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You probably know that that your thoughts, emotions, exercise, and surroundings affect your general well-being, but did you know that they also affect your body’s nutrient levels?
For this month’s We Heart, we’re partnering with a company that focuses on it all, Cornucopia. You’ve heard the saying “you are what you eat,” and that’s true, but the team at Cornucopia believes that you aren’t defined by what you are, but by what you can become—and we really resonate with that.
When the creator of Cornucopia, Michelle, told us about her dream of creating the perfect care packages for people that want to live a cleaner, more Earth-friendly life we were thrilled. They’re helping people create their own chemical-free lifestyles by partnering with companies (like us) that focus on safe, sustainable products for every part of their lifestyle.
The packages are different sizes and every package comes with different types of products but the singular thread that runs through Cornucopia is care. They are especially attuned to the struggle of finding clean lifestyle products for people working through a battle with cancer and have a bundle that is made specifically for people that are taking chemotherapy treatment. These come with everything from a reusable glass straw to a non-toxic organizational binder for appointments, they’ve truly thought of everything.
Cornucopia is a new company but their foundation and mission is strong. Michelle sent us detailed information about their focus, and we thought it was so beautiful, we want to share it with you.
The Pillars of Cornucopia
The definition of cornucopia is “an inexhaustible store” and not only doe this company offer products and packages that help you fill your own proverbial cup, they offer products that keep our planet clean so that we can continue to pay it forward.
Nourishing Body
The US is a nation that is overfed and undernourished so food is a big problem in our country. Obesity is at an all-time high, as well as other diseases like cancer. In 2017, there will be another 1.6 million new cancer cases and it threatens to overtake heart disease as the most deadliest disease in the United States.
Did you know the FDA has approved over 7 color additives to be used in our food? These types of chemicals, like Yellow No.5 and Red 40, have been loosely linked to hyperactivity in children and cancer in lab animals.
Did you know conventional methods of crop-growing include pesticides, herbicides, and other toxic chemicals? Our conventional produce is covered with this stuff.
Did you know our cows are being fed, without medical reason, antibiotics as well as hormones? This is what we’re consuming.
If you’re in the Standard American Diet rut, Cornucopia has a Chef’s Package that can inspire your passion for cooking at home.
We all deserve to nourish our bodies with plentiful vitamins, minerals, coldpressed oils, energizing elixirs, collagen boosting bone broth, and cleansing herbal teas. By consuming food like this we can start to move our bodies towards health and vitality, and coupling that with a healthy, mind, spirit and environment, the picture is starting to look much better!
Nourishing Environment
You’re probably already familiar with the effects of the food we eat but we also absorb substances from our environment, and that can make a big difference in our health.
When we’re not mindful of our environment, it can deplete nutrients in our bodies. For instance, when we come into contact with chemicals such as volatile organic compounds(VOCs). VOCs in your paint is pretty commonly talked about, but did you know they can also be found in household products like those used for cleaning, disinfecting, degreasing, and even cosmetic cleansers? Other sources include aerosol sprays, air fresheners, dry-cleaned clothing, and pesticides. As the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) states on their website, some VOCs, “are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans.”
Cornucopia does the hard work hand-picking products that don’t contain any of these chemicals. They only offer products that are made by Mother Earth, are non-toxic, and most importantly, safe.
A great example are the Epsom salts that come in a few of their packages. The salts are rich in magnesium and when they’re used in a foot soak or a warm bath are a great way to absorb nutrients from the kind of environment we want to be in.
Nourishing Mind
Studies have shown that stress affects our health negatively and may influence the course of chronic diseases. When we are in that, “fight or flight” stressed out mode, our body releases stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol which benefit us when we are fleeing from grizzly bears but when we are consistently in that stressed out state, those hormones can actually do damage to our bodies.
One of those ways is how our stress affects bodies’ ability to manage blood sugar levels. Because our bodies break down foods into sugar (glucose) to use as a main source of energy, when we feel chronic stress, we tend to crave sugar because our bodies feel like we need more immediate energy so that we can continue to function at that higher level of stress. Over time that need to feed the stress beast within can lead to increased eating habits, which can cause obesity and insulin resistance.
Our bodies have a finite amount of energy and resources available for balance and hormone production. When we find ourselves worried about work or relationships or stressed out about tomorrow’s deadline, our bodies are focused on creating stress hormones, which means they’re not focused on creating other types of hormones—including sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone and happy-making hormones like dopamine and serotonin. That’s right, the act of being stressed overtime can throw off your body’s physical ability to make love and feel happy.
As if that isn’t enough, because chronic stress causes changes to hormones and blood sugar, it can compromise the immune system, leaving the door open to even more serious conditions and secondary infections.
This means that not only are what we eat or where we are, we are what we think too.
That’s why regular practices like meditation, aromatherapy, and intentional breathing are so helpful when working to create a healthy life. They bring your mind to a personal place of zen, allowing your body to bring those stress hormones into balance so that it can spend energy creating the hormones that make you happy, stabilize your blood sugar, and provide support to the immune system.
If it sounds like a tall order, it is. We deserve to nourish our minds so that our bodies can heal. Cornucopia has an answer for that too—the Lavender Luxe Package is completely focused on offering a calm and relaxing evening complete with aromatherapeutic essentials and epsom salts for your luxurious bath.
Cornucopia and Annmarie Skin Care
If this sounds like other blog posts you’ve read from us, good. We love working with companies that align with our values and Cornucopia is one of the many that we found!
For the month of July, our Travel-Sized Aloe Herb Cleansers are featured as a free gift in their boxes and they sent us a free shipping code to share with all of you!
Click here to check out Cornucopia
Don’t forget to use this code at checkout for free shipping: WEHEART
WeHeart
We know we can’t change the world alone, so every month we highlight another amazing company in the clean-living community that we’re creating! We share transparent companies with integrity, that we’ve fully vetted because we believe we’re all stronger when we work together to create a cohesive Earth-based, sustainable society.
