Tag Archive for: digestion
To those who say “I don’t like kale,” I ask “What do you have against butter and salt?” Eating kale need not be an exercise in self-restraint. It can be an amazing delivery system for these crave-worthy tastes. But what’s even better? Cooking your greens in butter actually makes them healthier. Here are 3 reasons to stop punishing yourself with steamed (or worse — raw!) greens and slather them in butter instead:
Kale, like its second-fiddle-but-just-as-awesome sidekicks collard greens and swiss chard, is rich in vitamin K and A. These vitamins — which we need to build our blood, immunity, skin health, tissue growth, and vision – are fat-soluble. By cooking your kale in some fat (I suggest butter, ghee, or olive oil for you vegans), you help draw these vitamins out of the kale and into your body, maximizing the super-food potential of the greens. Cool, right?
But wait, there’s more. Butter helps you detox. When you eat (grass-fed) butter, you signal to your liver and gallbladder to release bile necessary for digestion, and cue the liver to get rid of fat-soluble toxins: things like lead, mercury, pesticides, and extra estrogens you get from plastics; all of which can cause all kinds of health problems, from headaches and mood swings to cancer, if they’re allowed to stick around. The fiber from the kale helps to usher the fat-soluble toxins through the intestines and out of your body. Not-so-fun fact: without enough fiber, most bile, along with the toxins that were earmarked for elimination, is recycled back to the liver where it is used again. But this time it’s thicker and can’t do its job very well, so your digestion suffers, and instead of being eliminated, the toxins escape to the blood stream and linger in your fat cells. Not a great long-term solution – we want to kick the bad guys out, not put them under house arrest. Eating your butter-and-kale combo delivers a one-two punch to fat-soluble toxins.
Lastly, both the fiber in the kale and the fat in the butter help you feel satisfied and full longer, allowing you to eat less – clearly an excellent thing for maintaining a healthy weight, or weight loss.
Now if some part of you that was alive in the ‘80s is recoiling at the notion that butter is good for you: the experts got it wrong. The low-fat dogma that we were taught helped to create the dia-besity epidemic we’re currently facing, while depriving us of the yumminess that fat provides. The theory that saturated fat is bad for the heart has been shot down (check out this meta-study for details). Just as out-dated is the classification of LDL and HDL as “bad” and “good” cholesterol. The really scary cholesterol is the VLDL kind, which is related to the consumption of sugar and oils used in processed foods.
So stop unnecessarily punishing yourself by steaming your kale, or God forbid, eating it raw. Here’s how to enjoy Buttery Kale Superfood Goodness in under 10 minutes:
- Grab a bunch of kale. Strip the stems off. Rip it to shreds.
- Smash two cloves of garlic. Throw them into a medium saucepan along with 2 TB butter (or ghee, or olive oil) and 2 TB water. Smoosh it around.
- Cover and cook on medium-low until the kale surrenders its toughness.
- Sprinkle liberally with salt or gomasio (a tasty sesame seed and salt mixture).
- Savor the deliciousness.
Worry. It’s the force behind that knot in your stomach, the clenching of your jaw, your trouble falling asleep and the furrow in your brow. You know it’s not accomplishing anything, but your mind resists getting off the hamster wheel.
How can you change the channel? Turns out, there are points for that. The Stomach and Spleen are responsible for digesting not only our food, but our lives: absorbing what’s useful, letting that nourish us, and passing on the not-so-useful stuff to the Large Intestine so we can let it go. Worry is the mental equivalent of sluggish digestion, or chewing on the same thing over and over again without swallowing. Just as there are points to aid digestion, there are points to help dissolve the mental knots. Here are three:
Spleen 5
Spleen 5 is the point to use when your compassionate heart leads to a worried mind and you can’t stop thinking about the problems your friend (or your kid, or co-worker) is facing, even though you know there’s nothing you can do to change their situation. This is empathy gone astray. First, summon some compassion for yourself – it’s tough to watch someone you love go through something hard. Then, find the point on the inner foot, just below and in front of the bony bump on the ankle. Press this point firmly with your thumb, and massage in circles for a minute while thinking to yourself “I let go.”
Lung 7
Lung 7 is the go-to point to help clear your mind of worry. Like the breath itself, this point helps anchor us to the present moment rather than projecting into a future that may never come to pass. Take a long, slow breath and massage Lung 7 – Make a “thumbs up”, and 
locate the point about an inch towards your elbow from the thumb/wrist crease.
Heart 5
Tap Heart 5 when you’re worried about what you’re going to say. This point helps you express what’s in your heart, so it’s especially useful for speaking your truth, confronting someone, or having to say “no.” Located on the inner wrist, one thumb-width up from the inner crease, just inside the tendon that leads to the pinky. Tap this point gently for 30-60 seconds, visualizing raindrops striking and bouncing up from a puddle at the point.
Changing your relationship with stress is the most powerful thing you can do for your health. If you’re ready to revamp your nervous system for more ease and confidence, check out your bodymind toolkit:
Calm Yourself: Self-Care Strategies for Stress and Anxiety
Right now, the abundance of the Earth is being harvested. In Chinese Medicine, this time of year gets its own label “Late Summer,” and corresponds with the Earth element, the Spleen and Stomach, the digestive system. It’s distinct from the fullness of intense heat and activity of the summer, and yet it’s not quite autumn. This is harvest time. Here a few questions for reflection inspired by the season of the Earth element:
1) Digesting your life. A primary job of the Earth element (the Spleen and Stomach) is to produce qi by transforming food into nutrition, to convert input into something useful to the body. There are two aspects to this equation: 1) the quality of the input itself and 2) how you are processing it .What have you been filling your life with? What have you put your energy into that is nourishing you? And what are you having a hard time “digesting” and integrating into your life?
2) Enjoying the fruits of your labor. What have you put your energy into this year, this month, this week, or this day that you can appreciate? After climbing up a mountain, it’s worthwhile to stop, stand back and take in the view.
3) What goes onto your plate? Are you living solely on one dish over and over again, expecting it to provide you with all that you need? Are you sampling from everything that the life’s bounty has to offer? Are you piling your plate too full with “good stuff” that nonetheless is far too much for one person to attempt to consume? Are you happy with the portion sizes? Is what’s on your plate providing a balance of nutrients for your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual dimensions?
May you feast on your life!