Holiday Health Hacks

Herbal Teas

I love herbal teas.  You can enjoy them hot, cold, room temperature, sweetened, with lemon—however they tickle your fancy!  They are also health promoting and can support your body during the holidays and beyond. 

It is important to make your tea in a medicinal manner to keep all the goodness in your tea!  You want to retain the volatile compounds in your tea.  Here are the steps to making true remineralizing, medicinal, herbal teas.

1. Bring good water to almost a boil
2. Place your herb(s) in your mug (usually 1-2 tsp per cup (8oz of water)) in a tea ball or reusable tea bag
3. Pour the almost boiling water into your mug
4. Cover and steep your tea for a minimum of 30 minutes (for simplicity, do this before bed and allow your tea to go overnight on your counter in a mason jar)
5. Gently reheat your tea should you prefer it warmer
6. Add any additions (raw honey, fresh lemon juice, maple syrup, etc) and enjoy

Some of the most remineralizing teas include nettle leaf (Urtica spp.), catnip (Nepeta cataria), alfalfa (Medicago sativa), lambsquarter (Chenopodium album), oatstraw (Avena sativa), and kelp.

BONUS:  Add ½-1 tsp of rosehips (Rosa canina and Rosa rubiginosa) to any cup of tea you are steeping to add a burst of flavor and loads of vitamin C.

Some Keys to True Hydration

Along with those herbal teas (which count as water!), make sure you are drinking enough water throughout each day during the holiday season.

Did you know our bodies are more than 60% water? Water is required for your body to function properly, and if you aren’t drinking enough water, your body is functioning at less-than-optimal levels. Dehydration can actually cause mineral deficiencies, especially magnesium deficiency. Magnesium is a necessary mineral in many reactions in the body.
You say you drink tons of water? Most people I work with are dehydrated. Other doctors find the same. How can that be? The most common reasons are two in my experience: you are drinking too much water at one time and not throughout the day or your body isn’t processing the water effectively.

Pure Water — Pure water is preferably reverse osmosis or purified water that has been remineralized with real salt or trace minerals. Do the best you can with your water, but try to avoid tap water.
Salt — Add 1 pinch of a good, colored sea salt (pink Himalayan, Celtic grey, Redmond real salt, etc) to every refill of water to your bottle or glass. If your sea salt is white, it has no nutritional value and isn’t worth using. Good sea salt has between 70-90 trace minerals including all the electrolytes you need to help your body effectively use water to hydrate itself and carry out necessary cellular functions.
Amount and Timing — Did you know your body can’t process more than about 4 ounces of water in a 5 minute period? If you are drinking all your water at one chug session, stop! It isn’t helping you get hydrated. Instead, drink a mouthful of water (about 4 ounces) every 5-20 minutes while you are awake. The goal is 1/2 your weight in pounds in ounces of water total daily (so if you weigh 100 pounds, you drink 50 ounces spread out through the day). You can drink up to your weight in pounds in ounces spread through the day safely.

Healthy Fats

We have been lied to!  Fat is not what makes us fat.  Fat is not the enemy.  Saturated fats are not unhealthy and dietary saturated fats do not contribute to diseases.

So what is the truth?  The truth is most of the traditional fats (lard, butter, tallow) have been vilified to sell unhealthy fats to us (canola, shortening, margarine).  The truth is most of us also do not get enough fat.

So how much fat do we need daily?  Most people need at least 4 servings of fat daily with many of us needing closer to 7-8.  How big is a serving?  A serving of a liquid or solid fat is 1 tablespoon, an avocado is 1/2 for a serving, and nuts and seeds are generally 1/4 cup for a serving.

Eating more fat helps our body not only let go of stored fat that is probably loaded with stored toxins but it also helps with energy, brain fog, concentration, memory, joint health and mobility, gut health, healthy immune system, and more.

Wow!!  Now that you know you should eat fats, let me share an image that can help you know which fats you should eat more of.  As a hint, organic butter is my favorite fat.  Not only does it taste good but it is the most balanced fat out there with the right amount of saturated fats to support our brains and cells but also the right proportions of the omegas to help lower inflammation.

Rest

We live in a go-go-go world.  If you are like me, taking time to rest feels like being naughty.  I mean, I am resting and not getting something done!  However, rest is the time we repair and rebuild our bodies.  Rest allows us to enter a parasympathetic state where the body can digest, repair, and renew.

Rest is vital!  After all, if you don’t make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness!  It is even said that if you don’t get a good night’s sleep, you undo everything else you did that day.  Crazy!

Here are some ideas for helping activate your parasympathetic nervous system:

• Spending time in nature (preferably with your skin uncovered long enough for vitamin D and your bare feet on the earth)
• Meditation
• Reading a book (preferably for pleasure and not work)
• Breathwork techniques
• Listening to music
• Humming, singing, or making your own music
• Heart-to-heart hugs (at least 20 seconds)
• Visualization and manifesting work
• Massage, acupuncture, and body work
• Gratitude practice