Drinkkk Up!

Felt like sharing my favoritee healthy, clean, and oh so beneficial for you beverages!

First and foremost, the most IMPORTANT beverage you should be drinking is WATER! Good ol' H20! I personally drink about 4 liters a day. Your body is made up mostly of water, because it needs it to survive! If you don't get enough water, it'll try and retain any that you have and you'll end up being bloated and carrying lots of "water weight"

Kombucha

Kombucha is another one of my favorite drinks! They have a wide variety of flavors, and the benefits of it are AMAZING. For some, it's definitely an acquired taste. Kind of bitter, but I love it because it's so good for the body. Here's what it claims:

"*Probiotics – healthy bacteria
*Alkalize the body – balances internal pH
*Detoxify the liver – happy liver = happy mood
*Increase metabolism – rev your internal engine
*Improve digestion – keep your system moving
*Rebuild connective tissue – helps with arthritis, gout, asthma, rheumatism
*Cancer prevention
*Alleviate constipation
*Boost energy – helps with chronic fatigue
*Reduce blood pressure
*Relieve headaches & migraines
*Reduce kidney stones
*High in antioxidants – destroy free-radicals that cause cancer
*High in polyphenols
*Improve eyesight
*Heal excema – can be applied topically to soften the skin
*Prevent artheriosclerosis
*Speed healing of ulcers – kills h.pylori on contact
*Help clear up candida & yeast infections
*Aid healthy cell regeneration
*Reduce gray hair
*Lower glucose levels – prevents spiking from eating

Simply put, Kombucha is an all natural health beverage chockfull of probiotics and other healthy amino acids. Probiotic literally means “for life”. Unlike antibiotics, which kill ALL of the bacteria in your body, even the good stuff, probiotics re-establish the natural ecology of the intestinal flora. Probiotics are said to boost immunity, enhance mood, fight allergies, detoxify the body and rid the body of disease. The Kombucha benefits you experience may vary."

How AMAZING does that sound?! Definitely a staple whenever I get to go to my local health food store! Try it next time you go!

Almond Milk

Mmmm almond milk! I always get the unsweetened kind, and at only 30-40 calories a cup, such a good deal if you're counting calories. You can use it with cereal, in smoothies, protein shakes, even baking recipes! It's super high in calcium, nutrient rich and full of vitamins! A great alternative to the usual cow's milk and is a great option for those lactose intolerant!

Noni Juice

Noni is often known as the super fruit! Here are a few benefits of its juice:

• Immune booster: Noni is considered one of the most nutritious fruits. Many of its nutrients are known to stimulate the immune system.

• Digestive Stimulant: Noni juice has traditionally been used as a laxative.

• Anti-oxidants: Research has shown that Noni juice exhibits better antioxidant activity than grape seed extract and pycnogenol.

• Analgesic: The Noni tree is also knows as the ‘Painkiller and Headache tree’. Noni has been found to be 75% as effective as morphine sulphate in relieving pain without the toxic side effects.

• Antibacterial, antifungal and antiparasitic: With the presence of active compounds like anthraquinones, scopoletin and terpenes, Noni is effective against bacteria and fungus.

• Anti-inflammatory: Noni juice has shown similar results to the newer over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs, called non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs).

• Anti-tumor/ anti-cancerous: Noni juice contains noni-ppt, which has shown anti-tumor activity.

I usually add just a splash of this to my protein shakes or smoothies!

Cranberry juice

This was my secret weapon at the beginning of my weight loss/ healthy lifestyle journey! It is super powerful at cleansing out your system and flushing out toxins from the lymphatic system and liver! 

I drink it as a mixture - 7 parts of water to 1 part pure cranberry juice [NOT from concentrate!]

aka - 1 oz cranberry juice to 7 oz water.

Warning: if you start drinking this, you will pee A LOT!

ACV

Got this little cocktail recipe from vanillabeanlean.com and Powercakes.net [check out these sites, so fitspirational!] I've made a few changes from the original recipe.

I mix together:

splash of Apple Cider Vinegar

lemon juice

pinch of cinnamon and cayenne

And that's that! 

Here are some benefits of drinking Apple Cider Vinegar:

• 1 tablespoon of Raw Apple Cider Vinegar mixed in 4 ounces of purified water after a meal has been used as a natural remedy for heartburn and as a replacement for toxic heartburn medications.
• Raw Apple Cider Vinegar may help improve bowel irregularity, thereby removing toxins from the body at a faster rate.
• Helps clear up skin conditions and blemishes giving a smoother texture and complexion.
• Raw Apple Cider vinegar may also help with joint pain and stiffness.
• Apple Cider Vinegar helps to break down fats so that your body can use them rather than store them. For this reason, many diets include ACV in their regimen.

As we know from my post about those liver cleansing foods, lemons are great for the liver and flushing out harmful toxins from the body, and also boosting your metabolism! 

And cinnamon is beneficial as well:

Stabilizes blood sugar, has anti clotting effects on the blood, increases the amount of insulin production in the body, and has antifungal properties!

Lastly, I have the addition of cayenne powder because spices boost your metabolism and it's said that cayenne promotes the body to use more fat as fuel!

Green Tea

This powerhouse tea is tasty, soothing, and super good for you too. It can lower your risk of cancer, ease the pain of arthritis, stabilize cholesterol levels, prevent cardiovascular disease, boost your immune system, promote weight loss by lowering those LDL (bad) cholesterol and it also stimulates metabolism and the caffeine releases fat into your bloodstream to be used as fuel to burn. 

Dandelion Root Tea

My FAVORITE tea! The greatest benefit it has is to promote healthy liver function, and I am all about giving the liver the most love it can get, because it is a huge player in fat loss! So we need to make it has healthy as possible. Here are the benefits it claims:

• Dandelion Tea is an agent for keeping optimum liver, kidney and gallbladderfunctions.
• Dandelion Tea enhances detoxification by stimulating urination, as well as replacing the potassium lost to the increased volume of urine.
• Dandelion Tea is used to help in the health maintenance of those suffering from Type-1 and Type-2 diabetes.
• Dandelion Tea can be used for treatment of such liver disorders as hepatitis and jaundice.
• Dandelion Tea can be used for purifying the blood and cleansing the system.
• Dandelion Tea can help in relieving digestive disorders such as constipation and diarrhea.
• Dandelion Tea has properties that can help cleanse and improve the skin.

It also has such a relaxing and soothing flavor... is relaxing a flavor? If you see it at your grocery store, pick up a box! Your liver will thank you!

This is a staple for me, especially if my clean eating habits have been a little off.

Detox Tea by Yogi

Another tea I turn to when I haven't been so strict on my eating habits. Detox tea by Yogi! I like to let the bag sit in a mug of water over night so I can get all I can from that bag!