Protocol for digestive balance and keeping the mind healthy

My daily herbal protocol for digestive balance and keeping your mind healthy

I’m not trying brag but I’ve been at this for awhile way before Facebook, Instagram, and blogging was a thing. And there were no influencers showing me how to live healthily and the internet was dial-up. You had to learn the old fashion way you had to buy a book, or two or hundred.

It started with going organic natural, free-range, then through the practice of Yoga I became a vegetarian, sometimes vegan, and I practiced ayurvedic diet for many, many years. My family was constantly telling me I wasn’t Indian, and that they were not coming to dinner anymore if I made them eat one more pot of kitchari. Which is very good and a excellent source of nutrition. But I digress, let’s move on.

I also want to say that I really enjoy food, and eating healthy is part of my lifestyle but it doesn’t mean I won’t eat a bowl of mac n cheese made with organic milk and cheese, of course, I will and do. I also have a cocktail and enjoy life, mainly because I believe this is also a very intrinsic part of living.

But I also, know how to protect and stabilize my digestion with the use of herbs and probiotics. I understand the challenges of staying on point and keeping up with a myriad of information coming at us all times and how difficult it can be to choose the herbs with the most benefits. Keeping everything simple and manageable is by far the best way to set yourself up for success.

Lifestyle practices don’t have to be complicated to be effective. It’s journey and a very long one, slow and steady wins the race here my friends, because one thing I know for sure is trying to do too many things all at once is just going to set you up for failure, and the guilt that comes with that never helped anyone.

So let’s jump in, the most important thing you can do is meditation, rest, relaxation and breathe. And I tell you why, chronic stress, it’s a killer no joke. Almost every stress response in your body causes premature aging, inflammation and adrenal fatigue and overuse. You see when a person is under stress the more stress hormones are released and manufactured. Not to mention the strain stress places on our immune health. Chronic stress suppresses the ability of the immune system to do its job. When stress turns chronic the immune system becomes impaired and cortisol from the adrenals glands affects the immune system, decreasing white blood cells. In Ayurveda we call it a loss of Ojas or low Ojas, and if there’s anything to strive for it’s healthy Ojas.

But let’s talk for a second about meditation, relaxation, rest, and breathing what is happening here. When we meditate and breath deeply we release the thoughts and mental trappings that keep us in a perpetual state of past and future, one thing that is missing is the present moment from many of our lives. Balancing our minds and learning to release thoughts that no longer serve us in a positive manner is important to our mental and physical health. They’re many benefits of meditation, conscious breathing and relaxation. I feel like 1 hour of mediation is like 3 months of talk therapy. Get it out, release it, and let it go. The yogic mystic Osho says, we have to be in a constant state of let go in order to be peaceful. Try to be present and don’t hold onto things that cause you pain. Meditation can teach you how to stop the thoughts that have a negative impact on your state of peace. And of course expand your consciousness, and bring you enlightenment but that’s for another blog.

Let’s move on to my top herbal recommendations. Adaptogens, liver cleansers, probiotics, nervines, top my list of daily must-haves. But I will say this I skip a day here and there, I feel the body better absorbs the benefits from the plants this way. We don’t want overload we want the body to take in the herbs we are feeding it. These things cost money, after all, living healthy isn’t cheap. This I know, but let’s break it down so that it’s manageable.

Tinctures 1 dropperful daily in 1oz of H2O

Ashwagandha: adaptogen, antioxidant, nervine, anti-inflammatory, a rasayana (rejuvenative) in Ayurvedic medicine used to prolong life. Particularly effective in regulating adrenal glands. Very effective in treating anxiety, fatigue, stress-induced insomnia. And it prevents the depletion of white blood cell count. I buy mine from Mountain Rose Herbs I like their tinctures they’re bigger and they have a wide selection of organic tinctures.

Reishi Mushroom: aka Ling zhi or “spirit plant” research on the chemistry, pharmacology, and therapeutics of the reishi mushroom have been extensive. It is an immunomodulator capable of strengthening the immune system, enhancing monocyte, macrophage, and T lymphocyte activity and down-regulating excessive immune response. They also contain polysaccharides that have been shown to stimulate an increase in cancer-fighting compounds. So definitely put them on your list.

Lion’s mane mushroom: Supports cognitive function, nervous and immune system support. Get your mind straight and the body follows suit. Mushrooms are one of the most sophisticated species on the planet capable of amazing things. If you want to learn more about mushrooms check out Paul Stamets he owns Host Defense (I recommend them for buying mushroom products) and he did a really awesome podcast where he talks all things mushrooms with Joe Rogan that will blow your mind. We haven’t even begun to find out what they can do in terms of healing the body and the planet.

½  tsp turmeric: Before bed with ½ oz of aloe vera the Golden Goddess of herbs works on the digestive, circulatory, and respiratory systems. An excellent natural antibiotic strengthens digestion and helps improve intestinal flora. It purifies the blood and also warms and stimulates it as well as aids in the formation of new blood tissue. Turmeric promotes proper metabolism in the body and aids in the digestion of protein.

Probiotics: I’ll buy Live Aid or 4-5 kombucha drinks for the week. I like using live culture for my probiotics. It works for me, I find it manageable. However, I try not to take liquids with my meals, so this would be a separate and ideally not too cold. Really cold liquids suppress the digestive system.

8oz of H2O: In the morning room temp or hot with lemon before any coffee or Chai.

More water…. All day, they say if you feel thirsty you’re dehydrated. Words to live by, no one wants to be dehydrated, think of your kidneys help them out.

The superfood smoothie: fresh fruit, flax milk, honey, chia, maca, a pinch of cinnamon, pink mineral salt, mulberries, dates these are some of my favorite choices for making a blend. But there’s so many and I find it changes through the seasons.

I make soup a lot in the Winter, it’s really a wonderful way to incorporate herbs into your life and your digestive system. Even just adding black pepper adds digestive and circulatory benefits. Not mention the nutrients from the plant selection you choose.

If I’m feeling a little overwhelmed I mean, I do own a new business in the 21st century so it’s understandable. But part of understanding your own body is knowing when you’re experiencing the overwhelm or stress and then be able to take actions to mitigate that stress response, meditation assist with this. This is where nervines come into play relaxing for the nervous system. Some really great herbs for this are passion flower, milky oats, skullcap, and in some cases valerian root. This is interesting because I find valerian root to be too sedating while others will love it, so it depends on where you’re at herbs work energetically we shift all the time. I use tinctures but I also like to create teas, with a blend, I usually add a digestive like peppermint, or fennel to aid in absorption.

Managing our health is vital to thriving on this planet, it’s unfortunate but for many of us we were not taught the tools and techniques to manage stress. So we turn to unhealthy choices, it’s not our fault it’s not something we learned in school or was even talked about for many of us. But what we have learned now is there are so many ways we can incorporate the pillars of health into our lives. As you can see I have a very simplified herbal regimen, but the benefits from these plants are tremendous. Over time you will see a change in your body and mind.

Peace

 

Kristi Blustein

KHUS+KHUS modern herbal fusion

Founder + Creator