“Good oral health helps you enjoy life. It lets you speak clearly; taste, chew, and swallow delicious and nutritious foods; and show your feelings through facial expressions such as smiling.” — Dr. Rena D'Souza, NIDCR Director, on caring for your teeth over your lifetimeWhen was the last time you had a dental exam? A cleaning? Did you know your mouth has its own microbiome? My dentist actually collects saliva to run a test for dementia / Alzheimer’s risk. And mouth bacteria can also tell us your risk for cardiovascular disease. And as aging women, for those who are at risk for osteopenia / os ..read more

I'm thrilled to address a topic that resonates with many of us: banishing belly fat. As we navigate the beautiful journey of midlife, hormonal changes and weight accumulation in the abdominal area can be a concern. But fear not, dear ladies! With a holistic approach to nutrition, exercise, and self-care, we can bid farewell to stubborn belly fat and reclaim our wellness. Let's delve into the empowering steps to achieve that.   Hormone Changes and Belly Fat Our ovaries provided estrogen every month, until we run out of eggs and ovulation. Then the baton is passed on to our adrenal glands ..read more

What do you think of when you see the word protein? Do you think of meat, smoothies, and/or body builders? As we age, our muscle mass deteriorates. And if you’ve been a dieter for years, afraid of quality fats, or dabbled in the vegan world, you’ve probably lost muscle mass. According to Dr. Gaby Lyons, MUSCLE is our organ of longevity. And if you are wanting to live a long and healthy life, you must be all about building muscle. How do you do that? With an adequate intake of amino acids. Amino acids allow you to build muscle tissue. We have a list of “essential amino acids” that can only be ..read more

Lesley Stahl said something on 60 Minutes that really bothered me. She opened her interview on obesity by saying that “if you diet, you should expect to lose weight.” Of course, she didn’t hear me when I started yelling at the TV. You see, the word diet has been taken over and misinterpreted. Then to make matters worse, her guest “expert” opens up with “obesity is genetic.” Wow, I couldn’t, wouldn’t watch too much more as it was going to be a pitch for some of the new diabetes drugs that are supposed to help one lose weight. These drugs have become the darling of social media and don’t come w ..read more

October is breast health awareness month Is it more appropriate to say “Breast Cancer Awareness Month” OR “Breast Health Awareness Month” The first implies a reactive position, the second a proactive position. Do you see the difference? Maybe you’ve been touched by breast cancer in a friend or family member, even yourself. It can be confusing and daunting! I mean where does it come from and why our breasts? I do know, that as a functional nutritional therapy practitioner, we must treat our bodies like a garden, improving the soil (nutrition and supplementation), eliminating weeds (toxin expos ..read more

No one wants to admit they suffer with it. I recently spoke to a women’s group of 100. I asked them to close their eyes and raise their hand if they were—or ever have been—constipated. While there was some giggling, more than 50% of the room had raised their hands. Wow! What does that say about the state of our digestive health? Of course, few people connect the dots between what they eat and how often they move their bowels. And here in the U.S. we spend billions of dollars in over-the-counter and pharmaceutical digestive aids. Nowhere is this epidemic as noticeable as inside any "big c ..read more

I've had several clients in the last 3 years, women, come to me with concerns because scans are showing that they have weak, brittle bones. And in this age group, 45- to 65 year-olds, we have to ask: “Why are we susceptible to osteoporosis and osteopenia?” Watch the video to discover the tricky truth about calcium supplements & more! AN OFFER FOR HEALTH-SAVVY, MATURE WOMEN ONLY: Schedule a FREE 30-minute Discovery Session with Leslie to See How You Can Live With LIMITLESS VITALITY Every Day! Identify your current health concerns and what you don't like about aging. Let's get clarity ..read more

Ten years ago, when I started on this journey of Redeeming Wellness, one of my main concerns was that as women, we were self-sabotaging our beauty. I desperately wanted to tell you that while “beauty can be skin deep,” and that beauty starts on the inside, all of that is for naught if you have a poor diet. Everyone has a favorite face cream or treatment, but beautiful skin starts with nourishment from within. Eat the correct balance of foods and you'll feed your skin the vital nutrients it needs to help it stay soft, supple, and blemish-free. Just like you can’t exercise away a poor diet, y ..read more

I like to think about our bodies as a garden.  In a previous life, I was a landscape designer and garden consultant. Clients would talk about fancy and expensive plants that they wanted in the landscape. But I always emphasized the soil and bed preparation first. That’s your baseline investment. Because no fancy plant will survive in sterile, clay-like soil. The soil prep included bringing in peat, loam, compost, and natural fertilizers like worm castings. This soil prep guaranteed that the plant would not just survive, but thrive.  And of course, adequate waterings. If you don’t te ..read more

“What supplements should I be taking?” A quick google search will often leave you puzzled, confused, or downright overwhelmed. But before you close your computer and call it quits, I’d like to use my experience as a Certified Functional Supplement Specialist to share some practical tips that will demystify the subject as you think about incorporating supplements into your health rhythm.  The truth is, supplements are one of the biggest needle-movers I see in my work with clients. They tell me often how their lives have been changed by adding supplements that support their individual heal ..read more