With spring right around the corner, I am thinking of large green salads, cleaning up my flower beds, and my own detox program. The article below discusses how important a well-functioning liver is for overall health. I want my liver to work optimally so I try to incorporate some form of detoxification routine often, daily if possible. Many of you have heard me suggest a large glass of water first thing in the morning. This is a little mini-detox program for the liver every day. I also try to add a bountiful salad to my diet every day, especially at this time of the year. The vitamins and minerals in raw veggies provide the liver with many of the nutrients it needs to do its daily clean-up activities. Quality protein is also necessary to make many of the detoxification biochemicals the liver needs to change toxic compounds to water-soluble, excretable compounds. At this time of the year, I try to add a more targeted detox program protocol into my routine.
If you are interested in doing a spring detox or learning about mine, let me know. I can design a personalized detox to fit your lifestyle and health care needs. It can be fun, and you and your liver will feel better for it.
I read a ton of healthcare books every year (actually, I read up to six books at a time…a habit I acquired while owning my bookstore many years ago) which provides the basis of my up-to-date knowledge about how to keep you and me healthy and happy into our “golden years”. One of my new year’s resolutions is to start sharing some of these life-changing books with you.
I just finished reading The Circadian Code by Satchin Panda, PhD. Dr. Panda is one of the world’s foremost researchers on the circadian rhythms that guide our physiology. The information in this book has provided me with one of the biggest shifts in my own health and in the suggestions I make to my clients. Dr. Panda outlines the lifestyle habits that we have adopted in our modern world that have turned our physiological master clocks upside down. His research has shown that the timing of sleep, eating, and exercise have a huge impact on our health…even more that the foods we eat and the type of exercise we do.
Here are three lifestyle modifications that he suggests in his book:
- As soon as you can after you wake in the morning, expose yourself to bright morning light…even on cloudy days. This activates the specialized receptors in your eyes telling your brain that it is the beginning of the day. This one action will begin to regulate your circadian clock.
- More important than what you eat, is when you eat (within reason…he is talking about a somewhat healthy diet). Time Restricted Eating (TRE) is restricting all of your intake of food and drink in a 12- to 10-hour window. For instance, eating breakfast at 8:00 a.m. and finishing eating the last meal of the day by 6:00 or 7:00 at night. This gives your body down-time for 12 to 14 hours to rest and repair. This style of eating can help you lose weight, sleep better, and improve digestive symptoms
- Exercise when your muscles are hard-wired to work hard: first thing in the morning and late afternoon. He explains that ancestral man was most active at dawn and dusk, hunting and traveling for survival. By mimicking this pattern, you can make the most out of whatever type of exercise fits your lifestyle.
The book is readable and very user-friendly. If you would like to shake up your habits and health this spring, I would suggest picking up this very important book.
As always, thanks for being part of my life.
In health,
Kathy