Monday, August 1, 2016

Change your Diet, Change your Life.

A lot of people have misconceptions and false precepts about food in general. For the most part, this is due to what we see and hear and learn from the internet, television, and from colleagues and friends in general. It used to be that the old cliche would read," You are what you eat...". Nowadays, however with new technology and new discoveries on the nutritive value as well as healing and regenerative properties of different food types, it makes sense then that you as the consumer should and would benefit from having a wide understanding of what foodstuffs are actually made of and how they affect your health.

All food have nutritive value. Some, more so than others but in all there is nutrition to be had in food. At least, to that end we can all agree. What you should focus more on, however, is which types of foods offer the highest nutritive value? Also a lot of us have misconceptions on what proper and adequate nutrition should be. Let us take two very unique  examples of individuals who have certain eating habits, if you will.

Individual A works in an office, takes her kids to and from school, attends yoga or even a zumba fitness class whenever her time and schedule allows, and is really health conscious in terms of what she eats. She consumes a lot of salads, health drinks, nuts, fruits and vegetables, adheres to a low-fat, low-carb diet, but an occasional Friday night pasta wouldn't hurt either. The problem is she feels really tired most of the time, drowsy, and sometimes feels out of energy.

Then there is Individual B who works as a Construction Worker who is a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy who enjoys steaks, hearty sandwiches, and pan pizzas, with an occasional candy bar or two. None of that Tofu Bean sprout nonsense for this guy. The problem is as times goes by he starts to complain of irregular bowel habits, constipation, shortness of breath, drowsiness, and maybe an episode or two of chest discomfort.

Do you see where this is heading? If both individuals were to share their diets and eating habits with one another don't you think they can both benefit from it? YES!! They certainly can.

The point I am trying to get across here is that MODERATION IS THE KEY to healthy eating. Never dismiss the staying power and energy provided by a good slice of steak or even a glazed donut. However, don't dismiss the nutritive and rejuvenative value of a good bowl of salad or a tall glass of green Kale juice either.

You have to take into consideration several factors by which our bodies utilize food nutrients;

1. Your lifestyle- how much activity do you do on a daily basis.
2. How often do you eat in a day- do you space your meals or just constantly eat throughout the day.
3. Your age-you'll find that as you get older your nutritional demand changes as well.
4. Your BMR or Basal Metabolic Rate- how fast does your body burn utilize micro and 
     macronutrients.
5. The amount of mental or brain work you do in a day.
6. During Disease or Recovery states- when you are sick or are recovering from, say a surgical       
    procedure, then you will need special nutritional needs.
7. Your body's restive state- do you get enough sleep? If you lack sleep you find yourself eating more 
    to stay alert and focused
8. States of Hormonal Imbalance.

So there you have it. 

The TOP 7 REASONS Why You NEED to be JUICING MORE than you should!!!

Juicing has been a household term far and wide. You can buy different types of juicers and even search for juicing recipes to supplement your healthy, well-rounded diet. We will focus on a variant of juicing which incorporates dark green leafy vegetables as a basic ingredient.

Drinking green juice has been widely accepted as an effective weight loss supplement as well as for body detox or body cleanse purposes. The health benefits of green juice, however, goes beyond delicious green juice recipes or what most articles you read about describes. The truth is, not all green juices are the same. As can be expected, what you get out of the potent nutrient-packed drink depends on what you put in.

You can find many different types of green juice recipes but bear in mind that each variation serves a different purpose. Drinking green juice offers the following benefits:

1. Aids in Weight Loss
2. Boosts Immunity and Increases Disease Prevention
3. Revitalizes your Energy
4. Detoxifies your body naturally
5. Promotes digestive health
6. Has Anti-cancer properties
7. Promotes beautiful glowing skin

How does drinking Green Juice help in weight Loss?


Drinking green juice twice a day everyday offers a multitude of benefits towards weight loss. It resets how your body utilizes available nutrients for your daily activities.Drinking green juice on an empty stomach allows complete absorption of all the vitamins and minerals that are essential for optimal cell health and turnover.

Green Juice helps your body's satiety centers by making you full early and decreasing your carbohydrate and fat intake. By providing more than your daily recommended dose of vegetables and fruits you are able to curb your appetite better. Remember though that drinking green juice should be a supplement to your well-balanced diet. Also,it's important to remember that you need to have a base number of ingredients that I like to call staple ingredients as they are always in the mix regardless whatever else you add in or remove.

For optimal weight loss, detox, and alkalinity your juice MUST have the following: lemon, ginger,cucumber, celery. More on the why later when we cover green juice recipes. Add into your greens a fruit to offset the taste. Remember that the benefit of green juicing for weight loss is not to help you directly lose unwanted pounds but rather helps "reset" your body's metabolic usage of nutrients more effectively.

How to boost Immunity with Green Juice


This is perhaps the most beneficial attribute of drinking green juice. It is jam-packed with nutrients, vitamins and trace elements which helps boost your immune response to any infection and with all those anti-oxidants, help prevent disease process too.

As a general rule, dark green leafy vegetables are what you need to incorporate more of when you are recovering from an infection or you have the flu or even the common cold. They are rich in magnesium, zinc, caroteinoids, folate, and vitamin C- all of which are needed for cellular replenishment and nourishment in times of stress and infections.

Also, trace elements found in vegetables and fruits such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, selenium, and zinc among others are important co-factors in the millions of enzymes in our bodies especially enzymes needed to fight off infections or mount an immune response against an infection. By taking in these nutrients  and absorbing them directly, we are able to provide our cells vital components.

Don't forget to always include Ginger when making your Green Juice as it is a potent antioxidant, antibacterial, as well as anti-inflammatory key ingredient. Also Lemon has the ability to alkalize your body and this helps reduce stress,along with Ginger

How to Detoxify and Cleanse with Green Juice

Another important health benefit of drinking green juice is it cleanses your colon. Green juice contains chlorophyll which aids in the detoxification process by helping eliminate harmful toxins we get from the environment and even in the food we eat.

Drinking Green Juice daily helps remove unwanted toxins in our body. A juice cleanse is recommended to flush out unwanted toxins that build up in our colon. To start with,plan a time when you can do a proper colon cleanse as this will take 1-2 days preparation with hydrotherapy or water cleanse, followed by a 3 day juice cleanse, then 2 days of bowel rest and replenishment.

Remember that if you have a job that requires a huge amount of activity you may not do this as you will simply feel hungry all the time. To correct this you simply increase fruit content in your green juice to provide more sugar.If you plan to do a 7-day cleanse I would recommend including papaya or aloe vera in your juice to provide more cleansing.

You have to look for signs that will guide you in starting a juice cleanse. These are:

1. Poor dietary Habits. Too much Carbohydrates, sugar and fat-ladden foods.
2. Always having low energy.
3. Being prone to infections.
4. Always feeling fatigued and tired.
5. Always stressed out and feeling down.

Maintain a healthy well balanced diet after your Cleanse and you will feel energized and rejuvenated. Remember,however, to consult your Doctor prior to undergoing any Detox or Colon Cleanse with Green Juice.

How Green Juice promotes Digestive Health

Drinking Green Juice regularly helps maintain digestive health via 3 ways. The first and indirect method by which green juice improves digestive health is by reducing our levels of stress. As we all know, stress, aside from bad dietary habits is one of the leading cause for indigestion. The Lemon and Ginger in your Green Juice helps lower gastric acidity which can cause heartburn and allows for better digestion of food.
Secondly, when you detox with Green Juice you rid the body of wastes and unwanted toxins making absorption of nutrients and minerals better. Green Juice  helps in removing toxins from the blood for better nutrient exchange in the cells. When your body is replenished on a cellular level you feel rejuvenated and alive, sometimes referred to as the "kick" when drinking green juice.

Thirdly, drinking Green Juice keeps all of your Digestive and Metabolic enzymes happy.
Apart from maintaining Digestive Health it is also important to keep in mind keeping your Enzymes healthy. Juicing is a direct way to replenish your enzymes by providing necessary co-factors for proper enzymatic functions.

There are many recipes for improving digestion and help with healthy digestion and absorption of the foods we eat. You can mix and match to suit your taste and therein lies the beauty of juicing as the more adept you become in combining ingredients the more appreciative you become in terms of their nutritional contributions.


The Anti-Cancer Benefits of Green Juice

Juicing has a lot of benefits when it comes to Cancer prevention. First, Green Juice is packed with antioxidants to fight toxic free radical damage in our cells which can promote cancer. Secondly, drinking Green Juice on a regular basis helps boost our Immunity to help fight off Cancer. Also, because of the detoxification properties offered by juicing we can rid of the harmful toxins in our bodies which act as harmful carcinogens.

There are many types of cancers that attack different age groups. Some are caused by the lifestyle we lead, some are caused by environmental hazards, and some may even be inherited by way of genetic predisposition. It is important to take note of any family history of cancer and being mindful of the recommended procedures to screen for cancer when you reach a certain age group. Going back to raw foods and juicing allows for a lifestyle change that decreases risk for cancers. If you are 35 years old and above, Include garlic in your juices and diets.


How Green Juice promotes Beautiful, Radiant, and Glowing Skin 

You don't get beautiful skin by what you put on but what you put into your body. Simply put, radiant, glowing skin is a reflection of proper hydration but more importantly, proper nutrition. By drinking Green Juice daily you do wonders for your skin and you will start to notice that glow you've only dreamt of before juicing.

Drinking Green Juice removes unwanted toxins from your body which impedes nutritional uptake of your skin cells. Also, by detoxifying with green juice, you make readily available all the nutrients and minerals for healthy cell growth.

Also, the potent antioxidant properties of Green Juice helps reverse the cellular damage brought about by stress and poor nutrition and therefore helps in slowing down aging and wrinkles.

Another benefit of drinkng Green Juice is it keeps your blood vessels and lymphatic channels healthy which aids in properly hydrating your skin and for optimal nutrient exchange and waste removal.

So, what's in Your Green Juice?