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Month: February 2020

Beetroot Powder For Health and Fitness

Posted on by venadmin

Beetroot powder is packed with nutrients

Straight from the increasingly popular root vegetable, beetroot powder is exactly what the name suggests – powdered beetroot.

Beetroot (or ‘beets’, as the vegetable is commonly known) is a plant-based whole food with a myriad of beneficial health properties.

Beets are loaded with nutrients including fibre, protein, vitamins C & B6, magnesium, potassium, iron and nitrates.

These essential nutrients give the red vegetable its impressive superfood status, and we’ve got 5 reasons why.

5 benefits of beetroot powder for health and fitness

1. Helps with liver function

Beetroot powder is a fantastic addition to your daily routine because of how harmoniously it works with the liver.

With more than 500 different functions, the liver acts as a filtration system that cleanses the blood and removes toxins from our bodies.

Beetroot powder contains the amino acid betaine which prevents and breaks down any fat buildup in the liver. The vegetable also increases natural detoxification enzymes that help to speed up the elimination of toxins from the body.

2. A natural anti-inflammatory

Beets contain betalain, which is the pigment that gives the vegetable its deep red colour.

Betalain is known to fight inflammation throughout the body and reduce the pain associated with chronic inflammatory conditions.

Because chronic inflammation can be a precursor to more serious health conditions, introducing beetroot powder to your diet can help to both prevent and reverse diseases such as Cardiovascular Disease.

3. Supports brain health

Mental cognition can deteriorate with age, as seen in many elderly patients with dementia and Alzheimer’s.

This deterioration comes from a lack of oxygen and blood flowing through the body and up to the brain.

Beetroot powder can be a crucial tool here because it has the ability to increase oxygen within the blood, increase blood flow to the brain, and improve overall brain function.

4. Lowers blood pressure

Beetroot powder contains a high concentration of nitrates that work to dilate blood vessels and subsequently aid in decreasing high blood pressure.

Because the benefits of consuming nitrates through beets are effective yet temporary, regular consumption of beets is encouraged in order to maintain healthy blood pressure levels.

Incorporating beetroot powder twice daily into your normal routine is an easy way to navigate this issue and ensure ongoing optimal blood pressure health.

5. Improves athletic performance

Beets have the ability to increase both stamina and muscle strength, which is important for anyone interested in exercise and movement.

The nitrates in beetroot powder work to increase healthy blood flow to our muscles and respiratory system (just like they do for our brain).

These nitrates also help to power the mitochondria in our cells and enrich them with energy, giving us the strength we need to power through intense workouts and increase endurance.

Our Daily Detox beetroot powder blend is easy to use

If boosting your health and fitness is important to you, we recommend introducing our Daily Detox beetroot powder blend to your diet.

Easy to use and packed with nine other natural plant-based whole foods, our Daily Detox can be mixed with water, blended into a smoothie or added to your favourite chia pudding recipe.

Try our Daily Detox blend to boost your health and fitness

8 Superfoods That Naturally Cleanse Your Liver

Posted on by venadmin

Are you ready for a liver cleanse?

Your liver is responsible for filtering, processing and breaking down the foods and substances that pass through it.

This means that whatever goes into your body will – at some point – go through your liver. This could be anything from healthy nutrients found in fruits and vegetables to harmful toxins like alcohol, chemicals and highly processed foods.

Which is why, when preparing for a liver cleanse, it’s important to know which foods will help your liver function at its full capacity and aid in its natural detox.

1. Beetroot

By helping the liver to cleanse and filter out toxins from the blood, beetroot increases oxygen in the body and helps it to excrete waste at a faster rate.

Our Daily Detox blend combines the beneficial properties of beetroot powder and nine other plant-based foods to help provide natural liver support and supplement your liver cleanse journey.

2. Walnuts

Walnuts are great for the brain AND the liver. Loaded with omega-3 fatty acids and the amino acid arginine, they help the liver to detoxify ammonia.

Because they help to increase circulation and blood flow, walnuts speed up the process of delivering toxins from various parts of the body to the liver.

This efficient practice speeds up the overall elimination process of toxins from the body.

3. Leafy Greens/Cruciferous Vegetables

Vegetables are powerful plant-based foods with an endless number of health benefits. It is no surprise then, that leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables have made it to the list.

Leafy greens like spinach and mustard greens can soak up environmental toxins from the bloodstream. They help to neutralise metals and other toxins which, in turn, offers the liver some respite from its daily workload.

Cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and cauliflower contain high levels of fibre and glutathione, an antioxidant that activates the liver’s toxic cleansing enzymes.

4. Citrus

Citrus fruit like lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruit contain vitamin C as well as the antioxidant glutathione, which means that eating citrus helps to naturally flush toxins out of the body.

The vitamins and antioxidants in citrus have also been known to help reduce inflammation and fat buildup in the liver, substantially helping its natural detox process.

5. Garlic

Sulphur is a key component of garlic that increases glutathione levels in the body and triggers liver enzymes to fight off and flush out toxic waste.

It also contains selenium, a micronutrient that works to cleanse the liver by increasing toxin-fighting enzyme levels in the organ.

6. Avocado

Packed with good fats, avocados are another food containing the powerful antioxidant glutathione.

This delicious fruit assists the liver with detoxifying waste and heavy metals. And it’s a great addition to any salad, sandwich or green smoothie!

7. Turmeric

An ancient spice with countless beneficial properties, turmeric has been used as a medicinal food for thousands of years.

Our Turmeric Blend is blended with 13 plant-based foods that work as a natural anti-inflammatory, simultaneously helping the liver to repair its cells and rid itself of toxins.

Turmeric also aids the liver in producing bile, a fluid that helps with digestion and the breaking down of fats.

8. Apples

Apples are packed with pectin, a type of soluble fibre that promotes regular bowel movements and subsequently helps to remove toxins from the body.

Apples can also help to protect against fatty liver because of the anti-inflammatory properties that the fruit contains.

A liver cleanse is easy with the right foods

Your liver helps to remove harmful substances from your body and bloodstream. As you can imagine, it is much easier for this powerful organ to do its job when given the right tools.

To rid your liver (and your body) of toxins, start by increasing your daily intake of these 8 superfoods.

You can also help your liver by introducing our Daily Detox beetroot powder to your morning or evening routine.

Start your liver cleanse with our Daily Detox blend

Foods That Fight Inflammation

Posted on by venadmin

Food as a natural anti-inflammatory

Hippocrates said “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food’.

This is the approach we take to healing here at Flourish. One of the most important functions food can serve is as a natural anti-inflammatory.

Depending on what we choose to put in our bodies, food has the incredible ability to either help us or harm us.

Foods like beans, nuts and seeds, good fats, greens, healthy starches and fruits and vegetables all have beneficial properties that can target certain ailments within the body and boost overall health.

Natural anti-inflammatory foods you should be eating

There are plenty of natural anti-inflammatory foods at our disposal that we should be consuming more of, especially if we’re fighting disease and chronic inflammation. Here is a list of just a few:

Tomatoes
Spinach
Kale
Collards
Broccoli
Capsicum
Chill peppers
Mushrooms
Avocados
Almonds
Walnuts
Strawberries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Blackberries
Cherries
Oranges
Grapes
Dark chocolate
Green tea

The health benefits of turmeric are also important to note. The ancient super-spice has significant anti-inflammatory properties, as well as antimicrobial and antioxidant benefits.

Our Turmeric Blend is packed full of turmeric and curcumin, directly targeting inflammation within the body.

4 ways to use food as a natural anti-inflammatory

1. Eat more plant-based whole foods

Plants have been prominently supplementing our diet since back before we were Neanderthals and cavemen.

At a time when meat came few and far between, plants, grains, nuts, seeds and legumes were the core foundation of our meals.

Doesn’t it make sense then, to continue that practice now? We think so.

Packed with a wide range of natural anti-inflammatory nutrients that our bodies need, a whole food plant-based diet helps to both prevent and reverse chronic disease.

2. Say no to processed food

As much as we might love the taste of sweets and fried treats, refined sugars and carbohydrates are not good for us.

Processed foods like fries, lollies, sugary drinks, breakfast cereals, bread and cakes are all known to cause inflammation throughout the body.

Processed foods are rich in trans fats and other toxins that our taste buds may enjoy, but our bodies certainly don’t.

Though it can definitely be a challenge, the best thing you can do for your health is to limit – or entirely remove – these foods from your diet, replacing them instead with whole food plant-based alternatives.

3. Reduce red meat consumption

Red meat can become inflammatory if it is processed, high in fat and eaten in large quantities. Processed meats to avoid include sausages, hot dogs, bacon and store-bought burgers.

At Flourish, we are strong advocates for a plant-based, whole food diet. However, if you enjoy eating meat and want to keep it in your diet, we recommend that you choose the healthiest, leanest and least processed option.

We understand that it can be expensive to buy grass-fed, unprocessed and organic red meat. But if you can reduce your weekly meat consumption, you will also reduce overall costs.

4. Talk to a professional about natural anti-inflammatory supplements

Natural anti-inflammatory supplements are an excellent way to give your body that extra nutritional boost it needs.

If you’re unsure about supplements, talk to your doctor, nutritionist, healthcare professional or the team at Flourish to learn more about the benefits that they offer.

A key component of the turmeric that we use in our Turmeric Blend is curcumin. Curcumin further promotes the health benefits of turmeric through its active, natural anti-inflammatory properties.

The curcumin-rich Alleppey turmeric we use is blended with 13 other plant-based superfoods that support the body’s natural ability to reduce inflammation and alleviate the symptoms associated with chronic health conditions.

A natural anti-inflammatory, food has got your back

Food is a powerful source of natural medicine – we know that now. By eating the right foods, you can help your body to ease and reduce inflammation.

And the best part is that our whole food, plant-based nutritional supplements can help, too.

Learn more about our natural anti-inflammatory Turmeric Blend

10 Prebiotic Foods You Should Eat

Posted on by venadmin

What are prebiotics?

Whether through food or prebiotic supplements, prebiotics play an important role in keeping our bodies running smoothly, particularly when it comes to gut health.

The simplest way to explain what prebiotics are is this: fruit, meat and vegetables are types of food that humans eat. Prebiotics are the food that probiotics eat.

Prebiotics are a type of dietary fibre that feed the probiotics in your gut. Their most important job? To bump up the balance of good bacteria and maintain the overall health of your gut microbiome.

1. Bananas

High in fibre, vitamins and minerals, bananas are a wonderful source of prebiotics. All this good stuff helps to reduce bloating and increase good bacteria in the gut.

Green, unripe bananas are the most prebiotic-rich. This is because green bananas contain resistant starch – which means higher levels of prebiotics for the probiotics to eat!

2. Oats

Oats are packed full of prebiotic fibre. No matter what type of oat floats your boat, both steel-cut and rolled oats have great health benefits.

Oats also contain beta-glucan, a type of soluble fibre. This fibre works wonders for your gut microbiome as it provides the probiotics with a jelly-like substance to eat.

3. Asparagus

You can’t go wrong with a tasty asparagus dish and it’ll serve you in more than one way!

A great source of prebiotics, asparagus is known to promote the growth of friendly bacteria in the gut. It contains 2-3 grams of inulin (per 100g), a powerful prebiotic fibre with impressive health benefits.

4. Flaxseed

An easy addition to things like oatmeal, salad or smoothies, flaxseed – in its many forms (powder, oil etc) – is one of the most prebiotic-rich foods.

It is a nutritious supplemental food that contains high amounts of fibre that helps to promote a healthy gut environment.

5. Onion

Onions can be easily added to most meals, which is perfect considering they’re such a good source of prebiotics – and, not to mention, delicious!

Onions also aid digestion and significantly increase the good bacteria in your gut.

7. Chicory root

A root that might not often be found in your pantry, it’s one very high in inulin, which makes it an excellent source of prebiotics.

The inulin found in the chicory root also helps to remove toxin build-up in the digestive tract and improve bowel movements, working to improve overall gut health

8. Jerusalem artichoke

The Jerusalem artichoke is high in fibre, low in carbs and packed with prebiotics.

With 76% of its fibre content being inulin, the Jerusalem artichoke is one of the most prebiotic-rich foods. Definitely a worthy addition to the pantry!

9. Apples

An apple a day, right?

50% of an apple’s fibre content is made up of pectin, a component that ensures the fruit is loaded with prebiotics.

While apples help to increase the good bacteria in your gut, they’re also known to help boost your metabolism.

10. Garlic

A welcome addition to most dishes, garlic is an incredibly popular, nutritious food.

Filled with prebiotics, garlic serves two functions (three if you include the fact that it tastes great!).

Garlic acts as a superhero for the gut by promoting healthy bacteria AND preventing bad bacteria from growing.

Prebiotics are important and beneficial for your body

Creating and maintaining a healthy gut environment is crucial for each and every one of us. So, aren’t we lucky that prebiotics can do it all?

Even if you do get your prebiotics in through food, our inulin powder Prebiotic Blend nourishes and feeds your gut with everything it needs to leave you feeling healthy and happy.

An excellent source of prebiotics and gut-loving ingredients, our Prebiotic Blend is easy to use and gives you the daily boost you need to keep your gut bacteria healthy.

Click here to learn more about our Prebiotic Blend