No More Diets!

As the new year begins, most people say they want to lose weight and be healthier. Most people focus on counting calories or staying away from junk food, which is GREAT. About half of the population will lose weight that way. But something that most people don't realize is that if your hormone glands: adrenals, pituitary, thyroid or sugar hormones are out of whack, it can be almost impossible to lose weight and then keep it off. Which is why there are so many fad diets out there, one didn't work so we try another. Each system or organ in our body is fed by very specific vitamins and minerals, so we just have to feed them what they need.

The other part of weight loss is getting rid of toxins. There are toxins everywhere, and when we ingest them, our bodies pull them away from our organs and into our fat cells as a way of protecting our vital organs (heart, liver, lungs, etc.). Our body doesn't want to give up the fat because it wants to hold those toxins in there. Toxins can also cause a lot of chronic back and muscle pain. Here's a list of some toxins that we're exposed to everyday:

•Makeup, Shampoo, Perfume, Shaving cream, Anti-perspirants

•Household Cleaners, Cigarette Smoke, Exhaust

•Mercury Fillings, Arsenic in Brown Rice, Fluoride in toothpaste (damages the thyroid!)

•Aluminum (destroys wrapper around nerves and can cause Muscular Dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis, Rheumatoid Arthritis and even Cancer!)

•BPA in can linings- mimics hormones

•Aspartame (Nutrasweet, Equal), Splenda- has chlorine in it!

•Pesticides, Herbicides, Animal Growth Hormones, Antibiotics, GMO’s

•Adhesives, Paint Thinners, Paraffin Candles (Formaldehyde)

•Suntan lotions, Antibacterial soaps (Triclosan)

•Vaccinations (formaldehyde, mercury)

•Megavitamins (synthetic), medications

These toxins can also put a huge strain on the liver. A healthy liver is essential to the function of so many processes in the body. So if you're experiencing headaches, dry skin or hair, brown spots or bronzing of the skin, depression, problems focusing, or painful bowel movements, these are all symptoms of a liver in need of a little nutritional love.

The liver takes a beating daily through the things we eat and drink and breathe in. It goes through a mini-detox every night during stage 4 sleep (deep sleep), so while many people aren't eating the foods that specifically feed the liver, if they're not getting good or ENOUGH sleep, then they also aren't allowing it to go through its normal detoxification process every night.

Eating organic fruits and veggies is a really good way to love your liver (pesticides are chemicals and are very hard on it) but cleaning up your diet isn't always enough to reverse the damage that has been done. There are specific foods and herbs that help to detoxify and rebuild the liver. 

Detoxing is by far THE best way to cleanse the body of toxins, promote weight loss, lower cholesterol, reduce sugar cravings, and get that liver, pancreas, digestive tract, etc. working at a more optimum level. There are all kinds of detoxes out there, and it really depends on what you're looking for and what you're willing to commit to. Some people like just eating organic fruits, veggies, and chia seeds for a week or two, some people like juicing. The cleanse that I recommend with all of my clients involves whole food supplements that have things like Choline in them (helps lower cholesterol), Juniper Berry and Spanish Black Radish (detoxifies liver and digestive tract), brussel sprouts, kale, beets, and alfalfa. And with these and their focused diets, I've seen my clients lower their cholesterol by 30 points, improve their digestion, skin and hair health, reduce or completely get rid of any sugar cravings they were previously having, and lose up to 25 pounds! I even had one patients mis-diagnosed Lupus disappear. It's amazing what the body can do when we love it a little. 

A cleanse is the first step of many down the road to a healthier, happier and pain-free life. If anyone would like to do a detox, attend a detox class or would like more information about anything, feel free to ask. :)