Are you in need of a Spring cleaning and detox . . .

If you experience fatigue, irritability, problems concentrating or disturbances in

your sleep, you may benefit from a Spring cleaning.  Spring is looked upon as a season of renewal and rebirth.  Likewise, your low energy, mood swings, sleep disturbances and difficulties concentrating may be indications of a buildup of toxins and need to clean-up your diet and detox.

Instead of making a shopping list and buying several vitamins and/or supplements, focus on avoiding environmental toxins (e.g., second hand smoke, smoking, chlorine in pools that research shows combines with urine to form dangerous chemicals, fumes) invest in whole, organic foods that are raised without herbicides, pesticides and other synthetic chemicals that damage your health and animals that are raised humanely and safe to eat.  Not only will you keep your exposure to toxins to a minimum, you will help to build your body’s natural defenses and experience an increase in vitality, clear focus, sound sleep and sense of renewal.   

You can build up your body’s defenses, support your immune and detoxification systems by ensuring that you eat adequate amounts of the foods that will give you the building blocks to create glutathione.  Glutathione is an intracellular antioxidant that supports your body’s immune and detoxification systems.  It is made from three amino acids: l-cysteine, l-glutamatic acid, glycine and sulfur. The sulfur in glutathione makes it act like fly trap paper, stick to toxins and safely remove them from your body.  

Sulfur containing foods

• Garlic
• Kale
• Onions
• Broccoli
• Water cress
• Cabbage
• Asparagus
• Brussel sprouts

Foods containing the amino acids l-cysteine, l-glutamatic acid, glycine

• Unpasteurized milk (i.e., ideally grass-fed, organic and hormone/antibiotic free)
• Raw eggs (i.e., from chickens that are pasture raised)
• Undenatured, cold processed whey protein
• Tomatoes 
• Avocado 
• Spinach 
• Meats (e.g., beef, lamb, bison, chicken, turkey, wild caught, pasture raised, grass fed, wild caught)

Exercise also helps you build up glutathione.  Aim to get moderate levels of exercise (i.e., 30 minutes several times a week). Stress depletes your body of glutathione so it is important that you learn to manage your levels of stress effectively.  By taking these simple steps, you will reduce your exposure to environmental toxins, help build your body’s natural defenses and experience a renewed sense of vitality.

To your health,

Dr. Sandoval

To learn more about how working with a psychologist and holistic health coach can help you to enhance your health and well-being, call or email Dr. Sandoval to schedule a free consultation.

The information, published and/or made available through the www.fullofradiance.com website, is not intended to replace the services of a physician, nor does it constitute a physician-patient relationship. This blog is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. You should not use the information in this post for diagnosing or treating a medical or health condition. You should consult a physician in all matters relating to your health, particularly in respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention.  Any action on the reader’s part in response to the information provided in this blog is at the reader’s discretion.  

 

Why less is more with your body . . .

If you’re like many people and are trying to

lose weight or improve your health, you may think that you have to follow a restrictive diet and exercise to burn the calories.  While this approach may work for some people in the short term, the reality is that most people who diet end up gaining all the weight that they have lost within 5 years. 

Similarly, you may be trying to improve your health and believe that taking many supplements, using natural products and exercising regularly will help you to raise your body’s defenses and physical health.   While there are certainly some key supplements that you want to include in your lifestyle (e.g., a quality multivitamin, fish oil, vitamin D, Magnesium, and probiotics), there are several problems with this approach.  

By diverting your attention from what is important to you, your focus will be on what is wrong with your body to the exclusion of all the other domains in your life (e.g., relationships, career, community, service, leisure, spirituality) that enrich you with meaning and purpose.  Moreover, many of these behaviors are different forms of avoidance and may be masking the root cause of your illness and DIS-ease. 

Over-training physically, eating under stress, being dissatisfied with your relationships, feeling that you are “stuck” at your job that you only hold on to pay your bills all sound “alarms” to your sympathetic nervous system and will raise your cortisol levels dramatically.  This alone can directly contribute to adrenal fatigue, enhanced intestinal permeability (i.e., leaky gut syndrome) and low stomach acid production, which can open the gateway to diseases such as IBS, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and multiple sclerosis.   

So rather than continue with these unproductive and potentially harmful behaviors, learn to shift gears and focus on what truly matters to you in your life.  And while you’re at it, make sure that you get the basics to good health down pat (i.e., adequate sleep and rest, savoring and enjoying whole unprocessed foods, nourishing the relationships with the people who are important to you, developing a spiritual practice, spending time outside in nature consistently).

To your health,

Dr. Sandoval

To learn more about how working with a psychologist and holistic health coach can help you to enhance your health and well-being, call or email Dr. Sandoval to schedule a free consultation.

Why you are NOT just what you eat . . .

“You are what you eat.” It’s an old adage in

many cultures throughout the world. However, it should really be you are what your body does with what you eat. Many people experience digestive problems because of what and HOW they eat. One of the simplest things you can do to increase your health is to slow down and appreciate the food that you are eating.

Digestion actually begins in your mind and then proceeds to your mouth, where contact with your teeth and digestive enzymes in saliva break down your food.  The cephalic (i.e., literally from the head) phase of digestion accounts for nearly 30% of your gastric acid secretions, which further cleaves your food into easily digestible parts.  The mere sight, smells, sounds and anticipation of the food that you eat triggers this response.

If you're like most people, however, you rush through the whole eating experience, barely acknowledging what you're putting into your mouth and eat mindlessly.  You eat while distracted—working, reading, talking and watching television—and swallow your food practically whole without conscious awareness.  If you're like the average person,  you chew each bite only eight times.  With all of these external pressures and distractions, it’s no wonder that as many as 70million Americans experience a digestive problem like IBS, Crohn's disease, GERD,  constipation, or abdominal pain.

Fortunately, there are a few simple steps that you can take to improve your digestion and restore your well-being.   Experiment with the following guidelines when you eat and notice how you feel afterward.

• Give Yourself Plenty of Time. Before you begin to eat your meal, give thanks and express appreciation for the abundance in your life.  By expressing gratitude, you also develop patience and self-control.  Work your way up to 20 minutes to complete your meal. Slowing down promotes a state of relaxation and will greatly enhance your digestion.
• Chew Your Food Thoroughly. Begin by chewing each bite of food 20 times.  As you chew, savor the food and enjoy the different tastes in your mouth.  By chewing more, you enhance your body’s assimilation and absorption of food.  The smaller food particles also prevent unwanted microbes from fermenting the food that can lead to gas, bloating and indigestion.
• Practice Mindful Eating: Notice the colors, shapes, and smells of the food.   As you chew, notice the sounds of the food and the chomping of your teeth the chewing produces.  Notice the feel and texture of the food.  Notice the taste.   Be aware of the moment and intention to swallow the food.  Be aware of the expansion and contraction of your chest/abdomen as you breath and chew your food.
• Create A Sacred Space. Set the intention of nourishing your body, mind and soul each time that you eat rather than simple “grabbing a quick bite.”  Play some relaxing music and/or use your best dishware.  Light a soft candle.  Turn your T.V. off.  Imagine that you are serving your meal to a welcomed guest.  Any distraction like the sound of your phone, email notification from your laptop or smart phone can wait.

As you begin to practice eating this way, you may experience discomfort from the silence or the thoughts that are racing through your mind.  Take the opportunity instead to know yourself and practice patience, compassion and kindness.  Doing so will not only improve your health and well-being, but may also lead you to discover new aspects of yourself that were previously hidden by all the distractions.

To your health,

Dr. Sandoval

To learn more about how working with a psychologist and holistic health coach can help you to enhance your health and well-being, call or email Dr. Sandoval to schedule a free consultation.