Dr. Joanne Karam

It’s official 🎊🎊 Finally got my certificate from integrative school of nutrition
Officially a health coach 💃🏼💃🏼

My heart aches for all the victims we lost one month ago, for their families, for those who are rebuilding destroyed homes, those recovering from injuries, for us young people reshaping and rebuilding destroyed hopes and dreams.
Many might remain stuck in grief and unable to step forward, I myself got stuck for a while. Few tips that helped me during these critical times:
- Getting my morning routine back: bible reading and prayer followed by Pilates exercises.
- Keeping myself hydrated
- Skipping the sugary snacks that might appear a safe haven to deal with overwhelming feelings and sticking with healthy alternatives
- Using aromatherapy as diffusing lavender
- Having a light early dinner
- Taking deep deep breaths!!

Let’s meet some of the foods that are most medicinal for the gut and ways to include them in your diet!
1. Dandelion Greens
Good for: Fat digestion
How to Eat More: Dandelion is notoriously bitter, so if you’re keen on bitter flavors, try the greens in salads, as a base for pesto, or sautéed or braised with garlic.
You can also drink roasted-dandelion-root tea — its pleasant bitterness makes it an excellent coffee substitute. If you have a sweeter palate, try adding dandelion greens to a smoothie with berries, ginger, or green apples.
2. Cabbage Juice
Good for: Peptic ulcers
How to Get More: Cabbage juice is surprisingly palatable when it’s combined with juice from other vegetables and fruits, like beets, parsley, and lemons. Eating cabbage is easier and also offers plenty of gut-healing benefits: Add it to soups and stir-fries, sauté it in butter and spices, or roast it in the oven — cooking softens cabbage’s astringent flavor. And sauerkraut offers double benefits as a fermented food with probiotics.
More foods are coming🥳🥳

Now that i got your attention, this statement is not correct! please note that eating one specific food/ drinking a herbal tea or super drinks cannot grant u health, being healthy is a proactive process, It’s a holistic approach, it’s about everything that goes into our mouth and beyond as thoughts, emotions, sleep and movement!😄 don’t look for fast solutions, health is a journey, jump in and enjoy the process 🤝

Gut health is one of the most important topics related to health, here are facts about gut:
- About 100 trillion bacteria reside in the gut and they produce metabolites that have health effects
- 70-80% of the body’s immune cells are concentrated in the gut
- 95% of the body’s total serotonin is located in the gut
- There are 100 million neurons located along the gut producing various neurotransmitters that regulate mood and satiety

Stay tuned for foods that are medicinal for the gut & ways to keep your gut healthy & happy.

This post is specifically for my clients, students, family and friends in extreme stressful situations.
I am not ostrich I observe delicately everything happening around me, the situation in Lebanon specifically is unbearable, stress levels are overwhelming; many are escaping to their comfort escape as binge eating, smoking, developing unhealthy habits or are expressing their feelings in ways damaging their relations and their health.
One of the ways to escape the negative emotions is faking positive ones! Yes! The linkage between our inner emotions and our facial expressions is real and works both ways!! Putting a smile on your face, even if you are consciously faking it, can improve your mood and reduce stress. A full smile that involves facial muscles around the eyes produces a change in brain activity that corresponds with a happier mood.
Today I am wearing a big fake smile and taking a big deep breath. This too shall pass...

Perhaps all we need in the middle of this chaos is connecting with our roots; there might not be a lot of solid science to back up the benefits of grounding/ earthing but I know deep down the joy & freshness I feel after earthing.
Earthing was shown in some studies to:
• Regulate cortisol, your body’s main stress hormone
• Neutralize free radicals, which are highly reactive molecules that damage cells and cause cancer
• Reduce inflammation
• Reduce stress
• Improve sleep
• Reduce some risk factors of cardiovascular disease
• Reduce pain

🦶 🦶

Skin is the third most Zn-abundant tissue in the body (skeletal muscle 60%, bones 30%, liver 5%, and skin 5%). Let’s be honest. Zinc isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think about getting beautiful skin. In fact, you’ve probably never even thought about it before.
Zinc keeps skin healthy and glowing from the inside:
1. It works as an anti-oxidant
2. It helps heal and rejuvenate skin
3. May ward off acne flare ups
4. Clears up dandruff and relieves itchy scalp
5. Helps heal rashes and has been used for other inflammatory skin conditions, including: melasma, rosacea, seborrheic dermatitis, eczema.

Getting zinc from natural dietary sources is still the best way to ensure its maximal bioavailability and absorption.

Best food sources for zinc:
1. Oysters: By far the single best source of zinc in the human diet!
2. Beef: Meats, in general, are another excellent source of zinc.
3. Legumes: specifically lentils, dried beans and peas, and chickpeas. Note that to increase zinc bioavailability include soaking legumes in water for several hours before cooking and allow to sit after soaking until sprouts form.
4. Liver

Throwback to my visit to the tea factory in Sri Lanka Glen lock factory built by a Scottish man 140 years ago.
Britain introduced the tea and coffee production to Sri Lanka but the coffee was contaminated with fungus thus only the tea production thrived and became one of the most important financial resources for the economy in Sri Lanka
Tea is rich with antioxidants, has small quantities of caffeine depending on its type (brown, green, white) and may help protect your bones.
I am unquestionably a green tea fan, I try not to drink it daily as I believe we shouldn’t create dependence in our body.
What s ur favorite type of tea??