We have all heard the age-old belief that chicken soup is good for colds and flu, but did you know that there are real scientific basis behind the health-affirming effects of bone broths and stocks?
The staple of many traditional diets across all cultures and cuisines around the world, broths of chicken, beef, lamb, fish and more are easy to make and have been proven to be incredibly beneficial to our health. They are filled with nutrients, packed with rich flavors, and exceptionally helpful for anyone who is feeling rundown or suffering from adrenal fatigue.
The origins of bone broth began with our ancestors, who were looking for a way to make use of those parts of an animal that could not be consumed directly. This means the feet, skin, ligaments, bones, marrow and tendons. By boiling these parts over several days, a nutritious, delicious liquid was created that has stood the test of time and remains enormously popular to this day. So what exactly is it about bone broth that gives it such wonderful healing powers?
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Have you ever thought about doing a “detox” but weren’t really sure what that meant or what it would involve? Maybe you were worried about a lot of digestive upset and GI symptoms. Or maybe you assumed it’d be very expensive or involve only drinking juice for a week.
As a doctor of functional medicine, I frequently have patients ask me about detoxes, especially since there isn’t yet a lot of research in this area.
There are, however, some really good reasons to consider a detox as part of your health program — and the start of the new year can be an excellent time to experience the many benefits of a good detox.
Detox 101: What You Need To Know
To begin with, it’s important to have a good understanding of what detoxification really is and how it can affect your health.
The body has some amazing and very intricate processes to deal with all the substances to which we are exposed — from our food to environmental chemicals, hormones, pesticides, and so on. Our liver is the major organ of detoxification, and there are a host of specific detoxification pathways that help keep the body unencumbered from toxic accumulation. When we eat food, it’s broken down and eventually passes through the liver, which filters the blood, removing any toxins. From there, much of the toxic burden passes through the bile into the intestines, where it can exit the body.
A good detox program has several goals. First, we want to reduce, for a time, the burden on the digestive system and the liver, to allow it the resources to function at an optimal level. We also want to support the detoxification pathways with the proper and necessary vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients.
Plus, we want to reduce the burden on our immune system of repeated exposure to the excessive inflammatory foods that are too often in our diets. And finally, we also want to make sure that the digestive tract is functioning well so that the toxins can be easily excreted from the body.
What a Typical Detox Might Look Like
It’s helpful to plan your program with the help of your health care practitioner to make sure you’re being supported in a way that’s most appropriate for you. A detox could last anywhere from a week to a month, depending on one’s health concerns.
It often starts with reducing the amount, and types, of food you ingest. This is to reduce the burden on the digestive and immune systems. So in the first several days of a detox you’ll eat a small variety of fresh whole foods, or perhaps just a quality protein shake that is supplemented with the proper nutrients.
Virtually all programs will have you avoid specific foods, typically the most inflammatory foods, including wheat, dairy, corn, and soy at the minimum. You’ll also be avoiding sugar, caffeine, and alcohol.
Further specifics will depend on an individual’s particular situation and goals. But in general, during the course of the detox, all processed foods are avoided and the goal is to consume only fresh, organic when possible, foods.
The program might also include specific supplements to support detoxification at the cellular level. Milk thistle is commonly recommended to support the liver, the major organ of detoxification. Dandelion root, artichoke, and beet are all additional nutrients that support detoxification.
You’ll need good hydration to have effective elimination, too.
What You Might Experience During a Detox
During the first several days, you may notice some food cravings, particularly for sugars and other carbs. These can be addictive substances, and there can be a sense of withdrawal from them. You might experience some fatigue or other physical symptoms. Typically these will subside in a day or two.
But eventually, you are likely to notice that you actually feel better. Your energy may increase; you may notice reduced joint pain, brain fog, fatigue, and lethargy. You are likely to lose some water weight and feel less puffy. Your mood may be improved and you might sleep better.
This all can happen because you are supporting your body to function more efficiently with the reduced burden of toxins and inflammatory foods.
When you’ve completed your detox, the food reintroduction process is just as important as the removal phase, because this is when you can pinpoint which foods make you have symptoms. It’s wise to reintroduce one food at a time and give it two or three days to see how you feel before you add in anything else. You might be surprised by what you learn.
I’d encourage anyone to think about a detox program to help you feel a real increase in your energy and well-being and to lower the toxic burden on your body. The experience will probably change the way that you eat, even after the program, as you’ll have gained an awareness of what you feel like when you eat certain foods. It can help set the stage for long-lasting healthy choices.
You can generally do a program several times a year; it’s a great way to mark the changing season and give your body a boost. I suggest that you work with your health care provider to choose the best program for you and give it a try. You might just feel amazing!
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10 REASONS TO CONSIDER A PLANT-BASED DIET — FOR YOURSELF AND THE PLANET
“Our planetary problems are perilous and profound. The U.S. is the most prosperous nation on Earth, yet we have never been more unhealthy. The standard American diet isn’t just making us sick. And it isn’t just inefficient — it’s outdated tech.”
I initially went vegan — oh the dreaded five letter word! — for fairly selfish reasons. Subsisting on a steady rotation of cheeseburgers, fries and pizza for the better part of my life, I found myself at 39 a fat, out-of-shape couch potato hurdling into middle age, depressed and unenthusiastic about my life. Barely able to ascend a simple flight of stairs without a break, it took a health scare on the eve of my 40th birthday to realize not only that I needed to change, but that I wanted to change.
I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.
By eating nothing but plants close to their natural state, I lost weight quickly and responsibly. My skin cleared up. My mental acuity sharpened. My sleep improved and my mood elevated. After abusing myself with drugs, alcohol and horrible diet and lifestyle choices for decades, it was quite a pleasant shock to find my vitality and enthusiasm for life so rapidly restored. A wholesale transformation of body, mind and spirit that led to a question. A question that soon became an obsession:
what am I truly capable of?
To test my limits I ventured into the world or ultra-endurance triathlon, and within 3 years accomplished athletic feats I could have never previously dreamed possible, including top finishes at the Ultraman World Championships and becoming the first person to complete EPIC5: five ironman-distance triathlons on five Hawaiian Islands in under a week.
Even more unexpected was the media attention that followed, including profiles on CNN and being named one of the “25 Fittest Men in the World” by Men’s Fitness. In 2012 I chronicled my experience in Finding Ultra — a bestselling memoir that laid the foundation to embrace who I am today — a wellness advocate determined to help people live healthier, more sustainable lives.
I could have never imagined (let alone planned) the life I currently lead. The Universe is funny that way. But I digress.
Anecdotally, and without reservation, I submit that these accomplishments were achieved not in spite of, but as a direct result of putting animal products in the rear view. No beef, no chicken, no pork, no fish, no milk, no cheese, no eggs. Just plants.
Go figure.
But life isn’t static. As my journey evolves, I have become increasingly more interested in issues beyond my waistline and the world of elite athletic performance. Issues that affect us all — like disease prevention, environmental conservation, world hunger, and the accountability we all shoulder to be more responsible stewards of this precious spinning globe we share with billions of other people and animals.
Health begins with what we put on our plate. But that’s just first base. True wellness is far more comprehensive — extending beyond our personal physical well-being to the collective, sustainable vitality of all living beings and the places they call home.
So here are my top 10 reasons why going plant-based is the best way to live healthier and more responsibly so we — and future generations — can together thrive.
1. It prevents (and can reverse) chronic disease.
America is obsessed with weight loss, but we’re the sickest society on the planet. As we speak, one out of every 3 people will die of heart disease — America’s #1 killer. 70% of Americans are obese or overweight. And by 2030, a full 50% of all adult Americans are predicted to be diabetic or pre-diabetic. Amazingly, 75% of all U.S. health care costs are attributed to lifestyle illnesses. The standard American diet (“SAD”) used to be just that — sad and American. But now it’s our leading export. Shipped overseas like it’s the next installment of The Avengers, our home-grown fast food lifestyle is creating an epidemic of food borne illness in the developing world unprecedented in the history of humankind. The great irony? The solution has been staring us in the face all along. Adopting a whole food plant-based diet is the one nutritional regimen that has been scientifically proven to prevent and even reverse these modern day plagues.
2. It conserves water.
You might be surprised to learn that more than half of all water consumed in the U.S. is used for animal agriculture. In fact, the meat and dairy industry uses a full third of the entire planet’s fresh water. Based on a global average of water consumption for beef production, it takes about 460 gallons of water to produce just one quarter pound hamburger. And dairy isn’t much better, requiring 1,000 gallons of water to produce just one gallon of milk. This is not only wasteful and inefficient, it is emblematic of a broken system of food production that is simply unsustainable.
3. It cuts greenhouse gas emissions
When it comes to global climate change, we tend to focus on the impact of fossil fuel use and hot-button issues like fracking. Rightly so. But the under-addressed elephant in the room is animal agriculture, which is responsible for 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions — more than the exhaust from all transportation combined. If every American dropped just one serving of chicken from their diet per week, it would save the same amount of CO2 emissions as removing 500,000 cars from the road. In fact, a plant-based diet can cut your carbon footprint by a full 50%.
4. It conserves land.
Livestock covers 45% of the Earth’s total land, and nearly half of the contiguous U.S. is devoted to animal agriculture. One and a half acres of land can produce 375 pounds of meat, or 37,000 pounds of plant food. In other words, a meat eater requires 18 times the amount of land necessary to feed someone eating plant-based. Do the math.
5. It helps prevent species extinction.
Animal agriculture is also a leading cause of species extinction. More than a hundred animal and insect species are lost every day from rampant rainforest destruction (see #8 below) — a crucial, irreparable blow to the biodiversity essential to maintaining our planet’s healthy ecology.
6. It reduces waste pollution.
Every minute, 7 million pounds of excrement are produced by animals raised for food in the U.S. In fact, a farm with 2,500 dairy cows produces the same amount of waste as a city of 41,000 people. Seriously.
7. It helps prevent marine life destruction.
As many as 40% (63 billion pounds) of fish caught globally every year are thrown out, and some scientists say we could see fish-less oceans by 2048. Moreover, the waste runoff from animal agriculture leads to ocean dead zones — massive algal blooms so oxygen deprived that no animal life can survive.
8. It slows deforestation.
Animal agriculture is responsible for up to 91% of Amazon destruction. In fact, one to two acres of rain forest are cleared every minute for grazing and growing feed for livestock. The impact is a cancer on our planet’s precious lungs, responsible for pumping our atmosphere with the oxygen we simply cannot survive without.
I truly believe that eating plant-based is a secret weapon for maximizing athletic performance, primarily because it optimizes immune system functionality and significantly expedites physiological recovery from exercise induced stress. For the non-athletic, maximizing athletic recovery is the holy grail of actualizing performance potential. If I could do what I’ve done athletically on nothing but plants in my mid and late 40’s, imagine your own untapped capabilities.
Our planetary problems are perilous and profound. The U.S. is the most prosperous nation on Earth, yet we have never been more unhealthy. The standard American diet isn’t just making us sick. And it isn’t just inefficient.
It’s outdated tech.
It’s time for a food system reboot. The good news is that version 2.0 is a pretty elementary, albeit profound, upgrade.
Adopting a plant-based, or at least plant-centric approach to your plate is the single most powerful and positively impactful choice you can make as a conscious, compassionate consumer. A choice that will help prevent and reverse disease; reduce your carbon footprint; and preserve the planet for our children and animal friends alike.
I would go so far as to call it the ultimate planetary life hack.
[For some factual basis in support of the above, explore Cowspiracy.com and watch this environmental documentary I helped produce.]
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(NaturalNews) Did you ever see the movie Little Shop of Horrors? If you did, you’ll remember that cute, little, alien plant pleading, “Feed me, Seymour!” If you live with an overgrowth of Candida, you have a billion little monsters crying, “Feed me, Seymour!” all day, every day. Their addiction and food of choice? Sugar!
The list of health issues associated with refined sugars is long and scary. For the purpose of understanding its association with Candida, we’ll focus on gut health. But never forget, in addition to feeding fungi, sugar feeds viruses, bad bacteria, parasites, and cancer, sugar also changes the pH in your blood, forcing your body to pull minerals from your bones and teeth to rebalance the pH. And, of course, it wreaks havoc with your blood sugar, too. But back to the gut…
Our gut is a universe unto itself. Trillions of bacteria live in our gut, both good bacteria and what we call bad bacteria. To keep it simple, the good bacteria earn their symbiotic relationship with us by keeping bad bacteria, parasites, and fungi in check. (Along with other important duties, like creating neurotransmitters!)
When We Eat Sugar, We Feed and Increase Both Bad Bacteria and Candida
Candida multiplies in the gut causing inflammation and irritation to the tissues, breaking down the biofilm that lines the intestinal walls. The end result is leaky gut syndrome, the precursor to a number of autoimmune diseases and allergies.
While Candida and leaky gut’s association to other diseases is a real and ever-present threat, Candida itself can cause untold damage. Once the gut wall is compromised, Candida easily travels throughout the body, infiltrating tissues and organs. Although Candida begins its lifecycle as a single cell, it can later morph into another form called hyphae – tentacles that cut through tissues and can even slice through a single cell. You do not want this fungi running amok anywhere in your body!
Hidden Sugar
Sugar may be hiding in plain sight. When we think of sugar, too often we think of adding sugar to coffee, tea, cereal, etc. But the truth is sugar is added to nearly every packaged or processed food. When you read the labels, you’ll find it right there on the list as some form of sugar or some form of high fructose corn syrup.
It’s also added to nearly every beverage we drink. This is soda country. The Coke/Pepsi industry is so ingrained in our culture I recently saw a mother giving her 8-month-old baby Dr. Pepper by using a straw to drizzle a little at a time into baby’s mouth. The child was too young to drink from a cup, but not too young for soda?
If you want to break away from all this hidden and added sugar, stop eating processed foods and stop drinking them, too! You don’t have to give up taste. Here’s a healthy, delicious drink without sugar or artificial sweeteners. It’s good for your you, too. This recipe makes a great soda/juice/kool-aid replacement, and it detoxifies the body.
Cranberry Lemonade Recipe
Glass gallon jar
Safe, clean, spring water or distilled water
1 cup of pure, organic, sugar-free cranberry juice, not from concentrate
3 fresh,organic lemons
A citrus juicer
Liquid stevia
Liquid cayenne (optional)
Fill the jar to about 85% capacity with spring water (or distilled water). Squeeze the lemons and pour the juice into the water. Add cranberry juice. Add stevia to taste and then add cayenne to taste. The amount of cayenne used is up to you, but the more the better.
How to Rid the Body of Candida
So how do we get rid of Candida and restore the gut to its proper state of health with the correct balance of good bacteria? It all begins with the best possible diet.
A truly healthy diet consists of 80% fresh, raw, organic produce, more vegetables than fruit. This is real food, whole food, fiber filled food that helps clean the gut while providing the best environment for good bacteria to flourish. Eat a wide variety of raw vegetables. This can easily be accomplished by eating one large salad a day filled with 10-15 veggies. Be sure to include healthy fats and plenty of clean, pure water (or cranberry lemonade). For more on the cranberry lemonade detox, and the salad recipe, check out the first two sources below.
By choosing not to eat processed foods, you will automatically eliminate sugar. You will also eliminate artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, MSG, GMOs, trans fats, and artificial sweeteners. These dietary changes will be the foundation to restoring your health and ridding your body of Candida. You can certainly hurry the process along with the right supplements. To learn more read, How to Kill Fungal Infections. For a better understanding of Candida, sugar, and how it affects your health, check out Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases.
About the author:
Kali Sinclair is a copywriter for Green Lifestyle Market, and a lead editor for Organic Lifestyle Magazine. Kali was very sick with autoimmune disease and realized that conventional medicine was not working for her. She has been restoring her health by natural means and is interested in topics including natural health, environmental issues, and human rights.
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