How to start your mornings off healthy

Many people start their day with some sort of caffeine to get them going and perhaps a toast, cereal or if they have no time to prepare anything, then perhaps a quick bar out the door. While this is convenient and even sold to us as “breakfast foods” it’s actually one of the worst ways that you can start your day. And we’ve all done it! Starting your day with sugar packed processed foods will only lead you to crash and be hungry soon again. Upon waking your body is generally dehydrated as it hasn’t had water in perhaps 8-10 hours.

One of the best things you can do upon waking up is to drink water. Bonus for making it warm water with lemon and a pinch of Celtic or Himalayan salt for electrolytes. Then you can still have your coffee or caffeine of choice in the morning but start off with some water, and then a green juice. No, I’m not talking about orange, or any other fruit juices. These are packed with sugar and you would simply be ingesting straight sugar to your bloodstream and cells without any fiber at all.

I’m talking about a deliciously hydrating and refreshing green juice, which trust me, you will actually come to crave in the mornings. Sure you can also buy this (make sure it’s cold pressed!) at your health food store or juicer, but I prefer to make mine at home.

My deliciously hydrating and refreshing green juice:

5 celery stalks

1 lemon

1/2 a bulb of fennel

1 thumb of ginger

1 cup of coconut water

1/2 a carton of spinach

1 lime

1 apple (for some sweetness)

This is what I use just about every day, mixing and matching with what I have on hand but using the main base ingredients of celery, lemon and coconut water. I love starting my day with this as I find that it gives me a boost of energy and allows me to get this boost of nutrients in on an empty stomach.

The benefits of celery juice are huge. Drinking celery juice helps to detoxify and neutralize toxins in the liver. It also helps to break down “old food” sitting in the colon and intestines helping you flush them out, by going to the bathroom, and as a result helps with bloating. Celery is also a good source of potassium, vitamin K and folate, so by juicing celery you are getting large quantities of these vitamins. Overall drinking celery in the morning can boost hydration and reduce overall inflammation in the body by helping in removing toxins.

Adding lemon to your juice in the morning is very beneficial as well as it wakes up your digestive system since acid helps to break down food, is a boost in vitamin C helping your immune system and is amazing for your gut and skin health.  Lemon also helps you stay hydrated just make sure to keep drinking water throughout the day as well.

Ginger is also super beneficial to your digestive system as it can help with an upset tummy, improve your immune system and can even lower inflammation in the body and can help regulate blood sugar levels.

Fennel aids in most of the above as well as it is full of antioxidants in addition to quercitin, which fights free radicals in the body.  But it can also be antibacterial, helping clean up your body.

In addition to juicing it is also best to incorporate other healthy lifestyle habits, such as regular daily movement, getting daily sunshine and nutritious whole foods with a minimally processed foods diet.