Trevor and Anna’s wedding in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado was truly spectacular. It was a week of fun and excitement as friends and family gathered to celebrate the event. We hiked and partied for days.
In my toast I wished them unconditional love; loving the parts of themselves and each other they find wonderful and also loving the parts that are annoying and not so great. Loving the light and the dark. This has been one of the keys for health and happiness I have learned in my life.
Now I am back in NY doing a little rebalancing after the party, eating lots of greens. It is important to restore my system to prevent inflammation. This is one of my favorite alkaline balancing soups.
Reduce Inflammation Live Happy and Healthy
We all want to feel good and live an active life. That is our natural state. The primary obstacle that gets in the way of feeling good is inflammation. The inflammation I am talking about is chronic low grade inflammation that mostly goes unnoticed until we wind up with a health problem. The symptoms may show up as joint pain, thyroid issues, stomach problems, heart disease, dental issues or even cancer. All these symptoms and more are rooted in inflammation.
The primary cause of inflammation comes from our food. When we eat foods that are difficult to digest our gastrointestinal tract gets inflamed. The inflammation goes throughout our entire body including our organs and brain. In time this low-grade inflammation causes disease.
The first step to avoid this type of inflammation is to keep your digestive system strong by creating a microbiome of healthy bacteria that can break down the food you eat.
There are a few ways to foster this healthy bacteria:
- The first is to eat lots of fiber to escort the bad bacteria out of your body
- Second is to eat lots of organic vegetables and fruit to balance your pH and feed the good bacteria in your system.
- Third is to populate your gut with friendly bacteria by eating fermented foods like raw sauerkraut, or coconut water keifer or coconut yogurt. You can also take some type of probiotic. I like this one.
The second step is to limit or remove the foods that contain allergens and hard to digest proteins. The top inflammatory foods are wheat and dairy. I’m not saying you should never eat these foods but taking them out for a period of time allows your body to heal.
What happens when you eat allergens or proteins and your body can’t digest them fully the intestinal lining gets damaged. It gets cracks in it, this is called leaky gut. Then you sit down to eat and partially undigested foods pass through the intestine and into the bloodstream. Your body sees this undigested food as a foreign substance and initiates an attack. It responds with inflammation and allergic reactions. This is known as low grade inflammation.
It may not sound so bad but when these inflammatory triggers are cycled continuously through your blood they affect nerves, organs, connective tissues, joints and muscles. Over time if left unchecked you can see how diseases develop.
The third step is related to the first step….don’t feed the bad bacteria that live in your gut along with the good bacteria.
These bad bacteria are always going to be there but certain foods make them multiply rapidly. What are those foods? Sugars and high glycemic carbohydrates.
You know sugar isn’t good for you. Keep in mind bread, pasta, chips and crackers also feed the bad bacteria. Unfortunately many gluten free products are made from high glycemic carbohydrates. You are avoiding the gluten but still feeding the bad bacteria that contribute to inflammation. It is best to avoid flour products even gluten free flours and instead choose products made of ground almond or coconut, seeds, flax or chia.
For example, I use almond flour when sautéing fish. Click for my recipe Almond Crusted Fish recipe.
If you like sweet things, use stevia as a sweetener. It is a great way to get a sweet taste without feeding the bad bacteria.
The forth step is to manage your stress.
When stressed your body pumps cortisol into your blood stream. Chronic stress also affects your adrenal glands and thyroid causing an imbalance in your hormones. An imbalance in your hormones damages the semi-permeable lining of your gut causing more inflammation. My favorite way to keep my stress down is with tapping and deep breathing. Click here for my video on Tapping Down Your Stress.
So to avoid chronic inflammation, create a healthy microbiome in your gut by eating high fiber vegetables and fermented foods. Then limit foods containing common allergens and high glycemic carbohydrates. Finally find and use some tools to keep your stress levels down.
If you have any type of inflammation, pain, discomfort, or other symptoms like just not feeling 100% I invite you to bring some healing to your body by signing up for the Nourishing Foods Fall Clean Up Cleanse.
Fall is the best time to clear up inflammation with a cleanse especially since the change of seasons is upon us, which is traditionally the time of the year to cleanse, clarify, and purify.
In the Nourishing Foods Fall Cleanse we take out all hard to digest and inflammatory foods and bring in lots of delicious, nourishing easy to digest foods. As a result you will reduce inflammation in your body, heal your colon, improve your digestion and rebuild your immune system. Don’t worry it is not just soups and smoothies there are many dishes like Paleo Vegan Mac and Cheese, Roasted Fall Vegetables and more.
There are also tools and processes to clear emotional and mental toxicities too! You will experience inner and outer transformation. How about feeling calmer and more peaceful?
This cleanse is your chance to clean up, clean out and reduce your inflammation in just 5 days.
Nourishing Foods Fall Cleanse
Clean-up Your Colon
Balance Your pH
Mon. Nov 2 – Fri. Nov 6
The cleanse starts in less than two weeks. Cleansing boosts your immunity for the colder months ahead. The fall cleanse will help you drop a few unwanted pounds so you are gorgeous this holiday season. Your skin will be glowing as you remove toxins.
Everything is on the computer and phone. I support you every step of the way.
Get more information and sign up today.
Even if you don’t join us I hope you use the information I shared today to keep your inflammation down.
