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Detoxing from 2020: How To Let Go and Heal

This year forced us to examine and reconsider our realities. The impact of the stress of a shifting world has been potent and no aspect of our lives has gone unaffected. For many of you, this forced pause has allowed time to focus on specific health issues and for others it’s created new imbalances to address (hello stress-eating and hyper-sedentary days!).

This year more than ever, Dr. Galina and I see the need to let go of the habits that don’t serve us and hit the reset. It’s a bit of a construct, this timing of New Year’s, but why not use it as an opportunity to tap into the energy of starting over?

One of the tenets of naturopathic medicine is that the body’s inability to release toxins is the primary driver for chronic illness. So, let’s get rid of this stuff. We’re offering a 14-Day Detox with Dr. Galina, which is easy and super effective. If you want to shed a few of those COVID pounds, it’s a no-brainer.

A physical cleanse is crucial but don’t forget your emotional and mental bodies. Along with the 14-Day Detox, here’s what we’re doing to usher in 2021.

Practices to accompany your 2020 detox:

1. Identify your goals: Let go of the past year by framing and focusing your perspective. What are the things you’d like to focus on most in 2021? Write down your plans and hold onto them with enthusiastic intent. This year we’ve learned the value of releasing expectations that don’t bring value to our lives. Framing these new priorities with intention, and reminding ourselves of them is the best way to leave the past where it is, and move forward gently.
2. Slow down: In a resting state, our body releases stress and heals. When our nervous system is in fight-or-flight, it won’t heal. Build a few minutes of mindfulness into your detox routine to harness the healing power of being unhurried.
3. Be in acceptance: Accepting where we are—the good, the bad and the ugly—is essential for moving forward and healing the body. I always say that my patients who are in acceptance and not attached to their illness are the ones that heal. Accept where your body is and know that given the right guidance, it will return to its healthy state.
4. Breathe: Our bodies detox through fives organ systems: liver, gut, kidneys, skin and lungs. We can’t forget the importance of breathing. Simple, but not easy. Many of us have been literally holding our breath through 2020. So, breathe and do it consciously when you’re aiming to detox.
Use the ‘letting go’ breath as a momentary reset, you can use as often as you like; inhale through your nose to the count of four and then exhale with a big sigh. Do this 3 times.
5. Clean up your diet and gut-friendly foods: You know we’re all about the gut at The Dr. Maura Practice. We know the gut is tied to our immune system, and our skin health, but it is also linked to our emotional state. An unhealthy gut can make you sick as well as feeling bloated and uncomfortable – but it can also leave you feeling moody, anxious, depressed and stressed out.
Join us for the 14-Day Detox or implement these simple tips. Start this year with a 2 week diet of unrefined, unprocessed foods that will improve gut health. Ditch these 100%: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, dairy and gluten. Be sure to include some of the following foods, as well.

-Cruciferous veggies like broccoli, kale, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, collard greens and turnips. These veggies are high in fiber to help with healthy bowel movements and also contain enzymes which help to stimulate the digestive process.
-Fermented foods like sauerkraut, coconut kefir, and kimchi, which provide good bacteria and enzymes which help to feed the microbiome. Small amounts of apple cider vinegar also help to stimulate digestion and keep a healthy gut.
-Psyllium husk is a great form of insoluble fiber which helps rid the body of toxins and move them along. You can mix psyllium husk in water or add it to a smoothie with raw unprocessed fruits and veggies.
Foods containing tryptophan help produce the “happy” hormone serotonin which is made in the gut: banana, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, leafy greens, mushrooms, and peas.
-Superfoods such as spirulina. We love algae like spirulina because it packs multiple punches: in addition to getting rid of unwanted bugs in the gut like candida, it’s super high in protein, vitamins and minerals, and helps clear free radical damage which leads to inflammation and premature aging.

If there was ever a year we needed to release, it’s 2020. Let’s be intentional about it and hold some hope for healthier bodies and minds, and a healthier world, as we move forward.

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If you read my previous post, I mentioned a couple If you read my previous post, I mentioned a couple of brand new studies relating to your gut health and C-19. (See my previous post 👈 and to read the articles, check the links in my bio.☝️)⁠ ⁠ We have known throughout this pandemic that those with auto-immune diseases, like diabetes, have more difficulties and potentially grave outcomes when contracting the virus. The typical American diet is a huge cause of why so many have an unhealthy gut. But research has shown that within two to four days of eating right, your gut microbiome can change. If you want to get #guthealthy here is a great list of foods to eat and foods to avoid (in no particular order). 👇 ⁠ ⁠ Best Foods⁠ 1. Yogurt or Kefir⁠ 2. Miso⁠ 3. Sauerkraut⁠ 4. Kimchi⁠ 5. Sourdough⁠ 6. Almonds⁠ 7. Olive Oil⁠ 8. Asparagus⁠ 9. Kombucha⁠ 10. Peas⁠ 11. Brussels sprouts⁠ 12. Bananas⁠ 13. Roquefort cheese⁠ 14.Garlic⁠ 15. Ginger⁠ 16. Whole grains (for some)⁠ 17. Onions⁠ 18. Oats⁠ ⁠ Worst Foods⁠ 1. Commercially raised meat⁠ 2. Gluten⁠ 3. Processed foods⁠ 4. Alcohol⁠ 5. Caffeine⁠ 6. Artificial sweeteners ⁠ 7. Soy⁠ 8. Dairy⁠ 9. GMO’s⁠ 10. Corn⁠ 11. Tap Water⁠ 12. Farmed fish ⁠ 13. Sugar
Brand new gut research you need to know about: two Brand new gut research you need to know about: two studies just released found that people with more robust microbiomes had less severe Covid-19 symptoms and more easily got rid of the virus. ⁠ Important points:⁠ ⁠ 🍃 People with a reduction in particular gut bacteria are more likely to develop severe Covid-19. ⁠ 🍃 Patients with Covid-19 had depleted levels of specific bacteria which have immune-modulating effects, specifically Bifidobacteria bifidum and Faecalibacterium prasnitzii⁠ 🍃 Patients with these depleted bacteria had persistent post-Covid symptoms such as fatigue, joint pain, and breathlessness⁠ 🍃 These same patients also had elevated levels of two Ruminococcus species as well as Bacteroides dorei⁠ ⁠ Based on this, what can you do to balance your gut?⁠ ⁠ 1. Increase Faecalibacterum: eat chicory, onion, banana, garlic, and leek which all contain inulin, a prebiotic that helps increase this bacteria. ⁠ 2. Increase Bifidobacterum: Take a probiotic with Bifido in it and increase its growth with a high-fiber diet as well as fermented foods. Polyphenol foods (grapes, almonds, moderate amounts of red wine) also help support Bifido. ⁠ 3. Decrease Ruminococcus: Eating apples and pears seem to show a positive effect at reducing this bacteria. ⁠ ⁠ Gut health is everything. ⁠ ✨For more information, see the 2 articles referenced in the link in my bio.☝️
Ina May Gaskin is the matriarch of midwives and ha Ina May Gaskin is the matriarch of midwives and has written a bunch of seminal books on childbirth and homebirth. This quote from Ina May's Guide to Childbirth has always stuck in my head. I love it so much. How many of us have been conditioned to think that once we're given a diagnosis that our bodies are somehow "broken" and will always be broken? Almost every patient I have comes in with some degree of this belief. ⁠ ⁠ And it's just not true. ⁠ ⁠ Ina May writes about this in the context of childbirth: that women are taught to think of pregnancy as something to be medically "treated" when, really, it's the most natural thing that a woman's body is designed to do—without intervention most of the time.⁠ ⁠ But this idea can apply to literally anything about our bodies. ⁠ ⁠ The human body is designed to be well. Not sick. When we don't feel well, something is blocking proper function. In naturopathic medicine, we call this the "obstacle to cure." As a doctor, my goal is to find out what this obstacle is and seek to rebalance the body at that level. We remove the obstacle. And then the body goes on its merry way, functioning well. As it knows how to do. ⁠ ⁠ Your body is not a lemon. It's actually imperfectly perfect.
These are before and after water filters I use in These are before and after water filters I use in my office water filter. The one on the left is the new filter and the one on the right has been filtering New York City tap water for a couple of months. Gross, right? ⁠ ⁠ What’s in NYC tap water? A quick look at the @environmentalworkinggroup Tap Water Database shows that the water in my neighborhood has 16 contaminants, 9 of which exceed their health guidelines. What are they? Things like bromoform, chloroform, and trichloroacetic acid. Translation: many of these compounds form when chlorine is added to water as a disinfectant. Does your water taste like chlorine? Then it probably has this stuff in it. What they cause: cancer. Tap water also typically contains pesticides, bacteria, pharmaceutical drugs, and heavy metals. Yikes. ⁠ ⁠ A few points to make here (credit to Environmental Working Group):⁠ 💧 Legal does not necessarily equal safe. Getting a passing grade from the federal government does not mean the water meets the latest health guidelines.⁠ 💧 Legal limits for contaminants in tap water have not been updated in almost 20 years.⁠ ⁠ Staying adequately hydrated is one of the very best things you can do for your health but not if you’re drinking dirty water! Environmental toxins pose an enormous risk to almost every aspect of our bodies. First step is to get the best filters you can afford. And don’t forget a shower filter—we might actually absorb more of these chemicals through the skin than by drinking them.
Moonrise —-> sunset 🌕✨ Moonrise —-> sunset 🌕✨
Bye, 2020. Here’s to renewed energy and intentio Bye, 2020. Here’s to renewed energy and intention moving into the next cycle around the Sun. Me: I’m taking a break from social media for the rest of the year to give myself more quality time with these two sweeties and space for stillness and recharging. Hope you find some peace in these days too. ✨

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