If you’re a regular ol’ Canadian who loves turkey and getting together with the family, you probably enjoyed a mighty feast last weekend. I don’t know about you but I’m feeling like a champion! If you aren’t feeling the same way, that might be because you ate a little too much and are feeling a little bloated. Sure, you still want to eat those bacon strips in the morning, but how about a substitute? Or even just a supplement?
These are 3 things you can add into your daily regimen (you don’t have to include all 3 each day) to make you feel better every day. Trying each of these suggestions will have your body (and mind) work more effectively and more freely.
Apples
Whether you choose to juice them or eat them on their own, apples are a great food to consume. If you are going to juice them, there’s no need to peel them because the majority of nutrients can be found right under the skin of the apple.
As a ‘miracle food’, it’s no wonder that apples have their own saying and are one of the most cultivated fruits in the world. They contain a high source of phytochemicals such as quercetin, catechin, phloridzin, and chlorogenic acid.[1] These phytochemicals act as antioxidants, protecting cells from damage. The mechanisms studied in apples have been proven to have a positive effect in relation to cancer, cardiovascular disease, asthma, weight management, and bone health.[2] Sounds like a pretty good deal.
So use the season to your advantage and collect the hundreds of apples still available on the ground! Many of these apples are in perfect condition and people think that they’re bad because they’ve fallen from the tree. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, the apples that are on the ground should be the ones you pick first because they are the ripest. I learned that firsthand from apple farmers at Country Apple Orchard Farm.
Ivan Chai
Like apples, tea contains a lot of polyphenols. In one cup of tea, you would consume typically 100 mg polyphenols.[3] Ivan Chai in particular, which is lesser known in the world of teas today, especially in the Western hemisphere, has major restorative benefits. The tea is created from a plant called ‘fireweed’ which grows most prominently in areas that have experienced forest fires.[4] In addition to healing wildlife, it is also instrumental in healing people.
You can buy the tea from a European deli or try to find some of the plant in a forest near you. The tea strengthens the immune system and is often used to combat common colds. It’s also a terrific tool to use for helping with the production of red blood cells. As it is a diuretic, it will help to flush the body of many toxins.
Yoga
Of course we’re going to include yoga in here. If nobody’s told you yet, let me break it to you; yoga’s goal is liberation—and that includes our body. But you can’t just expect that the feeling of being bloated will go away after meditating for five minutes and doing an array of different asanas. You have to target the region of your body that is feeling that discomfort. That means that your movements should be focusing on the digestive system.
“Why do I specifically have to target the digestive system?” You might ask.
Well, think about it this way. If you injured your MCL (medial collateral ligament), you’re not going to do physiotherapy for your whole body, right? All you need to target is your MCL.
The same is true with “injuring” your stomach (yes, I just called overeating an injury; deal with it). When this happens, a process called “peristalsis” slows down. Usually this process helps to move food through the digestive system through a series of muscle contractions, but when there is a large buildup of food, this leaves you with the impression of ‘bloating’. The excess food stretches the intestines and eventually if this happens too often, will cause you to accumulate stones. Doing a series of seated twists in yoga will help to restore proper peristalsis. This includes twists such as the Sage’s Pose (Marichyasana), Half spinal twist pose (Ardha Matsyedrasana), and the Sage’s Twist (Bharadvajasana). In between the twists I recommend holding the boat pose (Paripurna Navasana) in order to give your body a break.
An important thing to keep in mind when doing these poses is that you start your twists on the right side and finish on the left. This will move your body properly from the ascending colon on the right and to the descending colon on the left. Now, get to twisting!
Boat Pose
Let us know if you try any of these methods and how they turn out.
Happy Thursday!
[1] Jeanelle Boyer and Rui Hai Lui, “Apple Phytochemicals and Their Health Benefits,” Nutrition Journal 3, no. 5 (May 12, 2004), doi:10.1186/1475-2891-3-5.
[2] Dianne A. Hyson, “A Comprehensive Review of Apples and Apple Components and Their Relationship to Human Health,” Advances in Nutrition: An International Review Journal 2, no. 5 (2011): 418, doi:10.3945/an.111.000513.
[3] Kanti Bhooshan Pandey and Syed Ibrahim Rizvi, “Plant Polyphenols as Dietary Antioxidants in Human Health and Disease,” Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity 2, no. 5 (2009): 270, doi:10.4461/oxim.2.5.9498.
[4] Robert Dale Rogers, “Fireweed – a treasured medicine of the boreal forest,” Discovery Phytomedicine 1 (2014), doi:10.15562/phytomedicine.2014.16.