Diet Cures | Change Your Diet - Save Your Life

Add Whole Grains to Your Favorite Bread Recipe for Healthy Breads

2010-08-01T20:49:00.000-07:00

You can make great whole grain breads! Often it's as simple as substituting a whole grain blend for part of the flour in your favorite bread recipe. You may need to adjust the liquid a little but other than that, it can be a straight substitution. If you want a 100% whole grain bread, start with your favorite whole wheat bread recipe.

You can make great whole grain breads by starting with a white flour recipe and substituting the whole grains for part of the white flour. The result will be a lighter bread, sometimes an almost white bread, with a high fiber
and nutrient content. Of course, you can use part white flour and part whole wheat flour.

And it's simply exciting, what you can add to your bread recipe, items like this:

- Rolled oats.

- Rolled grain blends. Blends of rolled oats, wheat, barley, rye and others make fantastic breads. You can find rolled grain blends at natural food stores or online.

- Cracked grains. If you want chewy nuggets in your bread, choose a coarse chop. If you want the whole grains to blend, use a fine chop. Again these can be bought at natural food stores or online.

- Whole grain berries. For a chewy bread, try whole grain berries, usually wheat. To soften them, soak them overnight or partially cook them for 30 minutes.

- Whole seeds and nuts. Sunflower seeds and nuts are wonderful in breads. A mixture of whole grains and nuts is wonderful. You can also consider pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, and poppy seeds.

Your choice of chopped or rolled grains will create very different breads. Rolled grains almost disappear leaving tiny flecks of fiber in the bread and a creamy color (if you are using white flour). Rolled whole grains add flavor, texture, and richness to your breads. These breads are chewy and moist, keep exceptionally well, and tend to be less crumbly. Cracked grains add chewy nuggets to your bread but the texture and color tends to be the same.

How much whole grains that you add to your bread is a matter of preference. In our test kitchen, we have made many whole grain breads and have used as little as 1/3 cup of cracked grains or a cup or more of rolled grains.

Cracked grains are much denser than rolled grains.

The following recipe is a nice starting point. It has about 30% whole grain blend but is light enough in both texture and color that picky kids will eat it. For those of us that like a little substance to our bread, this fits the bill. This is a delightful bread.

Use this recipe as a base recipe for other breads using rolled whole grains. You might try the following combinations, adjusting the flour to make a soft, almost sticky dough of the right consistency.

- Instead of two cups grain blend, use four. Reduce the flour by about two cups.

- Instead of white bread flour, substitute half white and half stone ground whole wheat.

- Instead of white bread flour, use 100% stone ground whole wheat.

- Add 3/4 or one cup shelled sunflower seeds. The blend has sunflower seeds in it but at this concentration, it is not many. The seeds will absorb a bit of the moisture so be prepared to reduce the flour slightly.

- Add 1 1/2 cups raisins and 2 teaspoons good quality cinnamon. Double the honey.

This recipe makes two very nice loaves in 5 x 9-inch bread pans. The loaves weigh about 1 3/4 pounds each.

We have not tested this recipe in a bread machine. If you wish to use your bread machine, cut the recipe in half and use the dough setting.

Ingredients

2 1/3 cups water at 105 degrees
2 cups rolled grain cereal mix
1 7-gram packet of instant yeast, SAF or equal
3 tablespoons honey
1/2 cup Baker's Dry Milk (high heat treated dry milk) (see note)
5 cups high protein bread flour, more or less
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon quality dough conditioner or per producer's recommendation

Note: Milk contains an enzyme that retards the growth of yeast. High heat treatment destroys that enzyme resulting in taller loaves of bread. High heat treated dry milk can be purchased online.

Directions

Prepare two bread pans by greasing the inside of the pans including the rims.

1. Combine the grain blend, the water, and the yeast in the bowl of your stand-type mixer. Add the honey and the dry milk. Add about half of the flour and combine with the dough hook until the dough starts to come together. Add the butter and salt. Add more flour in several additions, beating after each, until a soft dough ball has formed. You should use about five cups of flour. Beat with the dough hook for four minutes at medium speed or until the gluten is developed. The dough should be soft (but not too sticky to handle), smooth, and elastic. Water absorption may vary depending on environmental conditions and the flour you use.

2. Place the dough in a large greased bowl and turn once to oil all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic and let the dough rise until doubled, about one hour.

3. Turn the dough onto a lightly greased work area. Deflate the dough by gently folding and pressing most of the air from the dough.

4. Divide the dough in two with a knife. Using your hands, form a cylinder by pulling the dough around the center and tucking the seams together on the bottom, thus gently stretching the surface of the dough. Pinch the seams together to keep them from opening as the loaf expands.Place seam side down in a prepared pan and repeat with the second loaf.

5. Cover lightly with greased plastic wrap or place the loaves in a large food-grade plastic bag and set aside to rise until doubled, about one hour. Rise times will vary with conditions, especially temperature--yeast is very sensitive to temperature.

6. While the bread is still rising, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

7. When the bread has risen, place the loaves on the center rack of the oven and leave as much room for the air to circulate around the loaves as possible. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the bread is done and well-browned. If you have a probe-type thermometer, the internal temperature should reach 190 degrees. Once baked, immediately remove the loaves from the pans and cool them on a wire rack.

Guest Author: Dennis Weaver is the president of The Prepared Pantry, a kitchen store with over 100 bread mixes and baking ingredients and whole grains including the grains, nuts, and seeds mentioned in this article. He has written numerous books, articles, and recipes, including a free 250 page e-book, "How to Bake," with recipes and techniques from the culinary schools.

http://www.preparedpantry.com/whole-grains-cooking-recipes.aspx

Healthy Bread Articles from the blogosphere...

Healthy Bread Recipe: Flax, Sesame, Caraway, Poppy Seeds and Nuts

Fiber-rich Seeds & Nut bread recipe features whole wheat bread flour, rye flour, walnuts, honey and molasses with plenty of seeds for taste and texture.

Publish Date: 07/26/2010 10:05

http://breads-muffins.suite101.com/article.cfm/healthy-bread-recipe-flax-sesame-caraway-poppy-seeds-and-nuts

Instant Yeast vs. Active Dry Yeast in Homemade Bread Recipes

The list of healthy bread recipes below needs only one rise, or "proofing" - in the bread pans. Because the bread recipes use instant yeast, they don't need a second rising - a concept foreign to grandmothers everywhere. ...

Publish Date: 07/31/2010 23:17

http://breads-muffins.suite101.com/article.cfm/instant-yeast-vs-active-dry-yeast-in-homemade-bread-recipes

Healthy Blueberry Banana Bread-Cake

When life gives you ripe bananas and going-soft blueberries, make bread-cake! I call this “bread-cake” because it's very thick, very dense, and very moist. You can eat it like a slice of bread but had it been baked in a.

Publish Date: 07/28/2010 11:03

http://www.livelaugheat.com/2010/07/28/healthy-blueberry-banana-bread-cake/

Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day

From the authors of the groundbreaking, hugely popular Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day comes a new cookbook filled with quick and easy recipes for healthy bread Their first book was called stupendous, genius, and the holy grail of bread making. N...

Make Sure Your Fish Oil is TG Based

2010-06-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

Canada, Norway And The UK Have Banned Most Fish Oil Supplements From The US!

Canada might have the most strict health supplement regulations in the world, and so naturally their fish oil regulations are very strict. In fact, Canada has outlawed the sale of most fish oil products that are created in the US! Canada is in good company with Sweden and Denmark, who have also banned these omega 3s.

Why? The answer has to do with how bio-available the omega 3 fatty acids are, or how easily your body absorbs them and makes use of them. The reasoning is somewhat scientific, but I will simplify it to make it easier to understand.

The reason fish oil pills are so beneficial for our bodies is because they contain omega 3 fats. Omega 3s are good fats that are essential for health. Naturally, the omega 3s found in fish exist in the form of a triglyceride (TG). Each and every molecule consists of glycerol, an alcohol base, with three omega 3 fatty acids attached. These are definitely not the same kind of triglycerides that you are concerned about in your blood, so don't worry.

It's necessary to purify most fish oil because, unfortunately, the majority of fish contain excessive levels of toxins.

Most fish oil manufacturers employ a purifying process called molecular distillation to make their fish oils highly pure. But, omega 3s that naturally appear as triglycerides then are converted into a new formula called an ethyl ester (or EE). The glycerol alcohol base in the triglyceride (or TG) is exchanged for a molecule of ethanol.

What is the concern? It doesn't matter what alcohol base -glycerol or ethanol - is used, right?

Wrong, there is a huge difference that has prompted many countries to make it illegal! It ends up being the case that EE fish oil is much more difficult for the body to absorb than natural TG fish oil.

In fact, research has shown that TG fish oil has a 300% higher rate of absorption by the body, which means that EE oils are only 1/3 as absorbable as TG! But that is not where the problems end. Triglyceride (TG) omega 3 is absorbed by the body up to 50 times faster than ethyl ester (EE) omega 3, which as you can tell is significantly inferior!

EE fish oil is prohibited in Canada due to the problems that I've discussed. However, it is completely legal to sell EE in the US.

What a predicament. If we don't want to consume the poisonous toxins that are present in fish oil, then we must settle for a fish oil that barely gets absorbed and that s difficult for your body to make use of... Or do we?

Canadian fish oils that are purified are actually converted back to TG from their original EE form.

You're probably wondering: If TG based omega 3 is better in many ways than EE based omega 3, why do US producers of fish oil only usually produce EE oils?

Higher costs, of course! The manufacturers of fish oil must pay an additional 30 to convert their EE oils back into TG, but since consumers of fish oil aren't privy to the difference, these producers don't bother.

Furthermore, only a small percentage of them actually disclose that their fish oils are EE oils, so it s frustratingly hard to figure out what they contain.

However, since the large majority of fish oil supplements in the US are EE products, you can assume that a product is an EE unless it's labeled otherwise.

There exists only 2 brands made in the US that are TG based that are also tested by the third party International Fish Oil Standards: See Yourself Well and Nordic Naturals.

The research is pretty convincing that omega 3 products in triglyceride form are far superior to those that aren't (which is the majority of omega 3 products currently on the market).

If you re taking fish oil and want to ensure that you re getting the best product for your health, make sure yours is TG based.

Author Resource:-> Brittany Q. Wallace is a health and nutrition expert, with particular expertise with Omega-3 Fish Oil. You can read more on her site: http://www.fishoilblog.com/

Article From Articles For All

Try Sprouts for a Healthy and Balanced Digestion

2010-05-15T01:33:00.000-07:00

Sprouts, they seem so fragile and just another funny health food. But these little young stems have stored an incredible number of powerful nutrients and enzymes.

You see, seeds are meant to provide the plant-growing-embryo with all the nutrients it will need during the first crucial days of its development. A tiny seed is a store house of nutrients in a dormant state until they are needed for the sprouting process.

When water is absorbed, a great deal of enzymes are activated so that the nutrients can become available to the plant embryo which starts to grow. This process reaches its peak during the 3rd to 5th day of sprouting.

Sprouts are then full of valuable activated nutrients and enzymes. For example, a sprouted mung bean has:

• The carbohydrate content of a melon
• The amount of vitamin A of lemon
• The amount of vitamin B1 of an avocado
• The amount of vitamin B2 of a dry apple
• The amount of vitamin B3 of a banana
• The amount of vitamin C of a loganberry

But it's not just the nutrients. The enzymes you can find in sprouts are of immense biological importance, too. This is because they contribute to the digestion of other foods in our gut.

It may sound a paradox, but a sprout can do a lot more for you than you might think.

Insufficient digestion is the source of many health problems.

As we age, the amount of enzymes our body produces drops significantly. After our 20's, this ability drops 13% every ten years. This means that our digestive capacity lessens as well.

We are not able to properly digest the amount of food we used to... but it is extremely rare to see the amount of food consumed being reduced. On the contrary, overeating is a common pattern we see establishing itself as people get older.

Poorly digested food in the gut is an immediate source of bacterial infection. Harmful bacteria get the chance to overgrow, reproduce quickly and produce toxins, thus the delicate good bacterial balance is lost and our gut is inflamed.

This can have devastating effects in the actual amount of nutrients absorbed, but it can cause an even more serious disruption of the intestinal function.

The inflammation causes the surface of the gut to be disrupted. This means that toxins and undigested food particles can now leak to the blood stream and migrate anywhere in the body causing systemic (and completely irrelevant to the digestion itself) problems.

So a simple imbalance in the amount of food consumed and the actual amount we can process can indeed be the source of numerous problems.

It is really challenging for a physician to diagnose the real cause behind these pathological conditions. The solution is to switch to a diet that works in harmony with our gut. You can see now how important the sprouts can be.

Raw fruit and vegetables are rich in nutrients and enzymes. But sprouted beans and seeds though have 10-100 times more enzymes and nutrients than raw fruit and plants. It can make a huge difference, if they are included in your diet.

The best sprouts to incorporate in your diet are the following:

• Mung beans
• Rye
• Wheat
• Alfa alfa
• Lentils

Guest Author for this post: Helen Davies, MSc is a medical researcher, and graduate from Imperial College London ( MSc in Human Molecular Genetics). As the founder of Primal Health company, her expertise focuses on Nutritional Genomics and Functional Medicine. If you are interested in learning more about food & DNA interactions, visit our website --> http://www.Primal-Health.com

Raw Honey Versus the Honey Most People Get

2010-05-07T12:47:00.000-07:00

Image via Wikipedia

Those familiar with the bible have most certainly heard of Canaan. It was known best as the land of milk and honey. What do milk and honey have in common? Both of these elements in their purest states are unpasteurized.

Pasteurization was discovered in 1862, and was realized as a way to kill bacteria that accelerate spoiling of consumable goods. This is done by heat treating the edibles. The majority of goods found in the market today have been pasteurized in order to extend their shelf life.

Unfortunately, this process can also cause the disruption or loss of nutrients that are found in the natural byproduct of the animals. For years we have been stripping these nutrients in an effort to reduce spoilage and possible disease contamination, but most recently an effort has been made to go back to products found in a more natural state in order to reap their full benefits.

Some foods are clearly labeled as pasteurized, while others may need closer inspection of the label to determine what they are. One of these foods that needs extra consideration is honey.

There is a lot of work done by the bees in the manufacturing of honey. To begin, the worker bees will fly out as far as four miles from the hive in search of some local nectar. When the bee finds a flower, she will first consume nectar for her own nourishment, and will then consume additional nectar into an additional "honey stomach."

Upon returning to the hive, the contents of the worker bees secondary stomach is removed or sucked out by a house bee. The house bee chemically breaks down the polysaccharides of the nectar into some more simple sugars. This makes the nectar more easily digestible and results in honey that is spread throughout the honeycombs.

The bees have processed this sugar in a way to make it less vulnerable to bacteria within the hive as well. The bees will go one step further in their preservation process by fanning the honey with their wings to reduce it's moisture content - making it even less susceptible to bacteria. Honey is then sealed with a protective beeswax and kept until it is ready for consumption.

In this still pure state, the honey is packed with nutrients, antioxidants, and is an amazing energy source. In the United States, it is quite common for honey manufacturers to pasteurize the honey that is collected in an effort to destroy bacteria and prevent fermentation by unseen yeasts. This is done to help increase the shelf life of the sweet syrup, but as a side effect it removes additional nutrients that are beneficial to humans.

How do you know the condition of the honey you have purchased? Unprocessed honeys will be be labeled at 100 percent raw. You can obtain a fairly long shelf life with raw honey as long as you keep it stored under ideal conditions.

The bees have worked hard already to provide a product that is most beneficial in it's pure state. Next time you go shopping for honey, do have a good look at the label. You can enjoy all it has to offer when you can find truly raw honey.

Guest Author: Val Wilson is passionate about all things beekeeping! It is an incredibly rewarding hobby in so many ways, so if you would like more information about how to start beekeeping, go to http://www.bestbeekeeping.com and sign up for the FREE 7 day beekeeping ecourse.

What Features Should I Look For in an Electric Juicer?

2010-03-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

Oneo f the best way to ensure that the fruits and vegetable you eat contains the highest level of nutritional value is to juice them. But what make a good juicer?

It is a good idea to know what features you are looking for before you run out and purchase a juicer. Even though it may seem like all of the electric juicer product lines are the same, it will largely depend on the brand as to whether or not it will last the test of time. Of course, it is also dependent on the features being
offered by your selected juicer that will determine whether or not you will find it enjoyable!

One of the more reliable companies in the market is Power Juicer. I remember purchasing my first Power Juicer and thinking to myself "how in the world can they afford to offer a lifelong warranty?" It wasn't until I opened the juicer up and started using it that the answer to my question became clear. When the electric juicer completed its cycle only a short time after tossing in a couple of apples, I found the quality of the juice being extracted was top class.

Breville is another juicer brand that I attempted to test out. Well, it was actually a gift for my son, as he was just moving away to college. I wanted to make sure that he would stay healthy, so I purchased a Breville electric juicer! This juicer came highly recommended by a friend, saying that it yielded the same quality as the Power Juicer, just at a lower price.

Features: The first feature you should look for in your electric juicer is, at least, an 800 watt motor. Power Juicer has what is called a High Performance internal motor, which would be just as efficient as an 800 watt model. This allows for a smoother consistency within the final product, and if you desire more or less frothiness in your juice, most models come with a 3 point adjusting setting interface, making it easy to switch from one mode to another with minimal trouble.

The second feature you should pay particularly close attention to is the pulp extraction filter. If it is not a stainless steel Micro Mesh pulp / seed filtration system, then it might just prove to be worthless. Not only will your pulp land
completely in the filter system, it will also become very dry, compared to other models. The last feature you need to pay close attention to is the juice extraction system. Most models now have a stainless steel blade separating the wheat from the chaff, to coin a phrase. This is the kind of extraction system you are going to want to have in your electric juicer, no questions asked!

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This article was written by an author that has spent considerable time researching the electric juicer market! However, if you require more technical information, simply visit http://www.juicer-guide.com

The Importance of Macronutrients

2009-12-17T13:05:00.000-08:00

In trying to maintain a healthy diet, we often focus on exotic nutrients like antioxidants and trace minerals. But the macrocnutrients are just as important for our optimum health.

In fact, Macronutrients should take up the largest portion of your diet. This category of nutrients includes carbohydrates, protein and fat. Your body uses
macronutrients for energy, growth and repair. Different types of macronutrients do different things for your body, so it is important to get variety in your daily diet, Be sure to eat the right types of each class of macronutrient.

CARBOHYDRATES come in two forms: Simple and complex.

Simple carbohydrates are sugars that don't need to be broken down further by the digestive system. The body uses them for quick boosts of energy. Honey, maple syrup, soda, cookies, candy, table sugar and cakes are all sources of simple sugars... Since they are also high in calories, they should only be eaten occasionally. Instead, it is important to eat healthy sources of simple sugars, like fruit and fat-free or low-fat milk. These alternatives to sugary sweets offer vitamins, minerals and fiber as well.

Image via Wikipedia

Complex carbohydrates are larger molecular structures and digest more slowly in the stomach and intestines. They provide longer-lasting energy. Foods like bread, pasta, rice, oatmeal, corn and starchy vegetables (like potatoes and carrots) contain the highest amounts of complex carbs. Sources you should choose most often are vegetables, beans and whole-grain, high-fiber breads and cereals.

The right carbohydrates to keep in your diet are the complex carbohydrate. They provide fiber along with trace elements, vitamins and phytonutrients, as well as energy.

Complex carbs generally have a low-glycemic index - which means they release their sugar content more slowly into the blood stream. This is why they provide a longer energy supply and it is easier for your body to regulate its sugar levels.

The glycemic index is a way of measuring the rate at which carbohydrates are broken down and appear in the blood as simple sugars. Those foods that result in a rapid rise in blood sugar often have a high glycemic index. Carbohydrates that are broken down slowly and cause only a moderate, controlled increase in blood sugar often have a low glycemic index. Some carbohydrates fall in between.

High-glycemic foods provides quick energy, but it is usually short-lived and hunger soon returns. This crash stimulates many energy responses in our body chemistry, stressing our organs. Most convenience foods and many meal replacements and diet products on the market to-day are high-glycemic.

Low-glycemic foods provide greater satiety and sustained energy. By virtue of their slow digestion and absorption, low-glycemic foods can help control appetite and delay hunger.

PROTEIN - A healthy diet includes a variety of high-quality protein sources, including complete proteins, which contain all of the essential amino acids. Protein is what makes up bodily tissues, like the muscles, skin and organs. When you eat food containing protein, your digestive system breaks it down into smaller parts called amino acids. These amino acids are later used by the body to build and repair cells and tissues.

The two main sources of protein are: animal products, like meat, milk, fish and eggs and vegetable products, like beans,nuts,seeds and soy. To make sure you get all the essential amino acids, it's important to eat a wide variety of these protein-rich foods, such as lean meat, fish, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, eggs, nuts, seeds and beans.

FATS - Surprisingly, some fat is good for you! Your body needs it for proper brain development, like the fats omega-3 and omega-6, to bring certain vitamins through the brain barrier.

There are two types of fat: Saturated and unsaturated. Beneficial fats are high in essential fatty acids and low in saturated fatty acid.

Unsaturated fat is found in fish, like salmon and tuna, nuts, seeds, avocados and most vegetable oils. Most of the fat that you eat should come from these foods.

Saturated fat may increase your risk of heart disease. It is important to limit the amount you consume. No more than 10% of your total daily calories should be derived from saturated fat. It is found in food that come from animals, like red meat, butter, cheese, milk (except fat-free) and ice cream. Coconut and palm oils are also high in saturated fat and can be found in many store-bought baked foods.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A LOW-FAT, HIGH-FIBER DIET.

Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol and rich in fruits and vegetables and grain products that contain some type of fiber, particularly soluble fiber, have many health benefits. Unfortunately,the normal diet in to-day's society includes only one-half or two-thirds of the fiber necessary for optimal health. The positive impact of a high-fiber diet is increased when there is a concurrent reduction in the amount of saturated fat consumed.

Trans-fatty acids or trans fat can also raise the risk of heart disease. Trans fat is formed when liquid vegetable oils go through a chemical process called hydrogenation, which makes the oils into solid fat, like shortening and hard margarine. This process increases the shelf life of foods, including potato chips, cookies and fried food that we consume every day. Trans fat behaves like saturated fat: Clogging arteries and increasing LDL-C (bad cholesterol) levels. Trans fat may also reduce HDL (good cholesterol levels). The health risks posed by this dangerous fat have prompted many regulatory agencies to require that food manufacturers lists trans fat amounts on all nutritional labels. So when eating packaged foods, try to pick foods labeled 0g trans fat per serving.

A source for the information in this article comes form the publisher of => http://www.nutrobalance.com.

The Forehead Thermometer, a Hot Gift For the Holidays

2009-11-22T18:31:00.000-08:00

With so much concern about the flu as well as the usual colds of the winter season, a great gift this year is the Forehead Thermometer. This is a digital device that makes it easy to read a person's temperature to check for fevers.

The instrument as the name, Forehead Thermometer indicates, is held lightly against a person's forehead until it "beeps" indicating that reading has been taken. The current temperature is displayed on an LED screen. A nice feature in these digital devices is that the previous recorded temperature is stored, so you can see if there has been any change.

While the Forehead Thermometer can be used on anyone - it is especially useful for families with babies or small children who traditionally have a hard time staying still for older methods of taking a temperature.

If you are looking for a useful gift that is perfect for anyone and everyone on your holiday gift list, I recommend you check out the Forehead Thermometer! There are many styles of forehead thermometers including:

Vicks Forehead Thermometer,

Summer Infant Forehead Thermometer Strips,

Temperature Check 4-in-1 Digital Infrared Thermometer (Ear/Forehead/Ambient/Clock) and the

Safety 1st 49540 Forehead Thermometer.

The Wellness Carafe - Style and Healthier Water

2009-10-24T11:18:00.000-07:00

There is nothing so basic to being healthy and staying healthy than drinking pure water. And if you want to drink uncontaminated or pure water, than in today's world you have to filter it.

Tap water, as well as the water in our streams, lakes and even underground, is chockful of industrial chemicals, pesticides and even traces of prescription drugs!

So I buy bottled water that has been filtered for my drinking water. But sometimes dealing with bottled water is a hassle, that is one of the reasons why I keep a couple of Wellness Carafes around.

What is a Wellness Carafe? It is an elegantly contained pitcher that is also a water filter system. You pour tap water in the top - gravity forces the water through a highly sophisticated filter and your pour out water that is great tasting and has been enhanced ionicly!

Here is a product description from Amazon: "If you want clean, safe and refreshing water in a pitcher design, then the new Wellness Carafe is ideal for you. The Wellness Carafe uses a multi-stage filter cartridge to purify the water and to remove chlorine and other harmful contaminants from your water. Just pour tap water into the top of the Carafe and gravity will do the rest. In a few minutes, the bottom of the Carafe will be full of natural tasting water.

"If you want ice water you can drop a handful of ice in with the tap water or you can put it in the refrigerator. Like all Wellness Filter products, the Carafe's multi-stage cartridge contains the famous enhancement media for improved hydration, soluble minerals and negative ions. Carafe includes one forty gallon capacity filter."

This is a great filtered water dispenser designed to not only remove all the bad stuff, but also to enhance the value of the drinking water! I love it, but don't just take my word for it. Here is a Amazon review from D. Garcia who gives the water filtering carafe five stars:

"I have disgusting tap water and this carafe helps tremendously, no more funky smells or weird tasting water. Unlike the Brita, this lid is much more secure. The only downside to this is that it does filter slowly, but as long as you fill it after you use it it's really not much of a problem, unless you need copious amounts of water immediately, then you may want to find something that filters faster."

Why does the water run so slowly through this water purifier pitcher? It just takes longer to really filter out the bad stuff - what you don't want going into your body. If the water drains through too quickly, it is not really removing all the unwanted particles and contaminants.

Whether you have health problems, or are healthy at the moment, it is very important to drink the best quality water that you can. A Wellness Carafe is an excellent home water filtration method for getting that quality water. I love my carafes!

For more information visit, Wellness Carafes.

Healthy Snacks for Younger and Older Children

2009-10-19T22:46:00.000-07:00

Kids love to snack! Especially after school, on rainy days, while watching TV and even when they are bored.

If they are going to snack then make sure you provide them with a selection of healthy snacks.

With little ones and grade school children it is easy to fill their little tummies with healthy snacks.

Older children and teenagers are a bit of a challenge to please. The fruits and veggie sticks just won't do anymore. Their idea of a healthy snack is a slice of pizza loaded with toppings and a diet soda. (We now know that this is type of "snack" the opposite of healthy.)

Yummy Snacks for the Little Ones

Bugs on a stick - While it may not sound very appetizing, children gobble this snack up and ask for more! These are very easy to make.

You will need one stalk of washed celery cut into three pieces. Peanut butter - fill the little inside of the pieces of celery with peanut butter. Raisins - Stick four or five raisins (bugs) in the peanut butter.

Jiggly Jell-o Treat - For this snack you will need a box of Jell-o and metal cookie cutters. In a shallow square pan pour in the Jell-o (follow the instructions on the box the prepare it.) Set it in the refrigerator for about an hour or until it is firm and wiggly. Use your cookie cutters to cut out fun shapes, you can plop a little whipped cream on top if you want.

Frozen juice pops - This treat has been around for decades. You will need the Popsicle holders that are sold in almost every store during the spring and summer season. Fill the holders with 100% real fruit juice and freeze for a few hours. These make a great treat on a hot summer day.

Yogurt cover pretzel rods - These are easy to make and the kids love them. You will need a bag of pretzel rods, 8 ounce yogurt, you can use plain or flavored. Pour the yogurt in a shallow pan or on a plate and roll the pretzel rod in it. Place the yogurt covered pretzel rod on a freezer safe plate or in a container and freeze for about an hour.

"Acceptable" Snacks for Older Children and Teens

This age group is harder to please, so the idea is to "hide" the healthiness of the snack. I understand that sounds a bit odd, but it is simply done by not announcing the snack is healthy or sometimes implying that the snack is not healthy works just as well. Use a little reverse psychology that most parents must learn.

Smoothies - Are always a big hit with this age group. You will need fruit one or a couple of different kinds. Ice, plain or fruit flavored yogurt and a blender. Cut the fruit ( about a cup and a half worth) into small pieces put it in the blender, add 1 cup of ice, 1/4 cup of yogurt and blend.

Snack mixes - These are the best! You can put whatever you want in them. My favorite is made of popcorn, raisins, pretzel sticks, and assorted peanuts. Put all the chosen ingredients in to a large bowl with a lid and shake well to mix it all up. Then sit back and watch it all disappear!

Preparing healthy snack for children and teens does not have to be a difficult chore or a boring snack for them. Simply think of some healthy food items and see how well they work together. Before long you will be creating amazing, healthy fun snacks for your kids!

Don't forget the lowly, but amazing apple... check out apple recipes here: Free Apple Recipes.

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A resource for this article was the management team and dedicated staff of The Platinum Recipes Collection. The Platinum Recipes Collection can be found here: http://www.platinumrecipescollection.com

For Fitness Sake, Fiber is Core to Healthy Eating

2009-10-13T02:05:00.001-07:00

To keep fit, healthy eating is something we all need in our lives. To keep our digestive system in good shape and to rev up our metabolism for proper body function, good nutrition is key. Body tissue breakdown and fat levels increase when we make poor food choices. And one of the key components of good nutrition is fiber.

Fiber comes in both soluble and insoluble forms.

Insoluble fiber is healthy for us, as it gives us regular bowel movements, preventing constipation and removing toxic waste that can lead to colon cancer. Insoluble fiber prevents cancer-producing substances from forming by keeping an optimal pH balance in our intestines.

To get insoluble fiber into your diet, start eating more dark leafy green vegetables, fruits, root vegetables (skins), whole wheat, nuts and seeds.

Soluble fiber reduces risks of heart disease and regulates blood sugar by lowering cholesterol especially bad cholesterol (LDL).

Soluble fiber helps to regulates sugar releases and absorption into the blood stream from the food in our stomachs because the fiber attaches to fatty acids slowing down the time it takes to empty our stomachs.

Soluble fiber is found in oats, nuts, flax seed, oranges, apples, carrots and dried beans.

A lifestyle with a proper healthy diet and regular exercise is a goal we should all have. Seeking such a goal will help us live a longer and healthier life

Getting fiber into your diet will contribute to your fitness level as can the following suggestions...

1. Drink three liters of distilled water when possible, every day. This helps purify and clean the systems in your body. Distilled water is the water of choice, as it is the most pure and clean.

2. Eat any fruit and lots of it. Fruit, as already mentioned, is a source of both soluble and insoluble fiber which can keep you regular, while lowering bad cholesterol.

3. Vegetables also contain both soluble and insoluble fiber so take your mother's advice eat as many vegetables as possible.

4. Whole grains are a must - get plenty of them in your diet. Stay away from sweets and beat those cravings by eating whole grains, whole wheat and oat bran.

Fitness and fiber are a team, meant to give you a cleaner, healthier body. For a new and complete program for fitness and diet, click here Lose-weight-get-fit-for-couples.com.

Is Organic Food Really Organic? Maybe Not!

2009-10-12T12:12:00.000-07:00

If You Think 'Organic' Food is 'Organic', Think Again...

The last decade has witnessed an increased interest in things "organic" as more and more consumers seek out products that are healthy, ethical, and environmentally friendly. Nowhere is this more evident that in the food industry.

In fact, the organic food industry has gone from a cottage industry start up to a multi-billion dollar business in less than a decade. Global sales of organic food were estimated to be $40 billion in 2006 with the world organic market growing rapidly by about 20% annually. In the US, organic food products are the fastest growing sector of the food marketplace.

Because of the rapid growth of the organic food industry, it is no surprise that big food companies and retailers have joined the act. Because of these alliances, unlikely organic products are sprouting up everywhere including organic cheetos and organic McDonalds coffee. The new movie FOOD INC eloquently speaks to this issue. Hershey Foods owns Dagoba, Kraft owns Boca Foods and Back to Nature, and Heinz is a big investor in Hain Celestial which is connected to many small organic companies including Earth's Best, Spectrum Organics, and Frutti di Bosco.

So who standardizes and regulates this burgeoning worldwide industry? Every country has its own regulations in labeling organic products.

In the USA, the Organic Food Production Act was passed in 1990 giving mandate to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to set national standards and in 2002, the USDA set up the National Organic Program (NOP) to regulate organic food products. The USDA regulations cover issues such as genetic modification, radiation, bioengineering, pesticides, fertilizers, hormones, antibiotics, and other
man-made chemicals but they do not cover some environmental as well as ethical and social issues.

Certification covers all processes involved from production to processing, packaging and transport. The products that fall under NOP jurisdiction are fresh and processed
agricultural food products, including dairy products, meat and livestock and food crops. It covers food products only and does not include non-food organic crops such as cotton and plants for cosmetics and personal care products.

Because the NOP is a very small understaffed subagency it cannot undertake inspection of food producers to verify organic claims and thus is dependent on no less than 54 accredited agencies within the US in addition to 44 accredited foreign agencies for products produced outside the US.

In the US, the following terminology is allowed on organic food products.

"100% organic" - single ingredient such as a fruit, vegetable, meat, milk and cheese (excludes water and salt).

"Organic" - multiple ingredient foods which are 95 to 100% organic.

"Made with organic ingredients" - 70% of the ingredients are organic. Can appear on the front of package, naming the specific ingredients.

"Contains organic ingredients" - contains less than 70% organic ingredients.

To say the least, organic labeling is both complicated and confusing. However, only those products that meet the '100% organic' and 'organic' criteria are allowed to carry the USDA Organic seal and the USDA emphasizes that the term 'organic' is not synonymous to 'natural' or 'all-natural'.

In addition to the labeling conundrum and the dependency of the NOP on other entities for certification, all is not well in the organic realm. Several well-publicized events point to the fact that current regulation by the NOP may
not be effective.

(1) In 2005 The Cornucopia Institute filed a complaint against Aurora Organic Dairy for multiple violations of federal organic regulations. Aurora is the supplier to big
supermarket chains like Safeway, Wal-Mart, and Costco.

(2) In January 2007 The Cornucopia Institute reported that the retailer giant Wal-Mart was mislabeling certain products organic. The product packaging says "all natural," but Wal-Mart added the word organic to its price labels.

(3) August 2008. The USDA announced that 15 of its accredited certifying agencies had been placed on probation due to various violations of the NOP organic standards,
according to AlterNet. The violations included several certifying agencies from outside the US and included agencies in China, a country which has recently been
implicated in toxic contaminations, including lead to melamine. One product concerned an organically certified ginger which contained a non-allowable pesticide called aldicarb. The ginger, sold under the 365 label at Whole Foods Market, contained a level of aldicarb not even permissible for conventional ginger, let alone organics. Aldicard causes nausea, headaches and blurred vision even at low concentrations.

(4) April 2009: The Cornucopia Institute urged organic food consumers to petition to the NOSB for the removal of non-organic soy lecithin from the National List. The
Institute claims organic lecithin is now commercially available.

(5) June 2009: A federal judge in St. Louis dismissed class action suits filed by consumers against Aurora Dairy for organic milk fraud.

Additionally the National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances has become a minefield!

To be certified "organic", a product must contain 95% organic ingredients or materials during its production. The other 5% should be on the list of allowable synthetic substances. A National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances was prepared in 2002, but has since been amended because food producers can file a petition to include substances that are not on the original list but which they
think are essential in their production. In June 2007, a final amended National List was issued with the number of allowable substances increasing from 77 to 245, according to the LA Times. Subsequently, the advocacy group Organic Consumers Association expressed objections to the inclusion of some of the new products allowed, especially the food colorings.

And even organic labeling, itself, has recently come under fire due to the above mentioned scandals and controversies involving the NOP. Advocacy groups have put
forward the following objections.

(1) Lax national standards. This has created a certification procedure that is unreliable, especially those occurring abroad and to add insult to injury the
original Organic Act's mandate for pesticide testing has been declared optional.

(2) Loophole in the Act. The ability to petition for amendments to the National List are being viewed by many as a big loophole resulting in food producers using the
process to their advantage. The original goal was to shrink rather than expand the list. So far, only one substance has been removed whereas more than 60 have been added.

(3) Consumers are not getting what they are paying for. For paying extra, consumers expect food that is free from pesticides and chemicals. If the national organic standards were to be lowered, consumers are actually being "ripped off."

(4) Watered down. Many believe that with the participation of corporate giants in the organic food market, the organic principle has been seriously "watered down". They put this down to big companies' strong lobbying power, forcing NOP to make concessions and lower national organic standards to accommodate them.

(5) Greenwashing. Some groups even go as far as accusing the NOP of greenwashing, that the organic seal is just a marketing ploy. Some specific examples of greenwashing activities include importing organic powdered milk from New Zealand and keeping a larger number of organic cows in a smaller space.

Consumer groups and some organic pioneers say they are concerned that the 'corporate alliance' movement - a response to the practices of corporate food production that
promotes a natural chemical-free approach to farming - will eventually create a watered down organic food industry unless firm standards are maintained by the NOP, which is unlikely, in view of its past performance.

Other groups feel that conflicts of interest may arise between conventional and organic food production. Organic production used to be a niche market for small organic farmers. As organic production goes mainstream, these small farmers would be out competed and driven out of business.

As people become more and more health and socially conscious, the demand for organic products is increasing. However, as economists point out, "as mainstream consumers
are growing hungry for untainted food that also nourishes their social conscience, it is getting harder and harder to find organic ingredients."

For the purists, however, the philosophy also requires farmers to treat their people and livestock with respect and, ideally, to sell small batches of what they produce locally so as to avoid burning fossil fuels to transport them.

Economic principles, however, do not coincide with purist organic philosophy. The whole supply chain of organic food production is becoming more complicated as the market grows rapidly. The producers are forced to take short cuts in order to stay competitive.

In the US, for example, there aren't enough organic cows to produce organic milk. Even if there were enough cows, there aren't enough grains to feed them. And it is no longer possible to feed cows with raw grass to obtain raw grass-fed milk unless the farmer applies fertilizers to his pasture to make the grass grow faster. Some companies are forced to look offshore for organic ingredients, thereby violating several organic principles, not necessarily in the production process, but in terms of low labor costs and high transport costs.

The organic food industry has clearly outgrown the original regulations meant to protect it and its consumers. And the increased demand for organic food may actually be its own undoing. How 'organic is organic food' is even more important now than in the past!

Guest Article by Katt Mollar
http://healthworldnet.com

The Definition of Organic Used For Organic Labeling

2009-08-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

It may be strange yet interesting to note that marking a food item as organic does not necessarily indicate that the food is healthful and nutritive. The USDA does not claim that food produced organically has more salubrious benefits than conventional food, but it does assure that such foods do not contain any pesticides or harmful chemicals.

Therefore, the picky consumers, who pay a lot of heed to nutritional values of everything they eat, are still required to read labels attentively in order to decide how nutritious their diet is going to be. Another interpretation conveys that the term 'organic' does not mean 'natural.' All it means is that USDA has approved the food.

USDA's Steps towards Creating Organic Foods

These days, the USDA makes the use of state and private agencies in order to carry out inspections on food companies to certify them to market organic foods. However, all the farmers making less than $5000 through organic sales are exempted from the process of certification. They do however, have to comply with the latest standards of the government and be veracious about their claims for the organic label. A fine, as large as $10,000, can be issued upon the companies and individuals, who try to label or sell a product, which does not meet the USDA standards.

The Benefits of Organic Foods over Conventional Foods

The best thing about organic foods is that they comprise of
less amounts of toxic minerals. Most of the other foods contain heavy metals, detrimental to our health in the end. These metals include aluminum, which is responsible for Alzheimer's disease; Mercury, which causes neurological damage; and lead, the mental implications of which are known to affect children's IQ adversely.

Therefore, in a world where nothing can be trusted for complete purity, the consumption of foods, certified as organic can certainly define your path towards a healthier lifestyle.

A source for this article is Rod Hoss who has 7 years of online marketing driving targeted traffic for increases in website sales. Learn more at his website:
http://www.authorityseo.com/.

Get Your Life Back! Take Control of Your Arthritis!

2009-07-09T22:10:00.000-07:00

Red, burning, swollen and so stiff you don't want to move... that's what those who suffer from arthritis experience on a daily basis.

If you know this all to well, you are probably one of the 46 million Americans (that's 1 out of every 5 people) that are living with arthritis every day. To better understand how to get relief from this debilitating disease we need to dive deeper into its root cause.

Some of the types of arthritis which are associated with inflammation include:

rheumatoid arthritis
gout
tendinitis
bursitis
polymyalgia rheumatica

So what is Arthritis?

Arthritis actually means joint (arthr) inflammation (itis). Arthritis can be used to define a group of more than 100 rheumatic diseases and other conditions that can cause pain, stiffness and swelling in the joints or any part of your body.

Additionally, it can damage the joint cartilage which can lead to joint weakness, instability and visible deformities that can interfere and, in severe cases, limit a person's ability to perform most basic daily tasks such as walking, climbing stairs,
using a computer keyboard, washing dishes or brushing your teeth.

Arthritis can affect anyone regardless of age and most commonly affects joints in the knees, hips, hands and spine. If left undiagnosed and not treated properly, arthritis can cause irreversible damage to the joints, bones, organs, and skin. Not to mention dramatically impair your quality of life.

Arthritis-related conditions primarily affect the muscles and the bones, but it is also considered to be a systemic problem as well, affecting the whole body.

Arthritis can cause damage to any bodily organ or system, including the lungs, kidneys, blood vessels, skin and even the heart. The Arthritis Foundation sites two independent studies (Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston and at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota) both of which prove that the widespread inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis is linked to heart disease and an increased risk of early death.

No one really knows the exact cause of arthritis, but there are certain risk factors to keep in mind:

Genetics - likely to contribute to risk but no one knows how much.
Age - the older you are the more at risk you become.
Weight - maintaining a healthy weight will ease the load on the joints.
Previous Injury - major injuries are likely to contribute to risk.
Occupational Hazards - repetitive, high demand jobs increase risk.
Certain Sports - high level, high demand sports can contribute to arthritis (however, general exercise is always a plus)
Illness or infection - an infection in the joint or gout can lead to arthritis.

What we do know, is that when you have arthritis your immune system goes into over-drive and causes the joints to swell and become inflamed. Therefore, treating the inflammation becomes key in managing the pain and discomfort associated with this condition.

Sadly enough, the Arthritis Foundation reports that half of those Americans with arthritis don't believe anything can be done to help ease their pain. You may be in that situation yourself, having thrown your hands up in frustration and simply decided to live with your pain. The good news is that by reducing the inflammation you can significantly ease the painful symptoms associated with arthritis.

Here are a few ways to reduce your inflammation:

Exercise - less weight equals less stress on joints
Diet - Eat plenty of vegetables, fruits and whole-grain products; limit sugar, salt and fat (especially saturated fat found in animal products)
Rest - a good balance between rest and activity is the key to joint health
Over-the-counter and prescription medications - while these may provide temporary relief by masking the pain they are not always get to the root of the problem - inflammation. They can also have serious side effects, especially with long-term use.
Natural anti-inflammatory supplements - probably the most promising natural approach to reducing inflammation in a long while. I recommend looking for supplements containing systemic enzymes and all-natural herbal ingredients.

By taking these simple steps to reducing inflammation you will be well on your way to managing your arthritis pain and it devastating effects on your mind and body. Everyone should strive to achieve a healthy and active lifestyle for optimal health and well-being.

Finally... A Safe, Effective, All Natural Pain Reliever

Dan Monahan had reached the point where he was willing to try anything - anything to ease the constant pain and inflammation in his leg. He could no longer walk. Even standing was uncomfortable.

His doctor gave him several prescription medicines but nothing helped. Pain was ruining his life. When Dan saw an ad for this natural pain reliever, he was skeptical. How could this product work when every prescription his doctor gave him hadn't? But he decided to give it a try. Let Dan tell you what happened:

"Was I pleasantly surprised! After only 2 to 3 days on the activation dose, I noticed reduced inflammation and less pain in my leg."

After just three weeks, Dan started walking again. This all natural product worked for Dan when all of his prescription drugs hadn't. You can relieve your constant, burning pain when prescription drugs no longer work - just like Dan did - with Heal-n-Soothe.

That's because Heal-n-Soothe works differently than prescription drugs. Here's how:

Prescription drugs reduce inflammation by switching off important compounds your body needs. Many are vital to your health. Eventually, you may need more drugs to get the same relief. Or worse, you experience dangerous side effects caused by drugs that are supposed to help you feel better.

Heal-n-Soothe works with nature by adding more of the enzymes that naturally reduce inflammation. With Heal-n-Soothe, your body has everything it needs to repair and renew your muscles and joints. You have less pain as a result - with no life threatening side effects.

So if you're in constant pain and prescription drugs no longer help, don't wait another second. Click here to ease your pain and cool inflammation with Heal-n-Soothe!

Eat Foods That Give You Energy

2009-06-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

It's really unfortunate that the vast majority of the population turns to stimulants instead of looking to whole foods for a boost of invigorating energy. I guess part of the problem is that humans are generally lazy and would rather take the "magic pill" to fix all their problems.

But when it comes to having more energy the irony is that the stimulating foods such coffee, sugar, and energy drinks actually fatigue your body in the long run. Sure they give you a quick jolt of energy but then their real effects are felt as they wear down your adrenal glands, disrupt your blood sugar, and create a huge crash after the initial high. Essentially they are drugs. They are not foods that give us energy.

Ok, then, what are some natural foods that will give you long-lasting energy?

Well, you may want to consider that no single food will give you more energy than your overall diet. Sure you could add in some of the energy foods I describe below, but if your diet is horrific to begin with, then you will not see the sustained level of energy that you want.

Instead of searching for "miracle" energy foods your goal should be to eat a diet that consists of foods that are vibrating at higher energies. This means eating more raw living foods. When a food has not been cooked, it maintains its natural energy properties (not to mention all of its other nutrients). Thus, when you eat raw foods, you're giving your body direct energy from the ultimate source - the sun - as most of these foods will be plant-based, and the sun is where they get their energy.

The closer you eat to the bottom of the food chain, the more nutrition and energy will you acquire. Think about it - it takes more of your energy to digest animal meat than it does to digest a green vegetable, right? Plus, this green veggie will have the maximum amount of living energy versus a dead animal carcass.

Thus, to have more energy, you need to follow a high energy diet. After that, you can start to knit pick and see which specific foods give you more energy, if at all.

To help you get started, here is a list of some my favorite energizing foods:

- wheat grass - if you haven't tried wheat grass then you're missing out on some big time energy and nutrition. Growing it and juicing yourself can be a bit of a pain but you can easily get a "shot" at most health food stores or juice bars. 1 oz of wheat grass juice packs more nutrition than 2.5 lbs of green leafy veggies!

- raw cacao (nibs or powder) - incredible source of magnesium, antioxidants, and life force. These give me a natural high that can last for hours without the subsequent like you would get from coffee and caffeinated beverages.

- goji berries - another incredible source of antioxidants and polysaccharides that improve cell-to-cell communication. I actually combine these with my raw cacao nibs and complementary tastes work really well together.

Remember that although these foods provide incredible nutrition they are the like the healthier version of coffee and other quick fixes. The key still remains to follow a raw foods diet, as much as possible, that will provide you with tons of life force, alkalinity, and nutrients to help your body thrive.

About the Author of this post: Yuri Elkaim is one of the world’s leading holistic nutrition and health experts. If you want to lose weight and live your healthiest and most energetic life ever, then you can learn more about his raw food diet book, Eating for Energy and get started with a FREE 6-part Energy Secrets e-course by visiting EatingforEnergy.ca today.

Healthy Eating and your Blood Pressure

2009-06-23T02:35:00.000-07:00

Why is it important to have a healthy diet? A lot of research has been done on this subject of healthy eating.

Much of the research has gone into exploring the connection between healthy eating and a decreased risk for diseases. The results continue to pour in that one of the best things you can do for your health is to eat right.

For example, research has shown that eating a healthy diet can reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure and that a change towards healthy eating can also lower your blood pressure.

One diet that has been studied is the "DASH" eating plan. DASH stands for "Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension". A study tested the effects that certain food had on blood pressure and the results were that elevated blood pressure can be reduced when individuals follow an eating plan that puts an importance on fruits, vegetables, and low fat dairy foods and that also is low in saturated fat, total fat, and cholesterol.

The particular eating plan known as DASH includes whole grains, poultry, fish, and nuts. The plan has reduced amounts of sugared beverages, sweets, red meats, and also fats.

Participants in the DASH eating plan noticed a reduction in their blood pressure as soon as 2 weeks after starting the DASH plan. Individuals with prehypertension as well as those with high blood pressure saw improvements in their blood pressure readings.

Are these DASH studies reliable? I believe so. They were sponsored by the NHLBI and conducted by four medical centers. The studies were coordinated at Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, OR. There is no doubt, in my experience, that the more we eat whole foods, the healthier are bodies are.

Following the DASH eating plan can not only lower your blood pressure, but when you combine the plan with other lifestyle changes like losing weight, getting regular exercise and cutting down on alcohol consumption, it can help prevent the development of high blood pressure too.

Those who follow the DASH eating plan also received another benefit: the eating plan can lower the bad cholesterol (LDL) in your system. This, when combined with its lowering of blood pressure effects, can reduce your risk for heart disease.

A PDF report about the DASH plan from the NHLBI can be found HERE!

For more ways to lower your blood pressure naturally, visit: Blood Pressure Truth.

Dealing With Diverticulitis and Other Digestive Disorders

2009-06-10T23:21:00.000-07:00

A REVIEW OF THE "GREAT TASTE NO PAIN" SYSTEM

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Quick Description

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With more than 1 out of 3 adults in the US (70 million) taking OTC or prescription pills for digestive disorders and the pain associated with them, as a nation, we have serious health problems. And we're spreading our problems around the world.

What most people are frustrated with is that even if they eat how most health professionals consider to be healthy, a large percentage of people STILL experience digestive problems. And so most people resort to drugs, surgery or eating bland foods. Or they just continue to suffer.

That's why the Great Taste No Pain System was developed -- to help slash some of the $42 billion dollars spent on those pills in the US alone.

This simple eating system is designed to dramatically reduce the acid pH measure in a person's entire body -- not just in the stomach. It does so by increasing the ratio of alkaline forming foods eaten and by showing you how to combine foods in a way that radically decreases the amount of acid digestive juices in the stomach and small intestines required to break down foods. With me so far? Hope so, because this is important stuff.

One of the primary components of the Great Taste No Pain System is the science of food combining, which was first introduced into the US in 1911 by Dr. William Hay, a New York surgeon who used it to cure his Bright's Disease, a kidney disease which was often fatal at that time. In fact, among the many thousands of lives it claimed was Teddy Roosevelt's first wife, who died of Bright's Disease at just 22 years of age.

A basic knowledge of Junior High chemistry is all it takes to see the logic behind this science: Mixing foods that require alkaline digestive enzymes with foods that require acid digestive enzymes slows and can even stop the digestive process. It can and does delay digestion by as much as 10 hours and more. This is incredibly bad for the body. The Great Taste No Pain system alleviates this problem, speeding food through your body, allowing it to absorb nutrients from foods at a much higher level.

In addition, one of the manuals in the Great Taste No Pain system, 'Foods That Create Acid, Foods That Take It Away,' is as clear as I've ever seen this data presented. Follow this simple guide and your body will use a minimum of energy in the digestion process, which leaves more energy for healing and other daily functions your body carries out.

This is a timely set of guides, because with our society's addiction to the convenience of processed foods, in many respects our health challenges are far worse than they were in 1911.

Great Taste No Pain author, Sherry Brescia, was a former Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) sufferer herself. In fact, in 1991, she spent 7 days in the hospital with bacterial colitis.

As a health insurance researcher and Chief Underwriter, she was able to research the benefits of an alkaline- balanced body and over the next 15 years perfected the system she now calls Great Taste No Pain.

She meshed a number of philosophies proven to help alkalize the body to create this simple system that anyone can follow regardless of where they are or what food choices they have available to them.

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What I Like:

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Taste: Unlike most restrictive diets, Great Taste No Pain cannot actually be called a diet, because it allows you to eat even great volumes of luscious, delicious food as long as you combine it according to a few simple guidelines. It truly requires very little willpower. Perhaps the greatest news for people who love to eat is that the 176 page recipe book in the system is stuffed with breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks that are unbelievably tasty. No rabbit food. Gourmet all the way, yet the meals (if you like to cook) only take between 15 and 30 minutes of prep time and make tons of yummy leftovers. So you can throw away the belief that you can't eat healthy on a super-busy schedule.

Speed: I love that you don't have to read 300+ pages before learning what to do. In the first guide, 'How To End Stomach Pain Forever, Even If Your MD says, "No Way,"' it provides a brief background on the science and then quickly moves onto the step-by-step 'how to.' I really love that.

Simplicity: The second Guide in the GTNP System is 'What To Eat With What.' This is a massive compilation. Every kind of food that you could possibly put in your mouth is listed, along with the corresponding foods that combine with it for easy comfortable digestion, and those foods that don't. This guide is so complete and so easy to follow, if you screw this up, it's back to pre-school for you.

More Simplicity: Traveling is the one thing that can ruin even the healthiest eaters. But in Great Taste No Pain, Sherry gives you a 'Pocket Guide For Pain-Free Dining Out.' This tool is phenomenal. You can store this little baby with your credit cards and, until you understand what combines with what, all you have to do is pull out your pocket guide and quickly note the rule, so you can eat and enjoy the rest of your day, pain-free.

Would you believe that you could eat McDonald's food and not suffer gassiness and reflux? Now you can!

Meat: While meat is not something people with digestive issues usually tolerate well on a daily basis (hence the daily pain), the problem isn't so much the meat as it is what you eat with the meat.

That is why each of the Guides in the system, including the recipe book, lists every possible food you can combine with meats without suffering. Most people will suddenly be able to eat beef, chicken, fish, pork, turkey, venison and any other type of meat they want. As long as you combine it right... no pain at all! And broccoli, lettuce, cucumbers and other veggies that can create havoc suddenly will not. That I love.

Fruit: Ask anyone that suffers stomach problems about fruit and you'll hear horror stories. So sadly, the most perfect food on the planet is shunned by a huge part of our world's population. No longer. Because you will soon learn why fruit causes you trouble and how to easily change that. You CAN eat fruit again, even if it now makes you turn blue! It's true!

While each Guide in the system is detailed and complete, they are "dumbed down" in the clearest language possible. So I don't doubt Sherry's claim that any 11 year old could teach it. This I really love.

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Things To Watch For:
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The one thing you want to be careful of is that once you start eating as prescribed in Great Taste No Pain, you could quickly begin to feel all powerful. You might start to think you are "cured" of your digestive problems since they went away so fast and since you have so much extra energy.

That would be a mistake.

Because technically there is no "cure" for most digestive problem, because technically they are not diseases at all. They are maladies brought on by eating the wrong foods and by eating them in the wrong combinations. So the principles in Great Taste No Pain is not a "cure," since people with sensitive stomachs will always be sensitive. GTNP is merely a way to make all symptoms go away forever and give you a lot more energy.

For example, let's say you've got it bad and have Diverticulitis or Crohn's. Great Taste No Pain can help you get rid of your symptoms very quickly.

But a year later, if you start eating like you used to, guess what? Yep, the symptoms will come back. You see, the principles that Great Taste No Pain is based on are sound. They work for everyone. But if you think that because you've been symptom-free for a long time, you've been "cured," think again. Go against these principles of easy digestion, and the problem can come back with a vengeance. Remember, good health comes from living a healthy lifestyle, not a"do it once and you're fixed" approach.

Another thing you might want to be prepared for is that since Great Taste No Pain cleanses your digestive tract, initially you could get a little diarrhea. If you experience constipation on a fairly regular basis, you might get a little "looseness" at first, but it will end soon.

Also, due to the detoxing going on, you might get a runny nose or get some other cold-like symptoms at first. It's nothing to worry about. If you do, while it might not be fun, it does mean it's working. It means your body is becoming purer and the toxins are leaving. And that is a very good thing.

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Conclusion:
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When I began following the system, I personally was amazed at the amount of energy I had, even late into the evening. I had no discomfort, no bloating, I didn't feel the need to eat again within an hour and no need for caffeine after meals.

Professionally and personally, my strong recommendation is that for anyone who wants more energy, sounder and longer sleep, migraine headaches to stop almost immediately, pain from gastritis and acid reflux to stop almost instantly, and the pain of digestive problems to stop or be reduced dramatically, get over to:
- - Great Taste, No Pain now and get the whole system. You will be thrilled.

And frankly, it won't take a full day for most people to feel a major difference in their bodies. Often it just takes one meal. After you have been following it for a week or more, feel free to let me know how you like it. I personally believe that anyone who adopts this simple, enjoyable food combining method will reap gigantic health benefits. So if that is what you are looking for, get over to
- - Great Taste, No Pain and get started today.

________________________________________
For More on Diverticulitis, visit Healthyhuman.net's website on Diverticulitis.

Young and Slim And Fit - Isn't That the Goal!

2009-05-08T00:38:00.000-07:00

Breakthrough System puts an end to Yo-Yo Dieting for Good...

Dr. Suzanne has gone and done it again!

She gave you the revolutionary secrets to fat loss in her eBook “Top Secret Fat Loss Secret” which shook the very foundations of the food manufacturers and opened the eyes of millions just like YOU to help take your life back and your waistline.

Even though, she helped people lose over 56,562 lbs total and counting with her amazing secret, she noticed an unsettling trend.

She found that there was no problem for them losing the weight but, to her disheartenment they seemed to be struggling to keep it off!

We have ALL gone through this. It seems too familiar.

LOSE the WEIGHT….GAIN the WEIGHT...LOSE the WEIGHT…GAIN the WEIGHT…

This viscous cycle of Yo-Yo Dieting has to end and end NOW!

As you know, Dr. Suzanne leaves no stone unturned when searching for the TRUTH!

After countless interviews with diet experts and people just like YOU who have struggled with the battle of bulge and have won she discovered that all of them did a very similar SIMPLE EASY to DO SYSTEM that kept the weight off !!!!

Instead of keeping this amazing discovery to herself Dr. Suzanne has created the
YoungSlimFit Program to give you all of the tools that they used to finally end their battle with the bulge!!

So if you are someone who is just flat out sick and tired of the endless Yo-Yo Dieting then do not hesitate any longer.

Go here to secure you life changing program!

=> YoungSlimFit Program

I would not hesitate long because she gives you 50% OFF of the normal price just for ordering within 24-48hrs!

So if YOU want to forever BREAK the CHAINS of the "vicious cycle"
of L0SE WEIGHT...GAIN WEIGHT you must hurry and head over to:

YoungSlimFit Program

But you'd best hurry,

-Scott

P.S. Remember she gives you a WHOPPING 50% OFF the normal price if
you order within 24-48 hrs!

Do You Twitter? - You can get a Free Copy of Reiki and the Law of Attraction, Find out how... Free Reiki Book.

copyright 5/8/2009 Dieting-help.com

Fighting the Flu and Flu Prevention

2009-04-28T13:39:00.000-07:00

Not catching the flu has become more serious this year than ever. It is never any fun to be sick, but with the swine flu - your life might be in danger - especially if you have other health risks. (Click this link for the latest news about the: Swine Flu.)

What can you do? First make sure you and your family practice good hygiene - this means washing your hands properly and covering your mouth and nose when you cough and sneeze.

Keep your distance, if you can, from others who are sick and stay home if you get sick.

Here are a couple of supplements I recommend you add to your diet, right now, to help boost your immune system. Or if you already have a cold or some type of flu - start taking these as you they should help you recover more quickly and help fight off secondary infections from bacteria.

Organic Oregano Oil. Oregano oil kills viruses, bacteria and even superbugs! It helps with your digestions, and has other health benefits as well. For a good source of organic oregano oil, click here: Organic Oregano Oil.

Colloidal Silver - This is a water infused with silver. And what does silver do? It prevents bacterial infections. Often when one catches a virus like the swine flu - we also come down with secondary infections caused by bacteria. In serious situations, this can lead to pneumonia and death...

Taking silver impregnated water can help you recover from bacterial infections and keep them from being a threat in the first place. For more about the health value of silver infused water, visit Silver Fuzion.

On the medical front, many states and health organizations are stocking up with the general anti-flu medicine known as Tamiflu. This drug works on various flu viruses and appears to be effective against the swine flu. This is a prescription drug so you will need to contact your doctor about it. For more information about this drug, visit Tamiflu News.

If you do get sick, stay home, get plenty of rest, stay away from refined sugars and eat organically if you can. And drink plenty of fluids.

Here is a tip: Remember to sterilize your toothbrush before each use - this will help keep you from reinfecting yourself over and over from germs left on your toothbrush.

And after you have recovered, remember to restock your digestive tract with good bacteria that may have been destroyed by any medications you took. Our body has a relationship with good bacteria and needs them for good health and for a good immune system. To find out more about beneficial bacteria, visit Latero-Flora.

MSG - A Deadly Killer in Your Foods!

2009-04-22T11:56:00.000-07:00

What is worse for your health than alcohol, nicotine and many drugs and yet can be found in many kitchen cabinets? The answer is monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavor enhancer. Originally associated with Chinese Food, MSG is now being added to thousands of food products found on your local grocery shelves and at restaurants.

MSG is used in canned soups, crackers, meats, salad dressings, frozen dinners and much more. It is found in food served at restaurants and school cafeteria and, even in baby food and infant formula.

MSG was invented in Japan in 1908. It is an artificial flavor enhancer based upon chemicals found in seaweed. And it does make processed food taste fresher and smell better, but at what cost to your health?

Why is MSG dangerous? It it overexcites your cells to the point of damage or death, causing brain damage to varying degrees -- and potentially even triggering or worsening learning disabilities, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease and more. It is a brain killer!

Other adverse effects linked to MSG use are: Obesity Eye damage, Headaches Fatigue & disorientation and Depression. Symptoms of MSG poisoning include: Numbness, Burning sensation, Tingling, Facial pressure or tightness, Chest pain or difficulty breathing, Headache, Nausea, Rapid heartbeat, Drowsiness and Weakness.

Getting MSG out of your diet, may not be easy as the FDA does not care to regulate this poisonous substance. Almost any processed food is likely to contain MSG - so stick to whole foods whenever possible. Ask restaurants for the MSG free items on their menu.

Eliminate any foods from you diets that contain: Autolyzed Yeast, Calcium Caseinate, Gelatin Glutamate, Glutamic Acid, Hydrolyzed Protein, Monopotassium Glutamate, Monosodium Glutamate, Sodium Caseinate, Textured Protein, Yeast Extract, Yeast Food and Yeast Nutrient.

Additionally, stay away from: Flavors and Flavorings Seasonings, Natural Flavors and Flavorings, Natural Pork Flavoring, Natural Beef Flavoring, Natural Chicken Flavoring, Soy Sauce, Soy Protein Isolate, Soy Protein, Bouillon Stock, Broth, Malt Extract, Malt Flavoring, Barley Malt, Whey Protein, Carrageenan, Maltodextrin, Pectin, Enzymes Protease, Corn Starch, Citric Acid, Powdered Milk, Anything Protein Fortified, Anything Enzyme Modified and Anything Ultra-Pasteurized.

Remember that the processed food industry cares about money first and your health last. Get MSG out of your diet by eating real, whole foods.

The source for this information and more details can be found at: MSG: Is This Silent Killer Lurking in Your Kitchen Cabinets.

Why Whole Wheat is Good For You!

2009-02-09T11:52:00.000-08:00

Why should you be eating whole grain wheat?

Whole wheat is a key source of vitamins and nutrients. Whole wheat is also a strong source of antioxidants. These nutrients are lost when the whole grain is processed into packaged, and to often useless, foods.

But by eating foods where the whole grains are kept, you can help control the sugar in your blood. This is very important for those with diabetes, but everyone should regulate their blood sugar when they can.

Whole grain must have all 3 parts: germ, bran and endosperm. Dietary guidelines established by the US government recommend 3 servings of whole grains a day for adults.

Humans have been eating wheat for thousands of years. It was cultivated widely in ancient Asia to Mesopotamia. It was once revered in China as a sacred food. Wheat arrived in the Americas when it was brought over by the early explorers.

For diabetics, processed foods are rarely the healthiest way to eat. White bread made with processed white flour has a high glycemic index value, commonly around 100. With whole wheat you can get a lower glycemic index value. Something closer to 50.

With all the health food stores that are around now, it's much easier to find healthy whole grain foods than it used to be. You're not just limited to whole wheat bread as your only whole grain option. Now it is easy to find whole wheat spaghetti, bagels, vermicelli, muffins, pancakes and cookies. And if you bake, you can use whole wheat flour for your everyday cooking and fully eliminate processed flour.

Everyone, even those that don't need to watch their glucose levels, will find that whole wheat is extremely nutritional. As mentioned whole wheat is an important source of vitamins B and E, together with antioxidants (slows aging), and minerals such as magnesium, manganese, phosphorous and selenium. The elevated fiber content helps enormously with your digestion as it cleans the bowels. The high amount of fiber reduces the feeling of being hungry and has been shown to reduce the risks of cancer and obesity.

This is an easy change in your eating habits that can make a world of difference in your health. Add whole grains to your diet, do it now so you can reap the benefits of a longer, healthier life.

One source for this post was Scott Davis who recommends whole wheat pancakes, brought to you by Doctorgrandmas.com.

Taking Care of Your Adrenal Glands

2009-02-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

How do you Achieve Perfect Adrenal Function??

Adrenal fatigue. You've probably heard the term, and may feel like it's something happening to you. Do you suffer from burnout, or a lengthy bout of exhaustion, you can't seem to pull out of, but with no obvious symptoms?

Adrenal fatigue may be your problem. Here's a little primer on these very important glands and how to treat them right.

The adrenal glands are small pyramid shaped organs that sit atop each kidney in the lower back. The adrenals release their own stress hormones in response to certain situations or environmental conditions, and control the release of many other important hormones in the body such as DHEA, estrogen and testosterone.

Their primary function is to prime the body to deal with life-threatening, stressful, or pressure-filled circumstances. They largely determine the energy level available for the necessary response.

In our fast paced western culture, an estimated 75% of individuals suffer from adrenal fatigue some time in their lives. This occurs when the glands can no longer keep up with the pace of outputting stress hormones. Or as in the fable about the "Boy who cried Wolf," the adrenal glands no longer respond to repeated demands that they've heard too many times before.

Signs and symptoms of adrenal fatigue may include severe fatigue, lightheadedness upon standing, depression and irritability, lack of sex drive, exhaustion and general malaise. Adrenal fatigue is often associated with intense or prolonged stress, life crisis, trauma, and chronic illness. Other factors include certain lifestyle choices such as improper diet, substance abuse, and too little or irregular sleep.

When healthy, your adrenals can instantly increase your heart rate and blood pressure, release energy stores for immediate use, sharpen your senses, slow digestion and various other secondary functions. This function is extremely important in emergency situations.

But poorly functioning and overtaxed adrenal glands can lessen your ability to deal effectively with crisis situations.

Another aspect of healthy adrenals is the ability to endure long periods of physical exertion such as seen in marathon running, swimming, long distance cycling, and similarly, the day to day responsibilities of parenting! It is your adrenal glands job to react to stress in a balanced manner so that one's response is appropriate to the situation.

The adrenal glands signal the storage, release and utilization of carbohydrates and fats, the conversion of fats and proteins into energy, and influence the distribution of fat on the body. Their output is involved in blood sugar regulation, cardiovascular function, digestive function, and in controlling blood pressure. The adrenals are further involved by playing a part in sexual interest and response - so poorly functioning adrenals can really put a damper on things by increasing fat storage on your belly while making you disinterested in the whole process of life altogether!

The following are some natural suggestions for nourishing and rejuvenating adrenal health:

Here is an easy one - ensure an adequate intake of water. This is a must in all natural health, wellness and fitness programs. Plenty of water helps keep the kidney flushed and cleanses the body, so it has less toxins to deal with, hence less stress.

I use the formula .6 x body weight = ounces of water per day you should drink. This is a number that should be moved towards over time. For example, if you weigh 150 pounds your daily water intake would be 90 ounces. .6 x 150 = 90 ounces. If you are currently drinking 40 ounces of water per day and your (ideal) daily ounce intake is 90 ounces, increase gently to your ideal ounces of water over the next month or two.

Next step for better adrenal health are more periods of peace and quiet. Take 10 minutes of time to sit in silence at both the beginning and the end of each day.

Find a quiet place in your home or outside near a tree or natural source of water. Sit in a comfortable position and gently follow the rhythm of your breath. Allow yourself this sacred quiet time each day as an opportunity to nourish and assimilate, ground and rejuvenate your energy.

To enhance this process get adequate fresh air, use deep breaths, and movement. Spend time in nature-walking along the ocean, at a park, on a well traveled trail. Take full deep breaths and inhale in the healing power of the natural world. Take time to look at the trees and flower as well as the sky and various birds and so on. Enjoy this time outside as healing and nourishing. All this will give your adrenal glands a break and let them build reserves for future needs.

As for dietary recommendations, decrease (or preferably eliminate) intake of processed sugars and increase intake of natural earth sugars from root vegetables such as yams, carrots, turnips, and beets. Processed sugars truly poison the body every time they are eaten and causing stress to the system.

Sweets are a hard habit to break, but you'll notice a significant increase in balanced energy when you're able to reduce their intake.

Next, ingest greater amounts of essential fatty acids. Various sources include fish oils, evening primrose oil, borage oil, hemp oil, coconut oil, and flax oils.

Research which sources are best for your needs. Essential fats are precursors to many hormones in the body and will support your overall well-being.

Finally, do your best to cut out caffeine from all sources. Even green tea, which is wonderful for you in moderation, can upset sleep patterns and add pressure to an already stressful lifestyle. Coffee is high in other stimulant compounds which seem to truly aggravate those already in tense situations, and cola and so-called 'energy' drinks may be the worst contributors to adrenal fatigue of all with their combination of processed sugars and refined caffeine.

For a soothing, regenerating treatment, take an Epsom salt bath which will pull out fatigue and acidity from the body. Again, let your mind go and release the worries of the day, and try to incorporate this into your regular routine. Consider adding a few drops of pure Lavender essential oil to your bath and allow the relaxing aroma to help you relax and refresh. Here is a favorite essential oil bath blend: 4 drops Lavender essential oil, 1 drop Rose essential oil. These oils are well known for their uplifting and relaxing qualities.

You may also use an essential oil blend that is said to replenish the adrenal glands without stimulation. Mix one ounce hazelnut oil plus 50 drops each of Black Spruce and Pine essential oils. For a gentle lift, reduce the Black Spruce and Pine to 30 drops each, and add 20 drops each of Cedarwood and Peppermint. Apply twice a day to the lower back for a week or two to help support glandular function - and you'll smell great too!

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, do what you can to improve your sleep routine. Getting to bed before 10pm is crucial - the hours between 10 and 12 are thought to be extremely important in rejuvenation. Try finishing your last meal as early as possible in the evening to get better rest, so the body is not spending as much effort digesting your dinner as it is replenishing all your other vital resources.

Herbal sleep formulas are effective for many people, and are non-habit forming as some prescription medicines can be. Also, studies have shown that the aroma of certain essential oils in the room can have a dramatic effect on sleep quality - an easy way to experiment is to sprinkle a few drops of lavender essential oil on your comforter before retiring (be sparing, too much can actually be stimulating!)

While the steps addressing lifestyle changes may seem difficult, if you've been suffering from adrenal fatigue, they're certainly worth making an effort at. Properly functioning adrenals are a must for getting the most out of life, and supporting them is essential in any natural health, wellness and fitness program.

About the Author: Nancy Webber is a proponent of the varied and potent healing actions of aromatherapy essential oils. For more, see anandaapothecary.com.

Vitamin D and Crohn's Disease

2009-01-25T11:45:00.000-08:00

Crohn’s Disease is an IBD or Inflammatory Bowel Disease that generally affects the small intestine. The symptoms of Chrohn's includes chronic pain and diarrhea. This condition is often confused with ulcerative colitis, which causes ulcers in the intestinal lining.

Men and women and older children are often victims of Crohn’s Disease. What causes Crohn's? The jury is still out on that, medical science does not yet have the answer.

Of great concern to anyone suffering from Crohn's Disease (and other Inflammatory Bowel Diseases) is that a major symptom of the condition is a vitamin D deficiency.

What is happening is that Vitamin D coming from food is not absorbed regularly into the body, due to the active inflammation in the intestines caused by Crohn's. And that is a problem, for Vitamin D is important.

Vitamin D helps regulate the amount and the use of calcium and phosphorus (maintaining your bones) in your body. It may also help prevent high blood pressure, some cancers and has other health benefits.

There are two ways you get vitamin D into your body. By eating foods that contain the fat-soluble vitamin and through exposure to the sun. Your skin is able to manufacture Vitamin D using sunlight.

If you don’t get enough vitamin D in your system, one result is osteomalacia which means your bones are weaker than they should be. In children, this is called rickets and in all age groups, osteomalacia means that you can very easily fracture your bones. One of the reason older people more easily experience broken bones and fractures is that they are not able to produce or absorb Vitamin D as they did when they were younger. Anyone over the age of 50 may want to consider taking Vitamin D supplements. And, of course, those with Crohn's at any age should look into Vitamin D supplements.

If you add vitamin D supplements to your diet and spend more time in the sun, you drastically improve the levels of vitamin D your body needs to prevent osteomalacia.

Vitamin D supplements are usually not classified as drugs and can therefore be purchased over the counter at a pharmacy or health food or whole food store. However, just because they are not technically drugs doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use precaution when taking these supplements.

First, ask a doctor if it is safe for you to take vitamin D supplements. Because of your Crohn’s Disease, you are probably taking other daily medications. Sometimes, a supplement can interact with or decrease the potency of other things your taking.

You should also ask your doctor how much you should be taking every day. Too much vitamin D can be serious and lead to vitamin poisoning. This can cause problems with your kidneys and liver. At some point, you may want to have the Vitamin D levels in your body tested as feedback to how much you need to take.

Crohn’s Disease is not a fun medical condition with which to live. Making sure you have enough vitamin D in your system can make life easier. Talk to your doctor about making vitamin D supplements, a part of your battle against Crohn’s Disease and for improving your overall health.

If you are ready to Discover How You Can Join The Others Who Have Learned Techniques To Be Free from The Agony of Crohn's... Eat Without Discomfort... And Live Without the Constant Pain, then get the: Breakthrough Crohns Disease Guide.

Antioxidants Help You Live Longer

2009-01-02T13:33:00.000-08:00

Do you want to be younger and live longer? There are many antioxidant containing supplements that show strong evidence that they slow down the aging process.

Vitamins that have been particularly noted for their antioxidant properties include Vitamins A, C, and E. These antioxidant help to protect body cells from the damage done by free radicals. And it is free radicals that scientists clearly believe accelerate the aging process, and cause other disease.

Free radicals are highly reactive molecules first identified by Moses Gomberg in 1900. In chemical terms they are referred to as "reactive oxygen species", or ROS.

Where do free radicals come from?

As the cells produce energy (for function and survival), they also create oxygen molecules that are unstable because its electrons are unpaired. These unpaired electrons are highly labile, leading to readily or continuous chemical, physical, or biological changes or breakdowns. In other words, the oxygen molecules, or free radicals, attach themselves to other molecules in the cells where they don't belong and cause problems.

Along with the free radicals produced naturally by many cellular processes, their output can be greatly increased by exposure to environmental factors such as pollution, tobacco smoke and radiation. These environmental toxins along with stress are all known to cause aging!

Stress, too, is a problem. Persistent stress, not relieved by exercise or other methods, causes the formation of free radicals. And if we do not have a good night's sleep, at least seven hours, even more free radicals are produced.

A lot of negative changes in our body come as a result of the activities of free radicals. They damage the DNA and impair other vital functions of cells, eventually causing the premature death of these cells. All these damages accumulate and show up in our bodies as accelerated aging.

Antioxidants help to solve the problems listed above by mopping up the free radicals in our systems. Antioxidants have extra electrons that they can give up to the loose oxygen, neutralizing their ability to cause damage.

Antioxidants are a class of nutrients that protect the body from damage caused by different factors, most importantly oxidative damage caused by free radicals. And by preventing oxidation, they increase immune responses, and possibly decrease the risk of infection and cancer.

These substances also prevent glaucoma and the age-related degeneration of our macula, the part of the eye that is dedicated for superior acuity vision. Antioxidants also slow down the passing of the aging clock, making your skin and other organs more flexible and vibrant

Supplements like Vitamin A, E, C and selenium, are known to be powerful antioxidants, but there are many other exotic antioxidants that are found abundantly in fruits and vegetables. Dark blue, purple and red fruits and vegetables are good sources of antioxidants. Even red wine, in moderation, is a good source of a particular antioxidant.

So start eating more of those colorful vegetables and fruits, they can help you live longer and look younger.

A source for some information in this article has been Haiyan Lai-Heskin.

The Tayberry, An Usual Fruit To Add To Your Diet

2008-12-21T18:06:00.000-08:00

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you were to cross a blackberry and a raspberry? The answer, which we have, thanks to a couple of Scottish botanists, is the tayberry - a large reddish purple berry.

The tayberry was first developed, in 1962, in Invergowrie (right by the Tay River, thus the name) by David Jennings and David Mason, botanists at the Scottish Crops Institute. This raspberry-blackberry cross produces its fruit in July and August; and the berries are wonderful eaten fresh or cooked into a variety of foods.

It both tastes and smells just like a blackberry. Taking a bite into one, you may notice that there is a slight tart flavor to it. Fruit of the tayberry are borne on short, strong laterals on prickly canes 6 to 7 feet long. The tayberry fruit, like that of the raspberry and blackberry, is an aggregate fruit consisting of a collection of drupelets. There are many ways that you can enjoy this wonderful, meticulously merged fruit.

A tayberry makes a great pie, which is a wonderful change of pace and is welcome at any late summer picnic. You can make tayberries into a deliciously tart-sweet jam, perfect that peanut butter sandwich or topping on toast.

Try adding tayberries to a bowl of yogurt or ice cream, or incorporate them into fruit salads and smoothies for something a little different. In fact, you can use tayberries anywhere you would ordinarily use blackberries or raspberries.

Tayberries are an exciting addition to your morning cereal, baked goods and of course, they are wonderful just eaten as they are - there's no wrong answer to the question of how to enjoy these fruits.

For those who like to make wine, the tayberry can be a easy to work with and is certainly an unusual wine to bring to dinner. This wine is delicious and very vibrant red in color. It is a tart, yet sweet wine. You can enjoy it with a beef stew, roast, and other meats such as steak and wild game, such as duck. You can also enjoy it with hors d'oeuvres and a strong cheddar cheese. A bottle of tayberry wine runs about $15. (Learn to make wine at home using tayberries, grapes and other fruit with the The Complete Illustrated Guide To Homemade Wine.)

The tayberry is not just rich in flavor, but has a lot of health benefits to offer. This two-in-one fruit contain a lot of vitamin C and bioflavonoids as well as being a good source of folate and fiber.

Folate and folic acid are forms of a water-soluble B vitamin. Folate occurs naturally in food. Folic acid is the synthetic form of this vitamin that is found in supplements and fortified foods. Folate is necessary for the production and maintenance of new cells. This is especially important during periods of rapid cell division and growth such as infancy and pregnancy. Folate is needed to make DNA and RNA, the building blocks of cells. It also helps prevent changes to DNA that may lead to cancer.

The tayberry fruit and the leaves are a good home remedy for diarrhea. And chewing on the leaves is supposed to help cure bleeding gums.

Tayberry can be used for many things from home remedies to food and wine. It is grown as a cash crop in Florida and New Mexico. You may find it soon growing on a roadside near you. If you find it at your local green grocer, give a try.

A source for this post was KC Kudra, who recommends Jello salads!

Turmeric, Fighting Breast Cancer and More

2008-12-09T11:34:00.000-08:00

The spice, turmeric, is made from a plant root of tropical plants found in Southeast and Southern Asia. The root has multiple uses and has been used as a dye for fabric and cloth; the turmeric root is also used in cooking and has been part of local diets for thousands of years. Now the root is being recognized for its health benefits.

Turmeric root, when used in cooking, is known for its very pungent flavor, like peppery ginger (the plant is part of the ginger family). It is great with rice and in stews and can be added to egg omelets. This root is a big part of the curry cooking process. Turmeric is what gives curry the bright yellow color.

Turmeric root is steamed or boiled and afterward dried and turned into powder by grinding the dried root. The smell is quite strong and has a bitter, but robust taste.

The health benefits of taking turmeric are many. Turmeric, research has found, may help to prevent the spread of breast cancer cells. Turmeric and its main a active ingredient, curcumin, can be obtained in capsule form that can be taken daily.

Turmeric can be used to benefit anyone: men, women (including before, during or after pregnancy, and nursing), children and animals. The health properties of turmeric may benefit those suffering from Alzheimer's disease and people with cystic fibrosis. It appears to help relieve pain for those with arthritis and certain pains associated with diabetes. Turmeric has been shown to help reduce the inflammatory reaction in diabetics as well. It also has anti-bacterial properties.

Turmeric also enhances the effect of taxol in reducing metastasis of breast cancer. Taxol is an anti-cancer drug used to treat patients with lung, ovarian, breast cancer, head and neck cancer, and advanced forms of Kaposi's sarcoma.

Some Indian women to keep them free of superfluous hair (hair removal) use turmeric paste.

As part of wedding ceremonies, turmeric paste is applied to both bride and groom before marriage in some places of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan. It is thought that the turmeric gives a glow to skin and keeps some harmful bacteria away from the body.

So whether you use turmeric in your cooking, take it in capsule form or wear on your body! - It should be part of your daily life. The health benefits of turmeric are many and as a spice it is a nice addition to many meals.

If you enjoy cooking, you can learn more about spices and seasonings at Seasonings. A source for some information in this article was Daniel Tanner