Zen Blog

Last week we talked about how to cleanse your body from Heavy Metals, a major precursor to illness and disease. Next week will be a "How To" On deep liver cleansing, to heal disease in your body. I will share how I healed over 8 autoimmune illnesses in my body ...   This weeks topic will be on "Everyday Cleansing" ...things we can do every day to keep our bodies healthy and happy. ________________________________ LEMON WATER The first thing I like to add to my daily routine for cleansing is juicing 1/2-1 lemon in water every morning and drinking it first thing, then wait 20-30 minutes till you eat or drink anything else. It helps you to rehydrate, and cleanses toxins out your liver.  Lemon juice activates the water to latch onto toxins and to help flush them out of your system, much better than just water alone.  _______________________________ TEA The second thing for daily detoxing is tea. Tea tastes great, gives you a break from drinking water, and has amazing health benefits! MY FAVORITE CLEANSING TEAS  DANDELION Clears organs of toxic heavy metals, DDT and other poisons Dandelion Flower- Cleanse stomach, intestinal tract, gallbladder, bladder, lungs, uterus and heart Dandelion Leaves- Purifies blood, helps with circulatory issues, cleanses lymphatic system Dandelion Stem- Cleanse spleen, liver, and brain Dandelion Root-  Deeper cleanser for spleen, liver and brain; forces the organs to purge toxins on a deeper level for a more intense detoxification Helps you to stay healthy Anti-viral Good for the prostate Full of vital nutrients and vitamins HELPS WITH Acid reflux Weight gain Inflamed gallbladder Sluggish liver Acne Migrains UTI's Blood and digestive disorders ALS and much more...   HIBISCUS Helps rejuvenate the liver, bringing it back to life by cleaning mucus off cell membrane walls and improving the liver’s ability to perform its responsibilities. This herb is also a gallbladder rejuvenator—it cleans off gallbladder walls—and improves the liver’s personalized immune system. HELPS WITH Boosts immune system  Fights infections Antioxidants within help cardiac function and lower cholesterol  Lowers blood pressure Prevents bladder infections Relieves constipation Weight loss Depression Sleep disorders Hypertension Mood swings Helps with liver disorders Fatty Liver Jaundice    _______________________________ EAT YOUR FRUITS AND VEGETABLES The next thing in having a daily healthy cleansing diet is eating lots of fruits and vegetables. I talked about this in a previous Blog Mom was right Eat Your Fruits and Vegetables. At least 1/3 of every meal should be a fruit or veggie, you can even work up to 1/2 if you would like. These foods contain live nutrients that give your body real nutrition, power and energy; and help to cleanse and heal your body, instead of eating the dead or inert ingredients in a lot of the foods that we eat today. These other foods just fill you up, but don't give your body a lot of the true nutrition like fruits and vegetables do to keep us healthy. Enjoy your fruit! Our bodies, liver and brain run on glucose, the sugar that is in fruit. As an example, having a banana or mango right before bed gives your brain the glucose it needs to help you have a better nights sleep.  These fruits actually balance blood sugar: Apples Bananas Berries Dates Lemons Melons Pomegranates Artichokes Sprouts We have developed a fruit fear, with diet fads such as KETO, and other fads that go in and out of style. God infused these delicious delicacies with some of the most powerful healing nutrients on the planet....SO ENJOY! _______________________________________ LOWER FAT INTAKE To cleanse your liver you need to keep the fat levels in your blood low. If your blood has too much fat in it, it has lower levels of oxygen in it. This puts your liver in bile production mode to process these fats and thin the blood so your oxygen levels can go back up again. We need oxygen in our blood to feed our organs, especially our brain and heart....!!! When we eat fat, it changes our liver function from removing toxins out of the liver to producing bile to digest the fats that are being ingested.  If we are continually eating fat then our liver never has a chance to cleanse and release toxins properly... Therefore getting stagnant, fatty and sluggish! I recommend if you want to focus on gently cleansing; to not eat any fat until the afternoon or evening. If you can at least go fat free for breakfast that will go a long ways to helping your body detox. Have a fruit and greens smoothie for breakfast, a big salad for lunch, and a regular dinner.   _____________________________________ CONCLUSION There is a lot you can do if you know what to watch out for, and how best to support your body. You can do a lot for your body if you even do a gradual cleanse, like I have described above. Really....It's just a healthy way to eat and would be beneficial to have this as your main way of eating.  It just may take a little time to re-focus on how you create your meals, but once you get the hang of it, it is not hard. THE KEY IS PLANNING!! Make a weekly menu when you go shopping with yummy healthy recipes. Then you won't get stuck in the I'M HANGRY situation and eat whatever is fast and convenient. It just takes a few minutes to get it together, but having a menu will be a major help for you throughout the week to stay healthy and have the variety you want. I have purchased some great cookbooks, and I choose 1 per week to get my recipes out of and then switch throughout my cookbooks weekly. Sure we all need to cheat here and there, just enjoy when those special times are around, and then get right back to it.   If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment below!   HIBISCUS LEMONADE One of my favorite drinks to have while cleansing. Make up a pitcher and have it on hand to drink throughout the day.   4 C        Water -Divided 2 tsp       Hibiscus tea or 2 tea bags 1/2 C     Fresh Squeezed Lemon Juice 4 TBL    Raw Honey   Boil 1 cup of the water and add the Hibiscus tea, steep 10-15 minutes. Strain and place in the fridge to cool. In a bowl mix the remaining water, lemon juice and honey until dissolved. Mix two together when hibiscus mixture has cooled.      

Spring and fall are the best times to cleanse your body. As the seasons change our bodies naturally want to purge to get ready for the hottest or coldest seasons respectively. So, now is a perfect time to help these natural inclinations along.   How do we properly cleanse our body? I will be Blogging on a series that will walk you through how to cleanse your body... ...through detoxing heavy metals, to everyday cleansing, to a full on deep cleanse to really help heal your body from health issues. We will start with cleansing from heavy metals; because we all have them and they can be the base of many health issues we experience. We are continually exposed to heavy metals from our environment and are even born with high levels of heavy metals that have been passed down to us from generational exposure.   Metals do not leave the system unless they are forcefully cleared out!     Contributors to Heavy Metal Toxicity Pesticides Herbicides Cosmetics Petroleum products Medications Fillings Food Water Air pollution Chemically lined non-stick pans Food containers Old Thermometers Lead based paint   Some of the symptoms we see from heavy metal toxicity are: Anxiety Depression ADHD Brain fog Migraines Insomnia SIBO Alzheimer's Memory Loss Damage to Neurotransmitters Bacterial over growth Shingles Metal taste in mouth and much more...   Heavy metals store themselves in every tissue and system in the body.    Cleansing metals out of our bodies is paramount... as latent or active viruses in our body like Epstein Barr virus and Strep feed on heavy metals as well as other things (to be discussed later) which cause most of the illnesses in our body today.     5 Heavy Metal Detoxifying Foods that will pick up and clear out heavy metals   Hawaiian Spirulina ( Clears HM in brain, central nervous system, liver) Barley Grass Juice Powder ( Clears HM in Intestinal track, pancreas, spleen, thyroid and reproductive system) Cilantro ( Clears deep hard to reach places, mercury of past generational exposure) Wild Blueberries ( Most powerful way to get rid of HM in the body and brain, they also repair the tissue where the HM were and replaces with antioxidants, for hard to reach deep places, picks up where others leave off) Atlantic Dulse ( If you are afraid of it having HM from the ocean, Dulse will remove more HM than it can ever give you, because it doesn't let go, absorbs like a sponge, for deep generational exposure to HM)     Here are some of our favorite recommendations to clear heavy metals. First thing when you wake up, squeeze 1/2-1 lemon in water and drink before anything else. Wait a 1/2 an hour before eating or drinking anything else. OR drink 12-16 oz freshly juiced celery juice, and wait 30 minutes as well Have a cup of dandelion or hibiscus tea with breakfast. My Favorite!! A heavy metal detox smoothie for breakfast SMOOTHIE 1-2c Blueberries 2 bananas OR 1 banana and 3/4c mango 1c Cilantro 1 tsp Barley grass juice powder 1 tsp Hawaiian Spirulina 1 TBL Atlantic Dulse 1 Orange juiced 1/2-1c water or coconut water- if needed Ice if desired   Other Things that can support your body in clearing Heavy Metals are to reduce or eliminate your intake of: Eggs (feeds viruses, fat) Dairy- milk, butter, yogurt etc. (another viral feeder, fat) Gluten if possible (another viral feeder) Lower intake of fat- nuts, seeds, meat, etc- lowering blood fat aids you in releasing the heavy metals   You may feel your body detoxing... You may feel detox symptoms as you start clearing the heavy metals out of your body. This is good, so push through it, as your body will be healthier and cleaner after the symptoms pass.   Some detox symptoms you may experience are;  headaches metal taste fatigue body aches   But know that it will just last a while and that your body will be healthier after you do it. So don't stop, doing the detox, you have to push through it...   You can keep doing this until you feel that the symptoms you have been experiencing are gone, or as long as you like.   I will blog next on what you can do everyday to detox your body in a gentle manner.    If you want to learn more about detoxification and healing your liver which is one of the main areas to cleanse for healing, this is a wonderful resource to help you. Cleanse to Heal Book

There are many health benefits to the mango, but one that most people don't know about is that it is an amazing sleep aid! When you eat a mango before bed the phytochemicals and amino acids such as glycine, glutamine and cystine combined with the glucose and fructose travel to your brain and quickly restore depleted neurotransmitters, which allow most people suffering with insomnia get a good night sleep! They also have many other health benefits: Stress relief Protection against viruses Support the skin Help to prevent skin cancer Reverse Hypoglycemia & Diabetes Calms central nervous system Alleviates constipation Helps with exercise recovery Mangoes are a great addition to your diet if you suffer from: Insomnia ADHD Anxiety Depression Stomach Cancer Seasonal Affective Disorder- SAD Adrenal Fatigue Colitis Fatty Liver Diabetes Alzheimer's & Dementia PTSD Hashimoto's Thyroiditis and much more...   HOW TO EAT For noticeable results, eat 2 mangoes a day To help with sleep eat a full mango before bed Eaten with greens or celery will give you the opposite effect, giving you a kick of energy. Eat a mango before you exercise to help with recovery See my amazing Dinner Recipe Below!!!!   WE MADE IT EASY FOR YOU! If you want to learn more about the amazing benefits of the mango and other amazing foods, you can order this book with the link below. This book has been a staple in my diet, helping me heal my body from over 8 auto-immune issues.  I eat mangoes to help me with insomnia and my thyroid. I can definitely feel a difference in my sleep if I eat a mango before bed!         Here is one of my favorite healthy dinners; that will help you sleep great and tastes great!!     Curried Mango Chicken 2 Servings   1 1/4 LBS     Chicken breast- cut into cubes 1-2 TBL        Coconut oil 1                   Large Onion 1                   Red bell pepper-diced (opt) 2                   Cloves Garlic- crushed 1 TBL           Fresh Ginger- grated 1-2 tsp         Curry Powder 1-2 tsp         Sea Salt 1-2 TBL       Apple cider vinegar 1 1/2 TBL    Raw Honey 1/2 C           Coconut milk 2                  Mangoes-peeled and cubed 2-3 C           Frozen "Riced" Cauliflower   Instructions: Heat oil over medium heat and add onions stirring occasionally, cook until soft, 5-10 minutes. Add optional red pepper, garlic, ginger, curry and salt, cook 5 minutes. Add vinegar, coconut milk and mango. Boil briefly. Add chicken pieces and cauliflower rice, cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through and cauli rice is tender. Garnish with cilantro or cashews   Enjoy!!! AND have a great nights sleep! Comment and let us know what you think of the recipe and if you see any results with eating mangoes!   

Most of the American Diet is made up of dead food... Think about it... Most of our diet is made out of foods that sit for a long time or are processed, and as a result don't have any healing benefits. Flour Pasta Bread Meat Fat These foods may make you full, but they don't give your body any life giving or healing properties.   Eating better can... Give you better health Help you loose weight And even heal autoimmune disease and cancer! Through food, I have healed over 8 auto-immune issues in my body, so I know first hand the power of food!!     How many of us struggle to eat the recommended 3 or even 1 serving of fruit and vegetables a day? AARP says: "In a nationwide analysis of fruit and vegetable consumption, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that 12 percent of adults consume the recommended daily amounts of fruit and 9 percent for vegetables." "1.5 to 2 cups of fruits and 2 to 3 cups of vegetables per day. Higher intake of fruits and vegetables is associated with reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers and obesity." These are the only foods that are "living foods" and actually have true health and healing properties.   What do I mean by living food?  They have energy, life and vitality in them. They are plants and therefore are growing, living things. They have vitamins, minerals, amino acids, phytochemicals and so many other components that are the true remedy for improving our health and healing our bodies.   So why don't we eat enough of our fruits and veggies? Don't know how to cook them? Takes too much time? Don't like veggies? Comment below about your healthy eating food struggles!!! And we can work on them together! Once you learn how to prepare and plan your diet, you can make some wonderful healthy dishes that even your picky eaters will love. I know, I got one... ;)   What Are The Quick and Easy Basics? FIRST    The first thing to start with is increase your fruit and vegetable content, by having at least 1/3rd of your meal be either a fruit or vegetable or combination of both. Then you can gradually work towards having 1/2 of your meal be fruit or veggies as you learn how to work them in and cook with them. If you can concentrate on that as a meal rule, you will be well on your way to improving your health. Enjoy the colors and tastes that fruit and veggies can give your meals! SECOND  Lower your fat content. If you are eating fat at every meal you are taking your liver out of clearing and detox mode, to fat digestion mode. If your liver is in constant fat digestion mode, it will never have a chance to clean, clear and detoxify; therefore toxins will be building up continually in your liver, which then lead to most of our health issues! One rule of thumb is have your fat in the later half of the day, that way you can spend the whole early part of the day giving your liver time to detox. Here is a picture of my breakfast; I have either a large smoothie or a massive bowl of fruit....I mean massive... ;) THIRD    First thing every morning, have a glass of fresh squeezed lemon juiced (1/2 or a whole lemon) in 16oz of water and then wait 20-30 minutes before eating or drinking other things. This helps to give your liver a big detox boost!   Keep these main 3 things going and you will be well on your way to having a healthier you!    MORE TO COME... I will be blogging more in the future on how to eat healthy and cleanse your liver, with a few included recipes!!! And, I will also have some specific blogs on eating to overcome major health issues, like what I have done... Sneek Preview: I have been eating a diet of 70-75% fruits and vegetables for over 19 months, and have healed myself from over 8 auto-immune disorders. Chronic Constipation Hair Loss Chronic Fatigue Candida Interstitial Cystitis of the bladder Chronic Insomnia Adrenal Failure Tinnitus Eye Floaters Skin tags and lesions Hypothyroidism and overall immune strengthening are what I have left I have healed over 8 autoimmune issues, lost almost 30 pounds and have more energy than I've had in 10 years! It is a short adjustment, but well worth the results!! I have also taken out a few foods that block the healing process, but more on that later....Stay Tuned!!   Blessings for your future health, Kelle      

Here is a video on how to make the bestest most yummiest, before bed beverage. It really does help you have a better nights sleep!! Full of natural, healthy ingredients to help with insomnia, anxiety, depression and more. LOOK BELOW VIDEO FOR MORE INFO AND THE RECIPE     Best Before Bed Beverage   This drink is an amazing combination of tasty seasonings that do a lot for your body. Some of the many things it helps with are; supports your thyroid, gets rid of candida, helps memory and cognition, helps weight loss, helps balance blood sugar, boosts your immune system, anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety, anti-cancer, reduces cholesterol and best of all it HELPS YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT! It is very tasty too! I include a couple of optional ingredients that you can add to make it taste the way you want, even a chocolaty mocha-chino. Yum yum! This isn't a drink you want to miss and is especially comforting during colder weather. When it's warmer I will share my awesome coconut almond ice cream, that can take it's place.   Best Before Bed Beverage Serves: 1               Ingredients: 8-10 oz        Coconut or Almond Milk, Water, Lemon Balm Tea  1 TBL           RAW Honey 1/8 tsp          Nutmeg- Ground 1/8-1/4 tsp   Cinnamon  1/4-1/2 tsp   Turmeric Powder A FEW SHAKES OF EACH - TO TASTE:                     Ginger Powder                     Cardamom Powder                        Cloves- Ground        Optional, use any or all: 1-2 TBL            Coconut milk/cream- If you chose the water or tea 1 TBL               Raw Cacao powder (makes it hot-chocolaty) 1-2 TBL            Cafix beverage (a caffeine free, coffee-like tasting beverage for more flavor)   Heat the liquid of choice and then add the honey and other ingredients. Blend all ingredients with a blender or hand blender for 20-30 seconds. Then totally enjoy and sleep amazingly!   DON'T KNOW WHERE TO GET THE INGREDIENTS? LOOK BELOW     Cafix All Natural Instant Beverage - 7.05 oz  This link will take you to the Vitacost website where you can purchase the item. Thank you for using this link, as I do receive a commission for recommending their awesome product!!         NOW Foods Organic Raw Cacao Powder - 12 oz This link will take you to the Vitacost website where you can purchase the item. Thank you for using this link, as I do receive a commission for recommending their awesome product!!        Spicy World Authentic Foods Turmeric Powder - 14 oz This link will take you to the Vitacost website where you can purchase the item. Thank you for using this link, as I do receive a commission for recommending their awesome product!!    If you have a medical condition or take any medication, consult with a doctor before trying this supplement.