6-Immune Boosting Infused Water Ideas

Infused water isn’t just delicious, it’s one of the easiest ways to get more nutrients without even really trying. Seriously, all you have to do is dump fruit in a pitcher and add water! We all know we should drink more H2O, and infusing is a perfect way to do so.

The new book Water Infusions by Mariza Snyder and Lauren Clum breaks down the benefits of infused water and gives handy tips for keeping up the habit (did you know you can save yourself 200 calories a day by drinking a glass of water before you reach for a snack?). Best of all, it includes 75 delicious recipes for unique flavor combinations, and gives a thorough listing of the health- and beauty-boosting properties of commonly used ingredients like lemon, berries and ginger. It’s an encyclopedia (a fun-to-read one, of course) of infused water!

With fall upon us, our immune systems are working overtime, which can snowball into colds, flu, digestive bugs, respiratory ailments and a general “blah” feeling. We’ve rounded up 6 great-tasting infused water ideas from Water Infusions that will help you get your body back on track, and have some other bonus benefits.

Not sure which flavors to start with? Lemon water is the perfect sip to start the day. Cucumber water is a classic, but we like to take it to the next level and make mixes with these fruits and herbs.

1. Pear + Raspberries + Rosemary

People often drink rosemary tea to soothe indigestion, constipation, and bloating. Adding a few stalks of fresh rosemary to your water can give you some of the same digestive benefits and support immune function.

2. Pomegranate seeds + Persimmon + Orange + Cinnamon Sticks + Allspice Berries

For a warming spice, try adding cinnamon sticks to infused water. Cinnamon is a powerful antioxidant, and helps to stabilize blood sugar, and is an efficient metabolism booster. Pomegranate seeds and orange add a dose of vitamin C and skin-loving antioxidants.

3. Blueberries + Lemon + Cucumber

Lemon water helps you flush out your system, making it a great way to start the day. And cucumber-infused water provides valuable antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits. Along with blueberries, cucumbers are a delicious source of nutrients like vitamin.

4. Orange + Vanilla Beans + Cinnamon Sticks

This calming mix provides a hydrating dose of vitamin C. And while cinnamon has been studied for its blood sugar-lowering capabilities, research also shows that just the smell of cinnamon enhances concentration and cognitive processing. Relaxing vanilla is another excellent spice for infused water (along with cardamom pods, fresh ginger, and cloves).

5. Cranberries + Apple + Lemon + Orange Zest + Pomegranate Seeds

Does a glass of apple-infused water a day keep the doctor away? Perhaps! Apples have well-documented benefits for a healthy heart, which are associated with their polyphenol content as well as the water-soluble fiber, pectin. The nutrients in apples are concentrated in their skin, so thin slices with the skin on is the way to go.

6. Pear + Pomegranate Seeds + Cloves

This fruit and spice combination is the perfect fall mix to boost energy, improve digestion and fight inflammation.

Read up on the basics of infused water, then try out these new wintery combinations!

 

Hello glow by Stephanie Gerber

Help You Gut

Let us launch our journey to digestive health and banishing the bloat by eliminating the Terrible Trio from the diet: sugar, gluten and dairy.

What to Eliminate

Sugar drives inflammation and adds the “empty calories” that make healthy weight almost impossible. By emphasizing whole foods, especially vegetables and fruits, we’re saying good-bye to processed foods with all their added sugar and potentially toxic chemical ingredients. That includes sugary sodas, sweetened drinks, teas, artificial sweeteners and fruit juice.

Gluten, a protein compound, is found in wheat and other common grains and virtually everywhere in the processed food supply. Lose it! For many people, especially women, gluten triggers an immune-system response that can result in digestive upset, bloating and symptoms that pop up anywhere in the body, including fatigue and depression.

Dairy is probably the most common food sensitivity, causing bloat, gas and IBS-type symptoms. We’ll find out if dairy is causing you problems by eliminating it for the first and second weeks.

What to Limit

Give your gut a vacation from potential irritants by limiting:

• Grains: Only a couple servings of gluten-free grains a week. On the good-to-eat list are: brown rice, certified gluten-free oats, and so-called “pseudo-grains” like quinoa, buckwheat and amaranth.
• Caffeinated beverages: No more than one 8-ounce cup of coffee or two cups of tea (green, white or black) a day, without milk or cream.
• Alcohol: None

What to Embrace

FFP: Fiber, fat and protein. That’s how I sum up how you should be eating this first week, and for all four weeks of the plan. Whenever you can, load up on vegetables with a full range of colors. They’re packed with vitamins, minerals and the fiber that feeds the good bacteria in your gut, helping to protect and maintain digestive health. Also great for fiber, in moderation, are fresh fruit and some whole grains like steel-cut, gluten-free oats; quinoa; and buckwheat. Healthy fats like nuts, seeds and avocados can help make you feel fuller in between meals and give your digestive system time to cleanse itself. Wild fish is a great source of healthy fat and the protein you need for a balanced diet. Lean chicken, turkey and beef, in moderation, are also good sources of protein, B vitamins and minerals like zinc.

How Will I Feel?

Everyone is different, but during this first week many of my clients feel their sugar cravings lessen and their belly calm down, resulting in less bloat and gas.

Add  fermented foods into the mix, foods like unsweetened plain non-milk yogurt and kefir; miso, tempeh and tofu made from soy; and fermented veggies like cabbage (sauerkraut) and beets. The live bacterial cultures in these foods interact with our own gut bacteria. They start working together to help improve our cholesterol, our blood pressure, our immunity, even our mood and they can help us maintain a healthy weight and eliminate bloat.

Kathie Madonna Swift, MS, RD, LDN

Yeast The Hidden Cause Your Exhaustion

 

Normally, the lining of your intestines is covered with thousands of species of bacteria, some fungi, and even some viruses and parasites. The good bugs, or probiotics, normally work with your body to maintain good digestion. However, the balance of good bugs and bad bugs can get thrown off. When this happens, yeast can take over.

This may happen if one frequently uses antibiotics or overeats sugar or other simple carbs. Good bugs are killed by the antibiotics; bad bugs are fueled by extra sugar. The gut’s delicate ecosystem is thrown off and the bad bugs take over, which can result in many chronic illnesses and symptoms including allergies, chronic inflammation, joint problems, mood and brain disorders, digestive symptoms and more.

Full-blown yeast infections are most commonly seen in those who have compromised immune systems: those with HIV/AIDS, many cancer patients, and those who have gotten an organ transplant. However, non-immunocompromised people can still experience problems from yeast overgrowth.

Yeast Overgrowth Symptoms

You may have a yeast problem if you have one or more of these symptoms:

General Symptoms

• Chronic fatigue
• Loss of energy
• General malaise
• Decreased libido
• Inability to concentrate
• Irritability

Gastrointestinal Symptoms

• Bloating and gas
• Intestinal cramps
• Itching in anal region
• Diarrhea or constipation

Urinary Symptoms

• Yeast infections
• Frequent bladder infections
• Irritable bladder (also known as interstitial cystitis)

Immune System Complaints

• Allergies
• Sensitivities to certain foods or chemicals
• Low immune function

Past History Of

• Chronic yeast infections
• Chronic antibiotic use for infections or acne
• Using oral birth control pills or steroids
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Eczema or psoriasis

Other Symptoms or Conditions

• Menstrual irregularities like pain, bleeding, etc.
• Depression
• Thyroid dysfunction
• Craving for foods rich in carbohydrates or yeast
• Toenail fungus

Yeast infections affect people differently. Hence, this list of symptoms is very broad and can mimic symptoms associated with other conditions. If you are experiencing more than one of these symptoms, you should take a simple yeast test. It only takes 15 minutes and requires a glass of water and your saliva.

The Simple Yeast Test

Take a clear glass of water and spit into it within 30 minutes of waking up. Make sure you build up a bunch of saliva, but just saliva from your mouth – don’t cough up anything. Do this before you rinse, spit or put anything into your mouth. Then wait for 15 minutes.

Your saliva will float on the surface of the water, which is normal. However, if you see cloudy saliva that sinks to the bottom of the glass like sediment, you may be seeing colonies of yeast. You may also see the saliva on the top with tiny strings that start to hang down that may look like jellyfish, hair, or spider legs, or suspended specks of yeast floating in the middle of the glass.

Keep in mind, this test is not 100% accurate and it’s not the only test you can take to test for yeast. You can also have your doctor take a swab sample from your mouth or your vagina and test it for yeast overgrowth. Doctors can also do blood tests for yeast antibodies, stool tests or organic acid urine tests for yeast metabolites. However, the best method of diagnosis comes from a good solid history of symptoms.

How to Manage Yeast Overgrowth

Wellness physician and dietician, Dr. Elizabeth Boham suggests three easy steps that can help fight yeast overgrowth symptoms and fight your exhaustion.

The first step is called the cut out and cut back approach. This involves cutting the yeast’s fuel, allowing your immune system to kick in and fight the yeast. Skip sugary foods like baked goods, ice cream and candy. You should also cut back on starches, like potatoes, bread, pasta and cereal. These sugary and starchy foods encourage the growth of unhealthy bacteria and yeast.

Instead, eat foods that help your good bacteria take over. Focus on fermented foods, which have good bacteria in them. They include foods like sauerkraut and kimchi, which you can put in eggs, soups or rice. Vegetables are always a good idea because of their high-fiber content. Some high-fiber grains like quinoa, oats, brown rice, seeds, nuts and buckwheat are also helpful. Fiber helps to feed and nurture the good bacteria.

The second step involves using probiotics to tip the scales in your gut. By building up good bacteria in your gut, you help counter the effects of the yeast and bad bacteria causing inflammation and irritation within the gut. Yogurt and fermented foods are both great sources of   probiotics; however, if you need a more powerful dose, you may want to get your probiotics from a pill that has at least 25 billion active live organisms. Learn more about probiotics.

The third step involves combating the yeast directly with anti-fungal herbs. Two helpful herbs are raw garlic and thyme. Dr. Boham recommends eating 1 to 2 cloves of raw garlic per day. Chop it up and put it in olive oil or add some to a salad. As for thyme, you can use a thyme oil tincture on your skin in yeast-prone areas, for example to help treat athlete’s foot or an itchy scalp. Do not ingest the thyme oil, since it has been associated with toxic reactions.

Try this for two weeks and see if your symptoms go away. If not, see your doctor.

Standard Medical Treatment For A Bad Gallbladder

Learn how most doctors are likely to treat a bad gallbladder

Most conventional medical doctors feel that people can easily live without a gallbladder. So when patients come to them seeking treatment for a bad gallbladder, all too often the recommendation is surgical removal. As a result, over half a million people in the U.S. alone lose their gallbladder to surgery each year—and they are most often told there will be few, if any, long-term negative consequences.

In my opinion, this is a crime. Here’s why.

Bile acids are produced from cholesterol in your liver and then flow into your gallbladder where they are stored and concentrated as much as fivefold. As your body senses the movement of fat into the small intestine, the gallbladder releases the bile to emulsify the fat—making it easier to absorb.

With a healthy gallbladder, proper amounts of bile are released into the digestive tract as needed. But once the gallbladder has been removed, there is a continuous trickle of bile into your system regardless of the presence or absence of fat. The failure to match bile output to fat presence jeopardizes one’s ability to properly digest fat and, eventually, leads to deficiencies in fat–soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids, poor cholesterol metabolism, and the absorption of improperly digested fat globules.

Keep Your Gallbladder

Instead of immediately opting for surgery and subjecting yourself to such long-term digestive health consequences, I recommend a number of alternative therapies to treat a bad gallbladder. And if you’ve already lost your gallbladder to surgery, see my advice on how to help your body regulate the proper flow of bile after the removal of your gallbladder.

 

Discover why a gallbladder malfunctions

Your gallbladder is like a small sack that stores and regulates bile. Bile is a fluid made in the liver that is essential to the digestion of fat.

Location of gallbladder      

As fat from your food passes into the small intestine, the gallbladder dumps in the proper amount of bile to aid in fat digestion.

But if the liver is overloaded with too many toxins from health conditions like constipation; persistent drug, alcohol, or hormone use; or contaminated or highly processed foods, the bile it releases to the gallbladder can become extremely concentrated. The gallbladder can then become clogged with the thickened bile or the gallstones that can form due to the extra thick bile.

Once clogged, the gallbladder will likely begin to malfunction and you may experience extremely uncomfortable bloating from 5 to 20 minutes after eating, along with other symptoms of a bad gallbladder.
Dr. Williams