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Evita Ochel is a consciousness expansion teacher, public speaker and author. She speaks about natural health, healing and spirituality among other things and has a large following on youtube. I really enjoyed her energy throughout this interview and I find that her voice comes from a place of deep knowledge and awareness.Please enjoy this awesome interview!

Please enjoy this interview with my special guest Tristan Haggard. Tristan has a big following on Youtube where he talks about the ketogenic diet, natural health and fitness. He offers private coaching on his website as well as a cookbook for getting starting with a ketogenic diet.We get into a lot of interesting topics in this episode and if you enjoy the show share it with your friends and help spread the word about natural health and healing!Connect With TristanPrimalEdgeHealth.com

Ann Marie Paul is a tarot reader and Yoga teacher. Many people have a misconception about tarot cards, thinking that they are used to read the future. In reality this is not a common or effective use of the tarot.A tarot reading is an opportunity for the individual to have their life placed under a microscope. Really, it's no different than any other kind of therapy. The tarot is a tool to get to the root the thoughts, emotions and situations coming up in a persons life.Enjoy the interview :)Connect with Ann MarieYoginiTarot.comAnnMarie@YoginiTarot.com

Kirsty Ka is Goddess living in the jungles of Bali offering the sacred medicine of nature, mantra, ceromeny and sound. Enjoy the interview! (21 minutes)

Download or stream this interview with Sydney! Bring some magic into your life and become inspired by her amazing lighthearted energy. (38 minutes)

Join your host John on The Welcome Vitality Podcast as he interviews Andrew McFarlane. Available for downloading or streaming. (54 minutes)

Shayna Hiller is a Yoga instructor, wellness coach and author of Don't Judge Me By My Cover, but more importantly she’s the kind of person who walks into a room and makes everyone smile. Join me for this one hour interview where Shayna shares tips and practical advice on living a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Topics we explore include:Attracting healthy friendships.How to get clear on what you really want from life.Practical tips for getting a good night's sleep.How to breathe correctly to reduce stress.Simple meditation techniques.Inspirational book recommendations.How to establish a healthy relationship with food.The three most important things that no one seems to want to talk about: poop, sex and death. (We ran out of time to fully get into sex and death, maybe next time!)These are just a few of the things we explore in this one hour interview. Download it now and listen later, also available on iTunes.Connect With Shayna Shayna@ShaynaHiller.comShaynaHiller.comFollow Shayna on Facebook “If you enjoyed this episode please share it with your friends! ”

A major reason that so many of us struggle to maintain a healthy weight, have sustainable energy throughout the day and feel our best, is that our bodie’s have become sugar-burning machines instead of fat-burning machines.There is a colossal myth floating around that our bodies require carbohydrates and sugars–both converted to glucose once inside the body–for energy. From a biological perspective, the body's requirement for dietary derived glucose–which is in fact only needed by the brain–is absolutely zero because our livers can manufacture glucose. The body is able to gain all of the energy that it needs by metabolizing fats–and to a lesser extent proteins–into energy. These different processes of energy conversion between carbs, fats and proteins are called metabolic pathways. Over time when we consume a diet primarily composed of sugars and carbs we can begin to rely on glucose metabolism for energy. This can lead to a number of problems including becoming resistant to important hormones that regulate blood sugar and hunger, and possibly even losing our ability to burn excess body fat at all.Our diet dictates how our body will predominantly manufacture energy and most of us have probably chosen glucose metabolism. By switching to foods that are high in healthy fats–and potentially incorporating eating strategies such as intermittent fasting–we can actually retrain our bodies to be fat burning powerhouses, giving us longer lasting, more predictable energy levels and allowing us to shed unwanted pounds effortlessly.

Episode SummaryFood additives are man made chemicals put into our dinner to extend shelf life, to make food look more appetizing, to make food taste better and ultimately to cut costs and boost profits for food companies. These ingredients are way different than what you would have found in grandma’s kitchen. Some of this stuff goes by names that most of us can’t even pronounce, however as consumers have begun to read labels more and more, these additives have started to go through what has been dubbed “clean labeling”.Toxic preservatives that were at one time called butylated hydroxytoluene may now go by the docile name rosemary extract. It sounds unbelievable, but this is what is has come to. It requires a lot of awareness to recognize the things that we don’t want in our bodies.Some of these additives may even be disguised as healthy vitamins and minerals! For example there is a big difference between calcium carbonate and calcium chloride. One could be found in a calcium supplement and the other is a potentially dangerous food additive. Most people would stop reading after seeing calcium and thinking, “Oh yeah, it’s good for my bones.” Think about identifying food additives like we’re learning a new skill. It can sound a little overwhelming and like a lot of work at first, but it gets easier over time. The best way to avoid all of this stuff in general is to consume whole and natural foods produced using sustainable farming practices.ResourcesThe Quoted Guardian Article on Food AdditivesToxin Synergy Rat StudyA Guide to Common Food Additives

Science has now started to recognize the importance of our second brain; the brain in our gut. This collection of over 100 million neurons is responsible for the production of 95% of our Serotonin and 50% of our dopamine. These neurotransmitters have been dubbed “the happiness hormones” so it’s no wonder that an improperly functioning gut has been linked to depression among a long list of other conditions.Our microbiome–the collection of over 100 trillion microbes who call our bodies home–have an immense impact on our health. In fact we have 10 times more bacteria living in our bodies–including on our skin–than we have human cells! These microbes only weigh about as much as the liver when put together because they are much smaller than human cells.Our microbiome is home to both “good” and “bad” bacteria. Good bacteria support our ability to digest food, absorb nutrients, eliminate toxins and can even tell our immune system to attack pathogenic viruses! We can support their growth by reducing our intake of sugars and carbohydrates, which are actually converted into glucose (sugar) when inside the body. In fact the human body has hardly any need for sugars or carbs in the diet because the liver–in combination with the glucose produced in fat metabolism–can make all of the glucose that our bodies need.Gut dysbiosis–meaning an improperly functioning digestive system–has been linked to cancer, heart disease and a number of auto-immune conditions. This can be caused by feeding bad bacteria or by killing off our good bacteria. This happen when we take antibiotics or when we consume preservatives, which act effectively as antibiotics in the body. It is thought that this is because when the gut isn’t working correctly the body initiates an inflammatory response, which any doctor will tell you is the precursor to all disease.We can support the growth of healthy bacteria by consuming foods high in fiber–such as vegetables, flax seeds and psyllium seed husks–and probiotic supplements. Prebiotic supplements are a less common term and are also a great way to support healthy bacteria since our friendly microbes actually feed on the indigestible fibers in these supplements.Cultures to Look for When Buying ProbioticsLactobacillusAcidophilus Bifidobacterium BifidumIf you enjoyed the episode please share this with your friends and family! So many people are suffering from gut-related conditions and probably have no idea about the root cause. Be a part of the global gut-healing revolution!Additional ResourcesGut Bacteria May Play a Role in AutismOur Gut Microbes can Make us Crave SugarThe Communication Between Gut Microbes and our BrainGut Microbes can Produce Neurotransmitters Identical To Humans

Gluten has become a major buzzword and many people have begun hopping aboard the gluten-free bandwagon. This is great however some people seem to think that foods with gluten-free status have a nutritional seal of approval as well. While gluten does have harmful effects on the body, gluten-free foods still typically contain other dangerous food additives such as preservatives, emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners and anti-caking agents. Gluten-free has become a marketing tool for food companies and products such as water, fruits and vegetables–which never contained gluten in the first place–can now be labeled as gluten-free. The big gluten-free stamp on the front of food packaging is a misdirection from the ingredients section on the back of the package where all the real information about the food is contained.By increasing our awareness about these marketing tactics and misdirections by food companies we can more easily identify foods which will provide us with health benefits. In a certain way we have to be like food detectives–which might sound like a lot of work–to identify quality food. It requires a little bit of extra effort at first but once we begin to educate ourselves it becomes really easy.For additional resources and sources relating to this podcast see this blog post.There will be a new segment of next weeks show where I will answer questions on topics submitted by listeners. Send an email to John@WelcomeVitality.com to have topics you're interested in discussed next week!I quote the legal definition of natural flavors and natural flavorings in this episode and here is that quote as well as the link to the source.“The term natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof, whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.”

Minerals are essential to the proper functioning of the human body and most people–including those consuming plant based diets–are deficient in these vital trace minerals. These minerals were once abundant in our soils but because of modern agricultural practices they have been mostly depleted. Even organic fruits and vegetables do not contain the trace minerals that our bodies need to properly function.Listen to this episode and find out all about minerals, why our bodies need them, why we aren't getting them from out diet and what we can do to get the minerals that we need to maintain optimal health. For further reading, additional resources and sources on this topic see this blog post. http://www.welcomevitality.com/home/mineraldifficiencesThank you so much for listening to my podcast! If you enjoyed the show subscribe to my newsletter letter to stay updated on future episodes. Additionally, if you know someone who could benefit from the information I have shared in this episode, send them the link to the show! I want to inspire people to live healthier and I believe that everyone deserves to have access to this vital information. I mention in this episode that there is a long list of chemicals approved by the FDA for certified organic farming and you can find that list here. http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&SID=06b088e611c5f18a4d02ca9945a1c3dd&rgn=div8&view=text&node=7:3.1.1.9.32.7.354.6&idno=7I recently had a story about this topic published at Elephant Journal–a popular mindfulness blog–and you can find that story here. http://www.elephantjournal.com/2016/08/why-most-of-us-have-health-damaging-mineral-deficiencies/ Buy TRC Minerals

I'm proud to announce the release of the very first episode of the Welcome Vitality Podcast! The topic is Yoga Nidra, a weird style of Yoga you may not have heard of. There are some amazing health benefits to this practice including becoming more creative, improved digestion, release of muscle tension, reduction of stress, strengthening of the immune system, the ability to communicate with the subconscious mind and so many more!Listen to the episode to get all of the details on Yoga Nidra or read about it in this blog post. http://www.welcomevitality.com/yoganidra Sign up for my free email newsletter on healthy lifestyle to stay updated on the release of future podcasts. Do you know anyone who might also find this topic interesting? Share this podcast with your friends and help spread the amazing practice of Yoga Nidra.Interested in giving Yoga Nidra a try? I have recorded one of my recent classes–which I have been teaching at a healing center on the island of Koh Phangan in Thailand–and uploaded it to Youtube. Here it is! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWNTp57IFA4