Spring is here and most people are thinking this is the time of detox.  In Chinese medicine, we do not think of only detoxing once or twice a year.  We use food throughout the year to nourish, build and detox. Below I've given a family recipe for a (delicious) detoxifying broth which you can include in your diet regularly.

As you know I am all about prevention so it is best to do a little bit of something every day or rather than once or twice a year.  Growing up, my mom would make this great broth couple times a week to cleans the body during Spring time (sometimes just because!).


Pork Bone Broth Soup
This soup detoxifies and provides nutrition to the body.

• 1 pound of pork bone (it is neutral in temperature)  For example, lamb is hot, beef is warm and pork is neutral so it is best for making soup.
  
• 1 bunch of watercress
  
• 2-3 carrots
  
• 2-3 green diakon
  
• 10 cups of water
  

Bring to boil and simmer for a hour. Enjoy the broth either before dinner or anytime you like!
Yup, you may have a great bowel movement :)


Keep in mind, detoxing once or twice a year may be too harsh for some individuals, especially if one has health issues. If you are planning to go through a serious cleanse, please find a practitioner to guide you through the process. Many people miss the step of filling the body with nutritious food after the elimination process, but this very important step is how our bodies can heal. After a cleanse, slowly build the body with nutritious dense food. Our body can't run on an empty tank and that's why, without proper post cleanse nutrition, elimination can be harmful.

Stay tune for the Summer time recipe for clearing Summer heat in June.

As you very well know, I have been advising my patients to eliminate gluten, sugar and caffeine to help with allergy symptoms and food sensitivity.  I also suggest to my patients to consume more alkaline foods rather than load up with acidic foods (gluten, sugar and caffeine are each acidic). Acidic food can cause a host of ailments; inflammation in the body causing muscle pain, joint pain, stomach pain, among other things.

I found a few charts on the internet that are very useful.  Print the chart below, or one from the links provided, and keep it with your recipes as a guideline in consuming more alkaline foods. 
http://www.pkdiet.com/pages/diet/dietalkalinelist.htm
http://www.rense.com/1.mpicons/acidalka.htm

You may be very familiar with the saying..."An apple a day, keeps the doctor away".  We usually never put much thought into it except that it is good for us because of the fiber content.  Well, apple is an alkaline food.  Maybe that's how this saying came about! 

Consuming more alkaline food keeps the pH balanced in our body, a more balanced body creates an environment for better health. These charts are not intended to cure your diseases but as a guideline to inform you the property of certain foods that can be more acidic or more alkaline. Please consult a licensed practitioner to guide you through the process if you are looking to treat any ailments.