First, here’s a super-duper morning detoxing protocol that is easy to do and costs almost nothing.
[1.] Upon rising, put about 1 teaspoon water in your mouth; swish and pull vigorously. Continue doing this until your mouth muscles just barely begin to ache from the exercise—five minutes or so—and then spit it out. The junk that is pulled through your mucosal lining in your mouth may be voluminous. This is helpful for pulling bacteria, fungus, etc. out of your system.
[2.] Wait until your muscles totally relax in the mouth and do it again, but this time with 1/4 teaspoon or less of coconut oil. (Note: you only use small amounts of water and oil, because the volume swells as your saliva increases.) The coconut oil pulls out even more junk, and often even whitens the teeth. Then spit this out.
[3.] Follow with two full glasses of water, spaced about 15 to 30 minutes apart. Do all of this before eating anything. Talk about cleansing out the night's toxins! It is a wonder that such a simple procedure isn't taught in every health clinic as part of a basic morning protocol.
Second, treat yourself to turmeric. Turmeric is cancer fighting and anti-inflammatory. Here are some of the details about the benefits of taking the focused tiny percentage of the turmeric root (as stabilized in the Curcumin Rich Theracurmin capsules by Natural Factor) that actually reduces inflammation in the body:
- By weight, about 2-6% of turmeric is curcuminoids.
- Curcuminoids are naturally occurring plant-based antioxidants (polyphenols).
- Polyphenol-rich foods are good food for a healthy gut (among other benefits).
- Curcumin is the most abundant polyphenol in turmeric; it constitutes about 1 to 5% of turmeric.
- Curcumin is a fat soluble polyphenol.
- Curcumin is unique among polyphenols in its ability to regulate [downward--lessening their impact in a good way] all three of the mediators of inflammation:
- free radicals (reactive molecules that are capable of damaging tissues, cell structures and DNA) (curcumin can bind to DNA; this allows it to protect our DNA from the destructive free radicals; it can even modify how our inflammation-related genes are turned off or on in the cell)
- cytokines (protein mediators of inflammation, made by the immune system)
- eicosonoids (fatty acid based mediators of inflammation)
- Curcumin was first shown to be biologically active in 1949. Since then, more than 4,000 studies have investigated its health benefits.
- It is a pleiotropic molecule, which can positively influence many cells in the human body, including heart, immune, vascular, intestinal, liver, pancreatic and brain cells.
- The major common denominator in the way curcumin helps us is that it is a potent tool for supporting balanced levels of inflammation in the body.
- This matters, because unregulated inflammation is known to play a key role in the progression of disease--including digestive disorders and many others.
- Inflammation is God's tool for recruiting immune cells, promoting blood flow, and initiating healing and repair--but when inflammation is chronic, this is destructive. Our immune system won't work optimally when it is busy dealing with chronic inflammation--in fact, at that point the immune system can't deal with the threat itself.
- Although there is no one cause of inflammation, poor food choices can cause an inflammatory response.
- Also, curcumin supports healthy serotonin production in the brain. No study has yet proven that when your mood is low, your serotonin level is low--but we do know that serotonin production does decrease when there's chronic inflammation.
- Also, studies show that the ingestion of curcumin promotes healthy insulin production, healthy blood glucose levels, and improved health of the B[?]-cells that are made in the pancreas and which are shut down during diabetes.
- The problem (until now) has been the low bioavailability of curcumin. First problem: animal studies indicate that 1 gram per kilogram [of the animal's weight] is required to cause substantial levels of curcumin to be detected in the blood. Thus, an average 180-pound man would require about 80 grams of curcumin. Second problem: it is not absorbed well in the intestines, which are watery--because curcumin is fat soluble and only about 1% of it is absorbed by the intestinal track (most of it is lost in the stool). See what a problem this is? Because curcumin is only 1-5% of turmeric, you would have to take more than 50 teaspoons of turmeric powder a day to give your body what is necessary! A third problem: even when curcumin is absorbed, the liver metabolizes it very quickly and inactivates it.
- The some good news is that not all of the curcumin we swallow may need to be absorbed to help us. Studies are showing that curcumin acts as a biofilm disruptor--i.e., a killer of worms that are protected by the armor of biofilm. Thus, it can destabilize and weaken harmful bacteria in the gut.
- Supplement manufacturers have found ways to increase the bioavailability of turmeric, so that absorption can reach up to 95%. They combine it with piperine (a bioactive component of black pepper that increases absorption by 2,000% and makes a lot of bodily functions go better) and fats, and they nanosolize it, making the particles smaller, so that they become water-soluble.
- That's what's in Curcumin Rich Theracurmin capsules by Natural Factor--i.e., super-bioavailable turmeric.
And third: for a meal on the run, buy a container of Garden of Life® Raw Meal, described as “formulated to be a meal replacement that satisfies hunger, is naturally filling and provides energy, all while providing the protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals that you would find in a healthy meal of raw foods. Raw Meal provides the nutrition of a well-balanced, healthy raw meal in one delicious serving.” (Maybe you'll find a coupon for it at retailmenot.com.) If you take one-scoop servings, it costs $1.25 per serving; if you take the 2-scoop serving that is recommended to replace one entire meal, it works out to $2.50 per serving.
