Expanding Qi

Info from Mark Hyman MD
1. Whole Foods–Eat a whole foods, high-fiber plant-based diet, which is inherently anti-inflammatory. That means choosing unprocessed, unrefined, whole, fresh, real foods, that are high in powerful anti-inflammatory plant chemicals called phytonutrients. Lose the sugar from soft drinks, candy, cakes etc. & definitely say goodbye to transfats in pastries and fried foods.

2. Healthy Fats-Give yourself an oil change by eating healthy monounsaturated fats in olive oil, nuts and avocados, and getting more omega-3 fats from small fish like sardines, herring, and wild salmon.

3. Regular Exercise reduces inflammation. It also improves immune function, strengthens your cardiovascular system, corrects and prevents insulin resistance, and is key for improving your mood and erasing the effects of stress. Regular exercise is one among a small handful of lifestyle changes that correlates with improved health in virtually ALL of the scientific literature.

4. Relax -Learn how to engage your vagus nerve by actively relaxing. This powerful nerve relaxes your whole body and lowers inflammation when you practice yoga or meditation, breathe deeply, or even take a hot bath.

5. Avoid Allergens – If you have bloating, gas, fatigue, brain fog- find out what you’re sensitive or allergic to and stop eating those foods–gluten, soy, corn, eggs and dairy are the major culprits.

6. Heal Your Gut -Take probiotics to help your digestion and improve the balance of healthy bacteria in your gut, which reduces inflammation.

7. Supplement -Take a multivitamin/multimineral supplement, fish oil and vitamin D which help reduce inflammation.

Once you Register and Login to our Store-Check out these Custom Kits  for Optimal Health.

Nutritional supplementation not only helps you improve your health by maintaining adequate nutrient levels. It’s also extremely important in reversing chronic health conditions.

All of the following recommended nutrients are available through the Expanding Qi online store.

• Health maintenance—multivitamin/mineral, essential fatty acids (EPA/DHA), calcium, vitamins B, C, D & E, other antioxidants, phytonutrient complex, fiber, probiotics.
• Digestion—lipase, proteases, amla fruit, betaine, pepsin, zinc carnosine, chamomile, peppermint,  probiotics.
• Intestinal health—probiotics, glutamine, plantain fruit, coptis root, oregano, red thyme, sage, ginger, fiber.
• Detoxification & liver/kidney function—silymarin, epigallocatechin gallate, watercress, cordyceps, folate, chlorophyllin, andrographis, hops, methionine, artichoke.
• Women’s health—indole-3-carbinole, isoflavones (soy, kudzu, red clover), Chinese botanical blends, chasteberry, choline, calcium, ashwaghanda, black cohosh, folate.
• Immune, sinus & lung health—vitamins A, C, D & E, andrographis, hops, zinc, amla fruit, selenium, Chinese botanicals, Ayurvedic botanicals, homeopathic remedies, perilla, garlic, select mushrooms, probiotics, whey protein, echinacea, ginger, licorice.
• Mood—St. John’s wort, DHEA, folate, inositol, EPA/DHA.
• Relaxation & sleep—lemon balm, passionflower, valerian, L-theanine, casein tryptic hydrolysate, epigallocatechin gallate, N-acetylcysteine, Chinese botanicals, L-5-hydroxytryptophan, L-theanine.
• Minor pain relief—ginger, turmeric, reduced iso-alpha acids from hops, boswellia.
• Brain function (cognition, memory)—ginkgo biloba, prolie-rich polypeptides, huperzine A, folate, N-acetylcysteine, EPA/DHA.
• Bone health—MCHC, calcium, vitamin D, boron, magnesium, ipriflavone, berberine, hops, phosphorus.
• Joints, tendons & muscles—hops, magnesium, glucosamine, MSM, chondroitin, antioxidants, EPA/DHA, calcium.
• Men’s health—arginine, tribulus, zinc, saw palmetto, soy, plant sterols, epigallocatechin gallate, ashwaghanda, DHEA.
• Sports nutrition—whey protein, electrolytes, magnesium, long-chain glucose-polymers.
• Stress management—licorice, ashwagandha, rehmannia, ginseng, cordyceps, Chinese botanicals, homeopathic remedies.
• Body composition—protein, conjugated linoleic acid, chromium, L-carnitine.

Try this dressing made with umeboshi plum paste, a tangy, salty condiment made from the pureed pulp of naturally processed, pickled umeboshi plums. Umeboshi plums are alkalinizing and promote healthy digestion.

Ingredients

1 tsp umeboshi plum paste
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp raw honey
1 tbsp rice vinegar
dash of salt and pepper

Whisk all ingredients together and serve over crunchy salads or use as a delicious dip for crudités.

Simply Raw: Reversing Diabetes in 30 Days

A Raw Food Diet is very hydrating, mineral rich and cleansing especially if you choose organic foods. In my opinion, a Raw Food Diet may not be suitable for those who are already anemic and this should be investigated before you embark on a Raw Food Journey. In my practice I look at patients’ Blood Chemistry to assess  the need for Vitamins  B12, B6, zinc, iron etc.

In this video, patients are monitored by Dr. Gabriel Cousens.

What If It’s All Been A Big Fat Lie? by Gary Taubes

A number of scientists dispute the theory that saturated fats raise cholesterol and cause heart disease.

Rather than being harmful, saturated fats:

• are needed for energy
• are needed for hormone production
• are needed the absorption of calcium to prevent osteoporosis
• preserve the integrity of cell walls
• protect cells against attack from viruses
• help the body to store and use beneficial Omega-3 fatty acids
• impart many other health benefits.

Nutrition Tips to Stabilize Blood Sugar

1. Do not skip breakfast.
2. Eat a high quality protein based breakfast.
3. Eat every 2-3 hours.
4. Snack on nuts, seeds, nut butters/hummus/bean spreads with celery, “super” greens like ProGreens, spirulina. high quality rice protein powder with nut/seed milk, hard boiled eggs.
5. Avoid straight fruit juice-dilute or better yet-dilute & blend on high with water and a handful of spinach/kale or chard plus fresh spearmint.
(See my green smoothie recipes below)
6. Have a handful of nuts when you have fruit to slow down the insulin surge.
7. Avoid adrenal stimulants (over-training/inadequate sleep/concentrated sugars/artificial sweeteners/partially hydrogenated fats/nicotine/alcohol/allergic foods/caffeine).
8. As Michael Pollan says “In Defense of Food” EAT FOOD, NOT TOO MUCH, MOSTLY PLANTS with some lean meat and quality grains. (Read this book to understand how we agonize over nutrition as we’ve strayed away from basic unadulterated food.)
9. Fast overnight-but for no longer than 14 hours

Breads/Crackers/Cookies
Food For Life Rice Breads-rice flour
Sesamark Crackers-rice crackers
Mary’s Gone Crackers-rice/quinoa/flax
Pamela’s Cookies-rice flour

Hot Cereals
Ancient harvest quinoa flakes with walnut/brazil nut milk
Lundberg brown rice cereal with almond/hazelnut milk

Cold Cereals
Fiona’s Quinoa Crunch-delicious granola
Make your own Muesli-Try fresh cut up nectarine/raspberries and 1 scoop of ground flax with sesame/sunflower/pumpkin seed and/or almonds

Pastas
Thai rice stick noodles/ rice vermicelli noodles
Brown rice pasta’s from TJ’s and Tinkyada brand from Rainbow

Milks/Yogurt/Kefir
Make your own Nut Milk : soak 1 c. nuts overnight then rinse and place in blender with 5 c. water & blend for 5 minutes then strain through cheese cloth bag
Soy/Rice/Goat Yogurt and Kefir
Almond/Hazelnut/Rice/Soy/Hemp milks

Shakes/Smoothies
Fresh Fruit Smoothies:
1)Mango, vanilla rice protein powder 1 scoop, ground flax scoop & almond milk 1 &1/2 c. Blend until smooth
2)Cherries (handful pitted), almonds (handful), chocolate rice protein powder 1 scoop & Add cinnamon/ginger for a kick
Green Smoothies :
1)Russian Red Kale or Dino Kale (a few pieces w/spine removed), ripe pear or apple (cut up) & spearmint (1/3 bunch) blended for 5 minutes with 4 c. water.
2) Spinach or Any kind of Chard (a few pieces w/spine removed), nectarine, mint (1/3 bunch) blended for 5 minutes with 4 c. water.

All foods can be found @ Rainbow but TJ’s does carry brown rice pasta and Food For Life’s brown rice bread (other flavors only available @ Rainbow)

check out this link for Trader Joes gluten free options:
http://www.traderjoes.com/Attachments/NoGluten.pdf