Better Veggies, Better Brain
Here are a few tips to get the most out of your veggies.
Don’t overcook- heat destroys the majority of their nutrients and boiling is the worst! If you must boil, drink the water as well.
Don’t cook in seed oils- Use grass-fed butter or coconut oil.
Don’t microwave- Microwaving can easily over cook veggies.
Plus, using plastic wrap can introduce toxins, such as BPA, into the food.
Don’t turn up the heat- High heat can easily destroy many of the antioxidants in veggies.
Don’t peel- Vegetable skins contain high levels of vitamins, minerals, and other trace elements. Leave them on!
“Unfortunately, our brain circuits are fragile,” Neal Barnard, MD, clinical researcher & author of Power Foods for the Brain. Things like poor sleep, medications, or a diet lacking in vital nutrients can impact brain function.
Thankfully, there are several foods that can help your body repair those brain circuits and they are good for your heart as well! Blueberries, grapes, sweet potatoes, cocoa power, salmon, almonds, and spinach are super foods for the brain. A side note, salmon should be from Alaska and not farm raised to avoid consuming heavy metals.
Facts on Feces
This is a topic most people avoid talking about and are afraid to ask questions about. Here are some important things you should know about your poop. Most of what you get rid of, aside from water, is bacteria. 50 – 80% of fecal material is bacteria. It also includes, indigestible plant matter that your body can’t break down and small amounts of your own tissue that sloughed off during digestion.
The brown color of poop comes from stercobilin, a chemical produced in bile or broken down red blood cells. “The optimum color is a deep chocolaty color- like melted chocolate,” says Dr. Robynne Chutkan, a gastroenterologist at Georgetown Hospital and author of Gutbliss. Men and women move waste through differently. Most women must work harder to eliminate food because of the position of their reproductive organs and less muscular dense abdominal wall.
The ideal poop is a “continuous log”- and sinks to the bottom of the toilet according to Chutkan. It is best to have a bowel movement every day, but certainly no longer than three days. Gut bacteria and plant fiber are necessary for a proper poop. The bacteria in our gut help us digest our food and fight off bad bacteria. Plant fiber gives us bulk to help move our stools out.
A proper diet will help you move waste material out and keep you clean on the inside. A clean digestive system has a tendency to subluxate less because toxins are quickly moved through the body.