Your Custom Text Here
All Disease begins in the gut. Hippocrates
Health begins in the gut. The reverse is also true: disease begins in the gut. Taking steps to reduce the angst in your life reduces the angst in your gut. Over the long haul of life... this is a gut healing gift to yourself!
Jar one: bones soaking in apple cider vinegar
Jar two: finished bone broth
Perhaps you remember your mom or grandma feeding you chicken soup when you were ill. Most chicken soup, stock, was made with the bones, cartilage, and the hunks of attacked chicken meat. (If you are vegetarian or vegan… don’t bail on me just yet. I have plant based gut healing suggestions as well. Bare with me on this bones thing.)
Animal bone broths have been used for hundreds of years, thousands really, for their nourishment and healing benefits. People inherently knew the healing benefits of the daily food and life choices they made. Modern living somehow now requires scientific proofthat what we are doing is worthwhile. Research into the benefits of bone broth is available and plenty to satisfy the scientifically inclined.
Read more
I love these words as they state such a humble truth. Our physical body is always moving towards health and healing despite the unhealthy and unkind things we do to it. Then one day...
It (meaning health) just all seems to fall apart, crumble at your feet, come cascading down from one ill symptom to the next. Does this sound familiar?
I hear these words often: "When I was 20 I ate whatever I wanted and nothing bothered my stomach or digestive tract. I drank like crazy, did drugs, ate junk food, and was still healthy as a horse." (I am not exactly certain how the horse got involved here!) I take such good care of me now... Why is this happening to me?
My reply always resembles something like this: When you are young your body cells are in tip top shape. Our habits, good and bad, either build our body cells for better health or wear them down into degenerative cells. This is a slow and insidious process which is exactly why we do not consciously connect it to the "stuff" we did to ourselves in our younger years.
I wrote about this in:
Back to the body knows what to do and the mind getting in the way thing. This is just one issue in the struggle to maintain healthy habits. Our body knows how to heal, knows how to ask for what it needs (fresh, real food), and functions at optimal levels when we care for it. The struggle comes with the mind:
I am inviting you to incorporate some mind-body-spirit activities into your life. This will help you bridge the disconnect we have as a culture and bring harmony back to mind, body, and spirit. You will function as a peaceful, whole human being that no longer struggles to avoid the things that you know are not best for your whole body health. Instead, you will feel at ease, comfy, in your own skin making the choices that create vibrant health. All without feeling deprived. (I promise!)
AND, you have lifetime access to this information!
I have written about the virtues of chewing on a few occasions. Every day I see health issues that could benefit from better chewing, so...
I feel compelled to write about chewing again because your whole body's health depends on the quality of food you eat AND that very food getting to your each and every body cell. Chewing is a foundational habit of good health.
Chewing properly:
Chewing for Whole Cellular Health
Eating begins with the simple act of chewing which leads to smooth digestion and greater absorption and assimilation of nutrients by initiating the release of digestive enzymes that break down food. The better chewed your food, the better your body can absorb and use the food’s nutrition. This means healthier better nourished body cells.
The chewing action sends messages between the mouth, brain, and stomach alerting your digestive tract that food is coming. This helps to jump start the whole digestive tract for smoother functioning by starting your digestive juices rolling!
Have you ever chewed a piece of gum only to find your stomach churning and growling within 20 minutes? Your chewing of gum is telling your tummy that something is coming. In the case of chewing gum, nothing is actually headed down to the stomach. You have started the digestive process but not given your digestive tract food to work on.
Carbohydrate digestion begins in the mouth with chewing. Chewing converts whole grains, fruits and veggies, and other complex carbohydrates into satisfying whole food sugars. Whole foods must be mixed with saliva and chewed until they become liquid to release their full nutritional value.
In addition, the more whole carbohydrate foods are chewed, the sweeter they become. This, in of itself, helps to naturally satisfy the “sweet tooth” and end sugar cravings.
Better carbohydrate digestion, from efficient chewing, helps to end that bloated feeling after a meal. Bloat can be carbohydrates that are not digesting well from inadequate chewing and the resultant lack of mixing with salivary enzymes. You literally stop digestion in its tracts from poor chewing habits, making the stomach and small intestine work harder than nature intended.
Chewing breaks apart proteins and fats making the oils, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and all nutrients available for maximum absorption. Because digestion becomes so efficient when you chew your food thoroughly, your body will begin to feel wonderfully light.
Chewing food well takes your mouth and senses through the whole range of flavors in foods. This mindfulness practice, while eating, ensures that your senses experience sweet, salty, bitter, pungent, sour, astringent, and spicy. By chewing and experiencing these tastes, your body is satisfied with less food. No cravings later! (When your blender chews the food for you, you miss this taste sensation experience.)
Try this experiment: Eat a carrot. Chew it poorly (or what is normal chewing for you), leaving good size chunks in your mouth and swallow them. Aim for the size of sunflower or pumpkin seed chunks and swallow. What do you think you will find in your solid waste? You've got it, those very same chunks of carrots, virtually unchanged.
Chew another piece, slowly and taking your time, until the piece of carrot resembles smooth pudding in your mouth. No chunks will be found in your solid waste and your body will be able to absorb all the nutrients from the carrot. Chunks in your solid waste are food wasted; no nutrients can be pulled from the interior of solid chunks of food. Your digestive tract only pulls what it can from the surface area of these food chunks. When food is like “pudding” when swallowed, the food’s surface area is immense and available for digestion and absorption of nutrients.
“Drink your solids, chew your liquids.” An intelligent saying Dr. John Christopher, Naturopath, repeated over and over in the classes I took in Natural Healing and Herbal Medicine. When the solid food you swallow is in liquid form from chewing, your body can absorb all the nutrients in that food. (Whole food eating is expensive. Chew well to get your $$$ worth!) This ensures healthy cell regeneration and deposits into your nutritional banks (not withdrawals and degenerative cells!). This is a foundational practice for good nutrition and whole health.
When consuming liquids, chew them thoroughly also, so you are doing a fine job mixing those salivary enzymes with all the food that passes slowly through your mouth.
Chew well… life depends on this!
How to Chew Properly
•To get into the habit of chewing correctly, try counting the chews in each bite. It helps if you put your fork down between bites.
•Chew every mouthful of food at least 30 times each, until the food becomes liquid. Chew a minimum of 50 times if what you are eating is a really solid food (raw carrot).
•Chewing preps the digestive organs telling them food is coming. Better digestion is the result as the organs get prepped to release the necessary digestive enzymes.
•Chewing breaks down food and makes it easier on the stomach and small intestine to digest and prepare the nutrients for your beautiful body cells.
•Saliva assists in the digestion of carbohydrates, makes the food more alkaline, and creates less gas.
If under pressure at meals: take deep breaths before you begin your meal, chew, and let the simple act of chewing relax you. Taking the time to chew will help you to enjoy the whole spectrum of tastes and aromas that make up the meal. Taking the time to chew will increase cellular health as the nutrients are more available to your body cells!
Slowing down and taking the time to chew is actually a stress reduction exercise. It is a mindfulness exercise, the yoga of eating, around your food.
Good Meal Prep and Eating Suggestions
•Wash up.
•Create quiet spaces and peace for eating, turn off the “screens”.
•Use candle light to create peace and relaxation.
•Sit up with good posture.
•Say a prayer thanking the local farmers for their hard work, the earth that grew your food, your higher power, whoever cooked your meal, and your family and friends who dine with you. The simple act of gratitude slows and calms the body, mind, and soul.
•Put your utensil down when chewing.
•Relax, breathe, and experience the textures and flavors.
•Eat in a relaxed setting: not the car, your desk at work, standing at the kitchen counter, or while on the run.
•Say thanks after you eat as well.
•Create post meal conversation instead of bolting to the “next” activity
•Go for a walk, sit on the porch just listening, create a post meal relaxation experience
Enjoy every meal for the gift of life that it truly is, Paula
What better space to learn health and healing and start the process of taking responsibility for your health back into your own hands... in your own home!
Gather like minded family and friends and invite me over. Together we create a Health and Healing Home Party to fit your group's unique needs.
It is as easy as that!
Workshop Topics: (Feel free to create your own ideas and we will put together an inspiring, learning experience!)
I used to make my own shampoo, conditioner, lotions, face creams, blah, blah, blah. I still do make my own face stuff but really, how much time do I have? Homemade gluten free bread, homemade veggie slaws, 100 % homemade meals from local foods, and fermenting my own veggies. There IS only one of me!
I have had psoriasis for 15 years, just after the birth of my eldest son. Hmmm, coincidence? Anyhow, I have pretty much kept it to a very mild issue with diet, sunshine, yoga, and natural lifestyle choices. Gluten free is a huge help!
Then, along comes Eli, Son #2. He developed psoriasis at 8 years of age. It's a gut and whole body health issue but no time to write a book to explain all that in detail. Try to get an 8 year old to leave gluten alone. (Someday he will wish he listened to me...gluten intolerance, if continually irritated with gluten can become full blown celiac disease. It's just like pre-diabetics and diet or orally "controlled" diabetics who continue to indulge in sugar... just wait, they can develop full blown, insulin diabetes from the continual irritation of sugar in their systems.)
Yes, We will be doing another Gluten Free Workshop; me and the Local Living Venture. Sign up for their newsletter and get informed! Use this email address and ask them to subscribe you: sustlivingproject@gmail.com
OK, so I digressed a bit, forgive me. I was looking for natural skin care for psoriasis to help my son. His is much worse than mine, but, may I add, completely disappears when he leaves gluten out of his diet. So, anyhow, I found these products. I know apple cider vinegar is good for the gut and good for the skin. Keeps the microbes healthy and in check. But I did not want to make the products myself. Again, how much can I do everyday?
LOVE this company's stuff: http://www.justnaturalskincare.com/Psoriasis/ALL-skin-psoriasis-products.html
1. 100% Whole food diet... am I a broken record about this or what?!
2. Gluten free, no refined sugar.
3. Naked sun: as naked as you are comfortable being outside! Sun to the skin, protect the face (it's the wrinkle factor on the face!).
This is the email, I just received from JustNatural, offering a 20% discount in March. There is no better way to try something new than with a discount! OK, maybe free, but that is not an option! They even have products for stopping hair loss with age.....
Use
as coupon code
We wish a warm thank you to all of our wonderful customers
11101 S. Crown Way Wellington, FL 33414
Copyright © 2014 Just Natural Products LLC. All rights reserved.
Again, we wish a warm thank you to all of our awesome customers!
We would like to introduce and share with you the quality of natural hair and skin care products.
In nature many ingredients can be found that are beneficial for your hair and skin care needs. But in today’s hectic world of constant marketing the plain truth is often hard to come by.
Hair care and skin care products that are made with chemicals are often touted as being this or that solution. The reality is that chemical ingredients are often used in hair care products to replace the more expensive and effective alternative, that is real natural and organic ingredients.
Please consider choosing products with fewer chemicals and your hair and skin will thank you for it. We ask that you try natural hair care products and experience the change for yourself.
