Juicing. There are some significant benefits to juicing produce. In many cases, micro nutrients are destroyed when they are cooked: a bunch of points scored for raw produce! We get TONS of enzymes from eating fresh raw produce. Enzymes? what be those? you ask. The quick answer: enzymes are required for every single metabolic (i.e., chemical) reaction in the body. Want more energy? get more raw veggies in your diet. Simple, easy, done. That said, the greater quantity of these produce gems we can get, the greater support we are giving our bodies. Juicing reduces the produce to an extremely easy-to-absorb form. It’s a glass full of fresh, real, nutrients with a direct, free pass to the cells of our body. Juicing is also a great way to add a wider variety of vegetables to your diet. Most juicers come with recipe books. Or grab what looks good to you and have fun with the different combinations. 

My morning juice. Grapefruit, lemon, beets, celery, and carrots.

Juices, however, should generally not be considered a whole meal, since there is no protein or fat in juices. (Cleanses/detoxing, however, is another topic.) The downside to juicing, we lose the fiber. However, a savvy juicer will use it to make crackers with tasty seasonings, and ground nuts and seeds. Use it all and waste nothing.

Smoothies are a quick and easy meal. They are also a great way to get a massive amount of nutrients (although, not as much as juicing will render) plus all the fiber! Not much downside to this option. It does beat out salads for nutrient density, however. A salad will have maybe 2-3 cups of vegetables, and a smoothie can have up to 4-6 servings (and less prep work). If I’m having a smoothie as a meal, I make sure to add in a fat, such as an avocado, fresh ground flax seeds, coconut milk, chia seeds, almond butter, for example, to balance the macro nutrients. This also aids in metabolizing the fat soluble vitamins. Gulp it down, good.

Salads: always a brilliant choice. Anyway we can get fresh produce into our systems is a good way. The chewing process is good for stimulating digestive juices. Chewing the veggies also benefits the health or our teeth (and whiteness).

A few guidelines: always wash the produce before juice/blend/chomping it. Use organic vegetables when possible. Conventional produce is often genetically modified (body knows real food best) and always coated in various ‘cides (insecticide, pesticide, herbicide, etc.). At least choose organic for the Dirty Dozen, since juicing and blending will render any chemicals immediate access into your blood stream and instantly create a toxic load on the body.

• Peaches
• Apples
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Pears
• Grapes
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Potatoes

Do you have a favorite smoothie, salad, or juice combination you love? Do you do something different every time? Do you use spices to mix it up?

Coming soon, a guest will review, from the trenches, juicers for us. There are so many kinds, shapes, models, how to choose what’s best for you!

Exercise is the other critical factor to good health. Nutrition and exercise work together so well. Our organs and bones will age with us, but we can do a lot to keep them strong and functioning well into old age through exercise and eating nutrient-dense, foods (a wide variety of vegetables, fruits, legumes, especially). Muscles, however, are another story. We lose muscle mass in old age because of inactivity, not because of aging (excluding a very few disease conditions). If we strength train when young, middle aged, or when elderly, it will benefit our strength, stability, digestion, moods, and of course that cute tush. Some moderate cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and good nutrition can set up a beautiful foundation for health, energy, and quality of life.

What do you do to stay motivated to exercise?

Happy hiker.

• Cut out some processed foods and drank less soda/alcohol
• 100% compliant with the protocols
• Increased energy levels
• Weight lost (5-15lbs!)
• More real food intake
• Less processed food intake
• Cholesterol levels were cut
• Tummy aches, sinus issues, were eliminated
• Sleep was deeper and more restful

Those were just a few of the most common results of this detox. But the one I love most of all: awareness. Awareness was increased around foods that heal and foods that make us sick, stuffed up, and inflamed. Of course, a detox isn’t the answer to all that causes ill, but it can be a start. It can help give the liver a break so that it can function better. Bigger issues can take longer to heal and require specific nutrients, and lots of patience.

My next personal challenge: 20 yoga classes at my local studio in April. I’ve been out of practice for a couple months, too laden down by work, school, other work, pups, life. But I’m going to take advantage of this sense of commitment and get back to it! It’s all part of the equation to live long, strong, and energetically.

What is your personal challenge this month?

Congratulations! We did it. We made it to the top. Just be careful on the way down, it’s easy to get off course (trust me, I’ve been there, I know: nutritionally and on the mountain). But it was all good and lessons were learned, good times were had. I hope my experience has helped you on your journey. I’m hoping to do some shorter group cleanses this summer, and another 21-day detox this fall. Keep your eyes open!

On top of the world!

Now we start, having giving ourselves a liver reboot, cleansed the body of processed foods and sugar. It feels good! What nutritional goals do you have for this summer?

This past week was a nutritional monkey wrench for me. I caught a stomach virus and was severely limited to what I could tolerate to eat and drink. But don’t fear, I still stuck to the detox protocols! Although, it was also because the protocol was what was best for me. My tummy and conscious limited me to mostly meals of brown rice, apples, and ginger kombucha. The kombucha was a life saver, packed with good probiotics, energy-boosting B vitamins and enzymes that help make everything work. It’s definitely the best replacement I’ve found for the ‘flat soda’ that seems to be common.

Ginger is an excellent tummy settler. Everything from when you’re sick and nauseous to pregnant and having morning sickness. Ginger also helps with nasal congestion, settling a bloated-gas belly, improves the absorption and assimilation of essential nutrients in the body, and it’s even been known to be an aphrodisiac. wink-wink!

I knew it was time to move back to more substantial food when I started to get a headache. It was a clear signal from my body saying “OK, we’re done healing, now let’s get back to full speed.” Not that I recommend getting sick, but I have to admit, I feel fully cleansed having done an unplanned mini fast this week. And, it’s nice to know my immune system is working! It was pointed out to me yesterday that getting sick now and then is a good sign that the immune system is doing what it’s supposed to do, keep us healthy and strong.

I let breakfast this morning go to whatever I craved, within reason; I needed more nutrients, so almost ‘anything goes’. When I say ‘whatever I craved’, I always think about my cravings, and try to get to the root of the real need. Craving: Big burger, cheese, and fries? Analysis: I need some minerals and protein. Action: What’s the best source for that? I had some roasted ham (pasture raised, no nasty additives) and juiced up some carrots, a beet, half an apple, and a lemon. Result: Happily, I am feeling very satisfied!

Done, good, completely rebooted, and strong. I also feel like the sugar-craving devils have been reduced to little mini devils I can squash out easily.

How do you deal with cravings?

Tick tock. Tick tock. GO CLOCK GO! Spring is attempting to overwhelm me with fresh air, sunshine, and warmth. The mighty seducer is also trying to pull me from my work and get my fingers in the dirt, my feet on the trail, and my soul outside. How do you fight that? Don’t. Just go.

I’ve been reflecting on the past three weeks and I realized I’ve gotten more work, projects, and assignments done than the previous 3 months combined. Of course, part of that is due to the dramatic increase of my work load this past month (if it’s got to get done, a way will be found to get it done, right?). However, I’m sure not having to drag my over sugared self around helped considerably. My energy levels have gone up and sleep has been so beautifully delicious (sorry, Spring, there is another lover, Sleep) on this detox.

My big garden is also looking at me with puppy eyes, ‘Come play in the dirt! Let’s get our grow on!’ It was such a thrill last summer (first season with my big front-yard garden) to go out and collect food, right before I made dinner. Gardens make it easier for us to eat more veggies and, consequently, help teach kids about real food; kids tend to eat their veggies more when they participate in the growing, weeding, and harvesting process. The upside is limitless. Gardening is the most sustainable thing we can do for the planet. Period. And wonderful phytonutrients we get from vegetables, is one of the best things we can do for our bodies. Period.

Blank canvas

My mom taught me (she’s still trying, some things I’m slow at picking up) that we can grow food in just about any container there is. So far I have only tested this minimally, but I have seen food grown in a crazy variety of containers: trellis tomato plants on a small balcony, old re-purposed dressers, buckets, cinder blocks. It’s endless. As long as the plants get the right amount of light, soil nutrients, and water: we get FOOD!

Do you have a garden? How do you garden? In the city, on a farm, in the kitchen (grow sprouts on the kitchen counter!)

Counter-top grown sprouts

And just like that we’re in the final few days of this detox. But now it gets tricky. How to come off this detox? I recommend going slowly and not introduce more than one food at a time. That way you can also figure out if you have any sensitivities to any of the foods that were eliminated, and it’ll be less of a shock to the system. Of course, I still recommend staying away from or at least greatly limiting the refined carbohydrates (aka sugars: gluten, alcohol, candies).

Question I got today: What can we do to eat better for our health if we don’t want to do a full detox? Little changes can be a great place to start. The absolute first recommendation I have is to remove excess sugar from the diet. If that seems too big, then try removing one of the following each week (or one a month, whatever schedule you can handle).

Reduce, eliminate, or avoid:

• Soda (diet and regular), drink water, or kombucha!
• Fruit juices (laden with sugar and, surprisingly, chemicals they don’t have to list in the ingredients)
• Candy, try some fresh fruit instead
• Fried foods
• ‘Diet’ foods, eat real food, body needs nutrients
• Artificial sweeteners, very complex metabolism that makes these horrible for our bodies
• Overly processed foods (hot dogs, canned soups, cheese wiz), generally considerable amount of sodium and highly lacking in nutrients
• “Enriched” or “Refined”, which means nutrients have been stripped and artificially added back

Add in a green vegetable to every meal (or start with one a day). What can you do decrease nutrient-void foods?

Soooooooooooo, it’s been requested I discuss some cholesterol and glucose numbers. And since yesterday was “Diabetes Alert Day”, I’ll delve into that topic. Sugars (yes, again) are the fundamental source of so much that threatens our good health. We need glucose (sugar’s form in the blood) to fuel the brain, muscles, and create energy. However, the amount we need is grossly less than what the average American consumes. If the grocery store layout were indicative of what foods we need most, the produce section and the whole middle section with the aisles would swap places. All those aisles would be condensed to a few shelves in the corner.

And, this layout would help eliminate type II diabetes, much of the obesity issues and related diseases, cancer would be asking for handouts in the streets (kicked out its fancy mcmansions), and inflammation, rheumatoid arthritis, would be added to the rare species list. But, I diverge.

Blood tests for cholesterol and glucose levels can be indicators of how our systems are working (there are many more that can also help, but we’ll stick to these today). One member of the detox had her cholesterol and blood sugar checked last week, and the numbers were significantly better than what the were before the detox (eliminated the sugar in her diet and increased vegetables, variety, and home cooked meals). Consequently I went and had mine checked this week. Also, much better. My HDL (‘good’) cholesterol number (51) was higher than previously, my fasting blood sugar (glucose) levels were lower (82), and triglyceride levels (57) were lower. Huzzah!

Eating well really does make a significant impact on our health.

Still on an unscheduled fast today, but thankfully it’s getting better. Some in the detox group slipped off the detox last weekend, with unpleasant side effects: significant weight gain. This is likely due to the influx of sugar (via gluten and/or alcohol) causing water retention and inflammation. Others are having such great results (weight loss, and greater energy) they wanted to know if they could stay on it longer. The answer, yes. However, I advise to maybe eat a little more when you’re body needs a little more nutrients. Otherwise, there are plenty of nutrients and food groups still allowed to fully support health, and plenty of nutrient-void foods removed, further supporting good health.

The Good Life: mountains, energy, and lots of silly! This woman turned 60 the next day AND hiked up one of Colorado’s 14k’ mountains! (So did my dog, Indy;-).

Right now I am day dreaming of vegetable stew with homemade stock, carrots, celery, red cabbage, onions, sweet potatoes, apple cider vinegar, garnished with some sea salt and parsley.  This is a big improvement from my wine and chocolate cravings (blech, not even on the radar this week! yay!).

Have you noticed a change in your cravings? Did you know you can change your taste buds, especially when it comes to sugar, by slowly (or dramatically) reducing sugar intake. We can become less dependent on the sweet stuff, and uncover the great flavors of tart and bitter. It’s true! Do you ever wish to be less dependent on your sweet tooth?

Well today stopped me in my tracks, hard. Apparently a stomach virus decided to give me a day of fasting (among some other less pleasant effects) to this detox. When I was able to keep down some water, I tried kombucha. It seemed to do the trick and give me a little energy (much better than chemically laden, HFCS flat soda and nutrient-void crackers).

Short post today, still in recovery mode. But yay! to ginger (good tummy spice and a natural anti-inflammatory) and kombucha.

Hope everyone is having a good start to the week..