Periodic cleansing can help the body function optimally by allowing you to ‘clean-house’ as your diet and lifestyle change throughout the year. Spring-time is often associated with liver detoxification. While there are many ways to help the liver perform it’s many functions, simple cleanses often work the best.
(more…)Detoxification programs can vary dramatically. Here is a simple 3-day, food-based detoxification program that you can do over a long weekend to get a jump start on spring-cleaning.
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One of the hardest things for many people trying to live a healthier lifestyle is what to do in social situations when alcohol is available. As a society, we love our booze and it alcohol has become an integral part of many social gatherings and situations. So much so, that it is often deemed odd to not have a drink in hand and many of these events.
Have no fear – we have come up with several ‘mocktails’ that will ease the pressure to drink and allow you to enjoy a refreshing (and hydrating) beverage to boot – Cheers! (more…)
In Part 5 of this series, we introduced you to the Orange and Yellow Phytonutrients, many of which have been shown to help improve vision and eye health. Many of the foods that contain green phytonutrients also help improve eye health. In addition, the green phytonutrients convey a wide variety of unique health benefits.
Lutein and zeaxanthin are green phytonutrients that have been shown to maintain good vision while reducing the risk of cataracts and macular degeneration. While these two nutrients are widely found in various supplemental formulas, they are also plentiful in foods, including kale, spinach, leafy greens (turnip, collard, and mustard), romaine lettuce, broccoli, green peas, kiwifruit, and honeydew melon.
Another key group of green phytonutrients are the indoles, which includes indole-3-carbinol and diindolylmethane. These compounds are not only potent antioxidants, they have also been shown to convey significant protection against a variety of cancers. In fact, these indoles have been shown to significantly reduce the risk of breast and prostate cancers while reducing the risk of tumor growth in most types of cancer, including melanoma.
Indoles seem to exhibit their cancer-protection by altering estrogen metabolism to produce less-carcinogenic metabolites. It also seems to directly inhibit the growth of reproductive cancer cells. Indoles are readily found in a variety of vegetables, including broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts, bok choy, arugula, Swiss chard, turnips, rutabaga, watercress, cauliflower and kale.
Chlorophyll is another potent antioxidant that is found in all green vegetables. Chlorophyll has also been shown to have anti-cancer properties. Research has shown that chlorophyll can bind to potential carcinogens and interfere with how they are absorbed in the human gastrointestinal tract; these studies suggest that these effects help lower the risk for certain types of cancers, including liver and colon cancer.
Another group of antioxidants that have been found to reduce the risk of cancer are the Blue & Purple Phytonutrients; these will be the subject of our next post.
Give the gift of health!
