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I will be posting health related articles here that I get from email,etc.
Disclaimer-The following information posted in this thread is not designed to cure any diseases and consult a doctor before following any advice here.
Controlling Blood Sugar at Meals
Controlling blood sugar starts with controlling your diet. To do so, you need to develop healthy eating and smart lifestyle habits.
By Chris Iliades, MD
Medically reviewed by Farrokh Sohrabi, MD
controlling blood sugar while eating
Controlling blood sugar is the key to controlling diabetes. With type 2 diabetes, controlling blood sugar is difficult because your body is resistant to insulin. Insulin resistance keeps your body's cells from being able to use and store sugar from your diet. But by watching what and how much you eat and when, you can effectively control your blood sugar and manage diabetes.
How important is the right diet for controlling blood sugar in diabetes? A recent study published in the journal The Lancet compared newly diagnosed people with type 2 diabetes assigned to a standard diabetes diet to newly diagnosed people assigned to an “intensive” diet. The intensive diet group had monthly nurse support and teaching. After six months, the intensive diet group had improved their blood sugar control, while the standard group’s control had actually gotten worse.
Controlling Blood Sugar With Diet: The Basics
"The first thing you need to do is sit down with your doctor or a dietitian to find the right number of calories for your individual diet," says Shannon Knapp, RN, CDE, a certified diabetes educator at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. The number of calories you need will partly depend on your actual body weight compared to your ideal body weight.
Here are healthy-diet tips that Knapp uses to help people with diabetes manage and monitor their blood sugar better:
Eat three meals a day spaced about four to five hours apart. "And try to eat at about the same time every day," Knapp says.
Don't skip meals.
Avoid “drinking” sugar. "Sugar-added drinks deplete your allowable calories without adding nutrients to your diet," Knapp explains.
Watch your portions. "Try the Idaho Plate Method for portion control. You fill your plate with one-half non-starchy vegetables, one-fourth starch, and one-fourth protein,” Knapp says “And you can add a small serving of fruit and dairy."
Coordinating your medications with your meal time is also important for controlling blood sugar, but talk to your doctor first. "Some medications are taken before meals, some after meals, and some don't matter, so timing meals and medications is important but different for everybody," Knapp says.
Use a smartphone. "There are lots of apps for smartphones that can help people count calories and carbs,” Knapp says. If you have a smartphone, ask your doctor or diabetes educator to recommend some healthy-diet apps for you..
The Best Foods for Controlling Blood Sugar
The Idaho Plate Method is based on a nine-inch plate filled one-inch high. It’s designed to give you about 1,400 calories a day and 45 grams of carbohydrates per meal. Work with a dietitian or diabetes educator to design meals that fit your needs. Get started with these tips:
Avoid simple carbohydrates such as candy, honey, and syrup. These carbs make controlling blood sugar harder.
Eat a variety of foods from all of the different food groups.
Make sure less than 30 percent of your calories come from fats.
When filling half your plate with vegetables, pick colorful vegetables like lettuce, peppers, beets, tomatoes, and green beans.
When filling one-fourth of your plate with protein, choose lean meats, poultry, fish, and tofu.
When filling one-fourth of your plate with starch, go for high-fiber choices like whole grains, beans, or lentils.
For snacks or dessert, good choices include a small piece of fruit, a cup of milk, six ounces of yogurt, or a half cup of sugar-free pudding.
Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are called complex carbohydrates. They’re better for a diabetes diet because they have lots of fiber. That means they’re digested more slowly, control your hunger, and are less likely to cause high or low blood sugar swings.
Finally, carefully monitor your blood sugar and let your doctor know if you’re having trouble. Monitoring your blood sugar may need to be done more often when you’re sick or you've changed your diet. Working closely with your doctor and other diabetes health care providers can help you learn more healthy-diet basics. Before you know it, you’ll be well on your way to reaching and maintaining a healthy weight, controlling your blood sugar, and managing diabetes successfully.
The Benefits of a Brown-Bag Lunch
Packing your own lunch gives you more control over calories than hitting the local deli. Get tips on how to pack a tasty and satisfying brown bag lunch.
If you think brown-bag lunches are just a memory from school days, along with your backpack and Mom’s cookies, think again — a new twist on the old brown bag lunch could be your ticket to diet success during the work day.
Brown Bag Lunch: Calorie-Counting Control
“Making a brown bag lunch is helpful because you can control what you put in it,” says Donna L. Weihofen, RD, MS, a nutritionist at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison.
Not only do you control the calories in your brown bag, but you also are able to control the portion sizes. Portion distortion — a general inability to judge correct portions of food that you don’t prepare yourself — is a significant contributor to diet failure and weight gain.
Keep track of what you eat with My Calorie Counter.
Researchers in Minnesota created an interesting study to test this idea. They recruited 19 women who agreed to eat a prepackaged boxed lunch each day at work for two months. The women were given either a small lunch of 767 calories or a large lunch of 1,528 calories (double the size) and were told to eat as much or as little as they wanted. Data analysis at the end of the study showed that the women who had the larger lunch ate 278 calories more each day. The results indicate that ongoing exposure to larger portion sizes causes people to unknowingly eat more, an effect that has been demonstrated in other studies as well. As expected, the women who ate the large lunches also gained weight, about two pounds over the course of those two months.
Brown Bag Lunch: What to Pack
If you are used to eating out, you may face a learning curve as you experiment with brown bag options. As a general rule, you want to follow your calorie-counting guidelines and create a meal that will be filling. This requires the right mix of fiber, protein, fruits, and vegetables. For example, pack a chicken sandwich on multigrain bread with a small salad (with light or no dressing) and a piece of fruit or low-calorie yogurt.
Learn about the benefits of going organic.
Here are some ideas for healthy and filling brown bag lunches that will also save you money:
Wrap up your leftovers. Try a slight modification to make last night’s dinner a fresh experience. For example, stuff leftover chili in a pita with some veggies and avocado slices for a new taste.
Microwave a frozen meal. There’s a frozen lunch entrée to meet every diet and every budget. “A lot of these new microwave dinners are really, really nice and they are very controlled in calories. I think the industry has done a lot of good things in producing those products,” says Weihofen, adding that you can find some very tasty bargains in the frozen food section.
Pack a soup. Soup is filling and generally low in calories. In fact, if you eat soup before digging into your main lunch course, studies show you’re likely to eat 20 percent fewer calories.
Focus on cost-saving foods. In general, packing a brown-bag lunch will save you money compared to eating out every day. If you are stretching your pennies, Weihofen recommends using beans, eggs, potatoes, and leftovers from whole chicken meals (rotisserie or baked at home) for truly low-calorie and budget-friendly meals.
Brown-bag snacks as well. Create your own 100-calorie snacks to get you through the day. Making these yourself might require a food scale for careful measuring, but you’ll save a small fortune over prepackaged 100-calorie snacks and be more eco-friendly.
There are times when brown-bagging it won’t be possible because of your schedule or your worksite. In those instances, Weihofen recommends doing a little advance research to find healthy eating options nearby. By making smart choices when eating out, and with some creativity at home, you can enjoy tasty low-calorie lunch creations that suit your waist and your wallet.
Cure sinus infections naturally using these herbs
Thursday, January 22, 2015 by: Julie Wilson
This time of year, nearly everyone is suffering from some type of sinus irritation, whether it be a respiratory infection, head cold or agitated allergies caused by wintertime allergens (most likely cedar if you're living in central Texas). If you're like me, you avoid over-the-counter allergy pills like a plague. For one, they don't always work, and secondly, they're usually accompanied by a range of side effects including drowsiness, headache, dry mouth and nervousness.
Allergy medicines like Claritin tend to make you not feel like yourself, which for most, is reason enough to seek an alternative. Incorporating natural herbs into your battle against wintertime head colds and sinus infections can be an invaluable tool.
Fusing natural herbs with hot tea is one of the best remedies for getting relief fast. The hot steam helps open your nasal cavity, allowing it to absorb the herb's natural benefits.
Overexposure to toxins, seasonal allergens and bacteria all contribute to excess mucus, an unsightly and uncomfortable symptom that most want to eliminate as soon as possible. This symptom also puts added stress on the body, particularly the respiratory and central nervous system, as well as the immune system, forcing them to work harder to keep you in good health.
By detoxing the nasal and bronchial passages, removing them of bacterial, viral and microbial invaders, you can eliminate excess mucus and start the healing process.
Below are some natural herbs that can help you start feeling better soon.
Goldenseal/Echinacea: Goldenseal is one of the most popular herbal products in the U.S. and is often accompanied by Echinacea when used for treating upper respiratory infections. Most commonly found in the rich woods of the Ohio River Valley, goldenseal is a perennial herb derived by a single, green-white flower that has no petals. It was used by the Native Americans as an insect repellant, a diuretic, a stimulant and a wash for sore and inflamed eyes. Its ability to suppress mucus makes it a popular antidote for treating colds.
Also used by Native Americans, Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. It's available over the counter as a tea, liquid extract and dried herb, or in a capsule, and is known for boosting the immune system. Echinacea's antimicrobial properties both help treat and prevent colds. A study conducted by scientists with the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy found that Echinacea reduces a person's chance of catching a cold by 58 percent.
Thyme: Used as an oil or in its dried form, thyme helps reduce coughing by clearing your lungs out fast. A member of the mint family, thyme is known for its antibacterial properties and is packed with vitamin C and vitamin A. The herb works best in tea and can be made by brewing 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme into a cup of boiling-hot water.
Oregano: A member of the mint family, oregano's antibacterial and antiviral properties make it great for treating sore throats, congestion and fatigue caused by the common cold.
Lavender: This lovely-scented herb is perfect for combating coughs and colds, and can relieve headaches and exhaustion. Try adding a few drops of lavender essential oil to your vaporizer, or even rub directly on the chest, neck or back.
Marshmallow: Derived from an African plant with short roundish leaves and small pale flowers, marshmallow was used by the Egyptians. The leaves and roots of this herb have antitussive, mucilaginous and antibacterial properties, making it beneficial for soothing inflamed membranes in the mouth and throat when ingested. Antitussive properties help reduce coughing and prevent further irritation.
In addition to sore throats, marshmallow can help treat gastrointestinal mucosa, indigestion, heartburn and stomach ulcers. You can make a great marshmallow tea by using 2 to 5 teaspoons of either powdered root or dried leaves and boiling them in about 5 ounces of water.
Avocados can reduce the risk of heart disease, study finds
Thursday, January 22, 2015 by: Michael Ravensthorpe
It's not difficult to find research exposing the many health benefits of avocados. Studies show that these pear-shaped fruits, which are native to Mexico and Central America, are packed with essential nutrients that can aid weight loss, boost vision and guard us from cancer. Moreover, avocados are rich in antiestrogenic sterols, such as beta-sisterol, that can increase testosterone levels in men and progesterone levels in women.
However, a new study published in the January 2015 edition of the Journal of the American Heart Association has given us another reason to add more avocados to our diets: These delicious fruits can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in overweight and obese adults.
Significant results
For the study, which aimed to monitor the effects of avocado consumption on cardiovascular disease risk factors, the researchers fed 45 overweight or obese participants either a lower fat diet, a moderate fat diet or an avocado diet over a 5-week period. The avocado diet included one fresh Hass avocado per day, while the moderate fat diet included high oleic acid oils to match the monounsaturated fatty acid content of one avocado. The participants' cholesterol levels were monitored throughout the study period.
The results showed that the reduction in harmful low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was greatest in the participants who followed the avocado diet and lowest in the participants who followed the lower fat diet. Additionally, only the avocado diet significantly decreased LDL particle (LDL-P) number, small dense LDL cholesterol and the ratio of LDL cholesterol to HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) from baseline.
"Inclusion of one avocado per day as part of a moderate-fat, cholesterol-lowering diet has additional LDL-C, LDL-P, and non-HDL-C lowering effects," concluded the study authors. "Our results demonstrate that avocados have beneficial effects on cardio-metabolic risk factors that extend beyond their heart-healthy fatty acid profile."
The dangers of elevated LDL cholesterol
The researchers' results are significant, since LDL cholesterol is known to accumulate in the walls of blood vessels and increase our risk of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), which, in turn, increases our risk of a heart attack. Additionally, elevated LDL levels cause our white blood cells to try and digest the cholesterol in an attempt to protect our blood vessels. As more white blood cells migrate to the area, inflammation to the artery wall increases, placing further strain on our cardiovascular system.
Heart disease remains the most common cause of death in the world, and it is especially common among men living in the Western world. For this reason, it's important that we add more whole foods to our diets, such as avocados, that are scientifically proven to reduce our risk of this ever-growing medical conditio
Diesel exhaust can mutate your genes, study finds
Thursday, January 22, 2015 by: Jennifer Lilley
Researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Vancouver Coastal Health have discovered that not only can exposure to diesel exhaust give asthmatics headaches and itchy eyes, but -- more poignant to their study -- it can alter genes on a micro level. After just two hours of exposure to diesel exhaust fumes, study participants exhibited changes in their genes linked to oxidative stress and inflammation.(1)
"Usually when we look at the effects of air pollution, we measure things that are clinically obvious -- air flow, blood pressure, heart rhythm," said Christopher Carlsten, a UBC respirologist and associate professor in the division of respiratory medicine. "But asthma, higher blood pressure or arrhythmia might just be the gradual accumulation of (gene) changes. So we've revealed a window into how these long-term problems arise. We're looking at changes deep under the hood."(1)
For the small study, 16 asthmatic volunteers were put in a polycarbonate-enclosed booth, breathing in diluted and aged exhaust fumes that were similar to air quality found at a busy British Columbia port or Beijing highway. Before and after blood samples were taken to allow the researchers to determine how exposure to these fumes impacted methylation, the carbon-hydrogen coating that attaches to parts of DNA. They found that inhalation of diesel exhaust fumes led to methylation changes at approximately 2,800 points on DNA which affected about 400 genes.(1,2)
Changes in diet, environment may reverse health problems caused by environmental pollution
While Carlsten, who is the senior author of the study, notes that the two hours it took for changes to take place may sound alarming to many people, the fact remains that it could prove to be beneficial. "Any time you can show something happens that quickly, it means you can probably reverse it -- either through a therapy, a change in environment, or even diet," he said.(2)
The study primarily serves to reinforce that environmental pollution can indeed produce detrimental changes in health and that steps should be taken, both long- and short-term, to address its impact.
Titled, "Short-term diesel exhaust inhalation in a controlled human crossover study is associated with changes in DNA methylation of circulating mononuclear cells in asthmatics," the study was published in the journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology. It states:
Short-term exposure to diesel exhaust resulted in DNA methylation changes at CpG sites residing in genes involved in inflammation and oxidative stress response, repetitive elements, and microRNA. This provides plausibility for the role of DNA methylation in pathways by which airborne particulate matter impacts gene expression and offers support for including DNA methylation analysis in future efforts to understand the interactions between environmental exposures and biological systems.(3)
A look at environmental pollution in other parts of the world
Interest in environmental pollution and its impact on health is important, its severity heavily researched.
Consider that in China, for example, sulfur levels of diesel are at least 23 times those of the United States.(4)
In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is continually engaging in efforts to reduce harmful emissions, including the requiring Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) to be used as highway diesel fuel by those who have engines with advanced emission control devices. As such, it's thought that hazardous emissions from such engines could decrease by over 90 percent.(5)
As for Canada, the Health Canada website notes, "Diesel engines are a major source of particle pollution: they create up to 100 times more particles than gasoline-powered engines" and that their ultra-fine particles "are able to penetrate the lung and walls of blood vessels to enter the bloodstream and affect other systems within the body, such as the cardiovascular system."(6)
As with many situations, the impact on health is often cumulative and may develop over the course of many years. This shows that taking measures to ensure better air quality sooner rather than later is critical.
One cup of blueberries per day helps relieve high blood pressure and hardened arteries
Friday, January 23, 2015 by: Julie Wilson
With ancient ties to North America, its no wonder that blueberries are one of America's favorite foods. Called "star berries" by the Native Americans for their five-point star shape, blueberries were an abundant resource, acting as a food and a medicine. The berries were dried to create a type of jerky that could be taken on long trips, similar to today's version of fruit leather. Natives also made dye from blueberry juice, using it to paint textiles and baskets.
Native to the region, blueberries were quickly adopted by the early settlers, who relied upon them when food was scarce. Learning from the Native Americans, early colonists made gray paint out of blueberries by boiling them in milk, using it to paint their homes.
Today, blueberries are still an integral part of our diet, playing an equally important role. Blueberries offer a variety of health benefits, including improving memory, protecting the heart, assisting with digestion and reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Consuming them regularly keeps your brain sharp, and they even help shield us from the effects of toxic heavy metals.
Blueberries help widen blood vessels by 68 percent, study finds
The results of a new study reveal that blueberries may be the key in reducing high blood pressure and arterial stiffness, both of which are linked to cardiovascular disease, according to Newswire.
"Our findings suggest that regular consumption of blueberries could potentially delay the progression of prehypertension to hypertension, therefore reducing cardiovascular disease risk," said Sarah A. Johnson, assistant director of the Center for Advancing Exercise and Nutrition Research on Aging.
Published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the paper is called "Daily blueberry consumption improves blood pressure and arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women with pre- and stage 1-hypertension."
Johnson says she was interested in examining how functional foods, like blueberries, prevent and reverse negative health outcomes, particularly in postmenopausal women.
"Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States"
"Once women go through menopause, this puts them at an even greater risk for it. Our findings suggest that the addition of a single food, blueberries, to the diet may mitigate the negative cardiovascular effects that often occur as a result of menopause," explained Johnson.
To test this theory, her team gave 48 postmenopausal women with pre- and stage-1 hypertension either 22 grams of freeze-dried blueberry powder (equivalent to one cup of fresh blueberries) or 22 grams of placebo powder for a period of eight weeks.
Before the study began, participant's blood pressure was taken, and their arterial stiffness measured, as well as select blood biomarkers.
According to the results, participants in the blueberry-treated group had a decrease in systolic blood pressure, or the top number in blood pressure readings that measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats.
Diastolic blood pressure, or the bottom number measuring the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats, decreased by 6.3 percent. Additionally, the blueberry-treated group had an average reduction of 6.5 percent in arterial stiffness.
Also, nitric oxide, a blood biomarker known to be involved in the process of widening arteries, increased by more than 68 percent, an important revelation considering that arterial stiffness and the narrowing of blood vessels are both a part of hypertension, according to Johnson.
Previous studies on blueberries that showed positive effects on heart risk factors, including blood pressure, used a much higher dose of blueberries (equivalent to 11 cups of fresh berries) to reach their results.
Future studies will likely consider lower, more realistic dosages to test blueberries' positive health effects.
Nutritional education can help breast cancer patients prevent recurrences
Friday, January 23, 2015 by: Jennifer Lilley
It's been said that knowledge is power.
For many breast cancer patients in Brazil, such words ring true, as researchers discovered that providing them with nutritional information may play a role in preventing a recurrence of the disease. In Brazil, where the five-year survival rate is only 58.4 percent, the finding is considered an especially important way of raising health awareness and, ultimately, helping to keep the cancer at bay.(1)
To conduct the study, over the course of one year, researchers from the Federal University of Santa Catarina provided an intervention group with ongoing nutritional education which included phone calls from the researchers, who provided healthy recommendations. This group also received a monthly bulletin about nutrition and was asked to record their food consumption on a calendar. A control group, which did not receive the nutritional education, was also included.(1)
On the other hand, the control group was intentionally not provided with these opportunities, and the differences between the two groups make the case that proper nutrition and prevention of breast cancer recurrence may be linked.
Essential: healthy weight, less red and processed meat
It was found that the intervention group ate 50 percent less red and processed meat than the control group, and instead, more fruits and vegetables. The control group also doubled their body weight compared to their healthier-eating fruit and veggie counterparts. Both red meat consumption and weight gain (which is typically associated with eating a great deal of red and processed meats in the first place) have been shown to play a role in having detrimental health effects, especially pertaining to cancers.(1)
Consumption of red and processed meats have been strongly associated with thwarting cancer patients' ability to heal during treatment, while making healthier dietary choices may lessen its effects and even diminish the onset of a recurrence. In fact, in one study that examined over 35,000 women over an eight-year period, it was found that those who ate two or more ounces of meat daily were 56 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than those who did not.(2)
Concerning the relationship between being overweight and developing cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute, the odds are not in favor of those with extra pounds. The Institute notes, "Compared with people of normal weight, those who are overweight or obese are at greater risk for many diseases, including diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and certain cancers." It's explained that, although factors such as race and ethnicity can create variations in this association, what happens is that, when one is overweight or obese, their fat tissues produce excess amounts of estrogen. High levels of estrogen have been said to lead to a "more rapid growth of estrogen-responsive breast tumors."(3)
Considering statistics, nutritional education is key to helping reduce breast cancer recurrences
Of the Brazil study, lead author Cecilia C. Schiavon, MsC, said that it "provides evidence that women undergoing breast cancer treatment might benefit from immediate, individualized and detailed nutrition monitoring."(1)
Titled, "Nutrition Education Intervention for Women With Breast Cancer: Effect on Nutritional Factors and Oxidative Stress," the study was published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. It states that its objective was "To assess the effect of a nutrition education intervention on nutritional factors and oxidative stress during treatment of breast cancer." The study concludes that such education is "clinically relevant" and maintains that dietary improvements which are supported by ongoing interventions are beneficial for those hoping to prevent a breast cancer recurrence.(4)
The National Cancer Institute estimates that, just in 2014 alone, over 230,000 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in the United States. In Canada, breast cancer is considered the most common cancer of Canadian women and is the second leading cause of death among that country's gender.
You resolved to stop smoking cigarettes for 2015 - Now stick to your guns!
Friday, January 23, 2015 by: S. D. Wells
No time to waste here. Buy at least three of the top seven superfoods(see below article). Buy spring water. Buy organic chocolate. The "New Year" has begun, according to that popular calendar, and anybody who promised themselves to quit smoking really, really wants to quit, like you. So you step up to the plate and you're ready to hit a home run. Willpower is your aluminum bat. A specific natural remedy is your perfect pitch. Your simple, methodical actions now will dictate if that ball goes "over the fence" when you swing your bat. Today is the first day of the rest of your life... as a non-smoker.
Enter nutrition. Exit cigarettes. People think that it's too complicated to eat healthy, but the reward is phenomenal. You see these people at the gym, going to yoga camps or running down your neighborhood block, religiously, staying in shape. They have flat stomachs and they seem very methodical about their business and pleasure. They have rituals. It's not thanks to good genes. It's thanks to creating an environment without toxins, in their bodies and all around them. They have their work-out clothes and their iPods. They have their smoothie shakes and their protein powders. They're not smokers.
So what can you do about it? What simple method is out there to filter hundreds of toxins from your daily intake? Where do you start, because it's NOT too much to think about -- being healthy and loving it.
Raw organic fruits, vegetables and natural supplements
Step one begins now. Stop eating garbage food. Don't finish what you have in your refrigerator and don't consume what's in your pantry. Consider it all a waste of money and move on. Positive thinking defies gravity, but regret weighs a ton. Step two: Buy enough organic fruits and vegetables to last you three days. This includes salads, snacks, smoothies, meals and, of course, desserts. Also, buy some spring water, enough for three days and nights. This is key. Time to flush your toxins down the toilet, literally.
Step three: Find maca powder, vitamin D and organic mineral complex. Look for the words "certified organic" on the vitamins and minerals. Start finding pictures and recipes for your organic fruits and vegetables immediately. This is not complicated. This is simple. This is more important than anything else you do right now. You are QUITTING smoking. If anyone has anything negative to say, or makes a mockery of your actions, they are your enemies and should be ignored to the fullest extent. Your quality of life and longevity depend on it. If people have positive things to say about your actions -- what you eat and drink and the natural supplements you consume regularly, then soak up their compliments about the NEW YOU, and keep moving forward at the speed of light. Your life will change drastically as the 7,000 chemicals leave you body and never re-enter. Your work, love life, personal goals and aspirations all come to life like never before.
Superfoods end the smoking habit
Saturday, November 23, 2013 by: S. D. Wells
How great would your New Year be if you quit smoking? Did you know that most cessation programs are just gimmicks to get you to switch to another addiction? Imagine trying to quit a chemical addiction (nicotine, ammonia and bleach) while eating food that is nutrient deficient (GMO and processed) and/or taking medication that is cooked in a laboratory and doesn't heal you (symptom cosmetics). Imagine 46 million smokers just in the United States and half of them WANT to quit but don't have any idea how. Now consider that each of those 23,000,000 human beings has the WILL to quit, but no road map and no real solution. Sometimes in life the solution to a problem is staring us right in the face, but we overlook it. Why is that?
Do you have recurring headaches? Do you feel lethargic daily, except right after you smoke a cigarette? Do you have problems sleeping through the night or having regular bowel movements? Don't answer those questions, just consider this. The chemicals in cigarettes cause depression, anxiety, constipation, sleeplessness, and they breed sickness, breaking down your immune system. Also, nicotine boosts dopamine, and that is the relief for the chemical hangover, but there is a substitute for this, and it's all natural. Do you know what it is? A natural herb/bean called mucuna can replace the cravings that smokers have, especially during the first two weeks of quitting (reducing number of cigarettes), thus weaning the habitual pack-a-day smokers (or more) off of commercial-grade, ammonia-laden nicotine. Tobacco in the leading brands is so juiced up with ammonia that this vapor-ready nicotine can carry 100 milligrams of nicotine potency in ONE cigarette. Add up a pack a day and that's over 2,000 milligrams in 24 hours. What about two or three packs a day? This is artificial control over your emotions, your motivation and your central nervous system.
Supplements and Superfoods are the yellow brick road to the "castle" of good health. Can you follow a path that's already paved? You don't need a compass or a flashlight, and you don't need GPS. You just need common sense and nutritional guidance. The map is "mapped" and the wheel has already been invented here. Roll forward with your new healthy life and end the cigarette addiction once and for all. Let nutrition be your path to freedom for 2014 and beyond.
TOP 7 SUPERFOODS
Here are the TOP 7 SUPERFOODS for quitting smoking and some handy resources for each. Take the time to do a little research, and your problems may be solved:
1. Mucuna: The L-dopa content of the unprocessed Mucuna bean powder is so powerful that doctors are also using it to help Parkinson's patients restore mental clarity, and as a mood elevator! Mucuna helps with:
-Regeneration of organs (heart, kidneys, liver, lungs)
-Dramatically strengthens immune system
-Improved sleep
-Reduced body fat and cellulite
-Improved skin appearance
-Increased mood and sense of well-being
-Increased bone density (very necessary after toxin overload from cigarettes)
2. Chlorella:
3. Spirulina:
4. Cacao raw chocolate: fights depression and is a great mood enhancer!
5. Goji berry and acai berry: Acai berry has been cherished by the Amazonian people for centuries. This unique berry has an extraordinary amount of antioxidants that protect the tissues and cells of the body, plus acai contains phytonutrients that make it one of the most well publicized superfoods among health enthusiasts.
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6. Kale and Maca: Maca is the ancient superfood of the Incas. Grown in the high Andes mountains in Peru, Maca is packed with vitamins, minerals, proteins, tannins, complex alkaloids and other phytochemicals. Alkalize the body and load up on natural, raw nutrients! Kale is the hidden superfood of planet Earth! Check out these great resources:
7. Blueberries: Blueberries have the highest antioxidant capacity, making them highly protective for the cardiovascular system. They contain pterostilbene, which lowers cholesterol, and anthocyanins, which improve vision and brain function and guard against macular degeneration.
Bring in the New Year as a non-smoker and never look back. Load up on superfoods and get super healthy. Natural News wishes you the best of luck!
Top 5 psychological obstacles to weight loss, according to people in the trenches
Friday, January 23, 2015 by: Mike Bundrant
What's the number one most difficult obstacle to losing weight?
The hardest part - the real kicker - is sticking to your plan, right?
It's the patience, perseverance and self-discipline. It's the wanting and the commitment to losing weight and becoming as healthy as you know you can be. For most people, losing the proper amount of weight will take weeks, months or even years.
What prevents that all-systems-go desire and discipline to get fit and healthy?
1. Fear of being thin
Some group members have reported that as they begin to lose weight, they become afraid. What will happen? How will people react to me? Do I want all the attention?
This is a common experience. To resolve it, we need to acknowledge and express the fear. Then, we must adapt. If being fit and slender is scary for you, then you need to develop the skills to manage situations as they arise. This can only be done by addressing the fear.
2. Emotional bondage to friends and family
Interestingly, some of us feel bonded to our heavy weight because of ties to family and friends. One group member summed it up this way:
In my life, every time I have lost weight, my mother distances herself from me. When I am overweight like her, she accepts me. She's obviously not comfortable with me when I am healthy, due to her own issues. But my conflict is that if I lose weight, I lose my relationship with my mother.
This is powerful. Relationships often have to be reset when one person changes. This must be done with thoughtfulness and care.
3. Self-sabotage
There an infinite ways we can sabotage ourselves. If you've had a hard time losing weight due to lack of discipline, then self-sabotage is surely in the mix.
Self-sabotage occurs when you do the opposite of what makes you happy and healthy. It may be the universal human weakness, as millions of people are unhappy and unhealthy, even though they have other options.
The hardest part of about self-sabotage is recognizing it. Watch this free and enlightening video to learn what how self-sabotage works and how to end it.
4. "Ah, Screw It!"
Big one here. Nearly every member of the AHA group has this tendency. We say screw it to our health and fitness. It's like we have an inner rebel that just wants to defy expectations and break the rules.
When we give ourselves a structured plan, the Rebel can only take so much before launching a massive inner protest.
This inner Rebel is powerful and must be reckoned with. Interestingly, most people are only vulnerable to the Rebel at certain points during the day.
5. Anticipated failure
Futility. A sense of despair and futility can be a powerful self-fulfilling prophecy. Those with this issue report that even as they set their weight loss goals, they "know" it is all pointless. They have failed time and time again.
Why would this time be any different?
Because this time they are dealing with their inner futility. They are confronting it, learning about it and developing skills and support to move beyond
Anyone suffering from poor health needs to do these three things
Thursday, January 22, 2015 by: Michael Edwards
In every case I've ever seen where unhealthy people with disease riddled bodies later became vibrantly healthy, they all had to do three things:
They all had to completely get off of all drugs, including marijuana, caffeine, alcohol, any and all prescription drugs, and over the counter medications.
They had to fix their gut.
They had to totally change their diet, eliminating processed foods and eating lots of produce for the rest of their lives.
Eliminate drugs
You cannot be healthy while you put toxins into your body. It just doesn't work. This includes vaccines.
Injecting, inhaling, or ingesting chemicals and toxins into the body does not bring about health.
Every time you damage your body's DNA, you age. Chemicals made in laboratories damage the body's DNA. To a point, you can detoxify and undo most of the damage done by these substances. You can even reverse damage done to DNA. But at some level, every time you damage your body with chemicals, there is some permanency.
Don't smoke anything. Smoking introduces too many carcinogens. Smoking always adds toxins to the blood, making the blood thick and putting stress on the liver, kidneys, thyroid, adrenals, eyes, and reproductive organs.
Stimulants cause a reaction similar to an allergic reaction. This puts unneeded stress on the thyroid, the adrenals, and kidneys.
Alcohol acidifies the body, stresses the liver, and promotes Candida growth.
I'm not telling everyone that they should get off of all drugs. I am saying that you cannot ever truly be healthy while regularly using drugs.
Fix your gut
Every single person I've known who was sick had too much Candida overtaking their sick gut and wrecking havoc on their whole body. Gut health is the source of most and often all of the health issues people suffer from today.
Most people can repair their gut with proper diet and time, but detoxification protocol and supplements can speed up the process and are required for some people with severely damaged intestines. Look for a strong probiotic and a parasite killer.
Eat and drink right
If your gut is in poor health, you have to give up wheat to get well. Anyone with Candida overgrowth cannot properly digest wheat. Wheat and soy are almost always produced in ways that cause health problems when they are consumed. Soy and corn in packaged products are almost always GMO. Genetically Modified Organisms destroy gut health.
You also have to give up refined sugars and processed, packaged foods. Replace them with salads, lots of produce, and homecooked whole foods. Eat raw organic crushed garlic, turmeric, and black pepper with your food.
Eat lots of vegetables. Eat a wide variety of raw organic vegetables. Here are some of the benefits
of raw organic vegetables:
More enzymes
Feeds and promotes a healthy digestive ecosystem
Better digestion and assimilation of all nutrition
Strong, clean, light, and vibrant blood
Strong, very efficient immune system
Many of these benefits also come with eating fruit, but for anyone who is sick, fruit should be limited as the sugars do feed infection including Candida, bacteria, parasites, and yeast. Certain fruits are great for certain health issues, and fruits should not at all be avoided. They just need to be limited until the gut flora is working for you and not against you.
Cooked foods have some benefits as well, but the importance of enzymes is often overlooked. So eat raw every day.
Drink clean, chemical free water. I highly recommend this cranberry lemonade recipe to help flush toxins and keep the body healthy.
Conclusion
Some people need supplements and a very strict diet to get health results, but a fair majority can heal the body and be entirely ailment free with proper dietary habits and giving up toxic junk. Check out Kill Candida and Balance Your Ecosystem for more on gut health.
Four ways to easily tell what your poop says about your health
Friday, January 23, 2015 by: Derek Henry
It's not something discussed in most social circles, but one of the most important topics when it comes down to you being able to evaluate your health, is your poop. The frequency, form, fumes, and color are all you need to evaluate your stool and to be able to make a reasonable assessment of how different areas of your body are functioning.
So, if you are ready to get down and dirty with your bowel movements, be sure to use this handy guide to measure your results.
Frequency
There is no doubt that consistently moving your bowels is important, and anyone who has been constipated would certainly agree that infrequent bowel movements are, well, a pain in the ass. However, those who tend to go multiple times a day may say that sometimes "more" is not better. In the end, the answer lies somewhere in between, with some pertinent details.
The gold standard would be to have 2-3 complete and fully formed bowel movements a day. This means, you feel like your bowels have completely emptied each time, and your feces are a type 3 or 4 (see more on form below). This is very difficult for most people to achieve, as their diet and inner ecology need to be nearly impeccable for this to occur.
The generally approved standard would be 1 complete and fully formed bowel movement a day. This would indicate that your diet and digestive system are in good working order. Anything less than this would indicate some level of constipation, which will eventually cause many chronic health conditions.
It is also important to note that going 4 or more times a day is NOT typically healthy, as it often indicates an overactive digestive system that is constantly attempting to rid itself of toxins. The only time this may be considered "normal" is when a detoxification or cleansing protocol is in effect.
Form
To get the proper form, our digestive systems need to be efficiently breaking down and assimilating nutrients, and waste needs to be passing through our system in a reasonable time frame (too short of a time frame and you have diarrhea; too long and you become constipated). There are 7 types of bowel movements, and they can be described as follows:
Type 1: Separate hard lumps, like nuts (hard to pass).
Type 2: Sausage shaped, but lumpy.
Type 3: Like a sausage, but cracks on the surface.
Type 4: Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft.
Type 5: Soft blobs with clear-cut edges (easy to pass).
Type 6: Fluffy pieces with ragged edges (mushy).
Type 7: Watery, no solid pieces.
You should consistently be achieving type 3 (good) or 4 (ideal). Anything else that is routinely passed (2-3 times a week or more), is indicative of digestive disturbances.
Fumes
If your stool has an extraordinarily bad odor, you should not ignore it. This could be an indication of a number of digestive problems such as Candida, celiac, and Crohn's, as well as other digestive support system problems such as pancreatitis and liver disease.
The bottom line is that stool will have a smell, but if it nauseates you or others, it's a problem.
Color
The color of your poop, believe it or not, matters. An optimal stool is a nice medium to dark brown color, like what you might see in milk chocolate. If it is black, it could be a sign of blood in your upper GI tract. If it is yellow or green, it could be a result of fat malabsorption or liver or gall bladder stress.
Certain foods can also change the color of your stool, such as dark greens and beets, and this is typically not a concern.
Other considerations
There are debates as to whether floaters or sinkers are best, but the overall consensus seems to be that sinkers are better. You will also want to note any undigested food particles in your poop, which is a sign of incomplete digestion.
One other thing you may want to note is excessive mucus in your stools. This is another sign of digestive problems, possibly related to an IBS, Candida, and/or a parasite infection.
In the end, your poop says a lot about your health and more specifically, your digestion. For a handy chart on proper and poor-looking poop, along with some of the top ways to fix any problems.
How to Kill Candida and Balance Your Inner Ecosystem
September 5, 2014 by Michael Edwards
Most people ingest too many refined, processed foods. Even us health nuts have a tendency to do this. In this fast paced world, with the body biologically programmed to desire sweets and other easy carbohydrates that are so much harder to find in nature, it’s common and totally normal to have too much Candida in our body.
If you experience this problem, and again, most people do, here are some ways you can balance your gut flora. Balancing the flora will alleviate many health issues, even little annoying ones you thought you were stuck with for the rest of your life such as itchy ear canals, body odor, and eczema.
Garlic
Most people know that garlic is antifungal, antiparasitic, antibacterial, and antiviral. It also helps with a host of other issues including the removal of toxins in the body. If I could only choose one single item to work with when it comes to healing and treatment modalities, I would choose garlic. Unfortunately, many people don’t know exactly how to use it to reap the benefits.
First and foremost, don’t cook it. It loses all its Candida fighting properties when you do. Secondly, cut it up and give it a minute before ingesting it. Or, if you’ve got a strong stomach and an even stronger mouth, chew it up for a minute with your mouth open, breathing in and out. This is also an incredibly effective treatment for tooth and gum problems, and even bad breath; though swallowing it, of course, can lead to garlic breath for many, but garlic breath is a sign of a toxic body.
Don’t use garlic from China, even if it’s organic. One way to tell, is those smaller, bright white garlic bulbs are almost always grown in China. China’s soil is just too toxic.
Essential oils
Oil of oregano has antifungal, antibacterial, and antiparasitic properties as well. Oil of oregano is exceptionally powerful and can be taken in tablet form.
Some other essential oils that kill candida include lavender, thieves, tea tree, and peppermint, though I don’t recommend taking these oils internally. They are a good solution for Candida skin rashes, though they can be painful to use. In most cases, they will not harm the skin even though you will feel a burning sensation.
Oils
Coconut oil is known for its antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic properties, though it’s efficacy with Candida control is weak compared to other ingestible choices. Neem oil is an oil with similar antiparasitic properties, a bit stronger at parasitic control than coconut oil, but it should only be applied topically.
Other Candida Killers
Other notable items that are known to combat fungus include wormwood, black walnut hull, Spanish black radish, Pau d’Arco, goldenseal, coptis chinensis, ginger, cinnamon, and olive leaf extract. All of these are great to have around, and a few of them are exceptional at killing parasites, viruses, and bacterial infections (coptis chinensis, wormwood, black walnut hull, Spanish black radish) but while they are certainly antifungal, they’re not the strongest solution.
My favorite combination for eliminating excess yeast in my body is undecenoic acid (Thorne SF722) and very high quality probiotics. Combine this with Shillington’s intestinal cleanse and with big salads every day with lots of different vegetables, and you’ve got yourself a clean colon free of excess Candida in days, often in just one day. What I love about undecenoic acid and probiotics is that they don’t kill off good bacteria. They only eliminate Candida and other fungi. If I want to knock out parasites as well, I use Para-Shield, which has wormwood and black walnut hulls (and other good stuff that parasites hate).
Whatever approach you take with intestinal maintenance, a diet with a diverse selection of lots of raw vegetables is the most important thing you can do for your colon and your whole body.
4 Reasons Your Digestion Is Ruined and What You Can Do About It
September 24, 2014 by Derek Henry
Digestive issues could quite possibly be the biggest reason for many of the ailments people suffer from today. Processed foods, chemicals, GMO’s, prescriptions, and stress often initiate the issues, and once those things are cleaned up, many people still seem to suffer from improper digestion.
It turns out, there are four core reasons why your digestion is not working properly, and there are many things you can do about it.
Poor chewing
Digestion begins the minute food hits your mouth. As you chew, you mechanically break down your food and alkaline enzymes are secreted from the salivary and parotid glands, which begin to break down the food (like starches) chemically.
Most people chew their food between seven and fourteen times, where Westchester University of Pennsylvania suggests chewing your food thirty to fifty times per mouthful in order to mix the food with saliva properly for optimal digestion.
As a result of poor chewing habits, food is not broken down properly in the first stage of digestion, which makes it more difficult for the second stage to be properly performed.
Low stomach acid
Once you swallow, food is quickly moved through the esophagus and lands in the stomach, where it is stored, liquefied, and processed by acidic gastric juices. The stomach releases enzymes (pepsinogens) and hydrochloric acid to reduce proteins to medium sized fragments called polypeptides.
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Unfortunately, low stomach acid can cause a lot of pain like acid reflux, and many other digestive complaints. Extended periods of low chronic stress, processed foods, poor food combining, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, anti-acid use, Candida, and drinking cold water at meals can all create low stomach acid.
To increase stomach acid, try drinking an ounce of apple cider vinegar shortly before a meal, and eliminate all the culprits that lower it.
Impaired pancreatic function
Once the stomach breaks down the food, it passes into the small intestine where it is met with an intense secretion of digestive enzymes from the pancreas. These enzymes neutralize acids and break down fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.
Refined and sugary foods, excessive toxins, pasteurization, cooking, and excessive amounts of alcohol will overtax the pancreas, and it will not function properly. To increase your enzyme levels, choose raw, fresh produce and fermented foods like sauerkraut.
Improperly functioning liver
Another essential component to digestion is bile, which is produced by the cells of the liver. It performs two important functions.
First, bile helps to eliminate unfiltFirst, bile helpsoverloerable breakdown products from the blood before they are passed to the kidneys. Second, bile neutralizes stomach acid and helps ease the absorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins. If the liver is overloaded with toxins or has stored too much glucose, the canals on the gall bladder become compressed, which decreases bile flow and impairs digestion.
An overloaded and swollen liver reduces blood flow from the abdominal and pelvic regions, which can result in blood pooling, which can putrefy and cause all sorts of problems like hemorrhoids, bowel irritation, and more. Once the liver is unable to dilute toxins to keep the blood clean, the digestive system becomes exhausted.
To increase liver function, avoid processed foods, alcohol, and chemicals in all forms as much as possible. Consider liver healing foods and herbs like beets, cruciferous vegetables, garlic, turmeric, avocados, sauerkraut, kefir, milk thistle, artichoke leaf, dandelion leaf, and reishi.
To see if your liver is functioning properly, check out this article.
Know the Signs of Impaired Digestion
One easy way to know how your digestion is doing is by the frequency and form of your fecal matter. You should strive to have 1-3 complete and fully formed bowel movements in a day. Anything less that 1 a day indicates a malfunctioning digestive system, and anything more than 3 is a sign of problems as well.
What should you be looking for in your poop?edit by James Is Back(search for Bristol Stool Chart)
Type 4 is ideal, but type 3 is also fine. Anything other than those two, and you have a serious digestive disturbance. The only caveat is that if you are on a cleansing or detoxification protocol, you may experience other types and in that transitionary period it is a good sign of toxin removal occurring. However, if this goes on for a considerable amount of time, you may want to consult your medical professional to evaluate.
Signs of Liver Damage
February 7, 2013 by Derek Henry
Your health is directly connected to your liver. So if you see visible signs of liver damage, you have already created significant issues and need to take immediate action to start healing this highly important organ. Let’s see how your liver shapes up, and what you can do about it.
Understand your liver
The liver is your largest interior organ and is primarily responsible for keeping our bloodstream free of toxic poisons. If it was allowed to fully complete this mission, we could live forever! Not only is it a large filter, but it also plays a key role in digestion, the formation of blood, and defending our bodies against infection.
In fact, during digestion your liver secretes bile into our small intestine in order to lubricate our intestinal walls. This bile regulates our amount of friendly bacteria, destroys unwanted organisms, and stimulates peristaltic activity to help move fecal matter through and out of our body.
When the liver is weak or congested, it’s ability to neutralize toxic substances becomes hampered, and toxic bile becomes secreted which moves through your small intestine creating inflammation, and what is often known as ‘leaky gut’.
For these reasons, and several others, your liver health is paramount in achieving true health due to it’s connection to all these factors. It must be healed in order for your digestion, immune system, and over all well being to be at ideal levels.
Signs of liver damage
The difficulty with the liver is that it doesn’t ‘cry out in pain’. You can do serious damage to it and never experience symptoms you would connect or directly relate to a congested liver. However, there are many signs such as several deep lines or puffiness between the eyebrows, and being unable to tolerate the cold in winter. On the flip side, if your liver is overactive, you may also feel feverish and find summer months very uncomfortable.
Other symptoms and signs of liver damage include:
Anemia
Hemorrhoids
Dark urine
Small red ‘spots’ the size of a pinhead that come and go in various parts on the body
Skin problems such as eczema, acne, hives, itching, rashes. Skin may have dark pigmentation or spots on face, back of hands, forehead, or around the nose.
Jaundice (yellowing of skin)
Eye problems (sensitivity to light, moving spots, double vision)
Whites of eyes become yellow
Mineral deficiency
Hormonal imbalances in women creating malfunctions in conception and loss of sex drive
Hormonal imbalances in men which may produce feminine qualities
Loss of weight
Obesity
Sinus and tonsil issues
Alternating constipation and diarrhea
Headaches, dizziness, and shivering
Sensitivity to chemicals and smells
Loss of appetite
Eating disorders
Diabetes
Hepatitis
Cirrhosis
Since an impaired liver can not process toxins, even the brain and central nervous system are affected. This can cause depression, daydreaming, an inability to concentrate and remember things, and more severe things like mental outbursts.
How does liver damage occur?
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Since our liver is a large filter, everything we take must pass through it.
It stores all the remains of drugs, vaccines, birth control, and prescriptions we have taken throughout our entire lifetime.
Excessive alcohol consumption.
The fats from dairy and fried foods, as well as flour products, weaken the liver.
Improper food combining.
Filling your stomach past 80% full slows down your liver function so that it becomes inefficient.
Chronic and/or acute exposure to synthetic materials and chemicals
Lack of sleep and fatigue will also weaken the liver. This is a vicious cycle because as the liver weakens it becomes more difficult to sleep. If you find you are sleepy after eating, and/or feel wide awake at 1 or 2 am, you may have sustained liver damage. You may also tend to worry at that time or have negative thoughts.
It should also be noted to pregnant or nursing women that more and more newborns are having damaged livers as a result of mothers poor eating habits. The liver of the fetus intercepts everything the mother eats and changes it into something useful, or something that will clog its tiny new organ.
Healing the liver from inflicted damage
wellness
Simply stated, we need to stop overworking it by changing the way we eat if we want to heal our liver.
In addition to that, we must work on cleaning up the colon and encouraging the liver to heal through herbs (like milk thistle, artichoke leaf, dandelion leaf) and probiotics. Exercise is a daily must (walking, yoga, rebounding), as well as resting more (but not immediately after meals).
The emotion of anger is also connected to the liver so do not hold in your anger, or relive or feel any anger towards any situation. As you cleanse your liver, you may feel uncontrollably angry and irritated at everything.
Liver cleansing
liver-gallbladder-formula
The liver is one organ you want to gently cleanse, so going directly to a full scale liver cleanse may not be a good idea for proper healing. However, what is even more vital to start with is eating properly and starting to cleanse and detox your blood.
You need to rest your digestive tract by eating lightly, and making your meals small, vegetarian, and alkaline so that there is very little energy required for the act of digestion. If you happen to lose your appetite, drink lemon water and take vegetable broths with a sea vegetable base. It may also be a great time for juicing with green vegetables as the primary source.
Also, you need to avoid fats from animal foods and look to avoid them altogether. Stay away from vegetable oils and butter as they will slow down liver function. Eat lightly steamed and blended foods, and ones that are rich in chlorophyll (dark green in nature). Your last meal should always be a light one so your stomach is empty when you go to bed.
Also take a good probiotic producing beverage such as apple cider vinegar and coconut kefir. They are excellent liver cleansers and provide an optimal environment for digestion. If you do decide to start on some liver cleansing herbs, consider that your body needs to be fortified properly before your liver can do that effectively.
Following that, consider herbs like dandelion, artichoke leaf, milk thistle, and reishi. This liver and gallbladder tea, combined with this liver tonic, will give you a great start.
Disclaimer-The following information posted in this thread is not designed to cure any diseases and consult a doctor before following any advice here.
Controlling Blood Sugar at Meals
Controlling blood sugar starts with controlling your diet. To do so, you need to develop healthy eating and smart lifestyle habits.
By Chris Iliades, MD
Medically reviewed by Farrokh Sohrabi, MD
controlling blood sugar while eating
Controlling blood sugar is the key to controlling diabetes. With type 2 diabetes, controlling blood sugar is difficult because your body is resistant to insulin. Insulin resistance keeps your body's cells from being able to use and store sugar from your diet. But by watching what and how much you eat and when, you can effectively control your blood sugar and manage diabetes.
How important is the right diet for controlling blood sugar in diabetes? A recent study published in the journal The Lancet compared newly diagnosed people with type 2 diabetes assigned to a standard diabetes diet to newly diagnosed people assigned to an “intensive” diet. The intensive diet group had monthly nurse support and teaching. After six months, the intensive diet group had improved their blood sugar control, while the standard group’s control had actually gotten worse.
Controlling Blood Sugar With Diet: The Basics
"The first thing you need to do is sit down with your doctor or a dietitian to find the right number of calories for your individual diet," says Shannon Knapp, RN, CDE, a certified diabetes educator at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. The number of calories you need will partly depend on your actual body weight compared to your ideal body weight.
Here are healthy-diet tips that Knapp uses to help people with diabetes manage and monitor their blood sugar better:
Eat three meals a day spaced about four to five hours apart. "And try to eat at about the same time every day," Knapp says.
Don't skip meals.
Avoid “drinking” sugar. "Sugar-added drinks deplete your allowable calories without adding nutrients to your diet," Knapp explains.
Watch your portions. "Try the Idaho Plate Method for portion control. You fill your plate with one-half non-starchy vegetables, one-fourth starch, and one-fourth protein,” Knapp says “And you can add a small serving of fruit and dairy."
Coordinating your medications with your meal time is also important for controlling blood sugar, but talk to your doctor first. "Some medications are taken before meals, some after meals, and some don't matter, so timing meals and medications is important but different for everybody," Knapp says.
Use a smartphone. "There are lots of apps for smartphones that can help people count calories and carbs,” Knapp says. If you have a smartphone, ask your doctor or diabetes educator to recommend some healthy-diet apps for you..
The Best Foods for Controlling Blood Sugar
The Idaho Plate Method is based on a nine-inch plate filled one-inch high. It’s designed to give you about 1,400 calories a day and 45 grams of carbohydrates per meal. Work with a dietitian or diabetes educator to design meals that fit your needs. Get started with these tips:
Avoid simple carbohydrates such as candy, honey, and syrup. These carbs make controlling blood sugar harder.
Eat a variety of foods from all of the different food groups.
Make sure less than 30 percent of your calories come from fats.
When filling half your plate with vegetables, pick colorful vegetables like lettuce, peppers, beets, tomatoes, and green beans.
When filling one-fourth of your plate with protein, choose lean meats, poultry, fish, and tofu.
When filling one-fourth of your plate with starch, go for high-fiber choices like whole grains, beans, or lentils.
For snacks or dessert, good choices include a small piece of fruit, a cup of milk, six ounces of yogurt, or a half cup of sugar-free pudding.
Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are called complex carbohydrates. They’re better for a diabetes diet because they have lots of fiber. That means they’re digested more slowly, control your hunger, and are less likely to cause high or low blood sugar swings.
Finally, carefully monitor your blood sugar and let your doctor know if you’re having trouble. Monitoring your blood sugar may need to be done more often when you’re sick or you've changed your diet. Working closely with your doctor and other diabetes health care providers can help you learn more healthy-diet basics. Before you know it, you’ll be well on your way to reaching and maintaining a healthy weight, controlling your blood sugar, and managing diabetes successfully.
The Benefits of a Brown-Bag Lunch
Packing your own lunch gives you more control over calories than hitting the local deli. Get tips on how to pack a tasty and satisfying brown bag lunch.
If you think brown-bag lunches are just a memory from school days, along with your backpack and Mom’s cookies, think again — a new twist on the old brown bag lunch could be your ticket to diet success during the work day.
Brown Bag Lunch: Calorie-Counting Control
“Making a brown bag lunch is helpful because you can control what you put in it,” says Donna L. Weihofen, RD, MS, a nutritionist at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison.
Not only do you control the calories in your brown bag, but you also are able to control the portion sizes. Portion distortion — a general inability to judge correct portions of food that you don’t prepare yourself — is a significant contributor to diet failure and weight gain.
Keep track of what you eat with My Calorie Counter.
Researchers in Minnesota created an interesting study to test this idea. They recruited 19 women who agreed to eat a prepackaged boxed lunch each day at work for two months. The women were given either a small lunch of 767 calories or a large lunch of 1,528 calories (double the size) and were told to eat as much or as little as they wanted. Data analysis at the end of the study showed that the women who had the larger lunch ate 278 calories more each day. The results indicate that ongoing exposure to larger portion sizes causes people to unknowingly eat more, an effect that has been demonstrated in other studies as well. As expected, the women who ate the large lunches also gained weight, about two pounds over the course of those two months.
Brown Bag Lunch: What to Pack
If you are used to eating out, you may face a learning curve as you experiment with brown bag options. As a general rule, you want to follow your calorie-counting guidelines and create a meal that will be filling. This requires the right mix of fiber, protein, fruits, and vegetables. For example, pack a chicken sandwich on multigrain bread with a small salad (with light or no dressing) and a piece of fruit or low-calorie yogurt.
Learn about the benefits of going organic.
Here are some ideas for healthy and filling brown bag lunches that will also save you money:
Wrap up your leftovers. Try a slight modification to make last night’s dinner a fresh experience. For example, stuff leftover chili in a pita with some veggies and avocado slices for a new taste.
Microwave a frozen meal. There’s a frozen lunch entrée to meet every diet and every budget. “A lot of these new microwave dinners are really, really nice and they are very controlled in calories. I think the industry has done a lot of good things in producing those products,” says Weihofen, adding that you can find some very tasty bargains in the frozen food section.
Pack a soup. Soup is filling and generally low in calories. In fact, if you eat soup before digging into your main lunch course, studies show you’re likely to eat 20 percent fewer calories.
Focus on cost-saving foods. In general, packing a brown-bag lunch will save you money compared to eating out every day. If you are stretching your pennies, Weihofen recommends using beans, eggs, potatoes, and leftovers from whole chicken meals (rotisserie or baked at home) for truly low-calorie and budget-friendly meals.
Brown-bag snacks as well. Create your own 100-calorie snacks to get you through the day. Making these yourself might require a food scale for careful measuring, but you’ll save a small fortune over prepackaged 100-calorie snacks and be more eco-friendly.
There are times when brown-bagging it won’t be possible because of your schedule or your worksite. In those instances, Weihofen recommends doing a little advance research to find healthy eating options nearby. By making smart choices when eating out, and with some creativity at home, you can enjoy tasty low-calorie lunch creations that suit your waist and your wallet.
Cure sinus infections naturally using these herbs
Thursday, January 22, 2015 by: Julie Wilson
This time of year, nearly everyone is suffering from some type of sinus irritation, whether it be a respiratory infection, head cold or agitated allergies caused by wintertime allergens (most likely cedar if you're living in central Texas). If you're like me, you avoid over-the-counter allergy pills like a plague. For one, they don't always work, and secondly, they're usually accompanied by a range of side effects including drowsiness, headache, dry mouth and nervousness.
Allergy medicines like Claritin tend to make you not feel like yourself, which for most, is reason enough to seek an alternative. Incorporating natural herbs into your battle against wintertime head colds and sinus infections can be an invaluable tool.
Fusing natural herbs with hot tea is one of the best remedies for getting relief fast. The hot steam helps open your nasal cavity, allowing it to absorb the herb's natural benefits.
Overexposure to toxins, seasonal allergens and bacteria all contribute to excess mucus, an unsightly and uncomfortable symptom that most want to eliminate as soon as possible. This symptom also puts added stress on the body, particularly the respiratory and central nervous system, as well as the immune system, forcing them to work harder to keep you in good health.
By detoxing the nasal and bronchial passages, removing them of bacterial, viral and microbial invaders, you can eliminate excess mucus and start the healing process.
Below are some natural herbs that can help you start feeling better soon.
Goldenseal/Echinacea: Goldenseal is one of the most popular herbal products in the U.S. and is often accompanied by Echinacea when used for treating upper respiratory infections. Most commonly found in the rich woods of the Ohio River Valley, goldenseal is a perennial herb derived by a single, green-white flower that has no petals. It was used by the Native Americans as an insect repellant, a diuretic, a stimulant and a wash for sore and inflamed eyes. Its ability to suppress mucus makes it a popular antidote for treating colds.
Also used by Native Americans, Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. It's available over the counter as a tea, liquid extract and dried herb, or in a capsule, and is known for boosting the immune system. Echinacea's antimicrobial properties both help treat and prevent colds. A study conducted by scientists with the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy found that Echinacea reduces a person's chance of catching a cold by 58 percent.
Thyme: Used as an oil or in its dried form, thyme helps reduce coughing by clearing your lungs out fast. A member of the mint family, thyme is known for its antibacterial properties and is packed with vitamin C and vitamin A. The herb works best in tea and can be made by brewing 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme into a cup of boiling-hot water.
Oregano: A member of the mint family, oregano's antibacterial and antiviral properties make it great for treating sore throats, congestion and fatigue caused by the common cold.
Lavender: This lovely-scented herb is perfect for combating coughs and colds, and can relieve headaches and exhaustion. Try adding a few drops of lavender essential oil to your vaporizer, or even rub directly on the chest, neck or back.
Marshmallow: Derived from an African plant with short roundish leaves and small pale flowers, marshmallow was used by the Egyptians. The leaves and roots of this herb have antitussive, mucilaginous and antibacterial properties, making it beneficial for soothing inflamed membranes in the mouth and throat when ingested. Antitussive properties help reduce coughing and prevent further irritation.
In addition to sore throats, marshmallow can help treat gastrointestinal mucosa, indigestion, heartburn and stomach ulcers. You can make a great marshmallow tea by using 2 to 5 teaspoons of either powdered root or dried leaves and boiling them in about 5 ounces of water.
Avocados can reduce the risk of heart disease, study finds
Thursday, January 22, 2015 by: Michael Ravensthorpe
It's not difficult to find research exposing the many health benefits of avocados. Studies show that these pear-shaped fruits, which are native to Mexico and Central America, are packed with essential nutrients that can aid weight loss, boost vision and guard us from cancer. Moreover, avocados are rich in antiestrogenic sterols, such as beta-sisterol, that can increase testosterone levels in men and progesterone levels in women.
However, a new study published in the January 2015 edition of the Journal of the American Heart Association has given us another reason to add more avocados to our diets: These delicious fruits can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease in overweight and obese adults.
Significant results
For the study, which aimed to monitor the effects of avocado consumption on cardiovascular disease risk factors, the researchers fed 45 overweight or obese participants either a lower fat diet, a moderate fat diet or an avocado diet over a 5-week period. The avocado diet included one fresh Hass avocado per day, while the moderate fat diet included high oleic acid oils to match the monounsaturated fatty acid content of one avocado. The participants' cholesterol levels were monitored throughout the study period.
The results showed that the reduction in harmful low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) was greatest in the participants who followed the avocado diet and lowest in the participants who followed the lower fat diet. Additionally, only the avocado diet significantly decreased LDL particle (LDL-P) number, small dense LDL cholesterol and the ratio of LDL cholesterol to HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) from baseline.
"Inclusion of one avocado per day as part of a moderate-fat, cholesterol-lowering diet has additional LDL-C, LDL-P, and non-HDL-C lowering effects," concluded the study authors. "Our results demonstrate that avocados have beneficial effects on cardio-metabolic risk factors that extend beyond their heart-healthy fatty acid profile."
The dangers of elevated LDL cholesterol
The researchers' results are significant, since LDL cholesterol is known to accumulate in the walls of blood vessels and increase our risk of atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), which, in turn, increases our risk of a heart attack. Additionally, elevated LDL levels cause our white blood cells to try and digest the cholesterol in an attempt to protect our blood vessels. As more white blood cells migrate to the area, inflammation to the artery wall increases, placing further strain on our cardiovascular system.
Heart disease remains the most common cause of death in the world, and it is especially common among men living in the Western world. For this reason, it's important that we add more whole foods to our diets, such as avocados, that are scientifically proven to reduce our risk of this ever-growing medical conditio
Diesel exhaust can mutate your genes, study finds
Thursday, January 22, 2015 by: Jennifer Lilley
Researchers from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Vancouver Coastal Health have discovered that not only can exposure to diesel exhaust give asthmatics headaches and itchy eyes, but -- more poignant to their study -- it can alter genes on a micro level. After just two hours of exposure to diesel exhaust fumes, study participants exhibited changes in their genes linked to oxidative stress and inflammation.(1)
"Usually when we look at the effects of air pollution, we measure things that are clinically obvious -- air flow, blood pressure, heart rhythm," said Christopher Carlsten, a UBC respirologist and associate professor in the division of respiratory medicine. "But asthma, higher blood pressure or arrhythmia might just be the gradual accumulation of (gene) changes. So we've revealed a window into how these long-term problems arise. We're looking at changes deep under the hood."(1)
For the small study, 16 asthmatic volunteers were put in a polycarbonate-enclosed booth, breathing in diluted and aged exhaust fumes that were similar to air quality found at a busy British Columbia port or Beijing highway. Before and after blood samples were taken to allow the researchers to determine how exposure to these fumes impacted methylation, the carbon-hydrogen coating that attaches to parts of DNA. They found that inhalation of diesel exhaust fumes led to methylation changes at approximately 2,800 points on DNA which affected about 400 genes.(1,2)
Changes in diet, environment may reverse health problems caused by environmental pollution
While Carlsten, who is the senior author of the study, notes that the two hours it took for changes to take place may sound alarming to many people, the fact remains that it could prove to be beneficial. "Any time you can show something happens that quickly, it means you can probably reverse it -- either through a therapy, a change in environment, or even diet," he said.(2)
The study primarily serves to reinforce that environmental pollution can indeed produce detrimental changes in health and that steps should be taken, both long- and short-term, to address its impact.
Titled, "Short-term diesel exhaust inhalation in a controlled human crossover study is associated with changes in DNA methylation of circulating mononuclear cells in asthmatics," the study was published in the journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology. It states:
Short-term exposure to diesel exhaust resulted in DNA methylation changes at CpG sites residing in genes involved in inflammation and oxidative stress response, repetitive elements, and microRNA. This provides plausibility for the role of DNA methylation in pathways by which airborne particulate matter impacts gene expression and offers support for including DNA methylation analysis in future efforts to understand the interactions between environmental exposures and biological systems.(3)
A look at environmental pollution in other parts of the world
Interest in environmental pollution and its impact on health is important, its severity heavily researched.
Consider that in China, for example, sulfur levels of diesel are at least 23 times those of the United States.(4)
In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is continually engaging in efforts to reduce harmful emissions, including the requiring Ultra Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD) to be used as highway diesel fuel by those who have engines with advanced emission control devices. As such, it's thought that hazardous emissions from such engines could decrease by over 90 percent.(5)
As for Canada, the Health Canada website notes, "Diesel engines are a major source of particle pollution: they create up to 100 times more particles than gasoline-powered engines" and that their ultra-fine particles "are able to penetrate the lung and walls of blood vessels to enter the bloodstream and affect other systems within the body, such as the cardiovascular system."(6)
As with many situations, the impact on health is often cumulative and may develop over the course of many years. This shows that taking measures to ensure better air quality sooner rather than later is critical.
One cup of blueberries per day helps relieve high blood pressure and hardened arteries
Friday, January 23, 2015 by: Julie Wilson
With ancient ties to North America, its no wonder that blueberries are one of America's favorite foods. Called "star berries" by the Native Americans for their five-point star shape, blueberries were an abundant resource, acting as a food and a medicine. The berries were dried to create a type of jerky that could be taken on long trips, similar to today's version of fruit leather. Natives also made dye from blueberry juice, using it to paint textiles and baskets.
Native to the region, blueberries were quickly adopted by the early settlers, who relied upon them when food was scarce. Learning from the Native Americans, early colonists made gray paint out of blueberries by boiling them in milk, using it to paint their homes.
Today, blueberries are still an integral part of our diet, playing an equally important role. Blueberries offer a variety of health benefits, including improving memory, protecting the heart, assisting with digestion and reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Consuming them regularly keeps your brain sharp, and they even help shield us from the effects of toxic heavy metals.
Blueberries help widen blood vessels by 68 percent, study finds
The results of a new study reveal that blueberries may be the key in reducing high blood pressure and arterial stiffness, both of which are linked to cardiovascular disease, according to Newswire.
"Our findings suggest that regular consumption of blueberries could potentially delay the progression of prehypertension to hypertension, therefore reducing cardiovascular disease risk," said Sarah A. Johnson, assistant director of the Center for Advancing Exercise and Nutrition Research on Aging.
Published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the paper is called "Daily blueberry consumption improves blood pressure and arterial stiffness in postmenopausal women with pre- and stage 1-hypertension."
Johnson says she was interested in examining how functional foods, like blueberries, prevent and reverse negative health outcomes, particularly in postmenopausal women.
"Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States"
"Once women go through menopause, this puts them at an even greater risk for it. Our findings suggest that the addition of a single food, blueberries, to the diet may mitigate the negative cardiovascular effects that often occur as a result of menopause," explained Johnson.
To test this theory, her team gave 48 postmenopausal women with pre- and stage-1 hypertension either 22 grams of freeze-dried blueberry powder (equivalent to one cup of fresh blueberries) or 22 grams of placebo powder for a period of eight weeks.
Before the study began, participant's blood pressure was taken, and their arterial stiffness measured, as well as select blood biomarkers.
According to the results, participants in the blueberry-treated group had a decrease in systolic blood pressure, or the top number in blood pressure readings that measures the pressure in the arteries when the heart beats.
Diastolic blood pressure, or the bottom number measuring the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats, decreased by 6.3 percent. Additionally, the blueberry-treated group had an average reduction of 6.5 percent in arterial stiffness.
Also, nitric oxide, a blood biomarker known to be involved in the process of widening arteries, increased by more than 68 percent, an important revelation considering that arterial stiffness and the narrowing of blood vessels are both a part of hypertension, according to Johnson.
Previous studies on blueberries that showed positive effects on heart risk factors, including blood pressure, used a much higher dose of blueberries (equivalent to 11 cups of fresh berries) to reach their results.
Future studies will likely consider lower, more realistic dosages to test blueberries' positive health effects.
Nutritional education can help breast cancer patients prevent recurrences
Friday, January 23, 2015 by: Jennifer Lilley
It's been said that knowledge is power.
For many breast cancer patients in Brazil, such words ring true, as researchers discovered that providing them with nutritional information may play a role in preventing a recurrence of the disease. In Brazil, where the five-year survival rate is only 58.4 percent, the finding is considered an especially important way of raising health awareness and, ultimately, helping to keep the cancer at bay.(1)
To conduct the study, over the course of one year, researchers from the Federal University of Santa Catarina provided an intervention group with ongoing nutritional education which included phone calls from the researchers, who provided healthy recommendations. This group also received a monthly bulletin about nutrition and was asked to record their food consumption on a calendar. A control group, which did not receive the nutritional education, was also included.(1)
On the other hand, the control group was intentionally not provided with these opportunities, and the differences between the two groups make the case that proper nutrition and prevention of breast cancer recurrence may be linked.
Essential: healthy weight, less red and processed meat
It was found that the intervention group ate 50 percent less red and processed meat than the control group, and instead, more fruits and vegetables. The control group also doubled their body weight compared to their healthier-eating fruit and veggie counterparts. Both red meat consumption and weight gain (which is typically associated with eating a great deal of red and processed meats in the first place) have been shown to play a role in having detrimental health effects, especially pertaining to cancers.(1)
Consumption of red and processed meats have been strongly associated with thwarting cancer patients' ability to heal during treatment, while making healthier dietary choices may lessen its effects and even diminish the onset of a recurrence. In fact, in one study that examined over 35,000 women over an eight-year period, it was found that those who ate two or more ounces of meat daily were 56 percent more likely to develop breast cancer than those who did not.(2)
Concerning the relationship between being overweight and developing cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute, the odds are not in favor of those with extra pounds. The Institute notes, "Compared with people of normal weight, those who are overweight or obese are at greater risk for many diseases, including diabetes, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and certain cancers." It's explained that, although factors such as race and ethnicity can create variations in this association, what happens is that, when one is overweight or obese, their fat tissues produce excess amounts of estrogen. High levels of estrogen have been said to lead to a "more rapid growth of estrogen-responsive breast tumors."(3)
Considering statistics, nutritional education is key to helping reduce breast cancer recurrences
Of the Brazil study, lead author Cecilia C. Schiavon, MsC, said that it "provides evidence that women undergoing breast cancer treatment might benefit from immediate, individualized and detailed nutrition monitoring."(1)
Titled, "Nutrition Education Intervention for Women With Breast Cancer: Effect on Nutritional Factors and Oxidative Stress," the study was published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. It states that its objective was "To assess the effect of a nutrition education intervention on nutritional factors and oxidative stress during treatment of breast cancer." The study concludes that such education is "clinically relevant" and maintains that dietary improvements which are supported by ongoing interventions are beneficial for those hoping to prevent a breast cancer recurrence.(4)
The National Cancer Institute estimates that, just in 2014 alone, over 230,000 new cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in the United States. In Canada, breast cancer is considered the most common cancer of Canadian women and is the second leading cause of death among that country's gender.
You resolved to stop smoking cigarettes for 2015 - Now stick to your guns!
Friday, January 23, 2015 by: S. D. Wells
No time to waste here. Buy at least three of the top seven superfoods(see below article). Buy spring water. Buy organic chocolate. The "New Year" has begun, according to that popular calendar, and anybody who promised themselves to quit smoking really, really wants to quit, like you. So you step up to the plate and you're ready to hit a home run. Willpower is your aluminum bat. A specific natural remedy is your perfect pitch. Your simple, methodical actions now will dictate if that ball goes "over the fence" when you swing your bat. Today is the first day of the rest of your life... as a non-smoker.
Enter nutrition. Exit cigarettes. People think that it's too complicated to eat healthy, but the reward is phenomenal. You see these people at the gym, going to yoga camps or running down your neighborhood block, religiously, staying in shape. They have flat stomachs and they seem very methodical about their business and pleasure. They have rituals. It's not thanks to good genes. It's thanks to creating an environment without toxins, in their bodies and all around them. They have their work-out clothes and their iPods. They have their smoothie shakes and their protein powders. They're not smokers.
So what can you do about it? What simple method is out there to filter hundreds of toxins from your daily intake? Where do you start, because it's NOT too much to think about -- being healthy and loving it.
Raw organic fruits, vegetables and natural supplements
Step one begins now. Stop eating garbage food. Don't finish what you have in your refrigerator and don't consume what's in your pantry. Consider it all a waste of money and move on. Positive thinking defies gravity, but regret weighs a ton. Step two: Buy enough organic fruits and vegetables to last you three days. This includes salads, snacks, smoothies, meals and, of course, desserts. Also, buy some spring water, enough for three days and nights. This is key. Time to flush your toxins down the toilet, literally.
Step three: Find maca powder, vitamin D and organic mineral complex. Look for the words "certified organic" on the vitamins and minerals. Start finding pictures and recipes for your organic fruits and vegetables immediately. This is not complicated. This is simple. This is more important than anything else you do right now. You are QUITTING smoking. If anyone has anything negative to say, or makes a mockery of your actions, they are your enemies and should be ignored to the fullest extent. Your quality of life and longevity depend on it. If people have positive things to say about your actions -- what you eat and drink and the natural supplements you consume regularly, then soak up their compliments about the NEW YOU, and keep moving forward at the speed of light. Your life will change drastically as the 7,000 chemicals leave you body and never re-enter. Your work, love life, personal goals and aspirations all come to life like never before.
Superfoods end the smoking habit
Saturday, November 23, 2013 by: S. D. Wells
How great would your New Year be if you quit smoking? Did you know that most cessation programs are just gimmicks to get you to switch to another addiction? Imagine trying to quit a chemical addiction (nicotine, ammonia and bleach) while eating food that is nutrient deficient (GMO and processed) and/or taking medication that is cooked in a laboratory and doesn't heal you (symptom cosmetics). Imagine 46 million smokers just in the United States and half of them WANT to quit but don't have any idea how. Now consider that each of those 23,000,000 human beings has the WILL to quit, but no road map and no real solution. Sometimes in life the solution to a problem is staring us right in the face, but we overlook it. Why is that?
Do you have recurring headaches? Do you feel lethargic daily, except right after you smoke a cigarette? Do you have problems sleeping through the night or having regular bowel movements? Don't answer those questions, just consider this. The chemicals in cigarettes cause depression, anxiety, constipation, sleeplessness, and they breed sickness, breaking down your immune system. Also, nicotine boosts dopamine, and that is the relief for the chemical hangover, but there is a substitute for this, and it's all natural. Do you know what it is? A natural herb/bean called mucuna can replace the cravings that smokers have, especially during the first two weeks of quitting (reducing number of cigarettes), thus weaning the habitual pack-a-day smokers (or more) off of commercial-grade, ammonia-laden nicotine. Tobacco in the leading brands is so juiced up with ammonia that this vapor-ready nicotine can carry 100 milligrams of nicotine potency in ONE cigarette. Add up a pack a day and that's over 2,000 milligrams in 24 hours. What about two or three packs a day? This is artificial control over your emotions, your motivation and your central nervous system.
Supplements and Superfoods are the yellow brick road to the "castle" of good health. Can you follow a path that's already paved? You don't need a compass or a flashlight, and you don't need GPS. You just need common sense and nutritional guidance. The map is "mapped" and the wheel has already been invented here. Roll forward with your new healthy life and end the cigarette addiction once and for all. Let nutrition be your path to freedom for 2014 and beyond.
TOP 7 SUPERFOODS
Here are the TOP 7 SUPERFOODS for quitting smoking and some handy resources for each. Take the time to do a little research, and your problems may be solved:
1. Mucuna: The L-dopa content of the unprocessed Mucuna bean powder is so powerful that doctors are also using it to help Parkinson's patients restore mental clarity, and as a mood elevator! Mucuna helps with:
-Regeneration of organs (heart, kidneys, liver, lungs)
-Dramatically strengthens immune system
-Improved sleep
-Reduced body fat and cellulite
-Improved skin appearance
-Increased mood and sense of well-being
-Increased bone density (very necessary after toxin overload from cigarettes)
2. Chlorella:
3. Spirulina:
4. Cacao raw chocolate: fights depression and is a great mood enhancer!
5. Goji berry and acai berry: Acai berry has been cherished by the Amazonian people for centuries. This unique berry has an extraordinary amount of antioxidants that protect the tissues and cells of the body, plus acai contains phytonutrients that make it one of the most well publicized superfoods among health enthusiasts.
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6. Kale and Maca: Maca is the ancient superfood of the Incas. Grown in the high Andes mountains in Peru, Maca is packed with vitamins, minerals, proteins, tannins, complex alkaloids and other phytochemicals. Alkalize the body and load up on natural, raw nutrients! Kale is the hidden superfood of planet Earth! Check out these great resources:
7. Blueberries: Blueberries have the highest antioxidant capacity, making them highly protective for the cardiovascular system. They contain pterostilbene, which lowers cholesterol, and anthocyanins, which improve vision and brain function and guard against macular degeneration.
Bring in the New Year as a non-smoker and never look back. Load up on superfoods and get super healthy. Natural News wishes you the best of luck!
Top 5 psychological obstacles to weight loss, according to people in the trenches
Friday, January 23, 2015 by: Mike Bundrant
What's the number one most difficult obstacle to losing weight?
The hardest part - the real kicker - is sticking to your plan, right?
It's the patience, perseverance and self-discipline. It's the wanting and the commitment to losing weight and becoming as healthy as you know you can be. For most people, losing the proper amount of weight will take weeks, months or even years.
What prevents that all-systems-go desire and discipline to get fit and healthy?
1. Fear of being thin
Some group members have reported that as they begin to lose weight, they become afraid. What will happen? How will people react to me? Do I want all the attention?
This is a common experience. To resolve it, we need to acknowledge and express the fear. Then, we must adapt. If being fit and slender is scary for you, then you need to develop the skills to manage situations as they arise. This can only be done by addressing the fear.
2. Emotional bondage to friends and family
Interestingly, some of us feel bonded to our heavy weight because of ties to family and friends. One group member summed it up this way:
In my life, every time I have lost weight, my mother distances herself from me. When I am overweight like her, she accepts me. She's obviously not comfortable with me when I am healthy, due to her own issues. But my conflict is that if I lose weight, I lose my relationship with my mother.
This is powerful. Relationships often have to be reset when one person changes. This must be done with thoughtfulness and care.
3. Self-sabotage
There an infinite ways we can sabotage ourselves. If you've had a hard time losing weight due to lack of discipline, then self-sabotage is surely in the mix.
Self-sabotage occurs when you do the opposite of what makes you happy and healthy. It may be the universal human weakness, as millions of people are unhappy and unhealthy, even though they have other options.
The hardest part of about self-sabotage is recognizing it. Watch this free and enlightening video to learn what how self-sabotage works and how to end it.
4. "Ah, Screw It!"
Big one here. Nearly every member of the AHA group has this tendency. We say screw it to our health and fitness. It's like we have an inner rebel that just wants to defy expectations and break the rules.
When we give ourselves a structured plan, the Rebel can only take so much before launching a massive inner protest.
This inner Rebel is powerful and must be reckoned with. Interestingly, most people are only vulnerable to the Rebel at certain points during the day.
5. Anticipated failure
Futility. A sense of despair and futility can be a powerful self-fulfilling prophecy. Those with this issue report that even as they set their weight loss goals, they "know" it is all pointless. They have failed time and time again.
Why would this time be any different?
Because this time they are dealing with their inner futility. They are confronting it, learning about it and developing skills and support to move beyond
Anyone suffering from poor health needs to do these three things
Thursday, January 22, 2015 by: Michael Edwards
In every case I've ever seen where unhealthy people with disease riddled bodies later became vibrantly healthy, they all had to do three things:
They all had to completely get off of all drugs, including marijuana, caffeine, alcohol, any and all prescription drugs, and over the counter medications.
They had to fix their gut.
They had to totally change their diet, eliminating processed foods and eating lots of produce for the rest of their lives.
Eliminate drugs
You cannot be healthy while you put toxins into your body. It just doesn't work. This includes vaccines.
Injecting, inhaling, or ingesting chemicals and toxins into the body does not bring about health.
Every time you damage your body's DNA, you age. Chemicals made in laboratories damage the body's DNA. To a point, you can detoxify and undo most of the damage done by these substances. You can even reverse damage done to DNA. But at some level, every time you damage your body with chemicals, there is some permanency.
Don't smoke anything. Smoking introduces too many carcinogens. Smoking always adds toxins to the blood, making the blood thick and putting stress on the liver, kidneys, thyroid, adrenals, eyes, and reproductive organs.
Stimulants cause a reaction similar to an allergic reaction. This puts unneeded stress on the thyroid, the adrenals, and kidneys.
Alcohol acidifies the body, stresses the liver, and promotes Candida growth.
I'm not telling everyone that they should get off of all drugs. I am saying that you cannot ever truly be healthy while regularly using drugs.
Fix your gut
Every single person I've known who was sick had too much Candida overtaking their sick gut and wrecking havoc on their whole body. Gut health is the source of most and often all of the health issues people suffer from today.
Most people can repair their gut with proper diet and time, but detoxification protocol and supplements can speed up the process and are required for some people with severely damaged intestines. Look for a strong probiotic and a parasite killer.
Eat and drink right
If your gut is in poor health, you have to give up wheat to get well. Anyone with Candida overgrowth cannot properly digest wheat. Wheat and soy are almost always produced in ways that cause health problems when they are consumed. Soy and corn in packaged products are almost always GMO. Genetically Modified Organisms destroy gut health.
You also have to give up refined sugars and processed, packaged foods. Replace them with salads, lots of produce, and homecooked whole foods. Eat raw organic crushed garlic, turmeric, and black pepper with your food.
Eat lots of vegetables. Eat a wide variety of raw organic vegetables. Here are some of the benefits
of raw organic vegetables:
More enzymes
Feeds and promotes a healthy digestive ecosystem
Better digestion and assimilation of all nutrition
Strong, clean, light, and vibrant blood
Strong, very efficient immune system
Many of these benefits also come with eating fruit, but for anyone who is sick, fruit should be limited as the sugars do feed infection including Candida, bacteria, parasites, and yeast. Certain fruits are great for certain health issues, and fruits should not at all be avoided. They just need to be limited until the gut flora is working for you and not against you.
Cooked foods have some benefits as well, but the importance of enzymes is often overlooked. So eat raw every day.
Drink clean, chemical free water. I highly recommend this cranberry lemonade recipe to help flush toxins and keep the body healthy.
Conclusion
Some people need supplements and a very strict diet to get health results, but a fair majority can heal the body and be entirely ailment free with proper dietary habits and giving up toxic junk. Check out Kill Candida and Balance Your Ecosystem for more on gut health.
Four ways to easily tell what your poop says about your health
Friday, January 23, 2015 by: Derek Henry
It's not something discussed in most social circles, but one of the most important topics when it comes down to you being able to evaluate your health, is your poop. The frequency, form, fumes, and color are all you need to evaluate your stool and to be able to make a reasonable assessment of how different areas of your body are functioning.
So, if you are ready to get down and dirty with your bowel movements, be sure to use this handy guide to measure your results.
Frequency
There is no doubt that consistently moving your bowels is important, and anyone who has been constipated would certainly agree that infrequent bowel movements are, well, a pain in the ass. However, those who tend to go multiple times a day may say that sometimes "more" is not better. In the end, the answer lies somewhere in between, with some pertinent details.
The gold standard would be to have 2-3 complete and fully formed bowel movements a day. This means, you feel like your bowels have completely emptied each time, and your feces are a type 3 or 4 (see more on form below). This is very difficult for most people to achieve, as their diet and inner ecology need to be nearly impeccable for this to occur.
The generally approved standard would be 1 complete and fully formed bowel movement a day. This would indicate that your diet and digestive system are in good working order. Anything less than this would indicate some level of constipation, which will eventually cause many chronic health conditions.
It is also important to note that going 4 or more times a day is NOT typically healthy, as it often indicates an overactive digestive system that is constantly attempting to rid itself of toxins. The only time this may be considered "normal" is when a detoxification or cleansing protocol is in effect.
Form
To get the proper form, our digestive systems need to be efficiently breaking down and assimilating nutrients, and waste needs to be passing through our system in a reasonable time frame (too short of a time frame and you have diarrhea; too long and you become constipated). There are 7 types of bowel movements, and they can be described as follows:
Type 1: Separate hard lumps, like nuts (hard to pass).
Type 2: Sausage shaped, but lumpy.
Type 3: Like a sausage, but cracks on the surface.
Type 4: Like a sausage or snake, smooth and soft.
Type 5: Soft blobs with clear-cut edges (easy to pass).
Type 6: Fluffy pieces with ragged edges (mushy).
Type 7: Watery, no solid pieces.
You should consistently be achieving type 3 (good) or 4 (ideal). Anything else that is routinely passed (2-3 times a week or more), is indicative of digestive disturbances.
Fumes
If your stool has an extraordinarily bad odor, you should not ignore it. This could be an indication of a number of digestive problems such as Candida, celiac, and Crohn's, as well as other digestive support system problems such as pancreatitis and liver disease.
The bottom line is that stool will have a smell, but if it nauseates you or others, it's a problem.
Color
The color of your poop, believe it or not, matters. An optimal stool is a nice medium to dark brown color, like what you might see in milk chocolate. If it is black, it could be a sign of blood in your upper GI tract. If it is yellow or green, it could be a result of fat malabsorption or liver or gall bladder stress.
Certain foods can also change the color of your stool, such as dark greens and beets, and this is typically not a concern.
Other considerations
There are debates as to whether floaters or sinkers are best, but the overall consensus seems to be that sinkers are better. You will also want to note any undigested food particles in your poop, which is a sign of incomplete digestion.
One other thing you may want to note is excessive mucus in your stools. This is another sign of digestive problems, possibly related to an IBS, Candida, and/or a parasite infection.
In the end, your poop says a lot about your health and more specifically, your digestion. For a handy chart on proper and poor-looking poop, along with some of the top ways to fix any problems.
How to Kill Candida and Balance Your Inner Ecosystem
September 5, 2014 by Michael Edwards
Most people ingest too many refined, processed foods. Even us health nuts have a tendency to do this. In this fast paced world, with the body biologically programmed to desire sweets and other easy carbohydrates that are so much harder to find in nature, it’s common and totally normal to have too much Candida in our body.
If you experience this problem, and again, most people do, here are some ways you can balance your gut flora. Balancing the flora will alleviate many health issues, even little annoying ones you thought you were stuck with for the rest of your life such as itchy ear canals, body odor, and eczema.
Garlic
Most people know that garlic is antifungal, antiparasitic, antibacterial, and antiviral. It also helps with a host of other issues including the removal of toxins in the body. If I could only choose one single item to work with when it comes to healing and treatment modalities, I would choose garlic. Unfortunately, many people don’t know exactly how to use it to reap the benefits.
First and foremost, don’t cook it. It loses all its Candida fighting properties when you do. Secondly, cut it up and give it a minute before ingesting it. Or, if you’ve got a strong stomach and an even stronger mouth, chew it up for a minute with your mouth open, breathing in and out. This is also an incredibly effective treatment for tooth and gum problems, and even bad breath; though swallowing it, of course, can lead to garlic breath for many, but garlic breath is a sign of a toxic body.
Don’t use garlic from China, even if it’s organic. One way to tell, is those smaller, bright white garlic bulbs are almost always grown in China. China’s soil is just too toxic.
Essential oils
Oil of oregano has antifungal, antibacterial, and antiparasitic properties as well. Oil of oregano is exceptionally powerful and can be taken in tablet form.
Some other essential oils that kill candida include lavender, thieves, tea tree, and peppermint, though I don’t recommend taking these oils internally. They are a good solution for Candida skin rashes, though they can be painful to use. In most cases, they will not harm the skin even though you will feel a burning sensation.
Oils
Coconut oil is known for its antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic properties, though it’s efficacy with Candida control is weak compared to other ingestible choices. Neem oil is an oil with similar antiparasitic properties, a bit stronger at parasitic control than coconut oil, but it should only be applied topically.
Other Candida Killers
Other notable items that are known to combat fungus include wormwood, black walnut hull, Spanish black radish, Pau d’Arco, goldenseal, coptis chinensis, ginger, cinnamon, and olive leaf extract. All of these are great to have around, and a few of them are exceptional at killing parasites, viruses, and bacterial infections (coptis chinensis, wormwood, black walnut hull, Spanish black radish) but while they are certainly antifungal, they’re not the strongest solution.
My favorite combination for eliminating excess yeast in my body is undecenoic acid (Thorne SF722) and very high quality probiotics. Combine this with Shillington’s intestinal cleanse and with big salads every day with lots of different vegetables, and you’ve got yourself a clean colon free of excess Candida in days, often in just one day. What I love about undecenoic acid and probiotics is that they don’t kill off good bacteria. They only eliminate Candida and other fungi. If I want to knock out parasites as well, I use Para-Shield, which has wormwood and black walnut hulls (and other good stuff that parasites hate).
Whatever approach you take with intestinal maintenance, a diet with a diverse selection of lots of raw vegetables is the most important thing you can do for your colon and your whole body.
4 Reasons Your Digestion Is Ruined and What You Can Do About It
September 24, 2014 by Derek Henry
Digestive issues could quite possibly be the biggest reason for many of the ailments people suffer from today. Processed foods, chemicals, GMO’s, prescriptions, and stress often initiate the issues, and once those things are cleaned up, many people still seem to suffer from improper digestion.
It turns out, there are four core reasons why your digestion is not working properly, and there are many things you can do about it.
Poor chewing
Digestion begins the minute food hits your mouth. As you chew, you mechanically break down your food and alkaline enzymes are secreted from the salivary and parotid glands, which begin to break down the food (like starches) chemically.
Most people chew their food between seven and fourteen times, where Westchester University of Pennsylvania suggests chewing your food thirty to fifty times per mouthful in order to mix the food with saliva properly for optimal digestion.
As a result of poor chewing habits, food is not broken down properly in the first stage of digestion, which makes it more difficult for the second stage to be properly performed.
Low stomach acid
Once you swallow, food is quickly moved through the esophagus and lands in the stomach, where it is stored, liquefied, and processed by acidic gastric juices. The stomach releases enzymes (pepsinogens) and hydrochloric acid to reduce proteins to medium sized fragments called polypeptides.
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Unfortunately, low stomach acid can cause a lot of pain like acid reflux, and many other digestive complaints. Extended periods of low chronic stress, processed foods, poor food combining, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, anti-acid use, Candida, and drinking cold water at meals can all create low stomach acid.
To increase stomach acid, try drinking an ounce of apple cider vinegar shortly before a meal, and eliminate all the culprits that lower it.
Impaired pancreatic function
Once the stomach breaks down the food, it passes into the small intestine where it is met with an intense secretion of digestive enzymes from the pancreas. These enzymes neutralize acids and break down fats, carbohydrates, and proteins.
Refined and sugary foods, excessive toxins, pasteurization, cooking, and excessive amounts of alcohol will overtax the pancreas, and it will not function properly. To increase your enzyme levels, choose raw, fresh produce and fermented foods like sauerkraut.
Improperly functioning liver
Another essential component to digestion is bile, which is produced by the cells of the liver. It performs two important functions.
First, bile helps to eliminate unfiltFirst, bile helpsoverloerable breakdown products from the blood before they are passed to the kidneys. Second, bile neutralizes stomach acid and helps ease the absorption of fats and fat-soluble vitamins. If the liver is overloaded with toxins or has stored too much glucose, the canals on the gall bladder become compressed, which decreases bile flow and impairs digestion.
An overloaded and swollen liver reduces blood flow from the abdominal and pelvic regions, which can result in blood pooling, which can putrefy and cause all sorts of problems like hemorrhoids, bowel irritation, and more. Once the liver is unable to dilute toxins to keep the blood clean, the digestive system becomes exhausted.
To increase liver function, avoid processed foods, alcohol, and chemicals in all forms as much as possible. Consider liver healing foods and herbs like beets, cruciferous vegetables, garlic, turmeric, avocados, sauerkraut, kefir, milk thistle, artichoke leaf, dandelion leaf, and reishi.
To see if your liver is functioning properly, check out this article.
Know the Signs of Impaired Digestion
One easy way to know how your digestion is doing is by the frequency and form of your fecal matter. You should strive to have 1-3 complete and fully formed bowel movements in a day. Anything less that 1 a day indicates a malfunctioning digestive system, and anything more than 3 is a sign of problems as well.
What should you be looking for in your poop?edit by James Is Back(search for Bristol Stool Chart)
Type 4 is ideal, but type 3 is also fine. Anything other than those two, and you have a serious digestive disturbance. The only caveat is that if you are on a cleansing or detoxification protocol, you may experience other types and in that transitionary period it is a good sign of toxin removal occurring. However, if this goes on for a considerable amount of time, you may want to consult your medical professional to evaluate.
Signs of Liver Damage
February 7, 2013 by Derek Henry
Your health is directly connected to your liver. So if you see visible signs of liver damage, you have already created significant issues and need to take immediate action to start healing this highly important organ. Let’s see how your liver shapes up, and what you can do about it.
Understand your liver
The liver is your largest interior organ and is primarily responsible for keeping our bloodstream free of toxic poisons. If it was allowed to fully complete this mission, we could live forever! Not only is it a large filter, but it also plays a key role in digestion, the formation of blood, and defending our bodies against infection.
In fact, during digestion your liver secretes bile into our small intestine in order to lubricate our intestinal walls. This bile regulates our amount of friendly bacteria, destroys unwanted organisms, and stimulates peristaltic activity to help move fecal matter through and out of our body.
When the liver is weak or congested, it’s ability to neutralize toxic substances becomes hampered, and toxic bile becomes secreted which moves through your small intestine creating inflammation, and what is often known as ‘leaky gut’.
For these reasons, and several others, your liver health is paramount in achieving true health due to it’s connection to all these factors. It must be healed in order for your digestion, immune system, and over all well being to be at ideal levels.
Signs of liver damage
The difficulty with the liver is that it doesn’t ‘cry out in pain’. You can do serious damage to it and never experience symptoms you would connect or directly relate to a congested liver. However, there are many signs such as several deep lines or puffiness between the eyebrows, and being unable to tolerate the cold in winter. On the flip side, if your liver is overactive, you may also feel feverish and find summer months very uncomfortable.
Other symptoms and signs of liver damage include:
Anemia
Hemorrhoids
Dark urine
Small red ‘spots’ the size of a pinhead that come and go in various parts on the body
Skin problems such as eczema, acne, hives, itching, rashes. Skin may have dark pigmentation or spots on face, back of hands, forehead, or around the nose.
Jaundice (yellowing of skin)
Eye problems (sensitivity to light, moving spots, double vision)
Whites of eyes become yellow
Mineral deficiency
Hormonal imbalances in women creating malfunctions in conception and loss of sex drive
Hormonal imbalances in men which may produce feminine qualities
Loss of weight
Obesity
Sinus and tonsil issues
Alternating constipation and diarrhea
Headaches, dizziness, and shivering
Sensitivity to chemicals and smells
Loss of appetite
Eating disorders
Diabetes
Hepatitis
Cirrhosis
Since an impaired liver can not process toxins, even the brain and central nervous system are affected. This can cause depression, daydreaming, an inability to concentrate and remember things, and more severe things like mental outbursts.
How does liver damage occur?
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Since our liver is a large filter, everything we take must pass through it.
It stores all the remains of drugs, vaccines, birth control, and prescriptions we have taken throughout our entire lifetime.
Excessive alcohol consumption.
The fats from dairy and fried foods, as well as flour products, weaken the liver.
Improper food combining.
Filling your stomach past 80% full slows down your liver function so that it becomes inefficient.
Chronic and/or acute exposure to synthetic materials and chemicals
Lack of sleep and fatigue will also weaken the liver. This is a vicious cycle because as the liver weakens it becomes more difficult to sleep. If you find you are sleepy after eating, and/or feel wide awake at 1 or 2 am, you may have sustained liver damage. You may also tend to worry at that time or have negative thoughts.
It should also be noted to pregnant or nursing women that more and more newborns are having damaged livers as a result of mothers poor eating habits. The liver of the fetus intercepts everything the mother eats and changes it into something useful, or something that will clog its tiny new organ.
Healing the liver from inflicted damage
wellness
Simply stated, we need to stop overworking it by changing the way we eat if we want to heal our liver.
In addition to that, we must work on cleaning up the colon and encouraging the liver to heal through herbs (like milk thistle, artichoke leaf, dandelion leaf) and probiotics. Exercise is a daily must (walking, yoga, rebounding), as well as resting more (but not immediately after meals).
The emotion of anger is also connected to the liver so do not hold in your anger, or relive or feel any anger towards any situation. As you cleanse your liver, you may feel uncontrollably angry and irritated at everything.
Liver cleansing
liver-gallbladder-formula
The liver is one organ you want to gently cleanse, so going directly to a full scale liver cleanse may not be a good idea for proper healing. However, what is even more vital to start with is eating properly and starting to cleanse and detox your blood.
You need to rest your digestive tract by eating lightly, and making your meals small, vegetarian, and alkaline so that there is very little energy required for the act of digestion. If you happen to lose your appetite, drink lemon water and take vegetable broths with a sea vegetable base. It may also be a great time for juicing with green vegetables as the primary source.
Also, you need to avoid fats from animal foods and look to avoid them altogether. Stay away from vegetable oils and butter as they will slow down liver function. Eat lightly steamed and blended foods, and ones that are rich in chlorophyll (dark green in nature). Your last meal should always be a light one so your stomach is empty when you go to bed.
Also take a good probiotic producing beverage such as apple cider vinegar and coconut kefir. They are excellent liver cleansers and provide an optimal environment for digestion. If you do decide to start on some liver cleansing herbs, consider that your body needs to be fortified properly before your liver can do that effectively.
Following that, consider herbs like dandelion, artichoke leaf, milk thistle, and reishi. This liver and gallbladder tea, combined with this liver tonic, will give you a great start.
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