When we feel pain or we are ill we just want one thing: to feel well again, no matter what. This often includes the thought or most likely also the act of taking medication. Because we want to be better NOW.
Once we are well we forget about how bad we felt or how much pain we had, we just continue with our daily life and probably some not so healthy habits.
Prescripción drugs or even over the counter drugs can help out, but it’s not for free.
They come with a load of side effects. But who reads the specification sheet? No one. Because once you start reading you start feeling worse with all the possible side effects mentioned. Bah.. this is just a regulatory issue, pharmaceutical company’s just want to back up, not to get into trouble. That’s probably very true… as true as the possible side effects are.
The naked truth is, there is a lot you can do before going towards medication. Guess what? Eat well. Not only to prevent diseases but also to combat them.
Today we want to show you natural remedies you can find in your fridge which are way safer and healthier than the chemical counterpart. We go from head to toe in our body and we’ll show you that there is something for everything. Let’s dig into it straight away.
Starting with your head: the most common issue that leads people to taking a pill is a normal headache.
Headaches are often related to dehydration. So the simplest remedy on earth is: water. Stay hydrated and you dramatically decrease the risk of getting a headache.
Going further down from our brain we get to the eyes. What an important organ, we never really think about, but what if we would lose sight unimaginable.
Our eyes are not causing trouble in a particular way, but once they do, it can be a very stressful and anxious situation. The most important vitamin for a good sight is vitamin A. Beta carotene is a precursor of vitamin A and you can find it in all yellow-reddish fruits like carrots, pumpkin, cantaloupe as well as spinach and kale.
Let’s stay a bit in this area.. our face. What’s the most concerning thing about ourface? Yes.
Getting older, wrinkles, a fading teint, losing collagen… noticing gravity in a very bad way!!! Is there really anything you can do? Oh yes, there is.
Apart from a good cleaning and caring protocol the food you eat and the fluids you drink can make a huge difference.
Water is the most important one by far. Apart from that olive oil, green tea and omega3 fatty acids (algal oil) are the go-to foods for a glowing and young skin.
Let’s move in our journey to the teeth.
Another organ we don’t tend to worry a lot about until we feel pain or an issue comes up, like a broken tooth or some nasty cavities.
Our teeth need calcium, like our bones do. You can find a lot of good calcium in milk and cheese. But what if you’re vegan? Well, you have to make a bit of an effort. Green veggies, sesame seeds or legumes are good sources but you have to eat really a lot of it. Taking into consideration the importance of our teeth and bones you may even consider some calcium fortified foods to get enough of this important mineral.
Moving on we get to the heart of the human being, literally. The number one death cause in the world is still heart disease.
Due to unhealthy lifestyles and bad nutrition. Your heart needs healthy fats and most importantly needs you to avoid unhealthy fats. Go for olive oil, chia seeds, walnuts, sesame seeds or if you eat fish, salmon, mackerel and tuna. Omega 3 fatty acids have such a long list of health benefits, all above protecting your life aka you heart.
Just below the heart we can find our stomach. This is where digestion of everything we eat or drink starts. A tiny part already starts in the mouth but let’s not get very technical. Our stomach predigests many foods we eat, doing a real good job day in day out. There are some things that go bad on the stomach. We are not talking about your mother in-law or you boss. Heavy meals, high in fat and sugar are not what our stomach prefers. To help out, eat small portions, more frequently, avoid alcohol and meals hard to digest especially in the evening. Coffee may also be something your stomach doesn’t fancy a lot. Sorry for that guys. What our stomach loves are teas like chamomile or fennel, a lot of fruit and vegetable and very few chemical stuff, like the one you find on those 20 liners ingredient lists…
Right beside our stomach we can find the liver which is doing an amazing job in detoxifying. We are not only talking about alcohol in general or thanks giving meals. It’s also the “not in our hands” toxins like pollution of the air water and soil that we can’t control, even if we only eat organic foods.
You can support your liver big way by eating a lot of antioxidants. Dark green leafy veggies, berries, dark chocolate, red bell peppers, citric fruits, even coffee has some antioxidant power.
Try to get as much of the above mentioned foods you can.
Now we get to the part, that gains more and more attention and importance in our body when taking about health and disease.
The microbiome, our intestine where we host trillions of bacteria helping us to be healthy and happy if we take good care of them. The microbiome has been linked to so many diseases, health and well-being making it a super import ant part of human health and longevity. The key nutrient here is fiber. Eat as much fiber as you can. Fiber is the one that nurtures the good bacteria in our gut making us healthy and happy. Foods high in fiber are legumes, whole grain cereals, cacao and fruits.
Around the same area in our body we can find our reproduction organs.
Super important not only because of reproducing ourself but because it is the place where most hormones are built and these little baggers have a huge impact on our life, our shape, our mood and so on and so forth.
There are some superfoods supporting our reproductive tract and a healthy hormonal balance. One to mention is maca powder. Several studies have shown the beneficial effect on our libido amongst others. Get your maca today if you’re concerned with this topic.
What’s missing is our legs and this is where we want to talk about muscles and weight loss.
Our muscles need carbohydrate to function. Muscle mass is super important because it keeps us active and toned.
Healthy carbs are important if you work out or if you need physical energy. A sedentary person needs a lot less carbs than an athlete, which is quite logic. The other nutrient that comes into the game is protein . Protein builds muscle and helps to prevent the loss of muscle mass which is important when we are on a calorie deficit to lose weight. Protein also keeps you satiated and it boosts metabolism.
Protein is without a doubt the most important macronutrient if you want to lose weight. Vegans sometimes struggle with protein because there are not a lot of high protein plant based sources. Pea protein may help out here.