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| March 21st, 2006 | How “Make Believe” Are Your Foods? |
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By: Judy Phillips Recently, I finished one of the most informative books on a no-nonsense approach to regaining control of your health and wellness. Never Be Sick Again, by Raymond Francis should be #1 on the New York Times best seller list, but alas it is not. This is not the first time I have spoken of his book, nor will it be the last. His book is a true testament from the front lines of fighting disease and sickness, and in my opinion, should be the very first book you open should you choose to remain healthy for the duration of your life. The Well Nourished American is a Myth Carl Pfeiffer, M.D., Ph.D., Author of Mental and Elemental Nutrients, said, “The well-nourished American is a myth. Despite the high level of education and the abundance of available food, many people make poor food choices and are badly nourished ” The average American diet, nutritionally unfit for rats, must be equally unsatisfactory or even more so in meeting human needs” According to Raymond Francis, the countless degenerative diseases that ravage the American people stem from six pathways; the nutrition pathway, the toxin pathway, the physcological pathway, the genetic pathway, the physical pathway, and the medical pathway. While there are numerous points covered in his book which I will touch upon at a later time, there is one point I found incredibly insightful. If your diet can be thought of in the terms he describes, it can simplify 99% of your nutritional choices. No more thumbing through ingredients, no more special diets, and no more poor food choices. Make Believe Foods His concept is simply to consider the foods you eat in terms of how “make-believe” they are. “Make-believe” foods are foods that have been processed, foods that contain artificial ingredients, genetically modified foods, cooked foods, foods that have been grown and harvested using commercial practices, and foods that contain any of “The Big Four.” The big four is referring to sugar, white flour, processed oils, and milk products. The more “make-believe” foods you consume, the further you travel down the path to a slew of degenerative diseases, to which our inferior medical establishment has no answers. Sadly, over 90 percent of the standard American diet is comprised of these foods. Is it any wonder that our nation has the highest rate of chronic degenerative diseases in comparison to any other place in the world? If every American were to cease consumption of these “make-believe” foods, there would be a dramatic decrease in the prevalence of these chronic diseases. So, why then do Americans continue to consume to wrong foods? The main reason is that most don’t know any better. The old cliché, “you are what you eat” is true in every sense of the word. Few individuals truly grasp the role that food plays within our lives, and how that food fails or succeeds in keeping us healthy. The average consumer is poorly educated about what to eat and what to avoid. Misinformation stemming from food manufacturers, poorly educated physicians, and sheer abundance of destructive foods lining supermarket shelves serve to confuse and disorient the consumer. The Key: Stay Informed In fact, there is really nothing confusing about your nutritional needs—provided you have the correct information. While you cannot expect to make an overnight transition into the pinnacle of health and wellness, make an effort each day to choose the right foods. Consider the concept, that each and every time you choose an organic, fresh, or unprocessed food over that of a make-believe food, you are doing your body a great justice. Your body needs a constant supply of essential nutrients, live enzymes, vitamins, and healthy fats; each time you deny your body these vital elements, you will find yourself one step closer to the medical epidemic that plagues the American people. Hopefully you will not want to be a statistic. You will also find, that once you begin the transition to a healthier lifestyle through your nutritional choices, that your body will no longer crave the detrimental foods you were so accustomed to. Americans have been conditioned by the medical profession to believe that our diseases are the result of genetics or misfortune. Every disease “needs” a new name, and every named disease “needs” some new wonder pill, yet there is really only one disease—the disease of the cell. ================================== Health, wealth and happiness to all and tons of love! Ally Cook --> Posted in Nutrition | No Comments »
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| March 20th, 2006 | The Best Meal Plan For Your Diet Personality |
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By Galia Ivanova If you eat less than 3 meals a day looks like you don’t care about your body. Spending most of your time eating or snacking plus forgetting to take your 1 hour exercise… I don’t need to mention what would be the effect, but I strongly recommend you to read carefully these 3 eating plans, described bellow, and select the one you like most and think it’s easy to follow. Plan 1 Eat your breakfast, kiss your kids and go to work. Don’t even think about food before the lunch-time. You will say: “This is easy, lunch is my first meal for the day.” OK, but how many times you eat after lunch? I am not talking about your main meals, I am talking about snacks. If you have a solid breakfast perhaps you won’t need candies, cookies etc. between lunch and dinner. At dinner eat only low calories foods and take a walk with your family. Enjoy yourself, forget about food. When you are back at home go to bed earlier than normal, so you can’t get hungry again for the rest of the day. Plan 2 If you are like me and most of my friends, you just don’t have time for breakfast. I need to wake up at 6 am to have a breakfast before going to work. I like to sleep to the last moment, drink a cup of coffee and go out. I am not saying that is healthy, but it’s my real way of life. What do you need to do in this case? Have a solid lunch with your fellows, but don’t go too far thinking: “That’s all, I will miss the dinner”. Take a small meal in about 3 hours. Remember: no candies, only low calories foods. When you are back at home make sure that at least 5 hours passed, since your light afternoon meal, before eating again. It is highly important to have a light dinner again, or you will put some additional weight. After that take a walk or do whatever you want, but stay away from the kitchen. Plan 3 Let’s say you are a very busy person. During the day you can eat only on the go and don’t have time to have a normal breakfast or lunch. Most of the time you eat 2 burgers and a salad from the nearest fast food restaurant. When you are back home for dinner, you are as hungry as if you haven’t eaten for couple of weeks. The result? You take most of the calories at dinner. This means you will gain an additional unwanted weight. If this picture looks bad, I assure you it could get worse! And here is the solution: get the bag with your low calories home cooked breakfast and go to work. When you feel hungry eat your breakfast. Next meal need to be light too - salad and juice. Never eat too much at dinner. Even if your wife has prepared your favorite meal to make you happy, or got ready-to-cook food from the supermarket, be very careful measuring the amount of calories you take at dinner. No eating after dinner is allowed. In conclusion… The most difficult part in those 3 plans is the one, that you should not eat anything between your main meals. But this is another quite bigger topic and you can find more information about it at Weight Loss Advisor. One of the keys to success is to get yourself down to work twice as hard, and whatever you do: do not think about how hungry you are or how much time you have until next meal. =============================== Health, wealth and happiness to all and tons of love! Ally Cook --> Posted in Dieting | No Comments »
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| March 19th, 2006 | Natural Medicine And Herbs – Economical Home Cures And Beauty Aids |
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By: Polly Priester Hello folks. Have you ever come down with some ailment just when the local pharmacy is closed? There must be some natural medicine and herbs in the kitchen you can use. I’m going through my kitchen right now to see what organic body products I can come up with. My eyes are really tired so I cut two slices of fresh cucumber and press over each eye. Boy is that refreshing! Chamomile in natural herb form or in tea bags is a great natural medicine Once, I suffered from eye secretion. I headed straight for the kitchen and found chamomile as a herbal supplement. I immersed chamomile tea bags in boiling water, let them cool, applied one to each eye, (never use the same tea bag on both eyes so as not to re-infect), and finally gently wiped the secretion brushing from the inner corner of the eye towards the outer . After a couple of applications of this home remedy the secretion was completely cleared up! Chamomile is also great for removing pus from pimples. Peering into the mirror, my daughter wailed, “Oh, mom, I have this horrible pussy pimple on my face.” No problem. After pressing a chamomile tea bag that had been immersed in boiling water to the pimple a couple of times, voilà, the pimple burst and out came the pus to be wiped away with a ball of sterile cotton batten. And how’s about avocado? I scoop this home cure and beauty treatment out of its peel, mash it up, and gently rub it on my face and around my fingernails for softness and skin nourishment. Natural medicines, home cures, and beauty aids are definitely my idea of fun and economical too! =========================== Health, wealth and happiness to all and tons of love! Ally Cook --> |
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| March 18th, 2006 | Elevate Energy Easily …. AND Without Moving! |
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By: Tim Webb This article reveals an easy to do exercise that helps create (and store) positive energy in your body leaving you feeling refreshed and revived. Now, if I said to you “Act like a corpse!” you would be forgiven for wondering if I needed help! Also, you may wonder what that has to do with energy creation. Well, it is the body position that is the key. It allows total relaxation and this permits us to focus on ‘pulling’ in energy to our midsections and then, through the use of visualisation of certain colours, makes us spill over with radiant, positive, light. ——————— Many people try to relax or meditate in positions they see in films or on T.V. where the person is often kneeling, cutting off the blood supply to their legs, while being ‘quietly’ introspective! This is a problem that need not exist. You don’t have to kneel. You can stand. You can walk. You can lie. Ask yourself this question. “How can I calm my mind and body if I am in pain?” The answer is you cannot. So try the corpse pose for something that allows one to easily and quickly get into a meditative state. It allows a person to lie, totally at ease, and this leads to better, deeper, energy creation and thus makes it a great choice for many people. —————– 1. Lie on your back somewhere that provides total comfort. 2. Have you eyes closed so you can easily begin to use your creative visualisation. 3. Inhale a light, vibrant, colour (of your own choosing) into your belly. Allow it to remain there even after your exhale. 4. With each subsequent inhale you add to this colour. 5. It fills all your body gradually. Approximately six breaths should suffice. 6. During the final couple of breaths feel and sense the energy spilling out of your body. You are immersed in it. 7. As you slowly come out of this meditation allow the energy to stay with you as you go about your day. ================================ If You Answered YES Then Go Here http://www.BreathForSuccess.com Health, wealth and happiness to all and tons of love! Ally Cook --> Posted in Relaxation | No Comments »
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| March 17th, 2006 | Gentle Alternatives for Treating Health Problems |
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By Ally Cook Many of our modern drugs have harsh side-affects and cost the “earth”, so the next time you come down with a cold or the flu, why not try a gentle alternative that costs next to nothing? Instead of immediately forking over large amounts of money for over-the-counter drugs, go to the kitchen cupboard and see what you can find to relieve your symptoms. Here are some helpful hints… A simple hot compress applied to the face is very soothing to those throbbing aches and pains of a blocked sinus, while a few drops of eucalyptus oil on a handkerchief can provide welcome relief for similar conditions. While supplements of vitamin C, D and zinc will shorten the lifespan of a common cold, a hot lemon drink is also extremely good. And be sure to cuddle-up in bed when you have a cold, as it will make the body sweat out the germs. Cool lemon juice and honey are a great soother for a sore throat and gives the body much-needed vitamin C at the same time The juice of one lemon in a glass of water is sufficient. Melt the honey in a little hot water for ease of mixing. A smear of Vaseline or petroleum jelly will do wonders for those sore lips and nose that often accompany a cold. A ’streaming cold’ where the nose and eyes water profusely, can respond to drinking onion water. Simply dip a slice of onion into a glass of hot water for two seconds, then sip the cooled water throughout the day. Half an onion on the bedside table also alleviates cold symptoms because its odor is inhaled while you sleep. People prone to catarrh may find that chewing the buds from a pine or larch throughout the day will clear up their condition in just a few days. Do you suffer from sore eyes? If your eyes are sore from lengthy exposure to the sun, try beating the white of an egg and then spread it over a cloth and bandage the eyes with it. Leave the preparation on overnight. Soft cheese (quark) is also a good remedy for this condition. For those unpleasant times when you suffer from diarrhea, two tablespoons of brown vinegar will usually fix the problem. Vinegar can be rather horrible to take, but who cares! The problem is more horrible. Vinegar can usually be found in most people’s cupboards, so you don’t need to worry about finding someone to run to the shop for you in an emergency. Sleepless? Instead of reaching for sleeping pills, which can quickly become addictive, try this: Drink only caffeine free tea or coffee starting late in the afternoon.. Go to bed earlier rather than later, as being overtired tends to keep people awake. Make sure the bedroom is dark and quiet. Use only pure wool or cotton sheets and blankets. Polyester materials can cause sweat and make you thirsty (if your child constantly asks for water throughout the night, this could be the reason). And don’t watch those scary movies just before retiring! If you still can’t sleep, make a tea of lemongrass or drink a nightcap of herbal tea containing chamomile. It’s easy to grow lemongrass in your garden or start a flower pot on the balcony for ease of picking. Simply steep a handful in boiling water for five minutes. Honey may be added for a sweetener. Of course there will be times when you do need modern drugs, so if these simple remedies don’t have the required affect, be sure to see a health care professional. =========================== Health, wealth and happiness to all and tons of love! Ally Cook --> |
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| March 16th, 2006 | Learning About Body Core Conditioning |
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By: Alley Cook You rely on your body to get get out of bed, to lift your children, to perform your job and to take you places everyday. If you appreciate what your body does for you, you will provide it with nutritious food, hydrate with water and be sure to add some activity into your day. While our limbs provide mobility, reach and strength it is our body core that provides the basis of each movement. Sedentary lives can cause our body core muscles to weaken and become subject to strain or injury. Even if you workout or participate in sports you may not be working the body core muscles you rely on to perform. WHAT IS MY BODY ‘CORE’? Your body core is the midsection of your body, from your groin to your shoulders. The core includes the pelvis, abs, back and chest muscles. It is this core that offers stability, balance and flexibility. Every movement you make originates in the core - whether you are reaching for your toothbrush or running a marathon. If the core is not properly conditioned it will limit your physical abilities. Working the muscles in your body core will improve the effectiveness of movements in your limbs. Most exercise routines focus on building muscle. By creating a stable, strong base for those muscles you can optimize the strength and flexibility of each limb. HOW DO I STRENGTHEN MY BODY CORE? There are many exercise routines and products that work the muscles of the body core. Professional trainers create customized routines to enhance an athlete’s abilities by developing the proper core muscles. However, there are also many programs developed for individuals who wish to incorporate it into their fitness routine or to begin one. The exercises and products developed to strengthen your body core do so by creating resistance or instability so that the core muscles must respond to maintain balance. The exercises are gentle on the body but are intense and beginners will quickly ‘feel’ the muscles being used. Proper alignment is key so having a trainer to check your position will help identify the safest and most effective way to perform an exercise. Body core exercises often imitate moves that we employ in daily life or sports and thus train the body to rely on the core and reduce the strain we put on our limbs. Two popular forms of exercise that develop core body strength are Pilates and the Swiss ball. Pilates uses the body as its own form of resistance. Learning to breath properly and perform slow, controlled movements allows a person to isolate and strengthen core muscles. The Swiss ball (also known as a Fitness ball) is an easy and fun way to strengthen the body core. While there are many exercises that can be performed with the Swiss ball, simply sitting on it will create the instability needed to engage the core muscles to maintain balance. Good core strength is important at every age and fitness level. Whatever your goals, find a way to incorporate body core conditioning into your routine to reduce fatigue, avoid muscle strain and improve your strength and mobility. =========================== Health, wealth and happiness to all and tons of love! Ally Cook --> |
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| March 15th, 2006 | Body Mass Index Chart Misleading |
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By: Jim O’Connor Remember when the body mass index chart first came out? People were running to calculators trying to find out if they are considered overweight and unhealthy. Many, especially athletes, were quickly shocked to find out they were labeled obese. I’m even talking about lean professional athletes who were the picture perfect image of strength, power, and health. After calculating their body mass index (BMI), many were shocked to find out their calculated number indicated a detriment to their health. So how do you calculate this number anyway? First off, you can be lazy and go to consumer.gov/weightloss/bmi.htm, and have the computer tell you the answer. However, if you want to calculate it yourself simply multiply your weight in pounds by 703 then divide the square of your height in inches. It is that simple. Now after using a body mass index calculator you get your big number. What does it mean? In most cases, not a heck of a lot. First of all, your BMI doesn’t distinguish muscle from fat. You could have a body fat percentage of 8%, with a lot of added muscle, and the body mass index chart will say you are obese, and could be at risk for significant health issues. Now let’s take the opposite. Suppose you have never exercised a day in your life and your body fat is 30%, but you weight less than the fit person with an 8% level of body fat. The BMI chart might suggest your weight is right where it should be, and you are at very little risk for health challenges. This is where the BMI Chart is misleading. Recent studies have even shown a weak and inconsistent correlation between a high BMI and disease or early mortality. How then can we get an accurate assessment of our link be | |