Hot Water with Lemon - Why it's a good thing

Every morning I start my day with a cup of hot water with lemon. It's important to get it in on an empty stomach so it can benefit the body to the fullest. I drink it because it aids digestion and cleans out the liver.  My girlfriend Carol drinks it because she says it helps with her allergies.  Diane Sawyer, yes THAT Diane Sawyer, says she drinks it because it keeps her complexion looking good. I guess we all have our reasons, but we all agree on one thing, we feel the difference when we don't have it. You actually become addicted to it, gotta have it. 

Think about what your poor liver does for you every day.  It is the hardest working organ in your body.  It removes all the junk and filters out impurities.
If you drink alcohol or take prescription medication it works even harder. How about helping it out a little by having that cup of lemon water first thing in the morning when it can go through the liver with no problem.  Ahhhhhhh.

Have you heard of the PH balance in your system?  Your system can go into an alkaline or acidic state based on what you eat. If you are too acidic it can cause health problems. Keeping your body in a slightly alkaline state is what you want for optimum health, and drinking lemon water helps to do that.
Lemon water also acts as a diuretic.  Flushing your system is a good thing to do to eliminate toxins.  The Lymph system is responsible for removing toxins in your body and they can get clogged. Drinking lemon water helps to keep them flushed so they can do their job. I am guessing that this is why Diane Sawyer says it effects her complexion. She has beautiful clear skin and I bet it is partly because of this routine.  Think about it. Flushing all the toxins from your body would result in great looking skin, it makes sense. You get that dew-y look.  When your system is clogged your skin does not look very good.  For no other reason than this I will continue to drink it.

Here are some other good things about Lemons.  Lemons are high in vitamin C.

Lemons have antibacterial and antiviral properties.  I use them around the house for cleaning.

Lemon slows down oxidation, which is why you can use them on apples or avocados to keep them from turning brown.

I use lots of Meyer lemons when they are in season in my cooking.  I have many favorite recipes that my friends ask for because the Meyer lemon is slightly sweeter than the others.

I hope you will give lemons a try in your home.

What's the deal with Chia Seeds

If you are like most people you have seen chia seeds in the news lately.  Several months ago was the first time I actually purchased some and started putting them in my oatmeal and yogurt. Since then I have done some research about them and found that they are outstanding little superfood to add to a healthy diet. They are what I call "loaded"!

Chia seeds contain mucilage, a type of soluable fiber, which makes them perfect to use as a nonfat thickener.  Used by Aztec warriors as a source of energy on long marches, chia seeds are high in protein, with all essential amino acids, alpha-linolenic acid and fiber. With six times more calcium than milk, and with greater amounts of high-quality protein than the one found in soy, Chia also helps strengthen muscles and bones.  Chia can absorb a whopping 12+ times its weight in water – flax seed only absorbs 6-8 times its weight. Chia´s insoluble fiber reduces digestive transit time and removes toxins as it passes through the digestive tract.

As I stated above, you can use them in your cereal, yogurt, smoothies.  If you would like to try something more, here is a recipe I found from Dr. Roizen at the Cleveland Clinic. Give them a try!


Lifestyle 180 Chia Muffins
"Chia is a great-tasting whole grain that makes foods moist by absorbing 10 times its weight in water and with its own healthy omega-3 fat."
Michael Roizen, MD, Chair, Wellness Institute, and Chief Wellness Officer, Cleveland Clinic

Ingredients

1 tablespoon ground chia seeds
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
15 ounces canned pumpkin
¼ cup canola oil
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ cup chopped walnuts
¼ cup water or no-sugar-added apple juice
1 cup fresh apple, peeled and grated (5-1/2 ounces by weight)
(grate apple on large-hole side of the grater)

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine the chia seeds, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, and salt. Mix with a wire whisk.
3. In a separate bowl combine pumpkin, canola oil, agave nectar, vanilla, walnuts, and water or juice. Mix, and then fold into dry ingredients.
4. Fold in the grated apple.
5. Scoop into paper cups in muffin tins and bake for 33 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.
6. Remove from muffin tin and cool on wire rack.

The Benefits of Avocado Oil: Living a Longer and Healthier Life?

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Rachel Korowitz

 

Could avocado oil fight aging and chronic disease? Christian Cortes-Rojo, a researcher at Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo in Morelia, Mexico, thinks it could prove to be a helpful tool in promoting health at the cellular level.


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The oil, which is similar to olive oil in fat composition, could help to shield our bodies from and reduce the adverse effects of free radicals, damaged cells that can cause everything from heart disease to Alzheimer’s disease. According to Cortés-Rojo, “avocado oil could eventually be referred to as the olive oil of the Americas.”

Free radicals are particles that are in need of an extra electron and to stabilize, will often obtain this electron by damaging stable particles. This can cause a chain reaction, creating many more free radicals out of previously stable particles. Though free radicals are caused by pollutants, cigarette smoke, radiation, and certain chemicals, they’re also produced by your immune system and are a natural part of the aging process.

Research has found that antioxidants are an effective way to stop these reactions and stabilize free radicals, minimizing the problems they can cause in the body. While many fruits and vegetables have excellent antioxidant properties, they don’t often penetrate far enough into cells to protect the powerhouses of cells, mitochondria.

“The problem is that the antioxidants in [vegetables and fruits like carrots and tomatoes] are unable to enter mitochondria, “says Cortés-Rojo. “So free radicals go on damaging mitochondria, causing energy production to stop and the cell to collapse and die. An analogy would be that, during an oil spill, if we cleaned only the spilled oil instead of fixing the perforation where oil is escaping, then the oil would go on spilling, and fish would die anyway."

Enter avocado oil. Through tests on yeast samples, Cortés-Rojo and his team have discovered that avocado oil has an unusual talent—it can reach the mitochondria and defend against free radical attacks. "We'll need to confirm that what has been observed in yeasts could occur in higher organisms, such as humans,” says Cortés-Rojo. However, the initial results allude to avocado oil’s exciting potential to protect against free-radical-related maladies, like chronic disease and cell aging.

You can cook with avocado oil exactly as you would with any other oil, if not with even more versatility – it has a high smoke point so it’s especially well suited to stir-frying, sautéing, and searing.

Reprinted with permission from The Institure for Integrative Nutrition.