By Jonathan Evans
Herbal Information Specialist for the Herbarium
Happy New Year and a Happy New Decade! Right, Let’s get this off to a roaring start. It’s resolutions time…get a gym membership, watch your diet, start a new diet, go vegan… Does this sound familiar?
I get the idea that January is a great time to start a new plan, but look at your previous attempts and think realistically – are you going to do it all? Why set yourself up for yet another failure by trying to do too much, too soon. There are better ways to get on the path to a healthier you that takes it one step at a time.
Try a mini-cleanse
For example, this is the time of year when we see many detoxing fads surface, such as the “Master Cleanse,” and the “Supreme Cleanse” – all of which may be helpful but put the body and mind into distress. While it is noble to try, how about a less stressful approach to improving your health?
There are some simple ways to reset your body that do not require pain. One simple way is a mini-cleanse. For three days you would eat nothing but fruit. Fresh, cooked, or any way you like and drink diluted fruit juices. For the next four days you would eat vegetables, be it raw, cooked, in salads, soups, whatever you like, and drink diluted vegetable juices or smoothies. If you feel a little weak, eat some brown rice or raw nuts and seeds. This mini cleanse helps to clear your digestive system, re-alkalize your body, and recover from the holiday excesses in a gentle, practical way.
Other body-reset approaches
For those looking for a simpler approach, Renew Life makes a three-day total-body reset that works very well. The Herbarium also has a detoxify formula that can be used on a daily basis to keep things flowing as it were.
While we are on the subject, this is also a good time to do a liver cleanse. After all the holiday drinking and eating, the liver could use a break. Milk Thistle and dandelion are excellent cleansers and can help normalize liver function. Remember the liver is your body’s filter, and regular cleaning helps keep everything running smoothly.
A step-by-step diet revamp
With all of these suggestions, if you can set your goals in a more realistic fashion, you would probably be more successful.
Our “Getting Started” sheet has some simple suggestions for a healthier you. Here are some guidelines for what we all ought to be doing:
Start off with taking a good multivitamin and multi-mineral formula. Despite the millions in advertising that the mainstream vitamin companies spend trying to get you to buy their product, all you really get is the absolute minimum requirements in vitamins. I covered this in several columns this past year. We do not live in a minimum world. Do not use a minimum supplement.
Watch your intake of dairy products and “white food” (pale breads, pasta,) and cut out as much processed food as possible.
Increase your fruit and vegetable intake. It is not as difficult as it seems. I was raised in a meat and potato family. When I got married, my dear wife slowly changed my eating habits. She would gradually add more vegetables and larger portions as she reduced the red meat. Eating ostrich and buffalo instead of beef
became very easy. Seriously, you don’t even notice. In fact I would defy someone to have an ostrich burger and notice it wasn’t red meat. Now we have the “impossible meat” and it is good.
Increase your fish consumption – it will help your overall health a great deal. Try eating something other than fish sticks or battered fish from the freezer. There are some excellent species of fish and plenty of great recipes out there.
I was fortunate to be introduced to a variety of fish by my old friend Mino Giliberti, who owned the finest Italian restaurant in Western Massachusetts – Mino’s. I took many a cooking class with him and learned the delicious benefits of variety. Talk to your local fishmonger for some ideas. Try sea bass, monkfish, mahi mahi, tuna, catfish or trout. These varieties are easy to prepare and very tasty.
Eating better doesn’t have to break your bank account. Even the smallest healthy changes can make an impact over time, so do what you can with what you have available. Try some of these ideas, make small, incremental changes and see the difference it can make.
Besides, I probably saved you $39.95 on any number of “diet du jour” books being sold out there and this cost you nothing.
Good luck on your January resolutions!
—Jonathan
P.S – Our cold feet remedy:
I would be remiss in not giving my annual cold feet reminder. If you or anyone you know will be out in the snow and slush this winter, make sure to put good old cayenne pepper in your boots.
Cayenne is a rubefacient, meaning it helps draw blood to the surface and aids circulation. Sprinkling a teaspoon of cayenne into your dry boots or shoes will help keep your feet toasty warm no matter how long you are out in the cold. I have given this advice to city workers, police, fire EMT’s, and the military. Try it!
—J
Send questions on botanical remedies to: Natures Rx: Jonathan Evans at herbarium258@gmail.com, or by regular mail to: The Herbarium, 264 Exchange St., Chicopee, MA 01013. If requesting additional info, include a self-addressed stamped envelope. Find The Herbarium online at www.theherbarium.com, call the store at 413-598-8119 or join our Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/bUONF1
