We  hear the term detoxification a lot these days but what does that really mean?  Our bodies  are constantly filter and clearing toxins and waste from our bodies so that they do not cause problems.  The normal ways the body has to get rid of toxins is to sweat, urination, defecation and in acute case we will puke them out.  Our bodies know when something is not good for us and they try as much as possible to clear these substance from within so that they can not cause us problems.  In todays world we are bombarded with toxic substances everyday from the air we breath, the food we eat, the water we drink and the things that we put into our minds.  Today we will discuss the physical toxins and how to deal with them and later we will tackle the mental toxins and how they affect our health.  The modifications of foods, the pesticides and chemicals used to produce our foods and the hormones and additives given to our animals all must be filtered out of our bodies or they can become toxic to us.  My philosophy on choices always make the best choice of the choices that you are given.  You may not always be able to raise your own food or buy organic but you can choose to buy fruits and vegetables over processed chemicals when you go to the grocery store.  When you go to a restaurant you may not be able to get bottled water but tap water or unsweetened iced tea would be a better choice than a soft drink.  When we want to aid our body in detoxify we must first decrease the amount of toxins we are putting into our bodies so lets work on the diet.  Make a commitment for 7-10 days to eat only real food.  Which would include fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and whole grains but no wheat, rye or barley preferably make your grains come from brow rice or quinoa.  Try to eliminate meat protein and obtain your protein from nuts and beans.  No dairy because many people have hidden sensitivities to these products and a lot of them are loaded with hormones to increase production of milk from the cattle.  Make sure that your  are drinking plenty of clean water that will aid the body in getting rid of toxic build up from years of eating processed foods. I also  like to give a warning when you detox you will probably feel really bad day 2-3 because your body has to dump the toxins back into your system in order to eliminate them for your system.  When you get to the end of your 10 days then you can slowly start to add things back in every 3 days.  You  might start with adding back in dairy and  see if any symptoms arise, then add back in the gluten grains and then meat products.  As you add things back into your diet pay close attention to return of symptoms such as aches and pains and sinus congestion.  This allow you to find out what foods you may be sensitive to and eliminate them from you diet.  I did this many years ago and found that gluten was a trigger for me and have completely eliminated it from my diet.  I also know that eating large quantities of meat can be a problem for me but I just limit the amount of animal protein in my diet.  I would encourage you to keep a journal during your detox so that you can track how you feel and what foods that your are eating.  This a great way to really know what works for you and your body.

Inflammation is being linked to most chronic disease states such as diabetes, heart disease, arthritis and even depression.  What on earth is fueling all of this inflammation in our bodies?  What about all of the wrong foods in our daily diets such as soft drinks, white flour, white sugar, and most of the common vegetable oils and trans fats.  What on earth can we do to combat this disease producing inflammation?   Why not try real food diets that includes lots of fresh fruits and vegetables especially green leafy vegetables and lots of pure clean water.  Good fats should also be included and can actually decrease inflammation such as using coconut oil and eating salmon and fish that are high in omega 3 fatty acids.  The Standard American Diet is  SAD and we need to reevaluate what we are eating and how it is impacting our health.  I know that none of us have perfect diets but lets aim for an 80-20 ratio making 80% of our diet things that are actually nutrient dense and the other 20% can be special treats.  Let food be our medicine and medicine be our food.  If we have this kind of attitude that food is meant to improve our health we will do our research and find the foods that will add to our health instead of subtracting.  This is how we will conquer the great beast inflammation and improve our quality of life.

This is a perfect time of year to reevaluate your own personal priorities.  How do you know what you have made a priority?  What is it that you spend the most time thinking about and doing?  Hopefully your family and your job are at the top of your list and hopefully they are in that order.  What about God where does He fit into your day.  God says in His commandments to us that we are to put no other gods be for Him.  What are you turning into your gods?  Anything that we turn to for comfort or when we are stressed instead of turning to the one that can truly give us comfort and peace can be our substitute gods.  Why are we so foolish to not use what is readily available for us and we look for a substitute when the genuine article is there for the asking.  Maybe we should start our day with God and develop a habit of finding his guidance at the beginning of our day so that when we get stressed we are in the habit of turning to him rather than some other source of comfort.  In God’s word He ask for the first 10% for a tithe and often we think of only money but what if we started tithing of our and spent the first 10% with him.  I know that might be difficult but maybe on your way to work you could listen to a Christian radio station instead of the secular stations.  I promise you that you will find a positive message on those stations so that you can start you day on a much brighter note than before.   I listen to Life Today and Joyce Meyer on television while I am getting ready for work and I listen to Christian music while I am exercising in the morning and turn my morning into a time of worship for God.  I believe that if I spend that time in the morning with Him that He will bless my day and watch over me as I try to do His will for my life.  Let me issue you a challenge to spend more time developing a personal relationship with God.  That is why we were created and you will find a whole new peace that the world or anything of the world will never be able to give you.

We all say on a daily basis that we are stressed out.  Even children at a young age will use this statement which means they must hear it a lot.  Chronic unresolved stress can contribute to death and disease.  Our Adrenal glands are where the major stress hormone is produced.  When we were in cave man day the fight or flight hormone is how we use to stay alive so that when approached by a predator we would be able to think fast and move faster than what was chasing us.  In this day and age everything sends us into fight or flight mode and most people live there life chronically producing these hormones that use to save our lives.  This constant increase in stress hormones cause people to gain weight in the mid section which increases our risk for developing heart disease and diabetes.  People often think that they can reduce their stress level and maybe if you make some major changes in your life you can.  Most of us just need to learn to react to our stress differently.  The one question that I teach people to ask, is this situation worth dying for and if the answer is no it is time to learn to let it go.  Stress itself will not cause a problem but our reaction to it can kill us.  We must learn to respond to stress and not react and then we can choose healthy responses that will protect us.

What a person can believe a person can achieve.  This means the first key to success is believing  that you can complete whatever goal that you set for yourself.  Remember if you think you can or you think you can’t you will be right.  Believe in your own ability and the ability of the  Holy Spirit to work through you to complete the job that the God has brought you to.  His plan is to bless you and to prosper you .  He will work even the most difficult situation for good in your life.  Sometimes the fires are what we need to humble us and makes us into what  we need to be.  Remember to speak positive words to yourself because we believe more of what we hear ourselves say than anyone else.  After all you are a child of God and should honor that position.  Change your thoughts and your world will change

I know that a lot of people cringe when  you start to discuss exercise and its benefits with them but I believe from my experience with working with heart and lung patients it is the single most important thing that we can do for ourselves to maintain our ability to function as we get older.  I once was attending a women’s health event at a local church when I was discussing with a young woman about exercise.  She said her biggest problem was that she did not have an accountability partner for her exercise and she found it difficult to keep herself motivated to continue with her exercise program.  I responded to that with, make God your accountability partner,because He is always with  you and if you exercise to keep His temple ready for your mission you are doing it to glorify Him.  When I go to gym in the morning before work I listen to Christian  music and spend my time strengthening my body, as well as my mind, and my spirit.  Exercise should be done on a regular basis in order for it to be most effective.  We should try to accumulate 180-210 minutes of moderate intensity exercise per week to get the best benefit.  High intensity  exercise does not reap greater benefits and increases your risk of complications during your exercise sessions.  The old theory of no pain no gain is not a good way to look at your exercise program.  The pain you experience after exercise is a sign that you have released toxic substances into your muscles that may take days for your body to rid yourself of.  I do believe that you should feel like your exerting yourself and you may have some discomfort if you are not used to it. We should be able to work the day after a workout and if we are so sore we cant sit down on the toilet that is not what we should aim for, if we are trying to improve our health and look for the best benefits of our program.  Work on your duration first then you can increase your intensity.  Set your goals using time and intensity as a tool such as a 30 minute at a pace that I get a little breathy but I can still talk while I walk.  Make sure that you drink plenty of water to stay hydrated before, during, and after exercise.  Unless you are sweating profusely the best beverage to rehydrate is water because that is what we are made of.  Some of the main reasons that I hear from people why they do not have an exercise program is that they do not have enough time and they are too tired.  My response to these excuses are that we all have 24 hours in a day and we can decide how we use those 24 hours. An effective exercise program only requires 30 minutes a day most days of the week to make an impact on our health. Is our health not worth that?  If we don’t invest the time now we will end up investing more money later to try to regain what we have lost.  This year lets try beginning our exercise program with a different attitude and not do it in the flesh but let the Holy Spirit guide us and make this a part of daily worship to take care of the Temple of the Lord.

Food is a topic that is near and dear to everyone’s heart and we need it in order to survive but our abuse of food has led us down the path of disease.  I like to take my regular recipes and make them healthier by adding more nutrition to my favorite things.  Two of my favorite ingredients to add to my recipes are chia seed and flax seeds (ground flax meal)  these 2 ingredients are becoming so popular that you can now by them in larger quantities at Sam’s club.  They both have fiber and omega 3 fatty acids which that is something that are bodies have to  get in the diet because we can not manufacture it so this is a great way to add it.  You can use both of these ingredients in smoothies, muffins and quick bread and even add them to your oatmeal.  You are only limited on how to incorporate them into your diet by your own imagination.  I had someone request this recipe that I will start off with that I use both chia seeds and flax seeds in and I will you give you 2 different versions so that you can learn how to change things up to suit your own taste.

Gluten Free Peanut Butter or Lemon muffins

Ingredients: Original                                                Substitutions:

2 Cups sugar                                                              1 Cup Domino light sugar (sugar stevia Blend)  I am not a fan of artificial sweetners

1 teaspoon baking soda                                          2 Cups Pamela’s Gluten Free Baking mix ( my favorite way to make things gluten free)

2 Cups Flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 Stick butter                                                           1 stick butter &1/2 cup coconut oil ( you can use 1 cup coconut oil and omit the butter)

1 Cup water

1 Cup peanut butter(all natural)                       Lemon muffins use 1 large box lemon cook and serve pudding

1/2 Cup milk (can use almond milk or coconut milk if you choose)

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/8 Cup chia seeds and ground flax seeds

2 whole eggs

Instructions:  In large bowl mix dry ingredients in bowl and set aside.  Combine butter, oil, water and peanut butter if using it in sauce pan and bring to boil.  Pour over dry mixture. Add milk, vanilla and eggs mix well then put into muffin pans.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.  These freeze really well also so that you can have them whenever you like.

I just wanted to add a disclaimer at the beginning so you are aware that the content of this blog is to provide you with education to empower you to become healthier.  This should not be used as a substitute for a healthcare provider but should be used to discuss with your healthcare provider. I will be sharing recipes and remedies that are my favorites.