Chocolate: A (Healthy) Anxiety Cure For COVID-19 Stress
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In this virulent climate of self-isolation and serious immune system compromises, author/chef, Mee McCormick is mindful of how a rise in anxiety can find us craving snacks. Instead of a quick fix, she goes straight to her kitchen with the intent to shift her gut bacteria – important for keeping our immune systems strong – as addressed in her new book, My Pinewood Kitchen: A Southern Culinary Cure. An expert whose personal experience healing her Crohn’s disease, gut issues and immune system challenges makes her well equipped to share the whole food recipes doctors couldn’t prescribe to help her.
Enter one of our favorite snacking foods, chocolate. Says McCormick, “Cocoa is a pre-biotic plant food – this means it feeds the good probiotic bacteria or, as I like to call them, The Good Gut Homies. These Gut Homies live in our intestines.”
McCormick says the consumption of dark chocolate has been found to lower the risk of diabetes and heart disease, protect our DNA and improve gut bacteria. She points to research at the Netherlands Organization for Applied Scientific Research where they designed a study to test whether eating chocolate could mitigate the stress-related effects on the microbiome. Dividing participants into two groups – high anxiety and low anxiety and testing their urine and blood for stress markers – each participant ate one chocolate bar (containing 74% cocoa) a day for 2 weeks. The study found cortisol and adrenaline decreased as well as their p-cresol and Hippurate; metabolites created from the Good Gut Homies. High anxiety group levels dropped down to the levels of the low anxiety group – all within a 2-week period, thus the importance of cooking with cocoa.
Take, for instance, how combining cocoa with black beans takes our gut health to another level as they also have a profound influence on our microbiome by feeding the probiotic bacteria that support the mucosal lining of the intestines. Bean eaters have been found to have an 81% decrease in the harmful gut bacteria that break down the protective mucosal lining. Supporting our intestinal lining is key in preventing leaky gut. Mee McCormick has a Chocolate and Black Bean Hummus that will surprise you with its nutritiously delicious taste and texture. Shown below is an example of another chocolate -centered dish, a super easy recipe to whip up during COVID cabin fever.
This chocolate recipe is mixed with avocado in a delicious mousse (found on page 277 of Mee’s book, My Pinewood Kitchen):
Chocolate-Avocado Mousse (Makes 4 servings) In the bowl of a food processor, blend 4 ripe avocados until smooth. Add 1/3 cup local honey or coconut nectar*; 1 ripe banana; 1/2 cup raw cacao powder; 2 tbsp. organic coconut milk; 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract and a pinch of sea salt. Blend until the mixture is uniform. Pour into a dish and chill for 2 hours in a refrigerator or 30 minutes in a freezer.
If watching sugar, use an equivalent amount of stevia; however, coconut nectar is low glycemic.
Mee McCormick is a real food maven, community food advocate, a restaurateur, a rancher, a mother, and the author of My Kitchen Cure: How I Cooked My Way Out of Chronic Autoimmune Disease with Whole Foods and Healing Recipes. When Mee isn’t running her restaurant or working on her biodynamic farm, she is touring the country as a speaker and community kitchen organizer. She has appeared on national and local TV, on radio and in print nationwide. She is a regular on-air contributor to Today In Nashville and a vital part of the Nashville restaurant scene. Visit: www.meemccormick.com or www.pinewoodkitchenandmercantile.com.
My Pinewood Kitchen: A Southern Culinary Cure/130+ Crazy Delicious, Gluten-Free Recipes to Reduce Inflammation and Make Your Gut Happy HCI BOOKS – April 14, 2020 — $26.95 ISBN: 9780757323522 Available wherever books are sold
Trish Stevens Kim Weiss Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
Trish Stevens Kim Weiss Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com 281.333.3507 Phone 800.854.2207 Fax
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing)
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My Pinewood Kitchen: A Southern Culinary Cure
In this virulent climate of serious strains of illness and immune system compromises, gut health and balancing the microbiome are more important than ever. Mee McCormick nails these issues in her new book My Pinewood Kitchen: A Southern Culinary Cure, as an expert with personal experience healing her Crohn’s disease, gut issues and other immune system challenges with whole food recipes when doctors couldn’t help her. Part mini-memoir, mostly cookbook, McCormick’s book offers more than 100 gluten-free whole foods recipes that can be customized for Keto, Paleo, or vegans, making it a truly “all-inclusive” eating plan. Mee McCormick’s story of healing inspires us to make smarter food choices and offers practical tips from someone who has been there; all packaged with full-color photos of recipes and the author’s working ranch, her family’s farm, and Southern lifestyle.
My Pinewood Kitchen is microbiome-friendly meals with a Southern spin that follows up McCormick’s life-enhancing cookbook My Kitchen Cure. From immune-boosting smoothies to gut-friendly soups, salads, dinners, and desserts, this cookbook will become your go-to kitchen resource, freeing you from bland-tasting healthy food and the nightly question: “What’s for dinner?”
Mee first started cooking when Crohn’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and Hashimoto’s brought her debilitating daily pain. When conventional treatments couldn’t help, Mee found relief in a surprising place: her kitchen. Through relentless recipe testing, she put her condition into remission and completely restored her health with gut-friendly whole foods, most of which she grew and harvested on her family’s farm outside of Nashville, TN.
Once Mee was well, she opened a farm-to-table restaurant, sharing locally grown and seasonal foods with her community—some of whom drive hours to get a taste of Pine-wood’s Grain-Free Fried Chicken. Pinewood Kitchen is unique in that every meal is created with the intention to serve everyone with the same deliciousness regardless of dietary restrictions. Whether you want to eat healthier or you have diabetes, lupus, celiac, Crohn’s, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, or another autoimmune issue, you’ll find a wealth of delicious, nutritious recipes. You’ll also discover:
· The importance of intestinal health and how to improve your own gut microbiome
· Which foods are nutritional powerhouses and which you must avoid
· How to eat real food every day without breaking the bank
Mee McCormick is a real food maven, community food advocate, a restaurateur, a rancher, a mother, and the author of My Kitchen Cure: How I Cooked My Way Out of Chronic Autoimmune Disease with Whole Foods and Healing Recipes. When Mee isn’t running her restaurant, Pinewood Kitchen & Mercantile, or working on her biodynamic farm outside of Nashville, she is touring the country as a speaker and community kitchen organizer. She has appeared on national and local TV, on radio and in print nationwide. She is a regular on-air contributor to Today In Nashville and a vital part of the Nashville restaurant scene. Visit: meemccormick.com or pinewoodkitchenandmercantile.com.
My Pinewood Kitchen: A Southern Culinary Cure/130+ Crazy Delicious, Gluten-Free Recipes to Reduce Inflammation and Make Your Gut Happy
By Mee McCormick
HCI BOOKS – April 14, 2020 — $26.95
ISBN: 9780757323522
Available wherever books are sold
Trish Stevens Allison Janse Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 [email protected] ascotmedia.com (800) 851-9100 Ext. 9204
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing)
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Unresolved Trauma And Toxic Stress Seep Into The Way We Partner, Parent, Labor And Love
This groundbreaking new book by Dr. Tian Dayton offers a path to healing for the
millions of people who grew up with addiction, trauma, or adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
Toxic stress and trauma are gaining a rightful place in our country’s national health agenda. Almost two-thirds of people reported at least one adverse childhood event (ACE), and more than one in five reported three or more. When trauma remains unresolved, it can emerge in adulthood as co-addictions, depression, anxiety, PTSD, intimacy issues, and even physical illnesses.
In The Soulful Journey of Recovery, esteemed clinician Tian Dayton offers a way out, drawing on cutting-edge neuroscience, her decades of work as a therapist, and her personal experience as a child growing up in an addicted household. With exercises, journaling prompts, and astute advice from the heart and the trenches of psycho-therapy, Dr. Dayton reveals both a path and a plan to heal.
Discover:
• Why there’s no “normal” for anyone with unresolved trauma—and how to take the first steps to recover.
• The hidden connection between trauma and addictions—and what you can do if you or someone you love is numbing their pain.
• How childhood traumas can make us physically sick as adults.
• How to tell if someone is “emotionally dyslexic”—with ways to build emotional sobriety and emotional literacy.
• Why our biggest triggers can become treasures that lead to a path of healing.
It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. Learn how to change the script with The Soulful Journey of Recovery.
From the Foreword by Gary Seidler:
For those who have grown up in a family with addiction, mental illness, or other adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), the heartache and pain doesn’t end when they grow up and leave home. The legacy can last a lifetime and spread to generations unseen. In The Soulful Journey of Recovery, Dr. Tian Dayton details an action plan for readers based on the best research of the past two decades. Herself an adult child of an alcoholic, Dr. Dayton has devoted her life’s work to help others free themselves from the trauma they thought they had left behind; triggered pain and anger from the past that can derail the present or make relationships unnecessarily stressful. Powerful, focused exercises and meditations will put readers in touch with their creative, spontaneous side, leading to positive life changes. A journey of self discovery, the book presents hope circuits of positive psychology, showing readers how to take themselves from a place of pain to one of presence. Readers will discover that recovery is a self-affirming life adventure, and the kindest and best thing they can do for themselves and future generations.
Author Bio:
Tian Dayton, PhD, is a senior fellow at The Meadows. She has an MA in educational psychology and a PhD in clinical psychology and is a board-certified trainer in psycho-drama. She authored 15 books including The ACoA Trauma Syndrome, Emotional Sobriety, Trauma and Addiction, Forgiving and Moving On and The Living Stage. She taught psychodrama at New York University for eight years and is the Director of The New York Psychodrama Training Institute. She is a fellow of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama, editor-in-chief of the Journal of Psychodrama, Sociometry & Group Psychotherapy, and sits on the professional standards committee. She is the winner of ASGPP’s Lifetime Achievement Award, Scholar’s Award and President’s Award, The Mona Mansell Award, and The Ackermann Black Award. Dr. Dayton has been a guest expert on NBC, CNN, MSNBC, Montel, Rikki Lake, John Walsh, and Geraldo. She blogs for Thrive Global and The Huffington Post.
The Soulful Journey of Recovery By Dr. Tian Dayton Release Date: November 1, 2019 ISBN: 978-07573-2200-6 paperback Health Communications, Inc., (800) 851-9100, Sales – Lori Golden extension 228, www.hcibooks.com; available wherever books are sold.
Trish Stevens Kim Weiss Director of Communications HCI Books, The Life Issues Publisher 3201 SW 15 Street Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 (800) 851-9100 ext. 9212 [email protected] www.hcibooks.com/trade
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing)
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The Rejuvenation Solution: The Seven-Day Plan That Jump-Starts Ageless Health
We all want to live long and healthy lives, retaining our vitality, strength, and flexibility into our seventies, eighties, and beyond. This revolutionary program has helped many people reclaim optimal health after doctors told them their diseases were “incurable;” it has reversed numerous chronic conditions and helped thousands of people look and feel a decade younger than their actual ages.
Renowned physician Dr. Robert Willix targets the 7 distinct causes of accelerated aging, sharing cutting-edge science from his work with thousands of patients. The key to turning back the clock is to combat the 7 causes of aging synergistically, with a combination of powerful anti-aging foods, supplements and exercises that strengthen your mind and body. By doing these things together, you will fight inflammation, keep your cells youthful, and activate your body’s anti-aging hormones.
With a 7-day rejuvenation plan to get you started, it’s easy to begin your journey to your best health today!
About Dr. Robert Willix, Jr.:
Robert D. Willix, Jr., MD, formerly a Board-Certified cardiac surgeon, pioneered the first open heart surgery program in South Dakota. With a passion for integrative healing, Dr. Willix traveled the world to study acupuncture, Ayurveda Medicine, and Shamanism. He is CEO of Enlightened Living Medicine and the Chief Medical Officer and Director of Energy Medicine at the world-famous Hippocrates Health Institute in Palm Beach, Florida.
Summary:
The Rejuvenation Solution: Age in Reverse – 7 Proven Medical Breakthroughs That Prevent Disease and Make You Feel Years Younger.
While aging is inevitable, physical, mental, and spiritual decline doesn’t have to be. With a focus on prevention instead of prescriptions, of empowering the patient to discover the body’s own healing intellect, Dr. Willix offers a comprehensive plan that will completely revamp your health, making you look and feel years younger no matter what your age.
Dr. Willix goes in-depth into the 7 proven discoveries that stop accelerated aging. Anyone can remain disease-free, flexible, and full of energy at every age with this comprehensive blueprint that controls and reverses the 7 major causes of aging by working on them synergistically. The seven factors include:
Inflammabots. Body-wide inflammation is the source of nearly all diseases of aging, including heart disease, cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. Learn how to prevent and reverse inflammation with powerful inflammabots.
Telomerase Activators. Telomerase is The Energizer Bunny enzyme that keeps cells youthful. Discover how to keep your telomerase functioning optimally.
Hormone-Peptide Connection. Avoid age-related hormone decline by maintaining this delicate balance.
Geroprotectors: These are the next-generation antioxidants—learn how to harness them through foods and supplements.
The Muscle of Youth. Exercise is one the best anti-aging medicines if done correctly. Don’t waste hours on a machine—learn how proper exercises can activate and rev one of your body’s anti-aging genes.
Nutrition. Learn what foods and supplements can revitalize your body from the inside out ─ in visible and in medically measurable ways.
Stress Management. Discover simple yet powerful relaxation techniques that reduce stress and help you age in reverse.
Trish Stevens Kim Weiss Director of Communications HCI Books, The Life Issues Publisher 3201 SW 15 Street Deerfield Beach, FL 33442 (800) 851-9100 ext. 9212 [email protected] www.hcibooks.com/trade
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing)
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CAREGIVING Hope And Health For Caregiving Families
After a life-threatening accident stopped her completely in her tracks a few years ago, author Sharon Wegscheider-Cruse and her family came to truly understand that we are all one event from a lifestyle change.
Former First Lady Rosalyn Carter clearly illustrated the importance of this when she said: “There are only four kinds of people in this world: those who have been caregivers; those who currently are caregivers; those who will be caregivers; and those who will need caregivers.” Hence, the new book by Cruse with Patrick Egan has arrived, Caregiving: Hope and Health for Caregiving Families (ISBN: 9780757321931 – May 2019 — $14.95). While some people choose to take care of loved ones after they can no longer take care of themselves, many others must do so for a myriad of other reasons, often financial. It can be a crisis situation, such as an accident, or the long-term effects of aging. In any case, the days are often long and draining—both for the family care-giver and the paid professional—and the choices to be made are often confusing, difficult, and daunting.
Filled with practical, easily implementable advice, this illuminating book helps readers sort through the puzzle that forms the caregiving world. Topics include: identifying the roles of caregivers; dealing with burnout; finding ways to compartmentalize and separate without guilt; using technology to make life easier; building bridges through teamwork; downsizing; and navigating end-of-life issues. The first book to provide stories from the perspective of both caregiver and caree, it enables caregivers to better understand their fears and feelings. The result is a positive, unified approach to care.
About the Authors:
Sharon Wegscheider-Cruse is the founding Chairperson of the National Association of Children of Alcoholics, and founder of Onsite Workshops. She has written 19 books translated into 13 languages, and broke ground and fostered a movement with her works, Another Chance: Hope and Health for the Alcoholic Family and Learning to Love Yourself. Sharon has traveled the world and developed programs in the United States, Europe, Australia, and Canada, and has appeared on The Phil Donahue Show, The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Larry King Show, as well as in multiple media events.
Patrick Egan is a caregiving “gentrepreneur” and the caregiver for his parents who live in a senior community nearby. He is the founder of NurturingNet, a company that helps others use technology in a way that enhances and adds fun to the caregiver experience. A former VP of Human Resources for the Global HealthCare Exchange that was created by industry-leading health care firms including Medtronic, GE, Johnson and Johnson, Abbott and Baxter International. He holds a BA in Communications from the University of Colorado and an MBA in Management from the College of St. Thomas.
Caregiving: Hope and Health for Caregiving Families By Sharon Wegscheider-Cruse with Patrick Egan ISBN: 9780757321931 –- May 2019 — $14.95 Available wherever books are sold.
Trish Stevens Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 281.333.3507 Main/Office 832.334.2733 Cell [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing)
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Childhood Abuse Survivor Gives Hope To Others Shattered By The Darkness
After enduring daily sexual abuse for over 12 years, can there be any hope?
In Shattered by the Darkness: Putting the Pieces Back Together after Child Abuse (HCI Books – February 2019 – ISBN: 978-0757322174) author Dr. Gregory Williams shares his dark and horrific childhood of sexual abuse and 50-year journey of trying to put the pieces of his life back together.
The vital lessons learned in the process of finally stepping out of the emotional darkness and into the light will give you strength to ultimately open the deepest parts of your heart and find the courage to face your own personal darkness. Today is the day to take your life back!
Discover that no matter what abuse, hurt, pain, or betrayal you have experienced, you no longer have to live your life Shattered by the Darkness. This empowering book transforms the silence of shame into a rallying cry for hope and healing.
About the Author:
Dr. Gregory Williams is on the Administrative Leadership Team at Baylor College of Medicine’s OB/GYN Department located in the Texas Children’s Hospital at the heart of the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. He has a PhD in counseling and is a well-known speaker and teacher.
Available wherever books are sold or to order from the publisher contact: (800) 441-5569 or www.hcibooks.com Shattered by the Darkness: Putting the Pieces Back Together After Child Abuse By Gregory Williams, PhD Release date: February 2019 ISBN #978-0757322174 $12.95
Trish Stevens Ascot Media Group, Inc. Post Office Box 2394 Friendswood, TX 77549 281.333.3507 Main/Office 832.334.2733 Cell [email protected] www.ascotmedia.com
(This press release may be reprinted in part or entirety by any print or broadcast media outlet, or used by any means of social media sharing.)
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Bailey, No Ordinary Cat Delightful For All Ages
For fans of Grumpy Cat and Cats of Instagram, there’s a new cat in town — Bailey, No Ordinary Cat, of Facebook and Instagram fame, is an extraordinary cat with a growing fan base. His videos have garnered millions of views and have been shared by Ellen, Good Morning America, ABC News, CBS News and more.
What makes Bailey more addictive than catnip? In addition to his adorable expressions and hilarious, heartfelt antics, Bailey has a penchant for doing things that are demonstratively uncatlike — things like taking bubble baths (and enjoying them), sitting attentively in a chair and being read to (for hours), getting a “pet”-icure and exuding unending patience while co-raising his human siblings Abby and Hannah (yes, there is photographic evidence that Bailey helped with potty-training).
To celebrate the unique, quirky spirit of this one-of-a-kind feline, his human mom, Erin Merryn, has released Bailey, No Ordinary Cat. Filled with more than 100 pages of color photographs and captions from the voice of Bailey himself, this personal peek into the life of one purr-fectly precious feline will delight cat lovers of all ages.
Bailey, like all cats, was not destined to live forever. But through Bailey, No Ordinary Cat, his big heart and even bigger personality will continue to evoke love and laughter well beyond his years here on earth.
About the Author
Erin Merryn is an author, activist, speaker, wife and mom. She was named Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year in 2012 and a People magazine Hero Among Us for her tireless work promoting Erin’s Law nationwide with a mission to keep children safe through age-appropriate education about personal body safety. In addition to Bailey, No Ordinary Cat, she is the author of Stolen Innocence, Living for Today and An Unimaginable Act.
Baily, No Ordinary Cat
Publisher: HCI Books
Release date: April 5, 2019
ISBN-10: 0757321844
ISBN-13: 9780757321849
Available wherever books are sold. To order from the publisher, contact
(800) 441-5569 or www.hcibooks.com.
