Say Goodbye to Caffeine and other Stimulants

Self-nurturance begins with an excellent nutrition plan—a plan that considers your energy needs. You may think comfort food is the best thing for you when you’re not feeling well. If your idea of comfort food is an anti-inflammatory diet, you're on the right track, but this is very often not the case for most people.

Stay away from refined sugars and caffeine, which can make your energy rise and fall like a yo-yo. Try a raw-food, high-protein diet, with vitamin supplementation—or juicing with dark greens and a few carrots (loaded with beta-carotene, which help supports your immune system). It takes a lot of energy to digest food, and you will see dramatic changes in your energy levels when you’re eating the right foods.

A Word about Chewing
Your digestive process actually starts in your mouth. As you chew, the salivary glands under your tongue start to produce saliva that carries enzymes, essential elements that help you to digest your food. These enzymes are created only in your mouth. If you gulp your food, you will miss some of the very chemicals that help you reap the benefits of the food you’re eating. When you don’t get these benefits, your digestion slows down. It’s recommended that you chew each bite until it is liquefied, and for most people that means chewing each bite 12 to 25 times.Make sure that you are adequately hydrated, and drink plenty of water (at least one 8-ounce glass per hour). Water helps flush the system and gets rid of waste and toxins efficiently. 

Drink Plenty of Water
It's also very important to keep yourself hydrated, and this means drinking plenty of water. If you’re going to be drinking a lot of something, you want to make sure it’s clean. Try using an economical water filter. Water helps your body throw off waste, and accumulated—for example, the kind you pick up in processed foods or environmental pollutants.. The ideal amount of water for your body is based upon your body weight. Divide your body weight by two, and that is the number of ounces you should drink daily.

For example:

• 166 lbs. divided by 2 = 83 (ounces)
• There are roughly 33 ounces in a liter
• 83 divided by 33 = 2.5 liters

The Power Combination
An anti-inflammatory diet, combined with completely chewing your food and drinking plenty of water, will help your body better receive the actual medicinal qualities in food. As your body starts to reap the benefits of good nutrition, inflammation subsides, and this will go a long way in minimizing the symptoms you experience. Surely there will be times when you backslide, and that is to be expected. Just pick yourself up and get back on the bandwagon. If you find yourself throwing the baby out with the bathwater, seek additional help for emotional support.