First of all, we think you're pretty fantastic just as you are. And second, New Year's resolutions notoriously fail because we often bite off more than we can chew. We make big promises to ourselves that are ultimately unsustainable, and then we get mad at ourselves for "failing." How unfair is that?
It's a rigged game, and we think we could all benefit from having a little more fun, grounding, and nourishment in our lives. And guess what? When you're feeling your best, all of those goals you have in mind will be much easier to attain—it's our little secret success loophole.
So read on for some attainable, sustainable, and, dare we say…enjoyable, self-care tips to help you feel your best today, throughout 2024, and for the years to come.
The holidays are all about celebration—which often translates into more alcohol and sweet treats. While there’s no shame in that game, ensuring that your blood sugar gets back on track will do wonders for both your physical and emotional health.
How do you reign in the blood sugar rollercoaster?
Protein.
Of all three macronutrients, protein is the most satiating (it’ll keep you feeling full), and it helps stabilize blood glucose after you eat[* www.sciencedirect.com (opens in a new window)]. While it’s not always necessary to track your protein intake with each meal, simply adding more protein to your meal can make a big difference if you’re trying to curb cravings and keep your blood sugar steady.
Whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, omnivore, or anything in between, there are plenty of protein-rich foods you can add to your diet to keep things interesting. And if you’re looking for a protein-rich superfood shake with vitamins and minerals, we happen to know of a delicious one (wink wink).
Of course, you’ll also want to watch your sugar intake if your goal is to keep blood glucose steady.
Eating the same foods day after day is a one-way ticket to food boredom—which is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from throwing in the towel on healthy eating entirely.
The solution?
Keep your diet versatile with a variety of fruits, vegetables, carbs, proteins, and fat sources. Consuming a variety of different foods helps your body receive the nutrients it needs to function optimally.
A quick hack for keeping your diet versatile: eat the rainbow. Aim for a variety of colors in your meals (think kale, carrots, apples, blueberries, and so on).
And to keep things interesting, we highly recommend tapping into the vast recipe encyclopedia of the internet. With so many people opting for healthier choices these days, there’s no shortage of better-for-you recipes out there to choose from.
Speaking of keeping things interesting, your taste buds always deserve a seat at the table when it comes to healthy eating.
In fact, research shows that when you enjoy your food, it directly impacts your ability to stick to a healthy eating plan[* pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (opens in a new window)]. Deny your taste buds what they want, and they’ll fight back with cravings so intense you’ll have no choice but to give in.
Remember: you may be able to choke down a bland salad for a week, but we’re in this for the long haul.
If you really want to feel your best, diet isn’t the only thing worth addressing. And one of the best places to start is your morning routine.
This past year, we worked with Courtney Knowles (Mental Health & Mindfulness Advisor) to learn about a little something called habit stacking.
Whether you’re aware of it or not, you already have a morning self-care routine. If you’re like most people, you:
Habit stacking is the practice of using your current habits as an anchor for new habits to form. For example, you could leave your bottle of vitamins in the bathroom to take after you brush your teeth each morning. And to add to that, you could make it a habit to fill your water glass up so that you drink a full glass of water before drinking coffee in the morning.
Start by picking one wellness practice and building it into your routine. Stick with it for 14 days, and see how you feel. After about two weeks, you’ll likely find that your new habit is now just a plain old habit—success!
To make any change stick, there’s one crucial ingredient that many people overlook: your nervous system needs to be on board.
Making changes in your life can be challenging, but it’s a whole lot harder if your nervous system is on edge.
Why?
When your nervous system is unsettled, it sends the message that something is wrong, which gives you a feeling of unease or danger. This state doesn’t exactly lend itself to motivation or trying new things. In fact, it makes us want to stick to our tried and true routines—they may not be ideal, but at least they’re familiar.
A revved up nervous system can also negatively affect digestion, slowing things down and making it more difficult to absorb nutrients.
On the other hand, when our nervous system is calm and relaxed, our minds naturally open up to new possibilities. We feel energized and curious and start craving novelty in our lives[* www.frontiersin.org (opens in a new window)].
When trying to make positive changes, we can leverage that calling for novelty to drill in some new, healthy habits.
So, how do we go about calming our nervous systems?
Great news: you have a ton of options. Here are some of our favorites:
Physical activity is one of the best ways to keep your mind and body in optimal shape. Moving your body not only keeps your joints, muscles, and bones happy, but it’s also a natural stress reliever[* www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov (opens in a new window)].
You don’t have to train for a triathlon or become an Olympic weight-lifter to gain the benefits of physical activity. In fact, any type of movement practice is beneficial.
Your movement practice might include:
Then, of course, there’s higher-energy activities like HIIT, running, boxing, team sports, and so on. But don’t dismiss movement just because it’s low-impact. The key isn’t the type of movement, it’s the consistency.
Making positive changes and achieving your goals feels great—but what’s the point if you’re not enjoying your life while you’re doing it?
You can take any of the tips mentioned above and make them work for you. Would habit stacking feel more fun if you had a calendar with gold stars to mark your progress? Would eating protein taste better if you served it on bright-colored dishware? Would you look forward to meditating more if you had a friend to do it with?
One of the ways we like to make our daily Ka’Chava more fun is by finding new ways to enjoy it. For instance, adding it to one of our many Ka’Chava-inspired recipes, mixing it in with a variety of fruits, or pouring it into different types of bottles and glassware.
And call us biased, but we love our daily shake most when we’re sipping it out of our tall Ka’Chava Mason jar. Get in on the ritual—for a limited time, get a free Ka’Chava Mason jar by purchasing a bag of any flavor (while supplies last). Shop here (opens in a new window).
The holidays come and go, but your self-care is here to stay. Instead of making a New Year's resolution this year, make a commitment to showing up for yourself in the best way you can, each day, without judgment.
To help you along in your journey, grab your free Mason jar (opens in a new window) with your next bag of Ka'Chava. We hope your fun new glass can serve as a reminder that your daily superfood smoothie is an act of self-care in itself. We're thrilled to be a part of your wellness journey.
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If you’ve ever eaten a donut, a bowl of sugary cereal, or an all-fruit smoothie only to find yourself feeling even hungrier an hour later, you’re not alone. When you ingest large amounts of refined carbs and sugars—particularly in the absence of protein, fiber, and fats—your body breaks them down into glucose and rapidly absorbs this glucose into the bloodstream.
To deal with the resulting spike, your pancreas rapidly produces the hormone insulin (sometimes more than you need), which allows glucose to quickly move from the bloodstream into your body’s cells where it can be used for energy or stored.
These spikes and subsequent hunger-inducing drops in blood glucose can be avoided by swapping out refined carbs for complex carbs such as veggies, sweet potato, and whole grains (which naturally contain blood sugar stabilizing fiber), and by eating them along with a source of protein and fat—both of which buffer the absorption of glucose into the bloodstream and help prevent those big spikes and dips in blood sugar. Ka’Chava contains protein, fat, and carbs to maximize satiety and support balanced blood sugar.
Lack of sleep and low-quality sleep can seriously mess with your hormones, including two hormones that play a big role in regulating your appetite: leptin and ghrelin. Ghrelin (opens in a new window) is a hormone that’s released when your stomach is empty, and it prompts you to feel hungry so you eat more; while leptin (opens in a new window) curbs hunger and is released once you’ve had enough food to meet your body’s energy requirements. The problem: these hormones can get thrown out of balance. Studies have found (opens in a new window) that when sleep is restricted, the body releases more ghrelin, which leads to a greater subsequent intake of calories. Put simply: poor sleep boosts hunger hormones that make you overeat.
So, prioritize your sleep! Start by scaling way back on technology at night, so you're exposed to less melatonin-suppressing blue light. Also, try to commit to a consistent bedtime and wake-up time, even on the weekends. Getting some exercise and exposure to natural light during the day can also help reset your body’s circadian rhythms so you’re primed for more restful sleep (opens in a new window).
Just like poor sleep, stress can wreak havoc on your hormones. In the short-term, stress can actually suppress appetite, but stress that lasts and lasts with no significant relief can have the opposite effect. According to the Cleveland Clinic, “When you’re feeling stressed, your body sends out cortisol, known as the stress hormone. Cortisol can make you crave sugary, salty and fatty foods, because your brain thinks it needs fuel to fight whatever threat is causing the stress.” Research suggests that stress also increases our preference for high-fat and high-sugar foods, and experts believe the hormones insulin and ghrelin (in addition to cortisol) may play a role.
In addition to getting enough sleep, which is essential for managing stress, regular exercise is a great way to curb your body’s stress response over time — research shows that your body actually pumps out less cortisol in response to stressors after you workout. Just don’t overdo it—exercising too intensely when you’re already feeling depleted can have the opposite effect and put your body in a greater state of stress. On those extra hard days, swap out your HIIT session for a nice yoga flow.
If you’re mindlessly chowing down on your lunch in just five minutes while simultaneously responding to emails, you could be throwing your hunger hormones out of whack. In one study, a group of people who consumed a meal over the course of 24 minutes felt fuller for two hours after the meal and consumed 25% fewer calories from subsequent snacks compared to the group of people who ate their meal in just six minutes. Suppression of ghrelin—the hormone that increases appetite—was greater in the group that ate slower.
When you’re eating, just eat! Quit trying to multitask all the time. Take a few calming breaths before you eat to help your body transition into “rest and digest” mode (the opposite of “fight or flight”) and prime your body for digestion. Tuning into the flavors, aromas, and textures of your food can also increase overall satisfaction.
If you’re always on the go, you work out regularly, and you frequently have a coffee in hand, there’s a chance you could be dehydrated—and mild dehydration has been linked to both increased appetite and poor focus (and we probably all know from personal experience that poor focus can prompt even greater consumption of snack foods and caffeine).
If water isn’t enticing enough for you to drink, try sipping on seltzer, herbal teas, or broth. You can also boost your consumption of water-rich foods like fresh veggies and fruits, or even soups, green smoothies, and Ka’Chava shakes (which contain 12-14 ounces of water).
]]>Omega-3s are essential polyunsaturated fats that have gotten a lot of attention for the crucial role they play throughout the body. Research suggests omega-3s may help support cardiovascular health, brain health and cognition, healthy vision, and even mood. Part of what makes these fats so beneficial is their influence on membrane proteins, gene expression, and how our cells talk to each other.
Unfortunately, many of us fall short in these beneficial fats. Often, the standard American diet (or any diet that relies heavily on processed, packaged foods) is abundant in another type of essential fat—omega-6—and is relatively low in omega-3s. While we need both of these fats for optimal health, it’s all about having an optimal ratio.
Research suggests that humans evolved on a diet with an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of around 1:1. But today, the average American’s ratio is around 16:1. Meaning many of us could benefit from strategically incorporating more omega-3s into our diet and scaling back on overly processed foods in favor of things like veggies, fruits, nuts, seeds, beans, and whole grains.
But how do you consume enough omega-3s on a plant-based diet? It’s true that fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, and sardines are the most abundant sources of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid)— two forms of omega-3s associated with both brain and heart health benefits. But plant foods also contain omega-3s in the form of ALA (alpha-linolenic acid), which has its own benefits and is converted into EPA and DHA in the body.
The conversion rate of ALA to EPA and DHA in the body is relatively low, so it’s extra important to prioritize consuming a variety of omega-3-rich plant foods in your diet—or to cover your bases with a vegan omega-3 supplement made from algae or flax oil. Sufficient ALA intake ranges from 1.1 g per day for women and 1.6 g per day for men.
Below, we cover some of the best plant-based foods to help you hit your omega-3 quota.
If you consume a predominantly plant-based diet, flaxseed oil and ground flaxseeds should be a required pantry staple. Per tablespoon, flaxseed oil contains 7.3 grams of ALA and ground flaxseed contains 1.6 grams of ALA. Ground flaxseeds are also a good source of fiber, which can support gut health and aid in digestion; and they contain several phenolic compounds, including lignans.
Try it: Flaxseed oil and ground flaxseeds will lend a subtle earthy-nutty flavor to your recipes. Cooking can break down the beneficial compounds in flaxseed oil, so use it for salad dressings, in smoothies, as a finishing oil for proteins, veggies, or grain dishes. Try ground flaxseeds in smoothies, oatmeal, yogurt, or incorporate it into baked goods like muffins and cookies.
Walnuts deliver more omega-3 fatty acids than any other nut, with 2.6 grams of ALA in a 1-ounce serving. Walnut oil contains a fair amount as well, with 1.4 grams per tablespoon. These brain-shaped nuts have also fittingly been associated with improvements in brain health, cognitive performance, and memory—in part, experts believe, by protecting against oxidative stress.
Try it: Sprinkle walnuts on your oatmeal, yogurt, and salads, or use them in a DIY trail mix along with some raisins and dark chocolate chips. Or use walnut oil in salad dressings or to add a deliciously nutty finish to proteins, veggies, or grain dishes.
These tiny little seeds pack a big omega-3 punch, with 5.1 grams of ALA in a 1-ounce serving. Per serving, chia seeds also contain a whopping 10 grams of fiber (or about 40% of the daily value), which can help keep you full, stabilize blood sugar levels, and support optimal digestion.
Try it: For a tasty breakfast or snack, make chia pudding: Stir together 1 ounce of chia seeds (about 2 tablespoons) with a half cup nut milk or oat milk and a drizzle of maple syrup, then cover and refrigerate overnight. When you’re ready to eat, top with fresh fruit and nuts.
Hemp seeds, often sold as hulled hemp seeds or hemp hearts, contain 2.6 grams of ALA per 3 tablespoons. Per serving, they also contain 9.5 grams of protein and 210 mg of magnesium, which is about 50% of the daily value for this mineral. Low levels of magnesium have been associated with stress, so adding hemp seeds to your diet may be one of the simplest ways to support both physical and mental health.
Try it: Hemp seeds have a relatively soft texture, meaning they blend up nicely into smoothies or even soups. You can even make your own hemp milk (which is insanely easy) by blending ½ cup hulled hemp hearts with 4 cups of water.
In addition to providing 18 grams of complete plant protein, one cup of cooked edamame contains 0.55 grams of ALA. Just keep in mind, edamame simply means whole young soybeans—and much of the soy grown today is treated heavily with herbicides and may contribute to deforestation. So, if you do choose to consume edamame, go for a certified organic product.
Try it: Edamame is delicious steamed and served with a little salt. Alternatively, you can add cooked edamame to noodle dishes, salads, and stir-fries.
Navy beans (small white beans) contain 0.32 grams of ALA per cooked cup, which is more than most other beans, with the exception of soy. Per serving, navy beans also contain 15 grams of protein, 19 grams of fiber (76% of the daily value), 708 mg of potassium (20% of the daily value), and a range of other vitamins and minerals.
Try it: Incorporate hearty navy beans into side dishes (with a variety of other veggies and spices), soups, chilis, and homemade baked beans. Check out this convenient tutorial on cooking with navy beans.
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When you’re stressed, part of your nervous system called the sympathetic nervous system is activated, triggering the famous fight-or-flight response that—back in the day—was originally meant to help you fight or flee from danger. Unfortunately, your body didn’t get the memo that stressing about work or a relationship doesn’t require the same response as running from a lion.
During this fight-or-flight response, your body releases a variety of hormones like adrenaline, cortisol, norepinephrine, and corticotropin-releasing factor that trigger bodily processes to prepare you for action, while down-regulating processes that are deemed less essential in the current moment—like normal, healthy digestion.
For example, when stress hits, blood gets diverted from the digestive system to your arms and legs so you can swiftly run from danger or fend off an attacker and secretion of stomach acid and enzymes slows way down. This, in turn, can impair your ability to break down food, slow digestion, and mess with motility (i.e. movement of food through the GI tract)—leading to a range of digestive issues.
Often it’s impossible to cut out all of life’s stressors. The good news: You can take strategic steps to lessen their negative effect on your body (and digestive system). It’s all about doing things that activate your parasympathetic nervous system—the body’s counterpart to the sympathetic fight-or-flight nervous system. When the parasympathetic nervous system is activated, your body can prioritize digestion, rest, and recovery. So, if your digestive issues are related to stress, these tips may help:
Take a few seconds before you eat to get into a calm headspace. Closing your eyes and taking a few deep-belly breaths (slowly in through your nose to fill your belly, then out through your mouth) can have an overall calming effect. It also stimulates the vagus nerve (opens in a new window), which activates the parasympathetic nervous system, priming you for optimal digestion and a balanced mood.
When we’re stressed, we tend to shovel food down in one or two bites. But this doesn’t give your stomach time to pump out the necessary stomach acid or enzymes. Simply chewing each bite adequately can go a long way in supporting optimal digestion. And if you’re truly in a rush, opt for Ka’Chava or a smoothie to make things easier.
A diet full of sugary, processed foods can throw your blood sugar out of whack and result in suboptimal nutrient intake. Your best bet: Make sure your diet contains plenty of nutrient-dense plant foods like leafy greens, cruciferous vegetables, berries, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and legumes. If you need a little help, Ka’Chava has 85+ plant-based superfoods and nutrients, and an ideal balance of protein, carbs, and healthy fats to help keep blood sugar stable and your digestive system humming.
Magnesium is an essential mineral that relaxes your body and is vital to healthy nervous system functioning. By activating receptors for the neurotransmitter GABA, ensuring you get enough magnesium in your diet may help support a calming effect on your mind and body. Unfortunately, studies show that approximately 50% of Americans consume less than the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for magnesium, which means you need to take extra care to get this nutrient in your diet[* (opens in a new window)]. Ka’Chava contains magnesium-rich foods such as chia seeds and flax seeds, and it provides 48 to 60% of your daily value for this essential mineral in every serving.
Regular exercise is basically meditation in motion. It’s been shown to boost self-confidence, ease stress, and enhance mood. Whether it’s jogging, rock climbing, or hiking, research shows that physical activity can boost levels of mood-enhancing endorphins and reduce levels of stress hormones (opens in a new window)like cortisol and adrenaline in the body. Plus, exercise boosts blood flow to the digestive tract, which can improve GI motility and help keep you regular.
We get it, life can get overwhelming and social interactions can quickly take a backburner, but it’s important to get a dose of meaningful human interaction whenever you can—even if it’s just a 15-minute phone call to a friend or grabbing a quick catch-up coffee. Interestingly, research shows that spending time doing something enjoyable with people you like can actually stimulate the vagus nerve (opens in a new window) (just like deep breathing, mentioned above), which can help you get out of a fight-or-flight stress state and into a calm parasympathetic-dominant state.
Oftentimes, stress results from being chronically in our own heads and overwhelmed with all the little details of life. For this reason, it can help to periodically hit the pause button. If you’re the type who can’t sit still long enough to meditate, try instead to set aside time in the day to do something that brings you pure joy—something where time seems to stand still and you’re thoroughly immersed in the moment. This could be anything from rock climbing to baking to knitting to making music. When you’re in this flow state, stress basically melts away.
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Adaptogen is the term used to describe a group of plants (certain herbs, roots, and medicinal mushrooms) that help your body react to and recover from physical, mental, and environmental stressors. The effect is subtle, but many people swear by their benefits—and they’ve been used for centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda to restore balance.
Adaptogenic plants are believed to restore homeostasis by adapting their functions to your body’s specific needs. For example, if you’re too amped up, adaptogens may help calm you down; and if you’re feeling run down, they may help subtly elevate your energy.
While each individual adaptogen has slightly different properties and benefits, they’re all believed to exert a normalizing effect on the body, helping to bring you back to a healthy, balanced state.
The term “adaptogen” dates back to the 1940s when researchers were looking for ways to keep Russian soldiers and workers energized and resilient in extreme climates. This gave rise to research into plant medicines and the discovery of plants that exhibited adaptogenic effects, like Rhodiola rosea. Since that time, a number of other plants have been categorized as adaptogens, based on their similar effects on the body.
While more research is needed on adaptogens, some experts believe certain adaptogens work by interacting with a part of your body called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which governs the body’s fight-or-flight response to stress. When a person experiences a stressor—whether it’s a work deadline, too many social or family responsibilities, or any type of dangerous situation—the HPA axis activates and triggers the release of hormones such as cortisol, which prepare your body for action.
Adaptogens are beneficial because—to a certain extent—they appear to hit the reset button on an overactive HPA axis and support a more balanced stress and immune response.
The adaptogens in Ka’Chava include maca root, reishi mushrooms, cordyceps mushrooms, maitake mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, and ginger root. Learn more about each one below.
Native to the rugged terrain of the Andes mountains, maca root’s popularity for everything from improving energy to enhancing libido spans centuries—and a growing population swear by its benefits today.
There are a variety of mushrooms that many experts classify as adaptogens, including shiitake, maitake, reishi, and cordyceps. Many medicinal mushrooms contain compounds that support immune health, including polysaccharide compounds like beta-glucans.
The spicy root that’s often attributed to improved digestive health appears to have adaptogenic qualities as well. While research on ginger as an adaptogen isn’t robust, preliminary studies suggest that ginger influences the HPA axis.
]]>You probably already know that fiber and probiotics are important for maintaining regularity and good gastrointestinal health, but digestive enzymes also play a crucial role. These substances are naturally produced by the body to help you break down food, which is why we’ve included a blend of 5 different digestive enzymes in Ka’Chava.
Here, learn more about digestive enzymes, how to support your body’s own production of digestive enzymes, and how to get more through your diet.
While the chewing action of your teeth and the churning of your stomach help mechanically break down food into smaller particles, digestive enzymes chemically break down fats, proteins, and carbohydrates (a.k.a. macronutrients) into smaller molecules that can be absorbed through the intestines and into the bloodstream for use in the body. So, without digestive enzymes, you would not be able to fully break down the foods you eat and utilize the nutrients they contain.
Some key digestive enzymes produced by the body include:
Amylase: Breaks down complex carbohydrates (made in the mouth and pancreas)
Protease: Breaks down proteins (made in the pancreas, stomach, and small intestine)
Lipase: Breaks down fats (made in the mouth, pancreas, and stomach)
Lactase: Breaks down lactose (made in the small intestine)
Digestive enzymes are released at various stages of digestion to ensure the optimal breakdown of food and absorption of nutrients. The first of these enzymes are released through the salivary and lingual glands in the mouth (which initiate the digestion of carbs and fats), then additional enzymes are secreted through the stomach (which digest proteins) and the small intestine (which further digest carbs, proteins, and fats).
There are some simple ways to support your body’s production of digestive enzymes along with overall digestive health. Here are a few to consider:
Ever notice how you eat super quickly when you’re stressed? Well that’s a recipe for digestive upset. Before each meal, make a point to get into a relaxed state (or at least semi-relaxed)—taking a few deep breaths and putting down your phone always helps. Then, make sure you’re chewing each bite thoroughly, as chewing triggers the release of enzymes and primes your whole GI tract for digestion.
For overall digestive health, consuming a minimally processed diet rich in nutrient-dense whole foods, including plenty of veggies, can go a long way. But adding in foods with naturally occurring digestive enzymes may offer an additional benefit. Consider incorporating some of these into your diet.
In addition to other digestion-friendly ingredients like fiber and probiotics, Ka’Chava contains a blend of five digestive enzymes to support optimal digestion and nutrient absorption. These enzymes include all those mentioned above (amylase, protease, lipase, lactase) in addition to cellulase. Unlike the others, cellulase isn’t naturally produced by the human body, but it does assist in the breakdown of cellulose, which is a component of plant and vegetable fibers.
If your gut is in healthy balance so that it contains more “good” microbes than “bad” ones, the rest of your body is likely to be in balance, too. So, how do you keep your gut happy? Probiotics and prebiotics can both play a significant role in the health of your microbiome. Here, we’ll share what they can do and ways to include them in your diet.
Probiotics are bacteria found in certain foods and supplements that are similar to those naturally found in your gut. When you ingest probiotic bacteria, they can help repopulate your gut microbiome and change the balance of bacterial species residing there.
There are seven different genuses of microorganisms most often found in probiotic products, including Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, and each play different roles in the human body,
Naturally fermented foods are rich in probiotics, and include:
Prebiotics are soluble fibers that contribute to gut health. They essentially act like fertilizer, passing through your digestive system to become fuel for your gut microbiome and stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria. Natural sources of prebiotics include:
That’s what we’re getting at when we refer to Ka’Chava as The Whole Body Meal. Essentially, a “whole body meal” should be naturally delicious and leave you satisfied, energized, physically and mentally balanced, and ready to take on the day.
But specifically, what makes something a “whole body meal”? There’s a set of criteria we followed to deliver maximum mind-body benefits when creating Ka’Chava, and which you can use when making healthy meal choices throughout the day.
Here’s exactly what we mean when we say The Whole Body Meal:
If you ever attempted a fat-free, carb-free, or protein-free diet, it wouldn’t last very long. That’s because — contrary to what popular diet culture tells us — we need all three of these macronutrients to survive and thrive, physically and mentally. Given the unique role each of these macros play in the body, a “whole body meal” should contain all three.
Carbohydrates are the body’s primary form of fuel and provide the quickest source of energy to your muscles, brain and nervous system, and other cells. Complex carbs from foods like whole grains, fruits, and vegetables are your body’s preferred source of carbs, as they provide a steadier stream of energy and are less likely to spike blood sugar.
Protein is the most filling macronutrient, and it’s broken down into amino acids that your body uses to build structural components of the body such as bones, muscles, skin, hair, nails, and tendons. Amino acids also function as enzymes and hormones.
Healthy fats are broken down into fatty acids in the body, which are important for proper brain and neural development, energy production, absorption of vitamins and antioxidants, hormone production, and so much more.
If you fall short in one or more of your macros, you’re setting yourself up for fatigue, cravings, and irritability. Meaning, you won’t be able to crush your workouts, and you won’t be much fun to be around! That’s why Ka’Chava contains 25 grams of protein, 25 grams of complex carbs (9 g of which are fiber), and 7 grams of healthy fats.
A nutritionally balanced meal needs more than just macros — it should contain a variety of veggies, fruits, and other plant-based foods to provide ample micronutrients, too. Micronutrients include vitamins, minerals, and natural phytochemical plant compounds, including antioxidants like beta-carotene and lycopene from things like carrots, tomatoes, and leafy greens.
While macros may be the workhorses of the human diet, micronutrients are needed to fuel countless bodily processes, curb inflammation, counteract oxidative stress from environmental stressors, reduce risk of disease, ensure stable moods, and give you that extra edge you need to truly thrive. In fact, many cases of depression can actually be attributed to a deficiency in certain micronutrients, like folate, magnesium, and omega-3s.
Not every meal needs to contain every micronutrient (in fact, that would be impossible), but a “whole body meal” should at least contain a decent variety. You can do this by adding several different plant foods in a range of different colors (think: leafy greens, purple cabbage, blueberries, raspberries, carrots, tomatoes, nuts and seeds, etc) to your plate.
Neglecting adequate micronutrients in your meals can leave you more susceptible to a variety of problems, including viruses, depression and anxiety, low energy, sluggish metabolism, sub-optimal muscle gains, and a less vibrant overall appearance.
This is why each serving of Ka’Chava contains 70+ plant-based superfoods and micronutrients, along with probiotics and prebiotics, which can actually enhance the bioavailability of micronutrients by optimizing gut health. We go a step beyond the “typical” superfoods, too, by including adaptogens (like maca root and reishi mushrooms) that curb the effects of stress, enhance energy, and generally provide a sense of balance.
Any balanced meal should hit your caloric sweet spot — not so low that it leaves you ravenous for more, but not so high that it makes you feel weighed down and sluggish. This will vary for each individual, based on your height, weight, and activity levels. Often, when you focus on eating a variety of nutrient-dense, minimally processed foods, you naturally hit your personal sweet spot without needing to actually count calories. (It’s when we eat too many highly refined foods that our body’s intuition for what’s “enough” gets thrown out of whack.)
When it comes to meal replacements, though, we find that many companies actually go too low. Many contain sky-high protein levels, but calorie counts below 200 — something that would never be found in nature. This is downright confusing to your body, and, for many people, not sufficient to properly fuel the physical and mental demands of the day.
With Ka’Chava, each meal delivers 240 calories, along with an ideal ratio of macronutrients and micronutrients, that’s more in line with what your body (and brain) naturally needs to thrive.
Your meals shouldn’t be a science experiment. Too often you see meal replacement shakes rely on artificial sweeteners and flavors, cheap fillers, low-quality protein isolates, and even high levels of caffeine — things your body would never encounter in nature (especially not together).
That’s why making your own meals at home with real, nutrient-rich foods, or choosing a meal like Ka’Chava is your best option. Ka’Chava is free of preservatives, cheap filler ingredients, and artificial sweeteners and flavors. Each ingredient is selected with purpose.
]]>Chia seeds, açai, kale, maqui berry, chlorella, and walnuts—these foods (and many others) have all been dubbed “superfoods” at one point or another. But what does this label even mean?
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines a “superfood” as “a food (such as salmon, broccoli, or blueberries) that is rich in compounds (such as antioxidants, fiber, or fatty acids) considered beneficial to a person's health.” But the truth is, there’s no scientific definition, criteria, or established list for what constitutes a “superfood.” The term may be used to help market a product, but it’s not actually held to any official scientific standards.
However, certain foods do stand out in terms of their nutrient density and proven benefits compared to others, and calling them “superfoods” can provide a helpful distinction for consumers on the lookout for certain nutritional benefits—as long as it’s made clear what makes these foods so “super.”
Generally, we believe the term “superfood” should be used to describe whole, or minimally processed, foods that have a naturally high concentration of health-promoting nutrients, such as polyphenol antioxidants, healthy fats, fiber, and a variety of vitamins and minerals. They might also contain nutrients that are typically hard to find in other dietary sources. For example, chia seeds are a great source of elusive omega-3 fats. If a food has quality scientific research to support its health benefits, that only adds to its “superfood” status.
Many people wrongly assume that a superfood must be trendy or exotic to be worth their time and money, but that’s simply not the case; while there are certainly ultra-healthy foods from far-flung locales, you can also find loads of superfoods right at your local farmer’s market.
Even relatively basic kitchen staples like broccoli, oranges, and whole grains can be considered “superfoods” because of the fiber, vitamins, or antioxidants they contain.
Because a diverse diet is so important for health, we include a range of nutritious superfoods in Ka’Chava—many of which you’ve heard of, but some that may be totally new to you, too. Here are some of our favorite stand-out superfoods. Click here to learn more about their nutritional profile and potential health benefits:
The problem is that not all soy-based foods are created equally. More often than not, products containing soy use a highly processed form of soy called soy protein isolate, which lacks many of the nutritional benefits of whole soybeans. Not to mention, conventional (non-organic) soy can have a huge negative impact on the environment.
Here, learn why you’ll never find soy protein in Ka’Chava, and what we use instead.
Minimally processed soy foods (think: edamame, tempeh, tofu, natto) have been associated with real health benefits such as reduced cholesterol and blood pressure. However, the more processed a soy product is, the less nutritious it is. That’s why many nutrition experts advise against consuming highly processed soy protein isolate—an ingredient in several mainstream meal replacement shakes and protein powders.
While whole soy contains protein, fiber, minerals, and complex carbohydrates, soy protein isolate has undergone intense chemical processing, usually with a petroleum-based solvent called hexane, to isolate just its protein. Meaning, you lose out on all those other nutrients!
When you think of agriculture having negative impacts on the environment, you probably think of animal agriculture. But the truth is, farming soy is a huge driver of deforestation, especially in the Amazon Basin region. In fact, Brazil has cleared over 24 million hectares of land for growing soybeans, and is the world’s second largest soybean producer.
This, of course, is terrible for local wildlife. But the damage extends far beyond that. The plant life present in forests and grasslands (especially tropical rainforests) is crucial for sequestering/trapping carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and generating fresh oxygen. But, when humans wipe out this natural vegetation, carbon can no longer be sequestered—and, what’s even worse, is that the CO2 that had previously been sequestered is re-released.
Studies indicate that halting tropical deforestation and allowing for regrowth could mitigate up to 50% of net global carbon emissions through 2050. This is a big reason Ka’Chava doesn’t include soy, and it’s also why we donate a portion of our revenue to the Rainforest Trust.
Soy is considered one of the top 8 most common food allergens, which also include milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat. Together, these foods account for 90% of all food allergies. Symptoms of a soy allergy can range in severity and may include indigestion, diarrhea, cramps, hives, vomiting, shortness of breath, wheezing, and more.
We want as many people to be able to enjoy Ka’Chava as possible, so it was a priority to limit potential allergy-causing ingredients. That’s why Ka’chava is free of all of the top food allergens, except for coconut. Coconut is recognized as a tree nut, but according to the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, coconut allergies are very rare and most people with tree nut allergies can safely consume it.
Even if you don’t have an official soy allergy or intolerance, soy protein isolate may still cause gastrointestinal distress. Why, exactly? Compared to minimally processed soy foods, soy protein isolate contains a higher concentration of trypsin inhibitors. These compounds reduce the availability of trypsin—an enzyme that helps break down protein in the small intestines—so you have a harder time digesting protein.
More than 93% of soy grown today is genetically modified to withstand hefty doses of herbicides and pesticides—particularly glyphosate, commonly known as RoundUp. The reason: So farmers can obliterate the weeds and bugs surrounding a soy crop, while preserving the actual soybeans.
If this sounds terrible for the environment, that’s because it is. Spraying vast quantities of glyphosate depletes nutrients in the soil (which then reduces the nutrient-density of the crops that sprout from it), contaminates local waterways, and may harm wildlife—potentially contributing to adverse effects in animal reproduction.
Plus, research shows that glyphosate residue can remain in water and soil for months, potentially years. Meaning, with each application, levels build up more and more.
]]>Macronutrients refer to the nutrients that your body requires in relatively large amounts on a daily basis. They provide your body with calories, which are then converted into energy, and they help maintain various structures and systems within the body (e.g. your muscles). There are three macronutrients—carbohydrates, protein, and fats.
Carbohydrates are the body’s primary form of fuel and provide the quickest source of energy to your muscles, brain and nervous system, and other cells. Your body converts carbs into glucose, which enters the bloodstream and can either be used right away to fuel bodily processes or stored for later use.
Fiber also falls under the category of carbohydrates, but instead of being absorbed into your circulation, fiber sticks around in your digestive tract providing a range of benefits for gut health, digestion, and metabolic health.
Current USDA dietary guidelines suggest getting around 45-65% of your daily caloric needs from carbohydrates, however, this may vary depending on your health goals or medical issues. For example, you may want to go a bit lower if you’re concerned about your blood sugar or are struggling to maintain a healthy weight (since protein and fat tend to help balance blood sugar and keep you feeling fuller).
Generally, it’s a good idea to obtain your carbohydrates from whole foods or minimally processed sources such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, and whole grains (since these contain a variety of additional nutrients) as opposed to highly processed breads, crackers, cereals, etc.
Protein is the macro most commonly associated with building muscle. The body breaks down protein from foods like chicken, fish, peas, and lentils into individual amino acids during digestion, and then uses them to build structural components of the body such as bones, muscles, skin, hair, nails, and tendons. Amino acids also function as enzymes and hormones.
Protein is also the most satiating (or filling) macro, so getting enough is key for curbing cravings and maintaining a healthy weight. According to the Institute of Medicine’s dietary reference intake (DRI) recommendations, most people should be consuming around 0.8 g of protein per kg body weight (for someone who weighs 150 pounds, which equates to about 54 grams of protein per day); or, per the USDA dietary guidelines, around 10-35% of your calories should be coming from protein. However, highly active individuals, those trying to lose weight, or aging individuals may need closer to 1.2-1.4 g per kg.
Keep in mind, proteins from meat and other animal products are complete (meaning, they contain all 9 essential amino acids that the body can’t make on its own), but plant proteins typically aren’t. So, if you’re following a plant-based diet, you should eat a variety of different plant protein sources every day—like what you’d find in Ka’Chava.
Fats are the final macro—and nope, they’re not inherently more fattening than protein or carbs. Dietary fat from foods like avocado, walnuts, and olive oil is broken down into fatty acids in the body, which are important for proper brain and neural development, energy production, absorption of vitamins and antioxidants, hormone production, and so much more. Fat also provides more energy (9 calories per gram) than carbs or protein (4 calories per gram).
According to USDA dietary guidelines, your total daily fat intake shouldn’t exceed 20-35% of your daily calories, and your saturated fat intake shouldn’t exceed 10% of your daily calories. This means that the rest of your fat intake (approximately 10-25% of your daily calories) should come from a combination of good-for-you monounsaturated fats and polyunsaturated fats..
Prioritizing fat sources from sources like nuts, seeds, fatty fish, and minimally processed cooking oils (e.g. olive oil and avocado oil) is always a good idea.
Micronutrients are basically “the rest of the nutrients” in food, including vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and a range of phytochemicals (i.e. health-supporting plant compounds). The fancy sounding compounds you read about in health articles—lycopene, beta-carotene, anthocyanins, flavonoids, etc—are micronutrients, too.
These nutrients are needed in much smaller quantities than macros, and they’re often measured in milligrams as opposed to grams, but they are absolutely critical for driving countless processes in the body and promoting optimal health. Many micronutrients play quite a few different roles in the body. For example, magnesium is an essential mineral used in more than 300 biochemical reactions that regulate physical and mental balance.
Micronutrients are truly what give healthy foods their edge. The problem is, not all foods contain them in significant quantities. While macros are easy to come by, even in highly processed foods like donuts, micronutrients are predominantly found in whole or minimally processed foods, especially vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, legumes, and whole grains.
Ka’Chava contains 26 micronutrients, including magnesium, zinc, selenium, biotin, calcium, vitamin D, vitamin C, vitamin A, vitamin B12, and more. See the full list of micros here
]]>In one of the most well-known examples, about ten years ago a groundbreaking study found that women who ate a Mediterranean-style diet high in fruits, veggies, whole grains, and fish (with only moderate red meat) had better moods compared to those who ate diets high in refined carbs and added sugar. Since then, several other trials have validated the various ways in which food can impact mood.
Below, learn how you can structure your diet to support mental health, plus specific foods with mood-boosting properties.
There’s no hard and fast set of rules, but as of right now, most of the research has been done on Mediterranean-style diets—eating patterns that emphasizes veggies, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, seeds, olive oil, fish, fermented foods, and some meat and dairy, while limiting sugars, refined carbs, and processed foods.
A mood-supporting diet should also contain sufficient levels of all essential nutrients as well as fiber, probiotics, and polyphenols. Specific foods have been associated with an elevated mental state, too, especially when eaten in the context of an overall nutritious diet. Discover some below!
Fatty fish such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, and anchovies are rich in the long-chain omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. Omega-3s are important components of brain cell membranes and they play a role in regulating cell signaling within dopamine and serotonin pathways, which may contribute to their positive effect on mood.
Nuts and seeds are jam-packed with healthy fats. In fact, chia seeds, flaxseeds, and sacha inchi are top sources of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a plant-based omega-3 that’s converted into longer-chain omega-3s in the body.
Many nuts and seeds are also potent sources of the minerals zinc, selenium, magnesium, and iron. Getting the recommended daily amount of these minerals helps support a healthy nervous system and cognitive function.
Kombucha, kefir, kimchi, and yogurt are fermented foods containing live probiotic bacteria, which can help fortify your gut microbiome. This is important, since emerging research suggests there’s quite a bit of cross-talk between the gut and the brain via the gut-brain axis. The gut also produces a large percentage of the body’s serotonin, so it’s really in your best interest to keep it healthy!
Fiber-rich plant foods like beans and lentils are naturally packed with fiber—1 cup of cooked lentils packs 16 grams of fiber, which is 64% of your daily value—and fiber is the fuel your good gut bacteria need in order to thrive! As mentioned above, a well functioning gut microbiome is key for healthy communication between the gut and brain. Beans and legumes are also a great source of mood-supporting potassium, magnesium, zinc, folate, B vitamins, and zinc.
Berries are a rich source of anthocyanins, a type of polyphenol that combats oxidative stress, supports brain health, and has been associated with better mood. Berries are also packed with fiber and vitamin C which is an antioxidant that helps maintain the integrity and function of nerve cells.
Kale, spinach, arugula, Swiss chard, and other dark leafy greens pack the biggest bang for your nutritional buck. They share many of the same mood-boosting nutrients as berries, including fiber, vitamin C, and polyphenols. They’re also a good source of B vitamins (particularly folate), vitamin A, and minerals such as potassium, magnesium, and iron, which work together to support optimal mental health. Iron, for example, helps support a healthy mood, focus, and energy levels by aiding in the transport of oxygen throughout the body, including to the brain.
Imbalanced blood sugar can lead to spikes and dips in energy levels, which make you more prone to feeling anxious. Two big nutrients that slow the absorption of sugar and maintain stable blood sugar levels are healthy fats and fiber—and avocado is absolutely packed with them. One avocado contains 20+ grams of fat (mostly healthy monounsaturated fats) and 13 grams of fiber. Plus, avocado packs 14% of your daily value for calming magnesium.
Spices and herbs can be a simple way to ramp up the flavor and mood-boosting potential of your meal. In general, herbs and spices tend to be a great source of beneficial polyphenols.
There’s a reason you might start to crave chocolate when you’re stressed. Dark chocolate and cocoa powder are a great source of magnesium—an essential mineral that relaxes your body and plays a vital role in healthy nervous system functioning. Dark chocolate is also a source of polyphenols (called flavonoids) and the serotonin-precursor tryptophan, which support cognitive health and mood.
]]>The bad news: Most people don’t get nearly enough magnesium in their diet. Studies show that approximately 50% of Americans consume less than the Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for magnesium, which means you need to take extra care to get this nutrient in your diet[*].
Here’s why magnesium is so important for physical and mental health, plus ways to boost your levels with foods, supplements, and more.
There are a few potential reasons that so many people have suboptimal magnesium intake. In general, experts believe people aren’t eating enough magnesium-rich foods, which include things like dark leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and whole grains—staples of a nutrient-rich, minimally processed diet. Instead, Western diets are loaded with things like refined grains (think: white bread, cereal, white rice), which have actually been stripped of their naturally occurring vitamins and minerals.
Additionally, levels of naturally occurring minerals in the soil have become depleted due to modern agricultural practices. This means that we’re seeing lower levels of minerals like magnesium in fruits, vegetables, and other plant foods than ever before. In fact, scientists estimate that in the U.S. and the U.K, the magnesium content of vegetables (e.g. cabbage, lettuce, spinach) have dropped by 80-90%.
Here are some key ways magnesium impacts your health, and why you want to make sure you’re getting enough of it in your diet.
Magnesium is an essential mineral that relaxes your body and plays a vital role in healthy nervous system functioning. By activating receptors for the neurotransmitter GABA, ensuring you get enough magnesium in your diet may help support a calming effect on your mind and body.
Magnesium plays a role in the production and utilization of ATP—a molecule used to store energy and drive many cellular processes. Getting enough magnesium in your diet helps ensure optimal energy levels and athletic performance.
Even though foods contain less magnesium than they used to, it’s still possible to hit your daily quota from food alone. Here are some of the best sources to incorporate into your diet. Try to aim for around five servings of magnesium-rich foods every day:
Several ingredients in Ka’Chava such as kale, spinach, and cocoa naturally contain magnesium, and one serving of Ka’Chava contains 48-60% of your daily recommended magnesium intake.
Soaking in a tub with Epsom salts a few times a week is another way to get a dose of magnesium since Epsom salts contain magnesium sulfate, which is absorbed directly through the skin. It’s also a great way to quickly feel the muscle-relaxing effects of magnesium. Add about 300 grams (or 1 ½ cups) of Epsom salts into a bathtub of warm water—you should start to experience its soothing effects on muscles and headaches within about 15 minutes, according to the Cleveland Clinic. No tub? You can always just soak your feet!
It’s hard to measure exactly how much magnesium you’re absorbing through your skin, so you should still aim to get plenty of this mineral through your diet as well.
If you’re getting several servings of magnesium-rich foods per day and consuming Ka’Chava, you’re probably already hitting your magnesium quota. But this may not be possible every day, so magnesium supplements can still have their place (of course, ask your doc before adding a new supplement to your routine).
Generally, magnesium is well tolerated at supplemental levels of 350-400 mg per day, but your doctor may have you take more if you’re using it to alleviate a particular health condition. For maximum absorption, spread your magnesium intake throughout the day and take magnesium supplements with meals.
Generally, a healthy gut is one with a large variety of bacterial species in which the “good” bacteria outweigh “bad” pathogenic bacteria. The problem: Modern life—especially highly processed diets—are wreaking havoc on our collective gut microbiome, sapping it of its diversity and often fostering the growth of the wrong types of bacteria.
Consider this: Compared to the Hadza of Tanzania — one of the last remaining communities of hunter-gatherers, whose diet and lifestyle has gone mostly unchanged for thousands of years—people in the U.S. and other industrialized countries have about 40% less microbial diversity in the gut. This is a huge difference! And it likely correlates with the uptick in chronic disease we’ve seen in these countries as well.
The good news: Even if it’s not possible to completely replenish the biodiversity that was lost over centuries, you do have a lot of control over your gut microbiome. Certain diet and lifestyle habits can help you essentially “rewild” your gut and support overall health in the process.
You don’t have to be a vegan to enhance the diversity and composition of your gut microbiome, but you do want to up your intake of veggies, fruits, nuts, beans, whole grains, and other minimally processed plant-based foods. That’s because plants are naturally rich in fiber, and fiber is the fuel your good gut bacteria need in order to proliferate. Greater intake of fiber also increases the diversity of species within the gut. (Most people in the U.S. only get half of the recommended 25-30 grams of fiber per day, so there’s lots of room for improvement!).
When your “good” gut bugs break down fiber, they release beneficial compounds called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) that help protect the intestinal lining.
Here are some fiber-rich plant foods to consider adding into your diet if you haven’t already (for more, check out this handy list from the Mayo Clinic):
Eating lots of broccoli and quinoa is great, but you don’t necessarily want to be eating the same exact combo of plant foods day after day. Research by the American Gut Project suggests that the main predictor of gut health is actually the variety of plant foods in someone’s diet. Scientists found that people eating more than 30 different types of plants per week had a healthier gut microbiome than people eating fewer than 10. The fiber in each type of plant food seems to feed a unique species of bacteria in the gut—and so eating a greater diversity of plants results in a greater diversity of gut bacteria.
Making an effort to eat seasonally can go a long way toward improving the diversity of your diet over the course of a year—but what about improving food diversity over the course of a day? Salads, smoothies, and stir-fries are great ways to cram lots of different plant foods into one meal, but there’s only so much shopping, chopping, and cooking you can handle as a busy human. When time’s tight, consider reaching for Ka’Chava, which packs over 85 superfoods, nutrients, and plant-based ingredients per serving, including 4-7 grams of fiber (14-25% of your daily value).
We’ve established that eating plants—and lots of them—is pretty great for optimizing the health of your gut microbiome. Eating loads of meat, sugar, and refined carbs, on the other hand, can push your ratio of good-to-bad gut bacteria in the wrong direction and negatively impact health.
One study from 2013 compared the effects of a plant-based, fiber-rich diet to a predominantly animal-based, meat-heavy diet. People on the animal-based diet experienced a significant increase in unhealthy gut bacteria , while plant-based dieters did not.
Excessive refined carb and sugar intake from foods like white bread, cereals, donuts, crackers, and soda has also been shown to negatively impact the gut by reducing microbial biodiversity and feeding “bad” gut bacteria.
While eating more plant-based foods is the single most important thing you can do to promote microbial biodiversity in the gut, probiotics can also be beneficial (and they seem to be especially important during and after taking a course of antibiotics). There’s still a lot we need to learn about probiotics, though, so it’s good to obtain them from natural sources like yogurt or kimchi, or to take supplements containing bacterial strains that have been well-studied for their health benefits.
Ka’Chava contains probiotics such as Lactobacillus rhamnosus and Lactobacillus acidophilus, along with prebiotic fiber, that can help improve the ratio of good to harmful bacteria in your gut and increase the production of beneficial short- chain fatty acids (SCFAs).
There’s more to gut health than what you put in your mouth! In fact, one of the biggest changes in day-to-day life over the last several centuries has been the drastic decrease in our contact with nature—plants, animals, dirt, fresh air, etc. Hunter-gatherer societies like the Hadza are in constant contact with the natural world, which contributes to their robust microbiome; while many modern societies are literally walled off from it.
But taking steps to boost your contact with the natural world—going for a hike, rock climbing, gardening, walking barefoot in the grass, playing with your dog, spending time with farm animals—can expose you to millions, if not billions, of beneficial microbes that benefit your microbiome and overall health. Scientists believe this is the main reason that children raised in households with dogs (who are constantly tracking in germs and dirt from outside) have stronger immune systems than children raised in more sterile environments.
Getting active while you’re outdoors is doubly beneficial, as research shows that physical activity can positively influence the composition of bacterial species in your gut microbiome.