Life Lately: What I’m Doing to Feel My Best All Summer

I hope this summer finds you well! I wanted to send a quick personal update and share with you a few things I’ve been doing this summer to support my health and feel my best while making family memories. 🙂

I’ve been having so much fun with my six-year-old son – he’s become quite the epic travel companion! He came with me on a solo trip to visit my family and friends in Chicago at the beginning of the summer, before we embarked on a month of swimming lessons, cooking camps, and reading in Austin, Texas.

My hubby and I also took him on a few family trips this summer, including visiting Great Wolf Lodge, LEGOLAND, Los Angeles, and most recently – Poland! I’m currently writing to you from my grandmother’s house in rural Poland, after spending a week with my aunt and uncle in the city of Lublin. 🙂

I know for many of us, the excitement and busyness of summer means we inadvertently put our health on the back burner, and by the time summer comes to a close, we’re left feeling like we’re playing catch up.

This summer, I wanted to do things a little differently. Even with a busy schedule filled with making memories, I’m prioritizing a few simple things to keep me feeling great, and I wanted to share them with you in case you need a little inspiration to do the same! 😉

Nutrition while Home and Traveling

The summer started off with a busy June full of educational activities for my son, and I focused on green smoothies for myself in the morning. Sometimes, the days of summer can be unpredictable, which is why I love to start my mornings with a Root Cause Green Smoothie. I love that it provides me with an ample amount of protein, and is packed with veggies, ensuring that I’m getting a balanced, easy-to-digest meal first thing. It’s like a nutritional insurance policy!

I often recommend that those with Hashimoto’s start the day with a green smoothie, and it’s a foundational piece of many of my programs. It helps keep blood sugar steady, provides thyroid-supporting nutrients, supports detoxification, supports healthy inflammation levels, and is easy to digest:

The Root Cause Green Smoothie Base Recipe

1 cup mixed baby greens
2 large carrots
1 ripe avocado
1 stick of celery
1 cucumber
1 bunch of basil leaves (optional)
1 cup coconut milk
1 scoop of Rootcology Organic Pea Protein – Vanilla or Chocolate, Rootcology Paleo Protein, or Rootcology AI Paleo Protein

All you need to do is blend the above ingredients in a Vitamix or other blender, and enjoy it as a low-glycemic breakfast, lunch, or snack!

Safe Protein – Before I knew I had Hashimoto’s, I would make a smoothie every morning, filled with whey protein and Greek yogurt. As it turns out, I had a sensitivity to dairy (as do many others with Hashimoto’s), and this “healthy” smoothie was doing more harm than good. A few years later, when I was looking for protein powders that I could tolerate, without a bunch of weird ingredients, I couldn’t find what I was looking for. After many years of searching, working with supplement companies, and saving up, I created the first autoimmune protocol-friendly protein in 2017.
- Rootcology AI Paleo Protein contains hydrolyzed beef protein that is free of any fillers and is compliant with even the strictest autoimmune protocol. It’s very tasty, too! Surprisingly, it doesn’t taste like beef, rather, it has a slight milky taste — I personally love it. 😉
- I also decided to create vanilla and chocolate options for those who follow the Paleo diet and want some variety. Please note that these products contain stevia and some light additives.
- Last, but not least, I have Rootcology Organic Pea Protein – Vanilla, which is made from organic peas, and is gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free, as well as vegetarian/vegan friendly. And after many months, it is FINALLY back in stock!

Lettuce Grow – I recently got a Farmstand from Lettuce Grow for my home. It’s a self-watering and self-fertilizing hydroponic system that can grow veggies, greens, and herbs easily at home, without the use of pesticides. They have several models available to suit your needs, including indoor and outdoor options, and you don’t need to have a green thumb to use it. 😉 It has been such a great addition to my daily routine, and I love having fresh produce that I can grab and throw directly into my green smoothie in the morning! When I’m out of town, I have one of my girlfriends simply refill it with water every few weeks, so my garden keeps growing even when I’m traveling!

While traveling in Chicago and Poland, I have been super lucky to have my mom and my aunties cook delicious fresh food for me and my family!

These days, I’ve been able to reintroduce most foods, but still stay gluten free to keep Hashimoto’s in remission. I’ve been having fun discovering gluten-free options in every place I visit.

Some highlights from my travels this summer:

Lou Malnati’s Pizza in Chicago offers gluten-free deep-dish pizza!
Both hotels at LEGOLAND in California have restaurants with delicious gluten-free options, and you can ask the chef about their options.
The Living Room at the Peninsula in Beverly Hills offers high tea with gluten-free pastries (if you call ahead).
Ciacho bez Cukru in Poland is a dedicated gluten-free bakery chain!

I also utilized the services of Hungryroot when visiting Los Angeles. My parents appreciate a home-cooked meal, but I didn’t want to spend all day in the kitchen! Hungryroot does the meal planning and shopping for you – they even send snacks based on your preferences, so I was able to create meals that everyone enjoyed (and then we had plenty of time to spend at the beach!).

If you would like to try Hungryroot, for the next 48 hours, you can get 40% off your free delivery with my code IZABELLA40, plus one free gift.

Summer Reading

This summer, my little one asked me to teach him how to read, and he learned how to read in three weeks! I’m so proud of him, and he’s so proud of himself. Here are the books we used to teach him how to read. 🙂

I’m also focusing on reading him educational books. 🙂 A new favorite…

Adam’s Healing Adventures: Fake Food vs Real Food – One of my son’s and my favorite activities is to cook together, especially in the summer. As you might imagine, I want my son to eat a healthy diet, and it’s important for me to educate him on all the different types of foods that are available in the grocery store, and be able to tell the difference between junk food and healthy food. I was so excited to see my friend Dr. Madiha Saeed just released another book in her Adam’s Healing Adventure series – this time, about reading food labels and learning how to discern between real food and fake food. She makes learning about how to read food labels and understanding different types of ingredients, into a fun and exciting adventure! My six-year-old son Dimitry is so excited to be a “food detective” after reading this book. 🙂

My personal reading this summer has focused on It Starts with the Egg: The Science of Egg Quality for Fertility, Miscarriage, and IVF. This book is packed with information on the latest treatments for low ovarian reserve, how to optimize egg quality, the impact of immune and implantation issues on pregnancy, the uterine microbiome, endometriosis, and the role of male fertility. It also includes tons of valuable research on how to optimize fertility for IVF and other fertility treatments. It was recently updated, and I’ve learned so much about newer approaches to supporting fertility in both men and women.

If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you may know I’m starting a fertility journey. Many of you have been asking what I’ve been doing. I’m trying various things these days, such as the usual things I do that are part of my lifestyle, but I’ve also tried melatonin, ovarian PRP, Chinese herbs, and DHEA.

All of the above can help with egg quality, especially in older women. ^{^[1]} However, to be honest with you, I didn’t love how any of them made me feel! The melatonin made me groggy in the mornings, and the PRP was super painful. Since lowering my Hashimoto’s antibodies into the remission range 10+ years ago, I’ve been a calm and even-keeled person, but the DHEA and Chinese herbs made me super moody (and gave me some chin hairs, lol). I am still exploring things that I can do to help myself!

If you’re looking for ways to support your fertility (or know someone who is), check out the book I mentioned above!

Air Quality

When it gets hot (like it is right now in Texas 🥵), many of us find ourselves spending more time indoors as we try to stay cool. Did you know that toxins in the air are more concentrated indoors? The EPA estimates that the concentration of certain indoor air pollutants can be two to five times greater than the same pollutants found outdoors. ^{^[2]}

Indoor air pollution may originate inside the home or infiltrate through windows, air conditioning units, or gaps.

Examples of indoor sources of pollution include:

Outdoor and indoor smoke sources
Mold (an important Hashimoto’s trigger)
Allergens (dust, pollen, animal dander, etc.)
Radon (a naturally-occurring radioactive gas found in some homes’ basements)
Bacteria
Artificial fragrances
Chemicals like asbestos, lead and formaldehyde

These toxins can all contribute to the body’s toxic load and be a trigger for many thyroid symptoms, as well as Hashimoto’s. I’ve seen a number of airborne toxins showing up as frequent triggers/exacerbating factors for my clients’ autoimmune conditions — mold, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and artificial/synthetic fragrances, in particular. You can read more about air quality and Hashimoto’s in this article.

Here are a few things I do to improve the air quality in my home:

Jaspr Pro Air Filter – Using an air filter in the home is the best way to help reduce toxins. Most recently, I’ve been using the Jaspr Pro air filter, and I’m thrilled with the results. I’ve really noticed a difference in how I feel since adding one to my home. Jaspr filters out mold, dust, pet dander, and allergens, and has been shown to remove over 99% of airborne pollutants. Plus, it’s very quiet for an air filter. At only 30 decibels, it’s about the same noise level as a whisper (though it will kick into a higher gear when it detects increased levels of pollutants in the air). As a bonus, it’s a beautiful machine that blends into the aesthetic of your home.

Mold Defense – Mold can lurk in damp areas in the home, such as air conditioning systems, in spaces under kitchen sinks, bathrooms, recently flooded areas, attics, crawl spaces, and basement areas. It can easily build up in areas with poor ventilation and/or high humidity, and is common in homes in moist climates. Toxic molds have been linked to serious health conditions, including Hashimoto’s, autism, as well as neurological problems and impacts on immune system health.^{^[3]} Exposure to mold spores and mycotoxins (long- or short-term) can cause symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, respiratory issues, digestive problems, joint pain, arthritis, depression, asthma, skin issues, headaches, migraines, and hormonal issues. In addition to a high-quality air filter, products like those by Micro Balance Health can help reduce the presence of mold and mycotoxins in your home. They make a number of products to help keep your air clean such as room spray, cleaning products, laundry additives, and air-purifying candles. (Please note that their original candle formula is made with soy wax, which many people with Hashimoto’s are sensitive to. They recently released a soy-free option made with beeswax, which is my preference.) I love to have these products on hand to keep mold in check, especially after a recent mold scare due to a leaky toilet!

Fitness

One thing I really wanted to make a priority this year is fitness. Six years ago I had a baby, then it was the pandemic, then life kept happening, and I always seemed to find an excuse for why it wasn’t a good time to get back into a fitness routine. Before I knew it, most of my clothes no longer fit – and I was no longer fit! There’s always going to be some excuse not to get started or keep up on a fitness routine, so I decided I just needed to start somewhere. Here’s what I’ve been prioritizing this year to achieve my fitness goals:

More Protein – Having an adequate amount of protein is necessary for building muscle, not to mention especially important for those with Hashimoto’s. Many of the essential and non-essential amino acids are required for thyroid hormone production, gut repair, and immune function. Without these amino acids, our bodies can’t perform their basic functions of keeping us alive, much less repair the damage from autoimmune disease. Getting enough protein at each meal also helps to keep our blood sugar balanced, which supports our mood, energy levels, and cravings. In addition to green smoothies, I’ve been loving the addition of this Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie to help me hit my protein goals. It uses the brand-new chocolate flavor of Rootcology’s Paleo Protein. Here’s the recipe I’ve been using:

Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie
1 avocado
1 cup strawberries
1 scoop Rootcology Paleo Protein – Chocolate
1 cup waterAdd everything to a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.

Convenient and Effective Workouts – One of the biggest barriers I (and many others) come up against when trying to implement a new fitness routine, is knowing what exercises to do! As a mom and business owner, my mental load is often at capacity, and I prefer to have someone to guide me through a workout so I don’t have to think about it. This is why I was so excited when my friend Bree (also known as Betty Rocker) offered me a spot in her workout challenge – the 30-day Booty and Abs Challenge. The workouts are all around 30 minutes, with a special emphasis on sculpting and strengthening your butt, legs, and abs, so even the busiest of us can get in an effective workout. They incorporate resistance training and explosive cardio – the two most effective types of training – to stimulate muscle tone and burn body fat. Even better – there’s no special equipment required. If you have dumbbells, an exercise ball, or a stretchy band, you’re welcome to use them. If not, Bree gives you alternatives! I also love that Bree provides three different workout schedule options to support you in every stage of life – whether you’re still in your regular cycling years, in perimenopause, or post-menopause. Most workout programs don’t take this into consideration! Her workouts are so fun, and I can do them anywhere, so I can keep up with my fitness even during my busy summer. 🙂

Walking – In addition to focusing on my protein intake and getting in several strength training workouts each week, I’m also focusing on walking more throughout the day. This is such a simple, effective way to support your fitness goals – plus walking has so many physical and mental health benefits! While in Los Angeles and Europe, I’ve been able to get in my 10,000 steps each day by going on lots of walks around the neighborhood, but my neighborhood in Texas is not so walk-friendly. I am considering getting this walking pad that my team members have been raving about, to keep up with walking on days when it’s too hot outside or where I have a lot of computer work to do, to ensure I keep it moving!

Brain Function

In addition to my physical fitness, I’m always looking for ways to support my cognitive abilities as well. I’ve been working on my fifth book this year, so I need all the brainpower I can get! These two things have been keeping my mental clarity up:

Methylene Blue – Have you heard of this? Methylene blue was initially developed as a dye for use in textile manufacturing, but since then it’s been found to possess a number of health benefits, including antifungal, antiviral, and antibacterial properties, mood-enhancing effects, and neuroprotective features. It works on our mitochondria by increasing ATP production and reducing oxidative stress. It can also help with mood and focus by boosting neurotransmitter production. Recently, I noticed biohackers using it for its nootropic effects (nootropic compounds enhance cognitive abilities) and all its other health benefits, so I thought I’d give it a try! It turns out the hype is real – it has been incredible for increasing focus and concentration while working on my book. In addition to the cognitive boost, I experienced the unexpected benefit of longer and stronger fingernails! Troscriptions makes high-quality methylene blue products, with several different varieties that each offer different benefits. I personally use their Just Blue product. I love Troscriptions because it’s physician-formulated and pharmaceutical-grade. They come as lozenges that are scored and easy to break, so you can take a precise dose. Please note, you can take it as a lozenge for the signature “blue tongue effect”, as well as swallow it whole. Please note, your urine will turn an interesting blue color. (You can use the code DRWENTZ for 10% off your order.)

Neurofeedback – This is a form of biofeedback that uses real-time displays of brain activity to help self-regulate brain function. Research has shown its effectiveness for a variety of brain-related conditions, including anxiety and depression. ^{^[4]} With biofeedback, physiological processes are monitored with sensors, and the body is given “feedback” to help regulate these processes. Data about brain activity is then extracted and read as either positive or negative feedback. As the individual receives the feedback, they will alter their actions towards the desired brain activity. I’ve found that this kind of feedback can help me optimize my sleep, stress, focus, and concentration. Super helpful for projects that require a lot of focus like writing a book! I like the Neuroptimal system and recommend finding a local neurofeedback practitioner in your area who has one.

Lab Testing as Self-Care

When many of us think about self-care, we think of things like massages, Epsom salt baths, and yoga classes. While these are certainly wonderful self-care strategies, the other side of self-care doesn’t always feel quite as luxurious. I’m talking about things like pap smears, dentist appointments, and yearly lab tests – not always the most fun, but certainly a necessary part of caring for your health!

I believe yearly lab testing to check in on your thyroid is one of the best things you can do for your health! A full thyroid panel each year can help you note any changes in thyroid function, and adjust accordingly.

If you’re currently on your thyroid healing journey, I recommend testing your thyroid more often (every 6-12 weeks), to monitor for changes and to see if your interventions are working.

One of my favorite self-order lab companies, Direct Labs, is having a sale on some of their tests for the month of August, including their “Ultimate Thyroid Panel”. This panel includes Free T3, Free T4, TSH, Thyroglobulin antibodies, TPO antibodies, and Reverse T3.

I will always recommend testing thyroid antibodies, which indicate an autoimmune attack on the thyroid (also known as Hashimoto’s). Antibodies can be elevated for years before there is a change in TSH, so a full thyroid panel can help detect Hashimoto’s in its early stages.

The ZRT Adrenal Stress profile is also on sale, and I often recommend cortisol testing for those with Hashimoto’s because chronic stress and dysregulated cortisol levels play such a large role in thyroid symptoms and the development of thyroid disease. In fact, out of the 2232 people I surveyed with Hashimoto’s, 69 percent reported a lot of stress in their life before they began to feel unwell.

Direct Labs makes it super easy to self-order these key tests that give you so much insight into your health (and then adjust accordingly, so you can feel your best). All you do is order the tests you’d like, visit a Quest blood draw center, and your results will be online in a few days.

Their sale runs through the end of this month, so get your lab orders in soon!

Takeaway

I hope these tools and resources empower you to prioritize your health, so you can keep feeling your best even with a busy summer schedule. 🙂

P.S. I love staying in touch with my readers! To stay on top of thyroid health updates and meet others who are following similar health journeys, please join my Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Pinterest community pages. For recipes, a Thyroid Diet start guide, notifications about upcoming events, and the Nutrient Depletions and Digestion chapter from my first book for free, be sure to sign up for my email list!

What are your favorite hacks for summer health?

Wishing you well on your health journey!

References

^{^[1]} Fraidakis M, Giannakakis G, Anifantaki A, et al. Intraovarian Platelet-Rich Plasma Injections: Safety and Thoughts on Efficacy Based on a Single Centre Experience With 469 Women. Cureus. 2023;15(5):e38674. Published 2023 May 7. doi:10.7759/cureus.38674; Xu L, Hu C, Liu Q, Li Y. The Effect of Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) Supplementation on IVF or ICSI: A Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Geburtshilfe Frauenheilkd. 2019;79(7):705-712. doi:10.1055/a-0882-3791; Schwarze JE, Canales J, Crosby J, Ortega-Hrepich C, Villa S, Pommer R. DHEA use to improve likelihood of IVF/ICSI success in patients with diminished ovarian reserve: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JBRA Assist Reprod. 2018;22(4):369-374. Published 2018 Nov 1. doi:10.5935/1518-0557.20180046; Krysiak R, Szkróbka W, Okopień B. Impact of dehydroepiandrosterone on thyroid autoimmunity and function in men with autoimmune hypothyroidism. Int J Clin Pharm. 2021;43(4):998-1005. doi:10.1007/s11096-020-01207-w
^{^[2]} What are the trends in indoor air quality and their effects on human health? Indoor air quality. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency website. Updated September 7, 2021. Accessed April 2022. https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/indoor-air-quality
^{^[3]} Empting LD. Neurologic and neuropsychiatric syndrome features of mold and mycotoxin exposure. Toxicology and Industrial Health. 2009 Oct-Nov;25(9-10):577-81. doi: 10.1177/0748233709348393.
^{^[4]} Hammond DC. Neurofeedback with anxiety and affective disorders. Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2005;14(1):105-vii. doi:10.1016/j.chc.2004.07.008; Fernández-Alvarez J, Grassi M, Colombo D, et al. Efficacy of bio- and neurofeedback for depression: a meta-analysis. Psychol Med. 2022;52(2):201-216. doi:10.1017/S0033291721004396