Fasting is the Fast Track to Detox
December 29, 2007
Because of our mechanized and industrialized society we find toxic chemicals such as lead, mercury and arsenic polluting our food, air, water and soil. The human body works hard to eliminate toxins, but as exposure increases, the body is less able to detoxify. One way we can help eliminate these toxins is to have periodic fast days.
Fast days are very beneficial to help the body cleanse and heal. It is recommended that you fast twice a month for a couple of days or better yet, fast one day a week. Try to fast at least one day a month to start.
Because most of us are filled with toxins, it is much harder on the body to fast by consuming only water. A juice fast is recommended over a water fast for people beginning fasting for the first time. The juice of fruits and vegetables is filled with healing, cleansing properties, which allow the body to gently and safely detoxify. Juice is packed with vitamins, minerals, living enzymes, antioxidants and phytochemicals. The nutrients go into the body and the toxins come out.
Juice fasting can include fresh juice, herbal teas sweetened with honey or Sucanat, vegetable broth, Barley Green, wheatgrass juice, and supplements helpful to your specific condition.
Five Really Tough Dieting Tips
December 29, 2007
If you are losing, trying to lose, or think you need to lose, weight, you are probably as sick as I am of those “easy” and “quick” diet tips that NEVER work!
The following tips are neither quick nor easy. They are tough, uncomfortable, and demanding (but they work).
1. Don’t Eat.
On a permanent basis, that obviously doesn’t make sense unless you have a secret death wish. On a temporary basis, it is worth considering. Just like the recovering alcoholic who takes it one day at a time, not eating for “just today” becomes do-able, once in a while. If you can convince yourself that you can have anything you want to eat, tomorrow, not eating becomes a viable alternative for today. On an even shorter-term basis, delaying a planned meal for a few hours can be useful if you stick to what you had planned to eat and don’t wolf everything in sight to “make up” for your temporary deprivation. A decrease in the total caloric intake for the day, the week, the month, is the over-riding goal.
2. Get Your Body Moving.
Maximizing Your Nutrition Dollar
December 28, 2007
Because of consumer demand, the food industry focus is on producing fruits and vegetables that ship well, not nutrient content. How food is stored and processed has an impact on nutrition. The best defense against nutritionally depleted foods is careful supplementation followed by purchasing fresh foods as close to the source and organically grown whenever feasible.
Getting the most nutrition for every dollar spent is of great concern for those interested in maintaining good health. Yet for the average consumer, the nutrition derived from fresh food dollars has substantially decreased over the past three decades. Why is this happening and what can be done about it?
Everyone wants good nutrition from the foods we eat and we are encouraged to eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Yet in light of the methods used to bring food to our tables, getting even minimal levels of nutrients from the foods we eat can be a challenge. Why is it such a challenge to get good nutrition from our most basic foods?
Dangers of Dehydration - And The Importance of Kidney Cleansing
December 28, 2007
The human body is composed of 75 percent water and 25 percent solid matter. To provide nourishment, eliminate waste and regulate all the functions in the body, we need water. Most modern societies, however, no longer stress the importance of drinking water as the most important "nutrient" among all nutrients. Entire population groups are substituting water with tea, coffee, alcohol and other manufactured beverages. Many people don’t realize that the natural thirst signal of the body is a sign that it requires pure, plain drinking water. Instead, they opt for other beverages in the belief that this would satisfy the body’s water requirements. This is a false belief.
It is true that beverages such as tea, coffee, wine, beer, soft drinks and juices contain water but they also contain caffeine, alcohol, sugar, artificial sweeteners or other chemicals that act as strong dehydrators. The more you drink these beverages, the more dehydrated you become because the effects they create in the body are exactly opposite to the ones that are produced by water. Caffeine containing beverages, for example, trigger stress responses that have strong diuretic effects (causing increased urination, at first). Beverages with added sugar drastically raise blood sugar levels, which uses up large quantities of cellular water, too. Regular consumption of such beverages results in chronic dehydration, which is a common factor in every toxicity crisis.
Were Cave Dwellers Ever Fat?
December 28, 2007
In our mind’s eye, we see our ancient ancestors as they have been depicted in paintings, stories, films, and scientific recreations. Small, wiry, hairy figures surrounding a huge beast, poised for the kill.
Do we know if that picture is really accurate?
We do know, from skeletal fragments that have survived, that they were definitely smaller than present day human beings. We can surmise that they were wiry from the lifestyle they pursued: irregular availability of food and long hours of daily hunting. We can assume that women started to gather plants, grasses, fruits, and seeds to provide an alternate source of sustenance to the men’s only intermittently successful hunting efforts.
We have only vague timelines on when tribes started to move out of caves and into shelters they made themselves. We can only guess about the invention of cooking pots, an enormous advance from simply an open fire.
As the race became more domesticated, the variety of food expanded and therefore the availability of something to eat became more assured. Eventually, civilization sparked, agriculture was born, and eating became a process of selection and choice rather than mere consumption to stay alive. It was at this juncture, we can posit, that individual’s weights started to differentiate, depending upon personal choice, the wealth or strength to obtain extras, or the physical demands of one’s occupation.
Exercise and Diet ? For Your Waistline
December 28, 2007
Caring for your body is the most important thing you can do in your life. You only get one body, and it needs attention. Too often in society, we let things get out of control and then we try to find the easy way out. In weight loss, this means crash diets and diet pills. These are not the best for our bodies, as they suck out the energy and don’t provide enough nutrition.
It really isn’t that hard to eat well and get some exercise. You don’t have to start running in the mornings, and you don’t have to join one of the famous weight loss institutes. Simple answers are out there for the taking. You just have to be willing to find them.
The Diet Portion
A diet should consist of common sense. You and your body know what is right to eat and how much of it to consume. Your mom told you to eat your fruits and vegetables, and she was right. Some east diet tips and things to remember:
- Sleep well. Your body needs a chance to recharge steadily for around eight hours a night.
What is HGH?
December 27, 2007
Hormones are chemical messengers made up of amino acids and produced by the endocrine glands to be sent all over the body to stimulate certain activities. Growth, digestion, reproduction and sexual functions in the human body are all triggered by hormones.
HGH or Human Growth Hormone is the most abundant protein hormone produced in the pituitary gland (a pea sized endocrine gland located at the centre of the brain) that stimulates the liver to produce somatomedins, which stimulate growth of bone and muscle. HGH is a very complex hormone made up of 191 amino acids. HGH production occurs largely during adolescence, coming to a peak in our 20’s. After that, it declines; reaching a sub-optimal level after 40.
HGH is known to be critical for conversion of body fat to muscle mass, tissue repair, muscle growth, healing, brain function, physical and mental health, bone strength, energy and metabolism. HGH is a powerful hormone that plays an important role in controlling one’s emotions and sexual functions. Adults, who don’t have enough HGH, can suffer from lack of energy, muscle weakness, emotional distress, and disintegration of hair, nails, skin and vital organs, etc.
Diet: Are French Fries Really A Vegetable?
December 27, 2007
The government, nutritionists, doctors, and dietitians implore us to eat 5 servings of vegetables a day. Considering that a serving is only half a cup, a decent-sized side of vegetables and a big salad does it for the day.
But are we eating that consistently?
For the average American child, 25% of their intake of vegetables consists of french fries or potato chips. Adults eat an average of 4 servings of french fries per week. A small (are there any small servings still out there?) serving of french fries carries 187 calories - a bag a day is over 68,000 calories a year, almost 20 pounds of extra weight!
Is it any wonder that 15% of our children are obese and that the percentage is growing all the time?
For all the diet and health information that daily blares from our radios, televisions, and Internet portals, we are drowning in our own fat. We spend half our family food budget on eating out, primarily at fast food outlets, where the true nutritional and caloric values of the offerings require the skill of a Sherlock Holmes to uncover.
Using Calcium and Magnesium for Constipation
December 27, 2007
Calcium helps reduce constipation
Using calcium and magnesium in the right quantities can prevent or relieve constipation. They can support the health of your colon and keep you regular.
In your colon, calcium combines with excess bile and decaying fat to form a harmless insoluble soap, which is excreted with your stool. This helps to keep your colon clean.
Most Nutritionists recommend you take 1000 - 1500mg daily of Calcium. Because Calcium can cause constipation, it is necessary to take 500 ? 1000 mg of magnesium at the same time you take Calcium.
You should space out your intake of calcium over Take only 400 to 600 mg each time. Also take some time-out when taking calcium and other vitamin supplements. In a month, take 2-3 Sundays or Saturdays of from taking vitamins.
Avoid taking calcium carbonate, which will reduce the times you will have a bowel movement. Avoid, also, taking calcium when eating foods that contain oxalates phosphates, or phytates. They tie up calcium and are excreted with the fecal matter
If you are taking a thyroid hormone, beta-blockers, calcium-channel blockers, or antibiotics, calcium supplements can interfere with adsorption of these drugs.
Is Green Tea Good for Me?
December 27, 2007
Scientific studies continue to show that green tea is good for you.
Tea began its illustrious history as a Chinese medicinal drink, and only gradually did it become the popular beverage that it is today. In traditional Chinese medicine, tea is considered good for you to clear the eyes and head, resolve excess phlegm, promote urination, relieve toxins, aid the digestion, and quench thirst. As with so many foods and medicines, the traditional Chinese medicinal thoughts are being proven scientifically in modern times. Today, there is ample evidence to recommend tea as a daily tonic in the interest of preventing or treating a wide range of maladies, including: cancer, hypertension (high blood pressure), high cholesterol, premature aging, food poisoning, dental decay and bad breath, and even arthritis.
Tea is rich in catechin polyphenols, particularly epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG). EGCG is a powerful anti-oxidant: besides inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, it kills cancer cells without harming healthy tissue. It has also been effective in lowering LDL cholesterol levels, and inhibiting the abnormal formation of blood clots. The latter takes on added importance when you consider that thrombosis (the formation of abnormal blood clots) is the leading cause of heart attacks and stroke.
