For the Love of Wine and Pomegranate Martinis
This is something out of a bad dream sequence! Jay Leno asked on his show once, "Hey, did you hear about the new vodka designed for sipping with salad? Yeah, you are supposed to sip it with salad after your aerobics step class...I would think that if you need to drink vodka after your aerobics step class, than maybe you should be in another kind of step program." Anyway, here is my story. I used to love to drink wine (for years!) until my body said No more! by sending messages in the form of nasal congestion, headaches, and rashes on my face! Maybe it was a sulfite sensitivity situation. So, I switched to drinking Pomegranate Martinis. Oh, the wonderful light taste. Especially invigorating after attending a long dry wedding. Just kidding. Really, though, I just can’t drink like I used to. I am not nor have ever been an alcoholic, but when I think of all the picnics, parties, wine with many meals, and events that include social drinking over a period of 30 years, I start to wonder, What has this done to my liver? Have you caught yourself wondering about this, too? Add this to the news reports about how acetaminophen (example - Tylenol®) and ibuprofen can damage your liver. Especially when taken with alcohol! So, again, curiosity pushed me to learn more and to share this information with you! The book, Dr. Whitaker’s Guide to Natural Healing, America’s Leading Wellness Doctor Shares His Secrets for Lifelong Health, states that the liver is the most important organ in removing and eliminating toxic chemicals from the blood. The liver was not designed to deal with all the pollutants of our modern day. Heavy metals such as aluminum, mercury, and lead take a toll on the liver. It is further strained by food additives, medicines, pesticides and herbicides. Question: Why was the Mad Hatter, mad? Answer: Back in days when Alice & Wonderland was written, the brims of hats contained mercury. It made the hatters, mad! Symptoms of heavy metal poisoning are fatigue, headache, anemia, poor coordination, abnormal nerve reflexes, depression, confusion, and tingling in the extremities. When the liver gets overworked, the bile flow diminishes. Naturopathic physicians call it a sluggish liver. The medical term is cholestasis. Some causes can be the presence of gallstones, alcohol (ooops, there we go again), oral contraceptives, hyperthyroidism or thyroxine supplementation for hypothyroidism, a slew of other drugs, and viral hepatitis. (hepatitis means inflammation of the liver) The condition cirrhosis of the liver is when the liver is scarred and furthered hindered in its purification process. Yeah, there is a cirrhosis/alcohol correlation, too. A good screen for heavy metal toxicity is a hair–mineral analysis. Our health is directly tied to our ability to detoxify and there are things you can do to help your body detoxify. 1. Adopt a healthy lifestyle by incorporating regular physical activity. 2. Dr. Whitaker suggests various fasting regimens. 3. You can also boost liver function by adding a compound of milk thistle called silymarin (a plant) which is one of the most potent liver medicines around. He suggests a dosage of 70 to 210 milligrams, 3 times a day. 4. Choose foods that assist the liver such as pears, apples, legumes, and oat bran, broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, carrots, dandelion, beets, artichokes, onions, garlic, legumes, cinnamon and licorice. So, where are the dandelion and milk thistle recipe ideas? If milk thistle salad sounds prickly and you are afraid dandelions might stain your teeth, below is a product that can take the guesswork out of the healthy liver equation! This liver complex supplement contains: 300 mg Milk Thistle seed extract to help regenerate liver cells. 900 mg of a blend containing Silymarin, with antioxidant properties that help maintain liver cell integrity. Schizandra chinensis, a Chinese herb that supports protein synthesis for liver cell repair. dandelion, maintains bile flow necessary to eliminate compounds detoxified by the liver, Reishi mushroom, a plant dating back 4,000 years and known for its antioxidant properties. This liver complex also contains turmeric, artichoke extract, and more herbs for health. I take these supplements as well.
So what is up with the detox diets? Alexia Smith PhD in Nutritional Bio chemistry explains the different popular diets such as fasting which can lead to muscle mass loss and metabolic disorders. "Cleansing" enemas/ colon cleansing and adding supplements or teas. Laxatives can lead to intestinal dependencies. Many are unproven claims and have potential risks and danger. More to come...under construction. Please Check Back! Contact us for more information about how to obtain Shaklee products! We are Shaklee Independent Distributors and supply Shaklee products to folks in the USA, Canada, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Mexico too! Frey Wine - No added sulfites - I can drink wine again! Here is a beautiful video about resveratrol To find out more about this resveratrol product click here Oprah's Pomegranate Martini Recipe Humor aside, here is a disconcerting article about a woman who went into overdrive with wine consumption and almost died. She calls liver illness a silent killer.
The above statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The idea is to make decisions that support and optimize our health.
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