Well it’s that time of year again the birds are singing merrily and we all look forward to a great year ahead.
The body beautiful has been hidden under our winter woollies and maybe we have been overindulging over the past few weeks.
Take a good look in the mirror and promise yourself that from today you will embark on a healthier routine.
But where do you start?
A good place to start is to review your dietary habits, habits that will re-energize your body and mind, ensuring high energy levels.
Juicing is one of the best ways to introduce the necessary quantity of vegetable and fruit into your daily routine.
Juicing
Juicing everyday is a delicious way to get healthy and stay healthy, not only does it taste delicious it also invigorates your body and mind. Raw fresh juice is one of the healthiest rejuvenating substances we can take. Drinking a fresh juice provides the body with a cocktail of vitamins, minerals enzymes and countless numbers of other nutrition to boost health. These nutrients are absorbed into the body within minutes, as they do not need to digest in the same way as chewed fruits or vegetables. Drinking your juices daily will guaranteed that you are fuelling yourself with energy, and supporting your body’s natural cleansing processes and helping to stave off disease.
Here are some helpful tips:
- Invest in a good juicer, (Nutri Bullet, Green star) which will juice vegetables as well as fruit.
- Try and use organic fruit and vegetables. You do not need to peel these as the skin contains vital nutritional elements with no pesticides.
- Always include your pips from fruits in the juicing process, as they are a good source of Vitamin B12.
- Avoid juicing over ripened produce.
- Adhere to the 80 /20 rule 80% vegetable 20% Fruit
- Try to drink the juice immediately as the ingredients oxidise, thus loosing their essential nutrition. If you do have to store juice, place in a thermos flask and add a few frozen ice cubes then refrigerate.
- If the taste is too strong add a little spring water.
- Add fresh grated ginger, mint and spirulina for added nutrition.
Here’s one of my favorite concoctions:
The Super Juice
2 organic apples
2 sticks of celery
2 teaspoons of udo’s oil
3 organic carrots
Handful of grapes
Grated fresh ginger.
Half a teaspoon of Cocoa
Half a teaspoon of Cinnamon
Water
Water is so important for the body when we were born we were 90% water. Now as adults we are 70% water. Like the earth itself nearly three- fourths of our entire body consists of water. We can use water to heal and rejuvenate ourselves. Water cleans and purifies, pure water helps the body to detoxify. Drinking natural spring water will help to alkalise the body.
Imagine a juicy plum picked from the tree and left exposed to the sun or wind, it becomes a prune. The dehydration of the plum produces the shrivelled interior and wrinkled skin. Loss of water causes the internal and external structures of living things to change, be that dehydration in a fruit or a person.
So to look more radiant and feel good it is essential to drink at least 8 glasses of water each day. Try drinking a glass of warm water first thing in the morning; add a slice of organic lemon to give your system a kick-start. It is also very beneficial to solarize your water by placing your glass water jug on a windowsill several hours before consumption. You can add fresh herbs e.g. camomile, basil or mint to enhance the flavour of the water not only will your water taste good but your body will benefit from the herbs as well.
If you want to read more about the magical benefits of water, take a look at this:
Benefits of Drinking Water and Staying Hydrated
Skin Brushing
Skin brushing is very beneficial in all cleaning / detoxing programmes. It has the effect of stimulating the lymphatic system to remove excess toxins from the body. Because your skin is a major route of elimination it may have built up layers of dried cells, toxins and uric acid especially if you have a high animal protein diet.
Skin brushing improves your whole circulation; tone muscles and increases energy levels.
It is said that 5 minute of skin brushing daily will do for your system what 30minutes of exercise can achieve.
So how do you begin?
First you need to purchase a pure bristle brush. The best buy is a pure bristle bath brush with a detachable handle. This fits snugly in the hand and you can re-attach the handle to brush your back.
The best time to skin brush is first thing in the morning before your shower.
Always begin when the skin is dry. Start at the feet, brush with firm gentle strokes up towards your heart. Between 2 to 5 strokes on each section of skin. Complete brushing the legs, bottom, stomach, then begin at the fingertips and up each arm over the shoulders down the front then down the back.
You can follow your brushing with a warm shower to wash away excess dead skin cells.
You will be amazed at how invigorating you will feel with only 5 minutes of skin brushing.
Daily Affirmations
Begin your day with a positive affirmation, projecting good energy to your day.
You will find Daily affirmations on http://elizabethwhelan.ie
So make those resolutions today to put that pep in your step!
Best of Luck.