Blended News

One Week to Healthier Habits

When you start feeling tired, sluggish, bloated, brain fogged and generally rundown, your body is telling you it needs something. Your gut and nutrition play a huge role in all of these symptoms (trust your gut!), which means both a focused heath reset & then regular daily nutrition habits go a long way in helping reduce inflammation and bloating, increasing your energy levels, keeping your immune system strong and mind healthy. Let's get to it!

7 Big-Impact Habits

Here are seven habits to practice when your body needs a recharge and reset on eating habits. Try sticking to all the tips for a full week, then do another week if that feels right for you.

If you don’t need a reset, but just want to get into better regular habits, try the 80-20 rule: keep it clean at least 80% of the time, use the other 20% as your wiggle-room for indulgences and ‘not-so healthy, but you love them’ foods.

1. Avoid refined sugar & syrups: this rule helps avoid all the treat foods that might be lingering in your cupboards. Naturally occurring sugars in whole foods like fruits and veggies are ok. Check the ingredient list packaged and prepared foods nutrition panels (watch for sugar, fructose, corn syrup, rice syrup, molasses, caramel, maltose, cane sugar, invert sugar).

​2. Drop the gluten (and any gluten-free foods that are highly processed): avoid breads, pastas & cereals and breaded foods. Bread-lovers, this is a short term thing - removing gluten from your diet for a week or more is a great way to tell if it is causing an inflammation reaction in your body. Reintroduce in moderate amounts.

3. Go Cow Dairy-free: skip the yogurt, milk, cheeses all together (small amounts of sheep & goat cheeses are ok). Keep it moderate post-reset, too. Pro-tip: watch for added sugar in plant-based yogurts.

4. Go whole foods & plant-based (or mostly plant-based): we love all things plant-based eating, but know it's not for everyone. During your reset, avoid all non-organic animal proteins and skip red meat and shellfish. The focus: veggies, fruits, grains (quinoa is a staple), sweet potatoes (and family), healthy fats, smaller amounts of proteins. Avoid processed and fried foods. If you'd like a foods list to follow, please email us for your Blended Clean Foods List (this is a great 80-20 list to follow).

5. Be Beverage-Wise & Hydrate: one cup of coffee a day is ok, but tea is a better bet. No sugary drinks. Alcohol gets a break (sorry, this is a big zero units). Check the sodium content on bottled bevs. Drink loads of water (+ lemon &/or cucumber) - aIm for 12 glasses a day (3 litres) during the reset week, then stick to a minimum of 8 to 10 post.

Pro-tip: put a hydration tracker on your data device & get your first 2 glasses (8 oz each) checked off as soon as you wake up.

6. Watch the Sauces & Dips: keep an eye out for high sodium, sugar-packed sauces and dressings. Stick to olive oil bases & natural ingredients.

7. Set Up an Eating Schedule: keeping your metabolism and energy up and also reducing cravings for quick salt/sugar/caffeine fixes. Check out the sample below and set one up that’s right for your daily schedule.

Post health-reset, stick to the above at least 80% of the time to keep your body and mind energized and healthy. If you have specific health questions you’d like help with and/or blend recommendations for your taste buds and health goals, please email us.

Sample Eating Schedule  

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As much as we don't like to admit it, Summer burnout is a thing. Hot weather, busy schedules, travel and the general hustle of getting the most we can out of every single warm weather day can lend to some longing for routine. To help you reset and start September on a health-focused track, we're sharing five things we do to start getting our health and energy back in check.

Try them for 5 days and let us know how you feel.

Ramp up your hydration: try 3 litres (12 glasses) of water every day. You'll see a big change in your skin, a reduction in inflammation & bloating, and boost in energy levels. Add cucumber & lemon for an alkalizing health boost.

Avoid salt: skip adding it to your food and opt for lower-salt options when eating out (eg. fast and processed foods are loaded with salt).

Cut-back on alcohol: get into 'Sober Sept' (zero alcohol) or go with the max 4 per week rule (that's regular size servings, total # per week).

Get into a daily greens habit: whether it's your favorite Blended green smoothie or a big salad, get into the 'big greens every day' habit. It helps keep your system regular, energy up and supports cellular health.

30-minutes of mindfulness: a data-device-free session of walking, meditation, yoga, swimming, hiking - any 30 minute session without technology and just your own thoughts. Whenever you bring awareness to what you’re directly experiencing via your senses, or to your state of mind via your thoughts and emotions, you’re being mindful.

Below are our top 6 blend picks for helping with recovery, reducing inflammation, energy boosting and supporting gut health.

All of our blends are designed to nourish, energize, keep your mind and body healthy, and make taste buds happy. Here are our top 6 picks for health-resetting:

The Remedy

The Cherry Bomb

The Daily Chai

Vita-C Immunity

The Lime Mojito

Greens D-tox

Want help setting up a Blended program that's right for your taste buds and health goals?  We'd love to help.  Please email us at info@blendedforyou.com. 

xo 

Your Blended Team

How's Your Liver Doing?

Your body’s Liver helps convert food into energy. It also supports your natural detox process and waste removal by converting toxins, like alcohol, harmful metals, and medications, into harmless substances and ensures they’re removed from the body.

What we eat and drink makes the Liver’s job easier or harder. Hands up if you’ve been making its job a little (or a lot) tougher this Summer with a higher alcohol, salt, sugar & saturated-fat-heavy diet. In this Blended news, we’re giving you some easy ways to show your Liver some regular love. If you're feeling sluggish, brain foggy and bloated, or just want to support your body's daily functions, give them a try.

Signs of Liver Damage

While serious Liver damage is unlikely after a short period of higher alcohol & fluid consumption, longer term these symptoms can start to show and flag a serious issue:

• Jaundice or yellowing of the eyes or skin.
• Pain & distention of the abdomen due to the release of fluid from the liver
• Swelling of lower legs due to fluid retention
• Confusion or forgetfulness
• Dark-colored urine
• Pale-colored stool
• Chronic fatigue
• Nausea or vomiting

Easy Adds for Liver Support

Add to Your Daily Routine:

Drink Water (8 to 10 glasses per day): one of the best ways to help your body remove waste is drinking water throughout the day.
Add Lemon: the citric acid found in lemon water has been shown to protect liver function and prevent oxidative damage, helping preserve the liver’s natural ability to detoxify. Organic lemon is packed into most of our Easy & Deep Greens blends.
Eat Blueberries & Cranberries: they’re incredibly high in antioxidants, which can protect the liver from damage. Eat 1 cup blueberries or cranberries per day. Get your daily dose in our Inside & Out Acai, Acai Radiance, Blueberry Boost, Athlete & Green Mo blends. Find them all here: Berry blends.
Include Cruciferous Vegetables: examples are Brussels sprouts, broccoli, broccoli sprouts, cauliflower, and mustard greens, which are high in beneficial plant compounds. Studies have shown they help increase levels of detoxification enzymes and protect the liver from damage. Get your daily dose from our Greens Immunity Soup, Cherry Bomb, Nutty Chocolate Lover & Daily Chai.

Aim to include 2 of these with your daily foods & beverages:

Fish: certain types of fish, like salmon and sardines, are high in omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to decrease blood triglyceride levels and lower blood pressure, both of which can help out your liver. Aim for 3+ servings per week.
Ginger: proven to help improve your body’s control of blood sugar and also treat nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Find it packed into our greens blends.
Green tea: studies show that drinking green tea may improve the health of the liver, reduce fat deposits in the liver, and possibly ward against liver cancer. Find it in our Matcha Morning blend.
Dandelion: Studies have also shown that dandelion can be beneficial for liver function. Find it in our Greens D-tox & The Remedy blends.
Grapefruit: studies have found the antioxidants contained in grapefruit can help protect the liver from injury and the harmful effects of alcohol.

Flag: avoid herbal supplements if you have liver disease. Talk to your health practitioner before making changes to your diet or supplement plan.

Blended For Supporting Your Liver

Here’s a quick-shop list of blends that pack in a bunch of the foods your Liver loves:
Greens D-tox
The Remedy
Matcha Morning
Green Lovers 10-Pack
Berry blends (acai radiance, inside & out acai, blueberry boost, the athlete)
Greens Immunity Soup
Cherry Bomb
Nutty Chocolate Lover
Daily Chai

If you're looking for a health re-set to get you on track with better nutrition habits, increase your energy, and support your liver function, check out one of our
3-Day or 7-Day Cleanse plans.
If you have any questions about our different programs and/or if a Blended Cleanse Plan is right for your body's needs, please connect with us.
Happy Blending!