It's a NEW YEAR! The Daniel Fast, Dry January, and improving your Healthspan

  

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.

 The hope and excitement of a new year often come with new goals centered around health.  We again want to mention the Daniel Fast and "Dry January" - this is how a whole food, plant-based people eat every day, but it is a big departure from the Standard American Diet.  For 21 days, the fast helps you detox and reduce addictions to sugar, salt, meat, alcohol, dairy, and processed foods.  And "Dry January" means giving up alcohol for the month.  You will experience the benefits of a stronger immune system, more energy, clearer thoughts, lower blood pressure and so much more.  Stop at either Fresh Healthy Cafe location to get copies of information and recipes and have a marvelous Meatless Monday everyone!

 We all want to feel younger and reversing the aging of our cells is scientifically possible - if our cells age slower, we will feel better longer.  Instead of talking about "lifespan" - the years we live, many are talking about "Healthspan" - the years we spend in good health, free of disease and disabilities.  Sadly, on average, we spend the last 11 years of our lives in poor health, dealing with issues that are for the most part lifestyle related.  Diabetes, heart disease, dementia, and other conditions are a result of the food choices we make and our sedentary lifestyle.  It's exciting to know that only 10 to 20% of those issues come from our genes.  Improve your Healthspan by getting the Plantation Project QuickStart Guide - it's perfect for a new year and your wealth of health, and it's free online!  Have a terrific Tuesday!

 

 Those retirement years, the "golden years", we are finding out are many times spent in poor health - on average 11 years of not being well - not too golden.  What we eat and how much we move are key drivers in our health, so much more so than our genes.  We can take responsibility for our health and our futures, one forkful and one step at a time!  It's a new year and a great time to turn our trajectories toward health!  The key to eating healthy is to ramp up fruits and vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds, and whole grains.  Check out the Daily Dozen at Nutritionfacts.org and get the app or the great eating guide - all for free!  You can start living longer and stronger, today!  Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

 We've been talking this week about improving our Healthspan - the years we feel great - and reducing inflammation through diet, exercise, and stress management is key.  Excessive inflammation accelerates cellular aging, and stress is like gasoline on the fire of aging.  Take de-stress breaks every two hours, meditate 20 minutes a day, find ways to reduce your pace and load of responsibility, and eat healthfully to combat the effects of stress.  Diet is the most critical factor in our health, and we can control every bit of it!  Don't worry about finding a list of superfoods - improve your health on the shelf by purchasing whole foods that are plant-based and drinking only water and green tea and giving away everything that isn't.  Sounds easy but it's a big shift for many of us.   A new year is a great time to make that shift!  Happy 2023 everyone!

 It's Fix-it Friday and we should eat 3 servings of beans each day to have optimal health, starting with one serving then working your way up to three is ideal - and lentils are more digestible than other beans so throw them into smoothies, toss on salads and add to soups.  Here's a health-packed Carrot Mushroom Red Lentil Soup from Be a Plant-Based Woman Warrior Cookbook:

 Ingredients:

1 large, chopped onion

6 chopped cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

pink of cayenne pepper

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

6 oz tomato paste

6 cups vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups dried red lentils

5 diced large carrots

3 cups chopped Swiss chard

16 ounces sliced mushrooms

2 T lemon juice

Zest of 1/2 lemon

1 T balsamic vinegar

 In a large pot, sauté the onion in 2 TBSP water until it's softened then stir in the garlic, cumin, chili powder, turmeric, cayenne pepper, and black pepper.  Add tomato paste, vegetable broth, lentils, and carrots, and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat for 10 minutes or until the lentils and carrots start to soften.  Add the Swiss chard and mushrooms and simmer for another 20 minutes.  Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and balsamic vinegar then garnish with cilantro and it's a nutrient-packed party in your mouth!

 Resources:  The Plantrition Project, NutritionFacts, Natural Awakenings, be a Plant-Based Woman Warrior Cookbook

 More from the past:

 In the winter it's common to think about how dry our skin is, and how dry the air is, but we need to always be mindful of how dry we are internal.  Boosting our hydration is important all year round because we Americans live in very dehydrated states - and it's highly related to what we eat and drink, not just that we don't drink enough water.  "Drink your food" is a great way to think of it - consider all that the standard American diet promotes salty, dry, crunchy, buttery, meaty, fried, cheesy - it is all dehydrating.  OF COURSE, if you eat fruits and vegetables and great smoothies made with them, you'll boost your hydration tremendously.   Have a marvelous Monday and always check out meatlessmonday.com for great recipes and tips!

 We encouraged everyone to think about better hydration through food choices yesterday, and you may know that Dr. Cheryl is a Natural Health Nutrition Counselor - if we can focus on eating foods in their natural state, nature is cool about making things perfectly right for us.  Roasting and frying things of course dehydrate them, but it also damages their healthy compounds, reduces their nutrients, and leads to the formation of toxins.  Foods become "denatured" when they are heated or roasted, especially when using oils.  And don't forget that many times salt is added in the process - even more dehydration!  Remember the "no SOS" rule - no added salt, oil, and sugar - to power up your plate, and ALWAYS make it plantified!  Have a terrific Tuesday!

 

 Yesterday we talked about not roasting foods - that it denatures them, which reduces their nutrients and adds toxins.  So, if roasting "downregulates" the nutrients, how can we "upregulate" them?  By soaking them and sprouting them!  Soaking nuts and seeds do many things - it increases their hydration, reduces acids, neutralizes enzyme inhibitors to produce more good enzymes, and increases the amounts of vitamins.  Sprouting grains and seeds is FUN for your family and adds the health benefits of germination- which breaks down starch, increases the nutrients, and makes them easier to digest.  You can order seed sprouting kits to live longer and live stronger.  Have a wonderful Wednesday everyone!

 More today about hydration - all week we shared information to help you eat hydrating foods, not dehydrate your foods, how to soak nuts and seeds and sprout grains and seeds, and of COURSE, it's important to drink water and limit all other beverages to green tea, milk thistle tea or other herbal teas.  When we drink is also important - drink water before meals and wait 2 hours after.  Our amazing bodies produce enzymes and gastric juices to perfectly digest, upload and super-power us with energy from the nutrients we consume.  Watering them down doesn't help.  Enjoy a wealth of health and have a great day!

 It's our last day of talking about the importance of hydration and how to not live in a chronically dehydrated state.  Yesterday we talked about drinking water and tea, and it's just as important to talk about what NOT to drink:  everything else.  Soda, juices, and anything with alcohol is not only dehydrating but harmful nutritionally in many ways.  Sodas are loaded with chemicals if they are dieting, and sugar plus chemicals if they aren't dieting.  Juices are denatured fruits that have lots of added sugar.  And alcohol is highly inflammatory to our cells, usually has lots of bad carbs and sugar, is a depressant, and is highly correlated to breast cancer and other cancers.  So, clear out and clean up the health on your shelf on this fantastic Friday by trying some great new teas and getting rid of everything else!

 

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.