Nourish
Your Skin Smooth With Whole Food
Smoothies And Exotic Elixirs!
Warmer weather means you might be
showing a little more skin—and
thinking a little more about
protecting your skin from wrinkles
with wide-brimmed hats and
sunscreen. And, yes, sun can cause
your skin to wrinkle, and sunscreen
is a must, but a year-round diet of
anti-inflammatory food can help your
skin—and your overall good
looks—even more.
Inflammation is the primary cause
of wrinkles, and the reason why you
lose your youthful good looks. But
inflammation can be controlled by
the foods you eat and how you
prepare them: Controlling
inflammatory foods in your diet
starts with avoiding simple starches
and sugars and eating more anti-
oxidant-rich whole foods, healthy
fats and protein. The best and
easiest way to start incorporating
these foods into your diet is with
delicious whole food beverages like
smoothies. According to Kat James,
best selling author of "The Truth
About Beauty", a regular dose of
dark green vegetable juice can
really give your body and skin a
beautifying boost.
Kat makes her lower-sugar, more
fibrous Beauty Detox Elixir (see
below) in the Vita-Mix 5200 to
liberate the nutrients that are
locked in the cell walls and seeds
of the produce. Green drinks like
Kat's elixir are super-alkalizing
and rich in healing enzymes and
chlorophyll, which has been shown in
studies to help carry pollutants out
of the body. These drinks are not
bland, bitter or boring. Other
exceptional nutritional benefits of
the the foods featured in her elixir
are outlined below:
Aloe Juice -
Aloe helps improve circulation,
regulates blood pressure, promotes
healing in the joints and
strengthens the immune system. Aloe
also heals internal tissue damage,
helps regulate blood sugar and aids
digestion.
Fresh parsley -
Parsley contains volatile oils that
are true detoxifiers. Parsley has
been shown to help inhibit tumor
formation, especially in the lungs.
Red cabbage -
Red cabbage has been shown to help
ulcers and stomach conditions. Other
studies have shown that beets may
help reduce the plaque build-up in
the brain that causes Alzheimer's
disease.
Kale - Dark
bitter greens like kale are
essential to bone health and blood
health. A potent detoxifier, kale
helps stimulate the liver and the
high concentration of sulforaphane
may help reduce the risk of several
cancers.
Ginger - Ginger
is an anti-inlammatory that improves
digestion, circulation and may also
ease arthritis pain.
Lemon - Lemon is
a great skin purifier because it
alkalizes the body. Lemon can also
ease heartburn, bloating and other
digestive problems. Lemon contains
calcium, magnesium and potassium and
cleanses the liver and kidneys.
Beet - Beets are
natural internal cleansers that
helps remove toxins from the body
and nourish the bloodstream.
Cayenne or Jalapeno
Peppers - Capsaicin is what
makes these peppers hot and it has
also been shown to impede cancer
cell formation.
Stevia and Xylitol -
Two natural sweeteners with unique
benefits: Stevia tastes much sweeter
than sugar and has actually been
found to stabilize blood sugar
levels. Xylitol has about the same
sweetness as sugar, yet may actually
help prevent tooth decay.
OPTIONAL “WILD”
VARIATIONS:
Try experimenting with exotic
berries like acai—and you might even
try cocoa for a real flavor twist
coupled with anti-wrinkle power.
Both of these options offer
anti-inflammatory and sun
damage-inhibiting flavonoids.
Kat also recommends upgrading
drinks with a nutritional oil such
as virgin coconut oil or hempseed
oil, and a high quality,
highly-digestible protein such as
whey or hemp. Healthy oil and
protein increase the nutritional
benefit to your skin and takes your
drink to the level of a smooth,
sweet-tasting meal replacement.
Doreen's Testimonial
Doreen C.,
Spring 2008 Total Transformation®
2-Day Weekend, and Mastery
TelePrograms "Since Kat’s program,
the operative word from my family
and friends is that I have
recaptured my ‘glow.’ When we took
these “after” pictures, I welled up
with tears when I first saw them
because I am seeing something in my
face that I thought I’d lost long
ago. My face has changed
dramatically as have my energy and
moods. My skintone is even
different. Kat says it is from the
plant pigments I’m consuming in my
detox elixirs from her program. I am
also sated by absurdly smaller
amounts of food these days, not
because I am trying to be 'good' but
because my body just knows when it
has finally been deeply nourished!
My behind is smaller, my legs and
arms are firmer. My husband,
Patrick, hid the scale at Kat’s
bidding, so that I will just keep my
focus on improving my health. My
favorite part about eating this way
is the effect that it has on
Patrick, who no longer falls asleep
after dinner (life just got more
interesting!)....
Winning the Vita-Mix at the end
of Kat’s Syracuse program was an
incredible stroke of luck for us. We
don’t know how we existed without
it. Between the ice creams we make
on a whim, to being able to powder
the xylitol we use every day as a
sweetener (make it go much further
and eliminates grit), to getting
every bit of nutrition from the
seeded fruits in our green
smoothies, we use it constantly!
Recipe for: Kat’s Beauty Detox
Elixir With "Wild" Variations
Made in the Vita-Mix
5200, Kat’s recipe
liberates nutrients from the cells
and seeds of whole foods that
promote great skin and the glow of
natural beauty from within. Her
“whole” juice elixir is low in
natural sugar and high in food
fiber.
1 cup cold water or aloe juice
1/3 cup of fresh parsley
1 ¾” wedge of red cabbage
½ cup of fresh dark, bitter greens
1” piece of ginger, peeled
½ lemon, scrubbed but not peeled
½ small beet and a Pinch of cayenne
or ¼” slice of small jalapeno pepper
Smart sweetener
1 cup of ice
Place all ingredients in the
Vita-Mix container in the order
listed, with water up to half the
level of the ingredients. Run the
machine in HIGH for
15 seconds, then
taste to make any sweetener
adjustments and add the rest of the
water.
Yields 2 10-ounce servings |
