Raw Vitality 20 Tips for Optimum Natural Health

Looking for a go-to list to keep handy and reference frequently to keep your health naturally on track and moving forward?! Here is the Raw Vitality 20 tips for Optimum Natural Health!

1. Rise and sleep with natural sunlight hours - Get up when the sun comes up, start winding down and getting ready to sleep as the sun goes down. It's as easy as that! ☼

2. Don't eat late at night or until fully away, 1-2 hours after rising.

3. Make lunch your biggest meal, right in the middle of your day.

4. Eat when you are hungry. Learn to listen to your body. It knows what's best for you!

5. Eat a mainly plant based, organic diet

6. Eat foods as closest to their natural state as possible.

7. Avoid all synthetic chemicals in foods and products.

8. Drink plenty of water. Chances are you are not getting enough, so drink more!

9. Minimize your intake of dairy, wheat, refined grains and in-organic soy.

10. Move and exercise in a balanced way each and every day. 20 minutes of outdoor walking each day is a great place to start!

11. Get out in the sunlight each and every day without sunscreen.

12. Eat a varied diet. Keep it fresh and mix it up.

13. Avoid medical drugs unless absolutely necessary. Seek natural remedies to heal your body once and for all.

14. Avoid wrapping your foods in soft plastics.

15. Don't rely on pain killers or antibiotics, find the underlying root cause and treat it naturally.

16. Reduce animal protein in your diet, choose lean, free range organic meats and limit to 3 servings/week.

17. Eat organic, eat organic, eat organic!

18. Banish fast and fried foods once and for all.

19. Engage in 5 minutes of deep breathing each day.

20. Find healthy outlets for your stress like through a daily meditative practice and yoga.

Join our next group cleanse coming in September 2014! Details found on our web site at: www.rawvitalitytotalhealth.com/Events

Raw Vitality is a holistic health system and cleanse that provides you with all the tools, education and support you need to prevent and reverse chronic health conditions naturally while achieving the highest levels of health and vitality!

Raw Vitality teaches 

• Natural eating principals
• Healthy stress management practices
• Balanced, consistent, exercise
• Green living strategies 
• Medicinal herbs

We teach and offer everything you need to restore and maintain your health in a natural and balanced way through ongoing group cleanses, holistic health workshops, teaching programs for industry professionals, cooking classes, individual cleanses, natural and organic products, education and support.

Get a free taste of Raw Vitality with 10 Fresh, Fast & Healthy Raw Vitality Recipes at www.rawvitalitytotalhealth.com

Allergies - 6 Ways to Get Rid of Them for Good

Allergy season has begun again. Coughing, sneezing, itchy eyes, mucus, tiredness...ugg what about allergies IS good? Nothing. As I have observed our clients over over the last couple years, I have noticed one thing, allergies are getting worse, not better. More people have allergies and the severity of symptoms seems to be ever increasing. What is causing this phenomenon and is there anything we can do to alleviate allergies form happening in the first place? The one thing I love about holistic medicine is that the answer to, is there anything I can do to get rid of these damn allergies, is always YES! No you don't have to live with them. No you don't have to go through your day drowsy and miserable from over the counter medicines. There is a reason allergies are increasing in severity and there are many things you can do to get rid of allergies for good.

What Causes Allergies?

If you think the answer to this question is pollen, you are in fact WRONG. Nothing outside of the body causes any health symptom. This includes colds, flus and allergies. The fact is if your body is healthy and strong on the inside even if germs or in this case pollen is placed directly into your body your body is intelligent enough and designed to take care of the problem. In one famous study that proves this point, cold germs were taken and physically placed inside of the nasal tissue of the study participants. With active cold germs placed inside of the body you would then think all of the study participants came down with the cold virus. This turned out to be not the case, in fact more then half of the participants did not ever come down with the cold virus. Why? In the famous words of Louis Pasteur's, "The germ is nothing, the soil is everything." 

Allergies are simply a sign of an over reactive immune system. Allergies tell us the immune system of the body is overburdened, not functioning optimally and is now reacting to anything and everything. 80% of the immune system resides and is created within the gut. The most important influence right now on the increase in allergy symptoms is our food supply. Contaminated with toxic chemicals, GMO organisms and franken-stein type food products like wheat and soy in it's present form, the gut the body is constantly under assault. Food chemicals and GMO's damage and kill off important cells of the immune system and cause confusion within the body and immune system itself. Foreign objects, such as man made chemicals and genetically modified organisms, would normally be processed by the body, made inactive and disposed of, but because of the large amount we are now consuming the immune system is being overwhelmed and destroyed. Because we overwhelm our immune system daily with these contaminants the immune system goes on high alert, looking for anything and everything that may cause the body harm. At the same time it is functioning less effectively and efficiently because of how damaged and over run it has become.

One recent study showed that those exposed to certain types of pesticides had a higher rate of allergies. The chemicals are called dichlorophenols (DCPs). They are created by the breakdown of common pesticides, including chlorinated chemicals used to purify drinking water. They also turn up in moth balls, air fresheners, deodorizer cakes in urinals, and certain herbicides sprayed on crops. “They’re quite common,” says researcher Elina Jerschow, MD, an allergist at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, N.Y. (1)

Is it any wonder then that a small amount of spring or fall pollen causes the immune system to over react? As this cycle continues throughout someone's lifetime allergy, as well as other health symptoms, begin to increase. This is one of the main reasons children these days have such a higher rate of allergies. They are bombarded with processed, sugar filled, chemically laden GMO foods. 

6 Ways to Get Rid of Allergies For Good

1. Eliminate All Food Allergens - This includes all genetically modified foods (buy organic foods only), foods filled with chemicals (again buy only organic foods or make your own from organic grown foods), wheat (see our article on To Be or Not to Be Gluten Free http://rawvitalitytotalhealth.blogspot.com/2014/05/to-be-or-not-to-be-gluten-free.html), soy, corn and peanuts. These foods are not inherently bad but because of how these foods are now grown they have been morphed from what they originally where into a food that causes reactions within the body. When you are trying to calm down the immune system, steer clear of foods known to over stimulate the immune system. 

2. Eat Fresh Fruits & Vegetables - During the allergic response, oxidants in your system team up with histamines to attack the body, causing an allergic response. Carotenoids, a phytopigment (chemically active color) in plants defend against those oxidants. Food sources of carotenoids include carrots, sweet potatoes, spinach, kale, collard greens, papaya, bell peppers, and tomatoes. Fresh fruits and vegetables also help to flush the build up of toxins in the body. Choose organic produce to reduce your exposure to additional body harming toxins. 

3. Antioxidants - Antioxidants help to defend against oxidants which can trigger the allergic response as previous mentioned, but other specific antioxidants have been found to help eliminate or reduce seasonal allergy symptoms. Recent studies have shown that supplementing with antioxidants can actually do more harm to the body then good, a better approach is to increase the body's own antioxidant production. You do this by eating foods and herbs that activate something called Nrf2 in the body and eating fresh foods high in antioxidants. To learn more about Nrf2 and the harm supplementing with antioxidants is doing to your body watch this short discussion by Dr. Shawn Talbott (http://kdvr.com/2014/08/07/are-we-taking-too-many-vitamins/) We sell a natural Nrf2 activator in the Raw Vitality products store that we have seen help with reducing allergy symptoms www.rawvitalitytotalhealth.com

4. Probiotics - Probiotics are friendly bacteria in the gut and are intrinsically related to a healthy immune system. Probiotics are killed and naturally depleted in most bodies because of the high amount of antibiotics and toxic food additives circulating in our food system, all of which kill this friendly bacteria. A high quality probiotic supplement and eating only organic foods can help to replenish friendly bacteria and naturally strengthen the immune system. 

5. Get More Sunlight -  Sunlight is important to a healthy body and healthy immune system. Without it, our bodies lack vitamin D which is needed to regulate hormones and also for a strong immune system. Know your body and skin type and never allow your skin to burn, but do get some Sun exposure on bare skin each and every day. Increasing your sun exposure will increase your levels of Vitamin D increasing the health of your immune system. 

6. Living Juices - Living juices, juices that have not been processed, refined, or heated, remove toxins stored in tissues and cells, deeply hydrate the tissues and infuse the internal environment with the highest levels of Vitaimin C, antioxidants, oxygen, enzymes and vitamins and minerals. Juices specifically remove toxins from the insulating sheath that surrounds the nervous system, helping to calm and restore balance to an overly active nervous system. 

These are some essential tips to helping end the cycle of seasonal allergies and heal the underlying root cause. For an individualized approach to reversing seasonal allergies for good, talk with our knowledgeable holistic health practitioner and make this the last season you suffer needlessly!

Join our next group cleanse coming in September 2014! Details found on our web site at: www.rawvitalitytotalhealth.com/Events

Raw Vitality is a holistic health system and cleanse that provides you with all the tools, education and support you need to prevent and reverse chronic health conditions naturally while achieving the highest levels of health and vitality!

Raw Vitality teaches 

• Natural eating principals
• Healthy stress management practices
• Balanced, consistent, exercise
• Green living strategies 
• Medicinal herbs

We teach and offer everything you need to restore and maintain your health in a natural and balanced way through ongoing group cleanses, holistic health workshops, teaching programs for industry professionals, cooking classes, individual cleanses, natural and organic products, education and support.

Get a free taste of Raw Vitality with 10 Fresh, Fast & Healthy Raw Vitality Recipes at www.rawvitalitytotalhealth.com

1. http://www.webmd.com/allergies/news/20121203/food-allergies-pesticides

5-Minute Deep Breathing Exercise For Increased Vitality

Bringing oxygen into your body is so important to overall health. We get rid of up to 80% of toxins and wastes through breathing, but most of us have grown accustomed to shallow breathing because we are busy and stressed. When we breathe shallow this increases the amount of toxins that stay in our body instead and instead of being released they stay in our tissues. Low oxygen levels also create an acidic environment inside your body, reducing energy and causing health problems long term. In yoga breath, or prana, is seen as our life force. It is a way the energy from the Universe comes into our body. Prana moves through our body energizing and revitalizing us. It also becomes a way to check in with our body,. As we follow our breath through our body we can see where we may have resistance, blocks or pains.

Deep breathing can also help calm and relax your body while at the same time invigorating and refreshing you. It is a great tool to use in times of stress or when you reach a point of total frustration or other strong emotion. Taking just a few minutes to practice deep breathing each day can help calm, center and revitalize you.  

This simple 5 minute deep breathing exercise will help your body to release toxins, calm your mind and regulate and balance your internal body processes. Use this deep breathing exercise as a regular practice or in times when you encounter strong emotions or stress. This deep breathing exercise is part of our Raw Vitality Total Health Transformation & Cleanse 30-day program.

Deep Breathing Exercise

Find a quiet, relaxing place and make yourself comfortable.

Set a timer for 5 minutes so you do not have to be continuously checking your clock.

Begin breathing in and out.

You may close your eyes or keep them open, this is a personal preference.

Inhale through your nose, feeling the air travel down your spine, expanding your belly, and

then filling your chest.

Count to 5 while you are inhaling.

Hold the breath in and count to 3.

Exhale fully from a slightly parted mouth and feel the air travel the same circle from your

chest, through your belly, up through your spine.

Feel all your cells releasing waste and emptying all the old stale energy with each exhale.

Focus on your breath.

In-Hold-Out; In-Hold-Out.

Watch your thoughts come and go like floating clouds. When thoughts arise, simply return

your attention to your breath.

You can also accompany your in and out breaths with a mantra such as So-Hum, or other

mantra that has personal meaning.

The point is to focus on your breath, not your thoughts.

As your mind drifts from your breath to your thoughts, simply return to your breath, In-Hold-

Out.

Continue deep breathing until your timer notifies you that your time is up.

Join our next group cleanse coming in September 2014! Details found on our web site at: www.rawvitalitytotalhealth.com/Events

Raw Vitality is a holistic health system and cleanse that provides you with all the tools, education and support you need to prevent and reverse chronic health conditions naturally while achieving the highest levels of health and vitality!

Raw Vitality teaches 

• Natural eating principals
• Healthy stress management practices
• Balanced, consistent, exercise
• Green living strategies 
• Medicinal herbs

We teach and offer everything you need to restore and maintain your health in a natural and balanced way through ongoing group cleanses, holistic health workshops, teaching programs for industry professionals, cooking classes, individual cleanses, natural and organic products, education and support.

Get a free taste of Raw Vitality with 10 Fresh, Fast & Healthy Raw Vitality Recipes at www.rawvitalitytotalhealth.com