Raw Food Diets

Many are in favor of a pure raw food diet; some swear by it.  I fully admit that it has it's benefits, however, it also has it's disadvantages.

We could get significant proteins from vegan foods and even raw foods, however, animal proteins have more to offer than protein itself.  A number of doctors and nutritionists feel that animal proteins offer a significant source of nutrients that vegan food can't give enough of such as vitamin A or vitamin B12.  I do a 24 hour raw food diet just before a fast or a cleanse because I feel NOTHING better prepares me.  I stumbled upon this video and I've tried some of it's pointers such as squeezing lemon into my water first thing in the morning.

I thought that it may be helpful to those of you who are reading this month's book and doing some cleansing programs.  Enjoy!

For My BeWell BookWorms

The book of the month "Juicing, Fasting and Detoxing for Life" has taught me so much.  I’ve posted about the foods you should never buy unless it is organic.  When you are fasting, however, you should ONLY juice organic food. 

The author talks about how the body tends to heal itself more rapidly and efficiently while on a fast which is why if there was EVER a time to avoid GMO it is during a fast.  GMO creates abnormality in cells and part of the goal of fasting is to rebuild cells.  Even if the conventionally grown foods are not genetically modified, they could have pesticides.  Another goal when fasting is to detoxify the body, so why reintroduce toxins to the body with pesticides?

It is important that if you are going to fast or cleanse that it is done properly.  If it isn't done properly, it may be counterproductive to fast or cleanse in the first place.  I know of people who became VERY ill because of improper practices with cleansing.  Let me know how you are doing and what you have learned from the book.  You may comment below or post in the BeWell BookWorms forum on the Whole Health Destinations page.  As always, questions, comments and furthermores are always welcome!

An MD's Comments on Vaccines

More and more, I'm finding MDs that are being open about the ineffective way healthcare is commonly managed today.  I've said over and over again that pharmaceutical drugs are sometimes a necessary evil; I do, however, believe that it is a rare occasion that they are necessary.

Dr. Joseph Mercola (MD) is now warning against the dangers of vaccines.  Different side effects from flu vaccines range from Narcolepsy to high levels of miscarriages and stillbirths.  As mentioned in a previous post of mine vaccines today DO NOT just contain weakened or dead pathogens.  There are an array of different toxins in vaccines such as hydrochloric acid, formaldehyde, thimerosal (which, we are to understand, has been taken out of some vaccines) and other toxins that should NEVER be put into the body; but Dr. Mercola went further to say that the artificial immunizations often don't even work.  Just to mention two situations that he talked about:  In 2001 Maryland had an outbreak of the chickenpox; it was found that 75% of those who contracted the disease were vaccinated against chickenpox.  The same thing happened in a New York/ New Jersey area in 2006.  There was an outbreak of the mumps and 77% were vaccinated against the mumps.

I'm now asking myself if inoculations are even worth it; what do you think?  As always, questions, comments and furthermores are ALWAYS welcome.

Lessons From This Month's Book

From this month's book, I learned that I'm doing pretty well living the greener, cleaner life; but I also learned that I could be doing better.  This past weekend I did another cleanse and I just wanted to share my experience.

I ate only raw organic food on Saturday and then at 8pm I stopped eating.  I drank plenty of water on Sunday which is essential when fasting.  I squeezed some lemon into my water at least twice that day for blood sugar and cleansing reasons.  I felt light headed by the late afternoon so I applied a castor oil pack over my liver area and watched a short movie with my husband.  An hour before I was to break my fast, my head was pounding.  I know that headache, runny nose and coughing are three of many symptoms that the body may experience when going through intense detoxification, so I wasn't worried.  I broke my fast at 8pm on Sunday evening completing a 24 hour fast.  It wasn't until Monday morning when I realized that my headache was gone.  I felt so energized that morning that I didn't even remember my headache the night before.  I've been feeling really good all week long.  I'm looking forward to getting a better juicer so that I can start juicing again like I did years ago. 

What have you learned from this month's book?  As always, questions, comments and furthermores are always welcome!

MaxT3 Free MLMO invite

For those of you in the Denver area, this is an event that you do NOT want to miss!  I've been to these seminars and they are amazing:

Discussion on Whole Health Destinations Page

The following is an excerpt from a discussion in the Healthy Relationships forum on the Whole Health Destinations page.  You are all welcome to join and comment:

Kw comments:
"Healthy Relationships start with liking yourself.

We all must be honest about what our strengths and positive traits are.

Because life is a journey, we need to learn how to take control of our thought life.
When I think positive thoughts, negative ones cannot distract me.
That can be a weekly, daily or hourly challenge!

I try to give someone what they need as opposed to what they want.
I try to understand that they do not have to be "labeled" for who they used to be many years ago.
People do change and many learn from their mistakes.

The only person you can change is yourself.
You may be able to influence others but sometimes you have to give up your right to share "how you feel' in order to see how another person reacts to the adversity in their life."

Be Well My Friends replies:
I agree with your point about how a healthy relationship starts with liking yourself.  I learned in one of my many psych classes that "I must be a happy me before I can become a happy we" as a fundamental rule.

Being positive just makes sense because it improves our individual health and as stated both in your post and again above, the healthier I am as an individual, the more I will contribute to the health of my relationships. 

I also like what you said about trying to give people what they need as opposed to what they want.  What we want can often ironically contradict what we need which is why we are constantly warned to be careful of what we wish for.

Decreasing Toxicity: Relationships II

Having toxic relationships, can be just as hazardous as eating toxic food and inhaling toxic fumes.  As you know, stress can impact the body.  From my experience, I've seen how stress from toxic relationships can eventually have fatal impacts on organs.  The ones that I've seen most often affected are the heart, liver and gallbladder.  It can even hurt the immune system.  A very close friend of mine held on to her toxic marriage as long as she could until she finally got ill.  Lymphoma woke her up and forced her into a different direction.

I have found that when there is corruption in the flow of a relationship that can't be resolved, it is best to make drastic personal changes or to just let the relationship go.  In other words, you may have to work out a situation where you decrease your contact with the toxic individual or it could even mean that you need to strengthen your boundaries.  In my case, I often had situations where I simply had to strengthen my boundaries.  That worked out for me so well, that I rarely had to cut people out of my life.

So this week, let's scrutinize our relationships; are there toxic people in your life?  What changes will you make to move toward a healthier relationship with the one that you have trouble with?  What steps will you take to strengthen your boundaries?  What changes will you make to find healthier relationships in the future? 

Decreasing Toxicity: Relationships

What or who comes to mind when you think of the "dead weight" relationships in your life?  Relationships flow whether it is a friendship, family, spouse or any type of relationship at all.  In order to explain what I mean by "flow" vividly, I'm going to give a general name to anything that can be exchanged in a relationship whether tangible or intangible.  I'll call it energy (as many in the healing arts professions already do).  So in other words, in this discussion love is energy, money is energy and even a smile is energy; anything that you can think of that is exchanged in a relationship is energy.  With that in mind, a relationship (business or personal) is suppose to flow with all kinds of energy (ideas, money, affection, love, gifts, laughs, time...).  When there is corruption in the flow of a relationship at that point the relationship has become toxic.

The flow is corrupted when one stops giving, restricts what they give or puts conditions on what they give.  For example, if someone stops giving or restricts what they give to another, but blames the other person for their neglect in order to attain something, the flow has been corrupted because one member of the relationship has become manipulative.  In any relationship that relates to business, there are conditions on some things of course.  If I am producing something for currency, obviously my production comes with a price; but that is understood by both parties in the business relationship.  So what would a toxic business relationship look like?  Well, hypothetically, say an individual gives a "free gift" to customers on a normal basis.  Customers are led to believe that the gift is theirs for free no matter what.  A customer returns a product because they aren't satisfied with it.  The business individual accepts the returned item but charges the customer for the free gift.  He returns the money to the customer minus the money for the free gift.  The flow in the relationship with the customer has been corrupted, because now the customer can't trust the business individual.  I personally wouldn't purchase anything from such an individual ever again.

If one member of a relationship becomes harsh, abusive or controlling; the flow has been corrupted.  When the flow of a relationship is corrupted, it can be the end of the relationship or it can be the beginning of a stronger relationship.  It is up to the individual who wants to see change.

Happy Easter

Sorry about this late post.  I will resume posting tomorrow as usual but in the meantime I will be celebrating my holiday.

Happy Easter everyone! 

A Greener Cleaner Life: Why I Live This Way

I've always been passionate about living the greener, cleaner life.  I believe one of the reasons why I am among the more passionate is because the toxic life has impacted my me in ways that were so daunting.  Toxicity tends to make me sicker than many.  Many people in my life have little to fear besides weight gain when it comes to toxins like processed sugar or white flour for example; if I eat processed sugar or white flour, I will not be able to function at all.

The people who wrote books on wellness are often people like me who were once sickly.  Many of them found that when they learned how to control the flow of toxicity in their bodies and environment, their illnesses went away.  I'm not that different, however, it took me a long time to get where I am.  I made the excuses for falling back into my old life, I still do sometimes.  I'm thankful, however, that a majority of the time I stand strong in my normal style of healthy living.

What inspired you?  As always questions, comments and furthermores are welcome!

A Greener, Cleaner Life

As mentioned in a previous post and as mentioned in April's book of the month "Juicing, Fasting and Detoxing for Life" you can't avoid toxins completely.  For the last couple of weeks, however, we've discussed many ways to keep the toxicity in your environment low and to keep your body healthy.

In a nutshell, there are a few changes that you can make, but I would suggest that you gradually make these changes.  Doing everything at once could be counter productive.  Fresh organic food isn't genetically modified and it contains approximately 30% more nutrients than conventionally grown food.  So for those of you who recently started following, we've been going through a detox program that involved decreasing common toxins (like MSG, sugar and white flour) and raising the amount of fresh organic fruits and vegetables that we ingest.  I would even encourage you to raise your own garden if you can.  What we haven't discussed in detail yet was a detox program as described in this month's book; for example a 24 fast or a 7 day cleanse. 

Many doctors recommend a cleanse 3-4 times per year.  Some doctors have said that it is best not to cleanse in the winter since our bodies naturally retain nutrients when it is cold.  This was once necessary for when humans lived off of the land and had a hard time hunting and growing in the snow.  I actually got sick cleansing in the winter and I've had two doctors sternly tell me not to do that anymore. 

These are all ways that I have decreased toxicity in my life.  I would like to know how things are coming with detoxing in your life too.  As always questions, comments and furthermores are welcome.

Decreasing Toxicity: How Is The Exercise Coming?

I confess that even though I've started exercising a few months ago, I've been most consistent with it only in the last couple of weeks.  The only good that came of not being consistent is that now I can compare how I feel when I exercise to when I don't.  I've got to admit, I love how I feel when I exercise regularly!

Please allow me to review a few things just in case there are any questions that aren't being asked; although I hope by now most know that I encourage the questions, comments and furthermores.  There are several posts for you to refer to on exercise such as the ones on surge training.  Don't forget how important it is to stretch before you exercise; for it will decrease your chance of injury.  I highly recommend weight bearing exercise because of its many benefits, but it isn't really essential.  If you would like to do weight bearing exercise, I highly recommend working with a trainer.  Above all, have fun!

Please don't forget to check with your doctor before you start any exercise program and please let me know how it is going.  As always, questions, comments and furthermores are always welcome!

An Educator's Comments

"Often, educators teach the average student and don't consider differences and individual learning styles. I think it is important as a teacher to build relationships with our students and foster a learning environment of academic rigor and high expectations for all"

That is an excellent point.  A healthy classroom doesn't end with the diet of the students nor does it end with the decrease of toxicity in their environment.  Those are only two components of a healthy classroom.  It isn't a healthy classroom, for example, if the students don't feel comfortable enough to ask their teacher questions about the material that they are learning and it isn't a healthy classroom if the students aren't being challenged to critically analyze materials that they have read and learned.  Oh yes, the relationships between teachers and students are important and high expectations can also play a critical part of academic success.  "Students will rise to the level of expectation" as Jaime A. Escalante demonstrated to all of his colleagues (and later the nation).  He was also a fabulous example of what one teacher can accomplish when you have a strong rapport with your class.

I believe that good rapport and high expectations can contribute to a healthy class.  This is why I give school teachers my regard, for their jobs aren't easy ones. When teachers do an excellent job, however, it shows and the students remember you forever for it!

A Change of Direction: Part IV

I know that between the video and my last two posts I may have illustrated a rather dark picture.  Please don't despair!  I didn't design this site to announce the end of the world.  I designed this site to empower people!  I designed it so that we can all help each other see where we are being destructive so that we can make changes and start being more constructive.  So this is one area where we are being self destructive; the question is what do we do about it?

It starts with you.  Mahatma Gandhi said "Be the change that you wish to see in the world" so I feel that it is best to start there.  What will you do to rebuild a society that has been dumbed down?  There are many places to start; one is to keep doing what you are doing now which is decreasing the toxicity in your life and household.  Fluoride, for example, lowers the IQ in children as we've discussed; so let us keep our kids away from fluoride.  We discussed getting a filter or reverse osmosis for your house to get the fluoridation out.  You could also subscribe to good clean spring water like Eldorado.  Do an occasional detox program like fasting or an herbal detox program and inspire your friends and loved ones to join you.  You can also join the millions against Monsanto and fight for your right to know what foods are being genetically altered.  

So, do you want a healthier world?  Good, so do I.  There are tons of things that can be done to move toward a healthier world.  Let us get together and do it!

A Change of Direction: Part III

I don't know if the dumbing down of society started with the increase in toxicity or if it started with a decline in the integrity of school curriculum; but both are fiascoes that started around the mid twentieth century.  Once again, however, I want to be clear that this post isn't about who to point fingers at.  Most of this started before many of us were ever educators in the first place. This is about reclaiming health and education that we can have and should have.

The US. Department of Education says that 20% of Americans are functionally illiterate.  In other words, these people can read but they can't understand what they are reading.  According the San Francisco Chronicle in 1995, over 700,000 students per year graduate high school but can't read their own diploma!  As an educator, I find this is frightening.  How did so many students slip through the cracks like that?

So, this is where we are now; where do we go from here?  How can you help others improve?  How can I help others improve?  How and where can we all help each other so that we don't find ourselves in a further decline?

A Change of Direction: Part II

In a recent class, my husband learned about a college professor at a law school who assigned a book to all of his students.  It was a book written approximately 150 years ago.  Many students today had trouble reading it.  The professor would sarcastically reply to the students who complained.  He would tell them that he understands why they couldn't read it because it wasn't a book designed for the level of a law student but for the level of the common farmer who had no college education at all.  Ouch!

Another area where we are dumbing down as a society is right in our schools.  I can't speak for the rest of the world, but I've seen several schools in America where our kids aren't learning.  I mean no disrespect to today's educators who work really hard to teach our children everyday.  I have been there too, my friends.  I know you work hard, I know you want your kids to learn as I wanted mine to learn.  I'm not pointing blame at educators as much as I am trying to get the attention of educators.

If you are an educator and I have your attention, please comment below or in the Healthy Minds forum on the Whole Health Destinations page; for questions, comments and furthermores are always, always welcome.

A Change of Direction

I used to think that the following video was a little dark, depressing and extreme, however, after everything that I've seen about the production of psychotropic drugs, Monsanto, Codex Alimentarius, thimerosal in vaccines and fluoride in the water, I'm starting to see that it isn't so exaggerated after all. 

It isn't too late though.  Yes, we're in a mess, but we can still change the direction in which we are going.  There are over a million people in America who woke up to the dangers of Monsanto's precarious and irresponsible choices.  There are many who are fighting against the fluoridation in the water.  There are some TICKED OFF mommas who are well aware that their babies are autistic because of the vaccines that they were injected with.  

The following is where I fear we are headed, however, that doesn't mean that we have to get there.  There is still time to make changes in our lives and there is still room to educate our communities.

Decreasing Toxicity: Exercise Program

Yes, you've read the title correctly, it's time to start exercising if you haven't yet.  If you have started an exercise program, I simply encourage you to stick with it.

For those of you who have depression and you haven't found a neurofeedback clinic, exercise can really help you in the meantime.  I still had episodes of depression when I was an aerobics instructor, but the episodes lasted longer when I didn't exercise later in my life.  Exercise will also help fight all kinds of diseases.  You will even decrease your chances of getting colds and flu with exercise.  This is why my doctor tells me that even a little exercise is better than no exercise.  My current exercise program consists of burst training or riding my bike.  I also try to get some weight bearing exercise in three times per week to keep my bones and muscles strong and healthy. 

I've posted about the many benefits of exercise since I've started this blog, but I may have left out one benefit.  I was reminded by our book of the month "Juicing, Fasting and Detoxing for Life" that exercise will help move toxins our of the body more quickly.  This is why I felt that it should be a part of your detox program.  Now that you are in a place where you've decreased the toxins in your life, you're at a point now where can move toxins out of your body more quickly without getting sick from it.

Organic Gardening: Worm Bins

Worms are wonderful little critters... for your garden that is.  There are several ways to compost; one is with worms.  The contents of compost and worm bins are to feed you soil.  Healthy soil will deliver a healthy organic garden.

Most of you know how excited I am about starting a garden next year.  This year I'm going to Focus on tending the soil and learning how to grow good healthy plants.  I've finally chosen the perfect spot in my back yard where there is sun.  I'll test the ph a little later this spring even though I'll have to test it again next year before I start.

Please see my post in the Organic Gardening forum on the Whole Health Destinations page; especially if you aren someone with experience in gardening.  I would really appreciate your advice. 

Environment: Trash

Recycling is currently routine in this house.  The more we recycle, the fewer items go into the landfill.  I openly admit that I can do better, however.

Many Whole Foods Markets that I've been to have a system where they have three trash bins.  There is a trash bin for recylcing, there is another trash bin for composting, and there is another trash bin labeled as "landfill" which is for everything else.

Gardening is something that I'm just beginning to learn about, but it is also a wonderful excuse to start composting.  I'm learning about different ways to compost.  I recently read about red worms in a Natural Home magazine.  Red worms aren't the only kinds of worms that you can use to make worm compost.  I'm also learning that worm compost is a little more complicated than I thought.  I didn't know that if you put too much food in the worm bin the worms can die.  So I want to do more research and find out which would be best.  In other words, do I just use regular compost or do I do compost and a worm bin? 

To all of the gardening experts, here is where I can use your guidance.

The Psychotropic Medications Presentation

The video in the last post was a fantastic eye opener.  I was on Prozac years ago and it really didn’t do anything for me. I didn’t have depressive episodes for as long as I was on it, but within two years after I stopped taking it I had to go right back to taking it again.  I felt so enslaved by it that I stopped taking it after two months and started seeking alternatives to Prozac.  It wasn’t for another 9 years before I found the cure for depression and pursued it with all my heart and soul not to mention everything that I had in the bank but it was worth it!

The one thing that bothered me about the video was that some would say that there is NO chemical imbalance.  Well, the absence of a chemical imbalance wasn't proven anymore than the presence of one.  Through brain mapping for the miracle that is neurofeedback, it CAN be seen that OCD,ADD, ADHD, depression, alcoholism and other such conditions are neurological issues and can be treated and cured.  I saw with my own two eyes the electrochemical state of my brain compared to other brains of people with depression and there were similarities that characterize depression according to a brain map.  I for one haven’t had a depressive episode for the last seven years and I’ve NEVER had to take psychotropic drugs within that time.

Because of my experience, I have a reason to believe that depression is the result of a neurological issue if not other malfunctions of the intestines or thyroid.  Whatever the cause of depression or other so-called psychological disorders (which I believe is actually a symptom of something else), psychotropic drugs aren't the answer.

Psychotropic Medications

According to Dr. Mercola, depression is not a chemical imbalance in the brain.  The link that I've provided leads to an article on his website.  I must disagree with that point, however, because while no one can say that it is a known fact that depression is a chemical imbalance, no one can say that it is not a chemical imbalance either because neither claim has been proven.

As someone who has had depression, I can testify to the fact that it is a condition that is real and at times it can be debilitating to the point of complete fatigue.  I was astounded when I saw this video, although with everything that I have learned about the pharmeceutical industry, I really shouldn't have been surprised at all.

Please look for my comments in the Rants forum on the Whole Health Destinations page and feel free to reply!

Organic Gardening: Soil

Starting with the basics of organic gardening, there isn't much that you can do without good fertile soil.  Being a beginner myself, I'm just learning what that means.

You want soft soil that can hold moisture as opposed to hard, crusty, dry soil.  It is a good sign if your soil has many worms or worm channels for they mix the nutrients and keep the ground soft.  Clay soil is very sticky; because of it's density it will hold water better than a sandy soil.  It also contains great nutrients for your garden so you want this soil mixed with other kinds of soil.

The soil ph is one factor that can make the difference between good healthy plants and starved sickly plants.  Soil ph is measured on a scale of 1 to 14; 1 is highly acidic.  Soil that is too acidic can wash out the nutrients while the soil with too much alkalinity will not make the nutrients available to the plants.  Normally you want the soil ph to be 7 or slightly less depending on what you will be raising.  So in other words a little acidity is usually good.  For example, most vegetables thrive in soil between 6 and 7 while blueberries prefer even more acid.  With blueberries you could go as low as 5.5 because they enjoy the acidity.  If you want to raise an organic garden it would be prudent to exercise caution when adjusting the ph of your garden.

If you have well tended soil, you should have a thriving garden and I am looking forward to building mine!

Migraines and Neurofeedback

It is so refreshing to see neurofeedback hit the news!  It is good to see that more and more people are realizing that wellness doesn't come from pills. 

Here is yet another individual who found relief from neurofeedback.

Migraines

I can relate to all of you who have migraines for I get them very frequently.  It wasn't until recently that I found out that the problem resides in my cervical spine.  When I put pressure on a certain part of my spine the pressure around my left eye will go away, but when I let go the headache is usually worse.

I see a chiropractor to correct my spinal issues.  As my spine improves the migraines lose their intensity.  I also found out through neurofeedback therapy that heat on my frontal lobe will also help my migraines.  If I understand correctly, this is unusual.  Most people that I know with migraines love cold on their heads, but I need the heat.  Neurofeedback therapy can help migraines tremendously.  I didn't originally go to the neurofeedback clinic for migraines,  but the few sessions that I had helped my migraines and helped me focus far better than ever before.  The last thing that I found helpful were pinhole glasses.  Exercising my left eye will shorten the duration of a migraine.  Normally, they last about three to five days.  The pinhole glasses will make it go away well within 48 hours.

Because there are so many different triggers for a migraine it's difficult for me to advise another who has them too.  One thing I would urge is to check for spinal issues and neurological issues.  I find the chiropractors at Maximized Living to be fabulous and if you seek a neurofeedback clinic, just be sure that they do brain mapping.

Wheat Flour

This week we are cutting down on white flour foods.  I know there are many whole grain alternatives out there, however, it may be prudent to start shopping at health food stores in order to give yourself a larger variety of breads or other products that contain flour.

There are some regular grocery stores that may have good breads, but many that I've tried don't.  For example, I have family members that live in a very rural area where there are NO health food stores.  Yes, you read that correctly there are NO health food stores in their neighborhood.  We tried shopping for bread at one of their local grocery stores once.  I went through EVERY loaf of brown bread and I couldn’t find even one loaf with no white flour and no white sugar.  Every single one had one or the other.  Most health food stores tend to have something for everyone.  Almost all of the health food stores I've been to had a nice selection of organic breads.

If you have any recipes for good whole grain breads, that would be even better than buying it because you could leave out ingredients that you are trying to stay away from and you can find alternatives for things like sugar.  If you would like to share a recipe, please refer to the Wellness Cafe on the Whole Health Destinations page.

Decreasing Toxicity: White Flour

If you thought eliminating sugar from your diet was difficult, try eliminating both sugar and white flour.  This may limit where you can shop for some groceries like bread unfortunately.

When you are looking for pasta, bread or anything with flour be sure to look for WHOLE WHEAT in the ingredients.  Many people don't understand that there is a difference between wheat flour and whole wheat flour; and there is a HUGE difference.  If it says enriched flour or wheat flour as opposed to whole wheat flour it is the same as white flour and it would do better on the shelf than in a body. 

As always, questions, comments and furthermores are welcome.  You may even go to the Rants forum or the Making Changes forum on the Whole Health Destinations page to start a discussion on your progress.  Either way, it is ALWAYS a pleasure hearing from you!

Senate Bill 31

I researched as much info as I can find on SB 31 and if I understand correctly, North Carolina is reinforcing a law that has already been in place; making harsher penalties for people who aren’t licensed to practice medicine.  I’m not going to pretend to understand what the ramifications may be because I don’t live in North Carolina.  They don’t have licensing for naturopathic doctors in Colorado, however, they can all practice what they do legally as long as they don’t prescribe drugs (which is ridiculous because they are FULLY trained, qualified and capable of doing so if it is necessary, but that is somewhat another issue).

This country has always been about allowing people to have choices (most of the time).  If they want to make unlicensed practice a felony, fine, that’s one thing.  There are practitioners, however, who are educated and trained in the arts and sciences of alternative care and are fully capable of treating patients.  Stopping them from doing their work is WRONG.  Perhaps what North Carolina needs, if they don’t already have one, is an organization that can license these practitioners so that they don’t lose their practices and more importantly so their patients don’t lose their healthcare.  I would imagine alternative care patients in North Carolina would be scared senseless of having to go back to the traditional model when it clearly didn’t work for them.  I would be scared senseless.  I suffered from an illness for most of my life and traditional medicine did absolutely nothing for me.  If anything, it may have made my situation worse.  I would want the choice to try something else and I would imagine that anyone else in my position would want that choice as well.

If I am correct and NC is just trying to stop fake obia men and voo-doo doctors from hurting people, that’s one thing.  I would vote yes all the way for that, unqualified fake healthcare people are dangerous and I’ve seen people get hurt because of that.  Most alternative care that I’ve sought throughout my life, however, is based in good solid science and if the new law threatens any of these fully capable practitioners then I fervently urge reconsideration.

Healthy Menus

I started a discussion in the Healthy Minds forum (second forum from the top) on the Whole Health Destinations page.  It's about serving healthy foods in schools.  Please check it out and join the discussion.  I would love to know what you think.

Codex Alimentarius

I will be gone through Saturday and will resume posting Sunday.  In the meantime, enjoy this presentation about Codex Alimentarius.  This is something I am still in the process of learning about to be honest.  This presentation is about the same length as the last, but it's great information.

Get out the organic popcorn and bunny slippers; kick back, relax and enjoy!

Robert H. Lustig MD

I wanted to show this presentation of Robert H. Lustig, MD, UCSF Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology talking about the dangers of sugar in our diet. 

The following video truly says it all, so I've minimized my commentary.  Enjoy!

More on Sugar

Sugar, in my opinion, is one of the most difficult substances to eliminate from the diet for a couple of reasons.  First, it seems to be in everything unless you shop at health food stores and even THEN I have to read labels to avoid it.  Secondly, sugar is very, very addicting.  In my last post Dr. Oz explained why it can be addicting.  I would imagine that for some people the thought of eliminating sugar from the diet is scary because what about all of your favorite foods? 

It is pretty alarming when you see the amount of sugar that is commonly ingested on a daily basis.  The following is from an article by Dr. Mercola (mercola.com).  I found it interesting:

• "In 1700, the average person consumed about 4 pounds of sugar per year.
• In 1800, the average person consumed about 18 pounds of sugar per year.
• In 1900, individual consumption had risen to 90 pounds of sugar per year.
• In 2009, more than 50 percent of all Americans consume one-half pound of sugar PER DAY—translating to a whopping 180 pounds of sugar per year!"

1 in 450 children have diabetes and 1 in 6 have some kind of learning disability.  Could part of the problem be the alarming amount of sugar that is ingested?  

Dr. Oz on Sugar

I was impressed by this presentation for many reasons.  In the following video, Dr. Oz explains in detail the many different dangers of a high sugar diet which most people have.  He even explained how and why sugar can be addicting and how and why it can contribute to high blood pressure, obesity and low libido.  I found it pretty impressive that he gave all of this very detailed information in less than 10 minutes!

Enjoy!

Blueberries

According to Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Joseph Mercola and the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) blueberries are fabulous foods to snack on regularly.  Besides the fact that blueberries are yummy they play a big part in disease prevention.

It is widely known that antioxidant rich foods reduce signs of aging.  Well according to research, apparently it can also help to maintain cognitive function which can eventually slow down with age.  Therefore blueberries, being an antioxidant rich food, can play a role in your brain health.  Now the HSPH postulates that the high flavonoid content in berries in general can even reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease!  It can also reduce heart disease, high blood pressure risk and even helps fight colon cancer!  Dr. Mercola discussed how in one study rats with colon cancer had more than half pre-cancerous lesions disappear after eight weeks of being fed a supplement with pterostilbene which is a blueberry compound.

This week we are reducing our sugar intake.  Well if you want something sweet, then take the opportunity to give your body something wonderful while giving into that craving.  How about a bowl of fresh, sweet, organic blueberries?

Book Of the Month: April

Spring is here!  Although it snowed in some parts of Colorado over the weekend, the days are getting longer and the weather is getting warmer.  I figured the new book I chose for this month is a great supplement for our detox program.

Juicing, Fasting and Detoxing For Life by Cherie Calbom, MS is this month's book.  It can give you some ways to supplement your detoxification program with the benefits of juicing and fasting.  Fasting is something that I used to make a practice of as is juicing.  As my eating habits improved, the amount of juicing and fasting I did decreased for some reason.  I've tried cleanses.  My body, however, felt more rejuvinated after 24 hours of fasting than it did after two weeks of cleansing.  I wouldn't get sick as easily when I made a habit of fasting and juicing and I remember I got more compliments on my skin back then than ever before or after.

I've been aching to start fasting and juicing regularly again.  I would like to get a more efficient juice extractor before I start juicing again however.  I may do a water fast when it gets just a little warmer and I'll be sure to post about it as well. 

Enjoy the book!

Decreasing Toxicity: Sugar

Sugar is a natural food, however, there are many reasons why this is something that is good to cut way back on.  Americans consume about 141 pounds of sugar per year.  There is no reason why we should consume NEARLY that much.

Many physicians believe that sugar, especially high fructose corn syrup and other highly processed sugars, greatly contribute to type 2 diabetes, obesity, infant obesity and other diseases and health conditions.  As a personal trainer I had clients that kept wondering why they couldn't lose weight.  They would exercise like maniacs but the scale wouldn't budge which would sometimes lead to a "comfort food" binge (consisting of more sugar).  I would have my clients keep a journal of what they eat and I would immediately see the problem.  Sugar, however, can be very difficult to eliminate from the diet.  It seems to be almost addicting, however, even if it wasn't it is in almost all processed foods.  Even though sugar may be difficult, it is NOT impossible.

This week, we will make a grand start by cutting way back on foods with high fructose corn syrup, sucrose, fructose or sugar in the ingredients.  Again, finish or give away what is already in your kitchen, but now is a time to look for alternatives when you shop.  You've eliminated sodas and sugary juices and artificially sweetened beverages by now, which will make things a little easier.  Keep drinking that water!

Personal Concerns About Monsanto

The company responsible for the product Roundup and the largest biotechnological company in the world is increasingly becoming a threat to everyone's health and safety.  The more I learn about them, the more I am afraid for all of us.  I've posted about genetically modified organisms or GMO on more than one occasion.  I've rarely posted about personal concerns.

Monsanto isn't just creating a corrupt new way to farm; they are trying to decrease our right to choose what we want to put on our plates and in our bodies.  It angers me that we are so compliant with these health hazards yet in Europe the people saw right through them and demanded the right to choose.  When is America going to wake up and smell the fake farming?

I'm glad to know that there are many who are as against Monsanto as I am.  I am hoping and praying for more people who are in the fight with me.

Click here for more infomation on GMO.

Much More on Monsanto

This is a presentation that is nearly an hour long, however, it gives great information about Monsanto's history, goals, secrets and more.  Please join the fight so our food is labeled.  Don't you have a right to know what you are putting on your plates and in your bodies?

Enjoy!

Small Farmers

Small farmer and farmer's markets, in my opinion, can be FABULOUS resources.  If you live near a small farm where you can get your fresh produce or dairy, I would be all over that! 

I've always had good experiences with small farms and farmer's markets, however few.  There was a farmer's market every Friday very close to where I used to live in California.  It was one of few places where I could get organic produce for cheap.  I went to a farm in Colorado where they raised buffalo.  We purchased a variety of their fresh buffalo meat and it was excellent.  I don't doubt that it was nutrient packed too.  Unpasteurized butter has more vitamin A than pasteurized butter.  Problem is, it's illegal to sell unpasteurized butter in stores in Colorado so someone suggested to go to someone with a small dairy farm.  People are afraid to eat unpasteurized dairy because of the possibility of disease.  In some states they can sell unpasteurized butter and the raw butter needs to put that warning on the label.  I understand that concern, it is a concern for me too; obviously I don't want to get sick.  I do know that there are ways to stomp disease before it starts without heat though.  For example, two tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar in a tall glass of water would kill any microbes.  A Russian friend of mine made sure she had some raw apple cider vinegar every day.

There are decisions that we need to make about our health and the health of our families daily.  I am the first to say that it is a big responsibility, but I am determined to make the best choices.  When I can, I try to go to small farms for my food.  Perhaps after further research, I may find some more of these farms so I can make more of a habit of shopping there.

More Information on GMO

Wake Up America!  is hosted by a certified clinical nutritionist and a naturopathic doctor.  I've seen a few of their videos, however, this one I HAD to show in light of what we are all learning about GMO.  The information that they give is invaluable and I felt that it was a great support to those who follow this blog.

At one point, they talk about corruption in the American Dietetic Association.  The link I provided to the page that they are criticizing.

Millions Against Monsanto

Don't you want to know what you served for dinner? Then please join the fight against Monsanto!  http://www.organicconsumers.org/monsanto/action.cfm