STEPS TO OPTIMUM HEALTH This is where I believe one should begin. Start with cleaning out everything in your house, pantry, fridge, getting rid of all grains (even rice and quinoa if you have it), all sugars, all dairy and all legumes (beans, lentils, peanuts, dried peas). I would also get rid of all nightshade family veggies (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, and eggplant, as they cause inflammation. This is the main thing you want to get away from. It is inflammation that causes the pain and the destruction of tissue so the more you can do to achieve this, the better. You’ll want to begin reading labels, all of them. Anything you put into your mouth, you want to know it contains only the foods and ingredients that will do your body good to make you feel your best. You may try incorporating some foods back in after several months, though you may not wish to. You will find that you don’t miss the foods you are probably thinking. I used to suck down 4 Liters of Barq’s Root Beer a day and never missed a drop once I started Paleo. You’ll want to eat as organically as possible as this will help change your body quicker and keep it healthier. It is amazing how much your body (and brain) changes after you begin. Most of the foods you’ll want to use will be found around the outsides of the stores you shop in. All the whole foods are found there. Avoid the center where all the processed foods are found. Each plate should be one half vegetables, cooked or raw, one quarter protein of whatever type you choose and one quarter fruit. Meats you choose to eat should be organic, grass fed beef, lamb, pasture raised pork, wild caught fish, or organic, free range chickens. You may even want to raise your own chickens or other so you know what they’re being fed. Here’s a rule of thumb on meat. Go by the fewest number of legs most often. In other words, fish have one leg, eat them the most; chicken and poultry have two legs, eat them second most; and beef, lamb and pork have four legs and should be eaten the least. This layout of food on the plate typically will provide about one half of your calories from FAT, about 20 percent from PROTEIN, and about 20 percent from CARBS. This is ideal and you want to stay as close to this as possible. This puts your body into a state of ketosis. Ketosis is a state where your body burns fat, rather than carbohydrates. It is this that no other diet can provide, except the Ketogenic diet, which is usually used to control seizures (as we had to do for our youngest daughter) as well as for some athletes. The body is naturally sedated by this process of burning fat for fuel and it changes everything and every system in your body for the better, naturally reducing inflammation, perfectly releasing hormones, firing neurons in the brain with the receptors receiving the signals each and every time. The body’s system’s falls into harmony. You want this! Muscles relax, tension fades, inflammation departs, the brain fog leaves. That’s the basics! Here’s what I suggest you do to add to the benefits your body is about to experience. Approximately 20 minutes before each meal, take 1 teaspoon of organic, unfiltered (if you can find it) Apple Cider Vinegar mixed with 1 ounce of non-chlorinated, filtered water. This will prepare your stomach for the food you’re about to put in it. This provides the right amount of acid at the right acidic level to properly digest your food. Next, I suggest taking with your meal some Probiotics. I take Genestra brand or Mannatech. Genestra is one that must be kept refrigerated; Mannatech’s is in a sealed packet for daily use. The Probiotics help clean up the gut. This is one of the first things you want to do. If this does not take place, most of the rest will do no good. Probiotics correct the flora in the small intestine which is where most of your immune system functions with the liver running second. You’ll also want to add some seeds into your diet on a daily basis. It is suggested that you change these with the moon’s cycle, which is especially important for women to help regulate menstrual cycle. From New Moon to full, use Flax and Pumpkin Seeds and Sunflower and Sesame Seeds when the moon is waning. You may want to get a small coffee grinder (they’re fairly inexpensive) and grind your seeds every few days to a week and keep them in the refrigerator. If you are sensitive to flax, you may substitute Chia Seeds. Take 1 Tablespoon each day with your meal. These will help to restore and regulate hormone balance for men and women. Seed cycling is so effective because the hulls of the seeds contain chemicals called lignins, which help modulate the hormonal pathways of the body. In addition to the seeds it is suggested you also take certain oils. With your Flax and Pumpkin seeds take 1 Tablespoon of Cod Liver Oil or Fermented Cod Liver Oil. When the moon is waning, with your Sunflower and Sesame Seeds, take 1 Tablespoon of Evening Primrose Oil (Women) or Black Current Oil (men). If you normally take Cod Liver Oil daily, continue it during the full to new moon states as well. If you have auto-immune issues, it is advisable to take an EFA (Essential Fatty Acid) Oil daily (or for men, alternate with the Black Current Oil with the moon’s cycle. One of the other things you’ll want to incorporate into your life is a consistent bedtime of 10:00PM. If you want to go to bed at 9:00PM, that is fine. The more hours prior to midnight, the more hours that count as double in rest and recuperation benefits. The body actually heals most from 9:00PM to 10:00PM. You want to do as much as you can to get your body used to regular cycles as this helps to promote optimum health. Try to get 9 to 10 hours of solid sleep each night. The more you sleep, the better hormones stay regulated, the more your body heals, the more weight is lost and maintained at a healthy level. This is an important step! The next key item is to apply Castor Oil to the area of your liver each day for at least 20 minutes. The oil may be warmed (DO NOT MICROWAVE) or just applied from the bottle. One bottle lasts months. Apply liberally over your liver and cover with an unbleached, flannel. Cotton is best but wool may be used. I apply mine at night when I go to bed and it usually stays there until sometime in the night or morning on occasions. Finally, cover it with a towel doubled in length. This is to keep it warm. In bed is even better as the covers help keep it warm. The reason for this is to draw blood to the area, thus supplying blood and nutrients to the liver which is the other part of your immune system. Everything that goes in or on the body is filtered by the liver. This includes toxins from chemicals and so it is also important to avoid non-organic products such as deodorants, soaps, and shampoos as well as cleaners, cleansers and dish detergents, and products such as ointments, salves, creams and toothpaste, etc. Next you want to get yourself a loofah pad or sponge and dry brush your skin every day. This is to stimulate the lymph system. With short and somewhat light strokes, start at the feet and work your way up and from the hands working your way up and in, bringing all the stokes toward the heart. The lymph system is the protective barricade your body uses to catch and fight off infection. It is important to detox this system daily. You’ll want to make the last 30 seconds or more of each shower a cool to semi-cold rinse. This is referred to as Hydro or Water Therapy. You want to center the water over the heart. You may already know that hot and cold are great for a swollen body part for reducing inflammation. Running cool water over the heart after a warm or hot shower or bath causes blood to rush to the heart which helps eliminate inflammation from the surrounding area, strengthening the heart and improving circulation. The better the circulation, the better your body’s systems will function and the better you will be enabled to eliminate toxins. One last thing that will truly make you feel better and detoxify your body and that is to take 100 deep breaths every day. By “deep breath” I mean fill your belly with air first, then drawing air into the lungs. By doing this the diaphragm is stretched to allow more air into the lungs, providing more air and eliminating more carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide contains toxins and is one of the biggest ways the body uses to detoxify itself. This can be done all at one time or better yet is to do this several times a day each and every day. Finally, and one of the most important, is to drink plenty of water. Each day you should drink at least 1 pint of filtered water (preferably non-chlorinated) for each 20 to 30 pounds of body weight. This is extremely important. If you body is not kept hydrated, it will have less ability to eliminate toxins and stay oxygenated. You need your body to maintain as much oxygen as possible to keep each cell healthy. A body low in oxygen produces the perfect environment for cancer to develop and grow. To recap, use vinegar (or lemon juice if vinegar seriously bothers your stomach) with each meal, take your Probiotics, add seeds and oil, go to bed by 10:00PM and get 9 to 10 hours sleep, apply a Castor Oil Pack once a day, dry brush with a loofah pad, and include hydro-therapy at the end of each shower daily. If you want to enhance the benefits even more, I would also suggest taking a good Vitamin B complex and Magnesium twice each day (breakfast and dinner) the first 3 to 6 months then reducing to once per day. This may seem like a lot to do but you need to consider this is all about your health, optimum health. If you want to rid yourself of your symptoms, these steps will offer the greatest success. If you choose to use a sweetener, I suggest Maple Syrup, Grade B (sparingly) (Grade B is less filtered) or Stevia drops for the first several months until your immune system is healed and operating properly. Then organic “raw” honey may be used sparingly. The reason for no honey in the beginning is that until the immune system is up to par, honey should be avoided as it can contain botulinum. This is what causes Botulism poisoning. (Thus, the reason honey should not be given to an infant). Grounding is also important. Standing on the earth is best though there are mats which can be purchased or even standing on a piece of natural slate can help. This allows the body’s natural current to be neutralized better lending assistance to various systems. There are some other things that are helpful to know but these will get you started. Some reading you may want to do as well as getting good recipes for meals would be to purchase a copy of “Practical Paleo” by Diane Sanfilippo. This is a well done cook and guide book with a section on foods identifying which are good and which do harm, a section on medical conditions with specific foods and 30 day meal plans and a section filled with delicious recipes. It is hard to go wrong with this book.
Posted on: Tue, 11 Nov 2014 19:30:19 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015