The Organic Mechanic's Ultimate Liver Flush Smoothie is perfect post a morning walk and deep breathing.
Photo / Supplied
The Organic Mechanic's Ultimate Liver Flush Smoothie is perfect post a morning walk and deep breathing.
Photo / Supplied
With a new year ahead of us, the team at the Organic Mechanic share their ten tips for finding sustainable health.
Health is the real wealth, not pieces of gold and silver.
With a new year ahead of us, the team at the Organic Mechanic share their ten tips for finding sustainable health.
1. Regularly practice an attitude of Gratitude
It can be easy to find ourselves working toward something new without ever stopping to enjoy the things we have now. So take a quiet moment every morning when you first wake up to appreciate where you are, the amazing people in your life and the things you already have - including your health.
Exercise increases the amount of serotonin and endorphin flow to the brain, decreasing stress, and promoting a reset of our emotional body. Making a steady goal to work up a little sweat at least 3x a week, trying out a yoga class, and having a good belly laugh at least 5x per day, are great places to start.
3. Remember to Breathe
Ancient cultures knew that the breath (Prana/Chi) is a powerful life force, which can be harnessed to bring limitless energy into our being. Focusing on the breath is perhaps the easiest way to bring the chattering mind to silence, and into the present moment - which really is all that ever was, and ever will be.
Ditch your phone and log out of the illusory digital world of social media at least one weekend a month. Grab your friends and family and start head butting life by immersing yourself and making some real experiences in nature. New Zealand is the most beautiful country in the world, and too many of us take for granted the mystical wonder and majestic beauty of our own backyard.
5. Drink more high quality water
Our bodies are made up of 70-90% water (depending on who you read), so make sure to source the best quality. Drinking mineral water is an easy way to get our bodies into the naturally alkaline state of homeostasis, which is a place where disease cannot thrive. Tap water often carries harmful chemicals and heavy metals that can deposit in our cells and contribute to the formation of disease - so upgrading your water to a good quality, alkaline source, is perhaps one of the easiest and most important ways to liberate your health and vitality.
6. Eat more Organic high water content foods
Water is responsible for detoxification, and eating more foods rich in H20 (fruits and vegetables) will help you lose weight faster, detoxify harmful toxins, and give you more energy throughout the day.
These foods require minimal digestive energy and promote detoxification and cleansing of the body as they move through the system, leaving you feeling zestfully and energetically lighter.
7. Cut out refined processed foods & eat spray free or organic!
Processed foods like sugar, corn, dairy, flour and some meat has been pulverized to the point where its nutritional value has been completely stripped of any nutrients that the body can actually use as fuel.
You are what you eat, so don't be fast, easy, cheap or fake - (or cage farmed).
A healthy gut contains a colony of over 1 trillion different intelligent probiotic bacteria and enzymes, which are responsible for breaking down and digesting our food. Because of the high stress lifestyle we are leading plus all of the antibiotics refined and processed foods we are eating, much of the flora and bacteria in our guts have become almost completely non-existent.
To help remedy this problem, we need to consume more probiotic foods which will nourish, rather than thwart, our gut. These include: Sauerkraut, Kimchi, Miso, Coconut Yoghurt, Kombucha, & Coconut Kefir.
Kombucha is a fermented tea drink high in probiotics and easy enough to make at home. Photo / Supplied
9. Soak, sprout, ferment and grow your own food
"Once in your life you need a doctor, a lawyer, a policeman, and a preacher. But every day, three times a day, you need a farmer."
A little education on how to grow your own greens (for a green smoothie), soaking almonds, pumpkin seeds and chia seeds before eating (to maximize their health benefits), to fermenting your own kombucha or sauerkraut at home (for a probiotic boost), or simply employing the use of a little compost bin out in the garden for food scraps will radically alter your carbon footprint on this planet.
The Ultimate Liver Flush Smoothie Recipe Serves 1 - 2
Get more info on Organic Mechanic here or on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, or find them at La Cigale French Markets, 69 St Georges Bay Road, Parnell, Auckland. To stay in the loop for more recipes, sign up to Element's newsletter.
