10 Things To Keep You Well During Holiday Binges
You’re going to do it. You know it will happen. So why does a large percentage of the Western world (including you) eat inflammatory weight gaining foods during the holidays? The kind that keeps them bloated with bad health? Most do this every year with the knowledge that after the crystal ball falls on New Year’s Eve, they will (again) wish they had eaten healthier, but couldn’t.
Most folks do this every year for a lifetime. Would you be interested in learning how to break this healthy cells-ravaging cycle? I might just be able to show you how in my extremely informative new book Healed by Farm. It only takes a short time to learn the johnrankinsway.
For those of you who need a little help getting through the holidays and keeping your health intact, I recommend 10 easy to do but very important things that will keep your gut healthier, inflammation lower, immune system stronger and weight lower, even if you haven’t changed your eating habits just yet and still eat terribly!
- Upon rising each morning drink a minimum 8 oz. water, even before your feet hit the floor. A human body is dehydrated after 8 hrs. of sleep. This will re-hydrate your organs such as kidneys, bladder, colon and liver–all while flushing out the bad toxins you ate the night before. The more you drink, the healthier you become. Water is cheap, so try some!
- Deep breathing. Take 10 deep breathes, half thru your mouth and half through your nose. Exhale slowly. Breath extremely deep into your lungs to the point you feel them expand. Do this 2-3 times daily for oxygenated muscles and faster metabolism, which will give you much more energy for any activity. And it makes you feel great!
- Enjoy a daily fresh-squeezed lemonade to help reverse an acidic body from an overdose of processed holiday foods. This happens when the lemon metabolizes into a great alkaline food source. It should help to keep inflammation and weight down. For sweetening, use only a pure stevia with no other ingredients on the bottle, no maltodextrin or dextrose labeling, none, just stevia! Squeeze 1 lemon in a quart of pure water and sip all day long, every day!
- Keep your vitamin-D 3 level at 85-90. (A simple blood test will reveal your level.) Some people take 10,000 to 15,000 units daily to achieve this level, especially in the winter. If needed, get this from organic liquid drops and not hard pills or capsules. This should do the trick to help keep your immune system in overdrive protecting you from disease, even while eating poorly chosen foods.
- Get some exercise. Even during the holidays, you need to move your body. Something such as hurrying up a hill or some yoga-type extreme stretching a couple times daily will keep your heart and muscles pumped full of healthy blood and oxygen. This takes 3 easy minutes, so do it in the morning and also before bedtime for a better night’s sleep.
- Spend time outdoors as often as possible…even a short time is better than not at all. This reconnects you to nature and allows your body to breathe in all of the healthy bacteria and viruses that are meant to pump-up our immune systems, naturally! It’s Mother Nature’s way!
- Steep and drink ginger, turmeric and cardamom tea once daily, swapping out occasionally with a healthy green tea. Make this with a couple of ginger and turmeric root slices the size of a quarter each and ⅛ tsp crushed green cardamom. Steep all this in 12-16 oz. pure hot water under 155 degrees. A tablespoon of pure local honey would add a little extra good health along with delicious taste benefits.
- Keep some healthy finger foods at your fingertips. Use olive oil on vegetables in place of processed ranch dressing. Go for the watermelon first (very alkalizing) if available on party trays and be sure to include nuts and seeds in your diet.
- Study something every day that will greatly improve your life like my new book Healed by Farm. This will make a big difference in the way you think, eat and feel, plus give you intense motivation to choose food wisely.
- Getting a good night’s sleep could be your best friend. 8 hours is best. Slow down the evening sugars and caffeine by 7pm so that a good rest is possible. My favorite evening medicine is a glass of raw milk at bedtime.
Enjoy your holidays! All the best to you and yours!
~ John