Why is Digestive Health so Important?

Healthy Digestive Systems: The Second Brain

The digestive system is where vitamins, nutrients and minerals are absorbed.Factors such as stress, lack of sleep, antibiotics, illness, aging and poor diet choices can often lead to an imbalance of the bacteria in your digestive tract.  Maintaining a a healthy digestive system any time of year can be quite challenging, especially during the holiday season with typical eating patterns.  Consuming an abundance of rich and indulgent foods compromises our digestive health by flooding our bodies with large amounts of fat and sugar.  High fat holiday foods not only stay in the digestive system longer, but also cause more stomach acid to be produced, which can lead to gastric reflux and other issues.

Processed holiday foods (ie.instant mashed potatoes, canned gravy and cranberry sauce, breads, cookies etc.) maybe challenging for your digestive system: avoid these and your stomach will thank you.  It is always helpful to include cruciferous vegetables when possible.  I often notice that green vegetables are either missing or are a minor part of most holiday meals.  So think outside the “American diet” box and use fresh green beans, fresh greens, anything green and fresh! (organic if possible.)

Healthy digestion cannot exist without water.  Adequate hydration provides the digestive  system with the appropriate amount of moisture needed for proper functioning.  Sometimes our body mistakes hunger for thirst, so stay hydrated to prevent unnecessary overeating, and drink at least 8 oz. before your meals.

• Probiotics and digestive enzymes are a healthy addition to any diet any time of year.
• Raw Honey
• Apple cider vinegar
• Dry curdcottage cheese ( contains more probiotics)
• Ocean-based plants such as spirulina, chlorella, and blue-green algae, seaweed (like Kombu)
• Kefer (Sour beverage made from fermented milk, originated from Turkey)
• Kim Chi (Spicy, pungent fermented cabbage, a typical and popular Korean dish)
• Sauerkraut (Finely shredded cabbage fermented in brine, buy no sodium benzoate)
• Tempeh (Indonesian food made from fermented whole soy beans)
• Yogurt (organic, no sugars)
• Probiotic food supplements in the form of pills, powders, capsules and drinks
• Unpasteurized pickles, fro example, pickled beets, carrots or other vegetables, pickles and olives(farmers market is good source)
• Miso (A fermented soybean paste or paste made from grains like rice, barley etc.) used as a sauce, soup base or spread: can be added to soups, gravy’s etc.)

Tips to help strengthen your digestion:
• Eat some raw and some cooked foods daily.
• Eat small meals often.
• Limit cold foods and cold drinks, and try to limit liquid during your meal (dilutes digestive enzymes.)
• Limit dairy and meat.
• Avoid eating proteins and grains and/or starchy vegetables in the
same meal.
• Avoid bread and pasta.
• Eat fermented foods and drink probiotic beverages.
• Use digestive enzymes.
• Use ginger, cinnamon, and turmeric.
I use and recommend Coconut water kefir, digestive enzymes,
and Vitality Green Food!  Please visit the Products tab on my
website and click on the Body Ecology banner to order.

I drink tulsi tea every morning. Tulsi tea is an ancient herb from India.  Some of the health benefits are:

• Helping boost your respiratory system
• Supporting your healthy vision
• Delivering you antioxidant protection against free radicals
• Helping you alleviate minor discomfort and irritation
• Providing you with a calming effect and stress relief
• Helping bolster your immune system
• Aiding you in enhancing your stamina
• Helping you promote a healthy metabolism
• Boosting your digestive system health
• Helping you maintain blood sugar levels in the normal range
• Providing you with skeletal and joint support
• Aiding you in supporting normal cholesterol levels

Order Today!

Restorative Yoga

Restorative classes are usually very relaxing and are a good complement to more active practices. The teacher will arrange for the necessary props to be available to you. The lights may be dimmed and if it is chilly, you may be covered with a blanket since you will not be warming up the body the way you would be in a regular class. After you are set up in a pose with all your props, you will hold the pose for an extended period, often ten to twenty minutes. Although you are supported, you will definitely still feel the stretch. It’s a relaxing style of practice that leaves you feeling open , relaxed and refreshed.

And here they are the following morning.  Refreshed and ready to go!

visit Texasyoga.com for more information.

Don’t suffer with a UTI!

Women are more prone to urinary tract infections than men, in part because of their shorter urethras. Adult men have another factor going for them—a bacterial growth inhibitor injected directly into their urinary system by their prostate glands.

Studies show that cranberry juice can help by promoting a healthy flora.  But drinking cranberry juice loaded with fructose potentially makes the problem worse!

But there is a great discovery that has come from the cranberry juice-urinary tract connection. The active ingredient in cranberry juice responsible for its benefit to your urinary system has been identified and isolated—and that is D-mannose.  It is not a drug.  It is a naturally occurring sugar, which does not raise your blood sugar levels.

D-mannose can be derived from berries, peaches, apples, and some other plants. Pure D-mannose is  10-50 times stronger than cranberry, non-toxic and completely safe, with NO adverse effects.  Amazing!

D-mannose can help cure more than 90 percent of all UTIs within 1 to 2 days!

But how can a natural sugar combat a UTI?

More than 90 percent of all UTI’s are caused by Escherichia coli (E. coli), which is normally found in your intestinal tract. Problems only arise when this ordinary bacterium is present in high numbers in places where it shouldn’t be—like your urinary system.  Bacteria attaches to the D-mannose and leaves the body as you urinate.  It usually takes 24 to 48 hours to work.  So if you find yourself with a UTI please consider using D-mannose instead of antibiotics.  I recommend that you get it in powdered form.  It is more effective.  For those of us in the Austin area you can get at People’s Pharmacy.

Hatch green chiles…more than good taste!

Chile peppers, despite in some cases, their fiery “hotness,” are a very popular spice known for medicinal and health benefiting properties. The chile is actually a fruit pod from the plant belonging to the nightshade family, like tomatoes or eggplant.

The chile plant is native to the Central American region where it was used as a spicy ingredient in Mexican cuisines for several thousand years. It was introduced to the rest of the world by Spanish and Portuguese explorers during 16th and 17th centuries and now grown widely in many parts of the world.

They range from the mild, fleshy, Mexican bell peppers to the tiny, fiery, finger-like chile peppers, commonly grown in the Indian subcontinent. The hotness of chile is measured in “Scoville heat units” (SHU). On the Scoville scale, a sweet bell pepper scores 0, a jalapeno around 2,500-4,000 and a Mexican habañeros 200,000 to 500,000…hot, hot, hot!

Health benefits of chile peppers

• Chile peppers contain an impressive list of plant derived chemical compounds that are known to have disease preventing and health promoting properties.
•  An alkaloid compound in them, capsaicin,  gives a strong spicy pungent character. Early laboratory studies on experimental mammals suggest that capsaicin has anti-bacterial, anti-carcinogenic, analgesic and anti-diabetic properties. It also found to reduce LDL cholesterol levels in obese individuals.
• Fresh chile peppers, red or green, are a rich source of vitamin-C, 100 g. fresh chiles provide about 143.7 mcg or about 240% of RDA. Vitamin C is a potent water-soluble antioxidant. It is required for the collagen synthesis in the body. Collagen is the main structural protein in the body required for maintaining the integrity of blood vessels, skin, organs, and bones. Regular consumption of foods rich in vitamin C helps body protect from scurvy; develop resistance against infectious agents (boosts immunity) and scavenge harmful, pro-inflammatory free radicals from the body.
• Also high in antioxidants like vitamin A, and flavonoids like beta-carotene, alpha carotene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and cryptoxanthins.
• Chiles contain good amount of minerals like potassium, manganese, iron, and magnesium. Potassium is an important component of cell and body fluids that helps controlling heart rate and blood pressure. Manganese is used by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase.
• High in B-complex group of vitamins such as niacin, pyridoxine (vitamin B-6), riboflavin and thiamin (vitamin B-1).

Amazingly high in vitamins and minerals. Just 100 g provides (in % of Recommended daily allowance)

240% of vitamin-C (Ascorbic acid),
39% of vitamin B-6 (Pyridoxine),
32% of vitamin A,
13% of iron,
14% of copper,
7% of potassium,
but no cholesterol.