RISING WOMEN EXPERTS...

How do you keep your energy up and not put on weight during the winter months?
    By Monica Hirai of Hirai Health Services

As we get into the winter months we start to eat more and more “cooked” foods; foods that are heavier like grains, meat, beans, cookies, cakes, etc. The “heat” from these cooked foods help to keep us warm by giving us the calories we need to burn in order to keep our own “internal furnace” going. However, what these “cooked” foods lack are enzymes to break the food down so our own enzymes are used to break down these complex carbohydrates and the proteins. This process actually depletes our energy.

Cooked foods also lack vitamins which are often heat labile so they are destroyed in the cooking process before we eat them. This leads to the reason why people overeat during the Christmas holidays. Certain foods are craved and eaten because the body is lacking in certain vitamins and you need to eat more cooked food to get the same amount of vitamins that you would get in a lesser amount from “raw food”. So naturally more calories are consumed. People gain weight and are lethargic.

There is a way where you can avoid all this. I suggest that with every meal you eat that is cooked, eat at least 25% of the whole meal in a raw form. Eat green leafy vegetables and lots of them. Sprouts are another great alternative (and you can grow them at home.) Always have on hand plenty of varieties such as alfalfa and broccoli and eat them in salads, soups (just add them in your bowl, don’t cook them with the soup) and put them in sandwiches.

The next groups of vegetables to add to your plate are the cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, kohlrabi, etc. Also, consider adding seaweed to your everyday diet. You can eat it straight out of the bag as in Dulse, or use Kelp and cook it as part of your soup broth base. Your liver will use these “live foods” to clean itself and your blood. When your liver is happy then you have energy. Raw, fresh foods also help your liver breakdown all the harder to digest foods, such as meats and they help to breakdown toxins so that you can digest and eliminate via the bowel in a balanced way.

And finally, I highly recommend that you schedule in a cleaning period sometime during these upcoming winter months. Include a bowel cleanse with colonics and herbs as well as a liver flush at the end of the cleansing period. This will also keep your energy up and the “winter weight” off!

For more advice on a balancing your diet, contact Monica Hirai, owner of Hirai Health Services at 403.276.5756. Learn about Monica’s services at www.hiraihealth.com