Fruits are the richest source of vitamins and they contain many essential nutrients including potassium, dietary fibre, vitamin C, and folate or folic acid. However there is a system to be followed while consuming fruits to ensure their optimum health benefits. Fruits should always be eaten alone on an empty stomach for optimal digestion and you need to separate acid from sweet. So skip the standard fruit salad as it is often a digestion-slowing mix of melons, apples, pineapples, bananas, and strawberries.
There are a few categories of fruits listed below and keep in mind that fruits can be mixed with their own kind. Never mix sweet with acid. Always eat melons alone, never with anything else unless its another melon. Sweet can mix with sub-acid. Sub-acid can mix with acid. Neutral is neutral ovs.
► Sweet fruits – these fruits don’t contain acids, are more concentrated, and take longer to digest. They’re not the greatest of cleansers, but provide minerals and concentrated sugars necessary for homeostasis. Approximate digestion time: 40 to 60 minutes.
Banana, Current, Date, Fig, Sweet Grape, Papaya, Persimmon, Prune, Raisin
► Acid fruits – these fruits are rich in citric acid. Acid Fruits have the most fibre and are very rich in antioxidants. Approximate digestion time: 20 to 30 minutes.
Blackberry, Cherry (Sour), Cranberry, Gooseberry, Grape (Sour), Grapefruit, Kumquat, Lemon, Lime, Loganberry, Orange, Pineapple, Plum (Sour), Pomegranate, Sour Apple, Strawberry, Tangelo, Tangerine, Tomato
► Sub-acid fruits (semi-acid fruits) – these fruits have low levels of acidity. Approximate digestion time: 30 to 40 minutes. Acidic fruits like grapefruit can be hard on the stomach, if this is the case, you can mix in a sub-acid fruit like blueberries. Sub-acid fruits can mix with either acid or sweet fruits.
Apple, Apricot, Blueberry, Cherry, Cherimoya, Grape , Kiwi, Loquat, Lychee, Mango, Nectarine, Papaya, Peach, Pear, Plum, Raspberry
► Neutral fruits (fatty fruit, nuts & seeds) – they have more protein, vitamins, salts and oils.
Avocado, Durian, Coconut, Olive, Peanut, Pistachio, Almond, Walnut, Cashew, Seeds (hemp seed, sunflower seed, pumpkin seed, and chia seed)
► Melons – these fruits are mostly water, and since the human body breaks them down immediately, it is important not to mix them with other foods, including other fruits. Approximate digestion time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cantaloupe, Casaba, Crenshaw, Honeydew, Persian, Watermelon
Always remember that the simpler the meal, the easier the digestion process will be. Meals with only a few ingredients will allow your body to digest the foods properly and gain access to all the available nutrients. If you want to have a happy and healthy family, it starts with finding a holistic nutritionist and an herbalist – make an appointment with each, bring questions, a pen and a notepad – I believe these will be the best two appointments of your life and worth every penny.
***None of this is designed to be used as medical advice, please check with your doctor before making the switch to using plants if you are pregnant, using medications or have other health conditions. I would not want to be accused of “pretending to be a doctor” by anyone.***
We’ve all heard of the lymphatic system, but few of us actually understands how it works or why and how a properly working lymphatic system is vital to the human body. The lymphatic system is a network of tissues and organs that transport lymph throughout the body. Its responsibilities include cleaning the cellular environment, returning proteins and excess tissue fluids to the blood, providing a pathway for the absorption of fats into the bloodstream, and the production and transportation of antibodies (white blood cells called lymphocytes) throughout the body to fight infection.
Plasma is the liquid portion of blood and interstitial fluid, also known as tissue fluid, was plasma before it entered tissue. Interstitial fluid is a solution that bathes and surrounds the tissue cells.Lymph was interstitial fluid before it became lymph.
The lymphatic system is made up of lymph capillaries, vessels, and nodes, the spleen, thymus, tonsils, Peyer’s Patches, and lymphocytes (white blood cells). Red bone marrow is also a part of the lymphatic system. We have hundreds of lymph nodes. Lymph nodes can be found all around the lungs and heart, in the gut, in the armpits and groin, and pretty much all over the body.
Blood pressure causes plasma liquid to leak into tissues, and this pressure causes excess fluid in those tissues to move into the lymph capillaries. As this fluid leaves the cells, it takes cellular waste products and used proteins with it. The unique structure of the lymphatic capillaries permits interstitial fluid to flow into them but not out.
Blood pressure, temperature, activity of muscle and joints, diaphragmatic breathing (Wim Hof’s method is perfect), and pulsation of adjacent arteries all cause lymph to move up to the subclavian veins at the base of the neck. Valves and pressure keep lymph moving in the right direction. Along the way, the fluid is interrupted by lymph nodes that filter dust, cancer cells, pathogens, and other unwanted matter.
When the gut’s not healthy, the body is not healthy. A sluggish and toxic gut will slow the lymph’s ability to provide clean, infection-free blood, and fats will not as easily be absorbed and assimilated, causing weight gain and poor cellular health that can lead to an array of problems from diabetes to cancer.
The lymphatic system removes infections and other toxins from the blood. A sick body is a toxic and infected (or soon to be infected) body. Arguably, most every chronic disease and every infection is indicative of an overwhelmed lymphatic system.When the system is overwhelmed, the body is overwhelmed. With anychronic illness, getting well includes improving lymphatic function.
All lymphatic disorders equate to a slow moving, less efficient lymphatic system. This immediately leads to toxic blood and tissue with cancerous cells that should have been filtered out.
Humans have twice as much lymph fluid in the body as blood. Unlike the circulatory system, the lymphatic system does not have a pump. In order to move, lymph relies on blood pressure and the relaxation and the contraction of the muscles and joints. Your lymphatic system can easily become stagnant, especially when it becomes overwhelmed with toxic debris. The combination of a toxic lifestyle and lethargy is a recipe for chronic disease.
All things in nature have a natural progression but when this progression is inhibited, your health will deteriorate. Think of a river – a healthy river runs clean and clear compared to a stagnant river, which will be clogged, murky, smelly, and backed up. Similar to the engine oil in your car, your lymphatic system is like an oil filter. Just imagine how sluggish and constricted the engine would be if your oil wasn’t constantly filtered. Sluggish lymph fluid in the human body is a prime breeding ground for infection.
Stagnant lymph interferes with every system of the body because lymph cleanses nearly every cell in the body so symptoms of chronic lymph blockage are diverse. While most people prefer to identify one specific cause of a disease, there are rarely fewer than three or four and there can often be hundreds of causes so the point is, if your body is unhealthy, the lymph is unhealthy, too. If your body is sick, the lymph is sick, too.
Symptoms of lymphatic congestion include:
- Rings can get tight on fingers
- Skin is puffy (edema)
- Soreness, stiffness, achiness (mainly in the morning)
- Arthritis, stiff and achy joints
- Feelings of lethargy or sluggishness
- Bloating and water retention
- Itchy or irritated skin
- Bad acne, dry skin, premature aging
- Breast swelling or soreness with hormonal cycles
- Brain fog, lack of clarity at times
- Cold hands and feet constantly
- Chronic headaches or migraines
- Cellulite
- Cancer, Diabetes
- Chronic inflammation
Every one of the above health concerns can be linked to other diseases as well, but ALL disease leads to a taxed lymphatic system! A healthy lymphatic system is necessary to eliminate any disease.
Doctors in Europe and Asia recognize the importance of lymphatic function and how it supports detoxification and every other system in the body, including the immune, digestive, and nervous systems. Natural health practitioners know that a poor lymphatic system underlies almost all health conditions.
By contrast, conventional practitioners in America – Allopathic Medicine (look it up) – don’t even consider the lymphatic system until a lymph deficiency shows up such as a swollen lymph node, cancer developing in a lymph gland, or obvious signs of lymph blockage. And of course, when something does go seriously wrong with the lymphatic system, western conventional doctors typically say the ailment is incurable – this is simply not true. Or they will say the nodes need to be removed – this is a death sentence in my opinion. Your lymph system is the septic system of the human body so removing a lymph node will not stop your blood from depositing toxins to that area and if the node has been removed, there is nothing to clean and regulate your cellular waste.
When the lymphatic system becomes sluggish it will “off-gas” through your skin but when makeup, sunblock, bug spray, most moisturizing lotions, chemical creams/soaps are applied to the skin, the natural toxin release through your skin is inhibited. Much of this toxic load that should have been eliminated is then re-absorbed along with some of the new toxins from the chemically laden skincare products you use. This creates a backlog of much needed detoxification.
Big warning to women who wear makeup, first off it is extremely toxic stuff and also, why not just be yourself, love yourself and show your true self off to the world??? Also, a tight fitting bra or underwire bras will impede your normal lymphatic flow so always make sure bras fit perfectly (or don’t wear that one again), and avoid underwires. Go braless whenever possible.
Almost every product in the skincare industry is toxic and even most “all natural” moisturizer creams and soaps are also toxic. With few exceptions (like essential oils), when it comes to skin care products, if you can’t eat it, don’t put on your skin – I make my own soap and it is super simple, you can see how-to in my blog. This also includes sunblock (no need for it if you eat and live properly), deodorant (use key-lime juice), and laundry detergents.
Conventional deodorants, especially antiperspirants, will inhibit lymph detoxification so it’s no wonder, understanding how the body works, that antiperspirants do in fact lead to breast cancer. We need to sweat, and that sweat leads to an ecosystem on the skin that can promote a pattern of either good health or bad health. As for key-lime juice in place of deodorant, make sure they are key-limes not just small organic limes and squeeze the juice of half a key-lime under each armpit after your bath/shower to keep armpit bacteria away. TRUST ME, IT WORKS AMAZINGLY!!! Limes have been known for keeping bacteria away from food for centuries and body odour under your arms stems mostly from bacteria buildup.
The same needs be said about toothpaste (use TOM’s Flouride Free brand or none at all) and mouthwash (use warm saltwater rinse). Toothpaste does NOTHING for your oral health it is simply for the taste, ask your dentist (aside from specialty toothpastes). If you use mouthwash of any kind…STOP immediately and switch to a warm saltwater rinse. If everything you were taught about how to care for your teeth was true, we would not need dentists. So it is time to unlearn everything we were taught and relearn some truths about how to actually live a happy and healthy lifestyle.
Safety notes about this website: This website is for informational purposes only and is not medical advice, so please check with your medical professional before making the switch to using plants if you are pregnant, using medications or have other health conditions.
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