look after your liver

It’s the Burton Health Christmas party this Saturday (yippee) and as you may have already gathered, I’m rather fond of the occasional glass of wine or 2 (+). So what am I going to do to protect my newly detoxified liver?

I’m quite prone to sluggish liver function so I do a few things every day to help it out such as drinking dandelion tea and doing warm water and lemon or ACV in the morning. But over the Christmas and New Year period I’ll be giving my liver extra love, in the form of herbal medicines, to ensure it can keep up. Read on to find out a bit more about your liver and how you can help it function at its peak.

Did you know that your liver cleans your blood, processes nutrients, makes hormones, regulates blood sugar and stores many vitamins and minerals? Busy little organ!

Here are some symptoms that may indicate that your liver function is not up to scratch:

•   Indigestion, reflux, bad breath
•   Bloating, constipation or feeling sick after a fatty meal
•   Slow metabolism or weight gain
•  Feeling angry, irritable and unable to concentrate
•   Headaches, tiredness, waking between 3am-4am
• Acne, rosacea and dry skin
•  PMS, period pain, tender breasts

Did you find yourself nodding your head as your read that list?

Thankfully there are a few daily practices we can start up to help to cleanse our liver so that it can perform at its peak:

• Start the day with a glass of warm water and ½ a fresh squeezed lemon or 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• Eat bitter foods such as rocket, endive, kale and spinach
• Drink dandelion root tea
• Eat broccoli sprouts, garlic, turmeric and grapefruit*

*If you are taking medications, please read the label or consult your health care provider before including grapefruit as it is contraindicated with some medications.

And of course, give your liver a rest every now and then by having alcohol free days, cutting down on coffee, using chemical free skin products, and eating organic, unprocessed food where possible.

There are herbs and nutrients that you can use to specifically protect and improve the function of your liver. Dandelion, St Marys Thistle (milk thistle), Turmeric, Schizandra, vitamins A, C and E, selenium, zinc and glutamine are just a few of the key liver helpers.

Your Naturopath will be able to advise you on the best herbs and supplements to take during the silly season.

And remember, while you’re at your Christmas and New Year functions, moderation is the best way to avoid a hangover ,as well as alternating your alcoholic beverages with water.

Sneaky tip: soda water in ashort glass with a piece of lemon/lime looks just like vodka and soda – drink these to avoid attention from your colleagues (you’re welcome).

Warm Quinoa Salad

This is a great easy midweek dish, left over chicken could be used if you have any hanging about in the fridge.Quinoa pronounced keen-wah, is a complete protein, packed full of macronutrients such as zinc, magnesium and iron. It’s wheat and gluten free so it’s a great alternative to couscous and it tastes great! Before cooking quinoa it is important to rinse it well, this will remove the saponin from the quinoa.

Ingredients

•   1 cup quinoa
• 1.5 cups gluten free chicken stock (no nasties)
• 2 chicken breasts
• 2 tablespoons macadamia oil (or olive oil)
•  ½ cup pepitas
•  Juice of 1 lemon
•   ½ cup basil pesto
•   1 bunch broccolini, trimmed
•   Fresh basil leaves

Method

1.       Place chicken breasts in a saucepan of simmering water for 5 minutes, cover and remove from heat, stand for 20 minutes until cooked through, remove from liquid.

2.       Meanwhile, place quinoa in a saucepan with the stock and bring to boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until tender. Remove from heat and stand, covered for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

3.       Steam or blanch your broccolini.

4.       Shred the chicken and toss with the lemon juice and oil, then add all other ingredients and toss until well combined.

Serve and enjoy!

If you can't go 100% organic is it worth going organic at all?

Not everyone has easy access to organic food and I often get asked by my clients if it’s worth buying some foods organic and the rest non-organic.

The short answer is:

Yes.

The long answer is:

Organic food, in my opinion, is real food. It has been farmed without the harsh chemicals that are used in conventional farming. These chemicals might be pesticides, fertilisers, weed killers, hormones or antibiotics that if used in the farming process will undoubtedly result in us ingesting those chemicals with the food.

Filling your diet with as many organic foods as possible will lower your exposure to these chemicals, and reducing chemical load on your body has a great impact on your health and wellbeing.

Organic food contains higher levels of nutrients which will help to keep you well and reduce your need to take supplements such as multivitamins and minerals.

Organic food is happy food. This is relevant to vegetarians and carnivores alike. Organic vegetables have been grown in fertile soil, at the proper pace and are usually available seasonally (when they’re fresh). The welfare standard of organic meat is considered to very high plus the animals are not fed waste and genetically modified junk. Generally they are allowed to graze on grass, the way nature intended.

Organic food tastes better. Do the taste test, you’ll see what I mean. If you want strawberries that make your taste buds tingle, apples that taste like an orchard and milk that tastes like your childhood – go organic.

What about the cost? The second most common thing I hear when it comes to organic food is “but it’s so expensive”. My thought on this is that organic food represents the real price of food. Obviously if a carrot has to be left in the ground longer to grow without chemicals, it means that the farmer has a slower rate of production and therefore needs to charge more to cover costs and make a living. I’m cool with that.

Choosing to buy organic is about prioritising your health and quality of food over things like getting your nails done and buying new clothes every week. I choose to spend my money on organic food and to be honest I don’t think the price is that different. Organic fruit and vegetables generally last longer so there is less waste and eating food that makes you healthier means that you potentially will spend less on health care and medications in the future.

So if you’re wondering if you should venture down the organic route when you’re at the supermarket, give it a go! Your meals will be tastier, more satisfying, healthier and fresher and there is no harm in mixing a bit of organic with a bit of conventionally farmed food if that is all that’s available. At the end of the day no matter how your food is farmed, fresh is best and we can just take baby steps from there 

Quinoa and sweet potato balls

Posted on November 4, 2013 by Techie234

These balls are great with zucchini pasta for a main meal or with tzatziki for a snack. The quinoa and almonds make them high in protein so a great vegetarian dish and carnivores won’t even notice that the meat is missing!

Ingredients

  1 sweet potato

 1 cup quinoa (uncooked)

  ½  bunch basil

  1 cup raw almonds

  1 clove garlic

  ½ tablespoon coconut flour

  ½ teaspoon Himalayan crystal salt

  Olive oil

Method

1.       Peel sweet potato, cut into 4, place on a lined baking tray and bake at 180 for 30 mins, turning once. Set aside to cool.

2.       Rinse quinoa then place in saucepan with 1.5 cups water. Bring to boil then simmer with lid on for 10 minutes, return to strainer and drain out excess water (push quinoa with back of spoon to get water out).

3.       In your blender (I use a stick mixer so has to be done in batches), blend the almonds then add the quinoa, sweet potato, garlic, salt then basil until all combined.

4.       Form into golf ball sized balls (approx. 16 balls) and place on lined baking tray, drizzle with olive oil.

5.       Bake on 180 for 25 minutes, turning twice.

Serve with raw zucchini pasta (use a grater or peeler to make your pasta), tzatziki, lemon juice and olive oil for a meal or, dip into tzatziki at a party or picnic. Enjoy!