Category Archives: Immune Booster

7-Day Liver Detox Plan before the holidays – The last minute guide to getting into better shape before 2021

When is the best time to start this plan?

NOW, but realistically, check your calendar and pick a week when you don’t anticipate any special events that involve a lot of foods. You can do this before the holidays to rejuvenate your liver and repeat it whenever you are feeling sluggish, lack of concentration, having skin breakout/acne/hyperpigmentation, having bad breath, brain fog, or just to kick start a long-term healthier lifestyle. 

Add 1 good habit and abandon 1 bad habit from your lifestyle each day of the detox.

Day 1

Limit your daily eating window to 12 hours. For instance, if you take your first bite of food at 9 am, you would finish your last bite of food of the day by 9 pm. During the fasting period, you can stay hydrated with water and consume unsweetened coffee/tea. 

❌ Avoid Alcohol

Day 2

✅ Lose excess belly fat to lower inflammation and reverse liver damage. Get enough sleep and ramp up your workout: Exercise for 45-60 minutes most days of the week and be more physical active during the day.

❌Avoid added sugar or artificial sweeteners.

  • ex. Diet/regular soda, sugary cereals, sugary yogurt, whipped cream, sweetened condiments such as some teriyaki sauce/spaghetti sauce/soy sauce/honey mustard/ketchup

 

Day 3

✅ Drink 1-2 cups of Detox juice a day:

    1. Combine 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar + juice 1/2 lemon + ½ teaspoon of raw honey + 8 oz water  and/or
    2. Juice 1 beet + 2 slices of ginger + 3 carrots   

❌ Avoid refined carbs.

  • ex. Bread, pasta, burger

Day 4

✅ Eat 1 serving of choline-rich food a day.

  • ex. Egg, chicken, beef, broccoli, salmon

❌ Avoid refined oils.

  • ex. soybean, safflower, vegetable, canola or sunflower oil

Day 5

✅ Aim for at least 3 cups of vegetables and 1 fruit a day. 

❌ Avoid ultra-processed and packaged foods.

  • ex. instant rices, instant noodles, cold cuts, ham, bacon, sausage, hot dogs, canned soups, frozen meals/pizza

Day 6

Start your meal by eating half of the veggies> then protein + more veggies > finishing it with carbs.

❌ Avoid fried Foods.

  • ex. French fries, donuts, falafel, churros, arancini, fried chicken, pakora, General Tso’s chicken

Day 7

✅ Practice food and lifestyle changes first, then consider supplements.

  • Supplements for liver health: Milk thistle, Artichoke, Dandelion Root, Curcumin, Vitamin D3, Resveratrol. 

❌ If you have liver disease, stay away from raw or undercooked shellfish.

  • ex. Oysters, calms

Related

💚 Learn how to create/order balanced meals at home or in the restaurants

💚 Are your supplements safe? 

 

養生茶, bedtime tea

Healthy late-night snack: Best Bedtime Tea to promote better sleep quality, everyday detox, and skin health

Bedtime Tea
bedtime tea

Bedtime Detox Tea

Isabel
Bedtime Tea for better sleep, everyday detox, skin health, and more
Prep Time 1 minute
Cook Time 18 minutes
Resting Time 5 minutes
Total Time 21 minutes
Course Drinks
Cuisine Chinese
Servings 2 people

Ingredients
  

  • 4 cups Water
  • 6 pieces Jujubes (red dates)
  • 1 handful Goji berres
  • 2 bags Dandy Liver Detox Tea
  • 2 tsp Raw honey
  • 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
  • 1 Egg (optional)
  • 1 drop  Astragalus (or 3 slices of dried Astragalus root) (optional)
  • 3 pieces Dried longans (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Boil water in a medium pot
  • Wash jujubes, goji berries, dried astragalus root (optional), and dried longans (optional)
  • Place jujubes, dried astragalus root (optional), and dried longans (optional) into pot. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for 15 minutes
  • (Optional): Carefully drop the egg into the center of the whirlpool and let it poach for 3 minutes
  • Turn off heat. Add teabags and goji berries. Cover pot and let it steep for 5-10 minutes
  • Stir in raw honey and apple cider vinegar. Serve warm

Notes

  • Longan is used to calm the mind, support sleep & digestion in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) 
  • Organic Jujube/Dried dates 
  • Organic Goji berries Since the vitamins in goji berries are water-soluble, you can also chew them directly without soaking into hot water to maximize nutrient absorption. Soaking goji berries into hot water can soften the dried berries.  
  • Local raw honey may alleviate seasonal allergy symptoms.
  • 1 egg = 6 grams of protein = can help balance blood sugar level and promote better sleep 
  • Dandy Liver Detox Tea (dandelion root, milk thistle seed, lemon peel, and more)
  • Astragalus = Immune booster 
Keyword bedtime, bedtime snack, bedtime tea, detox, healthy recipes, healthy snack, sleep better, sleepaid, tea

Manage Hay Fever Symptoms

Hay fever, hay fever symptoms
Natural Remedies for Hay Fever Symptoms

Allergic rhinitis (aka hay fever, seasonal allergies) 

Global warming + More  CO2 = Increased pollen counts 

  • Spring: Trees and flowers
  • Summer: Grass and weeds
  • Fall: Ragweed

Stronger immune system= Prevent allergic reactions

Seasonal allergies may trigger asthma attacks for those with asthma

For those with lung diseases and other respiratory conditions, it’s critical to manage seasonal allergy symptoms to reduce risk of complications. 

According to Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), here are the key symptoms to tell the difference between Coronavirus (COVID-19), Cold , Flu, and Seasonal Allergies

respiratory-illness-symptoms-chart-coronavirus-flu-cold-allergies
Sources: AAFA, WHO, CDC
Symptoms between Coronavirus (COVID-19), Cold, Flu, Seasonal Allergies

RD’s Choice:

Related:

 

6 Benefits of Bone Broth

bone broth
5-Minute Immune Boosting Soup
  1. Fight autoimmune diseases
  • Bone broth contains glycine and proline, as well as collagen, which help to repair leaky gut by sealing the openings in the gut lining 
    • Leaky gut and systemic inflammation may be associated with autoimmune diseases.
      • Related: According to Dr. Marcelo Campos from Harvard Medical School, “an unhealthy gut lining may have large cracks or holes, allowing partially digested food, toxins, and bugs to penetrate the tissues beneath it. This may trigger inflammation and changes in the gut flora (normal bacteria) that could lead to problems within the digestive tract and beyond”. 
    • Common autoimmune diseases include: Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (associated with hypothyroidism), Graves’ disease (associated with hyperthyroidism), rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, alopecia areata (patchy hair loss), and psoriasis. 

2.  Reduce inflammation and joint pain

  • Bone broth contains glycine and proline, which have anti-inflammatory properties.
  • Bone broth is rich in glucosamine and chondroitin:
    • reduce inflammation, arthritis, joint pain, lower back pain 

3.  Boost liver detoxification 

  • Bone broth contains Glycine, one of the amino acids to make Glutathione (GSH).
  • Glutathione (GSH) helps with detoxification, rid the body of heavy metals such as mercury and lead, cleanse your liver and rejuvenate liver cells. 
  • GSH is a powerful antioxidant  
    • Antioxidants:  helps protect your cells against oxidative damage caused by free radicals
    • Free radicals: linked to aging and diseases 
    • Oxidation is a normal process, happens when we make energy
    • Oxidative stress happens when there’s an imbalance between free radical and antioxidant activity.
      • Oxidative damage increases when we become injured or have an infection (such as flu, gingivitis) 
      • Oxidative damage = Increase inflammation (may caused by leaky gut and food allergies)

4. Nutrient-packed superfood 

  • Bone broth provides nutrient-dense, easy to digest trace minerals, such as calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, and silicon. 

5. Tighten skin (skin laxity)

  • Bone broth contains easy to digest collagen
  • Tighten skin by decreasing cellulite 
  • Collagen may help to prevent aging and reduce wrinkles

6. Improve sleep quality, mood, restore focus & clarity 

  • Bone broth contains glycine: Reduce insomnia and improve mood  
  • Related: Dr. Michael Breus discusses the sleep benefits

You can make bone broth at home with grass-fed bones or organic free-range chicken bones. It takes ~8-24 hours to cook beef bone broth and up to 48 hours for chicken bone broth on the stove or about 2 hours in an Instant Pot for the minerals and nutrients to be drawn out of the bones and into the bone broth. If you don’t want to spend that time or effort, you can also purchase store-bought bone broth or protein powder made with bone broth.

Check out this video for my 5-Minute Immune Boosting Soup 

Related: Check out my VLOG recipe for my Purple Beauty Smoothie– Superfoods for Glowing Skin 

👩🏻‍⚕️ RD’s Choice