THURSDAY BASICS: Add Nettle to Meals

#tbt day here at #goodfoodHQ, as we look back on the #mondaybasics series of 2016.

Today’s post is kinda Holistic Nutrition Level 400. Wanting to up that nutritional ante on a day to day basis, adding in something that will benefit all your body parts?

ADD THE NETTLE.

COLES’ NOTES:

1. This is about increasing the minerals in your day to day.

2. It’s also about harnessing the power of Ma Nature - this stuff grows everywhere + is wildly prolific! Talk about loving us up.

3. Read on for tips on how to use it, where to find it, and why you may want to!

This is one of those fundamental changes that will slowly and irrefutably support increasing your digestive fire, reduce inflammation, support immune function and love you up from the guts on out.

Kick chronic disease to the curb, friend! Tell that histamine that YOU are boss! Nettle it up.

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My week got off to a roaring start with a thoughtful gift from one of my sisters, a book from boreal herbalist wunderkind Beverley Gray called The Boreal Herbal: Wild Food and Medicine Plants of the North – a Guide to Harvesting, Preserving and Preparing.

Oh the joy. Oh the possibilities! (I am so lucky to have two awesome sisters. I love them so!)

See, I am a forager at heart and as I dig a bit deeper into our family's history, I realize I come by this quite honestly. My paternal grandmother was quite the herb gatherer; and the grandmothers that came before me and her, they always worked foods from the wild into their meals, cups of tea or in the every day.

This book has been on my radar for years since a good friend shared the knowledge within. But leafing through this new tome to my collection last night got me dreaming of things I want to uncover in places near by.

As the book cover suggests, “(this) is an indispensable guide to identifying and using northern plants for food and medicine.” In this book you will find profiles of plants, berries, herbs and trees that will help you identify them in the wild.

These profiles will help you figure out how and when to gather and preserve these goodies, with safety tips. You'll find lots of recipes and how-tos with detailed information on how best to gather these medicinal foods and make the most of the plants growing wild in the recesses of your back yard to the more remote spots found in nearby wilder areas.

Leafing through the book last night, I zoned in on the Stinging Nettle, or Urtica dioica. Yes yes yes, the same plant that gives you the very intense zing-like needling you would experience were you to chance upon a patch without knowing it. (Found that out time and again while exploring the English and Irish countryside a few years back!)

This perennial plant runs wild in almost every nook and cranny of this planet where there are wetter areas or where the soil has been disturbed. It loves rich damp soil. And when spring seems to be just around the corner, it will be one of the first wild plants that will pop up for early harvesting. But don’t think you need to be a harvester to get in on this nourishing action!

I love nettle for so many reasons: it grows wild and can be found quite easily if you know where to look and what to look for.

It's a super green, providing a rich source of iron (we need for energy and oxygen transport in our bodies) and silica (a mineral necessary for our body's structural force so think strong bones, nails, skin and hair).

It's a power house of vitamins and nutrients, a good source of vitamin K, magnesium, chlorophyll, vitamins A and C too. My favourite thing in nettle is the high calcium content: 1 cup will supply your body with roughly 40% of this important mineral for the day!  All of this to say that nettle is a food that will promote the good health of bones and teeth, my friend. And these things we need strong for this world, yes?

The Boreal Herbal book explores the folklore behind this nutrient-dense herb, stating it is a blood purifier. It's purported to help your kidneys and liver. There are new studies looking into the efficacy of this herb in the treatment of BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia), a non-cancerous growth of the prostate gland. So fellas, this one is for you too!

This herb is a fabulous anti-histamine herb, and as such would be of tremendous support for anyone dealing with allergies or the kinds of reactions we would associate with hayfever like itchy watery eyes.

HELP NOURISH TO COMBAT CHRONIC INFLAMMATION

My favourite superpower of nettle: the leaves have also been shown to help combat inflammation. This translates that those who struggle with arthritis or gout, eczema or psoriasis, cardiovascular disease, Type II Diabetes, any of the degenerative nervous system diagnoses or mood related diseases, truly any chronic disease of any kind (including autoimmune!) would do well to add to their daily regimen.

Nettle has a diuretic effect as well, so if you are someone who tends to retain water, this would be a good herb to add to your arsenal. Love your kidneys and lymph up, my friend.

Some companies have added it to their hair care products in order to help control dandruff. There are even manufacturers out there who have figured out how to utilize the fibres of the plant to produce textile. Fabric! All because of how easily and prolifically it grows. (Some folks call this a weed. A weed to you is a herbal delight to me.)

WHERE TO FIND THE GOODS

Now not everyone is up for hiking through dense marshy areas in search for this perennial herb. And fair enough. (I am not a super experienced forager, so I will forego sharing any tips or ideas on how or where to find nettle. I don't want to send you in the wrong direction or fail to give you the full and complete information you would need to ensure the plant you have in your hand is indeed the nettle plant. Plus, I don't want you to get hurt. BUY THE BOOK. It's about all I can say.)

So where would one find this amazing herb then, you ask, should one prefer to go the surer route? There are quite a few favourite local haunts where I have seen them on the shelves, or where I have purchased bags of the good stuff. Make sure to check your local favourite health food stores like Amaranth, Community or Blush Lane. You can also pick some up at The Light Cellar next time you're in Bowness.

Dry nettle leaves

HOW TO CONSUME THE GOODS

I'd forego trying the stuff raw. Imagine it stings you. While you're chewing. I'm just not that much into extreme food sports, you know? I mean they're called stinging nettles for a reason: there are hairs on the plant's stems and leaves that, when they come into contact with your skin, well they STING! And that feeling is just not pleasant.

But once you cook them, that stinging property disappears and you are left with a wonderfully dense, nourishing green that will provide your body with the good food. One of the easiest ways to consume the benefits of this herb is to steep it in a tea. Just toss the lot in with some water, and simmer for a short time if you prefer a weaker tea, or go ahead and let it simmer for longer for a deeper greener taste. I myself like to throw it in with other herbs in my thermos for the day's tea, depending on what I have in my pantry or what organ I want to support at that time. Nettle is always in the mix, every single day.

If you go digging around the internets, you'll find some wonderful recipes like this Potato, Golden Beet and Nettle Soup that sounds scrumptious. The good folks at The Kitchn have compiled a comprehensive list of recipes for clever ways to consume nettle in things like pestos, pastas, pies and pizzas here. You'll also find a wonderful compendium of recipes featuring this herb at a website solely dedicated to the health properties of Nettle. 

I'm not so calculated, I tend to cook from the hip. I throw a handful of dried nettles in lots of things from meatballs to soups and stocks; I've been known to throw some in with the ground beef or bison I'm cooking for a taco salad  or add it in to spaghetti sauce or a chili. Anywhere you want a little more green, my friend. It's as easy as that. Toss it in with your morning egg scramble; add it to the shredded sweet potato pancakes you have on tap for dinner tonight; simmer them a bit in a cup of meat stock for snack time; add it to your herbal profile when making a bouillon salt; add it to the greens you're cooking up for a yummy Palak Paneer; throw it in with the vegetables in your next ferment.

Whatever you do my friend, you best
GO PLAY WITH YOUR FOOD.

THURSDAY BASICS: soak seeds for smoothies

#tbt day here at #goodfoodHQ, as we look back on the #mondaybasics series of 2016.

A few weeks ago, we touched on the importance of purchasing sprouted and/or fermented grains. This week's post takes it one step further - and applies it to your morning smoothie routine. For the love of your digestion, kittens.

SOAK SEEDS AND NUTS FOR SMOOTHIES.

COLES’ NOTES:

1. Swapping out your packaged nut milks for soaked nuts/seeds as the base increases your nutrient intake (vitamin E!) and reduces nefarious additives like carrageenan and guar gums.

2. You increase your intake of fats and protein - both brilliant starts to the day to help balance hormones and blood sugars, and satiate on a deeper level to sustain you over the course of the morning. The fibre count also goes up - the bugs of your gut will rejoice!

3. The methods shared in this how-to make those nuts and seeds infinitely easier to digest, deactivating the anti-nutrients phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, and reducing the lectins.

This is the article that talks about the fox. I do go on and on about the fox in the scenario of chasing oats, and what happens to her when she eats them. Read up! Recipe included. Requires just a wee forethought, but can quickly become part of your routine if you're a morning smoothie lover.

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This post is for those early birds who are regular consumers of smoothies come morning time. This next in the series of #mondayhealthbasics goes over some basic easy steps you can take in order to make that smoothie really count and nourish you from head to toe. Today's tip will ensure you are better able to digest your morning elixir, and what kinds of things you can add in order to make that breakfast smoothie sustain you for longer periods.

Smoothies come in all shapes and sizes; the only thing between you and the flavours to wake your taste buds is your imagination. Some folks go for a non-dairy milk as the base: think coconut milk, or flax seed milk, almond milk or coconut yogurt. Others go for the full on dairy, from straight up milk to yogurt to kefir. (I do love me some creme fraiche for my quick smoothies.)

I'm going to offer an alternative to you today:
seeds and nuts as your smoothie base.

Why seeds and nuts, and not their milks you ask? For one, the packaged dairy-alternative milks you find sometimes list carrageenan in their ingredients. For a good primer on just what is this additive we often see listed on the label, check this post.  (For folks who may have some digestive issues, this is one of those food additives that may be contributing to irritation and inflammation in the gut.) So omitting it might be a good idea, if you're looking to bring down inflammation in your body. (Have you heard me go on about inflammation yet? Inflammation is really at the root of just about every chronic degenerative disease out there.)

In order to eradicate this additive from my diet, I just make my own nut and seed milks. But sometimes, I don't know about you, but there is only so much time in the day.

Enter: THE INSTA-BREAKFAST.

Well, kind of insta-. As insta- as it gets in this house. This is inspired by a recipe from Dr. Carolee Bateson-Koch's book Allergies: Disease in Disguise and serves as a powerhouse of anti-inflammatory fats, good source of minerals like calcium and magnesium. Adding these nuts and seeds to your morning smoothie will also provide your body with satiating protein and fat, helping you go the distance.

But we aren't talking just throwing in some nuts and seeds to the blender when you think of it. No. We're allowing these nuts and seeds to hang out soaking in water overnight before blitzing them into breakfast delicious.

Why pre-soak these nuggets? See, it's all about de-activating the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors in the nuts and seeds. Enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid are Mother Nature's way to ensure survival, but not for you; rather for the seed making its way through your digestive system. These two compounds are in all nuts and seeds and grains that will one day, make it into a whole plant form.

Imagine a fox. Little foxy is meandering through a field of oats. She takes a nibble from one of the plants and feasts on some oat seeds. She feels good, she feels satiated, so she lies down for a nap. But these seeds she ate? They were full of phytic acid (the plant's way of storing phosphorus) and enzyme inhibitors. As they make their way through the fox' digestive tract, the enzyme inhibitors turn off little foxy's enzymes, which means now she can't break down the seed and thus won't get the nutrients in the seed. (This is all done in order that all of the nutrients and minerals held within the seed/nut/grain can remain in the seed.)

While this non-digested seed winds its way through the fox' gut, the phytic acid also pulls out minerals from her stores, depleting her of important trace minerals necessary to bone building, enzyme production, metabolism, detoxification, I mean the list goes on. When this little undigested morsel of oat seed exits her digestive tract via her stool, that seed (fully intact!) will now be ready to grow into a plant. As it makes its way through her digestive system by "soaking" in the fox' digestive juices, this process deactivates the phytic acid and signals to the seed that it's time to grow. But it's only with time that this deactivation happens. You need a minimum of six hours. (Anybody ever heard of soaking their pea seeds the day before planting? It's the same thing.) Good work, seed!

Sorry little foxy. You were robbed.

How to get around this you ask? We must fool Mother Nature. NO WAIT. We must work with Mother Nature. We need to mimic what she's come up with. This means soaking your nuts/seeds/grains BEFORE you eat them so as to ensure you turn off those enzyme inhibitors found in the seeds. They will no longer be able to prevent you from getting the nutrients found within. Additionally, by properly preparing your nuts and seeds before consuming, you will retain those important trace minerals the phytic acid would have pulled out of you on its way through your system because that compound is turned off.

Sure, sometimes I prepare big batches of nuts and seeds and then store them in freezer bags once they are dehydrated. But I just can't be that far ahead of the eight ball most days.

So here is my shortcut, for the person who'd rather do a small batch for their next morning's breakfast. This one will make two tall glasses of the good stuff.

THE PLAYERS
3/8 cup of nuts and seeds, combined (I love pumpkin seeds, sesame for the calcium, flax and brazil nuts but you can use whatever you have on hand)
3/4 cup of filtered water

THE HOW-TO

• The morning before you plan to have this smoothie, measure your nuts/seeds mixture into the filtered water, cover and let sit on the counter for 24 hours, until tomorrow's breakfast. For added benefit, I'd add a tbsp of a ferment like kombucha or water kefir, or some whey from yogurt or kefir in my fridge. (Say goodbye, phytic acid! Sayonara, enzyme inhibitors!)

• The next morning, blitz this mixture in your blender along with an additional cup of filtered water. You will be consuming the whole seed! No milking required!

• You can add whatever you usually add to your smoothies at this point. I usually include about a cup and a half of frozen mixed berries, sometimes a banana, a little bit of maple syrup and voila. Down the hatch. Delicieux.

Of course you could add some swiss chard for the super-greens kind of effect (less of a negative impact on your thyroid than kale ), or an apple for extra fibre. I always make sure I have some good fats in my smoothie, in order to help slow down the absorption of sugars into my bloodstream and help carry me and satiate for longer periods. For me, this usually means creme fraiche, but you could add some coconut butter or coconut oil, or good old butter if you'd like.

And if you are stocking a pantry of extras, add in a tsp of spirulina, beet root powder, bee pollen, medicinal mushroom powder, moringa powder, hibiscus powder, or whatever you’ve got on hand! They go right nice in a smoothie, they do.

Baby steps, my friend. Baby steps.

Soak those seeds for your smoothies. Love your guts. And bones. And liver. And heart. And brain. And every other sweet part of your body that is attached to that gut.

For those who would like a more in-depth look at how to properly prepare bigger batches of different nuts/seeds/grains, you may want to soak a big batch at once and follow these instructions.

I also did a how-to video on how to soak a big batch of brazil nuts back in January. Find the link to that video here.

This is one of those concepts steeped in the brilliance of the Weston A. Price foundation, for whom I am indebted in sharing this knowledge. Find them online, peruse their articles, and sign up for their newsletter if you’re keen to get the truth about foods and the importance in how we prepare foods.

THURSDAY BASICS: how to think about coffee

Another Thursday, another throwback! Let’s take a peek at one of the old #mondaybasics series of 2016.

I love me some coffee. A cup a day, unless I am driving for hours on end on the highways of this great country. There is always a debate about whether coffee is good for you or not. Allow me to help you figure out how to navigate this.

HOW TO THINK ABOUT COFFEE.

COLES’ NOTES:
1. THE GOOD: Read up on the reasons why coffee might be a good thing in your life!

2. THE BAD: Read up on the reasons why coffee might be a bad thing in your life!

3. THE HOW TO: Understanding the good + the bad, my idea here is that you are better able to make the decision that best suits you. Me? I do one cup a day. And I make it count.

Read up to get the truth about your morning jolt!

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I am not going to lie to you.

I love coffee.

I love my morning cuppa.

I look forward to it, I relish it, I miss it when it isn't in my routine.

I really really love my cuppa joe come morning time. I love the heat of the mug, the creaminess of the cream, the chocolate-y tones to the darker roast. I love how satisfying this mug of goodness is.

I love my coffee so much that whenever we go on holidays, we always travel with our thermos-like french press, ready to make good java on the road at any point in time. It is also one of the first things we do when in a new town: we scope the place for the best cup of joe. We're not afraid to ask around. Two of the best cups of coffee I've ever had in my life were in Madison Wisconsin at a little cafe off the beaten path, and the other in Bath, England at a little corner cafe, where the cool stone benches were a welcome respite from the sweltering summer heat, a few blocks from the historic Roman Baths. I love me some good coffee.

For today's post, I aim to go over some things to think about if you love your cup of joe as much as I do. If you're looking for optimal health, that is.

First things first. There is a lot of hubbub about coffee out there, and it might be a tricky situation to navigate. If you look hard enough, you can find a mountain of evidence to support consumption, and you can find just as much information there to suggest you quit cold turkey.

THE GOOD

Let's start on this side of the fence, shall we? Coffee is a seed, and looks a bit like a mix between a cherry and a cranberry when it is picked by hand off of the plant. (Check this page out if you're curious to know the whole process from planting to brewing.

At some point in this whole harvesting, the beans are fermented. Yes, fermented! (All the best things are fermented, no?) Once dried, the beans get roasted, and either get ground before they get to you or you can opt to do the grinding yourself. These ground beans get brewed into what one hopes is a delicious cup of coffee.

Know this: the coffee plant is one of the most pesticide-heavy crops out there. By opting to purchase organic coffee beans, you will be reducing the pesticide load and easing the burden on your digestive tract, as well as your liver. Good work.

Coffee is rich in antioxidants, organic compounds that are known to reduce the risk of major chronic degenerative diseases, among them diabetes. It would seem that coffee is protective to the liver, your main detoxification organ. The consumption of caffeine found in coffee appears to be a protective agent against the development of Parkinson's (mostly in men, sorry ladies.) This study points to necessary further exploration of the benefits of caffeine in protecting one against Dementia and Alzheimer's. For more benefits of coffee, head to this article for a more thorough look at some of the science backing these notions.  This article points to the benefits of caffeine for athletes. (I love it when they post things like 'Coffee Makes you More Intelligent.' That there is bait, and I fell for it. Who am I to dispute?)

THE BAD

As you probably well know, it is the caffeine found in coffee that is the main culprit of the negativity surrounding this beverage. Caffeine acts as a stimulant on your adrenals, prodding them to work overtime releasing excess cortisol.

This cortisol being released triggers your body to release sugar in that ole bloodstream, which could feed opportunistic yeasts. They start to gain hold in your gut, and these bums now send out chemical triggers to your adrenals to release more cortisol so that insta-sugar hit can get into the bloodstream so they can be fed. Again, coffee (or rather, caffeine) contributes to this picture.

Taking caffeine (and carbonated beverages with caffeine in them!) out of the picture will take some of the load off of your spent adrenals, and in turn, will start diminishing the sugars available to these yeasts with the idea of starving them.

Sugar cravings are all part of this cycle; once that cortisol comes out and glucose is quickly released, your blood sugar spikes, insulin comes out to help level the sugar spike at the pass, but those levels aren't sustained for very long. That sugar level then dips quite low, and your brain starts to go on survival mode (as it starts feeling like it’s running out of glucose - its main fuel) and sends out messages to your adrenals to release more cortisol again in order to get that glucose back into your bloodstream so that your brain doesn't starve. (Glucose is its main food).

Again, taking coffee out of the picture would help alleviate some of the stress on your adrenals, and would contribute to helping to level blood sugar levels. If you're the kind of person who reaches for the 8th cup of coffee at 2pm, you might feel you are being kept captive by this cycle of blood sugar ups and downs. You would be a good contender to look at reducing that caffeine intake, and mitigating those cups you do have with some healthy fats.

Caffeine has been linked to increased blood pressure too; this is all part of the body's fight-or-flight reaction, originally meant to get us out of the saber-toothed tiger's way. While this survival mechanism served us well those many moons ago, consuming caffeine in excess can induce our body to be in that fight-or-flight mode more often than necessary. When this happens, we are setting the stage for low grade chronic inflammation, which is at the root of so many chronic diseases.

HOW TO STILL HAVE COFFEE AND MITIGATE THE EFFECTS OF IT:

Make it a dessert-y kind of coffee by adding something high in fat. Having the fat in the mix will help slow down the absorption of caffeine to the blood stream, which in turn will help moderate your adrenals' response.

You can add a tbsp of ghee or coconut oil - coconut oil is best for someone with no gallbladder, as it is the easiest fat for your body to digest. Coconut butter or cocoa/cacao butter are good options here as well. You can use full fat whipping cream; it doesn't take much.

If possible, swap out to a natural sweetener like honey or maple syrup. Too much sugar in your beverage can further contribute to the tax on the adrenals. Having a bit in there helps to mitigate this reaction to be honest, but keep it natural. If you’re a double double kinda gal, consider starting to up the fat and swapping out the sugars.

ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE

Another good idea if you are a regular consumer of coffee, in order to mitigate that extra stress on your adrenals, is to make sure to consume your coffee after a good meal. If your body is busy digesting and assimilating the eggs and avocado on toast you had for breakfast, it will release that hit of caffeine much slower to the bloodstream instead of a quick jolt you would get on an empty stomach. Slower release of caffeine ensures you aren't triggering that fight-or-flight reaction as well; unfortunately, when the fight-or-flight reaction is engaged, your body shuts down digestion in order to concentrate on the task at hand. Having a coffee solo first thing could contribute negatively here.

Additionally, some of the compounds found in coffee have been found to be mild irritants to the stomach lining and that of the intestinal lining; ensuring a good meal before having your cuppa will help protect those sensitive mucosal linings.

If you are curious to read more from the 'cut out the coffee consumption' camp, make sure to read this article.  They explain the correlation between adrenals and mood, and how caffeine plays a big part here.

YET ANOTHER ALTERNATIVE

This may be obvious: if you are a 10-cups-a-day kinda person, might I suggest you start by reducing how many cups a day you consume.

Start looking to other types of drinks to take the place of your afternoon ritual - herbal teas, elixirs, smoothies, whatever it takes. And when you do have a cuppa, make it count! Add that good fat to help slow the hit of caffeine to your system, and give you some of the tools to help mitigate the negative side effects. My favourite fat to use here is cacao - it’s a rich source of magnesium, which your tuckered adrenals need to help do their work!

You might also consider adding in a medicinal mushroom powder to your coffee too, if you’re keen to support your adrenals through the cuppa caffeine. Reishi and chaga powders are relatively easy to find at your favourite local health food store, and would help nourish your adrenals and help support vitality there.

TRY THIS ALTERNATIVE

If you are someone who is wanting to love up your adrenals, keen to balance the blood sugars, realizing not everyone starts their day with 10 cups of coffee, or if you are wanting to reduce your consumption of caffeine, if you find you are wavering towards the no-coffee camp, there are some excellent options out there. Invest in some liver-loving Dandelion Root Tea, or better yet, harvest your own! (Skip the soy milk he suggests here — another hormone disruptor! — and go for one of the good fats mentioned above.)

For starters, you can switch one or more of your coffee cups for a steeped cuppa tea. While some tea does contain caffeine, it is much less than you would find in coffee. Green tea for instance is a fabulously rich in antioxidants tea that would benefit your adrenals, while satisfying that need for a warm bevy.

Wanting to take the caffeine right out? Reach for antioxidant-rich liver-loving herbal teas like rooibos and fruit flavoured herbal teas. You can also make yourself a medicinal mushroom hot chocolate like the one found here. There are many other options out there too, alternatives like chicory root or pre-made coffee alternative mixes you can find at your favourite health food store. Go play with your food!

Want to get in on the elixir action? Might I recommend Malcolm Saunders’ excellent recipe book on making your own elixirs at home - Elixir Life. In this book, you’ll find all kinds of recipes that will launch you into delicious elixirs, brilliant ways to deeply nourish you while offering brilliant alternatives to some of those coffee cups!

One quick thing to note: caffeine is a diuretic, which means it pulls water out of your body and increases your urine output. (Yes, you pee more if you drink coffee.) Knowing this, just make sure you are replenishing those fluids and having an extra cup of water.

Good work my friend. I'm off to have my one cup of joe for the day. And you better believe I'm going to savour it and enjoy it. Thoroughly.

THURSDAY BASICS: liver loving brews

Another Thursday, another revisit to the now-rejigged Monday Health Basics from 2016.

As we are diving in to this new month, the focus will be on Liver Supportive Things You Can Do. (Capitalizing each word in that sentence should make you feel a sense of purpose - loving up your liver is one of the best ways you can support a long and healthy life, keeping those chronic diseases at bay.)

This week’s topic: ADDING IN SOME LIVER LOVING BREWS

COLES’ NOTES:
1. Build your tea cupboard one cuppa at a time.
2. Included is a recipe to make a long brew - Medicinal Mushroom Brew
3. Should you need more inspiration, check out my IG stories for daily posts I call TODAY’S CUPPA. (Join the good tea revolution and use the hashtag #howicuppa when you post about it on your own social media hangouts!)

My work is always about reducing low grade chronic inflammation. When you do this work, you actively work at keeping chronic diseases at bay. Adding in a daily cuppa is one of the easiest ways to support this work, be it in a cup of herbal tea, an elixir or via smoothie delivery!

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Ah yes, the birds are chirping, the bees have been busy, and the yellow fields have been greening up as spring is here upon us in the prairies and foothills. Hooray for spring! In Traditional Chinese Medicine, spring is the season best associated with the liver, as TCM practitioner Efrem Korngold states,

“The organ that shares the character of this season is the Liver, tasked in Chinese medicine with the job of instigating movement and arousing the mind by allowing tension and pressure to build. As spring signals the rising of sap in the trees, so the Liver lifts the blood upward and spreads it outward. Alternately gathering and releasing our rivers of blood, the Liver modulates the intensity and force of all body movement and process. “

I like to think of tea and herbal brews as necessary (and delicious!) tools in one's medicine chest. And so, in the spirit of the season, we will look at some liver loving brews you can add to your food arsenal, in order to best support this hard working organ. Perfect time of the year to do so.

First things first. Your liver is your main detoxification organ, and does something like 500+ jobs in the body. It hangs out just under your rib cage on the right hand side of your body (unless of course, if your inner organs are hanging out on the other side. In our cadaver lab at school, we got to witness this incredible phenomenon – FASCINATING. But I digress.)

Did you know it's actually a gland?

The liver's main tasks are to cleanse your blood and build blood-clotting factors, move the waste and toxins out, break down hormones, build up new ones. It gets rid of so much stuff, like chemicals from your environment and diet, byproducts made during regular body metabolism, and it packages them back up in to bile. This good stuff helps emulsify the fats you eat, which means it makes those fats easier to digest and better to assimilate the nutrients found within. So bile is the perfect recycling tool, see? Isn't your liver a star? (And eating fats helps you move those toxins out. SUCH GOOD WORK.)

The liver also regulates the sugars in your blood, and is the key player in metabolizing carbs, fats and proteins. It builds proteins from the smaller building blocks called amino acids. The liver is also a storage house for some good things like extra vitamins (the fat soluble ones, my favourites), and extra blood just in case. It is also a key player in your immunity, and is the principal organ that deals with inflammation in the body. Enzymes are made by this organ. As if it didn't have enough of a workload...

My favourite part about this big organ – IT REGENERATES LIKE A DREAM. It loves to repair and rebuild. Itself. Multi tasking, folks. That's what this organ's main super power is.  It is the only organ in the body that can do this.

Herbs and Teas

There are so many things we can do to love our livers up, ways to let them know we appreciate their workload and are thankful for all they do. (Who's game to start having Liver Day, in addition to Mother's and Father's Day? I think it is warranted.)

Today's post is focusing on beverages that are best suited to this wonderful gland.

Before we dive in to this work though, I highly recommend you check with your medical team to see if adding these brews to your list of daily to dos would be a good idea.

You can seek out Burdock root at your favourite local health food store and steep the dried parts in simmering water for a good 20 minutes. I personally like to throw in a few slices in when making good ole meat stock.

Chicory root is another one that benefits the liver, and is a great alternative to coffee if you're looking to curb your caffeine intake. Know that chicory helps stimulate bile production, and so thus could help get your colon rollin. You can sometimes find a good coffee alternative that will include both of these liver-supportive roots in the mix.

Yellow Dock Root might be worth seeking as well: it has been shown to help purify the blood and super bile inducing.  

Astragalus root is a traditional Chinese herb that has been shown to be of wonderful support to the immune system, as well as showing promise of supporting liver metabolism, especially in those diagnosed with diabetes.  I share a recipe on how to use it below.

Imbibing bitter brews will help support the liver, and influence it to produce bile. Think hot lemon with water, or nettle tea. (Remember my good friend nettle?)

Peppermint tea, while not of the bitter persuasion, can stimulate the bile production as well. It's good at bringing down cholesterol as well, double bonus! 

I am a big fan of the delicate notes of Green Tea as well, when it comes to liver support. The polyphenols found in the tea protect your cells from free radical damage, possibly contributing to slower aging and keeping certain diseases such as cancer and heart disease at bay.  Be forewarned, green tea supplements may not be a good idea and in fact may prove to be toxic to some folks' livers. Consult your medical team before embarking on this new brew.

There are two roots I routinely use in my cooking and brew-making that you may want to get to know better: ginger and turmeric. They are in the same rhizome family, and are both wonderful protectors of the liver. They are adept at reducing overall inflammation, and are excellent sources of antioxidants, those all-important compounds that help reduce free radical damage at the cellular level. 

One of the active chemical compounds found in these rhizomes is called curcumin: it has been shown to be liver-protective, also helping to up the production of bile. They also help stimulate your liver to produce enzymes that will flush toxins out.

How to make a brew: check out Toronto-based nutrition practitioner Meghan Telpner's site for a good one.  You can also easily purchase ginger tea in prepared bags for simpler preparation, or for taking on the road.

Rooibos tea is another good one you may already have in your cupboard. A 2008 study found that this loose leaf tea native to Southern Africa is high in antioxidants and may be a good tea for those wanting to support their liver. 

Rose Hip tea is another popular wild-foraged food that can be made into a Vitamin C rich brew by allowing the rose hips to steep in just-boiled water for a time. This essential vitamin is a key player in this organ's detoxification work.

THE FUN-GI’S (fun guys?)

The wonderful world of medicinal mushrooms is an ancient practice that is seeing new light these days. Find your way to this article to read on the benefits of Reishi mushroom in particular, noting that it is a liver-protective herb that can be a key player in mitigating the effects of chronic inflammation and supporting the immune system, a system intricately linked to the liver.

Chaga is another wonderful medicinal mushroom that grows on birch trees and has been used traditionally for many centuries. This mushroom serves as a potent blood purifier, and excellent at reducing chronic inflammation as well, providing the body with key nutrients necessary for the body's detoxification and antioxidant protectors.

I like to prepare my own concoction at home to support my liver. This is part of my Long Brew I have on the go, and use as the base for daily cuppas, elixirs and sometimes for braising veg. I just poached pears in it - so yum!

Every few weeks, I set a pot of this goodness to simmer for the better part of the day, with the intention of consuming a good mugful every day until the pot is empty.  I leave it on the stove top and bring it back to a good boil once a day before consuming it. I sweeten it with some delicious local honey to taste.

LIVER and IMMUNE SUPPORTING BREW

Steeping on a low simmer for six hours:
8 cups of filtered or spring water (the chlorine in tap water is an added toxin the liver has to handle)
5 slices dried Reishi mushrooms
1.5 tbsp chaga pieces
4 slices astragalus
2 cinnamon sticks
2" fresh ginger, sliced
1" fresh turmeric, sliced
4 cardamom pods cracked open

OTHER BREWSKIS AS YOU BUILD YOUR TEA CUPBOARD

Dandelion Root Tea is a popular one in our house; it is a wonderful liver tonic. (Did you know the word dandelion comes from the french word 'Dent de lion'? I find that funny because the french name for this flower is 'pissenlit'. Which literally means pee the bed. And Dandelion root tea is a diuretic. See what they did there? Those smart frenchies.) I think this one may be my absolute favourite liver loving brew. It helps incite your liver to rebuild and function at a higher capacity. Read on for more information on this magical brew. 

What kind of cuppa will you prepare next?

The information provided in this post is not intended to replace your doctor's advice. This is for educational purposes only. If your liver is currently giving you cause for concern, it is best to seek out the support of your Medical Team before consuming any of the brews mentioned in this post.

THURSDAY BASICS: flavour your water.

Kittens. It’s dive into the vault day to pull out a blog post from that ole series Monday Health Basics. Following last week’s post on water, I wanted to offer you another idea on keeping things delicious while working on hydration!

This post was originally dreamed up in the heat of summer. Consider this my intention-setting to bring back the heat and usher in Lady Spring. I know, I know. I’ve lived in Southern Alberta for almost 20 years now. I know Spring is a wisp of an idea, but a girl can dream, right?

This week’s topic: FLAVOUR THAT WATER!

COLES’ NOTES:
1. This is a roundabout way to get you to ditch the high sugar drinks and hydrate with some delicious sugar-free flavours. A method to the madness!
2. Keep the tops of your strawberries and cucumber ends to make for delicious flavoured water!
3. Look for other ideas like The Sun Infuser, The Watermelon Quencher or The Ice Cube Method for those who, like me, need all the help they can get.

All in the name of supporting your ever lovin gorgeous bod, dear one. Drink up.

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The heat is coming back to the prairies this week. I'm sure it's close to cranking up where you are at as well, dear friend. When the thermostat starts going up, it's time to increase the water intake, mon amie. This is to replenish those fluids lost in sweating, in order to keep our temperature in the safe zone.

Never mind the heatwave, water is just all-round good for you. But sometimes plain water just doesn't cut it. Today's #mondayhealthbasics post explores good alternatives to plain-jane-water in order to wake up those tastebuds and inspire you to guzzle the good stuff.

First and foremost, let's be clear: water is so very good for you. My very first #mondayhealthbasics post touched on the importance of consuming water in your day, talking about the timing of your intake as well. You can find MHB post #1 right here. (Key point: stop drinking 30 minutes before a meal, try to reduce your water consumption in meals to none at all, and wait one hour afterwards to resume your drinking.)

It should also be noted that reaching for filtered water or spring water will be of benefit to you, as opposed to tap water. Find that MHB post here.

The third time we explored the importance of water, it was in the spirit of supporting your liver and detox function. Find that nugget here.

For this fourth time talking about this most integral component of our body's functioning, necessitating its daily consumption, we're going to look at easier ways to get that stuff down the gullet.

I personally love water, but I do find aiming to consume two litres per day can sometimes feel like a bit of a chore. Spiffing up the flavours of the water encourages my daughter to reach for a beverage more often.   ...   OK truth be told, not just her. Let's go over some ideas then, to get you started. I look forward to hearing the flavour combos you will dream up!

 

Stretching The Strawberries

Berry season is soon upon us, and who doesn't love gorging on these delicious fruit when they are at their peak? I am a frugal one, and so this is how I like to stretch this abundant season, using up every morsel: after I wash the berries and before consuming them, one needs to trim the tops off, yes? I simply pop those in a jar, and top up with filtered water and tuck the jar in the fridge. Next day, yummy strawberry-flavoured water awaits.

You can also add other fruits or herbs to the mix here, fresh or dried. Imagine strawberry and basil, wouldn't that be yum? You can toss in a few chopped cherries to the mix too, a pinker hue shall ensue.

Minty Cuke Refresher

This combo is perhaps one of the most popular ways of adding zing to your plain-jane-water. Simply toss a few leaves of mint at the bottom of your jar, up to 1/4 cup if you are going for a full litre of water. Using the back of a wooden spoon or a proper muddler, bruise the leaves in order to release those volatile oils; this is the trick to really enhancing the flavour. Add in half a cucumber cut into rounds, and fill up the brim with filtered water and again, tuck in the fridge overnight. Tomorrow morning's water will have everyone at the office jealous of your tastebuds.

I grow a few different kinds of mint every year for just this purpose. It isn't too late to add a pot to the deck, and pick up a few interesting flavours of mints at your favourite local garden centre. This year, I planted Pineapple Mint, Chocolate Mint and Orange Mint. Yum!

 

Liver Loving Lemon + Citrus Delish

It may seem tried and true, but it's a stalwart for a reason: lemon is probably one of the most refreshing flavours out there. Double bonus, you get to take in some additional vitamin C whenever you add citrus to your drinking water! Lemon is a great liver-lover, helping you detoxify as the day goes on. (Remember that MHB post?) A good rule of thumb is to aim for about half a lemon per litre of water. You can juice it yourself, or slice the fruit up into quarter or rounds.

If you want to try something new, add some lime slices to your beverage. Or switch it up and toss in a few rounds of orange slices. Better yet, toss in all three and make it a citrus-y kind of day! Wouldn't grapefruit be incredible here? Best combo for the hottest day of the year, or for toting around to the events at Stampede or for Folk Fest.

 

Watermelon Quencher

I have a friend who used to bring her water bottle filled with watermelon to yoga classes. I was always jealous, and then I tried it myself. And realized sheesh it's as easy as pie, why hadn't I thought of this before?

Slicing up some watermelon, honeydew or cantaloupe into cubes adds an almost ice-cream kind of flavour to the water. You will get bonus points for adding fresh basil or mint to this combo.

The Tropical

So the heat is rising, and you start to wonder if you haven't ended up in the tropics: there's a drink for that. To your litre-sized glass jar, add a handful of fresh pineapple cubes along with your water, and allow to mellow in the fridge before consuming.

Want to jazz it up a bit? Grate some fresh ginger in the mix. Or toss in some cucumber here too. Could be a fool-proof way for your littles to get the water down in order to save them from heat stroke, keeping them cool!

 

The Sun Infuser

You don't have to simply use fresh things and allow them to meld in the cool of the refrigerator. Why not add a few dried hibiscus petals to your litre of water and allow to brew under the heat of the sun on your back deck for the day? Pop it in the fridge to cool it down, and consume this zinger over the course of the next day. Bonus again here, extra vitamin C for your sweet self. Why not try this way with any kind of flavoured tea brew or herbs? One of my favourites these days is the Okanagan Rooibos blend that I purchase at my favourite local health food store. It screams summer, mon amie.

 

The Ice Cube Method

Another option might be to blitz some fruit together a bit until chunky, and toss in an ice cube tray in the freezer. When fully frozen through, pop them out and tuck into a freezer bag and when you are ready to consume, simply toss a cube or two in some water first thing in the morning, allowing them to melt right into the water. A great way to prep for 5 minutes for a week's worth of flavoured water.

Combos I'm thinking of right off the top of my head: frozen mango and raspberries; lime and blueberry; peach mint and blackberries. The flavours are only limited by your imagination! I have some rosemary growing on the deck, I wonder what kind of fruit will work with it... rhubarb maybe? I'll have to report back. What about adding edible flowers to your ice cubes? Violets are gorgeous, and yummy.

 

Fizzy Water

There are no hard and fast rules here, other than aiming towards that 2-litres-of-water-a-day rule. Sure you can use filtered water or spring water, but why not try some mineral water for extra fizz? Might just hit the spot, plus give you that mineral boost.

And why stop at fizzy? Coconut water might be a delightful vehicle as well.

It is my intention to present you with some frugal and delicious ideas in today's blog post, in order to help veer you away from those powder packets they sell to you to add to your water. They're full of chemicals and sweeteners or 'alternatives' to sweeteners which really, are just chemical poop-storms.

This post is hopefully enticing you to also try something as an alternative to pop or juice; they too are full of added chemicals and white refined sugars. Say nay friend, to those nefarious drinks and say yay to the infused waters. Your body has been asking for you.

Go play with your bevvies!