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All About Ballroom Dances Health and Fitness
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Springtime Is Cleanse Time
This is a time to breathe a sigh of relief as the sometimes-challenging
days of winter melt away. Nature responds to the warming sun and
softening earth with new growth –spring is a time of new beginnings,
renewed life and emerging colour. Traditionally, the spring season is also a time of renewal for the body, and eating in season can help in our transition to the lighter, lively days of spring. The northern pioneers noticed the cleansing and refreshing effects of eating tender spring greens and early vegetables after a long winter menu of cured meats, dried apples and stored root vegetables, such as potatoes.
Love your liver Many of us naturally feel the desire to eat less and cleanse after a winter diet of fatter, heavier, and most often cooked, foods. If you listen closely to your body you will hear the liver and gallbladder asking for the most attention. Asian traditions, including Traditional Chinese Medicine and the macrobiotic philosophy, tell us that spring is the season for cleansing these hard-working organs, which become clogged and sluggish from working overtime on winter’s heavy foods. Since the liver is the body’s main detoxifier, eating with an intention to increase its health will result in increased overall health. This organ is a main regulator of the blood and therefore its health is the key to a healthy metabolism. The liver also plays a part in regulating the nutrients in the blood, including blood sugar levels, and is a main regulator of hormones as well. The gallbladder, which stores the bile made by the liver, is called upon to secrete bile into the digestive tract whenever a meal with fat is eaten. It’s easy to deduce how this organ may become over-worked. In addition, if the liver is overloaded, toxins may spill over into both the gallbladder and the blood Spring vegetables offer a wealth of benefits, all with low caloric impact. They deliver high amounts of the immune-boosting vitamins A and C and are excellent source of fibre, which helps to move toxins through and out of the body. The spring greens provide excellent amounts of iron and calcium to build strong blood and bones after the sedentary winter months. Also a help for the lazy bones of winter, spring greens contain a high amount of vitamin K which, according to a US Department of Agriculture study, helps to assure proper bone density and protect against osteoporosis. Help Healing In addition to eating nature’s cleansing foods, a vegetarian diet is cleansing in and of itself. Some studies show that a diet based on plant foods, especially raw vegetables and fruits, has a cleansing effect because these foods are more supportive of the breakdown, rather than build up, process in the body. A good philosophy is to encourage simpler foods and food preparation practices in the spring, emphasizing raw foods because they are cleansing and encouraging of outward movement. Whether it’s for a day, a week or a month, a well-balanced vegetarian diet is a definite option for a gradual and gentle springtime cleanse. When it comes to cleansing, which is in essence helping to heal the body, don’t forget the importance of exercise, deep breathing and drinking plenty of clean water between meals. Deep abdominal breathing, such as that practiced in the yogic lifestyle, results in the diaphragm gently pressing the liver, which further helps liver cleansing. Meditation, time in nature and an appreciation for the newness that spring brings will also help to cleanse the mind. This s a time to renew.
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