Foods that Help Improve Your Health

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Making changes in your diet can be very beneficial. In this talk I will show how upgrades to your diet can improve some common ailments

1. Digestive Distress. Many people suffer from bloating, gas, indigestion, or IBS type symptoms. Instead of reaching for an over the counter pill, adding naturally fermented foods can improve symptoms dramatically. Naturally fermented foods include things like pickles, kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha apple cider vinegar and are fermented with friendly gut/intestinal bacteria. Most common are lactobacilli which is also found in yogurt. Many times digestive distress is caused by an overgrowth of unfriendly bacteria in the intestines. Use of antibiotics and consumption of alcohol, can kill friendly bacteria that are essential for gut function and upset the healthy balance of gut flora. Consuming sugar can also make these bacteria flourish. Look for products that contain live cultures that are traditionally produced. Any of these products that are produced with vinegar do not contain live cultures. Think of the traditional pickle barrel at a New York deli.

2. Thyroid Problems. Studies have shown that thyroid issues can be linked to Iodine deficiency. Instead of going on thyroid medication, sometimes for life, act preventatively by making sure you have healthy iodine levels from your diet. It’s estimated that 1 in 7 women have an iodine deficiency. Our main source of iodine is iodized table salt. However we are often told reduce our salt intake.This may be difficult because processed foods contain high sodium that is cheaply produced and not iodized-ironically creating high sodium levels, and iodine deficiency.
Best sources of iodine: 1. sea vegetables 2. saltwater fish and other seafood 3. quality iodized sea salt.

3. Blood Sugar Imbalance. Research suggests cinnamon lowers glucose, possibly by boosting the effect of insulin in the body. Apparently the presence of cinnamon in the blood stream allows the body to get ride of excess sugar in the blood. Add it to teas, rice, oatmeal, you can even chew on cinnamon sticks.

4. Inflammation – Any disorder that ends in “itis” is considered inflammation. Inflammation is considered an early warning sign for heart disease and cancers. A great anti-imflammatory herb is Tumeric. Tumeric has been shown in studies to help relieve arthritis and has been used in treatment to help heart attack patients recover. Studies are currently under way to use tumeric in the treatment of cancer. Tumeric is a yellow Indian herb that is often used in curries.