Make 2023 the Best You Can BE!

  

Holistic Habits by Cheryl A. Mothes, Ph.D. Natural Health Nutrition Counselor

Content is a daily radio script from my KHIS radio spot - tune in at 6:15 (CST) every morning to Justin and Meredith’s morning show on 89.9 FM.

 Make 2023 the best you can BE!

 It's the final week of the year and the BEST time to make plans for a successful start to 2023 with resolutions to move toward health!  We can do more, be more, live more, and give more in the new year and the foods we eat physically and mentally impact this more than anything else in our lives.  Every bite we take can be one step forward in our wealth of health!  One excellent way to launch your best effort is to participate in the Daniel Fast - from the book of Daniel in the Bible, and here's a clue - it's Meatless Monday for 21 days!  Who do YOU want to be in 2023?  How about BETTER!  Pick up copies of the Daniel Fast at both locations of Fresh Healthy Cafe' and plan for your best year ever! 

Do you want to have a better 2023, with less brain fog, higher energy levels, better sleep, fewer aches and pains, and less risk of disease?  We ARE what we eat... and drink, and more importantly what we don't eat and drink.  Start the year with the Daniel Fast - how interesting that it's whole foods that are plant-based!  The fast excludes all animal products, processed foods, sugar, or oils - no meat, dairy, eggs, bread, alcohol, or fried foods.  It aligns perfectly with the "dry January" of giving up alcohol.  It's an excellent detox, and millions of people around the world can attest that it's life-changing!  Pick up information on the Daniel Fast at both locations of Fresh Healthy Cafe' to live longer and live stronger!

 Our food is our mood - our beverages are too.  We are ALMOST to January when many give up alcohol for the month and find so many benefits - clearing up brain fog, reducing sugar and calories, improving sleep, and getting rid of the toxins that alcohol produces.  Now is the time to prepare and enlist the support of friends and family to help you stop consuming alcohol.  Dry January is almost here and it's worth the effort and sacrifice.  There are so many health benefits since alcohol causes cancer, kills brain cells, contributes to stroke and heart disease, and is a depressant.  Who do YOU want to be in 2023?  Healthier and happier is a great answer on this wonderful Wednesday!

 The Daniel Fast is not to be taken lightly - it can transform your health by giving you 21 days of very different food and beverage habits if you are accustomed to the Standard American Diet.  You won't believe how much better you'll feel in just 21 days - you can eat all the fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and beans you want, spices and herbs - real foods as they were perfectly designed for us.  There are many online resources for the fast, and all whole-food, plant-based cookbooks will give you fantastic choices.  Stop at Fresh Healthy Cafe to pick up information on the Daniel Fast to make 2023 truly different and truly better for your wealth of health!

 We've mentioned the Daniel Fast several times this week - it is a spiritual fast that incorporates a lifestyle change of restricting certain foods, beverages, and additives.  Its origins come from the prophet Daniel, who underwent a 21-day fast from meat and pleasant foods and drinks.  For the spiritual part of the fast, choose to focus on prayer, meditation, positivity, not complaining, or gratitude.  Don't underestimate the physical and spiritual benefits of three weeks of unwinding and being clean in what you consume - some say the benefits are revolutionary!  If you'd like to break bad habits, lose weight, improve your gut health, have more mental clarity and an improved mood, plus have a better relationship with food, drink, and God, start 2023 with the Daniel Fast!  Copies of the fast are available at both Fresh Healthy Cafe locations.  Have a fantastic last Friday of the year everyone!

 And last year:

 A few weeks ago, we talked about hormone balance and its importance.  Part of how we get out of balance is the craziness of life - we get caught up in this loop of "feel tired...eat bad...sleep bad... feel bad...repeat".  The "bad food, bad mood" cycle is hard to break, and over time it gets our hormones out of balance.  It's a good idea to have a deep analysis of your blood chemistry, such as your thyroid levels, cortisol levels, and much more that your physician can order.  It serves as a baseline to see if anything needs to be targeted, from a nutrition standpoint.  Don't forget to go to meatlessmonday.com today!

 

 More on hormone balance today - we mentioned getting lab work done, looking at thyroid and cortisol levels, and more - and it's all a big part of evaluating our metabolism.  Most of us have been eating such poor diets that we need to reset our metabolism to process nutrients correctly, which will also help us lose weight and keep it off.  Optimizing our thyroid hormone is a key driver of our metabolism, and there are natural ways to get our hormones back in balance, fire up our metabolism, increase our energy and balance our moods.

 We mentioned getting lab work to check your chemistry levels to help determine hormone balance, and one is cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone that is produced by our amazing adrenal glands, part of our even more amazing endocrine system, and it's important to test it several times throughout the day to see what's really going on.  If your physician doesn't seem enthusiastic to do these tests, search for "Functional Medicine" doctors.  They use specialized training and techniques to find the root causes of complex illnesses, looking at the FULL picture for your health, not just treating symptoms.  Google it today to live longer and live stronger!

 With the new year and many of us trying to be healthier, it's all too common to start out with great enthusiasm but lose the momentum after a few days or weeks...and sometimes we crash fast!  The key to long-term health and wellness is to eat and function the way our bodies were designed!  And guess what the #1 longevity food in the world is?  BEANS!  They are low in fat, dollar-for-dollar they have more protein than meat, are high in fiber and complex carbohydrates, are CHEAP, and we should have a cup of them a day.  We eat way less than the longest-living Blue Zones populations.  A great way to improve your health on the shelf is to stock up on beans, peas, and lentils. 

 Yesterday we talked about the #1 longevity food...beans... and here's more to know.  The darker they are the better - black, red, and green are better than white.  Eat a cup a day.  Lentils cook QUICKLY, and of course, canned beans are ready to go!  Beans have been around FOREVER - researchers found bean seeds in Israel 10,000 years ago!  They have been a FOUNDATION food of the past and are making a strong comeback today!  There are delicious ways to add them to recipes - throw them in your smoothies every morning - blend them to thicken soups and dressings - eat sprouts from the produce section - have healthy breakfast burritos.  Adding a cup of beans to your diet each day is one of the cheapest, easiest, tastiest ways to improve your wealth of heart health, blood sugar levels, and good gut health.