The newsletter which curates & delivers the best nutritional advice, fitness hacks & holistic health strategies to your inbox every week.

🍏 FOOD HACK

‘Processed Food’ (Or… The Greatest Change In Food, Biggest Cause Of Disease & How To Improve Your Nutrition)

A small survey to start;

‘Do you agree that the quality of food has changed dramatically over the last 50-100 years?'

If you're like most people, you'll likely agree with that statement...

Indeed, food has changed & unfortunately, it’s not in a good way…

What we eat has become increasingly 'processed' & less 'natural'...

Now, what are the consequences of this?

Well, over the past 50 years, the health of Americans has gotten worse…

Today, 71% of Americans are overweight or obese — not 66%, which was reported just five years ago.

That’s right, a staggering 100 million men, women & children in America are overweight or worse.

However, it's not the United States...

Almost all developed countries in the world are following the same trajectory of increasing obesity, health problems (including: diabetes, cancer, heart disease, etc) & more...

Now back to one of the main causes of this: 'processed food'...

And a good place to start might be the amazingly enlightening paper by medical doctor Joel Fuhrman, published in The American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, in which he goes through the hidden dangers of fast & processed food...

He describes the Standard American diet (SAD), showing that…

…which leaves less than 10% for fresh produce (fruits & vegetables; like our parent’s or grandparents’ diet likely consisted of)...

But even this number (‘10%’) is somewhat misleading...

It's actually likely more like 5% because it includes French fries & ketchup… (e.g. ketchup is still considered 'one of your 5 a day' because it’s from tomatoes, even though it's highly processed!)

So, that's the world we live in ladies & gentlemen…

Without getting into detail (like we'll do in future issues of the newsletter), what might the solution be?

Well, it's about changing that ratio back...

Action step: Cut down the % of your diet that is 'processed food' (including sugary breakfast cereals, cheese, most breads... savoury snacks, such as crisps, sausage rolls, pies & pasties, cakes, biscuits, the list goes on)...

…& instead start to gradually increase the % of non-processed, natural foods (like fresh produce, fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, etc) that you consume on a daily basis.

You don't have to be perfect, just aim for small improvements every single day.

🌿 HEALTHY RECIPE + DETOX PROTOCOL

Liver Detox Juice Recipe

The liver is the largest digestive gland in the body, playing a major role in metabolism & has more than 500 vital functions!

These include detoxification, synthesis of proteins and hormones, storing glycogen, as well as holding a reservoir of blood…

On a very basic level, the liver is your fat burning organ with its other primary function being a filter for toxins.

Now, if the liver is focused on breaking down synthetic chemicals, do you think it is busy breaking down fat?

Your body is built for survival & so breaking down toxins that could kill you is going to take precedence over breaking down fat.

A lot of people claim to have a 'slow metabolism'; however, no animal in the wild that has never been exposed to synthetic chemicals has ever had a 'slow metabolism' — it's a man-made phenomenon.

Common sense points to the fact that we have created 'slow metabolisms' and now we have to turn back to nature to right the wrongs.

Back to the liver... it's an incredible organ and taking care of it is a must if you want to stay healthy & have a 'fast metabolism'.

It is found that reduction-oxidation (redox) represents a crucial back — grounds of various liver disorders.

The answer to this is our good friend's antioxidants, with green leafy vegetables being packed to the brim with such things!

The flavonoid saponarin, which gives leaves their green colour, was shown to demonstrate powerful antioxidant potencies with therapeutic effects on various cancers and inflammations.

(there is the saying in traditional Chinese medicine: "the dark-green coloured falls into liver meridian.")

So, here we have our ‘Liver Detox Juice’ recipe which contains a ton of dark green vegetables & a little citrus & spice, that not only bring their own antioxidants to the table, but help things taste better too...

This is perfect to have the day after a big party or overindulgence of any kind… or as part of a ‘full liver detox program’...

Here's the recipe, enjoy;

• Serves: 2-4 servings

• Time: 10 minutes

• Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 1 cucumber

• 200g french beans

• 200g spinach

• 1 lime

• 6 fresh oregano leaves

• 1 thumb fresh turmeric

• 1 thumb fresh ginger

Method / Steps:

1. Thoroughly wash all ingredients

2. Roughly chop cucumber, spinach and oregano into juicable pieces

3. Top and tail french beans, cutting in half ready for juicing

4. Peel and roughly slice turmeric, lime and ginger

5. Place all ingredients in juicer and juice!

6. Serve and enjoy

🫁 BREATHWORK PROTOCOL

‘4-7 Breathing Pattern’ (Or… A Simple Way To Dissolve Anxiety, Release Stress & Tune Into Calmness)

Speaking of relaxation... a great practice is breathwork.

Specifically, breathwork techniques that have an extended out-breath.

Why?

Well, it's all based on how your autonomic system in your body works... but essentially, what an extended out-breath does it is de-activates your nervous system, helping you to reduce fear / anxiety / nervousness / stress, etc...

...& instead helping you to step into deep states of calm & relaxation instead.

One technique you can start with is what's known as the '4-7 Breathing Pattern'

How to perform the "4-7 Breathing Pattern:

• Breath in for 4 seconds, in through your nose (keeping your mouth relaxed).

• Breath out slowly (out through your mouth) for 7 seconds.

note: it doesn't really matter too much if it's 7 seconds, or 6 or 8 or 12 - the key is just making that out-breath longer.

One alternative for example to this is the 4-7-8 Breathing Pattern, where you:

• Breath in for 4 seconds, in through your nose (also keeping your mouth relaxed).

• Hold your breath for 7 seconds

• Breath out slowly (out through your mouth also) for 8 seconds.

Give these basic breathing techniques a try now :-)

And if you’d like to learn more about how to apply the timeless practice of breathwork specifically to create visible, measurable & life-transforming changes to your health, fitness & performance…

…including healing asthma or allergies, aiding permanent fat loss, preventing disease, reversing aging & extending your lifespan…

…check out our recently released course on the topic called:

‘Breath & Body’

💭 QUOTE(S) OF THE WEEK

Pretty profound, don't you think?

There's another similar quote we love which goes like this:

In both quotes, the idea is the same: when you think you don't have the 'time' for something, that’s when you should probably do it.

Why?

Well, in today's fast-paced, interconnected world... having lots of spare, free time — free from distraction or interruption — is, put simply, a rarity... & so, unless you 'make' time for the things that are important for you (including self-care, meditation, relaxation, etc)... you're likely not going to do it.

Make it a priority & make the time for it 😃 

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