The Nourishing Foods Summer Cleanse - Restore Your Liver  is just around the corner. 

 

Many people have emailed me asking what exactly is a cleanse? Let me explain.  

  

A cleanse is not a diet, not deprivation, not fasting. 

 

It is eating in a way that helps the body eliminate toxins that may have accumulated due to unhealthy food choices such as, processed food, caffeine, sugar, alcohol as well as the environmental toxins that come into our body. The truth is we build up toxins in our body.

 

The purpose of a cleanse is to rid the body of some of the toxins that have built up.  

 

It's meant to improve our body's ability to handle and dispose of these toxins during the cleanse and even after the cleanse is over. 

 

It is not just about the 5 days. 

 

We are able to rid our body of toxins
all the time, when our organs are working well.

 

You can't feel good or lose weight permanently if your cells and organs are clogged with waste. Cellular cleanliness is what you need to ensure lasting health and beauty. This is what a cleanse is all about.

 

In a cleanse we clear the body of foods and chemicals that you may be allergic or sensitive to.  We take out foods such as sugar, wheat, dairy, meat, coffee and alcohol.   Because certain foods can "inflame" the body and set off immune and inflammatory responses throughout the entire system you will be removing those foods from your diet for the 5 days.

 

Simultaneously you will be adding certain foods that will enable you to improve your elimination and restore your system.

These changes will allow your body's natural detoxification machinery which may be overburdened or compromised to recover and begin to function efficiently again.

 

As a result you will increase the absorption of nutrients from the food you eat during the program and afterwards.

 

In each of my cleanses we delve into a certain organ of detoxification and actually work to CLEAN it.  We use food, supplements, herb and practices to get those internal organs functioning optimally again. 

 

Because many of our organs are so easily regenerated the healing you bring in through these cleanses helps your body function better throughout the entire year.

This will enable you to  maintain a normal body weight more easily, have more energy, eliminate bloating/gas, decrease pain and even improve your mood.

 

A cleanse is a vacation for your internal organs so they can relax, reset and renew. Your body will get to say AHHHHH.  

 

Your body will be able to function better throughout the entire year. THIS IS THE KEY REASON TO CLEANSE.

 

I am offering  over 50 amazing recipes to relish the bounty of the season. There is so much choice, you will love the food.  Summer is an easy time of year to do a healthy cleanse.  There is still plenty of time to drop a few pounds and look great on the beach this summer. 

 

Slim down.

Feel great.

Thrive.

 

Click here to get more information and to sign up. 

 

Below is a recipe you can make on the cleanse.  It is so good I will be serving it at the party I am having to celebrate my son's Engagement on July 4.   WOW it seems like yesterday he was playing in little league.  I am so happy for him.  

 

A few weeks ago, I learned something new and amazing about exercising.

What I learned was breathing the right way when working out changed the way I feel while exercising.

 

Really the experience of exercising at the gym just got more enjoyable.

 

And it all comes down to breathing.

 

What is this new way to breathe while exercising?

 

The information I am about to tell you comes from the book Body Mind and Sport by Dr. John Douillard, DC, an ayruvedic doctor from Boulder, CO. He also happens to be part of my own personal team I use to maintain my health.

 

Most of my life I felt  tense while exercising and often exhausted afterwards. 

 

The books would say you should feel energized but that was not my experience. I would go to the gym because I knew it was good for me but I can't say it was something I looked forward to or enjoyed most of the time, until now.

 

This new way of breathing is nasal breathing.

 

Nasal breathing allows you to experience a state of calm while in action.

 

Dr Douillard did a study. He compared nose breathing with mouth breathing during exercise and saw unprecedented results. During vigorous exercise breathing through your mouth, which most people do, the brain waves revved up into a very fast and stressed state of beta brain wave activity. When the same subjects did the exact same workout while breathing through the nose, the brain waves became calm and coherent. The brain went into an alpha state, which is usually seen in deep relaxation states like meditation.

 

It has to do with the autonomic nervous system.  This system includes the sympathetic nervous system also known as the "fight or flight" response and the parasympathetic nervous system also known as the "rest and digest" response. 

 

During conventional mouth breathing while exercising, the fight or flight sympathetic nervous system goes way up and the parasympathetic system goes way down.

 

During nasal breathing while exercising this didn't happen. Instead, the fight or flight response only went up to 50% of its capacity and the calming parasympathetic nervous system - which normally goes way down - increased by 50%! The opposite nervous systems were co-existing!

 

During this state of exercise the mind learns how to cope with stress from a calm place and the body learns how to engage in dynamic physical activity while repairing itself at the same time.

 

Keeps You Calm.  When you are breathing through your nose you have to breathe more deeply.  Nasal breathing drives the oxygen into the lower lobes of the lungs where the calming nerves of the parasympathetic nervous system can be activated even while under stress. Though mouth breathing fills the upper chest quickly, only a little oxygen penetrates into the lower lobes of the lungs. If you are only taking shallow breaths  the oxygen only goes into your upper lobes all day, you miss the 26,000 (how many breaths we take each day )opportunities to massage your heart and lungs, process CO2, and calm your nervous system.

 

More Efficient Utilization of Oxygen

One of the most important reasons to breathe through your nose is because of a gas called nitric oxide that's made by your nose and sinus mucous membranes. This gas is produced in small amounts, but when inhaled into the lungs, it significantly enhances your lung's capacity to absorb oxygen, increasing oxygen absorption in your lungs by 10-25%. Nitric oxide also can kill bacteria, viruses and other germs.

 

Detoxification -  By breathing through your nose you get the oxygen into the lower lobes of the lungs which is where 60-80% of the blood fill alveoli are. You are therefore clearing the waste from your blood more compeletely. The reason you huff and puff during exercise is because the upper lobes are less efficient at removing the CO2 waste.

 

Moves the Lymph Fluids  - This is what I consider to be the  biggest reason to breathe through your nose. With deep, efficient nasal breathing especially during exercise, the rib cage acts as a lymphatic pump designed to move toxic waste out of the heart and lungs and pull toxic lymph from various parts of your body such as the:

• digestive system - belly fat and bloating
• legs - cellulite
• feet - arthritis
• reproductive organs - hormonal problems

Your ultimate goal is to increase your intensity while slowing your breath rate.  When you breath through your nose your body will choose longer, deeper and slower breaths as you increase the intensity of your workout.

 

I have been practicing this recently and initially it was a bit hard but now I feel excited to exercise. It is so much easier with the nasal breathing, I also have a sense of peace and calm in my mind.   

 

The latest  research shows the best way to exercise is to do Sprints or Interval Training which I have mentioned in my webinars.

 

The research also shows Interval Training is the best way to burn fat . How do we train this way ?  Read my blog post on Sprints or Interval Training to learn how.

 

Start enjoy your exercise more by keeping your mouth shut... breath through your nose. 

 

By the way it is also a good idea to breathe through your nose throughout the day too!

 

I like this hummus because it doesn't contain any beans which are hard to digest for some people, and can sometimes make you gassy, not good for a party.

 

Tahini is a nutritional powerhouse. It contains all the essential amino acids, making it a high quality protein, plus it is rich in lecithin, vitamin E and calcium. It is easily digestible because its high alkaline mineral content neutralizes the acid end products of the protein.  I am serving them on Endive. 

 

6 - 8  servings

 

¼ cup sesame seeds ground into a powder, if you don't have a spice  

    grinder soak the sesame seeds for 4 hours in water and drain
½ -1 tsp Celtic sea salt (start with ½ you can always add more)

2 cloves chopped garlic (2 tsp)

2 cups chopped zucchini

1/2 cup tahini

¼ cup lemon juice

1 ½ tsp ground cumin

2 Tb olive oil

Pinch cayenne

• Put sesame seeds, sea salt and garlic into a food processer. 
• Process into small pieces.
• Add the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth.
• Serve with celery sticks, endive or flax crackers