In today’s fast-paced, high-pressure world, it is easy to let your emotions get the best of you. Once in a bad mood, it can be downright difficult to snap out of it. Everyone has his or her go-to default for stress management. For some, it involves exercise, for others it can as simple as picking up the phone and calling a friend. We are emotional beings, and experiencing our feelings to the fullest is part of what defines our humanity. Food is a powerful and under-utilized tool when addressing mental and physical imbalances in the body, which can help balance your overall moods.

I invite you to handle your mood through your nutrition, instead of other more conventional (and sometimes detrimental) means of blowing off steam. There are a myriad of foods that can stimulate your central nervous system while satisfying your palate. These foods are nutritiously dense foods that can provide a variety of benefits to your body, including stabilizing your blood sugar and making you feel happier in the process. Here are a few of the most effective mood-enhancing foods that top my list:

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We all know what it’s like to crave something. That indescribable feeling that seizes your body and convinces you that you will go insane unless you put __________ (fill in the blank) into your body. While over 70% of the population can resonate with this feeling, many don’t understand why they occur or how to best nip them in the bud so they don’t drive your dietary decisions and interfere with your health goals. Cravings stem from a variety of possible causes, ranging from psychological imbalances to physical deprivation. By understanding how cravings are created, you can conquer them once and for all!

Break the Habit: The reality is, that habits are easier to make than break. Many of you were trained from a young age to expect a sweet treat after certain meals. As an adult, changing this “comfort” behavior can be difficult as our synaptic pathways are stubborn. Many people feel obligated to eat something sweet after a meal, when they are not even hungry! Chemically, repeated behavior engrains synaptic pathways that make the action easier and more likely to occur in the future. This type of craving is dangerous because it takes doing something different to kick the habit. Studies show that habits are broken in 30 days or less. Try one of these craving cutting tricks below instead of your usual routine to say goodbye to your cravings for good!

1. Plate it! If you have trouble stopping yourself while having a snack or sweet, plate it and put it away! Decide beforehand how many of a snack you want, and then put it out of reach. Studies reveal that if a snack item is within arm’s reach, you will eat up to 30% more than if it was put away. Break off a square of dark chocolate, take out three dried mango slice and walk away. Snacks can also be small portions of nutritious meals, such as a mini Probiotic and Enzyme Salad.  If you have a sweet tooth, be sure to check out more BDS friendly dessert options.
2. Peppermint Essential Oils: Peppermint oil is a natural appetite suppressant, among other things extremely beneficial for the body. It is one of the most highly regarded herbs used to heal. Along with it’s suppressant characteristic, peppermint oil has been found to increase focus and mental alertness by 30%. It is the most powerful straight on the tongue, and can also be enjoyed by putting a few drops in a half glass of water. Feeling like dark peppermint chocolate? Squeeze a drop of peppermint oil on your tongue followed by a bite a dark chocolate for a rich and delicious treat!

3. Lemon… anything! Starting and ending your day off with lemon juice and water is a sure-fire way to gently cleanse and sponge out the colon after a full 8 hours of natural bodily detoxing. Some people like their water bitter, while others like it sweet (by adding stevia). Neither is better than the other, the benefit is in the chemical makeup of the lemons, which is very similar to the juices that you have in your saliva and stomach, called “anionic” molecules.

4.Walk it off… Literally! This is a win-win. Going for a brisk walk will kick your cravings while burning extra calories. Walking once daily will fire up your lymphatic system and massage your intestines ensuring proper digestion. If I’m craving something I go for a walk in the park or down the street, and often I forget what I was craving!

5. Probiotic & Enzyme Salad. Basically raw sauerkraut, I recommend consuming 1/2 cup at dinner of my easy recipe. It is full of probiotics, which help balance the ratio of good-bad bacteria in your intestines, as well as potent enzyems. Having enough good bacteria in your system helps you synthesize nutrients better. This salad is also a huge help for sugar cravings because they help balance yeasts like Candida albicans in the body, which are fed by sugar and contribute to the sugar cravings themselves.

6. ZZZ’s: Lack of sleep reduces the amount of leptin in your body, a hormone that regulates when to stop eating. When leptin is out of balance, the counter hormone, grehlin, sends signals to your body that it is hungry when it is not. Sleeping enough each night (7-9 hours) is vital for reducing your cravings and balancing your body’s hormones.

7. Sweeten up the side dishes: Another option is to dress up your meals with a sweet side dish. Satisfying your taste buds during a meal can prevent cravings post-meal time. Try carrots or my sweet potatoes recipes- Like Ganesha’s Sweet Potatoes or Italian-Style Sweet Potatoes, found in The Beauty Detox Solution.

8. Water, water, water: I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, water is a natural appetite suppressant because it prevents dehydration. When the body is imbalanced, it can send false signals of hunger and lead to a strong craving for something savory or sweet. It’s always a good idea to drink some water before attending to a craving. Be sure to drink between meals.

9. Chlorella “Craving-Reducing” Tablets: Chlorella stabilizes blood sugar levels and provides nutrition, effectively allowing you to gain nutritional value while losing the crave for empty calories. You can find these at your local health food store. it is always better to “eat” your way out of cravings (no pun intended) than to add supplements to your diet. These should be a last resort, not the solution!

10. Glowing Green Smoothie (GGS): The best long term strategy to cut cravings is to deliver a high amount of nutrition on an ongoing basis. Having a GGS once daily will provide tons of antioxidants and live enzymes. When your body has the nutrition it needs, you will find that over time, your cravings nearly disappear and will definitely get much, much better.

Taking preventative measures like starting each day with a Glowing Green Smoothie will enrich your body in minerals and vitamins that are invaluable for proper bodily function.

Labor Day is right around the corner. It is a largely symbolic holiday for many, marking the end of one season and the unofficial start of the next. Conversely, Labor Day brings with it the return to school and the start of football season. As a national holiday, Labor Day is all about two things – rest and celebration (it’s pretty funny that they are completely opposite notions but oddly don’t contradict each other).

No matter where you are, or what you’re doing, Labor Day is sure to be a day to let loose a little and give yourself a break. So pull out your pair of white jeans and throw them on one last time for what is sure to be a wonderful and relaxing day filled with friends, food, and fun. In the interest of keeping things lax while still spoiling yourself, I have some easy tips to help keep you healthy and beautiful!

1. Stay away from the fruit bowl. On a hot September day out at a party, it can be tempting to beeline for the fruit bowl as a wholesome and refreshing choice. On Labor Day, parties typically start mid afternoon and go on into evening, meaning that fruit is not the most ideal beauty food after you have already fired up your digestive system and already eaten heavier foods. Snack on veggie sticks instead. As I describe in more detail in the Beauty Detox Solution, fruits are made of simple sugars and water and break down really quickly in your digestive tract.

In order to avoid a digestive disaster, and to keep your system running smoothly I recommend abstaining from the fruit during Labor Day celebrations. If you must, have a few slices of fruit first thing, before you get into the heartier parts of your meal. It drives me nuts when people load up on BBQ Chicken, potato salad, and chips and then munch on watermelon or other fruits as a dessert. Talk about a total beauty traffic jam! The last thing you want to do is back your system and bloat out with rotting fruit by piling it in after lunch or a midday snack. Trust me on this one; there are better options that will leave you feeling better in the long term.

2. Choose your salad wisely. Labor day can be quite the occasion for a variety of salads. A few varieties that come in mind are pasta salad, potato salad, and green salad. While many of these traditional barbeque dishes are delicious, many contain unfavorable ingredients that can irritate your stomach, and can lead to bloating and future breakouts and clogged skin.  The green salad should always be your go-to starter salad. If you are feeling particularly hungry, pile your plate up with the house salad they are offering and munch down all the live green yummy minerals and enzymes. You are literally digesting energy.

Stay away from heavy cream based dressings like Ranch or Ceasar. Don’t be tricked by “low fat” stickers, skip it all together, and opt for lots of lemon or a little bit of vinaigrette on the side. Ideally, a dressing made out of garlic, lemon and apple cider vinegar is optimal such as the Oil-Free Basil Lover’s Dressing. Uncertain about the dressing or if there will be a salad? Feel free to pack a large salad for the party to eat with your meal. That way you can still get your nutrients without it seeming weird or unusual that you’re bringing food. At all costs, avoid the potato salad! Any meal packed with 2 cups of mayonnaise and a carton of curdled cottage cheese is something that will most certainly bring down your beauty. The veggies in the pasta salad are excellent, and an “italian” style dressing is not totally horrific, but the issue here is in the type of pasta. If it is a white, refined style of pasta, I would pass. I would also pass on a whole-wheat pasta, which is still high in gluten and low in minerals. Why don’t you start a new tradition and make a pasta salad for everyone with quinoa pasta, which is a much more nutritious and gluten-free grain?

2) One meat or veggie burger. It is important for our health goals to limit meat consumption to once daily, if at all. The reason being because land animals such as chicken, cows etc. have tougher muscle than sea animals meaning that it is erodes our digestive energy as we work extra hard to break down complex amino acids. Under no circumstances should you mix types of meats. If you are going to eat meat, choose one type and stick with it. Traditional style hot dogs are basically a medley of low-quality meat trimmings and bi-products, toxins and preservatives. I really urge you to give those up once and for all.

If you don’t eat meat like me, opt for some delicious alternatives. I love veggie skewers, mushroom burgers or even Alkaline-Grain Veggie Burgers like those featured in The Beauty Detox Solution. Same idea goes here as with the salad, if you aren’t sure they will be there, bring a pack of patty’s for the party! Regardless of your protein choice, skip any and all buns. Buns are practically a tennis ball of sugar disguised as bread. It will be much easier on your stomach and better for your skin to forgo the traditional hamburger and instead pair your proteins with vegetables.

Also, avoid conventional ketchups and mustards. These are high in sugars like high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), are highly processed and this type of condiment will demand a lot of extra beauty energy from your body, taking it away from other places in your body. Serve or bring some organic ketchup for the guests, which doesn’t have HFCS.

3) For beverages, Keep it Simple. When it comes to drinks, there are tons of enticing but not beautiful options that can be found at a barbeque. Avoid sugary fruit punches, margueritas, light beers, and sodas at all costs. There are plenty of favorable options that can achieve that same “ahhh” refreshing feeling while not setting you back in your beauty detox.
In order of most to least preferable, try these drinks instead:

1. Plain Water dressed up with a slice of orange, lemon or cucumber for taste. This will be a zesty twist on a drink integral to your bodily function.

2. Beauty detox friendly lemonade. I make this drink all the time in restaurants and on the go. Squeeze about a quarter to a half lemon’s worth of juice into a cup of water and add stevia or xyitol to taste. It is delicious, sweet, and it mobilizes of all the digestive enzymes in the lemon juice for use in your body.

3. Vodka, soda water and lime. That’s it, no more no less. If you must, Vodka is probably the least worst alcohol for the body. The lemon or other citrus you have avail (grapefruit, orange etc.) should take the bitter edge off of the vodka.

5) Portioning & BBQ Strategy- Try not to eat all day, but instead have one healthy-sized meal albeit lunch or dinner and spend the rest of the time socializing instead of eating. Grazing accelerates aging! It ensures that we are perpetually packing food on top of undigested foods which increases the chance of putrefaction and gas. You will also end up eating more. Ultimately this means increases toxicity and quicker aging! Remember to eat lightest to heaviest both during meals and throughout the day.

The benefits associated with detoxing the body are numerous and widespread. Just to be clear, a detox and a diet are two totally different things. Diets are all about restriction, elimination, and counting calories. The word “diet” has a negative connotation associated with it that can be summed up in one word: temporary. Even when we say the word “diet” it almost affirms a belief about ourselves that there is something wrong with our bodies. It still saddens me when I see people on a diet who are in some form starving their body of nutrients. I cannot stress enough how negative this is on the body.

Let’s face it, the world we live in is toxic, and although we can’t control our environment, we can control what we eat. That is why real detoxification is gradual and takes time. It is important that we transition slowly. It should be more like walking up a hill versus scaling up a sheer cliff. Truthfully, anything within a short time period (days to weeks) is a quick fix that will not sustain any significant or desired lasting impact on your body. That’s why I do not advocate any of those short-term juice fasts, like the Blueprint Cleanse. You’re not going to detox in a significant way in 3 days, and you don’t learn any real, improved long-term lifestyle habits to really detox. To me those programs are synonymous with a crash diet, and the real motivation for most people to go on them is to lose weight quickly (even though it will be temporary). Real detoxification takes work and time.

The Beauty Detox Solution (BDS) is about a lifestyle change, starting with adjusting the way we treat our bodies. It is called a “solution” because it is about the abundance of the right foods. You only have one body, and it is crucial to take care of your body now so that you can avoid physical and mental disasters down the road. At the heart of the BDS solution is respect for the body that nature has given us, and honoring ourselves to treat it with the utmost care. It’s time to move away from the notion of a “quick fix” because real cleansing occurs intentionally, and on an ongoing basis. And by detox, all I really mean is ridding the body of the toxins that it is exposed to on a daily basis from metabolic waste in our food and in the environment. For those who are intimidated by the word, think of it this way- all it stands is “De-toxification.” AKA Removing the toxins from your body. (Who doesn’t want to get rid of ‘em?)

The good news is that it is never too late to start nourishing your system on a cellular level, and you can start today. If I haven’t convinced you yet, here are some remarkable benefits of ongoing detoxification.

1. Reduced and Reformed Cravings: I hate to sound like a broken record, but cravings are created when our bodies are lacking nutrients, and instead of what we really need (minerals, vitamins, enzymes) we reach for “empty” calorie foods and beverages like a diet soda or a bag of chips. Most people are overfed and undernourished. Once you begin to detox, you will experience reduced cravings and a pleasant change in the healthy foods you desire. At first, it may seem like your cravings are getting worse, but that is why it is key to keep cleansing out old waste to accelerate the process (a Mag07 supplement or enemas/colonics can help) and keep good food options around you. If you have Candida the sugar cravings can be killer because the yeasts feed off sugar. It took me 2 years to stop craving cheese. But now I wouldn’t touch it. Be patient, and realize it is a gradual process towards a long-term shift where you will end up so much better off.

2. Natural and Healthy Weight Loss: Every body has a natural, balanced weight. The key word here is natural. Your body protects itself from toxins by encasing them in fat. Once you start detoxing and reach a more alkaline state, your body releases these toxins and with it, the fat that surrounds it. While detoxing, your body will naturally slim down to the right weight for your build and figure. Many people find that they shed those stubborn extra pounds for the long-term with a true detox.

3. The “Glow” of Wellness: Detoxing purifies your blood and eliminated free radicals and destructive toxins. It simultaneously cleans out your system like a gentle sponge while promoting healthy eating. This results in clear skin, bright eyes, shiny hair, and strong nails. When the body is in it’s preferred alkaline state, versus acidosis, you will get sick less often and heal from cuts quickly. This also includes powerful anti-aging protection. Cleansing protects and heals our skin from the impurities and deficiencies that are a big contributor to premature aging.

4. Improved Liver Function: If there is one organ in the body that cleansing targets, it’s the liver. The liver is the main detoxifying organ in the body and is responsible for breaking down compounds and allowing them to be excreted through your urine and colon. When your liver is running at optimal capacity, you will feel energized, motivated and look beautiful because the toxins are filtered out efficiently. Of course, you can make your liver’s job much easier or conversely overload it, based on your diet.

5. Adaptogenic Support: Adaptogens are derived from herbs and plants and are known to increase resistance to stress and anxiety. They are known for their ability to return the body to a balanced chemical state. Quite literally, adaptogens assist the body to “adapt” to physical and mental stress.

Understanding the way your body is built and honoring that by nourishing yourself foods that are high in minerals, vitamins and enzymes will ensure a powerful ongoing detox. I want to reiterate that with detoxing, the goal should never be measured on a timeline with an end date, but should be about embracing a lifestyle of improvement.

I want to leave you with a beautiful quote that I found the other day.

“We don’t have a soul, we are a soul. We have a body.” – C.S. Lewis

Minerals and enzymes are key elements that contribute to beautiful skin, nails and hair. These powerful substances are critical for proper cellular functioning. Minerals originate from the soil and are abundantly transferred to us through organic fruits and vegetables, which generally have better soil quality. Green plants are the source of a wide variety of minerals you need for superior beauty and nutrition. On the most basic level, enzymes are proteins that catalyze hundreds of different processes in the body. This includes breaking down fats, enhancing mental capacity, purifying the blood, and renewing aging skin.

The trick to assimilating more enzymes into our bodies is in consuming raw foods such as leafy greens, fruits and vegetables. All raw foods have live enzymes that when consumed, work for our bodies so we can reap the beauty benefits. Heat above 118 degrees kills these active enzymes, so we want to be aware of this when structuring your meals. You need some raw food in your diet, though you don’t have to eat all raw food. Certain enzymes are not activated until the right amounts of minerals are present. Equally, we need enzymes to organize and assimilate our beauty minerals. It is in this dynamic relationship that minerals and enzymes go hand in hand with one another.

Following the guidelines outlined in The Beauty Detox Solution make it easy to provide the body with essential minerals and enzymes it needs through nutrition. Enjoying a Glowing Green Smoothie (GGS) once a day, which will give you the raw nutrition you need in a delicious form on a daily basis, and having a diet high in greens is the optimal way to retain and absorb these key minerals and enzymes. Cooked vegetables and plant foods are beneficial too, but you should get that GGS in every day to ensure you get your raw quota.

Silicon: Silicon has incredible beautifying properties. It makes our hair thick, our nails strong and it strengthens connective tissues and bones to improve flexibility. Silicon can improve the appearance of wrinkles, and increase the resilience of your skin. It makes the skin glow and the eyes bright by targeting the connective tissue in your body. This beautifying mineral is essential for radiant vitality and health.

Foods: Cucumber, Bell peppers, Radish, Light leafy greens (cabbage, romaine lettuce), Tomatoes, Apples, Onions, Unrefined grains

Calcium: Calcium is a strengthening mineral in that it helps keep our bones strong and it prevents osteoporosis. Calcium maintains healthy teeth, keeps our posture upright, and it enables us to move with poise. In addition to bone benefits, calcium cleans our digestive tract and eases premenstrual syndrome.

Foods: Dark leafy greens (such as collard greens, turnips, kale, dandelion greens and spinach), Dried herbs, Sesame seeds, Flax seeds

Zinc: Zinc is a powerful mineral that works with the skin to keep it healthy by reducing acne and quickening the healing process for cuts or burns. It plays an important role in rebuilding collagen to make skin radiant, smooth and healthy. Zinc is known to prevent signs of aging and skin damage such as wrinkles and stretch marks.

Foods: Dried watermelon seeds, Organic raw dark chocolate, Raw pumpkin seeds, Pine nuts, Sesame seeds, Pecans, Rolled oats

Magnesium: Magnesium is an important mineral for human nutrition in that it serves the body in several metabolic processes. Over 300 different enzymes in the body rely on magnesium to keep your bowels regular and to cleanse and detoxify the body. It is found in your bones, muscles and bodily fluids and is not made naturally in our bodies.  Along with the beauty value, magnesium relaxes and calms you while keeping your blood circulating smoothly.

Foods: Raw broccoli, Plantain, Spinach, Sea vegetables, Banana, Cooked lentils, Avocado, Squash, Arugula, Swiss chard

Potassium: The essence of Potassium is all about balance. This mineral is integral in balancing pH levels, maintaining proper fluid levels and the balancing of other minerals, like sodium- which in excess amounts can dry out your skin or make it look puffy. Potassium-rich foods are important for good health because healthy levels of potassium encourage responsible waste elimination from the body and the assimilation of glucose for muscle energy.

Foods: Dried apricots, Brussels sprouts, Cantaloupe, Kiwi, Pear, Dried dates, Dried figs, Banana

Iron: Iron oxygenates blood, stimulating healthy blood circulation and resulting in a highly attractive glow in the skin. Iron also energizes you because it is responsible for transporting oxygen, (our cells’ “gasoline”) throughout the body. If iron levels are low, our body is not operating at the optimal level, resulting in a lagged and tired feeling.

Foods: Spinach, Artichoke, Squash Seeds, Dried Apricots, Pistachios, Raisins, Walnuts, Asparagus, Quinoa, Mushrooms, Beans

Beauty is found in detoxification. If there are fewer toxins in your body, then there is no need for your body to express them through pimples or acne. By making sure you are getting your daily dose of these vital beauty minerals, you will see a change in the strength of your body and the resilience of your skin. For more beauty foods or information about detoxing for beauty, check out chapters 5 and 6 of The Beauty Detox Solution.

Dessert can be tricky to maneuver. It can spell digestive disaster, and it is stereotypically loaded with sugars and fats. Dessert is among the first things people cut out when wanting to trim weight and shed fat. Dessert should not be eaten every day, but sometimes when you have a real dessert craving there are some good options to consider. In The Beauty Detox Solution, I discuss how you can include dessert in moderation into your beauty health plan. Here are some guidelines to healthy desserts:

Raw Fruit should not be eaten as a dessert. I’ve harped on this countless times! Raw fruit goes through your body quickly (20-30 minutes on average) and if placed after a heavy meal it will lead to flatulence and fermentation. Not to mention, your body won’t reap the benefits because it won’t reach the small intestine in time for it to absorb the full spectrum of nutrients. Eating fruit for dessert will actually have negative bodily side affects than if you abstained completely. Have the fruit first, and especially in the morning. Try it for yourself- have fruit only on an empty stomach and notice how any bloating effects of consuming fruit get minimized or eliminated.

Avoid Agave: Although lately it has become a widely accepted alternative sweetener, agave contains high levels of fructose. It is also often highly processed and refined, despite the misleading label “raw”. Instead, try these natural sweeteners in desserts- raw honey (it must be organic and preferably local), dried dates or figs, xyitol or stevia. I’m happy to see restaurants like Quintessence in NYC switch from agave to xylitol.

Eat your nuts: Coconuts, almonds, pecans or walnuts are viable options to include into your desserts. Nuts and dried figs make great pie crusts, toppings, and they help beef up a dessert in fiber content. Unsweetened nut milks are preferable over cow milk or soy milk because they are healthier foods that mimic your favorite dairy products. Coconut milk, hemp milk, hazelnut milk and almond milk are totally acceptable milk alternatives to include in desserts.

Vanilla: Vanilla extract has a number of health benefits such as being associated with reducing stress and anxiety and helping aid weight loss. Vanilla is a natural calming agent and it is great to smell and digest small amounts before bed. Keep in mind that a little goes a long way with vanilla extract. Limit to a few drops in individual servings of warm drinks or baked goodies.

Add cinnamon: It is a great source of magnesium, fiber, iron and calcium. Cinnamon fires up your colon and contributes to colon health while protecting against heart disease and boosting brain function. It also plays a regulatory role in lowering your blood sugar. There are many ways that cinnamon can be included in a healthy dessert. Stir ½ tsp of cinnamon and ½ tsp vanilla into chia seeds soaking in almond milk for 10 minutes. Sprinkle some cinnamon into a glass of warmed almond milk and stevia. Sprinkle a ¼ tsp over a baked yam, sweet potato or carrots.

Be creative with your grains: Experiment mixing the above ingredients with quinoa, millet and other grains may lead to surprising and delicious desserts. Sometimes, the best desserts are the undiscovered ones we whip together at home while experimenting. These would be great to include if you had a starch-based dinner, such as a meal with brown rice.

For more beauty desserts checkout pages 228-230 of the Beauty Detox Solution to learn how to make my Raw Pecan Love Pie, Raw Cacao Truffles, Happy Cow Dairy-Free Hot Chocolate and my Chia Seed Delight.

As with all things, eat dessert in moderation. Following the guidelines outlined in The Beauty Detox Solution should eliminate major cravings for sweets and refined sugars as your body becomes balanced. On the most basic level, cravings are generated when your body is lacking nutrients. In order to compensate, you reach for macronutrients such as a milk chocolate bar when your body really needs micronutrients. These minerals, enzymes and vitamins that your body needs can be found in a wide variety of plant-based foods.

Sometimes you need to do a strict dessert fast for a little while to “reset”. I realized I was having too much dark chocolate for a while, so when I was in Puerto Rico I made myself give it up entirely. Now I’ve been off it for a while, and I don’t plan on having it for at least another month or more. It is good to make yourself fast from certain things, especially if they started off in moderation but then start becoming something you really start craving.

Enjoying a Glowing Green Smoothie once a day is the most powerful way to retain and absorb these nutrients. If you experience cravings on a daily basis, opt for herbal tea with stevia and lemon or veggie sticks dipped in Sally’s Salsa or Green Bean-Miso Dip, and remember how important Probiotic & Enzyme Salad is. Next time you want to indulge, try one of these BDS friendly dessert options to seal your meal with a sweet ending.

What’s your favorite healthy dessert?

Memory is crucial to success. In today’s technology era, we are constantly stimulated with information and overloaded with details concerning a new product or a project with a deadline. We are constantly managing our lives with blackberries, iphones, computers, planners and the classic post-it “note-to-self.” In order to keep track of everything in our lives and to perform our best, we must take care of ourselves on a macro and micro level. Nutrition plays an integral role in mental acuity.

It really annoys me when people use the term “superfood” to refer only to foods that are exotic, hard to find and only grow in one part of the world, like maca, goji berries or cacao. There is an abundance of “superfoods” everywhere, which I define as foods high in vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. Superfoods have powerful healing qualities and should be a core staple of our daily diet. They do not have to come from across the world, and don’t let anyone’s fancy marketing make you think you need to buy all that expensive stuff to be healthy. Goji berries are great, but the best “superfoods” are locally sourced and familiar to you. For instance, I consider spinach a heck of a lot more important as a “superfood” than maca powder.

By including the following superfoods in your diet, you can improve your memory and ensure that your brain is functioning at full capacity.

Quinoa: Rich in folic acid, quinoa has been shown to quicken information dispensation and improve our memory. Quinoa is one of the best whole grains you can put into your body because it is a natural source of iron, zinc and protein. It is a complete protein because it contains all essential amino acids. It serves as an incredibly vitamin-packed fibrous side dish to any meal. Quinoa contains selenium and vitamin E that lowers your risk for diabetes and heart disease and may help control weight. It’s one of my favorite grains because it is easy to prepare and you can practically pair it with anything. If you ever feel a little brain-lagged, this is the perfect food to include in a meal with a big salad. Quinoa is a complex carbohydrate that will give you energy that lasts when your brain needs fuel to perform at its best. For more energizing snacks, check out my previous post.

Berries: Blueberries, cranberries, and strawberries have been shown to shield the brain from memory loss and contribute to enhanced memories in various studies. Diets rich in blueberries will actually improve learning capacity and lower stress. In fact, blueberries are among the best source of antioxidants that you can easily purchase and incorporate into your diet. Berries are high in water and fiber that regulates your blood sugar while cutting your sugar cravings. This super food is loaded with phytonutrients, a natural bioactive compound that works with minerals and vitamins to ensure mental and physical health.

Omega-3 Rich Foods: Omega-3 fatty acids are extremely beneficial for your body, but in particular for your brain health. Studies show that foods rich in Omega-3 lowers the cell inflammation that causes loss of memory. I wish I could wholeheartedly recommend fish to those that want to eat some animal products, but the truth is that fish is one of the most toxic, polluted foods out there right now. Fish live in the toxic water, and their bodies concentrate the mercury, PCBs and other toxins. Definitely don’t eat farm-raised fish or big fish like tuna or swordfish, but sadly, all fish is pretty toxic.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the American Acadamy of Pediatrics recommends strict limits of fish consumption for pregnant women. If a food can harm a developing fetus, why would you want to be put it into your body regularly even when you’re not pregnant?

If you don’t eat fish, the way I don’t, I recommend obtaining your omega-3’s from other foods such as pumpkin, chia and flaxseeds, walnuts, etc. Dark leafy greens like kale contain Omega-3′s as well.

Onions: Onions, and particularly red onions, have been used for centuries in India to improve memory. The key is in a naturally occurring flavonoid, fisetin, which facilitates long-term memory by stimulating certain pathways in the brain. Try eating some uncooked onions in your diet in guacamole or salads, because when you cook food above 118 degrees, you kill the natural enzymes that contribute to these miraculous body benefits.

Apples: The skin of apples is loaded with minerals and antioxidants that have demonstrated to defend from memory robbing degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and dementia. Quercetin is an excelled source of folic acid, and much more. Get your daily dosage of antioxidants and apples in your morning GGS!