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elib.tech Exclusive… sharing elsewhere will result in being banned!Class OverviewYou cannot reach peak health with toxins trapped in your body. Learn to accelerate your detox (10x) with scientifically based suggestions from Dr. Sara Gottfried. (Check out the Top 10 Big Ideas from the class below!)Your ProfessorDr. Sara Gottfried teaches women and men how to balance their hormones so they can rock their mission. She is the author of The Hormone Cure, a Harvard-trained M.D. and a yoga teacher.The Top 10 Big Ideas1. Start GreenHave you noticed that green vegetables and fruits are the only recommendation that makes it into every diet book? Spinach, kale, arugula, and chard are rich in indole-3-carbinole, which is a natural detoxifier that controls how you regulate estrogen. Both men and women are at risk of estrogen pollution (fake estrogens from the environment – more on that in a future class!), and these hard-working greens help to tip the balance in favor of taking out the bad estrogens before they cause symptoms of estrogen dominance – including breast tenderness, cancer, moodiness, and weight gain. Other yummy greenies that upgrade your detox? Avocados, olives, sea vegetables (seaweed), steamed broccoli, lentils, split peas, spirulina, and blue green algae. 2. You Say Na and I Say KOne sign of slow detoxification is fluid retention. There are many reasons for fluid retention, but the most common that I see is consuming too much sodium (Na+, from processed and convenience foods), and not enough potassium (K+). You have a sodium-potassium pump in your body, and the holidays tend to make us consume too much sodium (most of us get 10X the sodium that we need) and not enough potassium. You can reverse this by eating potassium-rich foods featured in your one-day detox, including vegetables, especially greens like spinach and kale, avocados, and parsley. 3. Measure Your Colon (+ Upgrade Your Poop Performance)Did you know that women have 10 more feet of colon than men? Not only do we have more surface area to worry about, we have the Six Flags roller coaster, whereas men have the relatively straightforward horseshoe. It’s no surprise that women have more bloating, irritable bowel, constipation, and general gut woes. I learned all about the voluptuous female gut from my friend and Georgetown professor, Dr. Robynne Chutkan.You can tell a lot about detoxification from your poop. Take a peek the next time you go. The ideal shape for healthy poop is similar to the letter S. If your poop looks like an S and is a brownish color, it’s a sign your digestive system is working well and that you’re probably eating a healthy, well-balanced and fiber-filled diet. If it’s cracked it can indicate constipation, a sign you probably need to add more fiber to your diet through foods like leafy greens and chia. If it’s light in color your gallbladder might need some detox help.Transit time is another important measure of your detoxification. Ideally, it takes 12 to 24 hours for food to proceed from mouth to toilet. Want to test yourself? Try eating red beets and watch your stool for the red color of the beets, which is intense. Record your transit time and track over time. If it takes longer than 24 hours, consider more fiber and/or fermented foods that are rich in healthy bacteria. 4. Snuggle Your StressAfter working with patients for 20 years, I’ve come to the same conclusion as health psychologist Kelly McGonigal –it’s your beliefs about stress that is potentially harmful, not the stress itself. This was confirmed in the lab of Nobel Laureate Elizabeth Blackburn in her research on telomeres, the little caps on chromosomes that measure stress and rapid aging (you want them long and lovely). She found that premenopausal women with the highest perceived stress had the shortest telomeres. The takeaway? Learn to dance differently with stress and find the small tweaks that allow you to roll with the punches, from laughter to hangin’ with girlfriends, to shoegasms, to wearing a matching fancy pants bra and panties. (FYI – got that last tip from Danielle Laporte! Honor the lineage!) 5. Ban the Blockers (Endocrine Disruptors)Endocrine disruptors such as BPA and phthalates are commonly found in things we encounter in our everyday lives – they can be found in toothpaste, deodorant, sunscreen, food preservatives, the lining of cans that hold food, and many kinds of plastic. These insidious blockers interrupt the action of natural, endogenous hormones, with reproductive and developmental consequences. 6. Milk the Milk ThistleThe liver is the body’s filter, taking both harmful substances (such as alcohol) and the more benign and converting them so your body can remove them via your urine, stool or bile. With all the toxins we encounter everyday, our liver can often use a boost. Signs that your liver is ailin’ and needs some help: You’re gaining weight while eating the same food and quantities as usual. You’re fatigued, and feel like you need a nap many afternoons. You have disrupted sleep, and tend to awaken between 1-4am. Taking milk thistle can help protect the liver from toxins and help the liver repair itself by growing new liver cells. Milk thistle’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory healing properties, particularly a flavonoid called silymarin found in its seeds, have been used for over 2,000 years to support liver health. Look for milk thistle in pill or tea form. But remember – you must meet your herb in the middle. Lay off the liquor and the sugar as those clog up the liver and hold you back from greatness. 7. Sweat It OutYour skin is your body’s single largest organ for eliminating toxins. Sweating helps to flush the body of harmful substances like alcohol, bad cholesterol and salt. Maximize the detox abilities of your skin by working up a sweat at least three times a week for 20 minutes, ideally through heart-boosting cardiovascular exercise. Exercise is ideal because it confers multiple benefits, not just for detox, such as increasing mood boosting endorphins and improving overall health. If sweat-producing exercise isn’t an option, try a sauna, steam or detox bath to get your body sweating. 8. Sex Up the SuppsThe right supplements can take your detox to the next level. L-theanine, an amino acid found in green tea, lowers anxiety and improves attention and memory. It has also been shown clinically to reduce the physical and psychological effects of stress and is full of beneficial antioxidants. Add an unsweetened cup to your daily routine. Pure green coffee bean extract, containing at least 45% chlorogenic acid extract, (listed as either GCA® or Svetol® on packaging) contains high levels of antioxidants and has been shown to aid in weight loss. Consider adding 400mg three times daily with meals. Supplements made from the seed of the African Mango (Irvingia gabonensis) tree can help to reduce appetite, lower blood cholesterol and triglycerides, and improve blood sugar control. Don’t forget the power of probiotics – take a daily probiotic to uplevel your gut health, gradually working up to 15 billion CFU per day. 9. Leverage Your HeartUse your heart to lower cortisol and raise DHEA and oxytocin. The tiny (smaller than an iPhone) emWave by Heart Math device measures the time between each beat of your heart, which varies according to emotional arousal. In fact, Heart Math methods have been proven to lower blood pressure, anxiety, blood sugar, and asthma. Heart Math is simple to use and gradually trains you to rebalance mentally and emotionally, becoming better able to deal with stressors like toxic relationships. Toxic relationships raise your toxic load, and Heart Math helps. Use it to learn how to meet the stressors in your life differently and lower your toxic load. 10. Kiss Those Toxins GoodbyeToxins are found everywhere – not just in your food. Clean house by getting rid of toxic cleaning products and replacing them with environmentally and health friendly ones. Replace toxin-filled lotions, lipsticks, nail polishes and other beauty products with products made without harmful substances like parabens, formaldehyde and synthetic fragrances. And don’t forget about toxic relationships. Unhappy relationships are unhealthy, causing us increased stress. Long-standing stress is the enemy of a healthy, balanced body, so kiss those toxic relationships goodbye.