium to hydrate us on a cellular level and protect our heart and calcium too so our nerves communicate smoothly and nourish our brain’s need for this mineral.

And last but not least, apples have a pretty significant dose of omega 3’s and 6’s and that means gorgeous skin, healthy eyes and again, a healthy heart and well-nourished brain!

Some fun ways to get your apple a day:

Eat an apple a day.
Make an apple tea. Just cut up an apple and put it in a small pot to simmer with about 3 cups of filtered water.
Apple pancakes, apple muffins, apple pie and apple sauce (keep the skins on).
Smoothie with apple.
Baked apple w cinnamon for added glucose to boost hydration.

Isn’t it amazing to know that we have such an abundance of options for keeping our skin glowing and that simple everyday foods, when eaten on a regular basis have insanely powerful beautifying benefits?

Hello Gorgeous!

The Well-Intentioned Mistake You Make Every Day
That Contributes To Your Dry Skin.

December 29, 2019January 4, 2020A Healthy Body, The Healthiest Skin2 Comments

The Well-Intentioned Mistake You Make Every Day <br>That Contributes To Your Dry Skin.

While in the midst of my skin care routine yesterday, I was thinking about my dry skin and how cold and rainy it has been in Los Angeles. Also, I am in my 40’s and the texture definitely has changed over the years.

Then I started thinking about my client’s dry skin and the conversations we have about it. In my office we definitely discuss dietary changes like water intake and essential fatty acids but the one thing I always hear is how much moisturizer they are applying every day and still their skin is dry. If you haven’t been in a consult with me, then you are likely also unaware of this one common mistake you are making, thinking it is helping your dry skin but it isn’t.

Envision This:

Skin cells rise to the surface of the skin and slowly die while bound in an intercellular cement that keeps them intact. When we are young, the process of dissolving it and sloughing off the dead skin cells is fast and efficient but as we age, cell turnover slows down and a denser ‘glue’ with tougher layers of dead cells remain piled up on the surface creating a dry, rough skin. But then we do that ONE THING that makes everything worse. We add moisturizers and lotions day after day without a proper deep cleanse, hoping to remedy it but what we are doing is applying moisturizers and serums to skin that is layered in a buildup of waste. Continue reading

My Favorite Ways To Give To Those In Need

December 22, 2019December 22, 2019UncategorizedLeave a comment

The holidays should be less about buying more stuff and instead about inspiring kindness and compassion to those in need. I don’t think I have ever looked at my material possessions and felt comforted by them but my warm bed, pillow, hot shower, warm meal, money for organic groceries, time with friends, cozy sweater… these are the things that comfort me and make me realize how blessed I am.

Rarely do we make the choice to engage with the people that need it the most, staying instead in our safe zone with the same familiar faces and familiar places but what about all of the people struggling to feed their kids, feed themselves, pay their rent or even buy a toy for their child? We have the ability to help them but maybe just are not sure how we can make the best impact.

To bring light in someone else’s experience this season you just need to combine your generous heart with creativity and a little resourcefulness.

Below are my favorite ways to give during the holiday season and remember, you don’t have to stop giving after Christmas. You can continue giving like this all year long.

Dry Skin No More
Essential Skin Foods For The Winter Season

December 8, 2019December 8, 2019A Healthy Body, Ayurveda, Seasonal Skincare, Skin Foods, Ultimate HydrationLeave a comment

Dry Skin No More <br> Essential Skin Foods For The Winter Season

As the season changes it is important that we change with it, switching up the cold and raw summer foods for more warming and nourishing ones that will create a more supple, moist and lubricated skin this winter season.

MY FAVORITE FOODS FOR COMBATING DRY SKIN THIS WINTER SEASON: Continue reading

Protect Your Vata / Pitta Doshas This Season

September 28, 2019September 28, 2019A Healthy Body, Ayurveda, Lifestyle, UncategorizedLeave a comment

‘Tis the season for protecting your Vata and Pitta Doshas. As the winds and rain increase, these doshas can easily become imbalanced.

Vata is responsible for movement and its elements are wind and space. Because Vata is always on the go and we also never stop, moving all day, every day without grounding ourselves, our Vata definitely has a propensity to accumulate and now we have high dry winds… talk about a recipe for disaster.

To understand how excess Vata and Pitta manifest into symptoms, let us first look at their qualities and locations in the body.

Vata is light, rough, dry, cold, minute and mobile and its primary locations are in the colon, bones, nerve tissues and lower limbs. Excess Vata in the body can look like joint weakness and pain, constipation, gas, bloating and brittle and dry bones, skin and hair. Also, the more Vata increases the more vulnerable you are to anxiety and worry. In order to protect Vata in these high wind seasons we want to think of opposite qualities like stable, hot, soft, heavy, smooth and gross.

Pitta is responsible for heat and transformation and its elements are fire and water. Entering this rainy/fall season after the hot summer, Pitta is accumulated and soon aggravated. Because Pitta is responsible for heat and in the body, it transforms our food during the digestive process, the goal is to balance Pitta so its inner fire is not so strong that it creates “char” or an overcooked toxicity of waste in the body.

Pitta is light, sharp, hot, flowing and liquid. Its primary locations are in the stomach (small intestine), eyes, skin, spleen, blood and sweat. Excess Pitta in the body can look like burning abdominal pain, ulcers, diarrhea, skin secretions, inflammation on the skin, burning eyes, fever, excess sweat with odor and your tongue may be very red and wet. Also, the more Pitta increases the more you may find yourself “hot-tempered”. In order to bring down that accumulation of Pitta and balance it during this fall/rainy season, we want to think of opposite qualities like heavy, soft, cold, stable and thick.

So How Can You Balance Your Vata/Pitta Doshas This Windy/Fall Season?

My Top Five Tips For Living A Healthier Lifestyle
~and they don’t involve food~

July 21, 2019July 22, 2019A Healthy Body, Lifestyle2 Comments

Let’s be honest, you can eat all the quinoa in the world but if you’re eating it while stressed, anxious or unable to be present in your day-to-day experience, its benefits are going to be minimal, if at all. I suggest that while you are in the practice of eating cleaner and healthier foods or you are leaning toward this lifestyle, you keep in mind that for a more profound and sustained experience it is equally important to slow down in your life, including when you chew, and take the needed time to nourish your mind and spirit too. This calm and ease are what’s going to help you not only digest life as it comes at you but also all the beautiful fresh foods you are eating along the way.

MY TOP FIVE TIPS are simple and offer tangible results that allow you to trust the process, build some genuine confidence in your abilities and inspire your continued lifestyle of health and happiness. Continue reading

Look Out For Your Honeybee Friend!
How To Shop Thoughtfully for Honey.

May 26, 2019May 27, 2019UncategorizedLeave a comment

Eating local honey is touted as the only honey you should ever buy but in our modern day, does this rule of thumb still reign supreme? With honeybee populations in peril and every person needing to do their part to help out, you may find yourself living in Los Angeles abut buying honey from Montana.

This is when engaging with your beekeeper, whether at the farmer’s market or by visiting their website online matters! and there. Email them or call their customer service numbers and ask them the questions below and when it comes to commercial brands or cereals like Honey Nut Cheerios, don’t waste your time. Start off being selective and from there you will get very close to meeting your standard.

7 Simple Self-Care Tips For Achieving
A Happier & Healthier Body.

May 19, 2019May 27, 2019A Healthy Body, Lifestyle, NutritionLeave a comment

We get so caught up with our day-to-day that often we neglect our own health and well-being. While that may work in our 20’s and maybe even early 30’s, eventually this lack of TLC will catch up to us. Taking a preventative approach to our healthcare with simple practices that we can incorporate daily is the way to go.

Below are 7 of the easiest ways to care for the body. They are not only simple, but they are accessible too, meaning there is relatively no adjustment and anyone, no matter how inexperienced, can feel comfortable incorporating these tips in their lifestyle.

Success is always about progress not perfection so begin with just one new practice and do it consistently until it becomes habit. From there include a second until that becomes routine and then a third….Demanding too much of yourself immediately usually leads to a faster decline so go slow and have fun in the process.

The Paralyzing Fear Leading Up To My Breast Exam.

March 3, 2019March 3, 2019A Healthy Body, Lifestyle1 Comment

The months leading up to my breast ultrasound were awful. I could not sleep. I was anxious, worried, afraid and cried a lot. I was paralyzed by my fear. Then to top it off, being in my mid-40’s, my body is changing and my breasts are so sore all of the time. My emotions are a mess and then I had a rash under my left (lymph side) armpit and at the airport the TSA agent “saw something” under that left armpit that she had to check again with her hand-held scanner. Also, since I was young I have always had a HUMUNGOUS (is this how you spell it) fear of hospitals, down to the lights, smells and color of paint on the walls. I am afraid of doctors and illness and so the past few months I have been swimming in “facts” and my own terrifying story.

I felt alone in my fear. I have had cystic breasts since I was a teenager and it was when I was 17 that my OB-GYN recommended that I always have ultrasounds instead of mammograms as a precaution.

I haven’t had one in a few years and so the past few months my worry consumed me. It seems everywhere I turn someone has cancer and I’ve read that breast cancer has little to do anymore with one’s family history. Now there are so many other factors that play a role that even people with no family history of breast cancer are getting it. Continue reading

Keeping Your Eyes Healthy And Strong In A Digital World.

February 24, 2019February 24, 2019Lifestyle, Nutrition1 Comment

Living in a digital world adds enormous stress on our eyes that if ignored will prematurely age and damage our eyes.

Imagine lying in the direct sun, day after day, without sunscreen. Your skin would inevitably burn, itch, dry out and eventually it would be left much that vulnerable to disease. Well this is what is happening to our eyes when we expose it to hours of blue light and glare on our phones and computers without the proper care and protection.

The pain that happens to our eyes when staring at computer and phone screens is similar to what happens to wrists and hands with carpal tunnel syndrome. These are both repetitive motion injuries and for our eyes, when they follow the same path over and over they become more strained.

Working on a computer or staring at a phone means our eyes have to focus and refocus all the time while also moving back and forth to read. Also you may have to look down and then back up to type while the entire time your eyes react to the changing images on the screen so your brain can process what you are seeing and we do all this without blinking. This requires tremendous effort from our eye muscles and to make matters worse, unlike a book, our screens add contrast, flicker, and glare.