Improve your health in just 2 minutes a day—really.
There aren’t any magic pills or potions that can make you healthy. Let’s face it, if you want to be healthy, it takes some effort. I’m not a big fan of any product or claim that promises rewards without effort. However, there is one thing that requires very little effort, and has tremendous rewards. And I do it daily.
Nobody likes to talk about our bowels, but the reality is that how our bowels are functioning has everything to do with our state of wellness. Having proper bowel movements is essential to having a healthy body. Without going into great detail in this post, I will remind you that the main purpose of the colon, or large intestine, is to remove waste products from the body.
Keeping your bowels functioning properly and healthy provides a number of health benefits, including:
- Reduced risk of developing colorectal cancer, which is currently killing around 50,000 Americans every year.
- Reduced risk of experiencing irritable bowel syndrome, chronic constipation, and chronic diarrhea.
- Reduced risk of developing hemorrhoids.
- Better absorption of nutrients, including water (which keeps you properly hydrated).
Here is one of the best things you can do every day to help keep your colon healthy and fucntioning properly. I’ve adapted this idea from Dr. Ann Louise Gittleman’s book, Fat Flush Plan.
Long-life shot
1 tablespoon psyllium husks
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
2 oz unsweetened cranberry juice
2 oz water
Add the psyllium and flax to the cranberry/water mixture and stir. Drink immediately.
A FEW NOTES:
OK. I admit, the first time I tried this, I was overwhelmed by how un-sweet the cranberry juice was. Dr. Gittleman called this healthy beverage a Long-life cocktail, so thinking this might be somewhat reminiscent of a virgin cosmo, I first tried sipping the concoction. Gads! Don’t do that unless you’ve got a high tolerance for tart flavors. Trust me on this. I call it a Long-life shot, because you’ll enjoy it much more if you open open up the back of your throat and send it all down in one or two gulps.
Stick with it for a week before you consider giving up on it. I promise you’ll get used to the tart taste (I actually look forward to it now). After a few days, you’ll most likely notice an increase in energy. That, combined with the long-term benefits to your health, make this a great habit to hold on to.
Um… You should mention the sludge factor over the taste! The texture is AWFUL.
Yes, Laura. You’re right, if you let the flax and psyllium sit too long (even for 30 seconds) in the cran/water, it tends to get a bit slimy. The key is to give it a quick stir, and down the hatch right away. That’s why I call it a shot and not a cocktail. If it’s so terrible that you won’t do it, start out by using just a teaspoon of the ground flax in the cran/water. The texture of the flax in liquid is not as strange as the psyllium so you can gradually increase the amount. Once you’ve gotten used to that, try adding in a small amount of psyllium at a time. Sometime creating healthy habits doesn’t happen over night… it’s okay to work your way into it.