| You are probably receiving numerous emails, FB posts and …regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) health crisis. As someone who is passionate about health and wellness — I wanted to share my 2 cents to add to your own well being during this challenging time. If ever there’s been a time where eating nutrient dense whole plant foods, using non-toxic products, moving our bodies (we can at least go for walks in the fresh air), smiling and LAUGHING, staying connected while “social distancing” AND, meditating to become aware and embrace our fear based thoughts it IS NOW. These small steps toward healthy living make us feel good and can improve our immune system to help us move through this crisis. If we come into contact with the coronavirus (or any virus or bacteria) it doesn’t mean we’ll get sick (yes, we could carry the virus and we need to be aware of that). When we set up our immune system to be strong, we have a better chance to fight off these viruses and health issues. We’ve been told to wash our hands more, avoid public places, not shake hands and hope for the best. Is this ALL we can do? NO! Not at all! We have the power to do more and it starts in the day to day small “baby steps” we can take. How do we give our immune system the best fighting chance to stay strong? When we remember to center our choices and actions on my 3 pillars of wellness: I. Nourish: We all have so much more power over our health and how we feel by starting to make choices about what we put on the end of our fork and into our mouth! Even Hippocrates said, “Food is thy medicine, and they medicine is they food”. Currently while we are home more, how can we make more nurturing snacks and meals? We have lots of opportunities to CROWD OUT the bad stuff — i.e. drink more lemon and lime water (SO good for your liver). Check out my website for some healthy immune boosting and EASY recipes. What else can we do to NOURISH ourselves: 1. Eat the rainbow daily of both raw & cooked veggies. Eat all the colors because the different colors signifies all the different kind of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants & phytonutrients. We need a variety! Check out Dr. Greger’s book: “How not to Die” (cookbook too!) for more info. 2. Avoid inflammatory foods that hurt your immune system and make it go haywire. Animal products, dairy, eggs, processed foods, any & all added oils, added sodium, refined sugar, and alcohol are NOT healthy, pro-inflammatory, and lower your immune systems’ effectiveness when you need it most. Crowd out these with: more herbs, spices, superfoods, herbal teas, plant based foods. 3. Eat cruciferous veggies because they give you TWICE the immune protection as regular veggies. Cruciferous vegetables include broccoli, cauliflower, kale, arugula, bok choy, brussels sprouts, cabbage, red cabbage, collard/turnip/mustard greens, turnips, watercress, radishes & horseradish. 4. Eat sprouts because they are low in calories and they are a rich source of nutrients and beneficial plant compounds. The list goes on about the health benefits of sprouts — however, here are some potential risk so read up on sprouts here (to avoid the risks — grow your own — super easy with a sprout kit!). Contact me for more info on this. 5. EAT the allium family of vegetables (onions, garlic, leeks, shallots, chives, & scallions) these are anti-inflammatory, anticancer, & antioxidant foods. Maybe they really do keep away “vampires”… 6. Feed your gut bacteria! How? Consume lots of beans & whole grains that are high in fiber so that your good gut bacteria get fed and crowd out the bad bacteria. Bad gut bacteria causes inflammation and we do not want that! 7. Buy some mushrooms and eat them because they help improve the function and activity of Natural Killer T Cells which has the job of detecting damaged or infected cells, destroying and removing them. That’s why AIDS is so deadly, because that virus attacks and kills Natural Killer T-Cells, effectively destroying the bodies immune system. Make sure you always cook mushrooms to be on the safe side because some raw varieties have toxic properties. If you don’t think you like mushrooms, here’s a tip: try chopping them up very fine and adding them to a soup or bean burger patty. You probably won’t even notice them! 8. Load up on fruit because it is nature’s healthy candy and LOADED with vitamins (including our immunity friend vitamin C), antioxidants & phytonutrients, which we need more than ever NOW! Make sure to include oranges, plums, berries, cherries, and pomegranates as much as possible. Yummy alone or top on granola, oatmeal, salad or… 9. Start your day setting up your LIVER to do its job right: Here’s my favorite LIVER CLEANSING Ritual: For better digestion and for your liver – ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ORGANS, try Anthony William’s Morning Liver Cleanse: -Drink 16 oz of room temperature or warm lemon or lime water upon waking; -Drink 16 oz celery juice – cucumber can substitute; – Don’t eat fats (nuts, animal protein, nut butters,) until after lunch. 10. Reduce OR TAKE OUT alcohol (not the rubbing kind for hand sanitizer!). I know a cocktail, class of wine or…can relax us…but can we do something else “to take the edge off” that is better for us — ESP NOW? YES! Try a mocktail by adding seltzer water to Twisted Alchemy (local Wilmette peeps product!). If you want a cocktail — drink in moderation and add your favorite liquor to these yummy juices. Twisted Alchemy is available at SHARE in Wilmette as well as online. Regarding nourishing your minds and souls, we can be firm about what we read, watch on TV and who we spend out time with in person and on social media so that we feel our spirit LIGHT UP — not diminish and thus leave us anxious. II. MOVE: If we can’t go to the gym — we can find ways to exercise — MOVE, take posture breaks, create positive energy within our bodies at home. And, we can does this with community too: is there a neighbor or friend/family near by who you could walk with? Contact me for more information on more ideas on how you can move your body that makes your spirit sour. III. MEDITATE/MINDFULNESS: When we go to the gym or workout at home, we exercise our muscles (in my classes you create strength for your brain AND spirit too!). Think of mindfulness as your mind’s “gym” and meditation is the practice to keep your mind strong. There are many meditations — contact me and we’ll find what works for you! Once you have a meditation practice — your life is your gym/mindfulness playground and your health and wellness will transform. We will get through this crisis- and I believe like many other collective and individual crisis — we will not just survive this but we will thrive. Need something to do at home and some an incentive to add to your well-being? I will provide a FREE hand sanitizer (while supplies last) to you if you de-clutter and take out at least ONE toxic self care and/or home product and try a clean self care product from my Beautycounter; check out my site. And/or do you want to add more healthy habits into your life — contact me for a complimentary health coaching session (over the phone!)– you won’t regret it. “May you be well. May you be happy. May you be peaceful.” To our health and beauty; mind. body. soul. Nourish. Move. Meditate. xo, Christine |
