Healthy Animals, Healthy People
Read on for health and wellness tips from Yankee Farmer's Market staff and owners.
My Personal Immune Boosting Practices
It's a perfect time to reflect on what we can do to help support your own immune systems. Yesterday, I feverishly navigated the day with teas, and supplements, good foods and some healthy, medicinal soups to help my own system fight whatever seemed to be invading me. Today, I am feeling much better. Below is my "go to" when needed, though a lot of this is part of my daily regimen.
Probiotics - good gut bacteria
Prebiotics - feeds good gut bacteria.
Ashwagandha- Adaptogen that can help with stress, brain function, sleep & inflammation
Golden Milk - a hot anti-inflammatory beverage. Click for recipe.
Clean Foods - avoid inflammatory foods (sugar, gluten, corn). Eat good fats, meats, veggies and some fruits.
Vitamin D - undervalued in my opinion and hard to get enough of in the winter months in New England. Supports immune system.
Adrenal Cocktail - 4 oz. OJ, 1/4 tsp Cream of tartar & Himalayan pink salt
Collagen & gelatin - great for gut health & joints
Rest - Yup... still working on this one
Water, water, water - goal is 1/2 body weight in ounces
Weight lifting & exercise (min 3x's per week)
Meditation - Stress control
Here are things I try to avoid
Corn syrup, dyes, antibiotics, Advil, prescribed medicines, OTC medications & anything that comes with a litany of potential side effects.
Need more information? Check out Dr. Axe and search out any of these for more information!
Keira Farmer, Owner
Yankee Farmer's Market & Pitcher Mountain Farm
Farmer, Mother, Wife, Kinesiologist
Winter Buffalo Observations
I am always amazed on how the buffalo's metabolism slows down during the colder months and start to consume less and conserve energy. This is just the opposite of most domesticated animals that consume more feed in the winter months to help maintain body condition and to stay warm. Makes me ponder this point - seems to me when tough weather and lack of feed is the situation the buffalo are the dominant choice and makes the most common sense.....
Brian Farmer, Owner
Yankee Farmer's Market & Pitcher Mountain Farm
What is Biohacking?
Biohacking is the process of making changes to your lifestyle in order to “hack” your body’s biology, and feel your best.
Biohacking is aiming for optimal functionality to reach the full potential of our entire body with a DIY (Do It Yourself) mentality. It’s monitoring, experimenting, tweaking and growing intentionally and strategically. It often involves different types of technologies, supplements, gadgets and tools with the aim of increasing performance, physical, cogitate or otherwise. Often also associated with increasing our potential is anti aging. There are unlimited examples of different hacks that take on many different forms.
It’s not about giving up your current health and medical regiments. It’s better said by Dave Aspery, the creator of Bulletproof and one of the top biohackers in the world, that biohacking is “the art and science of changing the environment around you and inside you so that you have full control over your own biology.”
There are hundreds of examples, many that seem to be things we take for granted, but they're often paired with the biohacking concept because it’s more from a mindset perspective than the actual thing. It's viewing them as ways to not just exist, but to help us be the best version of ourselves.
Personally, I’ve been biohacking for over 10 years, perhaps even longer. Back when I was a collegiate athlete and later a professional tackle football player I was doing some of these things before they had an official name. I love learning, experimenting and improving myself from the inside out. I love the idea of taking control of my own health and wellness and doing it in ways that are outside the box, but extremely effective, and often remarkably simple and natural to the ways we as human beings have been living and functioning for over 2.5 million years.
Some basic examples are the Oura ring to track my sleep, temps, pulse and more. The Muse headset to monitor brain signals to help me learn to maintain a meditative state. My grounding (earthing) mat to simulate the benefits of being directly connected to the earth and it’s positive electrical charges. Specially designed light that boosts serotonin production for these dark winter days. A vibrating foam roller, inversion table, infra red sauna, ice baths, HBOT and TONS of other tools, activities and strategies that I use every single day.
I encourage you to join in and follow along as the farm makes it fun and easy to integrate many of these types biohacking techniques into our days.
Ginger Snow, YFM Operations Director
Certified Primal Health Coach & Biohacker
Former Professional Women's Tackle Football Athlete
Christmas Tree Tea
A great source of immune-boosting vitamin C is available in bulk and for free! Spruce or pine needles are both excellent sources of this important vitamin, and, importantly, taste delicious (sort of like a tangy Christmas tree!) in a tea.
The recipe is simple - collect a bunch of needles, and simmer in water for 5-10 minutes. Add more water or more needles to your liking. Finish with a dash (or three) of honey, and enjoy! Or, you can fancy it up by making this delectable but easy spruce herbal liquor for some immune-boosting adult beverages.
Just make sure you are collecting from trees that are not treated or near major roads/highways.
Katie Malloy
YFM Retail Store Manager
Artist, Educator, Farmer
Three Rivers Farmer Alliance We've all heard it before..."supply chain issues." These even effect us local guys. We have been having some difficulties with getting our normal deliveries because of the shortage of trucks/drivers/staff/everything at the moment. So, we are going even more local! We are proud to be working with Three Rivers Farmer Alliance to get more awesome local products into our farm store. You never know when we might be trying out a fun new product, so be sure to stop in soon and check out our new stock!
The techniques, strategies, and suggestions expressed here are intended to be used for educational purposes only. The authors are not rendering medical advice, nor to diagnose, prescribe, or treat any disease, condition, illness, or injury. It is imperative that before beginning any nutrition or exercise program you receive full medical clearance from a licensed physician.
