We all know that eating healthy foods is essential to feeling good, looking gorgeous and having enough energy. What we may not know is that eating healthy foods is not enough! The healthiest food in the world won’t help you if you don’t have a strong enough digestive fire to assimilate and transform what you put into your body.
In Ayurveda there is a saying that goes something like this:
“You are not what you eat, you are what you don’t digest.”
It is a little alarming to think about considering that the average person carries around about 2-5 pounds of undigested food matter on any given day! Think about that for a minute. Anything we eat or drink that is not completely digested accumulates in the body and forms a kind of toxic sludge. Over time the sludge gets thicker and harder to clear out. Then we start to feel heavy, experience joint pain, suffer from moodiness or depression, and experience more flues, allergies, and common colds.
Check out this list of signs you may have weak digestive fire and be accumulating sludge (and don’t panic, I will give you a few solutions too!).
15 signs you may be toxic:
1) Bloated belly
2) Allergies
3) Lethargy or low energy
4) Bad breath
5) Unexplained weight gain
6) Loose stools or constipation
7) Dry, cracked skin or nails
8) PMS
9) Bad moods
10) Eczema
11) Acne
12) Joint pain in the morning
13) Brain fog
14) Acidity or heart burn
15) Burping or gas
Oh no! How did I get this gross toxic sludge?
Our digestive fire gets weakened by eating too much food, unhealthy food and improperly combined foods. It also gets weakened through stress, negative thinking, a fast-paced lifestyle and insufficient sleep. Over time this weakened digestion and toxic sludge provide the perfect conditions for disease and pre-mature aging. When we have this toxic build up we just don’t wake up feeling as energized, happy, and beautiful as we should! If we don’t understand what is at the root of the problem, we may be tempted to reach for a pill to alleviate our symptoms which, over time, throws us even further out of balance.
Ayurveda views this toxic build up as the single biggest threat to our radiant health and beauty.
So what can I do?
A few things you can do to start rebuilding your digestive fire and reduce toxicity are:
Eat an earlier and lighter dinner. Early like 5 or 6pm. Light like soup or marinated salad. One of the most important things you can do for your digestive fire is allow a space of 12-13 hours between dinner and breakfast. This allows your system to process the day so you wake up and eliminate, starting the new day fresh.
Stop snacking between meals. If you are experiencing any of the symptoms above, take your hand out of the cookie jar! When we snack between meals, our digestive system gets overburdened and the last thing you ate prior to the snack probably won’t be properly assimilated. I know you have heard that you should eat every 2-3 hours right? That is an outdated, old school notion from the fitness industry that goes against Ayurveda and keeps your digestive fire weak, adding to accumulated toxic sludge. Eeew.
Stop drinking ice water and other cold beverages. Think of your digestive system like a fire. Do you throw ice and cold water on a fire? Enough said.
Add in spice as medicine. Add in some healing, warming spices to stoke the inner fire. Try sipping on fresh ginger tea. Start adding into your meals turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, fennel, cardamom.
Do a seasonal cleanse. Cleansing each season is the perfect way to rejuvenate your body and mind to reduce toxicity, release unhealthy cravings, and nourish yourself with the freshest, highest quality foods that heal digestion and leave you glowing inside and out.
If you are suffering from weakened digestion or toxic sludge build up, I hope you will join me for my Reclaim Your Radiance Fall Cleanse. (Not Fall where you live? No problem! Cleansing in Spring is also highly recommended and Spring recipes are available as a substitution if desired.)
Aren’t you tired of all those irritating symptoms that accumulate with time like lack of energy, bloating, headaches, allergies and excess weight? Let me guide you back to your vibrant health so you can feel better in your body and clearer in your mind in just 2 weeks!
We have our kick off call on Wednesday, September 23rd and then we will ease in slowly before our official start date on Monday, September 28th. You will receive a Cleanse Guidebook, Recipe Guide, Suggested Meal Plans and shopping lists, Food Diary, 2 Group Coaching calls, and a one-on-one call with me to help you create a structure to keep your new habits post-cleanse. There is also a private Facebook forum for us to connect, create support and share tips and recipes as well as handouts galore for your reading pleasure.
If you are tired of feeling bloated, tired, irritable and sick, then I hope you will join me as we rejuvenate and rebuild our systems through this whole foods based cleanse that will leave you feeling like the radiant lady you are!
Click here to read more and sign up.
Here is to you and your radiant health!
