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Simple Ayurvedic Practices for Daily Detox

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You’ve been working hard on your detox and you want to be sure that the effects of all that effort last. You can also set yourself up for your next seasonal detox, primed, and ready to release toxins on a deeper level.

If you have never heard of Ayurveda, here’s the skinny:  Ayurveda translates to ‘knowledge of life’ or ‘science of life’.  Ayurveda is to India what Traditional Chinese Medicine is to China.  Ayurveda is about living in communion with the shifts of the seasons and the rhythms of the sun and moon throughout the day. It is an ancient practice that both supports wellness and recovers health. The principles are universal and can be practiced by anyone with a desire to feel more connected to their health and wellbeing.

When you join one of my seasonal detoxes, you’ve already begun to practice one of the Ayurvedic principles, so adding these 3 simple daily practices will increase your body’s ability to withstand the stress of daily life and the toxins you can not help but be affected by.

Daily Detox Practices

If you haven’t already, begin to add these 3 practices into your routine. Do them sequentially and stay with it.

Banish Bad Breath – Upon rising, eliminate, brush your teeth and scrape your tongue.  Did you know that you will remove more sticky plaque from your mouth with a metal tongue scraper than you will by brushing your teeth?  Here’s a simple video to show you how it’s done.  Do this before put anything into your belly.

Rinse Your Belly – By now, you have an understanding that a clean digestive system works so much more efficiently and uses less energy that a clogged up, gummy one. To keep your system clean and start with a clean stomach, drink 16 – 20 ounces of warm water first thing.  This has three primary effects for your body.

  • Number One – Okay, actually it’s about ‘number two’. It is especially helpful to promote movement and train the body so that will eliminate through the bowel more easily. Do you have to add lemon?  No. Will it hurt to add lemon? No. Just make the water body temperature and you will get the greatest benefit.
  • Number Two – Clean pure, warm, body temperature water first thing in the morning will help to clear out any leftovers in the stomach. This way yesterday’s food that may not have fully digested will not mix with today’s undigested food, kind of like getting a new plate for your breakfast instead of using the dirty one from last night’s dinner.
  • Number Three – It hydrates you! Your body wakes up dehydrated. It’s been starved for water for at least 8 hours. Because optimally, your body is about 70% water when you start your day with all your internal electrical systems flowing, you will think better. Which means you will make better food choices.  Better food choices now mean that your next seasonal detox will release a little more deeply.  

Oil Up – The daily practice of Abhyanga is a hot oil self-massage. This one practice will nourish your skin and body on a level that is superior to any other skin treatment. Remember, you skin is your largest organ. Once you start the habit, you’ll find it doesn’t take long to add it to you daily morning routine.

How to Abhyanga 101

  • Warm your oil to body temperature.
  • Pour a small amount into your hand and add oil as you need it.
  • Massage into hands. Then begin with the neck, working your way down towards your feet, because this is a grounding massage. Long strokes on the bones and circular strokes on the joints. Until you reach the feet.
  • When done, get into a hot shower and let the hot water rinse over you. The hot water will open your pores and press the oil into the skin. This is not only nourishing but protective. If you want to use soap, use it on your pits and privates. There is enough chlorine and other detergents in the water to ‘clean’ you.  
  • Dry off as you normally would.

These are so simple, easy, and actually elegant ways of taking care of your body that will promote daily detox in a toxic world.  

Enjoy them!

Eat to Avoid the Midday Slump

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It’s coming. You can feel it. You’re trying desperately to will it away, but, inevitably the clock strikes 3:00pm. Suddenly, you are exhausted. The thought of striking the letters on the computer keyboard seems like a daunting task, not to mention you can barely keep your eyes open. You’ve arrived at your daily midday slump.

‘Argh!’ you think to yourself. When this happened yesterday, you swore it wouldn’t happen again. As you walk to the café to get a cup of coffee, you wonder how to avoid this midday slump tomorrow. Here’s the good news:  there are steps you can take to energize your body throughout the day and avoid this desperate feeling.

Tips to ditch the midday slump!

Healthy breakfast option to fight the midday slump.
What fuels you in the morning?

The best place to start is with breakfast. Before we even talk about what to eat, let’s recognize that it’s important TO EAT breakfast. Your body has been in a state of rest, relaxation, and recharging for several hours. It needs fuel in the form of carbohydrates and protein to get going in the morning. Instead of processed cereal and milk, why not go for oatmeal with almonds and blueberries? Or prepare a couple of hardboiled eggs that you can grab-n-go in a hurry. Pair them with a brown rice cake with almond butter and jelly and you’re starting your day off on the right foot.

It’s also important to remember to drink water throughout the day. Dehydration is certain to cause sleepiness and fatigue. Imagine that a few glasses of water could be the difference between your 3pm exhaustion and vitality.

Don’t forget to put some thought into your snacks. You want to be sure to stay away from excess fats and sugars, which are in candy bars and most packaged food. The fatty foods will make you feel lethargic and the sugars will provide an initial spike, but then you’ll feel the afternoon slump as you come down from the sugar high. Take a few minutes at home to prepare trail mix with almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, Goji berries, and Incan berries. For sweetness, you can add some cacao nibs or mini chocolate chips (I prefer Enjoy Life brand because their products are free of common allergens).

The midday madness doesn’t have to continue. You can control how your body feels by nourishing it with healthy food (and water) throughout the day.

Healthy Snack Ideas

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Is healthy snacking an oxymoron?

Cravings happen even to the healthiest of us. Often, when a craving hits in the afternoon or the evening after dinner, we get the urge to snack. Snacking can be a bad habit to get into, because the snacks we choose are often junky, un-nutritious, and high in calories, sugar, or fat.

The trick to snacking without piling on the pounds is to find healthy alternatives to the regular snacks you might normally reach for.

Usually, when we get a craving it is for either something sweet (chocolate!), savory (potato chips!), creamy (ice cream!), or crunchy (crisps!). Obviously, my examples are foods you shouldn’t eat all the time if you want to be trim and healthy. But that doesn’t mean you have to fight your cravings for the rest of your life. Instead, you just need to substitute.

Next time you get a craving for something sweet, why not try:

  • fresh, whole fruit (check out this dip recipe for apples!)
  • apples and almond butter
  • dried fruit – without added sugar
  • green smoothies
  • banana “ice cream” (peel a banana, freeze, blend in a food processor with nuts, berries or  raisins ,and serve)
  • dates stuffed with almond butter or other nut butter
  • organic dark chocolate chips or carob chips

For your savory cravings, try these healthy alternatives:

  • olives
  • pickles and pickled vegetables, such as carrot, daikon, beets, and lotus root
  • tabouli, hummus
  • steamed vegetables with tamari/shoyu or umeboshi vinegar
  • freshly made salsa or guacamole
  • Sauerkraut (will also knock your sweet craving right out!)
  • salted edamame

Your creamy cravings can be met by eating:

  • smoothies
  • avocados
  • rice pudding
  • dips and spreads, like hummus and baba ghanoush
  • puréed soups
  • puddings made with silken tofu, avocado, or mashed banana
  • mashed sweet potatoes
  • coconut milk

Finally, don‘t cave and reach for the Pringles, when you can eat these crunchy (but still healthy) snacks:

  • apples
  • frozen grapes or my favorite, frozen blueberries!
  • rice cakes
  • plain popcorn (use coconut oil to pop in a covered pan)
  • carrots (particularly the sweet, organic baby carrots)
  • celery and nut butter
  • raw, unsalted nuts like cashews, almonds, and walnuts

Don’t fight your craving. Instead, listen to what it is your body wants specifically and choose the healthier option that will be good to your waistline.

Why Sleep? Your Adrenals Need a Break

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The “fight or flight” syndrome – you’ve heard of it, right? Accompanied with the image of the saber-toothed tiger dashing after a hunter, getting ready to attack. You often get into this situation, don’t you? In modern times, we’re not literally in that frantic position, but our bodies are often reacting as if we were fighting for our lives. Our adrenal glands, located on top of each kidney, are forced to work overtime in an effort to deal with stress from all sources:  injury, disease, work, family, finances, environment, etc.

It’s hard to imagine these small endocrine glands, essentially the size of a walnut, responsible for the manufacture and secretion of vital hormones such as cortisol, estrogen and testosterone. The cortisol production is crucial for the body to combat stress. Whereas thousands of years ago the stress was a finite amount of time – you either outran the predator or survived or you were eaten – nowadays, stress seems to be a state of being for so many people.

Although not getting along with a boss or missing a bill payment are not life-threatening like the saber-toothed tiger, our bodies react to the stressors in a similar fashion. The body starts to feel unsettled. More and more cortisol is produced because the body believes it needs massive amounts of energy to run for its life. This happens over and over again throughout the day:  getting the kids ready for school and getting yourself ready for work, traffic, spilling coffee on your new suit, your assistant calls in sick and you’ve got to send out 20 packages today, the babysitter is late picking up the kids from school and taking them to soccer practice, your late afternoon meeting runs over and you leave the office late so family dinner becomes you eating leftovers alone. And all this is going to happen again tomorrow!

Here’s the problem:  chronic stress can overload the adrenal glands to the point of exhaustion. For some, the fatigue will become overwhelming and the adrenals will no longer function properly to provide the energy and resources the body needs on a day-to-day basis. When someone is exhausted, a natural suggestion is to get more sleep. That’s not always easy with adrenal problems because insomnia is a common symptom. There are, however, steps you can take to prepare yourself for sleep, which is certainly one of the best ways to refresh and rejuvenate your body, mind and spirit.

For better sleep and to heal your adrenal glands:

  1. Go to bed at the same time every night between 10-10:30pm.
  2. Avoid stimulants such as caffeine and sugar in late afternoon/evening (or remove them completely from your diet to avoid any rollercoaster-like blood sugar surges).
  3. Keep a gratitude journal near your bedside. Every night, list five things for which you are grateful. Remind yourself that even though you may feel fatigued, there are wonderful aspects of your life and many reasons to heal.

Your adrenals depend on you to give them a break to reset and rest. Let me know how it goes!

Ah, Avocado. How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count the Ways

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I love avocados! And they love me. Check out my Top Ten List on avocado love.

  1. I love that your decadence tastes sinfully delicious, yet it’s the “healthiest” of fats.
  2. I love that you make my skin beautiful. The antioxidants in avocados help to get rid of toxins that promote premature aging and wrinkling of the skin. A lot of the toxins on your facial skin are the residue of makeup. Applying 1 mashed avocado as a facial mask and leaving it on for about 20 minutes before rinsing will help to remove these toxins and soften the skin. I promise, in the end, you will not look like the Wicked Witch of the West.
  3. I love to use you as a spread on my Ezekiel bread toast with a sprinkle of pink Himalayan sea salt, and red pepper flakes.
  4. I love that you make my hair shiny.  One avocado mashed and mixed together with 1 egg and your favorite essential oil is great for conditioning your hair. The healthy oils in the avocado help to moisturize and soften dry and brittle hair, and the vitamin E helps to restore a natural shine to your hair. To obtain these benefits simply massage the avocado and egg mixture into your hair and scalp and leave in for about 20 minutes. Then wash and condition with your favorite shampoo and conditioner.
  5. I love to use you in my salads.  Any kind of salad.
  6. I love to use you on my sandwiches in place of mayonnaise.
  7. I love that you complete me.  Avocados provide all 18 essential amino acids necessary for the body to form a complete protein. Unlike the protein in steak, which is difficult for most people to digest, avocado protein is readily absorbed by the body, because avocados also contain fiber. If you are trying to cut down on animal sources of protein in your diet, or if you are a vegetarian or vegan seeking more protein, avocados are a great nutritional ally to include not merely as an occasional treat, but as a regular part of your diet. Highest protein content of any fruit (yes, it’s a fruit).
  8. I love to use you in my smoothies to add some creamy richness.
  9. I love to scramble you in my egg white omelet.
  10. I love that you help me with my ABCs.  While avocados have a high caloric count (one avocado is 320 calories), the various nutrients and “healthy” fats make it a must-eat. They are an alphabet of vitamins. One avocado provides your body with vitamins A, C, E, K and B6, along with an enormous amount of potassium and “healthy” fat. Perhaps the biggest health benefit of avocados is that by adding avocado to certain foods, you can improve your absorption of nutrients. This means that when you combine other fat burning foods with avocado, you can improve your nutrient absorption up to 400%!

Oh, yes, I truly do love you.

10 Steps to Better Digestion

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Do you feel like your food is just sitting in your stomach for hours after you eat? Or is the opposite happening, and you are running to the bathroom before you have even finished your meal? You are not alone, and there are things you can do improve the situation. Here are ten steps to take now to get things moving properly through your gut:

Tips That Actually Work

  1. Food Combining – When foods are combined properly, they do not sit in your stomach and rot. That rotting food feeds the bad bacteria and yeast that everyone has residing in their digestive tract. To combine food, you eat protein with vegetables or grains with vegetables, never proteins & grains together. Also, fruits should be eaten alone on an empty stomach.
  2. Fermented Foods – These are naturally fermented foods such as kefir, sauerkraut, pickles, etc., that, when eaten, will feed the good bacteria in your gut and balance your inner ecology.
  3. Enzymes and Probiotics – I suggest that everyone take digestive enzymes and probiotics to help with the digestion of their food and build up their immunity.
  4. Water – We all know we need to drink plenty of water. A little known Ayurvedic trick is to drink a glass of water 15 minutes before your meal. This will get your digestive juices flowing and your food will get digested better.
  5. 80/20 – This rule is to eat until you are 80% full. That leaves 20% of the room left in your stomach for your digestion to work. No one likes that uncomfortable full feeling and your tummy will thank you if you stop just before you are full.
  6. Eat Loads of Fiber – Your body needs fiber to carry out toxins, excess hormones, and junk. Eating lots of water-soluble fiber, found in veggies, will ensure that you get plenty of fiber. Just don’t forget step #4! Drink lots of water, too, so that you don’t end up with bulky stool.
  7. Short Fasting Period – Don’t worry, I am not suggesting that you don’t eat for a day. What I am suggesting is that you take some time between meals. Give your system about 3 or 4 hours to let the food get assimilated. When your gut is constantly bombarded by food all day long, it gets confused and doesn’t work properly. Give it some time to work on that last meal before you head to the kitchen for a snack.
  8. Cut Sugar and White Carbohydrates – These foods will feed the bad guys in your gut. Avoid them for less gas and bloating – and you don’t want the insulin spike that comes with them either.
  9. Gluten – A large percentage of Americans are gluten intolerant and do not know it. Try going without and see if your digestion works any better.
  10. Bone Broth – The #1 most soothing and healing drink that you could ever ingest. Homemade bone broth contains all of the nutrients you need to heal your gut if it is leaky and also provides the minerals you need for strong bones. It’s a win-win, must-consume food!

If you incorporate some or all of the tips, you will ease in to better digestion and the tummy troubles will disappear.