By: Cat Ebeling, RN, MSN-PHN, co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

This antioxidant is so important it is considered the “Master Antioxidant” in the body.

This “master” antioxidant protects the human body like few others. This antioxidant is called glutathione. If your levels of glutathione are low, you are at a much higher risk for strokes, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s diseases, cancer, dangerous infections and even severe complications of Covid19.

Glutathione also boosts and recycles other antioxidants in the body including vitamin C, vitamin E, alpha lipoic acid and CoQ10. This antioxidant is made up these three amino acids: cysteine, glycine, glutamic acid (or glutamate).

When these three amino acids come together to form glutathione, they have the power to detoxify and get rid of dangerous free radicals, toxic drugs, and heavy metals such as lead and mercury. This mechanism is incredibly important to protect your entire body from dysfunction and disease.

Glutathione also protects the mitochondria in the cells—which is the power plant of the cell–ensuring your cells are able to make the energy your body needs. Each and every cell in the body contains mitochondria that convert glucose, amino acids, and fats from the foods you eat into energy. Our mitochondria need to be protected, and the primary protector is glutathione to guard our source of energy.

At first glance, glutathione is similar to other well-known antioxidants such as vitamin C and vitamin E. However, unlike most antioxidants like resveratrol and quercetin – your body can make its own glutathione. It just needs the right building blocks.

In fact, your body needs to make glutathione in order for you to live a healthy life. Scientists have even suggested its levels as a great predictor of one’s lifespan. Certain health conditions and lifestyle factors can lower one’s glutathione levels. People with diabetes, hepatitis, cancer, heavy alcohol consumption, HIV, Parkinson’s COPD, and cigarette smokers have low glutathione—although it is not known if low glutathione levels brought on the disease or if the disease actually depletes glutathione levels.

Other factors that deplete glutathione levels include:

• Diets high in processed foods and preservatives including nitrates, artificial sweeteners, dyes, and preservatives
• Chlorinated water
• Strenuous exercise
• Aging—levels go down after the age of twenty
• Pollution from car exhaust, second-hand smoke and industrial pollutants
• Pesticides, herbicides, solvents, fuels and fuel byproducts
• Household products such as laundry soap, fabric softeners, air fresheners, bleach, lawn and garden supplies
• Certain medications, including Tylenol
• Chronic stress, anxiety, depression
• Physical trauma
• Too much sun exposure, X-rays and electromagnetic fields (EMF’s)

Even though glutathione is naturally created in your cells, your body’s levels of it still naturally decrease with age. And glutathione also does not act alone in your body — it needs coenzymes to perform its various enzymatic roles.

The role of glutathione in necessary bodily functions is of primary importance. Healthy levels of glutathione are a major factor to good health and fighting disease.

The following health benefits largely relate to glutathione’s role in these vital bodily processes:

Powerful Antioxidant

Antioxidants are one of the body’s biggest protectors of aging and disease. They go after free radicals and oxidative damage. Free radicals are highly reactive forms of oxygen produced in the body. When free radicals come into contact with normal molecules, they steal an electron, damaging the healthy cell and its DNA.

Just ‘living’ produces free radicals, and exercise, toxins in the environment and even lack of sleep increase that load. In fact, some estimates show that the DNA in your cells take 10,000 oxidative hits daily. Antioxidants work to counteract that damage caused by free radicals.

Glutathione directly binds to oxidative compounds that damage the cells and energy production. It goes after a wide range of oxidants, including superoxide, nitric oxide, carbon radicals, hydroperoxides, peroxynitrites, and lipid peroxides. Glutathione offers all-around antioxidant defense better than any other antioxidant.

Glutathione is equally important to boost the power of antioxidants your body needs, such as vitamin C and E. It increases overall antioxidant levels, something that could not be accomplished just with one substance.

Lowers Inflammation

High levels of inflammation are present in virtually every chronic illness including diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. However, inflammation can, and should be, a healthy and necessary reaction to fight infectious invaders. The problem comes when you cannot shut down an excessive inflammatory reaction.

Glutathione can block production of most inflammatory cytokines. Cytokines are a product of our immune system. If you suffer from chronic health issues, cytokines contribute to a state of constant low-grade inflammation. While cytokines can be very beneficial, people with high levels of inflammation can have harmful levels of cytokines.

A number of airway and lung diseases including COPD, tuberculosis, pneumonia and asthma result in excessive inflammation, but they can improve when healthy glutathione levels are increased.

The highly contagious virus, SARS-CoV-2, also incites an inflammatory reaction in the lungs of some people, which can become deadly. This is often a result of a ‘cytokine’ storm which causes an excessive amount of fluid and inflammation to build up in the lungs. Glutathione helps to modulate the immune reaction and lower the inflammatory response in this viral illness.

Injuries also create an inflammatory response. Whether you are talking about trauma, infection, toxins, or allergies, your immune system answers the same.

When an injury occurs, blood and lymph vessels release fluids and this creates the physical manifestations of redness, pain, stiffness, and swelling. After the infection or injury is repaired the acute inflammatory response normally subsides and goes away.

Unfortunately for many, environmental toxins, diet, chronic stress, and other lifestyle issues can cause inflammation that does not go away as it is meant to. As a result, many people suffer from chronic, systemic inflammation.

Rebalancing glutathione levels reduces chronic inflammation and restores a balanced immune function.

Immune Power

Glutathione helps your immune system stay strong and always ready to fight infections—without overreacting as in the case of autoimmune disease or allergies—or in the case of Covid19, glutathione helps protect against the cytokine storm. While vitamin C gets most of the attention for an antioxidant that boosts immunity, glutathione should be center stage.

According to a 2013 study, glutathione helps fight microbial, viral and parasitic infections while enhancing the functional activity of immune cells and improving both your innate (your first line of defense) and adaptive (antibody specific) immunity.

Studies show that active glutathione powers up natural killer (NK) and T cells, your body’s innate immune system’s front-line infection fighters. T cells enhanced with glutathione are able to produce more natural infection-fighting substances, making them more effective fighting both bacterial and viral infections.

This study found that glutathione doubled natural killer cells’ ability to kill off invaders after six months of use. Glutathione also has a very potent antibacterial effect as it helps immune cells called macrophages fight the bacterium that causes tuberculosis, Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

In another study, researchers found that glutathione modulates the behavior of many immune system cells that affect adaptive immunity and protect against microbial, viral and parasitic infections.

Many chronic infections such as Epstein-Barr virus, hepatitis, herpes viruses and Lyme disease—to name a few—deregulate and suppress the immune system. Glutathione can modulate and reverse this suppression.

Autoimmune disease—which is characterized by an overactive immune system that attacks the body—is also hallmarked by imbalanced glutathione levels. Taking supplemental glutathione for autoimmune disease helps lower inflammation and modulate the immune system.

Brain Health

Our brains need glutathione to function effectively. In fact there is a clear link between low glutathione levels and decreased brain health.

As we age, it’s not uncommon to experience a bit of forgetfulness or difficulty concentrating. These are just two examples of neurodegeneration, a process by which the neurons in our brains become damaged and may even die. Aging can actually cause brains to ‘shrink’ and not function at full capacity. While this process is unavoidable as we age, it can be slowed, or even reversed, and glutathione plays an important role.

Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease are both linked to oxidative stress and low levels of glutathione. Increasing the amount of this antioxidant can help slow the progression of these neurodegenerative disorders.

Alzheimer’s disease is also at least partly, caused by oxidative stress. The buildup of toxic proteins in Alzheimer’s further lowers glutathione levels, making the patients more likely to be deficient. Antioxidants have shown great promise to prevent and/or slow the disease.

Several clinical studies showed that antioxidants supplements slowed the progression Alzheimer’s. In mice with Alzheimer’s, increasing glutathione could boost memory, reduce plaque buildup, and improve overall symptoms. Other neurological illnesses such as Lyme disease, ADHD, autism, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and anxiety and depression improve with higher levels of glutathione.

Helps the Liver Detoxify

The role of glutathione in your body’s detoxification system is vital and necessary. But your natural processes sometimes need a boost from increased glutathione from your diet or supplements.

The detoxification process begins in the cells. Toxins and other materials are partially processed by special proteins inside the cells. If this process does not work perfectly, the toxins can turn into dangerous free radicals at this point. Glutathione steps in to assist here and neutralizes these toxins, which are then sent to the liver to be further broken down.

As a detoxifier, glutathione is unparalleled. It binds metals and other toxins and transforms them into compounds that can be excreted in bile or urine. Once bound, these toxins become water-soluble and can be transported out of cells.

However, the binding of toxins to glutathione creates a demand on the body to make new glutathione. Deficiency results when a tissue or system cannot keep pace with the demand.

Because it is the primary organ of detoxification, the liver manages the body’s largest stores of glutathione, which play a major role in detoxifying environmental pollutants, radiation, drugs, carcinogenic chemicals, and heavy metals.

When there is a deficiency in antioxidants, cell death in the liver can occur, leading to liver damage and the progression of fatty liver disease. Glutathione has been shown to improve protein, enzyme, and bilirubin levels in the blood of individuals with alcoholic and nonalcoholic chronic fatty liver disease. (NAFLD can be caused by a poor diet and high levels of sugar and high fructose corn syrup.)

Glutathione Improves Athletic Performance

Glutathione can boost athletic performance and is a proven exercise enhancer. In one study of eight men receiving glutathione before a workout, the glutathione group performed better, felt less fatigued, and had lower levels of lactic acid. Lactic acid buildup is thought to result in muscle fatigue and burning feeling while working out. Lactic acid buildup can also cause low blood pressure, muscle aches post-workout and loss of performance.

Glutathione is also key to boost nitric oxide, a key performance enhancer for exercise. Nitric oxide is well known to dilate blood vessels improving blood flow and oxygen delivery to muscles and tissues. This improves both power and endurance.

Glutathione and Vitamin D Utilization

Vitamin D3 is a very hot topic these days, especially because it controls and modulates the immune system. When glutathione levels are low, the body has a hard time utilizing vitamin D.

In fact, low vitamin D3 levels are connected with simultaneous glutathione deficiency. Researchers found that supplementing with vitamin D3 and glutathione actually restored glutathione levels along with increasing the bioavailability of the vitamin D3. The two also effectively lowered inflammation.

Scientists confirm that consuming vitamin D supplements “are unlikely to be successful unless the glutathione levels are also corrected.” In other words, simply taking vitamin D isn’t enough. You need to be sure you have adequate glutathione levels to make sure that your vitamin D3 is working as it should.

Glutathione in Heart Health, Diabetes, Skin Health, Kidney Disease, and Fighting Aging

Glutathione lowers inflammation, help protecting the heart and blood vessels from cardiovascular disease. Those with diabetes, especially type 2 diabetes often have low glutathione levels which leads to more oxidative stress, inflammation and tissue damage. Increasing glutathione levels aids in protecting the body against damage from high blood sugar.

Glutathione helps reduce the effects of aging on the skin, improving appearance and skin elasticity. It also helps manage psoriasis, a chronic inflammatory skin disease. Glutathione lightens skin tones, removes ‘age’ spots (or hyperpigmentation) in the skin as well.

Research shows that glutathione may help increase the levels of red blood cells in in patients who are suffering from chronic renal failure and undergoing hemodialysis, making it a useful compound for the treatment and management of anemia a common side effect of kidney patients.

How to Raise Your Levels of Glutathione

Plenty of foods will also help your body to boost production of glutathione, especially those that contain high amounts of sulphur, such cruciferous vegetables.

Glutathione is found in raw asparagus, almonds, spinach, broccoli, walnuts, garlic, tomatoes, cucumber, watercress and chives. However, there is great variability in how much glutathione is absorbed from these dietary sources. Cooking, storage and farming methods can change the amount of glutathione in foods.

You can also maximize your body’s ability to create glutathione by eating foods that are rich in it’s the building blocks for glutathione. These foods include:

1. Whey protein powder provides all the correct amino acids that your body needs to produce glutathione. Plus, it contains a unique ingredient known as glutamylcysteine, which is highly bioactive in its affinity for converting to glutathione.

When buying whey protein powder, make sure that you choose a cold-pressed product that comes from organically raised grass fed cows to be sure that it’s free from harmful chemicals, hormones. Also check the label to be sure the product is not full of sugar or artificial sweetener—except for stevia, which is a natural sweetener.

2. Allium and cruciferous vegetables—Vegetables such as garlic, onions, leeks and chives contain allium. Cruciferous vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, arugula and brussels sprouts, have high amounts of sulfur-containing amino acids that are essential for glutathione production.

3. Grass fed meat and pastured eggs are also excellent sources of sulfur-containing amino acids to aid the body in creating glutathione.

4. Foods containing selenium—Selenium plays an important role in the formation of glutathione, so consuming foods rich in this nutrient will also boost your glutathione. In addition, selenium is important for optimal thyroid function, as well being valuable for the immune system. Some dietary sources of selenium include Brazil nuts, wild-caught seafood and organ meats.

Glutathione in supplements

Glutathione comes in capsules or liquid, liposomal form. The active form of glutathione in supplements is called “Reduced Glutathione” or “L-glutathione”.

Plain glutathione is an extremely fragile molecule which is easily degraded and destroyed by bile and stomach acid, which is why taking the powdered capsule form may not be the most bioavailable way to take glutathione.

Liposomal glutathione is made of the exact same building blocks as our own cell membranes. Liposomes are microscopic, fat-soluble spheres with glutathione intentionally trapped inside the water-soluble center. When ingested, the liposomes pass through the stomach intact and can then easily attach to the cell membrane in the small intestines. Once attached, the liposomes ‘fuse’ with your cells, releasing the glutathione content into the circulation.

Eliminating sugar, grains and processed foods from your diet is a great way to lessen oxidative stress that uses up glutathione. Be sure to also get a decent amount of appropriate exercise to increase your body’s ability to produce glutathione. Managing your stress and getting enough sleep also help inhibit the damaging effects of free radicals. And be sure to get outside in the sunshine around noon every day to build up your body’s levels of vitamin D, which functions much better in the company of glutathione.

References
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23089304/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7172740/
https://www.thailandmedical.news/news/breaking-covid-19-research-russian-study-indicates-that-glutathione-deficiency-affects-covid-19-susceptibility,-nac-supplements-helps
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsinfecdis.0c00288
https://www.healthline.com/health/glutathione-benefits#forms
https://holisticprimarycare.net/topics/vitamins-a-supplements/what-every-doctor-should-know-about-glutathione/
http://www.immunehealthscience.com/what-depletes-glutathione.html
https://coremedscience.com/blogs/wellness/do-you-have-a-glutathione-deficiency

The post You may be missing out on the most Important Antioxidant… appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

By: Cat Ebeling, BSN,co-author of the best-sellers: The Fat Burning Kitchen,The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging&The Diabetes Fix

Did you know it is considered “too much” or unhealthy actually, for the average woman to drink more than 2 glasses of wine a day, and for a man it’s three. That’s not much. In an effort to drink less, and drink healthier alcoholic choices, I’ve started looking at some healthy drinking alternatives.

Fortunately, there are some awesome new products coming out that are lower in alcohol, lower in calories, and lower in carbs and sugars. I love that! Let’s take a look at the new hard kombucha vs. cider vs beer vs. wine.

Hard Kombucha

Kombucha as we know, has lots of great health benefits. [Link to other kombucha article here].

Kombucha helps to populate your system with healthy bacteria, boost immunity, supply extra B vitamins, detox the liver, increase your energy levels, help fight cancer, and improve your mood. All good things!

In research published in the Journal of Medicinal Food 2014, researchers from the University of Latvia did say the following about the genuine health benefits of kombucha:

“It is shown that [kombucha] can efficiently act in health preservation and recovery due to four main properties: detoxification, anti-oxidation, energizing potencies, and promotion of boosting immunity.”

When regular kombucha is brewed, it contains a tiny bit of alcohol in it from the fermentation process. But now brewers have figured out a way to make kombucha with about 5% alcohol in it as well. A little more than the average beer, but still less than a glass of wine. So now you can get tipsy and still feel healthy? Pretty awesome right?

According to Forbes magazine, kombucha is one of the fastest-growing beverages with sales estimated at $1.8 billion by 2020. So why not expand this success to ‘hard’ kombucha?

When kombucha is brewed for a higher alcohol content, there is a secondary fermentation cycle added along with more sugar and a type of yeast. However, the yeast eats up all the sugar, so the sugar is 100% fermented, making a nice dry, low sugar/low carb drink with a little bit of a buzz. Some of the hard kombucha is actually sweetened with stevia, creating a hard kombucha a delicious, slightly sweet taste with very little sugar, carbohydrates—and decidedly low calorie!

Kombucha also has health benefits other than probiotics, even in the higher-alcohol versions, the beneficial acids like acetic (the same beneficial acid in apple cider vinegar), lactic, glucuronic, butyric acid are all still there, along with B and C vitamins.

Several hard kombucha brews have appeared on the market with alcohol from 3.2 to 8 percent. That puts them at the level of a beer (typically a 4.5 percent alcohol) and below a wine (typically 11.6 percent).

The real question, however is can those probiotics even survive in that amount of alcohol?

Probiotics generally don’t like alcohol, period. Some say there are not enough viable probiotics in even lower-alcohol versions, even though some kombucha companies are claiming that there are.

Other independent lab testing of hard kombucha, ranging from 7 to 8 percent alcohol, has confirmed significantamounts of bacteria and yeast, gluconic acid and acetic acid that were comparable with what you would find in an average kombucha tea purchased at a store.

But the bottom line is that hard kombucha is still booze, so if you overdo it, you are still drinking too much alcohol, although you may have less of a hangover. And if you are trying to cut back on alcohol, it may be difficult if you are a kombucha connoisseur, because these new boozy kombuchas taste delicious and refreshing!

So, as the hard kombucha trend grows, we’ll be seeing it more and more alongside cider and other alternatives to beer.

Hard Cider

What about hard cider? It has often been offered as an alternative to beer, especially because most ciders are considered gluten free. There are huge varieties of ciders available, some with astonishing amounts of sugar or corn syrup and other additives, while others are quite dry, low in sugar and low in carbohydrates, natural and/or organic.

Hard cider is made by fermenting a combination of yeast and apples—a fruit known to contain vitamin C and other antioxidants. Cider often contains some of the phytonutrients that come from the apple skin as well.

Some have confirmed the high levels of health-enhancing antioxidants in cider, similar to some of the benefits of red wine. A half pint of cider can deliver the similar amounts of antioxidants as a glass of red wine. Cider makers often boast that they are making a drink from a superfood, but it’s not all that simple.

While whole apples may contain antioxidants, if they do not come from organic apples, they also contain plenty of toxic chemicals that comes from the spraying of the apples.

Apples also contain up to about 65 percent fructose that is naturally occurring, but is still sugar as far as your body and your waist recognize.

Sugar content of most commercial hard ciders can be staggering– up to 23 grams (7 teaspoons!) per serving in some cases.

That’s a bit like drinking a soda!

We all know that diets high in sugar are connected to obesity, heart disease, depression and cancer, making cider a questionable choice for drinking.

While that may a ‘sobering’ fact, the key to choosing a healthier cider is to pick one that is labeled as “dry”. The sweeter ciders often have added sugars in addition to the sugar in the apple, while the dryer ciders allow the yeast to consume the majority of cider’s natural sugars and result in a less sweet drink with a higher alcohol content. That’s a win-win! Choosing a dry cider will help to keep your sugar consumption low while still enjoying an apple-y taste. Some of my favorite brands only contain a couple grams of sugar and are very low carb/low calorie.

Beer

The craft beer market has totally exploded and new flavors and combinations of ingredients show up daily, so it’s hard to make generalizations about beer. Beer is made from a combination of yeast, hops, barley, and other grains like buckwheat, corn, rice and sorghum. Yeast and water are added to the mix to start the fermentation process. Having a product made from grain can be slightly more inflammatory to your body, especially if you are sensitive to grains.

If you are avoiding gluten, generally most beer is not totally gluten free, despite some of the labeling that says it is. Most gluten free beers contain small amounts of gluten. The purely gluten free beers are made of sorghum or buckwheat and are not usually as hearty or tasty as regular beer.

Beer is generally thought of as a lower alcohol product but some beers can have as much as 8-9% alcohol—similar to a glass of wine.

Beer is high in carbohydrates but generally not that high in sugar content. The IPA style beers have more carbohydrates than the average beer. A pale ale contains about 10-14 grams of carbohydrates, while IPAs can have up to 20 grams or more per 12-ounce bottle! So if you are trying to lose weight, cut carbs or calories, beer is not your best bet.

Beer does not contain fruit juice (usually unless it is to flavor a craft beer and then it’s not much). Beer’s nutritional value looks a bit different from that of cider: Beer’s composition of yeast, hops, barley, and other grains that do contain a variety of different antioxidants and nutrients.

Beer does contain some protein and vitamin B compared to wine or cider. While some beers may contain up to about 10% of the recommended daily intake of folate, drinking in general washes out B vitamins, so you probably are not doing yourself a favor by drinking it for the vitamin content.

Naturally occurring polyphenols (usually found in hops and malt) are often removed since they can make beer cloudy.

Compared to cider, beer contains less polyphenols concentration. However, a study by Oregon State University found that hops often contain flavonoids (a type of polyphenol compound), which provide antioxidant protection to cells . Beer’s health benefits extend to the heart too–Italian researchers found that the moderate consumption of beer reduces the risk of heart disease by 31 percent.

Although beer is low in polyphenols, its nutritional value is bolstered by high levels of vitamin B, potassium and folate.

Both beer and cider are pretty high calorie/high carb drinks, and cider usually contains loads of sugar too.

What About Wine?

Wine can carry an alcoholic punch of about 9-12 percent by volume, higher than most beers, and about twice as much as the new hard ciders and hard kombucha. So needless to say, you don’t need to drink as much. On top of that, studies show that a glass of wine hits your system more quickly, so it’s easier to overdo it. But wine is a delicious, crisp enjoyable alcoholic beverage and a classic!

While alcohol itself contains calories, the sugars and carbs in alcoholic beverages also add to the caloric bottom line. A pint of beer contains more calories than most hard kombuchas, and some hard ciders (depending on sugar content). Most wine, especially the drier wines, have about half as much calories as beer, at about 85-100 calories per 6 ounce glass.

Wine’s big advantage, however comes from the famous polyphenols from the skins of the red grapes. Many of the healthiest, longest living societies around the world—especially the Mediterranean drink wine and enjoy long, vibrant, healthy lives.

Both red and white wines contain health benefits, with red edging slightly ahead in the antioxidants. A study of 25,000 European found that those who drank moderate amounts of wine (1-2 glasses a day), had a 34 percent lower risk of death from all causes—especially heart disease and cancer. It’s thought that the rich blend of polyphenols in the wine, combined with the healthy bacteria and yeasts contribute to the health benefits.

Since most of the polyphenols in wine come from the grape skins, red wine contains higher amounts of antioxidants, including resveratrol, than white wines, which does not include the grape skin.

And natural wines—whether red or white—especially if they are unfiltered contains a beneficial blend of bacteria and yeasts that support a healthy gut microbiome and help your body absorb more zinc, magnesium, calcium and iron.

One other thing to consider in hard kombucha, hard cider, beer and wine is how it is grown. Is it organic? We know that apples for cider are often heavily sprayed with pesticides, and the grains and hops in beer most likely encountered toxic glyphosate spray, if not organic. Grapes grown for wine can also be hit with toxic pesticides, so your best bet is to go with an organic wine.

The new lower alcohol drink choices out there can be a healthier choice with lower alcohol content. The key is to buy organic, natural and low sugar, and shop wisely.

And, with any alcoholic drink, moderation is the name of the game. One bottle of a low carb beer, a low-sugar cider, or a small glass of wine can provide a good dose of antioxidants and less alcohol, so learn to in moderation.

References
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/voraciously/wp/2018/12/13/is-boozy-kombucha-good-for-you-its-getting-so-popular-it-might-not-matter/?utm_term=.fd0e8e7134ff
https://www.care2.com/greenliving/is-hard-cider-healthier-than-beer.html
https://greatist.com/health/beer-or-cider-healthier

The post Hard Kombucha vs Hard Cider vs Beer appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.

Today’s blog is republished from my friends at TheAlternativeDaily, and I wanted to share it on our blog here because it combines a few different amazing “tonics” you should add to your regular routine.  You don’t need to do all of them daily, but should definitely figure out how to add them to your regular routine…

By Liivi Hess, TheAlternativeDaily.com

As a nation, we’re fascinated with the concept of miraculous healing. Presumably, this miracle can come in the form of a pill, tea or a fantastically labeled elixir of health. Every day, millions of dollars are spent as people search for cures in the form of mystical pharmaceutical remedies that can banish all ailments and protect from disease.

Sadly, no one ever finds it. It seems that fancy packaging and slick marketing aren’t directly proportional to healing abilities. At best, these mass-produced, semi-synthetic, meticulously labeled products have but a minor placebo effect. At worst, they can actually make our health decrease, unbalance hormones and offset vital bodily functions.

It may come as a surprise to learn the mystical health tonic you’ve been searching for is much closer to home. As with many things in the health world, taking a step back and observing how our predecessors did things can be invaluable. The solution lies in simple, minimally processed, raw ingredients — ones that are selected for their natural health benefits, not as a small cog in a great machine comprised of many altered, unnatural ingredients.

Here are two three-ingredient concoctions that may just provide that miracle of health and healing you’ve been searching for.

Apple cider vinegar, honey and cinnamon super syrup

While very simple to make and with no rare or hard-to-find ingredients, this health tonic is wide-ranging in the benefits it bestows upon those who drink it. It can relieve constipation, reduce inflammation, support kidney function, promote heart health, prevent or fight urinary tract infections, protect against bacterial, fungal or viral attack and keep the common cold at bay. As you can see, it is a heavy-hitter in the realm of health care, helping to boost your immune system and support strong heart and organ function.

The key to success with this health tonic is to source only the highest quality ingredients. Now is not the time to worry about your wallet at the supermarket or health-food store. It’s absolutely a worthwhile health investment to buy high-caliber ingredients.

With this in mind, here are the qualifications for each ingredient:

• The apple cider vinegar must be raw and organic. Raw means it still contains the active cultures that support your gut biome and bolster your immune system. Organic means the apples from which it was made are not coated in pesticides, heavy metals and toxins, which would then pass into your system and offset all your hard work.
• The honey must be raw, preferably organic. Organic just implies the bees have not pollinated flowers or plants which are treated with pesticides, herbicides or other nasty applications. This ensures you get only the highest quality honey from known sources. Raw means that the honey has not been pasteurized, a process to increase its shelf life but can render it biologically inactive by killing off the active enzymes in the honey — the reason it’s such a potent ingredient.
• And of course, your cinnamon should also be organic. As with our other ingredients, buying non-organic cinnamon means you’re at greater risk of ingesting harmful toxins and heavy metals, which can negatively impact your health.

Combine two cups of the apple cider vinegar, one cup of honey and two teaspoons of cinnamon in a jar and stir/shake well. Store your super syrup in a cool dry area, keeping in mind that placing it in the fridge will cause the honey to harden and settle to the bottom. A couple of sips in the morning, and again at night are enough to ensure you enjoy all of the nurturing benefits of this tonic.

Warm water, lemon and apple cider vinegar health-aide

That’s right, we’re once again employing the health properties of our friend apple cider vinegar — it’s just that good! This time it’s a simple concoction you can make in seconds if you have the ingredients ready; all you need is some warm or room temperature filtered or mineral water, raw organic apple cider vinegar and half an organic lemon. Simple as that.

Drinking this each morning, as soon as you wake up and before you put anything else in your stomach, is an excellent way to start your day. It stimulates digestion, expels toxins from the liver and supports your digestive enzymes for a busy day ahead.

Once again, the ingredient requirements are strict: your water should preferably be spring water from glass bottles, but if this isn’t available then filtered water will do. This ensures the base for your tonic isn’t introducing new toxins into your body as you drink it — that would be a bit counterproductive. Next, as above, your apple cider vinegar should be raw, organic and unfiltered. When apple cider vinegar is filtered, the health-giving SCOBY or “mother” (an accumulation of beneficial bacteria and yeast that turns the apples into vinegar) is removed, and we definitely don’t want that.

Finally, the lemon should be organic, to ensure its skin isn’t riddled with nasty pesticides and other harmful chemicals.

Fill a glass with warm water, squeeze in half a lemon, and pour in a rough teaspoon of apple cider vinegar. Sip it slowly and let it work its magic!

These health tonics work best if you keep at it — make sure you drink them as directed for at least a week to begin experiencing the myriad of health benefits they offer.

—Liivi Hess

Liivi is an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach and is training to become a doula. She inspires women to find peace and personal power by taking control of health and fertility naturally. Liivi‘s passion is ancestral nutrition and primal lifestyle design. She and her partner Will live between Toronto, Canada and Queenstown, New Zealand.

(Original article source here)

Some red wines are more powerful at fat-burning than others and help boost your metabolism. Take this short quiz to find out.

Quiz: Which Red Wine Boosts Metabolism?

Although hard alcohol like vodka, whisky, gin and tequila can increase belly fat…

Prominent scientists from Greece have found that one of the following red wines actually increases fat-burning when you drink it a certain way.

But which one? Is it…

Sources:
http://www.thealternativedaily.com/natural-health-benefits-of-cinnamon
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168160504002053
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308814605003262
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf104912h

The post 3 Ingredient Daily Drink Tonics for Your Best Health appeared first on thenutritionwatchdog.com.