Eating for Energy, Part 4 - Less Toxins, More Energy

 Welcome to Part 4 of Eating for Energy!  Hope you are enjoying this special time of year, even with all the extra activities.   This series, Eating for Energy, can help you maintain and even increase your energy levels into the New Year.

Reducing toxic load turns out to have a lot to do with increasing your energy level. Our body has to use a lot of energy to process the environmental toxins that we come into contact with and ingest everyday. If we reduce our body’s workload, and therefore energy expenditure, in processing and eliminating toxins, we have more energy for everything else.

Reducing toxic load can help reduce brain fog and boost our immune system, which can increase our productivity. It can also help improve our digestion, absorption and assimilation of nutrients, making them more available to support our daily activities.

Here are 5 tips to reduce your toxic load:

1. Use herbs that support our detox organs – liver, kidney and colon. E.g. milk thistle and dandelion.

2. Encourage elimination through skin, our largest organ for elimination. E.g. sweating and dry brushing.

3. Buy and eat organic food as much as possible – learn about the “Dirty Dozen” list and try to shop organic for this produce.  http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary/

4. Reduce processed and packaged foods, which are loaded with chemicals.

5. Replace household and personal products with a lot of chemicals with those made with natural ingredients.

 

For more healthy tips and recipes, be sure and visit my website, www.blissfulbalancewellness.com

Eating for Energy Part 3 - Boost Your Energy by Caring for Your Nervous System

With all the holiday season craziness that sometimes takes on a life of its own, it is important to care for your nervous system. Taking care of your nervous system can help you restore and replenish your energy, stay focused without the caffeine jitter, and feel calm and relaxed so that you can get the rest you need when you need it.  Let's keep the Joy in the season!

Here are 4 approaches to help care for your nervous system for increased energy:

1. Strengthen the nervous system with herbs such as burdock, dandelion, gingko, nettle, oaks and Siberian ginseng.

2. Encourage calm and relaxation with chamomile, valerian, lemon balm and oats.

3. Explore coffee alternatives such as Yerba Mate, green tea, black tea, or Rooibos (African Red Bush) to avoid the caffeine jitter.  I personally love Yerba Mate and it is a great aid to cutting back or eliminating caffeine without a withdrawal headache. 

4. Calcium has a soothing effect on the nervous system. Eat calcium-rich food for dinner (e.g. leafy greens, bone broth). If you take a calcium supplement, take it with dinner.

So take care of your nervous system so you can enjoy the hustle and bustle without overdoing the caffeine.  You really do get more done from a rested and relaxed place. 

If you need any help with healthy holiday recipes, don't forget all the resources on my website.  Just check out the recipes section. You can sign up for my Healthy Holiday Recipes eBook also and Eat for Energy throughout the holiday season.  

Amp Up Your Immune System

The cold weather has officially settled in but that doesn't mean you need to indulge in high calorie comfort foods and skip exercise.

Our immune system takes a beating over winter with the cooler weather making us more susceptible to colds and flu. Some ways to boost your immunity and stay healthy over the winter are listed below:

 

Alkalize - our immune system is strongest in an alkaline environment. Bacteria and viruses love an acid environment, but cannot survive in a healthy alkaline state. Add more dark leafy greens such as kale, silverbeet and spinach  to your diet which will not only boost your alkalinity they will provide a balance of vitamins, mineral and phytonutrients which will enhance the body's immune system.

Get plenty of rest and relaxation - Stress and tiredness weaken our immune system and we get ill much easier when we are run down. Our body naturally restores and recuperates during rest and sleep. Allow your body to recover and fight illness by getting 7-9 hours sleep each night. Yoga and meditation are great ways to relax.

 

Avoid bad habits - Convenience and pre-packaged foods, caffeine, alcohol and smoking are all harmful to the immune system. Cutting back on these and replacing them with whole foods, herbal teas and fresh juices and smoothies are a great way to support your body and get rid of cravings.

 

Work up a sweat - Exercise is a great way to warm up your body and keep you fit. By working up a sweat the body has an opportunity to release stored toxins through the skin the body's largest organ. 

 

Drink plenty of water- keep yourself well hydrated by drinking at least 2 litres of good quality water per day. This will help your body flush wastes and dilute mucous, helping eliminate bacteria and viruses which make us ill. Try our Mega Hydrate a revolutionary product that helps rid your body of toxins and free radicals like no other supplement.

Strengthen your immune system with these foods - Don't wait till you get a cold try to include the following foods into your diet to strengthen your immunity naturally:

Garlic - has anti bacterial, anti fungal and anti viral action for protecting against infections
Seaweeds - touted as superfoods because they offer extraordinary health promoting compounds not found in any other land vegetables. They have anti cancer properties and help boost the immune system. We have a few varieties you can experiment with: dulse great in salads available in leaf or flake form, wakame great in a miso soup or salad, sea spaghetti and kelp noodles make wonderful healthy alternatives to pasta.
Shitake Mushrooms - used for thousands of years in Asia for there phenomenol healing properties. They contain lentinan an immune strengthener that stimulates the system to clear cancerous cells. Try our organic variety of shitake
Vitamic C- exceptional sources are of course citrus, broccoli, but even higher levels are found in Goji Berries, camu camu and even chia seeds!
Miso - a rich source of protein, fibre and B vitmins for energy production and nervous system health. Unpasteurised organic miso contains active lactobacillus, which aids digestion and strengthens immunity. 
Vitamin D - Vitamin D deficiency affects a large proportion of people today. Vitamin D promotes the growth and development of bones and teeth. It is also heralded as having anti-cancer effects and boosting immunity. Sunlight is the easiest way to obtain this vitamin however quite often we don't absorb it or we don't actually get out enough to see the sunshine.  Talk to your health care provider about testing your level and supplementing if needed. 

 

Pick a couple of suggestions from this list and stick to them to avoid the flu this winter season!

Information from www.conscious-choice.com