Nourish Your Body with Real Food

If we think about what you truly need to be nourished, what does your body tell you? What does it need to be supported? Fresh water, of course. Fresh seasonal vegetables and fruits, those are crucial. Fresh meat, chicken, fish, and eggs? Ask your body. Yogurt, cheeses, nuts? See how you feel after eating them. What about grains? Do you feel good when you eat rice or other whole grains? How is your digestion afterward? Begin to notice what your body (and mood) tells you, then nourish yourself with those foods in their whole, natural state.

I’m a huge proponent of eating real food, which we’ve lost sight of in our convenience culture. Real food isn’t found in a package. Not in a box, can, jar, or plastic wrap. It’s found in it’s whole form shortly after collected from nature. No factories or billion-dollar corporations are involved.

What about eating everything raw? I think this depends on your own personal digestion and constitution. I do better with slightly cooked vegetables, not raw, despite many fervent claims that raw is best. Raw juices and even raw foods can be difficult to digest for some, not to mention the concentrated sugars in the juices, so see how your own body responds to them. I get a lot of raw greens in my morning smoothie, but I make sure to add some protein (lately, chia seeds and/or nut butter).

If you wonder which road to take, raw or cooked, talk about it with your natural health practitioner, but avoid the fanatics who’ve made food choices and eating into a new religion. One reason we’re addressing nourishing your body with food is for your optimum health, so getting the raw or cooked controversy settled in your own heart and mind will be helpful. Personally, warm food is more nourishing for me, but what does your body say?

As for dairy, meats, grains, and so forth, listen and pay attention to your own body’s response. What happens to your digestion, your mood, any physical aches and pains after you’ve eaten certain foods? Noticing in this way, you’ll be able to optimize your health and lifestyle for your best personal wellbeing.

Do You Have Metal in Your Teeth?

Metals enter the body through food, water, and air, and also through metal amalgams in your teeth. These “silver fillings” have been associated with Alzheimer’s, autism, Multiple Sclerosis, chronic fatigue, and cancer. The metal from your fillings leaches continually into your bloodstream. What is this doing to your long-term health and wellbeing?

Dental amalgams contain about 50% mercury which has been shown to be more toxic than lead, cadmium, and arsenic. Mercury kills cells and has the potential to disturb metabolic processes. It is known to deplete the immune system and has been found stored in the kidneys, liver, and brain. It causes single strand breaks in DNA and adheres to hemoglobin, reducing the capacity of red blood cells to carry oxygen.

Many dentists now use alternative materials. I think it is best to have a qualified dentist remove metal fillings and replace them with composites. It isn’t cheap, so even if you go very slowly, I think it’s a worthwhile endeavor. It’s best to go very slowly anyway, having the dentist remove metal from one quadrant per visit because, when it comes out, your body experiences a readjustment period. In addition, it’s possible to absorb some of the metals, even from the vapor, as they are taken out. Precautions are taken to avoid this from happening. Any quality dentist should be able to reassure you of his or her technique to protect you from metal exposure as it is removed from your teeth. Have your dentist explain the procedure and how safe it is, to your satisfaction.

If you decide to have metal fillings removed, there are steps you can take to help support your body through the process. It’s good to supplement your diet prior to and for a few weeks following your amalgam removal. If you don’t see a natural health practitioner to advise you, use a top quality chlorella supplement. Chlorella binds to metals in your body and helps carry them out. Seaweed and miso soup will help do the same, but be certain to get seaweed that is pure and tested for metals, as many ocean foods are becoming more contaminated themselves. After your procedure is finished, take extra Vitamin C and eat a very clean diet.

The Tastiest Way to Eat More Broccoli

I originally found this recipe in one of my favorite cookbooks: Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics by Ina Garten. I’ve never been able to eat raw broccoli, not even smothered in some sort of dip or disguised in a salad, so this method of roasting was a real find.

Because of this recipe, I pick up broccoli and lemons almost every time I shop for vegetables. The rich health benefits from eating broccoli are widely known, so let’s get right to it.

4 to 5 pounds broccoli (organic only!)
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest (make it organic!)
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

The following 3 ingredients are part of the recipe, but I skip them. It’s up to you!

3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I’m a non-dairy person, but I’ve tried it with the cheese and it’s delicious. If you use it, be sure to get organic cheese.)
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

Heat your oven to 425 degrees.

Cut up the broccoli into your desired bite-sized pieces (about 8 cups). Place in a single layer on a large sheet pan. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle the salt and pepper. Roast for 20–25 minutes.

Remove from oven and toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, and lemon juice (and the pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil if using). Serve hot. You’re going to love it!

The Best Breakfast Smoothie for Optimal Nutrition

Looking for a way to easily get leafy greens into your diet? To build your health and vitality quickly and easily? Or to start your day with a strong nutritional foundation? Try my favorite breakfast smoothie!

This tops every other quick breakfast: bagels, muffins, granola bars, toast with peanut butter, cold cereal, a cup of coffee, or whatever else you grab on your way out the door. (Not to mention the donuts and pastries eaten by the tons every morning by people dancing with dis-ease in body and mind!)

Place all ingredients into blender except for the whey, which is fragile and should be added at the very end on low mixing speed.

Choose your base liquid, 1-2 cups to achieve desired consistency:

• Organic nut milk (homemade is best)
• Raw organic milk or goat milk
• Coconut water
• Water

Add the following:

• 1/3 cup blueberries
• 1/3 cup raspberries, strawberries, cherries or other dark red/purple/blue berries
• A handful of greens: I usually use kale, but you can use spinach, chard, beet greens, or whatever leafy greens you want.
• 1-inch piece raw ginger or 1 TBSP ginger juice
• 1/8 cup chia seeds or a protein powder of your choice—try for 30 grams. (I’ve used Manitoba Harvest Hemp Protein Powder because many protein powders have poor ingredients or a soy base. Don’t use soy, ever, unless it’s fermented and organic.)
• 1 tsp Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil or other pure, high-quality fish oil
• 1 scoop Garden of Life Perfect Food “Super Green Formula” or similar green powder
• 1 TBSP Buffered Vitamin C powder (I use one from Allergy Research Group.)
• ¼ tsp probiotic powder (get a top-quality acidophilus blend)
• 1 scoop whey protein, added at the end and mixed in lightly (I use Natura’s Beyond Whey or Designs for Health Whey Cool)

Optional additions:

• Coconut powder, shredded coconut, coconut milk, or a spoonful of coconut oil
• Raw cocoa powder
• Banana
• Any other organically grown fruit–peaches, apricots, papaya, etc.
• Vegetables–grated carrots, celery, greens (kale, spinach, etc), beets, parsley, or whatever else you’d like to add
• 1 TBSP almond or cashew butter
• 1 TBSP maca powder
• 1 scoop PaleoCleanse by Designs for Health (a detoxification vitamin powder)
• 1–2 TBSP ground flax seeds (I’ve used Barlean’s Fortiflax)
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• organic plain, unsweetened yogurt

At the end, after I’ve poured the smoothie into a glass, I put 3 drops liquid Vitamin D on top. (I use Bio-D-Mulsion Forte by Biotics Research Corp.) If supplementing with Vitamin D, you need to have your levels monitored so you don’t get too much or too little.

Enjoy! Your body and mind will thank you!

Breast Health Through Liver Health

The health of your liver is closely linked with breast health. The liver processes hormones, but also toxins from your food, medications and drugs, commercial drinks and alcohol, and the environment. When too many of these toxins are in the body, the liver gets sluggish and can’t work optimally. This directly affects the breasts because they rely on the liver to help move toxic waste out of the body, some of which can collect in breast tissue.

Some studies show women who drink two or more alcoholic beverages per day have a 40% higher rate of breast cancer than women who don’t drink alcohol. This could be because alcohol puts more stress on the liver, besides contributing to an acidic environment.

If your intestines are toxic and sluggish and do not move on schedule, toxins released from the liver to be expelled get reabsorbed into the bloodstream. This creates a cycle of re-polluting the liver. The following steps will help your liver become healthier and function in the way nature intended.

• Eat plenty of leafy greens every day, such as kale, swiss chard, mustard greens, collards, and dandelion. I add these greens to a morning smoothie.
• Take dandelion tincture in a little water or make an infusion by adding boiling water to an ounce of dried dandelion leaves. Let sit for several hours, strain, and drink the tea.
• Take milk thistle extract for at least one month. Milk thistle extract can be found at any natural foods store. Follow label directions.
• Drink plenty of purified water.
• Heal emotions of anger, frustration, and indecisiveness through methods such as counseling and energy work.
• Avoid all processed and fast foods, fried and fatty foods, sugars, white flour, and alcohol.

Revitalize Your Body with Gua Sha

One style of a jade gua sha tool.

Gua Sha means “to extract toxins” and has been used in China for over 2,000 years to alleviate stiffness and pain, bring back mobility and circulation, heal digestive disorders, release toxins and stagnant energy, and generally revitalize the body. It is also known to treat tumors and cysts. Most acupuncturists are trained to use this technique.

During a Gua Sha treatment, strokes are made over your skin with a smooth-edged tool such as polished jade, although an item as simple as a lid from a jar can be used. Gua Sha is done in areas of congestion, tightness, tension, or discomfort on your neck, shoulders, and back, but sometimes on your chest and abdomen. Blood gets released from peripheral capillaries while fluid under your skin is pushed, creating space. Toxic fluid from deep in the tissue rises to the skin’s surface into the space. This causes the skin to turn red or take on the coloration of bruising. It is not bruising though, and clears up in a couple of days. It is actually a welcome sight to see this “Sha” coming to the surface of the skin, because it indicates the release of old, trapped energy. The color of bruising is a sign of healing.

Gua Sha is not painful. Instead there is a sense of relief as the stagnant energy is freed. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the freed energy is also called qi, pronounced “chee” in China. Stagnant qi is associated with pain and areas of oxygen deprivation. In the case of breast disease, Gua Sha is a way to increase oxygen in your tissue while moving stagnant energy and releasing toxins. It is believed that exposing the Sha — indicated by the discoloration that occurs — removes disease from deep within the body.

If you’re in pain, or have recently had surgery or other traumas that have areas of stagnation around them, ask your acupuncturist to “gua sha” you. You’ll be glad you did!

Renew Yourself in 20 Minutes with a Salt Bath

You can clear your mind, relax your muscles, de-stress, press your personal reset button, and emerge renewed by soaking for 20 minutes in a salt bath. The tightness in your neck and shoulders will dissolve away, you’ll have a cleaner aura, and you’ll get the added benefit of clearing toxins from your body as the salt water draws toxins out of your skin.

You can add baking soda and lavender essential oil if you want to increase the detoxifying and relaxation benefits of your bath. Sometimes I even pour in a little apple cider vinegar, which helps to restore the skin’s pH balance.

Immersing your body into saltwater is an easy way to cleanse your energy field while reducing muscle tension. It’s particularly helpful when you feel overwhelmed, hurt by something that happened during the day, your mind is busy, or if you feel out of sorts. The bath is truly holistic, relieving physical, mental, and emotional stress.

Some people like to rinse off in the shower after the bath to remove salt residue, but whether you rinse afterward or not, don’t stay in the bath longer than 20 minutes, as this is when you will start reabsorbing the toxins that your body has just released into the water.

Recipe for Salt Bath

1 cup to ½ box Epsom salts
Very warm water in a clean tub
Use a bath ball to filter your bathwater so you don’t soak in chlorine (google “bath ball faucet filter”)

Optional:

1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 handful sea salt
8-10 drops essential oil such as lavender (or rosemary if you’re mentally fatigued)
1 handful baking soda

Remain in the tub for 20 minutes. Don’t reuse the water.

Afterward, be sure to drink plenty of extra water to re-hydrate.

A Few of My Favorite Healing Teas

Every morning when I wake up, one of the first things I think about is what kind of tea I want. I know many people think of coffee first thing, but I already wake up with my mind buzzing full speed ahead at 6:00am and coffee on top of that sets my nerves on edge. Nowadays, as I head full throttle into the menopausal years, I avoid green tea too. The caffeine is too much and I can’t sleep well if I’ve had any. So as the sun rises, and sometimes before it appears, I make tea from various herbs (or fruit or roots) to appease my spirit and begin the day. Here are a few of my favorites along with some of their health benefits.

Fresh Ginger ~ settles the stomach and is being researched as a cancer preventative. Use a piece about an inch long from raw ginger root. Chop and put into a cup. Add hot water and a little honey.

Mint ~ settles the stomach but also smells and tastes fantastic. I go out and pick my own from the yard where it grows like a weed. Crush a few leaves and place them into a cup. Pour hot water over, and voila!

Rooibos ~ aids digestion and prevents free radical damage, helping to keep your body’s cells normal. I purchase this at my local natural foods store.

Blue Violet ~ has been used for thousands of years as a blood purifier. It is linked to the reduction of malignancies in the body. These days, who wouldn’t want something like this?

Green tea ~ I must add it because I love it even though it contributes to a few sleepless menopausal moments. Many studies have demonstrated the effects of green tea as a cancer preventative. Loose-leaf organic green tea is best. Tea bags generally contain lower quality tea, so go for loose-leaf if you can.

Dandelion ~ helps digestion, purifies the blood, and supports the liver. Yep, that little weed… but I order a large bag of dandelion leaf from http://www.mountainroseherbs.com.

Nettles ~ my daily favorite, nettles has been used for centuries. Like blue violet, it’s a powerful blood purifier. I often pour boiling water over dandelion mixed with nettles and make a vitamin-rich infusion by steeping the leaves for several hours in a glass jar. Nettles can be cultivated in your yard, but I haven’t done this yet. Maybe one day when I have a gardening assistant, because there’s a reason their called “stinging nettles.” I still get mine from http://www.mountainroseherbs.com.

Tulsi ~ sometimes called Holy Basil, the wonderful side effects of drinking Tulsi tea are its adaptogenic effects. In other words, it supports your body, mind, and emotions to better adapt to stress. It strengthens you in the face of stressful circumstances. This is one I get from the local natural foods store.

Lemon ~ especially mid-winter when people around you are sniffing and sneezing, lemon tea with a little honey is a good choice. It helps alkalize and hydrate your body and assist your liver to function more efficiently. If you have a cold, simmer it with chopped raw garlic and cayenne. Drink several cups during the day.

Milk: Does it Do a Body Good?

The milk issue is a tough one for those of us wanting to eat healthier. Today’s milk is full of substances that don’t “do a body good” despite what we’ve been told.

Cows naturally produce the amount of milk necessary to raise their calves. But conventional farmers give cows hormones to make them grow quickly, put on more weight, and in the case of dairy cows, produce more milk. These cows are fed drugs and antibiotics to insure they do not get sick from their deplorable crowded living conditions and feed, even though they often get sick anyway. Who wouldn’t? They are given a diet of genetically-modified (GMO) pesticide-laden grains. This is a cheap way to fatten them up but it is not their natural diet (which is grass). As a result, their digestion is very poor so they are given pharmaceutical drugs to help with their digestive distress.

Lactating mammals, including women, excrete toxins such as antibiotics, pesticides, chemicals, and hormones through their breast milk. All packaged foods that contain traces of milk (including yogurt, ice cream, and cheese) also contain the hormones, pesticides, antibiotics, and remnants of the GMO grains the cows were fed. The extra hormones you eat from these foods begin acting like hormones in your body, causing imbalances that can lead to disease.

Our country supplies an abundance of food, but for the most part the food supply is out of touch and out of sync with nature. Eating foods from poorly treated animals given hormones, drugs, and poor quality GMO grain lacks integrity on many levels. To learn more, check out Michael Pollan’s book The Omnivore’s Dilemma and also Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser.

Milk seems to be in everything and nearly impossible to avoid when buying pre-made foods, or when eating out and traveling, but it can be avoided if you plan ahead. If you want to continue eating cheese, yogurt, and other milk products, always choose organic. This will help protect you from ingesting the numerous toxins that can harm your health.

The Benefits of Lymphatic Massage for Breast Health

Your lymph is part of a circulatory order in your body that defends you from harmful organisms that can cause disease. It’s important for women to note that breasts need lymphatic movement for circulation and drainage, but they don’t have muscles to help them move. This is where lymphatic massage is particularly helpful. Lymphatic massage gently moves the lymph so it can function properly. It can also relieve tightness in your back, shoulder, neck, and chest muscles which helps your lymphatic system to do the job it was designed to do.

Lymphatic movement helps you recover from the trauma of any type of surgery. It also helps release toxins in the area (and throughout your body). The technique is very gentle – and you can do it on yourself. A lymphatic massage therapist can teach you how to “pump” in specific directions and at a particular pace to imitate how lymph naturally moves in your body. For women wanting greater breast health, these following exercises which are from Daya Fisch, a lymphatic massage specialist and founder of The Breast Health Project, www.breasthealthproject.com.

For each of these exercises, use light pressure to move the breast and then release gently.

Put your hand in your armpit and push inward and upward. Go deep into the armpit. Pump upward and release. Repeat 10-20 times.
Put your hand on your entire breast and move it upward toward your armpit. If your breasts are large, you might need to use different hand positions. Repeat 10 times.
Place your hand over your entire breast and move it inward toward the chest wall. Repeat 5 times.
Holding your breast stable with one hand, use the other hand to pump the upper inner quadrant of your breast up toward your neck. Repeat 5 times.