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Super Healing Summer
Summertime
It’s summertime!! And all kinds of things can happen in the summertime that otherwise might seem impossible. Let me explain a few things that happen in the summertime that can help you be healthier, heal from all manner of diseases, and support good health!
I love to make these probiotic foods that enhance the vitamins and allow for superior digestion. I love teaching people how to make them, and you won’t believe how incredible they make you feel. I reach for them again and again when I need help.
Did you know there is a reduced chance of heart attacks in the summertime?
Researchers studied 11,000 people who had heart attacks in the UK over a period of nine years, and the survival rate increased by 19 percent if the attack occurred in the summer. This indicates that you are less likely to die of a heart attack in the summer than in the winter. The higher levels of vitamin D you get in the summer - which is synthesized by sunlight - are thought to play a protective part in those who suffer heart attacks.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is a steroid hormone that influences virtually every cell in your body and is easily one of nature's most potent cancer fighters. The sun is your source of vitamin D because when you expose your skin to sunshine, your skin synthesizes vitamin D3 sulfate. This form of vitamin D is water-soluble and can travel freely in your bloodstream, unlike oral vitamin D3 supplements. Your organs can convert the vitamin D in your bloodstream into calcitriol, which is the hormonal or activated version of vitamin D. Your organs then use it to repair the damage, including damage from cancer cells and tumors. Vitamin D's protective effect against cancer works in multiple ways, including:
- It helps to destroy mutated cells before they become cancerous and can reduce the reproduction of cancer cells.
- It can help promote the growth of new blood vessels from pre-existing ones, which is important in the transition of dormant tumors turning cancerous.
Researchers say that 10–15 minutes of direct sun exposure in the early morning or late afternoon can be enough. There is research that shows the farther north you live, the more prevalent the rate of cancer. They equate this to lack of sun exposure and not getting proper amounts of vitamin D.[1]
When I was a little girl, we spent time in the summers at my grandma’s house which was on an island in Nova Scotia. I can remember my grandma talking to my mom about how all the women on the island would get cancer and the men wouldn’t. It baffled her and we always wondered why. Years later, I was talking to my mom about the sun and vitamin D and how people farther north wouldn’t always get out in the sun and a light bulb went off in her head, and she said, “This is why the men didn’t get cancer on the island and the women did. They were all fishermen and they always had the sun on their faces and hands and had that ruddy complexion from sun exposure on the ships even in the winter. Vitamin D stores in the body for about three months. And even if you just get it on your face you’re still getting vitamin D."
More Benefits
Skin problems get better in the summertime
Controlled exposure to the sun can have a therapeutic effect on skin issues such as acne, psoriasis, and dermatitis.
Dr. Ian White, the consultant dermatologist at St Thomas's Hospital in London, says an over-sensitive immune system causes many skin disorders. UV rays reduce that sensitivity.
The therapeutic effects of the sun occur just below the level of turning skin red. Most fair skins can tolerate up to fifteen minutes of direct exposure before the skin turns pink.
My sister had psoriasis for many years and would always tell me it got better in the summertime. She didn’t get in the sun a lot and lives up near Chicago so vitamin D was scarce for her. A lot of these skin conditions are due to a liver that is stressed and lacks vitamin D as well as lacking beneficial gut flora. So many people who have learned to make and eat cultured probiotic foods have seen these problems eliminated as the probiotics help detox the body, take the stress off the liver, cleanse the lymph system, and restore the gut flora. Combine this with fifteen minutes of sunshine and you have a winning combo.
The foods we eat in the summertime
Strawberry Kombucha Jam
Fresh fruits and veggies are always more available in the summertime. When you combine prebiotic foods with probiotic foods, it creates a powerful synergy that can have a profound impact on your body. Let me share why this combination is so transformative for your health.
Prebiotic foods are a special type of fiber that acts as food for the beneficial bacteria in your gut. Here’s what they do:
- Nourish Good Bacteria: Prebiotics provide the necessary nutrients for probiotics (the good bacteria in your gut) to grow and thrive. This helps maintain a healthy balance of gut flora.
- Improve Digestion: By fostering a healthy gut environment, prebiotics aid in better digestion and absorption of nutrients.
- Boost Immunity: A healthy gut is closely linked to a strong immune system. Prebiotics help enhance the immune response by supporting the growth of beneficial bacteria.
- Enhance Mood and Mental Health: The gut-brain connection is powerful. Prebiotics can influence the production of neurotransmitters that affect mood and cognitive function.
- Support Metabolic Health: They can help regulate blood sugar levels and support weight management by improving metabolic functions.
Red, White, and Blue and Cultured Too!
Blueberries and Strawberries
Berries have strong anti-inflammatory properties. New research in a nurse's health study (done by Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and Harvard School of Public Health) was done with 70-year-old women who were found to have reduced cognitive loss when they consumed 1-2 servings of strawberries or blueberries per week. [2,3] Strawberries are also the fifth best source of vitamin C and they also help regulate your blood sugar. So, many of my afternoons are filled with strawberries They give me a lift and they taste delicious.
Blueberries – I learned a long time ago that it was a good idea to have them in my diet on a regular basis. They helped me a lot when I was younger and would get a urinary tract infection. This was before I found cultured foods, and I would frequently have bouts with UTIs. Blueberries helped me keep them at bay. According to a 1998 study published in “The New England Journal of Medicine,” blueberries have compounds called proanthocyanidins that prevent bacteria from sticking to the walls of the urinary tract. After I found cultured foods, I never had problems with UTIs, but my blueberry habit stuck with me and it’s one of my very favorite snacks.
Apple Nutty Kefir Shake
Apples Help Blood Sugar and Adrenal Glands
Apples give me a pickup. Have you ever had a mid-afternoon slump where you feel tired and lethargic? Often, it’s your blood sugar dropping and adrenals crashing, and you need a little help keeping those glucose numbers stable. Properties found in apples can help us clear more sugar from our bloodstream. Apples help to activate the muscle cell insulin receptors, keeping blood sugar levels in better balance. Muscle cells are glucose hogs. They continuously need this uptake of sugar from the bloodstream to function and keep you moving your body throughout the day.
Watermelon Kefir
Watermelon Kefir
Watermelon is a wonderful fruit, and it's so refreshing in the summertime. It has lots of vitamins and minerals and has more lycopene than tomatoes. Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant that gives fruits and vegetables a pink or red color. Most people think the tomato is king of lycopene and it has a lot, but watermelon is actually a more concentrated source. Watermelon is one of my favorite fruits to combine with kefir. It gets super bubbly and delicious! Watermelon is especially helpful with hydration in hot weather. Since our bodies are mostly water, we need lots of water to keep our lymph system cleansing us and watermelon is fantastic for this. The lycopene in watermelon makes it an anti-inflammatory fruit, and it can cool down inflammation in the body. Watermelon contains fiber, which encourages a healthy digestive tract and helps keep you regular - and it doesn't seem to mess with your blood sugar but rather keeps it in balance.
Blood Orange Kombucha
Kombucha Keeps You Cool
Kombucha is a must-have in the summertime! When the body is exposed to excessive heat, the liver can become stressed, and kombucha can help! Drinking kombucha can keep you cool and hydrated in the summertime. It can also help your liver, which is one of the organs most vulnerable to excessive heat. Just like a plant can wilt in the heat, our bodies can suffer as well. Kombucha has special compounds that help the liver do its job in detoxifying and keeping the liver running smoothly.
Keep the heat and inflammation out of your joints. Kombucha is packed with glucosamine, which helps prevent joint damage by supporting the preservation of collagen. It does this by increasing hyaluronic acid, which is important for the lubrication of your joints. When joints are better able to move, the collagen isn’t worn down as much. Kombucha is a very healing drink for many different parts of the body.
We have lots of kombucha recipes!
Pink Peppercorn Pickles
Pickle Juice Rebuilds Electrolytes
It's all the rage among athletes these days - I see many of them on TV in their dugouts drinking pickle juice. They swear by it as it helps to rebuild electrolytes post-workout. Pickle brine has been shown to reduce muscle cramping and prevent it if people hydrate with pickle juice before a workout. [4]
Dehydration
One of the big reasons people feel so terrible when they’ve had too much to drink is because alcohol is a diuretic, leaving them feeling dehydrated. Drinking pickle juice, especially fermented pickle juice, helps to replenish depleted sodium levels. When pickles are fermented, lactic acid is created. This acid helps to lower fat in the bloodstream, improve circulation, lower high blood pressure, and restore electrolyte balance.
We have lots of pickle recipes!
Check out the recipes and see for yourself!
Extra Recipes — My Summer ebooks For Members!
Probiotic Summer Foods
Probiotic Summer Drinks
(Coming in July!)
Probiotic Summer Desserts
(Coming in August!)
Listen To My Podcast
It’s summertime!! And all kinds of things can happen in the summertime that otherwise might seem impossible. Let me explain a few things that happen in the summertime that can help you be healthier, heal from all manner of diseases, and support good health! Tune in to learn more.
References I talked about:
References:
- https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/time-for-more-vitamin-d
- https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2012/04/berries-keep-your-brain-sharp/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3582325/
- Miller, K et al., (2010) Reflex Inhibition of Electrically Induced Muscle Cramps in Hypohydrated Humans. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 42 (5), 953-961.
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