Adding Value to Your Health

Question 1:  What are 5 things you could do to add value to your health right now? 

Question 2:  What are 5 things that afflict your health on a daily basis?

You’ll be surprised to know that of the two questions, most people find it far easier to tell you what is wrong with their health than it is to tell you what they would do about it.  First and foremost, people don’t realize that the power to change their health for the better is really in their own hands.  Instead, they believe or are led to believe that their aches and pains, dis-ease and disease, tiredness and weakness are merely a sign of age, hereditary, genetics, or just plain bad luck.

Is this true?  Absolutely not.

Let’s take the automatic thoughts and slow it down for a few minutes to really think of what we believe and why we believe it.  For every 10 people that think they experience painful joints because their parents or grandparents had arthritis, there are 10 more who have relieved themselves of their arthritic symptoms and reversed the dis-ease altogether through nutrition and lifestyle practices that add value to their health.  For every 25 people that have onset diabetes and are told they have to live with it for the rest of their lives on potentially harmful medication, there are 25 more that overcome it and do so easily through nutrition and lifestyle practices that add valueto their health.

Take a look at the young teens and adults growing up in today’s drive-thru generation.   The most common nutrition and lifestyle edicts that they revolve around are: not cooking, eating out (mostly fast foods, sugar, and stimulants), and are increasingly seeking medical attention for everything from pimples to PMS.  Instead of being taught to stop, look, and listen to their bodies, they run, hide, and turn-off their innate intelligence.

Your body is designed to tell you everything it needs to heal itself through the voice we keep trying to beat down with prescribed drugs, caffeine, alcohol, sugar, or nutritionally void foods.  What is that voice?  SYMPTOMS. Without it, we’d never know what was wrong.  If you feel overly tired every time you eat a large, rich and heavy meal, maybe your body is asking you to add a hearty organic salad to the start of that meal to balance the nutrients that feed your energy levels.   (It will also help you to feel satisfied sooner and lessen the portions of that heavy meal that you need to feel full)  If you experience leg cramps often during sleep, maybe your body is dehydrated and needs more water (and less coffee, or alcohol) throughout the day.  A lot can be learned simply from listening to those symptoms in order to get to the core of what your body is telling you.

Adding value to your health begins with listening and making simple choices that positively affect your health.  Choosing organic veggies grown at a local farm over commercially produced veggies grown in another country, choosing to bake cookies over the store bought ones that are full of ingredients that are many times hard to pronounce, and adding time with family to your day all contribute to good overall health.  It is also important to receive the right kind of support that will help you understand what those messages mean and what the best options are so that you’re not a product of “bad luck” but a recipient of Good Health!

Cozy Up with Kale Soup

Prep/Cook Time: 1 Hrs                                                                        

Servings: 6-8

 

INGREDIENTS: Always use organic when possible.

• 1-2 Bunches of Fresh Kale (any variety is fine)
• 8-10 Cups Soup Stock (Organic, Free-range Chicken or Vegetable)
• 1 Medium Red or Yellow Onion (cut into 1-inch squared pieces)
• 4 Celery Stalks (diced)
• 4 Large Carrots (diced)
• 4-6 Large Garlic Cloves (diced)
• 4-6 Fresh or dried Basil Leaves
• 1 Sprig Fresh or dried Rosemary
• Sea Salt and Fresh Cracked Pepper to taste

 

Directions:

1. Prep all of your vegetables.
2. In a large soup pot, add in all the above ingredients and bring to boil over medium heat. (The slower you cook it the better)
3. Cover and let simmer at low temperature for 20-30 minutes.

Note: You can never use too many ingredients in soups.  If you put too much you can always add water and spices to stretch it back out to soup consistency.  Optional ingredients: Barley, squash, chickpeas or other beans and legumes, your favourite fresh herbs, fresh lemon juice and/or fresh grated ginger root for a different flavor.

 

You Are What You Eat!

(A Short Bio on the Nutrient Density of the Main Ingredients)

Kale:                Researchers now identify over 45 different antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits that provide excellent support of your body’s natural detox system.  Good to include kale on a regular basis in your diet from the cruciferous family.  Steamed kale enhances its health promoting qualities, especially for those who need to lower their bad cholesterol.  Kaempferol and quercitin are excellent forms of antioxidants that help to relieve oxidative stress that may lead to more serious health problems including cancer.  Excellent source of Vitamin K, A & C, good sources of manganese, fibre, copper, tryptophan calcium, vitamin B6, potassium, and iron.  You will also find magnesium, vitamin E, omega 3 fatty acids, vitamin B2 & B1 & B3, folate, phosphorous and protein in Kale.

 

Soup Stock:    Contains calcium, magnesium, collagen, glycine, gelatin, phosphorous, silicon and many trace minerals that improve immune function, energy and bone density.  It also aids in digestion and gut health and helps to, not only deliver, but also utilise important nutrients that your body needs.  Broths are especially helpful for satisfying your body’s many cravings and are a superior way for people with fatigue, thyroid or adrenal problems to absorb minerals and regain strengthening energy.