Spring Body Cleanse, Detoxify Your Body This Spring!

Spring is here and it’s a time of birth, growth and renewal. What is happening in nature is symbolic of what is happening in your own body. When your body is following the natural rhythm of the seasons. it wants to purge and cleanse itself of all the fat buildup and toxins it accumulated throughout the winter, so that you will you have more energy. When you look at health from an Oriental Medicine Five Element perspective you will see liver energy is dominant in spring. When you are in touch with the seasonal changes, spring is a great time to do a spring body cleanse.

Your liver is your main organ for detoxification. The largest and one of the most important internal organs, the liver must function for us to live. It is responsible for over 500 jobs, and it is the main organ associated with stress. Signs that your liver energy is congested include: unexplainable fatigue, depression, irritability or anger, mood swings, feeling overwhelmed by stress, PMS or hormonal imbalance, headaches, allergies, skin breakouts, nausea or vomiting, bloating, gas and sluggish digestion. 

If your liver becomes overly congested with toxins, as often happens with our modern lifestyle, then it is important to do a spring body cleanse.

START YOUR CLEANSE

I invite you to join me in a spring body cleanse. It is quite easy to do while still working and only takes 7 days. You do have to prepare for it, but once you have all the produce and supplements, then it is quite straightforward. These are some of the benefits: It helps your body detoxify naturally, supports healthy digestion, helps jump-start weight loss, helps increase focus and energy, helps with hunger management, and helps improve sleep quality.

During the cleanse, in addition to taking my regular supplements, I will be including products that specifically support cleansing the body. These are: OptiFlora® probiotic which provides support for digestive health by delivering live healthy bacteria to the lower intestine; DTX® Complex which contains milk thistle and helps increase your liver’s ability to clean and detoxify your blood; Alfalfa Complex which acts as a blood cleanser; and Herb-Lax® which helps provide gentle relief for occasional periods of irregularity and cleanses the colon.

Here’s an overview of what the spring body cleanse looks like: For seven days, be prepared to eat raw veggies and fruit all day. Pack veggies and fruit for convenience when you are out. You can eat every 2 hours. Drink at least 6 to 10 glasses of water each day. In the evening, eat a salad with half an avocado and full-fat dressing.

During the week you get unlimited fresh veggies – raw, lightly steamed, or sautéed in 1–2 tablespoons of olive oil or coconut oil. You can also eat some low-sugar fruit and 1-2 servings of specified protein. It is all laid out in a program which I can send to you. Everything you can eat and what to avoid.

So, if you are feeling stressed, feeling low in energy, or having digestive challenges, this is an excellent time for a cleanse.

I would love to support you while we do the spring body cleanse together. I have set up a private Facebook group for extra support. Contact me to learn how we all can feel healthier in 7 days.

START YOUR CLEANSE

To your good health,

Charlene

10 Quick Energy Boosters

We live in such a go, go society. We are constantly on the move. As a result, we get tired from all this running around. Here are some quick tips to get your energy back on track.

1. Take a breath

Just take a moment and notice your breathing. Once you do this you will probably, just through the notice, take a deeper breath. Continue to breathe deeply. The focus on your breath will temporarily quiet your mind as well. This can be done throughout the day as a quick refocusing and re-energizing.

2. Stretch

When we are constantly on the go, stress builds up in our muscles. Doing gentle stretches can re-energize and can bring the blood flow back into the muscles. Maybe make this a new habit to do every few hours, especially if you are working in front of a computer all day.

3. Lie down and meditate

Take time out and lie down. Set the timer for five or ten minutes and give yourself a timeout. You can meditate if you want or just experience the silence. You will feel so much better after you give your mind a rest. Be careful not to lie down for more than an hour during the day as when you get up, you will feel groggy instead of energized.

4. Exercise or take a walk

Find little exercises you can do for a few minutes here and there throughout the day. Or go for a five-minute walk to re-energize yourself.

5. Take a whole food natural energy supplement

Sometimes our blood sugar needs a pick-me-up. Instead, the usual coffee and donuts, head towards a whole food natural energy supplement. It will give a more natural energy boost, not the temporary one that the caffeine and sugar gives you.

6. Drink water

Drinking water is so important, as when we feel tired, it can be a sign of dehydration. So, a real quick energy booster is drink some purified water.

7. Smile or even laugh out loud

Even if you must fake it at the beginning, give this a go. Even if you feel silly for a bit. This will affect your mood and your mindset and give you more energy.

8. Listen to your favorite music

This is a quick energy booster. You can even dance around to the music. Music is good for your brain health as well.

9. Recite some positive affirmations or get in touch with your vision

This can change your energy quickly as we are what we think. When we say these affirmations out loud they can be even more powerful in changing our energy. When we align with our vision, it is totally energizing.

10. Being grateful

Think of something that you are grateful for and feel it and hold that image for a few minutes. You will feel your energy change for sure with this one.

There are many more energy tips that you can add to this list. Just remember to actually do some of them and you will feel so much better for it.

Now I have a quiz for you. Take a guess as to my favorite energy booster and then email me your answer. I will send you a gift for taking a guess even if it is not the right one. Have fun and get energized!

To your good health.

Charlene

Features of Whole Food, Nutrient Dense Concentrated Alive Vitamins

Which Vitamins to Buy?

When it comes to choosing which vitamins to take, it is pretty confusing out there. Our first choice is where we buy our vitamins. We can go to the drug store, the health food store, buying clubs like Costco or through direct sales/internet where they are delivered to our homes. After we make that choice, there are dozens of the same type of vitamins to choose from. What criteria should we use? Most people think price. But when it comes to quality, the price is not the standard to go by.

Most people do not realize that there are three main ways of manufacturing vitamins on the market. So to the untrained eye, these vitamins all look the same except for the price point. So here are some pointers to help you choose more wisely.

Typically if you are shopping in a drug store or some buying clubs, you are going to find the synthetic type (test tube type) of vitamins.

Features of Synthetic Vitamins:

• Use man-made, inorganic substances, chemically derived, often petroleum-based products.
• Often contain sugar & unnatural flavours, colours, fillers, binders, preservatives, sweeteners
• Chemical, high-heat or high-pressure processing destroys active ingredients & enzymes
• Very poor dissolve-ability
• Very poor bio-availability
• Do not build long-term health
• May act as a stimulant (temporarily feel ‘better’)
• May have negative side effects in some people
• Unrecognized by body, not found in nature, ‘unnatural’ to self
• When vitamins are made synthetically, it costs very little and that is passed along to the consumer. But when you think about it, are you really saving money when the money you just spent is not being utilized in your body? To me that is a waste of money.

If you are shopping in a typical health food store and some direct sales companies, you are going to find natural isolates using the extraction method.

Features of Extracted Vitamins:

• Isolated nutrient; no co-factors present; poorly balanced formula
• ‘Natural’ sourced – only a small portion must be natural, according to government labeling regulations
• May contain questionable fillers, binders, etc.
• Processing methods questionable; active ingredients & enzymes often destroyed
• Often poor dissolve-ability
• Often poor to fair bio-availability
• Better than synthetics, but do not build true long-term health
• Portions recognizable by the body but have to steal co-factors from your body for true absorption; so gives to you and steals from you.
• When you are buying the extracted version, it is a toss-up whether you are getting ahead or not as it depends on how much your body needs to “spend” in order to get the extracted vitamin metabolized. So the potential for losing money is there if your body does not have adequate stores of nutrients to help with the processing of the extracted version.

If you are shopping for some direct sales companies or getting your vitamins from a practitioner of some kind, then you are probably getting whole food, nutrient dense concentrates.

Features of Whole Food, Nutrient Dense Concentrates (Alive Vitamins):

• Nature’s balance; high potency; nature’s co-factors present
• High quality, pure, organically sourced raw materials
• Low heat or no heat, low-pressure processing ensures active ingredients and high enzymatic activity
• No harsh binders, fillers
• No refined sugar, artificial sweeteners, preservatives, colours, flavours
• Ideal, effective dissolve-ability, available when & where needed
• Ideal, effective bio-availability, easily utilized by cells
• Body recognizes as ‘belonging to self’ or ‘natural’, highly usable
• Builds long-term health by supporting body’s innate wisdom

When you compare whole food concentrates with real food, you see that you save money while being nourished. For example, one of my Vitamin C tablets costs me 22 cents and it is equal to my buying 7 and a half oranges. My body feels the difference when I nourish it properly which is my biggest saving. Since the food values have decreased due to food becoming a business and the soils being depleted, my body loves the whole food nutrient dense concentrates to supplement what I am missing from my diet.

Bottom line; when it comes to choosing your vitamins, you get what you pay for. If you are interested in exploring this further, I have a list of scientific questions that will help you confirm whether or not you are getting your money’s worth when buying vitamins. Contact me by emailing Charlene@CharleneDay.com and I will send you this list.

I’d love to hear from you or answer any questions.

To your good health!

Charlene Day

When You Need More Energy – Naturally

Sometimes we need more energy to do a particular task. This week I needed more energy when I got the call from my granddaughter that she was in labor around 11 p.m. So as her Doula, instead of preparing for bed, I prepared to go to the midwives’ clinic where we were meeting for the birth. So I had to switch gears and rev up my energy instead of preparing for a quiet night’s sleep.

So how can we get that extra boost naturally?

Many people turn to drinks like coffee and Red Bull type energy drinks. But these are not natural and overall are not healthy for you.

I am going to share what I did to get through the night without any sleep and to have enough energy to be there for my granddaughter as she went through the birthing process.

The first thing I did was get a few water bottles filled up with purified water. Enough for her and me. Then I grabbed a can of Performance. This is an electrolyte balancing powder that prevents dehydration. It bypasses the stomach and contains three types of carbohydrates for energy and stamina. This was added to the water. It was especially important for her as she needed that extra energy between contractions.

I took a bag of Shaklee Energy Chews to pass around to all of us at the birth. I gave extra to the father of the baby as he had to go to work the next day. Each chew contains a scientific blend of caffeine from natural green tea extract associated with energy and performance, plus key amino acids  L-tyrosine, L-theanine associated with mental alertness and focus, energy-releasing B vitamins and vitamins D and C. So each chew boosts your energy naturally.

I also packed a bottle of B Complex. The B Complex promotes cellular energy production and converts food into energy for your cells. This Shaklee B has a unique folic acid coating that makes the nutrient more accessible to promote absorption. So the B Complex was available all night to give an extra boost when needed. Since B’s are water soluble, we could just take them without food.

Speaking of food, when you want to stay awake all night, you don’t want to eat foods heavy in carbohydrates, like those found in sugary drinks, cookies, and processed foods. They provide a fast boost of energy by spiking your blood sugar and then dropping it quickly, followed by a crash. So it best to stay away from those if you want to keep your energy up.

I also brought some 180 Energizing Teas sticks. They are a safe and natural way to get a quick pick-me-up.  They contain an exclusive blend of antioxidant-rich green, white and red teas, as well as taurine, which naturally boosts your energy and enhances alertness. Since they are in a powder form and can be added to cold water, that is how we drank it during the night.

The last item in my bag of goodies was Stress Relief Complex.  The Stress Relief Complex formula contains ashwagandha, a traditional adaptogenic herb used to help the body adapt to heightened stress. Adaptogens help your entire body gently cope with stress, anxiety, and, of course, fatigue.

So we all went through the night with great energy, thanks to my bag of natural goodies. My granddaughter gave birth to a healthy baby boy (featured in the picture when 2 hours old) completely naturally. Natural birth and natural energy aids, what more could you ask for.

To your good health!

Charlene

12 Steps To Reduce Your Risk Of Cancer

April is cancer month so I thought it is important to address this before the month is over. We are in a situation where 1 in 2 people will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their life. Back in the fifties, it was 1 in 80.

60% of cancers are preventable according to the American Cancer Society. Science has proven that diseases are not “caught” but are caused by what we eat or don’t eat, and by the accumulation of a “toxin-load” from a polluted world.

More than 95% of all chronic disease is caused by food choices, toxic food ingredients, nutritional deficiencies and lack of physical exercise. In 1970 North Americans spent 7.2 Billion on fast food. In 2016 North Americans spent 200 Billion on fast food.

Every minute 10 million cells in your body divide to create new cells. Usually, this process occurs at the right time and in the right way. However, if the cell division process is defective, then cancer cells may be produced. Nutritional deficiencies, toxic chemicals, imbalanced hormones, stress, radiation, and heavy metals are some of the causes of a defective division process.

12 steps to reduce your risk of cancer.

Step 1: Healthy food choices. This will involve aiming for healthier foods, eliminating non-foods, staying hydrated and focusing on “clean eating”.

Step 2: Drink optimal pure water. Get the “Clean Water” water pitcher from Shaklee. It reduces contaminants that affect your health. Much more the leading brands, and comes with contaminant reduction claims that are certified.

Step 3: Lifestyle changes. Exercise often and get adequate rest. Stress also dramatically increases the need for nutrients as does the increased toxin exposure which requires more antioxidant protection.

Step 4: Reduce toxic exposure. it just takes 26 seconds for the chemicals in your personal care products to enter your bloodstream. Take a look at what is in your products including your cleaning products.

Step 5: Supplement with high-quality supplements. Supplementation is essential these days due to hectic lifestyles that make it hard to eat right and our devitalized soil creates deficiencies.

Step 6: Include quality, non-GMO, raw-processed soy protein in the diet daily. Make sure it is water-washed soy and that the anti-thyroid/anti-growth enzyme is removed.

Step 7: Increase your antioxidants. Every day your cells are bombarded with up to a million DNA assaults that can damage the cell’s genetic code and create a “typo” that compromises the cells function, causes cellular aging and increases the risk of cancer. The concentrated tonic “Vivix” undoes this damage.

Step 8: Support the production of Interferon in every cell in your body with the use of polysaccharides. The best way is through “NutriFeron” as it increases natural interferon.

Step 9: Optimize your Vitamin D3 Levels and decrease your risk of cancer by more than half.

Step 10: Optimize your Vitamin C, Vitamin E & Carotenoids to reduce your risk.

Step 11: Detoxify your body. There are many cleanses on the market but Alfalfa, OptiFlora, DTX, Herb-Lax and lots of water and fiber can be taken daily to detoxify.

Step 12: Laugh and love … express love for your fellow humans … hug someone today.

This just gives you some highlights. Contact me if you have any questions about any of the terms.

The bottom line – prevention is key.

To your good health!
Charlene