SWIHA Blog

Diversifying food choices is essential for keeping our gut’s microbiome healthy. When our digestion is performing optimally, our bodies can absorb the maximum amount of nutrients from the foods we consume, thereby improving the performance of all of the systems that keep us healthy!

There is also mounting evidence showing that what we eat affects physical health and mental health. A great way to keep our mind, body and spirit happy is by consuming a rainbow...in the form of a salad, of course!

This dish is able to be completely tailored to your personal preference. Read the guide below for suggestions on creating your own Rainbow Superfood Salad!

It’s likely you know someone who’s chosen to follow a gluten-free diet, whether it’s due to Celiac’s disease, a wheat sensitivity or just in an effort to live a little healthier. There are many reasons to consider reducing or removing gluten from your menu, including:

• Wheat is a common allergy, and a sensitivity to it may go undetected for years.
• Gluten rapidly converts to glucose in the body, which can spike insulin levels.
• Wheat has little-to-no nutritional value, due to it’s highly processed nature.
• Gluten may reduce the production of digestive enzymes needed for nutrient absorption.

Today, we’ll be looking at how to make a universally-loved food gluten-free and vegan: Pizza!

This recipe can be modified in many ways to fulfill any craving. It’ll surely be love at first bite!

Full of fiber and packed with nutrition, green smoothies are a staple in any health-conscious diet. Making this delicious drink is as easy as 1, 2, 3!

• 1 cup of fruit
• 2 cups of liquid
• 3 cups of greens

Step One: Choose Your Liquid Base

To ensure even blending, add two cups of liquid to your blender first. Be mindful of the sugar content of liquid bases, and feel free to choose more than one!

Every year, the EWG (Environmental Working Group) analyzes the chemical residue on fruits and vegetables widely available in the average grocery store. Their report notes things such as the average number of pesticides found on a single sample and the maximum number of particles detected.

Here are their findings for 2019:

Southwest Institute of Healing Arts has been celebrating National Nutrition Month by inviting you in to our teaching kitchen for informative Facebook Live sessions with Becca Briley, Lead Admissions Coordinator, and Janet Lee, Online & On Campus Holistic Nutrition Instructor.

In case you missed the Facebook Live Videos, enjoy these replays below, and check out the next opportunity to join us on March 26th at 5PM (AZ) for a discussion about eating right for your blood type!

It’s no secret: Our society is saturated with unhealthy, unbalanced options for food. In fact, many households spend over three-thousand dollars--or 10% of the average income--eating out per year; the United States fast food industry is forecasted to make 223 billion dollars by 2020.

The Standard American Diet (S.A.D) is causing an epidemic of diabetes, cancer, heart disease and a slew of other ailments to affect ourselves, friends, family and loved ones. According to the U.S Department of Health & Human Services and the Center for Disease Control:

Anthony Oliver has always loved science, nature, psychology and helping others, though he wasn’t always sure how to merge all of those things into a profitable future.

“The thing that led me to SWIHA was my mother, Veronica Oliver, because she had completed the Mind Body Wellness Practitioner program and is now a certified Clinical Hypnotherapist,” he tells us, “She told me that I should consider taking nutrition classes through SWIHA, and intuitively it felt right to me.”

Anthony recently graduated from the Holistic Nutrition Wellness Practitioner program and is awaiting examinations for his Behavior Modification Specialist and Fitness Nutrition Specialist certifications. He says that SWIHA significantly changed his life in a multitude of ways: “I value myself much more than I did before because I know I have credentials now that make me marketable and I am more knowledgeable about holistic methods of healing.”

Herbs and spices have been an integral part of cuisines around the world since the days of hunter-gatherers; and not just for their taste! Early Egyptians, Indians and Greeks are just a few cultures who have documented the use of herbs and spices for medicinal purposes and passed down their knowledge from generation to generation.

In the present-day, modern science has uncovered some fascinating properties to these tasty additions, reaffirming some ancient knowledge and discovering new ways of thinking about what we put in to our meals. As the great thinker, Hippocrates, advised us: “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.”

Today, we’ll be looking at some super seasonings and their studied health benefits!

Superfoods are low-calorie, nutrient-dense and full of fiber foods which are high in antioxidants and help fight free radicals in your system. Many even contain essential fatty acids, like omega-3, -6, -9, and hard-to-find omega-7. While the idea of a ‘superfood’ is a modern concept, they are mostly ancient root vegetables, fruits, and even fungus and algae.

In honor of National Nutrition Month, we will be exploring some of the trending superfoods and how to incorporate them in to your diet. As an exciting bonus: all the foods on this list are vegan and gluten-free!

If you love the idea of improving lives, educating others and creating meaningful work for yourself, then you’re already in the mindset of a holistic entrepreneur—and you’ve come to the right place!

Southwest Institute of Healing Arts offers a plethora of holistic wellness education, and has helped thousands of individuals take their gifts out into the world in a loving and profitable way.

Today, we’ll explore one of our most in-demand programs: our 200-hour Holistic Nutrition certification, available online and on campus. In fact, the food featured in this blog was created by SWIHA Holistic Nutrition student, Roman Massey and his classmates!