Tips for Fall Detox

September 2013 - We often associate spring time with cleaning.  When the weather gets warmer, we clean out the house, we take the car out of the garage give it a wash and wax and even clean out our bodies.  The stores are full of spring greens that are best suited to rid our bodies of toxins and fats stored during the winter.  But what about going into the fall and winter months?  We have been no doubt going to countless pool parties, picnics, family gatherings, festivals and social functions.  They all involve food (and sometimes alcohol) and that food often includes burgers, sausages, chips and sodas.  These foods are very heavy to the body and if not properly eliminated can slow you down through the winter months. 

Fall is another time of year best suited to cleanse/detox the body.  Cleansing during the autumn months will bolster your immune system in order to avoid the flu, increase your energy, mood and productivity by clarifying your mind and shed excess weight before the holidays.  Fall is a natural time of transition, which makes it ideal for a gentle detox cleanse that will reset your body and mind priming you for a winter of wellness.

A cleanse does not have to involve starving yourself but eating mindfully and strategically for even as little as three days.  Detoxing through the diet is a great way to give your body a break and support its natural self-cleaning system.  It involves increasing whole, unprocessed foods, vegetables, fruits, seeds, fresh pressed juices (green drinks) and other homemade fruit smoothies.  During this time eliminate anything prepackaged, wheat, dairy, meat (including fish and poultry), alcohol and caffeine.  The bottom line is more whole foods home cooking and no fast food or prepackaged meals.  Even just three days can make a world of difference.

When given the chance our bodies will naturally detoxify and heal as part of its natural process.  We detox by eliminating and neutralizing toxins through our colon, liver, kidneys, lungs, lymph and skin.  In our daily lives we are exposed to environmental pollutants in the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat.  In addition our diets are laden with chemicals, large amounts of animal protein, saturated and trans-fats, caffeine, alcohol and genetically modified organisms that inhibit our bodies ability to perform their detoxification processes.

Tip 1: Start each day by sipping hot water with lemon.  It cleanses the blood, liver and kidneys.  It activates your digestive system for maximum efficiency and also helps your body move lymph which carries toxins from the body. 

Tip 2: Begin the day with cooked apples (antioxidants), steel cut outs (high in soluble fiber) and cinnamon (boosts brain function) or green, cleansing juices.  Green juices should include any of the following ingredients: cucumbers, celery, kale, spinach, grapefruits, lemons and ginger (anti-inflammatory).

Tip 3: Lunches should include salads full of greens (linked to heart and lung health), cucumbers (alkalizing), radishes (blood cleansing), onions (astringent), cruciferous vegetables (high in vitamins) and topped with raw seeds like pumpkin and hemp (high is selenium).

Tip 4: Dinners should be warming and include foods like lentils (helps lower cholesterol), sweet potatoes (balance blood sugar) and other grounding root vegetables (fiber and many vitamins and minerals) and kale (blood and cell detoxifier).

Enjoy that lighter feeling going into winter and for recipes visit my website. 





Jason C. Venckus CPT, PES & H.C.
Progressive Complete Health
www.goproveg.com
progressiveathleticsiht@gmail.com

The Healing Power of Avocados

August 2013 - The first avocado may have been eaten by a Mayan Princess and was considered "The Fruit of Royalty".  You've heard it time and time again,  "Avocados are a superfood!"  And you do not have to be a member of a royal family to eat them.  Even fast food restaurants like Subway have jumped on board (Yes, sorry. Subway is a fast food restaurant).  Pre-mashed avocado at fast food restaurants often contain manufactured citric acid and other chemicals to keep them from browning but whole, fresh avocados prepared at home may cure just about anything that ails you.  That is to say there isn't much they can not do.

Here is a short list:
-Lower LDL (bad cholesterol) while leaving HDL (good cholesterol) alone
-Help stop stroke
-Control blood pressure
-Battle Diabetes
-Combat cancer
-Increase Fertility
and
-Smooth skin

So how does the magical, mystical avocado work?

Lowering Cholesterol:  The bad news is avocados are high in fat, 30g per average sized fruit. The good news, its monounsaturated fat!  Monounsaturated fat will lower LDL cholesterol and leave the HDL cholesterol alone.  One study in Australia showed that eating one half to one-and-a-half avocados for three weeks can lower total cholesterol by 8% without lowering your HDL cholesterol.  A low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet has been shown to lower LDL and HDL at the same time.  Avocado's also contain 10g of fiber and beta-sitosterol which both help lower cholesterol.

Help Stop Stroke: Potassium, magnesium and fiber combat stroke.  Avocados are packed with all three.

Control Blood Pressure:  As already mentioned, avocados contain lots of potassium.  In fact one avocado contains two-and-a-half times more potassium than a banana.  Potassium lowers blood pressure.  Magnesium relaxes blood vessels and allows for freer blood flow resulting a lower systolic (top) number.

Battle Diabetes: Scientists in Mexico put 16 women with diabetes on a high-fat diet where most of the fat came from avocados.  The result was a 20% drop in triglycerides.  Women on a higher-carbohydrate plan had only a 7% drop in tryglycerides. The New England Journal of Medicine found that a high-fiber diet (50g per day) lowered cholesterol, tryglyceride, glucose and insulin levels.

Combat Cancer: High fiber diets have been shown to prevent certain cancers such as colon and breast.  Avocados also contain powerful antioxidants.  Gluthathione and vitamin C fight cancer by neutralizing free radicals that can damage your cells.  Gluthathione may help prevent oral and throat cancers and vitamin C has been linked to lower rates of oral, breast, lung, stomach and cervical cancers.

Increase Fertility:  If you believe in the "Energetics of Food", you believe that foods are shaped like the body part they heal.  Carrots when sliced look like eyes, kidney beans for kidneys and blood, red food for blood flow and avocados for fertility (shaped like a womb).  Avocados contain a large amount of folate thought mostly to be found in green leafy vegetables and beef liver.  A study of 18,000 women showed that folate aids in fertility.  Also a lack of folate or deficiency can lead to a grumpy disposition leading to less "In-the-Mood" time and that really wrecks your chances of conceiving.

Smooth Skin: Avocados contain moisturizing power and can be applied as a facial to soften and smooth the skin.  Just wash your face of all dirt and makeup and mash some avocado with milk or oatmeal.  Apply to your face and leave it for ten minutes.

Many times we hear that you can not use this oil or that oil to cook in because it can not stand up to high heat without turning carcinogenic.  Well, avocado oil has a higher viscosity and smoke point (255 degrees Celsius) making it safer for cooking.  Avocado oil can also be used as a non-toxic, non-chemical laden sunblock.

Avocado trees also help our environment to thrive.  They reduce soil erosion and storm run off and also improve the quality of water.  The biggest benefit to the environment is how avocado trees improve air quality.  Avocado trees absorb carbon dioxide and other air pollutants as well as produce large amounts of oxygen per year.  Two developed/mature avocado trees can provide the amount of oxygen required by a family of four to breathe for one year's time or remove the amount of carbon dioxide a single car produces in over four years time.-Jessica Mobassaleh

This is just the short list of things that avocados can do to improve our health every day.  There are many other illnesses that can be prevented by eating just two avocados a week.  So what are you waiting for?  Make some guacamole and invite me over!