I have eliminated ALL junk juices, soft drinks, and soda pops, and considerably reduced milk intake in my household by mixing up this gem of a drink we call “Red Drink.” I was introduced to it by Dr. Peter Minke during a 12-Month Wellness Challenge he hosted for us last year (@MinkeWellness), and my family LOVES IT!

So many of us have such a hard time drinking the recommended amount of water in a day, but have no problems downing a pot of coffee, or 3-4 cans of pop, iced teas, or juices in a day. I know people who drink pop by the liter, several in a day!

So many times we feel like we need a sugar or caffeine fix to get through our day. We have so much work to do but we’re falling asleep at our desks, or the baby didn’t sleep well last night so now we’re drained. Do you ever feel like this, and then go for an energy drink, pop, coffee, or sugary snack?

Problem is, these are short-term solutions with backwards consequences and ramifications to our health. The surge of sugar in these products puts a strain on the entire body, but especially our brains, as the nerves can only tolerate so much voltage running through them before they fry.

The blood becomes so flooded with sugar it signals the pancreas to start pumping out insulin. Your liver responds by turning any sugar it can into fat. Your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and as a response your liver dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. The adenosine receptors in your brain are then blocked, preventing drowsiness. After awhile, your body ups your dopamine production, stimulating the pleasure centers of your brain.

After about an hour, the phosphoric acid (which is fertilizer) found in these drinks binds to the calcium, magnesium, and zinc in your lower intestine, compounds with the sugars and artificial sweeteners, and increases your need to urinate, which will eliminate this bonded calcium, magnesium, and zinc that was heading to your bones, along with sodium, electrolytes, and water.

As the rave inside you starts to die down, you’ll start to have a sugar crash. You may become irritable and/or sluggish to a degree worse than before you drank the sludge. You will also have urinated away all the water that was in the energy drink, but not before infusing it with valuable nutrients your body could have used for things like hydrating your organs, or building strong bones and teeth. You will experience this crashed state for the next few hours, unless you choose to continue the viscous cycle by having yet another drink.

Now milk “does a body good.” Yet, it generates mucus, and mucus is inflammatory. So, if you struggle with digestive issues or excessive mucus in your digestive tract or your lungs, sinuses, or throat, eliminating dairy may be a huge benefit to you. Skin issues like psoriasis and eczema are also inflammatory responses that eliminating dairy may be beneficial for. There are also a lot of brands of milk that are loaded with hormones and other less-than-desirable-components, so do a bit of research if you want to know more, and switch to hormone-free, organic milk from grass-fed cows for the best quality and nutritional content. We’re a big milk family, so reducing our consumption vs eliminating is our choice. We like Almond Milk as a substitute. Coconut milk is also a popular alternative.

Juices from actual fruit sources that are organic aren’t that bad, other than having high sugar content, which spikes blood sugar, which has its own health ramifications. But anytime we can keep the blood sugar levels balanced, we’re winning. My issue is with the powdered drink mixes and sports drinks that are nothing but sugar, dyes, and preservatives…aka crap. They have no nutritional value, and the dyes in foods are well known to have neurological and behavioral effects on kids, as well as allergen triggers. If you suffer from skin issues like psoriasis or eczema, or have a child that is easily “set off”, try eliminating all foods and beverages that contain dyes. They look like this on ingredients lists: Red 40, Blue 1, Yellow-5, etc.

So instead, we drink this Red Drink. In an empty Ningxia Red™ bottle (25 oz), add 2 oz of Ningxia Red™, 1/2 tsp of Sulfurzyme™ Powder, 3 drops of Lime Vitality™, top off with purified drinking water. Drink at least one bottle of this per day. You are getting your daily dose of Ningxia Red™ for ALL the benefits of antioxidant power, plus the benefits of nutritional sulfur and prebiotics from the Sulfurzyme™ Powder, d-Limonene antioxidant and delicious flavor of Lime Vitality™ essential oil, and the 23 ounces of water actually counts FOR your water goal of the day, not against it. Juices, milk, pop, and sports drinks use more water to digest than they contribute, so do more harm than good and count against your water intake goal.

How much non-water stuff do you drink in a day? Do you think replacing it with something that is hydrating and has so many health benefits would make a big difference in your energy levels and daily complaints?

For more info on the benefits of Sulfurzyme™ supplement, check out this blog post.

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