bone broth

Why You Should be Drinking Bone Broth!

Chicken soup isn’t just good for the soul: There is a reason that your mother made it for you when you’re feeling under the weather. Bone broth or stock was a way our ancestors made use of every part of an animal. Stuff like, bones and marrow, skin and feet, tendons and ligaments that you can’t eat directly. These items are boiled and then simmered over a period of days. This simmering causes the bones and ligaments to release healing compounds like collagen, proline, glycine, and glutamine that have the power to transform your health.

Bone broth should be called “nature’s multivitamin because it’s packed with:

  • Over 19 easy-to-absorb, essential and non-essential amino acids (the building blocks of proteins, and therefore the building blocks of your body!)
  • Collagen/gelatin, which helps form connective tissue
  • nutrients that support digestive functions, immunity and brain health

Did you get that? Bone broth benefits literally every part of your body, from your gut to your brain, from your muscles to your ligaments.

What does consuming bone broth on a regular basis do for your body?

Treats leaky gut syndrome
Overcome food intolerances and allergies
Improve joint health
Reduce cellulite
Boost immune system
Heal’s digestive tract upsets/weight loss
Promotes healthy skin, hair, nails
Reduces inflammation 
Helps treat asthma, arthritis, allergies
Aids in the body’s detoxification process

5 Easy Steps to Keep Your Thyroid Healthy

January is Thyroid awareness month. How often does this question pass through your mind? “I wonder what I could do to keep my thyroid healthy” this article is going to give you 5 easy steps to do to support your awesome little thyroid gland.

What does my thyroid do for me?

The thyroid gland produces hormones that regulate the body’s metabolic rate as well as heart and digestive function, muscle control, brain development, mood, and bone maintenance. Its correct functioning depends on having a few good health practices.

5 Natural Ways to keep you’re thyroid healthy:

The No. 1 natural remedy you need to start to support the thyroid is ashwagandha, which has been proven to heal thyroid and adrenal issues. Ashwagandha is known as an adaptogenic herb. Adaptogen herbs mean they help you adapt and deal with stress, and ashwagandha has been used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine. It has also been shown to greatly benefit hyper and hypothyroid symptoms.

The No. 2 thing you should consider adding into overall improve your thyroid function is selenium. The benefits of selenium are critical — actually, selenium has very powerful antioxidant-like functions. In fact, studies have shown that selenium helps balance out T4 in your body hormones, so again, taking a therapeutic dose of selenium every day has also been shown to benefit thyroid function. Here are some foods high in selenium:

  • Brazil nuts
  • Yellowfin tuna
  • Cooked halibut
  • Grass fed beef
  • Beef liver
  • Turkey
  • Chicken
  • Pastured eggs
  • Spinach

The No. 3 next thing you want are certain types of B vitamins if you want to improve thyroid function. There are two specifically I want to mention: thiamine and vitamin B12. Thiamine and vitamin B12 are two B vitamins you need that can actually improve thyroid function. If somebody is on a vegan or vegetarian diet, they’re absolutely going to be deficient in vitamin B12 and also are likely to be deficient in thiamine as well. Vitamin B12 benefits thyroid health by balancing hormones naturally and treating chronic fatigue syndrome. Some of the top B12 foods include:

  • Beef liver
  • Sardines
  • Grass-fed beef
  • Raw cheese
  • Lamb
  • Wild salmin
  • Pastrued eggs

The No. 4 most important thing to help your thyriod are Probiotics. Probiotics are critical for digestive function. In fact, thyroid conditions have also been linked to a health problem called leaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut is where a protein like gluten can leak through the gut, get in the bloodstream and cause inflammation throughout the body, but also it can cause inflammation of the thyroid gland. Thus, healing leaky gut syndrome is important and probiotics are the No. 1 supplement for that. Some foods that naturally contain probiotics are:

  • Kefir
  • fermented vegetables
  • Organic yogurt
  • Raw cheeses

Finally, the No. 5 best thing to do to support the thyroid gland is lower stress! Stress will take down even the healthiest person. The thyroid gland is one of the important glands in the body that helps you deal with stress. very important to keep stress levels down to ensure your thyroid stays happy. look at stress management practices like meditation and deep breathing.

detox

Intro To Detox

Our bodies are exposed daily to a variety of chemicals and substances that can be harmful to our health. The air that we breathe, the food that we eat, the drinks we consume, the products we use on our skin, and the items we clean with. We require daily methods of detoxification to enhance our body’s natural ability to detoxify and renew. 

What is a toxin?

Any substance that the body cannot use in a purposeful way, that requires energy to be removed, or that can cause harm in sufficiently large doses, qualifies as a toxin. Our bodies are incredibly resilient – but if we push too hard, it can break! Toxins can come from inside the body as a by-product of metabolism or from the external environment.  

There are 3 ways toxins can enter: 1) Ingested orally; 2) Inhaling toxins; 3) Taking toxins through the skin.

Synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers are meant to help grow our food, but they can accumulate in our organs and our tissues. 

More than 80,000 chemicals are released into the environment every year, many in the form of gas. We cannot always avoid where we are breathing in air, but we can support our body to strengthen and handle it.

Why is it important to detox?

Our bodies build new cells and detoxify toxins on their own; however, our body’s ability to eliminate toxins is not limitless. Our bodies can become overburdened with toxins, and therefore, our body’s natural detox mechanisms could use a little help.

The amount of toxicity in the body is dependent upon your genetic makeup, nutritional status, lifestyle, history of antibiotic or drug use, and emotional wellbeing.

Fat-soluble toxins are stored in your fat cells, releasing toxins into your bloodstream. Abdominal fat secrets chemicals that can cause inflammation throughout your body. Affects your heart, and increases your risk of cancer, arthritis and stroke.

What are the common symptoms of toxic burden?

Fatigue, headaches, muscle and joint pain
Mood changes: anxiety, aggression & depression
Cognitive: reduced memory & brain fog
Immune: chronic infection/severe allergic reactions
Digestion: constipation, nausea, bloating, weight gain
Hormones: infertility, PMS, blood sugar imbalance
Skin: allergies, eczema, psoriasis, and acne

What are the areas of the body where detoxification takes place?

There are 4 main areas of the body where detoxification takes place:
Liver – Our metabolic gateway. Our largest glandular organ. It metabolizes carbohydrates, protein and fat, vitamins and minerals. Regulates cholesterol and blood sugar imbalance. Creates bile to aid in digestion, breaks down red and white blood cells, regulates hormones.
Kidney –   Process about 200 litres of blood and eliminate waste and excess water as urine. They are responsible for keeping the composition of the blood stable. Every day the kidneys filter between 120 and 150 quarts of blood to eliminate waste through the urine. They also balance sodium and potassium levels in the body. Urine is excreted from the kidneys and stored in the bladder before elimination.
GI Tract – The best sign of functionality in the GI tract is regular and proper elimination. Digestion problems likely mean you are not absorbing nutrients properly or detoxing efficiently. This is also home to 100 trillion friendly bacteria. Friendly bacteria aids in nutrient absorption, prevent infections and balance autoimmunity. 
Skin – Serves as an important barrier that keeps many toxins from entering your body. Window to the digestive tract. Toxins become overloaded and are looking for a way out of the body. Skin conditions usually clear up with proper elimination. Sweat glands are housed in our skin (great for detoxification)

Recommendations for optimal detoxification:

  • Eat organic produce  
  • Avoid farmed fish and consume wild only
  • Eat grass fed, hormone and antibiotic free meat and poultry
  • Avoid sugar
  • Refrain from heating food in plastic containers
  • Use natural personal care products and cleaners
  • Stay hydrated with clean, filtered water  
  • Drink morning lemon and turmeric water
  • Physical exercise for a minimum of 20 minutes per day
  • Ionic foot bath – purifies the body through electrolysis of negative ions in the water
  • Infrared sauna – heats the body’s core temperature to deeply detox on a cellular level
  • Epsom salt bath – encourages the body to efficiently flush out toxins

Try this recipe!

Detox Soup
Eat Your Greens Detox Soup