If you really want to make a difference in your energy and mental focus, pay attention to your digestive metabolism. You don’t have to change what you are eating — just how you eat.  It is pretty simple. Study the tips below.  Put them in play for just a month.  Find out if what we say is true or false. Believe me, you will feel a real energy shift affecting both your body and mind. And this will make a huge difference in how fast your herbal formulas work, and how quickly you heal.

Why is the digestive system so important? It is your “checking account” energy, the energy that powers your physical and mental activity every single day.   If you want to live a long life and a good life of quality, it is important to have a powerful generator working for you everyday, bringing you the ability to enjoy life to the fullest.

What can you do to strengthen and protect your digestive system? Understand what it needs and make some simple adjustments.   Your body will send you clear signals you are on the right track.

  • Give your digestive system warmth and protein, especially in the morning.
  • Don’t wake up with a breakfast of cold cereal and orange juice. Start with a warm breakfast — hot cereals, eggs, soy sausage……..anything you like that is warm and high in protein.   Also start the day with something warm to drink.
  • Organize a routine of eating smaller, high energy meals often. Don’t go for long periods of the day without eating.  This can lead to hypoglycemia or worse.   Remember, when you are doing intense mental work you need protein to sustain you. Think of yourself as a mental athlete!  It might be wise not to eat a lot, as that will slow you mentally, but have high quality snacks of nuts, fruit, protein bar, etc. available. Do not push through if you feel hungry. Your body is telling you it needs support, i.e., eat when you’re hungry!
  • Slow down to eat. Sit to eat. Chew slowly.
  • Don’t eat and work at the same time or use the computer while you’re eating.  Make a few moments to eat calmly, quietly and preferably alone, in peace. Chew well and slowly.
  • Do not drink liquids with your meal. The best is to have a cup of warm tea when you finish. Such a powerful, simple habit!
  • Do the Hot Water Detox once a week.

This will relax and calm the digestive tract, allowing it to rebalance and maintain integrity in the midst of challenging days.

Enjoy the challenges that bring success, but give up the stress. Pay attention to the level of calmness you feel when eating, and after.  When the digestive system is calm and strong we feel very centered and grounded.

The digestive system is very, very important because it feeds all the other organ systems. However, it is also the most sensitive of all the organ systems. When the liver, which is easily affected by anger, is upset it “attacks” the digestive system. Break the energy pattern of “stress” attacking the digestive system. Do the Radiant Eight Energy Exercises with a good liver balancing formula (Harmony is a good one) – this is a powerful “stress buster” combination.

Don’t change your diet too much, but add in some foods that strengthen digestion:  Besides high quality protein, the foods the digestive system loves are foods like rice, sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, carrots, rutabaga, parsnip, turnip, garbanzo beans, black beans, peas and pumpkin, among others. Use cooking spices and vegetables like onion, leek, black pepper, ginger, cinnamon, garlic, raw honey and chamomile.  Stews with mackerel, tuna, halibut, beef, chicken, turkey or lam can be very healing. Soups and stews are really great because part of the digestion has been done, so the digestive system has less work to do.

For a while — cut back or avoid cheese and milk (butter is OK), too many salads, and iced drinks. This will give the digestive system a chance to get stronger, and then when you reintroduce these foods, your digestive system will tell you whether it likes them or not. Right now there has not been a clear dialogue going on. Soon you’ll hear loud and clear what is best for you and what is not.

Food Therapy

Eat as many cooked vegetables as you can. Vegetables alkalize the body. A body with too much acidity is a body that can develop other problems.

For most Americans “vegetables” means “potatoes and tomatoes (usually in the form of catsup).” Your body can’t get that much value from raw vegetables (unless they are juiced). Once the digestive system strengthens, that will change, but for now cooked vegetables are your best medicine.  Eat them hot, eat them cold—but as much as possible, eat them cooked.

Also enjoy seasonal fruits — watermelon, strawberries and honeydew melon – enjoy them all summer (they clear heat from the liver and the heart). Try to eat with the change of seasons.  More fruits and salads when it is hot; more cooked vegetables when it is colder. This will strengthen the digestive system, and fortify the immune system.

Certain foods are especially high energy foods because they are exposed to a lot of sunlight as they grow. Our energy comes from the sun. The goal is more energy. So eat foods that give the body energy. A handful of nuts and some fruit may have as many calories as a frozen or canned dinner, but the amount of energy you will get from the nuts and fruit is much more.

At some point you might consider having fresh vegetable juice every day. Do your own juicing and be amazed at how much more energy you have and how much better you feel.

Three easy energy moving techniques that can speed up any rebalancing program:

1. Massage your ears everyday at least once. All the energy meridians in the body show up on the ear. Rubbing the ears invigorates the entire circulation – when you do it, you will notice the difference.

2. Alternate Nasal Breathing: 2-5 minutes off and on during the day — when you are at a stop light, when you are watching TV, any spare moment is a good time. It will also help you relax.

3. Hot Water Detox – Do this the first day of your herbal program, and then once a week for 3 months.

Remember: Cold water shocks the body inside.   Room temperature water is still cooler than the inside of your body, but it is fine to drink.  Warm water or hot water HEALS the body.