Your Health and Wellness Dashboard
Your Path to Wellness Starts Here!
Welcome to Ensemble Wellness Dashboard. Your multilevel wellness gift is overflowing with current wellness knowledge to support you on your path. Take a look below…
Embark on Your Wellness Journey
The Rich Roll Podcast
The Matt Walker Podcast
The mindbodygreen Podcast
The Drive with Peter Attia
The Mindful Minute with Meryl Arnett
Happier w/Gretchen Rubin
On Purpose w/ Jay Shetty
The Model Health Show w/ Shawn Stevenson
The Defined Dish
The Whole30® Blog
James Clear's 3-2-1 Newsletter
Blue Zones
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Health, Wellness & Nutrition Designations
Organic is a labeling term that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced through approved methods. These methods integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster the cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used.
A paleo diet is a dietary plan based on foods similar to what might have been eaten during the Paleolithic era, which dates from approximately 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago. A paleo diet typically includes lean meats, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds — foods that in the past could be obtained by hunting and gathering. A paleo diet limits foods that became common when farming emerged about 10,000 years ago. These foods include dairy products, legumes, and grains. Other names for a paleo diet include Paleolithic diet, Stone Age diet, hunter-gatherer diet, and caveman diet.
The ketogenic diet is a very low carb, high fat diet that shares many similarities with the Atkins and low carb diets. It involves drastically reducing carbohydrate intake and replacing it with fat. This reduction in carbs puts your body into a metabolic state called ketosis. When this happens, your body becomes incredibly efficient at burning fat for energy. It also turns fat into ketones in the liver, which can supply energy for the brain (6Trusted Source). Ketogenic diets can cause significant reductions in blood sugar and insulin levels. This, along with the increased ketones, has some health benefits. .
Distributed and recognized globally, the Certified Vegan Logo is a registered trademark, similar in nature to the kosher mark, for products that do not contain animal products or byproducts and that have not been tested on animals. The certified logo is easily visible to consumers interested in vegan products and helps vegans to shop without constantly consulting ingredient lists. It also helps companies recognize a growing vegan market, as well as bringing the word Vegan—and the lifestyle it represents—into the mainstream. (Please keep in mind, however, that the logo is not yet on every vegan product.) The Certified Vegan Logo is currently on thousands of products manufactured by over 1000 companies.
Many people are choosing to reduce or eliminate the number of animal products they consume. While some people choose not to label their dietary choices, others consider themselves plant-based or vegan. “Plant-based” typically refers to one who eats a diet based primarily on plant foods, with limited to no animal-derived products. A whole foods, plant-based diet means that oils and processed packaged foods are likewise excluded. The term “vegan” extends to one’s lifestyle choices beyond diet alone. A vegan lifestyle aims to avoid causing harm to animals in any way, including through products used or purchased. Someone who is vegan also tends to take into account the potentially negative environmental effects of animal products. While these two terms are fundamentally different, they share similarities. Additionally, both are increasing in popularity and can be healthy ways of eating when planned properly.
“Non-GMO” means non-genetically modified organisms. GMOs (genetically modified organisms), are novel organisms created in a laboratory using genetic modification/engineering techniques. Scientists and consumer and environmental groups have cited many health and environmental risks with foods containing GMOs. As a result of the risks, many people in the United States and around the world are demanding “non-GMO” foods. The Non-GMO Project Verified mark assures consumers that the product bearing the label has been evaluated for compliance with the Non-GMO Standard, which can be found on the Non-GMO Project’s website. The URL is also included as part of the verification mark so consumers can easily access more information about what the Non-GMO Project Standard encompasses. The verification mark does not state that a product is “GMO-Free,” and it does not state that the product is safer, better, or healthier. It simply states the product is compliant with the Non-GMO Project Standard.
The Whole30 Approved® label is designed to let you know a product is 100% compatible with the rules of the Whole30 program, and that the product line and company that stands behind it has been vetted by our team. Furthermore, all Whole30 Approved products containing animal protein have met our established Animal Welfare Standards. The Whole30 Program follows the following disciplines for 30 Days: No Added Sugar (Real or Artificial), No Alcohol, No Grains, No Legumes, No Dairy, No Carrageenan, No MSG, No Sulfites, No Baked Goods, No Junk Foods, No Treats
A gluten-free diet is an eating plan that excludes foods containing gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and triticale (a cross between wheat and rye). A gluten-free diet is essential for managing signs and symptoms of celiac disease and other medical conditions associated with gluten. A gluten-free diet is also popular among people who haven’t been diagnosed with a gluten-related medical condition. The claimed benefits of the diet are improved health, weight loss, and increased energy, but more research is needed.
“Kosher” is a term used to describe food that complies with the strict dietary standards of traditional Jewish law. For many Jews, kosher is about more than just health or food safety. It is about reverence and adherence to religious tradition. That said, not all Jewish communities adhere to strict kosher guidelines. Some individuals may choose to follow only certain rules — or none at all. Foods certified kosher feature a label on their packaging indicating that they’ve met all of the necessary requirements. There are dozens of different kosher labels, many of which come from different certifying organizations. If a food is certified for Passover, this will be indicated in a separate label. The labels may also indicate if a food is dairy, meat, or pareve. If you’re trying to adhere to kosher dietary guidelines, it’s best to choose only foods with these labels in order to avoid accidentally eating something non-kosher.
B Corp Certification is a designation that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability, and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials. In order to achieve certification, a company must: Demonstrate high social and environmental performance by achieving a B Impact Assessment score of 80 or above and passing our risk review. Multinational corporations must also meet baseline requirement standards. Make a legal commitment by changing their corporate governance structure to be accountable to all stakeholders, not just shareholders, and achieve benefit corporation status if available in their jurisdiction. Exhibit transparency by allowing information about their performance measured against B Lab’s standards to be publicly available on their B Corp profile on B Lab’s website. As leaders in the movement for economic systems change, B Corps reap remarkable benefits. They build trust with consumers, communities, and suppliers; attract and retain employees; and draw mission-aligned investors. As they are required to undergo the verification process every three years in order to recertify, B Corps are by definition also focused on continuous improvement, leading to their long-term resiliency. B Corp Certification is holistic, not exclusively focused on a single social or environmental issue. And the process to achieve and maintain certification is rigorous and requires engaging teams and departments across your company. Taking company size and profile into account, verification involves documentation of your company’s business model and information about your operations, structure, and various work processes, as well as a review of potential public complaints and possible site visits. Recertification confirms these standards continue to be met on an ongoing basis.
Parabens are a category of chemical preservatives that have been used in beauty products since the 1920s. The beauty industry has long relied on parabens to increase the shelf life of products such as: -shampoos -conditioners -skincare products -soaps But over the past decade, the side effects of long-term exposure to parabens have become a cause for concern. While nearly all beauty products use some kind of preservatives to make their products last longer, paraben-free cosmetics may be safer to use. The term “paraben-free” is meant to let consumers know that these harmful chemicals aren’t a part of the product formula. This article will explore why paraben-free products may be better to use and help you get started finding products that have ditched paraben preservatives.