tomatoes two or three times a day, along with other fruit, speeds the healing of smoke-dam- aged lungs and seems to slow down the lungs’ natural aging process.


Drink this: a juice combining cilantro, carrot, celery and ginger. According to the Lung Institute, cilantro helps remove heavy metals, carrots provide vitamin A to repair lung tissue, celery helps flush out carbon dioxide and ginger removes irritants from the lungs.


Supplement with this: vitamin D. Low levels seem to be linked to a higher risk of respiratory infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to a review of clinical studies in Advances in Nutrition.


Try this movement: To loosen the airways when tense, the American Lung Association recommends slowly breathing in through the nose for two counts with the mouth closed. Purse the lips as if to whistle, and then breathe out slowly and gently through the lips to a count of four.


Detox the Kidneys Te kidneys are hard-working, fist-sized organs just below the back rib cage that filter waste and toxins out of 200 quarts of blood a day.


Assess it: Fatigue, feeling cold, shortness of breath, itchiness, swollen hands or feet, a puffy face, metallic-tasting food and ammonia-smell- ing breath are signs of growing kidney stress. See a doctor if experiencing kidney pain, weakness, lightheadedness, loss of appe- tite, nausea and vomiting, extreme thirst or decreased urination.


Eat this: Bone broth, wheat, millet, black sesame seeds, chestnuts, mulberries, raspberries, strawberries and walnuts are recommended by herbalist and acupuncturist Irina Logman of the Advanced Holistic Center, in New York City, to restore the kidneys.


Drink this:Water with squirts of lemon or lime. “Te citrate makes water, as metabolized, more alkaline, which helps to remove acid from the blood, bring pH into balance and prevents bone, heart and further kidney damage,” says Phoenix nephrologist Mandip S. Kang, M.D., author ofTe Doctor’s Kidney Diet: A Nutri- tional Guide to Managing and Slowing the


28 NA Triangle www.natriangle.com


Progression of Chronic Kidney Disease.


Supplement with this: Dandelion tea helps to cleanse and strengthen the kidneys and a new study in Renal Failure reports that it also protects the kidneys from damage by certain toxins.


Try this qigong movement: Rub the palms together to warm them, and then place them on the kidney areas. Slowly massage in circular motions 12 times, and then reverse direction.


Shore up the Liver


“Te liver is critical for detoxifying the


body, but higher sugar and alcohol consumption over the holidays, as well as more stress, can increase toxin buildup


that can damage the liver, which is why it’s important to take steps to help it recover,” says functional chiropractor Jennifer R. Welch, DC, of Iowa Functional Health, in Clive, Iowa.


Assess it: Itchy skin, easy bruising, musky-smelling breath, itchy red palms and mental sluggishness are early problem signs. Advanced symptoms that require medical care are yellowish skin, abdominal pain, swollen legs and ankles, ongoing fatigue, dark urine and pale stool.


Eat these: A Chinese study linked liver disease with low potassium levels, so consume sweet potatoes, tomato sauce, beet greens, beans, blackstrap molasses and bananas.


Drink this: Sip probiotic drinks like kom- bucha, kefir and yogurt-based smoothies. Te probiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus significantly lowered liver damage linked to excess acetamin- ophen in a recent Emory University laboratory study.


Supplement with this: Milk thistle has


been shown in Italian animal studies to decrease and even reverse damage to the liver caused by medications, alcohol, antibiotics, pollution and heavy metals.


Try this yoga movement: With


feet shoulder-width apart, make circles with the hips, pushing the torso farther and farther outward with each circle. Reverse direction.


Ronica A. O’Hara is a Denver-based freelance health writer. Connect at OHaraRonica@gmail.com.


Full-Body Boosters


A


few daily to-dos that benefit the


whole body:


Walking. A mere 20 minutes a day extends sleep up to an hour and lowers early mortality risk by 20 percent.


Adaptogens. Taking super-herbs such as astralagus, ashwa- gandha and rhodiola in tinctures, capsules or tea helps us adapt to stress.


Turmeric. An antioxidant and anti-inflammatory powerhouse proven to ward off cancer, heart disease and dementia.


Nature. A dose of greenery a day keeps the blues away—and also guards against heart disease, Type 2 diabetes and early mor- tality from all causes, a review of 140 studies shows.


Sources: Harvard University School of Medicine, Dr. Andrew Weil (DrWeil.com), American Journal of Preventive Medicine, ScienceDaily.com.


Maria Averburg/Shutterstock.com


Vecton/Shutterstock.com


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