Grow your own food Concentrated Plant-food Powders My Plant-based Recipes Fight the flames of inflammation and chronic disease using the power of food—Here’s how. You’ve probably heard of inflammation. It’s described as a “fire” that’s happening inside your body that can – when it goes on for too long (is chronic) in too big of an area of your body (widespread) – damage your health. Inflammation is involved in several chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, atherosclerosis, and even some neurological issues like depression and Alzheimer’s. Inflammation can damage normal, healthy tissues and cells. This damage then paves the way for more damage and, eventually, disease. That’s why we want to reduce chronic, widespread inflammation for better health. A recent study published in the journal Nutrition Reviews looked at several studies to better understand the link between inflammation and what we eat. How do we measure inflammation? Inflammation is measured in a similar way to cholesterol: using a blood test. These tests measure levels of inflammatory “biomarkers” in the blood to estimate the levels of inflammation in your entire body. A biomarker (biological marker) is something you can measure with a medical test that is a known link to
Grow your own food Concentrated Plant-food Powders My Plant-based Recipes Spring cleanse: Why & How? Spring brings a feeling of rejuvenation and renewal. We are ready to clean our surroundings and home, but don’t often think to set time aside to clean our internal environment, our body. A spring cleanse allows us to focus on self-care, lighten our diet and ease digestion, while supporting the body in eliminating toxin build up, restoring balance and increasing energy and vitality. In traditional Chinese medicine, spring is a time to focus on rebalancing the body, clearing out excess and supporting digestion, liver and gall bladder. It’s interesting that the spring plants and green shoots are typically used to support the liver. (Dandelion, nettles, mustard greens, arugula, cilantro, parsley) Every nutrient and every toxin that enters your body throughout your gastrointestinal tract, your respiratory tract, or skin, must pass through the portal vein into the liver before it enters the blood for general circulation. The liver is a complex organ and responsible for a myriad of functions including: Cleansing the blood, manages the chemicals in the blood, helps to remove bacteria from the blood Neutralizing and destroys poisons, disassembling chemical compounds for detoxification Metabolizing
Grow your own food Concentrated Plant-food Powders My Plant-based Recipes What is Food To You? What is food? Food is_______! How do you fill in the blank? The mantra I hear everywhere is Food is Fuel! Is it just calories and energy to fuel our body? Do you think of it as being cultural, personal, shameful, boring, always on your mind, only social, too much work or just necessary for survival? Everyone has a different relationship with food. Understanding that relationship is helpful especially when you feel stuck in your body or your relationship with food is not a healthy one. I think understanding what food does in the body can help us get into a better relationship with it. If food is just fuel, it doesn’t matter the quality of food we eat as long as it has the macronutrients: fat, carbohydrate and protein. If it’s more than just fuel, then quality matters. I believe food is information for cells and DNA. If you eat whole foods, your food is full of information. However, if you eat processed foods, there is minimal information available. The information contained in whole foods is in the form of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals)
Food is Medicine Recipes One Simple Change Grow your own food SUPport Immune Function with Food Immune System The role of the immune system is to detect a threat, summon help, and launch a counterattack on anything foreign in the body. An army of cells make up the immune system and patrol every part of the body for cells that are misbehaving or don’t belong. To be able to do the job well, the immune system needs support with specific foods. The immune system is made up of three parts: The barrier system includes the skin, mucous membranes around eyes, sinuses, reproductive organs, and the digestive tract which function to keep invaders out. The innate immune cells are the fast-acting fighting cells you’re born will that prevent infection and destroy invaders. The adaptive immune cells are highly specialized, learn through exposure to tag and identify invaders or pathogens and produces antibodies to recognize them and prevent pathogen growth. This is very specific to the individual. The barrier system can be supported through handwashing and staying hydrated with adequate water intake daily which enhances the mucosal layers. Incorporating fermented foods and probiotics add protective microorganisms to the mucous membranes, skin and