There is a great deal of deception involved in the food industry claims. I did a blog a while ago about the fake blueberries in cereal and bagels being nothing more than chemically colored blobs that resembled the blueberry. Shocking as that was, I stumbled on this video showing that "enriched with iron" on the labels of cereals is not what we are led to believe either - not by any stretch of the imagination. Tune in and let me know what YOU think? I certainly have taken enriched foods (which are processed junk that they put godonlyknows WHAT into to "enrich" them) out of the pantry!
I have a lot of technical problems up at the lake so if this video doesn't come up, look up this video on YouTube - Don't Eat Enriched Foods
Health, Diets, Foods, Natural Alternatives, Nutrition, Health and Wellness, Anti-Aging, More Energy, Beating Fatigue, Preventing Disease, Preventing Illness, Living Green, Earth Friendly Tips, Health Tips, Food to Avoid, GMOs, Exercising, Recipes, Super Foods, Avoiding Toxins, Holistic Health, Cancer Prevention, Natural Health
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Donut - Code for DO NOT
I suppose my neighbor, who owns a Dunkin Donuts franchise will hate me for this but the truth is, while they taste great, there is zero in a donut that is good for you. And that taste comes from fat, over processed ingredients and sugar. The nutrition in it is zip.
I stopped in one day just for a coffee and waited in line watching people order. I can remember the ritual at work years ago, donuts every Monday morning, usually provided by the person who won the football pool or whatever. I snarfed them up like there was no tomorrow. Loved 'em! There IS a tomorrow though. Continual health problems asserted themselves until I had to do something radical - like change my eating habits forever!
So do I miss them? I can honestly say no. But I probably would if I didn't know what is in them. I know what my body needs now,simple real foods, and it is easier to just pass on them altogether. I know eating just one of them will send my blood sugar on a frenzy, my cells don't know what to do with processed stuff so they stick them in fat cells, and in the end I'll need to spend extra time in the gym to burn it off. Not anxious for this, I pass.
The main point of this blog, first of all, is to tell you I wasn't always a nutritional purist. I am darn glad I am now though. Here's why - beyond the obvious health improvements............
Really understand that we are manipulated, a la stuff that is made in laboratories, to become addicted to taste. "Betcha you can eat just ONE" for potato chips mantra and you know that THEY know they can indeed GET YOU.
I was explaining food cravings to a new client the other day. Basically what we crave in junk food that makes it soooo hard to give up is the sugar and chemical additives. We were created to long for strawberries, or apples, or watermelons. That is what your BODY craves. Your head thinks it craves the junk. Make the connection to what cells need - pure food that "God" made - and you are half-way cured. The rest is mental.
I have several people adding veggies and fruits to their diets first before we really get into eliminating the crap they eat. Almost without exception, they are impressed with how satisfying the apple was for a snack for an example. Also realizing that drinking water helps because so often when we think we are hungry a lot of the time a simple glass of water does the trick. We misinterpret signals - we were thirsty, not hungry. Try it!
But if I see you with the plastic bottled water on a daily basis, no, no, no! Get a bottle you can carry and refill and keep it with you. It's cheaper and you aren't one of those people clogging up the earth with all the needless plastic! I wrote a blog on the dangers of this commercial water bottle water a while back. If you missed it, the most dangerous thing is to leave this water unrefrigerated - like in your hot car in a parking lot - because heated, this plastic is way more dangerous by leaching chemicals into your water from the plastic.
In Kevin Trudeau's book, "Natural Cures "they" Don't Want You To Know About" one of his many rants is:
"The food industry, just like the tobacco industry (and I would add drug industry) is hiding a dirty little secret. The food industry is putting ingredients in the food knowingly and on purpose because these secret, and in many cases illegal, ingredients make a person hungry, make a person fat and make them addicted to the food! Now listen and pay attention, because what I am tellling you is one of the biggest news stories of the century! The food industry, and industry of publicly traded companies, is all about the money."
Well no surprise there, is there? They'll put about anything on a label to get you to buy it and they count on the fact that you have no time or interest in actually READING the label of ingredients, not that those are 100% trustworthy to begin with!
Back to the plastic water bottles, which this season many are buying in the greatest profusion --- I wonder --- are the trucks that deliver the water in cases to your store refrigerated? Did you leave the whole case in the car to heat up while you did errands? The opportunities to poison you are certainly out there. No you won't drop dead eating a donut or drinking a bottle of plastic container water, but it will take its nasty toll in your health eventually. Need hormone disruptors? You can only put your cells thru just so much until they collectively - in an effort to keep living - hand you a symptom or two to try and get your attention that they are in trouble. Think not? Then honestly ask yourself if you are in tip top shape healthwise, weightwise, and energywise. If you aren't able to answer yes to those three areas, it is your cells yelling at you, not me. When you are ready to turn things around and if you don't know where to start, visit my webpage www.todayspath.com and send me an email.
I stopped in one day just for a coffee and waited in line watching people order. I can remember the ritual at work years ago, donuts every Monday morning, usually provided by the person who won the football pool or whatever. I snarfed them up like there was no tomorrow. Loved 'em! There IS a tomorrow though. Continual health problems asserted themselves until I had to do something radical - like change my eating habits forever!
So do I miss them? I can honestly say no. But I probably would if I didn't know what is in them. I know what my body needs now,simple real foods, and it is easier to just pass on them altogether. I know eating just one of them will send my blood sugar on a frenzy, my cells don't know what to do with processed stuff so they stick them in fat cells, and in the end I'll need to spend extra time in the gym to burn it off. Not anxious for this, I pass.
The main point of this blog, first of all, is to tell you I wasn't always a nutritional purist. I am darn glad I am now though. Here's why - beyond the obvious health improvements............
Really understand that we are manipulated, a la stuff that is made in laboratories, to become addicted to taste. "Betcha you can eat just ONE" for potato chips mantra and you know that THEY know they can indeed GET YOU.
I was explaining food cravings to a new client the other day. Basically what we crave in junk food that makes it soooo hard to give up is the sugar and chemical additives. We were created to long for strawberries, or apples, or watermelons. That is what your BODY craves. Your head thinks it craves the junk. Make the connection to what cells need - pure food that "God" made - and you are half-way cured. The rest is mental.
I have several people adding veggies and fruits to their diets first before we really get into eliminating the crap they eat. Almost without exception, they are impressed with how satisfying the apple was for a snack for an example. Also realizing that drinking water helps because so often when we think we are hungry a lot of the time a simple glass of water does the trick. We misinterpret signals - we were thirsty, not hungry. Try it!
But if I see you with the plastic bottled water on a daily basis, no, no, no! Get a bottle you can carry and refill and keep it with you. It's cheaper and you aren't one of those people clogging up the earth with all the needless plastic! I wrote a blog on the dangers of this commercial water bottle water a while back. If you missed it, the most dangerous thing is to leave this water unrefrigerated - like in your hot car in a parking lot - because heated, this plastic is way more dangerous by leaching chemicals into your water from the plastic.
In Kevin Trudeau's book, "Natural Cures "they" Don't Want You To Know About" one of his many rants is:
"The food industry, just like the tobacco industry (and I would add drug industry) is hiding a dirty little secret. The food industry is putting ingredients in the food knowingly and on purpose because these secret, and in many cases illegal, ingredients make a person hungry, make a person fat and make them addicted to the food! Now listen and pay attention, because what I am tellling you is one of the biggest news stories of the century! The food industry, and industry of publicly traded companies, is all about the money."
Well no surprise there, is there? They'll put about anything on a label to get you to buy it and they count on the fact that you have no time or interest in actually READING the label of ingredients, not that those are 100% trustworthy to begin with!
Back to the plastic water bottles, which this season many are buying in the greatest profusion --- I wonder --- are the trucks that deliver the water in cases to your store refrigerated? Did you leave the whole case in the car to heat up while you did errands? The opportunities to poison you are certainly out there. No you won't drop dead eating a donut or drinking a bottle of plastic container water, but it will take its nasty toll in your health eventually. Need hormone disruptors? You can only put your cells thru just so much until they collectively - in an effort to keep living - hand you a symptom or two to try and get your attention that they are in trouble. Think not? Then honestly ask yourself if you are in tip top shape healthwise, weightwise, and energywise. If you aren't able to answer yes to those three areas, it is your cells yelling at you, not me. When you are ready to turn things around and if you don't know where to start, visit my webpage www.todayspath.com and send me an email.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
FAT AND YOUR BRAIN
If I asked you if you could live without your brain I suppose the answer would be no. So let's all agree it is critical. But it could be even more important than you realize if you are struggling to lose weight.
I just finished Dr. Daniel Amen's book, The Amen Solution and also listened to his CD program. I've heard and read a LOT about weight loss strategies but this one has great potential, that is, if you care a hoot about having a healthy brain.
The basis of his book, and many, many years of research as well as his own personal experience is if you feed your brain what it really needs to be functioning in TOP order, there is no way you will be overweight. New approach? It's great, that is, if you care a hoot about having a healthy brain.
In his research, Dr. Amen found the dinosaur theory to be spot on. That is, the bigger you get, the smaller your brain! He has brain scans to prove it. I know I sure would want my brain big and the space I take up on the sofa small, how about you?
In his introduction he says:
"The first secret is that most weight problems occur between your ears. So stapling your stomach, may, in fact, be working on the wrong organ. Not to mention that ten years after gastric banding surgery, the success rate is a disappointing 31 percent. It is your brain that pushes you away from the table telling you that you've had enough, and it is your brain that gives you permission to have that second bowl of ice cream, make you look and feel like a blob. If you want a better body, the first place to always start is by having a better brain."
He also says that giving everyone the same diet plan will make some people better and a lot of people worse. In working with clients I strive to get to know them by first having a chat (free) to see where they are coming from, what they have tried in the past to lose weight (what diets etc) and then I have them fill out forms about their eating patterns and choices. Dr. Amen is right that not everyone benefits from the same diet, which is why I customize everything. And attitudes about food, habits and misinformation about nutrition top the list of topics we get into before any plan shapes up for "diet". (I've said before I hate that word since it seems so deprivatory and negative so I always say food choices instead.)
I think his approach is about as good as they get and I highly recommend his book. Here's why. It focuses on a healthy brain (unless you don't give a hoot about your brain) and not your chuncky waist or big butt. Nobody likes to think about that, but thinking about brain health is so much less attacking ourselves negatively and being proactive instead.
Dr. Amen got involved in brain health decades ago when he was working with retired football players with brain problems, he put them on special food choice plans to nurture their brains back to optimum functionality. In the course of this, these football players were losing weight! Who knew? What a delightful outcome for these guys. They increased brain function AND lost weight. (They were all quite overweight if not obese at the beginning.) He did have them doing moderate exercise too, which is great for your brain, blood flow, and helps your body produce the kinds of chemicals it needs and WANTS to produce when it isn't so busy fighting the chemical crap you put into it. All in all it's a win/win!
Sometimes we need to sneak in the back door with changing things up. Thinking BRAIN, not body, is working for a lot of people these days. You can be your brain's best friend, or it's worst enemy, or a dinosaur - and we all know where they ended up.
Be the best you can be! The real performance is now, this isn't a dress rehearsal.
I just finished Dr. Daniel Amen's book, The Amen Solution and also listened to his CD program. I've heard and read a LOT about weight loss strategies but this one has great potential, that is, if you care a hoot about having a healthy brain.
The basis of his book, and many, many years of research as well as his own personal experience is if you feed your brain what it really needs to be functioning in TOP order, there is no way you will be overweight. New approach? It's great, that is, if you care a hoot about having a healthy brain.
In his research, Dr. Amen found the dinosaur theory to be spot on. That is, the bigger you get, the smaller your brain! He has brain scans to prove it. I know I sure would want my brain big and the space I take up on the sofa small, how about you?
In his introduction he says:
"The first secret is that most weight problems occur between your ears. So stapling your stomach, may, in fact, be working on the wrong organ. Not to mention that ten years after gastric banding surgery, the success rate is a disappointing 31 percent. It is your brain that pushes you away from the table telling you that you've had enough, and it is your brain that gives you permission to have that second bowl of ice cream, make you look and feel like a blob. If you want a better body, the first place to always start is by having a better brain."
He also says that giving everyone the same diet plan will make some people better and a lot of people worse. In working with clients I strive to get to know them by first having a chat (free) to see where they are coming from, what they have tried in the past to lose weight (what diets etc) and then I have them fill out forms about their eating patterns and choices. Dr. Amen is right that not everyone benefits from the same diet, which is why I customize everything. And attitudes about food, habits and misinformation about nutrition top the list of topics we get into before any plan shapes up for "diet". (I've said before I hate that word since it seems so deprivatory and negative so I always say food choices instead.)
I think his approach is about as good as they get and I highly recommend his book. Here's why. It focuses on a healthy brain (unless you don't give a hoot about your brain) and not your chuncky waist or big butt. Nobody likes to think about that, but thinking about brain health is so much less attacking ourselves negatively and being proactive instead.
Dr. Amen got involved in brain health decades ago when he was working with retired football players with brain problems, he put them on special food choice plans to nurture their brains back to optimum functionality. In the course of this, these football players were losing weight! Who knew? What a delightful outcome for these guys. They increased brain function AND lost weight. (They were all quite overweight if not obese at the beginning.) He did have them doing moderate exercise too, which is great for your brain, blood flow, and helps your body produce the kinds of chemicals it needs and WANTS to produce when it isn't so busy fighting the chemical crap you put into it. All in all it's a win/win!
Sometimes we need to sneak in the back door with changing things up. Thinking BRAIN, not body, is working for a lot of people these days. You can be your brain's best friend, or it's worst enemy, or a dinosaur - and we all know where they ended up.
Be the best you can be! The real performance is now, this isn't a dress rehearsal.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Depression and Anti-Depressants
The numbers of people taking anti-depressants continues to climb every year. Though the side-effects are well documented, many people, who claim they have no side effects do not have information on the cellular damage. Maybe they are so depressed they could care less?
I'm not being cheeky here. I have had bouts of depression and it is NOT fun. My (then) doctor wrote a prescription for Prozac in a flash, no discussion, just here ya go lady! I often wonder if I had somebody to talk to at the time if I'd even have gone to him for help. I should have known it would be a "magic" happy pill shouldn't I?
After one week on this pill, I developed hives - everywhere. I called him and he said to stop taking it but it would take awhile to get out of my system. Wonderful. Just what I needed. Something ELSE to get bummed out about. I decided then and there that drugs were not the solution and got busy researching alternatives. Since I'd used so many alternative medicine "fixes" I just needed to find one for this issue.
The problem with being depressed - well, one of them - is that you just don't care about anything, cannot make yourself "think happy thoughts", and have no motivation for anything. Let me tell you, negativity breeds more negativity and that cycle is mighty hard to break. Sure drugs (for people who are not having obvious side effects) may improve their moods but I ask you at what cost to your biology?
Dr. Andrew Weil (Father of Integrated Medicine) says "Depression is a state of high energy turned inward, negative. You will never come to terms with depression if you try to disown it or suppress it. The way to emotional freedom is to own your depressions, appreciate them, and transform them. You will then be able to use constructively all the energy that they contain."
Own it first. Realize this fallow time may be a signal from your body to start rehabilitating your food choices, get exercising, and focus on how you can help someone else less fortunate. There are plenty of less fortunate all around you. Often getting our minds off of ourselves and getting involved in helping others is the quickest cure of all!
Some natural, non-drug alternatives are St. John's word (Hypericum perforatum). It was used in folk medicine for the treatment of many ailments, including mood disorders. Dr. Weil says to take at least 300 milligrams three times a day. The full antidepressant effect will not be felt for about two months. (Watch sun exposure.) SAMe is another choice which works a bit faster. I also tried eating two Brazil nuts a day. Sounds weird but there is a nutrient in them that affects moods.
Studies have been done on anti-depressants, like Prozac, that show they contain chemicals that will speed up tumor growth. While not causing tumors per se, why would anyone take this chance? The drugs are all chemicals, and not natural ones your body knows how to break down and use to it's benefit. So it makes you "happier" for now but what is this chemical soup really doing for your long-term health?
In his book "Never Be Sick Again" Raymond Francis M.Sc. says "Unfortunately, when drugs cause disease, we have all been trained not call it disease but we use the deceptive term "side effects". In 1984 the drug industry attempted to obtain a legal exemption from the liability laws that apply to virtually all manufacturers. Why? Because even the people who make the drugs know they are not safe; "all prescription drugs are unavoidably unsafe" argued the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. Of course, this wording is not used in drug advertisements aimed at the public."
The consumption of processed or fast foods affect your cells in ways that lead to ill health and yes, sometimes depression. Clearly, eating healthy when you are feeling down is usually not on the top of the a persons list of things to care about, but it is critical. A diet too low in complex carbs can actually CAUSE serotonin depletion and depression. Eat plenty of raw fruits and veggies, whole grains, seeds (see my blogs on Hemp and Chia) and nuts. Take a good multiple B vitamin that has all the B's plus folic acid.
AVOID diet sodas or any products containing the artificial sweetener Aspartame (in NutraSweet, Equal, and other products) because this additive can possibly block the formation of serotonin and cause depression in people who are already serotonin deprived. This sweetener should, in my opinion based on years of research, be off the market anyway - it is poison! Also avoid foods high in saturated fats - meat, fried foods, such as hamburgers and fries which lead to sluggishness, slow thinking and fatigue. They interfere with blood flow by causing the arteries and small blood vessels to become blocked and the blood cells to become sticky, clumping together, and results in poor circulation to the brain.
Going for walks, riding a bike, going to the gym, any 30 min. a day exercise will really help depression. I didn't immediately jump in and do this, but whenever I'm beginning to feel like I may be making another trip down that dark hole of depression I make sure I get off my butt and exercise.
If you, or someone you know is going thru a bad time, whether they are on drugs for it or not, I hope you will find this information helpful and pass this along.
I'm not being cheeky here. I have had bouts of depression and it is NOT fun. My (then) doctor wrote a prescription for Prozac in a flash, no discussion, just here ya go lady! I often wonder if I had somebody to talk to at the time if I'd even have gone to him for help. I should have known it would be a "magic" happy pill shouldn't I?
After one week on this pill, I developed hives - everywhere. I called him and he said to stop taking it but it would take awhile to get out of my system. Wonderful. Just what I needed. Something ELSE to get bummed out about. I decided then and there that drugs were not the solution and got busy researching alternatives. Since I'd used so many alternative medicine "fixes" I just needed to find one for this issue.
The problem with being depressed - well, one of them - is that you just don't care about anything, cannot make yourself "think happy thoughts", and have no motivation for anything. Let me tell you, negativity breeds more negativity and that cycle is mighty hard to break. Sure drugs (for people who are not having obvious side effects) may improve their moods but I ask you at what cost to your biology?
Dr. Andrew Weil (Father of Integrated Medicine) says "Depression is a state of high energy turned inward, negative. You will never come to terms with depression if you try to disown it or suppress it. The way to emotional freedom is to own your depressions, appreciate them, and transform them. You will then be able to use constructively all the energy that they contain."
Own it first. Realize this fallow time may be a signal from your body to start rehabilitating your food choices, get exercising, and focus on how you can help someone else less fortunate. There are plenty of less fortunate all around you. Often getting our minds off of ourselves and getting involved in helping others is the quickest cure of all!
Some natural, non-drug alternatives are St. John's word (Hypericum perforatum). It was used in folk medicine for the treatment of many ailments, including mood disorders. Dr. Weil says to take at least 300 milligrams three times a day. The full antidepressant effect will not be felt for about two months. (Watch sun exposure.) SAMe is another choice which works a bit faster. I also tried eating two Brazil nuts a day. Sounds weird but there is a nutrient in them that affects moods.
Studies have been done on anti-depressants, like Prozac, that show they contain chemicals that will speed up tumor growth. While not causing tumors per se, why would anyone take this chance? The drugs are all chemicals, and not natural ones your body knows how to break down and use to it's benefit. So it makes you "happier" for now but what is this chemical soup really doing for your long-term health?
In his book "Never Be Sick Again" Raymond Francis M.Sc. says "Unfortunately, when drugs cause disease, we have all been trained not call it disease but we use the deceptive term "side effects". In 1984 the drug industry attempted to obtain a legal exemption from the liability laws that apply to virtually all manufacturers. Why? Because even the people who make the drugs know they are not safe; "all prescription drugs are unavoidably unsafe" argued the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association. Of course, this wording is not used in drug advertisements aimed at the public."
The consumption of processed or fast foods affect your cells in ways that lead to ill health and yes, sometimes depression. Clearly, eating healthy when you are feeling down is usually not on the top of the a persons list of things to care about, but it is critical. A diet too low in complex carbs can actually CAUSE serotonin depletion and depression. Eat plenty of raw fruits and veggies, whole grains, seeds (see my blogs on Hemp and Chia) and nuts. Take a good multiple B vitamin that has all the B's plus folic acid.
AVOID diet sodas or any products containing the artificial sweetener Aspartame (in NutraSweet, Equal, and other products) because this additive can possibly block the formation of serotonin and cause depression in people who are already serotonin deprived. This sweetener should, in my opinion based on years of research, be off the market anyway - it is poison! Also avoid foods high in saturated fats - meat, fried foods, such as hamburgers and fries which lead to sluggishness, slow thinking and fatigue. They interfere with blood flow by causing the arteries and small blood vessels to become blocked and the blood cells to become sticky, clumping together, and results in poor circulation to the brain.
Going for walks, riding a bike, going to the gym, any 30 min. a day exercise will really help depression. I didn't immediately jump in and do this, but whenever I'm beginning to feel like I may be making another trip down that dark hole of depression I make sure I get off my butt and exercise.
If you, or someone you know is going thru a bad time, whether they are on drugs for it or not, I hope you will find this information helpful and pass this along.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)