Question 1 - Daily amount of water
Question 2 - Daily grains
Question 3 - Gluten-free grains
Question 4 - Thyroid Dysfunctions
Question 5 - Adrenals - Stress - Acupressure
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1. How much water should I drink daily?
Nothing can be more individual than the amount of water you need to drink for maintaining perfect health.
Here are some important rules regarding the amount of water in your body:
a. Do not resort to extreme measures like overdressing for exercise or overexposing yourself to high temperatures in order to eliminate excess water stored in your body.
The only thing you’ll get is dehydration, which is so detrimental to your health.
b. If the color of your urine is dark yellow, you may not be drinking enough water.
Also, there may be other, health-related, causes for dark urine color. If your body is dysfunctional, you need to see a qualified health care professional for an accurate diagnosis.
If your urine is light yellow or straw yellow, it means you are drinking enough water.
Clear urine color usually means that you are overhydrated. This is nearly as dangerous as dehydration, since drinking too much water can flush not only the toxins out of your vital organs, but also the minerals and vitamins from your body, triggering further imbalances.
Consequently, water is stored outside the cells (extracellular water), creating unpleasant puffiness.
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If you press your index finger against any of your fleshy parts and have the skin slightly discolored where pressing, you most certainly have water retention.
c. Plain water is the best choice to keep your body properly hydrated. Also, oranges with natural salt.
Caffeine and alcohol work against hydration.
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d. Dehydration causes your body to retain large quantities of water as a measure of survival.
In the morning, you can drink a glass of plain warm water on an empty stomach.
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Don’t drink water during meals, since it dilutes the digestive juices in your stomach. You can drink it about 30 to 45 minutes before and after your meals.
Teas, or other healthy beverages, are not supposed to replace the amount of water you need to drink daily.
2. Should I eat whole grains on a daily basis?
Yes, you should definitely eat whole grains regularly.
If you suffer from mild dysfunctions, you can also eat bran and cereal flakes, i.e. rye bran, rolled oats, rice cakes.
Preferably, you should eat whole grains at the first two meals for proper energy levels during the day.To avoid having too much energy in the evening, you will have baked potatoes or popcorn for dinner in some cases. But for instance, if you decide to have your dinner at 6 o’clock in the evening so you can go to the gym afterward, then you should definitely have whole grains at that meal.
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Here is a list of the types of whole grains you can eat:
wheat, spelt, barley, pearled barley, bulgur, rye, oats,
brown rice, basmati rice, jasmine rice, wild rice, black rice, quinoa, teff, amaranth, buckwheat, popcorn
You can prepare most of them in the following way:
1. Wash them thoroughly.
2. Soak them in spring water overnight.
3. Wash them thoroughly again before boiling.
4. Bring them to a boil over high heat.
5. Return the liquid to a simmer.
6. Turn down the heat to low.
7. Take out the white scum.
8. Stir with a spoon from time to time.
9. Cook until tender, not mushy.
10. Remove from heat when the liquid is absorbed.
11. Add unrefined non-iodized rock salt/unrefined, naturally iodized sea salt.
13. Mix well.
14. Cover with lid for ½ hour.
15. Remove lid.
16. Let grains cool at room temperature.
3. What grains should I eat if I have celiac disease?
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Since eating gluten triggers an immune response in your small intestine, you should stay away from all gluten-containing grains: barley, rye as well as all types of wheat. But there is also non-celiac gluten sensitivity, which may occur in people with thyroid disorders, fibromyalgia, leaky gut, and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).
Here is a list of the gluten-free grains you should safely eat:
quinoa, all types of rice, teff, amaranth, buckwheat
Millet is not on the list of beneficial grains, since it’s a goitrogen, interfering with the function of your thyroid.
Oats don’t contain gluten, but a protein similar to gluten called avenin. However, oats are normally produced in the same place as wheat, barley, and rye, so the gluten-free grain can get contaminated with the other gluten-containing grains.
Make sure you buy only the gluten-free brands, if you are gluten intolerant.
4. What should I do to balance my thyroid?
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In most cases, thyroid disorders are due to other main problems, like liver and gallbladder issues, adrenal exhaustion, and/or estrogen dominance.
It’s quite rare to experience primary thyroid issues, so you should learn to recognize the root causes of any thyroid problems you may have.
Once you have isolated the trigger and started to work on the original problem, your thyroid may also come back to normal.
Like anything else in the Universe, our internal organs are interconnected.
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A dysfunctional pancreas, spleen, and/or stomach may interfere with the good function of our intestines, liver, gallbladder, and/or kidneys, which will impair the effectiveness of the endocrine and immune systems.
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Always remember to listen to your body, even when sick! In time, you will understand exactly what it needs to break the vicious circle and regain its health never to lose it again.
5. What should I do to manage daily stress?
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Adrenals are two little glands sitting on the top of the kidneys. Their main function is the production and regulation of cortisol, which is also known as the stress hormone.
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All stressful activities send the body into the fight-or-flight mode. As a result, the cortisol hormone believes that the body needs a surge of energy in order to survive, and it will thus raise the blood sugar levels while saving energy through the suppression of the immune system and the breakdown of protein and carbohydrate storage.
The adrenals also produce estrogen and progesterone, which are sex hormones, as well as the three neurotransmitters: dopamine, epinephrine (adrenaline), and norepinephrine. They are all involved in regulating the metabolism while communicating with the reproductive system, the kidneys, and the brain.
Chronic stress is the result of adrenal glands not functioning right, which causes serious imbalances of the hormones and neurotransmitters they produce.
Adrenal burnout or exhaustion is not easily diagnosed through blood tests, unless there is a severe case of overproduction (Cushing’s disease) or deficiency (Addison’s disease) of adrenal hormones.
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Here are the main symptoms of adrenal burnout or exhaustion:
constant tiredness, irritability, insomnia, insulin resistance and other pancreatic imbalances, low blood pressure, blurred vision, sugar and salt cravings, infertility, pituitary and thyroid dysfunctions, liver and gallbladder dysfunctions, poor digestion and serious bowel issues, other hormonal imbalances, low immune system, depression and other emotional responses, inflammation, allergies, weight loss or weight gain, body aches and muscle pain, dizziness upon standing, low sex drive, etc.
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To put your adrenals back on track you should exercise gently, eat a balanced diet, respect your circadian rhythms (like having a sleeping and eating routine), do acupressure for stress relief, walk in nature, get natural light, meditate, relax, and have fun.