So point is, I'm adding in more digestive enzymes with my meals, because part of what's going on is related to digesting poorly, and once I'm feeling and working better, that might or might not continue.
The following is an excerpt all about foods to include when attempting greater health, and a 'reboot' as that's how I described what I'm doing in the last post (without the advertisements and drama...except the screaming question "Did you know?" that's pretty dramatic-plus, he used yellow-so, take note!). I'm fascinated with this because it is very close to how I was eating when I tried this and began to blog a few years ago.
Another nutrionist's points via Angie Halton at the Gluten Free Club to read the whole piece, with all the drama in place, just click the link--and once again, for clarity--I'm not making any recommendations, just sharing...Except that I think everyone should like blueberries as much as I do-but wait, that could create a shortage. Like them only as much as you like them!
Food #1: Blueberries
Having a healthy functioning liver is critical for good health. The liver is you main filtration system. It detoxifies every single toxic poison and food ingredient that comes into your body. Some of these you put into your body willingly such as alcohol, supplements, medications, food chemicals (like those found in non-organic and processed foods) and some are found in the environment like exhaust, smoke, hazardous chemicals and heavy metals.
Due to the amount of toxins present in the world today your liver is working double time to keep you alive. This is one of the reasons doing cleanses regularly is so important. It helps to decompress and unclog you liver so it can continue working at 100%.
Another thing you can do to help your liver out is increase the amount of foods you eat that support your liver. Blueberries are loaded with important antioxidants that assist the liver in detoxification. This is important because antioxidants reduce oxidative stress.
When the amount of free radicals out weights antioxidant defenses, it results in oxidative stress. This not a good thing!
Oxidative stress is associated with damage to many systems in the body which leads to inflammation. When your body becomes inflamed it becomes acidic and therefore toxic which causes your liver to work over time to restore your body’s pH level.
Eating blueberries will help to boost your antioxidant defense system so you can keep those free radicals at bay.
One antioxidant blueberries are loaded with is quercetin. Quercetin is a flavonoid that not only boosts immunity it is also helpful for liver function.
Another reason blueberries are so great is because they are all natural. For this reason more and more scientists are studying their effects in the treatment of liver diseases in order to reduce the amount of side effects caused the medications patients take.
A research article published in 2010 in the World Journal of Gastroenterology found that blueberry consumption actually slowed the progression of hepatic (liver) diseases without the nasty side effects that come from conventional treatments.
Food #2: Hemp seeds
These little protein powerhouses contain all 20 amino acids that our body requires. Thus, they are great to eat when on a cleanse, which might have lower animal meat consumption.
They also contain the perfect ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 of which is 3:1. This reduces inflammation in our body. As we mentioned earlier, inflammation creates and acidic environment in your body and an acidic environment is a toxic environment!
And forget those uncomfortable colon cleanses… just eat hemp!
Hempseeds contain both soluble and insoluble fiber. Consuming both types of fiber is imperative for cleansing the colon. Eliminating stool through the colon is yet another essential way your body rids itself of toxins.
Having regular bowel movements is so important for your health because your colon is made of semi-permeable tissues. This means if your stool is not eliminated regularly, all the toxins found inside your stool will get reabsorbed into your bloodstream! Yuck!
Also, the essential fatty acids found in hemp seeds help to strengthen your cell membranes. Having strong cell membranes is key because they are the barrier that keeps toxins out of your cells.
Hemp seeds also contain the amino acids cysteine and methionine both of which support your liver to remove toxins from your body.
It is empowering to understand how many powerful detoxification tools nature has given us! Once you understand the true power of natural foods it becomes easier to understand how many of the expensive cleansing products being sold today are often unnecessary.
Food #3: Avocado
During the low fat diet craze of the 80’s many people had sworn off eating avocados because of their high fat content. Luckily we have smartened up over the years.
Avocados do more than just make yummy guacamole. Due to their raw fat content, avocados enable your body to absorb fat-soluble nutrients more efficiently. Many of these nutrients play important roles in the detoxification process.
At 2000 study published by the American Chemical Society studied the effects of rats after being exposed to a damaging liver toxin. What the scientists found was the avocado fed rats showed less signs of the disease than those who were not fed avocados.
The monounsaturated fats found in avocados have a slightly electrical nature. The slight electrical nature of these fats allows them to split and bind to toxins so they can be eliminated from the body.
Lucky, since we do live in such a toxic environment, our bodies have a few “built in” detoxification processes. The problem is they only work when they are given the nutrients they need to perform their job.
Glutathione conjugation is a process which turns fat-soluble toxins from heavy metals, solvents, and pesticides into water-soluble forms, easily excreted by the kidneys (via urine).
Glutathione, one of your body’s primary antioxidants, is necessary for this process to occur. This is why it is imperative you eat foods containing high levels of and precursors to this antioxidant. Lucky for you, avocado just so happens to be one of them.
Just another example of an everyday power food found in your grocery store’s produce section.
Food #4: Kale
Kale is absolutely loaded with antioxidants, anti-inflammatory nutrients, and anti-cancer nutrients.
As we discussed previously, when we fail to take in enough antioxidants our body undergoes a greater degree of damaging oxidative stress. When we live in a constant state of oxidative stress it can lead to chronic inflammation and eventually disease.
Kale is rich in the flavonoids kaempferol and quercetin in addition to 43 others making kale unbelievably helpful for combating chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. Reducing inflammation alone is enough to make this food a detoxification powerhouse, but there is more!
Your liver detoxifies toxins using a 2-step process called Phase I detoxification and Phase II detoxification. The Isothiocyanates (ITCs) made from kale's glucosinolates have been shown to be crucial for both steps.
Kale also contains a large amount of sulfur compounds. The sulfur found in kale has been shown to support Phase II detoxification. Because of its liver supporting properties, sulfur-rich kale is extremely potent at clearing up unhealthy skin…since skin health is very dependent on sulfur.
Did You Know?
Food #5: Garlic
When it comes to garlic the question really should be, “What isn’t it good for?” It helps lower cholesterol, inhibits rheumatism, and has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, anti-flatulent, and anti-cancer properties.
This is so important because all of the above can create inflammation in the body. And by now it should be clear to you inflammation does not support detoxification…nor good health.
Like kale, garlic is also high in sulfur meaning it also supports Phase II of the detoxification process. The bottom line is garlic is an amazing food that should be an integral of your diet.
The allyl sulfides found in garlic have been found to play a key role in cancer-prevention. Allyl sulfides activate an important protein called nuclear erythroid factor (Nrf2) – which is triggers anti-inflammation and antioxidant activity in our cells.
As I have mentioned over and over antioxidants fight off free radicals. This is important because when free radicals outweigh antioxidants our body it will go into oxidative stress. Oxidative stress causes chronic inflammation and an inflamed body is a toxic body.
This is why increasing the amount of these 5 foods in your diet will help to SPEED the removal of toxins from your body.
This concludes his advice, so, cheers and chao!
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