Chyawanprash - Boosts Energy and Immunity

About six months ago, my nutritionist introduced me to Chyanwanprash, a 2500 year old Ayurvedic formula which is a powerful combination of herbs and plant extracts in a base of Amla fruit pulp. Imagine my surprise when I saw Deepak Chopra recommend Chyanwanprash on the Dr. Oz Show. It's such an odd name that I didn't think anyone outside my nutritionist had ever heard of it!

Chyanwanprash is a mixture of herbs, spices and other ingredients, made into a jam-like consistency almost like molasses. You can eat it from a spoon or put into tea or a smoothie. My husband and I just eat a spoonful each morning and evening. This Ayurvedic formula is widely used in India as a longevity tonic.

The primary ingredient to Chyanwanprash is amla, a type of gooseberry which is very high in vitamin C.

Deepak Chopra recommends Chyanwanprash as part of a four step plan to reduce stress but other things that this powerful formula is good for are:

• Improved digestion - Ayurvedic tradition believes that all disease stems from digestive problems and Chyanwanprash improves digestion so that disease and health troubles don't arise. With proper digestion, we can assimilate nutrients better from the food we eat so it makes sense that any health program should address digestion first.
• Longevity-Good digestion enhances tissue regeneration, brings the body back into balance and helps us to live longer, healthier lives
• Increased memory and brain function
• Improved immunity
• Improved energy

How much Chyanwanprash should you eat? Most recommend 1-3 teaspoons per day but it would be hard to consume too much and there are no known side effects.

One important thing I learned about Chyanwanprash from Dr. Oz's show is that the cost is only about $10 a bottle. I was paying three times that for the brand I was using at the time. After doing some research, I found Dabur Chyawanprash, 2.2-Pound Bottles (Pack of 2) Amazon.com for about this price. And the bottle is much bigger than the one I was paying $30 for as well.

If you're looking for an inexpensive remedy which will improve overall health and energy and help you to live longer, Chyanwanprash is certainly something you should add to your health program. Since I've started taking it twice a day, I have seen a reduction in stress and improved energy. I used to have a hard time waking up in the mornings but now I wake up before the alarm feeling refreshed.

If you decide to try Chyanwanprash, let me know what you think!

Benefits of Glutamine

If you're a body builder, you probably know the benefits of glutamine but did you know that it's also a great supplement for those of us who aren't body builders. Glutamine also offers benefits to people suffering from certain health conditions, such as autoimmune disorders because it helps to repair "leaky gut syndrome" which often occurs in autoimmune.

L-Glutamine is an amino acid and it does indeed build muscle but it also helps build the immune system, increase our digestive efficiency (which leads to using the nutrients in your food more efficiently), and improve kidney function. Improving memory and brain function are also benefits of using L-glutamine.

My husband has been taking glutamine for several months for an autoimmune disorder and he has gained muscle mass even though he isn't really working out. He also has reported that the aches and pains in his joints have diminished as well. His digestion has improved so we are hoping his leaky gut syndrome is healing as well.

 My husband takes his glutamine daily in grapefruit juice with some tart cherry juice mixed in. Tartcherry juice also benefits joint pain. 

I also watch Dr. Oz every afternoon for the great health tips he provides and he recommended adding glutamine to juice or a smoothie for added energy, instead of drinking energy drinks which are loaded with sugar and caffeine.

If you like smoothies, you can also add glutamine to your morning smoothie to enjoy its benefits. Otherwise take in juice or water once a day. 

L-Glutamine Dosage and Side Effects

Glutamine dosage is 4,500 mg per day and no side effects have been reported at the proper dosage. When people exceed the recommended dosage of L-glutamine, they have reported digestive upsets and even more serious such as elevated liver enzymes or aggravation of bi-polar disorder, if you have this condition. 

L-Glutamine isn't recommended for pregnant or nursing women either as any possible side effects are unknown. 

If you suffer from an autoimmune disorder, you probably do have leaky gut syndrome where your intestines become permeable and food particles leak out into your body's systems. Thinking this food is a toxin and a foreign object in the body, the body attacks it, causing severe allergic reactions. The benefits of glutamine can help repair this damage.

You can purchase L-Glutamine and enjoy it's benefits from Amazon.com

BodyTech - Glutamine Powder Bt, 4500 mg, 16 oz powder is the glutamine product we use. Each teaspoon offers the recommended dosage.

Health Benefits of Gouda Cheese - Enjoy Cheese Again!

Add Gouda to your daily diet.

Did you know that Gouda Cheese and other hard cheeses, such as Jarlsburg and Edam cheese are actually good for your heart? After years of avoiding cheese for it's high cholesterol content, eating just two slices a day of a hard cheese like Gouda can increase your intake of Vitamin K2, which protects you from hardening of the arteries.

Those two slices of Gouda or other hard cheese will also cut your risk of getting any type of cancer, but it is especially effective against lung cancer and prostate cancer.

Vitamin K2 also helps protect you from osteoporosis.

Why Vitamin K2 Works

Vitamin K2 helps the calcium in your body end up where it belongs, which is in your bones, not in your blood, where it can block arteries. Calcification, or calcium in the body in the wrong place also causes bone spurs, which are very painful.

Besides hard cheese such as Gouda, you can get vitamin K2 in cultured or fermented veggies or cultured products like kefir, which contain beneficial probiotic bacteria - the "good bacteria." To get the proper amount of Vitamin K2, add probiotics or cultured products to your daily diet. This helps you to have a healthy GI tract, good digestion and better absorption of nutrients from the food you eat.

Antibiotics, sugar, processed and fast food all interfere with the growth of healthy intestinal bacteria and as a result, impair vitamin K absorption and production in the intestines.

For more information on cultured vegetables, visit Path 2 Health Living.

Read about the Health Benefits of Kefir.

In her book, The Body Ecology Diet, Donna Gates explains the benefits of eating cultured food products and offers recipes and background information on the acid/alkaline diet, which keeps us young and healthy all of our lives. With Body Ecology's Kefir starter, you can make your own Kefir at home quickly and easily and save money too!

So enjoy the benefits of Gouda cheese by adding a couple of slices to your daily menu, along with cultured vegetables or kefir. It's one easy step on the Path2HealthyLiving.

Healthy Gift from Your Kitchen - Chai Tea Recipe

There are many chai tea recipes - as many as their are chai tea drinkers! Each recipe is unique and it's possible to invent your own by taking the basic Indian spices and adjusting them to your own personal taste.

Chai tea is a wonderful gift to make in your own kitchen for a friend or loved one this holiday season. Winter is tea drinking time and tea is a healthy, warming drink. Add immune boosting Indian spices and you are helping to protect yourself from the cold and flu germs that fly around this time of year.

To give Chai tea as a gift, make a recipe and put it in a decorative jar. In another decorative jar, put loose black tea . This makes a nice gift all by itself but if you want something a little fancier, put the tea, chai and a nice tea cup and saucer like this Burgundy Tea For One Teapot into a basket, add more decorative glass canisters for the tea or a small personal size tea pot.

Chai Tea Recipe

Ingredients

1 Tbsp fennel or anise seed
6 green cardamom pods
12 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/4" ginger root, sliced thin
1/4 tsp black pepper corns
2 bay leaves

(To create a gift with this recipe, double it, mix well and put into air tight, decorative jar and then write up the following directions to put with it.)

To make this chai tea, add one-half of the ingredients to 7 cups water

Boil 5 minutes, then steep for about 10 minutes

Add 2 tbsp Darjeeling or other black tea, bring mixture to a boil again, then turn down heat and simmer 5 additional minutes. Strain liquid into a tea pot.

Then add 6 tbs honey and 1 cup of milk and pour into cups.

Enjoy with friends.

A smaller, simpler chai recipe for one cup of chai tea could include just

1 inch stick of cinnamon
8 cardomom pods
8 whole cloves
1 1/2 cups water

Experiment with chai spices to see what combination you like best.

For more healthy weightloss tips, visit my website Path2HealthyLiving.com

100 Healthy Living Tips - #13 - Eat Flu Fighting Foods

Worried about the H1N1 Flu virus? Whether or not to get a Swine Flu vaccination - if you can even find one - is a very controversial subject and a decision each person must make for their family. Whatever you decide, there is another way to help protect yourself from H1N1, or any other viruses - build up your immunity naturally with healing foods.

In Dave Grotto's book 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life, he offers a great list of every day foods you can eat to help build immunity and avoid illnesses like flu and H1N1.

Here are a few of the flu-fighting foods listed in 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life:

• Yogurt - Probiotics encourage healthy bacteria in your system, which fights virus and flu. Look for yogurt which lists "live and active cultures" such as Activia or Danactive.
• Oysters - Contain zinc which is necessary for a healthy immune system. One medium oyster is packed with almost all the zinc needed for a day. Think oyster dressing this Thanksgiving!
• Fresh Garlic - also one of my first remedies if I feel that tell-tale tickle in my throat. Crush fresh garlic (if you don't have a garlic press, put it in a zip loc bag and crush) and let is sit for several minutes to activate the virus-fighting enzymes. I add it to salsa or put on buttered toast. Garlic contains over 100 sulfuric compounds -- powerful enough to wipe out bacteria and infection. Some studies show that those taking garlic supplements suffer fewer colds but I prefer to get my garlic fresh and powerful. Garlic can also help lower high blood pressure and cholesterol.
• Dark Chocolate - Isn't it nice to see something so tasty also helps give you a strong immune system so you can avoid the Swine Flu? Make sure your chocolate is at least 72% cocao, which supports T-cells to increase the body's defense against infection.
• Almonds - I eat a handful of almonds daily as they contain protein and fiber, which are great for maintaining your weight. Almonds help build a strong immune system too because they are a good source of Vitamin E.
• Sweet potatoes and other orange colored foods contain beta-carotene to help boost your immune system and neutralize disease-causing toxins.
• Mushrooms - Every time we feel "something coming on" one of the first things I do is buy some shitake mushrooms and make a delicious chicken soup with them. Dr. Andrew Weil recommends shitake and maitake mushrooms as immune boosting foods. In Grotto's book, he recommends all mushroom types because of their antimicrobial type fiber, which helps activate "superhero" cells that seek out and destroy infections.

Although fresh is always best, we also take Vitamin Shoppe's - Mushroom Complex every day as well to help boost our immunity against flu and colds in winter. I love Vitamin Shoppe because for every dollar you spend, you get points during the year. At the end of the year, your points are tallied and you receive a gift certificate to spend the following January.

A healthy immune system also protects your body from other disease like cancer. For more great foods to help protect your family from H1N1, ordinary flu and colds, as well a other viruses, get your own copy of Dave Grotto's book 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life