Cupid phones you up and invites you to a Valentines Day potluck at his place. You tell him you’re all-set and not interested in a fix up, but he assures you it’s not a matchmaking party — it’s a potluck to celebrate romance!

You’re not sure what to bring to a celebration of romance. Dessert, perhaps? But Cupid makes it clear: “I want you to bring the one best quality you have to offer in a romantic relationship.”
 

Valentines Day: Are You Still Celebrating Romance?

It’s the evening of Cupid’s potluck. As you approach the house, you see other guests heading up to the front door. Many of them look interesting and fun, and you get that pre-party ripple of excitement in your stomach.

don’t come to the party empty-handed
and expect to have a good time.”

You continue your approach, carrying a large pot containing your best quality. You clench your contribution to the potluck, uncertain what others will bring, and slightly nervous. Your stomach knots-up.
 

The Relationship Table

When you arrive at the door, Cupid greets you warmly and points to a large table at the end of the room. “Welcome! So glad you could make it! Bring your quality in and set it there on the table,” he instructs cheerfully.

As you enter, you notice a few of the other guests have arrived empty-handed.

Setting your large bowl on the table, you notice an eager expression from those nearby as you prepare to remove the lid.

Everyone smiles and makes delighted “Oh!” sounds.

You are relieved. You realize your romantic quality is going to be a hit at Cupid’s table. Your stomach unknots, and you are ready to enjoy a relaxed, fun-filled evening!
 

The Parable of Cupid’s Potluck

Valentines Day serves as a gentle reminder that we must periodically tend to the romantic energy system at play within our own lives.

Many people focus on what Cupid is going to bring them. This is backwards. After all, it’s his party, and it’s tacky to show up empty-handed — especially when you have so much to offer. Give the guy something to work with, so he can be a good host.

In the business world, parties bring what they have to offer “to the table” and a deal is struck. What if romantic relationships worked the same way? What stellar quality could you offer in romance?

Perhaps you are:

• Good at cherishing others’ feelings?
• Good at helping others to feel seen and heard and tended to?
• Good at helping others to feel respected?
• Compassionate?
• Brilliant?
• Scintillating?
• A good provider?
• A good lover?

Whether you are hoping to find new romance, or simply to improve the romantic relationship you already have, the concept of what you bring to the love table will help you to cultivate that properly. Come alone or bring a date — just don’t come to the party empty-handed and expect to have a good time.

 
What are you bringing to the Relationship Table?

 
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instantDane.tv is a lifestyle blog for creative, active people over-40 that offers shortcuts to extreme health.

 
 
 
 
How do other people see your age and appearance?

This week on Dr Oz — the hit tv talk show about becoming healthier — Doctor Oz had a guest who conducted a big campaign to find out whether people who thought they looked old, were also perceived as old by others.

Speaking personally, while I honor my own silver hair and wrinkles — hey, I figure I earned them and I don’t mind looking wisened — I also must admit that it’s important to me that my appearance align with how I feel on the inside.

In other words, if I feel tired, then I don’t mind looking tired. I figure, congruency is healthy. However, if I feel fit and energized, and I look in the mirror and see fatigue, then that tells me it’s time to turn up the dail on my grooming regimen!

They organized a huge poll — via all the usual social media suspects — to determine particular people’s perceived age. On the show, one woman shared her story from the experiment. Her perceived age turned out to be, on average, about 53 — nine years older than her true age! Needless to say, this was devastating; but Dr. Oz had some intriguing solutions.

Appearance Made 10 Years Younger, without Surgery?

Dr Oz offered the woman who looked older than her age some thought-provoking ideas:

• Got crow’s feet?     Oz idea: try Argireline — a topical cream that works like Botox
• Under-eye bags?     Oz idea: try parsley tea ice cubes
• Sagging skin under the neck?     Oz idea: try Retinoid Cream (but only once/week)
• Dull skin-tone?     Oz idea: try exfoliating mask made from tomato, sea salt, and honey

Here at instantDane.tv, we’re big fans of the Dr Oz show ~
we think it’s television that makes a positive difference!
If you’re a fan, too, we invite you to leave your comments below;
let us know your favorite moments from the show!

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instantDane.tv is a lifestyle blog for creative, active people over-40 that offers shortcuts to extreme health.

 
 
 
 
How to cheat on your diet to ignite your weightloss?

On this television show, Doctor Oz — the talented heart surgeon and talk show personality — has created Fat-urday: the one day each week that you are allowed to cheat and eat the foods you love.

Technically, your cheat day can be more than once a week. The rule is that you need to have at least five days between each Fat-urday. And, believe it or not, cheating properly will actually help you lose weight!
 

there are ways to cheat your diet
without cheating yourself.”

Fat-urday is your Cheat Day

People who cheat lose more weight, and the reason is two-fold:

• cheating stimulates the thyroid gland and turns up the metabolism
• cheating gets rid of the taboo of wanting what you can’t have, thereby curbing cravings

 
You may be asking yourself, “how does this work?” Well, it’s not a binge day. Here’s the skinny:

1. Choose your Fat-urday
2. Eliminate binge temptations (often associated with location)
3. Create your Fat-urday Schedule (which consists of 3 meals and 2 snacks):

 
•   breakfast – Fat-urday breakfast wrap with turkey bacon

 

•   snack #1 – Brie or Goat Cheese with crackers (salt craving)

 

•   lunch – pizza with whole wheat crust (simple carbs turns on the thyroid)

 

•   snack #2 – frozen yogurt with almonds (simple sugars craving)

 

•   dinner – steak frites with baked fries (protein)

 
This is just a simple overview, but this cheat day actually comes in at under 1400 calories. It is a cheat day, so that 1400 leaves you with some wiggle-room to indulge in some other healthy cheats. Here are some healthy alternatives!

  ~   If you like potato chips, try Taro Chips

  ~   If you like chocolate, try dark chocolate bars with chili peppers (the spice makes it self-limiting, and the capzasin gets your metabolism going)

  ~   If you like cookies, try Lucy’s Cookies

  ~   If you like ice cream, try green tea ice cream (and get all of the benefits of green tea)
 
Pick the one that fits your snacking weakness! Dr. Oz suggests freezing a natural whipped topping, like Truwhip, as an ice cream alternative.

Funniest Line from this Episode

Dr. Oz referred to the Fat-urday Schedule as “structured hedonism,” which has a nice ring to it.
 

The Big Takeaway

Well, it appears there are ways to cheat your diet and ways to cheat the clock without cheating yourself. Now, that’s what I like to hear.
 
 

Here at instantDane.tv, we’re big fans of the Dr Oz show ~
we think it’s television that makes a positive difference!
If you’re a fan, too, we invite you to leave your comments below;
let us know your favorite moments from the show!

 
 
To find out 12 Ways to Add 12+ Years to Your Lifespan,
subscribe to our free Longevity e-Newsletter below.
You’ll receive a new strategy every two weeks! ↘

instantDane.tv is a lifestyle blog for creative, active people over-40 that offers shortcuts to extreme health.

We all have our priorities, and some things obviously take precedence over others. But in an age of increasing abstraction, we can become so overwhelmed that we lose sight of things. Essentially, we go into information overload-mode and everything is sort of put on a level playing field — filed away under the catch-all category of “tasks.”
 

Priorities in the Age of Information Overload

We are part of a global civilization which is becoming exponentially more complex.

The addition of virtual reality into our everyday lives has spread us even thinner. We are acquainted with more people than ever before. We can, and do, have instantaneous communication with people living 12,000 miles away! As civilization increases in complexity, our daily lives — both real and virtual — respond in-kind.

There’s a competition for your mind. It sounds like the plot of a science fiction film. In reality, it’s just a fact of capitalism in the digital age. Companies are competing for the psychic space of individuals. And it’s not just corporations competing for your attention; Facebooking, searching, emailing, and texting are inundating us on equally staggering curves.

Information is doubling on a curve that would stand your hair on end. The implications down the road are a giant question mark. The rate of information doubling simply renders prediction — an act based on extrapolation of current norms — impossible.

Let’s take a gander at some of the numbers:

• 1 A.D.: From this point forward, the first doubling of all available information did not occur until 1500 A.D.
• The next doubling occurred around 1750…just 250 years
• The next doubling occurred around 1900…just 150 years
• The next doubling was 1950…just 50 years
• The next doubling was 1960…just 10 years
• Then 1967…just 7 years
• Then 1973…just 6 years
• By 1982, the rate was every 3 years.
• By 1990, the rate was every 18 months

 
Today, it would be rather conservative to estimate that we experience more change in a year than was previously experienced in a millenium!

Historically, information doubling is the stuff that shifts paradigms (It’s an interesting exercise to look at the above dates and match up the corresponding historical shifts).
 

The 6 Fundamental Priorities

So, what are the implications today? Well, the more overwhelmed a person feels, the more every item holding space in his or her mind tends toward equal importance.

Our priorities blur.

If picking up your dry cleaning is on the same list as helping your son with a homework problem — and both are conceptualized as nothing more than tasks that need to be checked-off so that you can move on to the next one — something is amiss. As readers of this site know, I am a huge advocate of checklists. There’s nothing like scratching completed tasks off of your list. But not all tasks are created equal.

we need to be cognizant of the three-dimensional nature
of our two-dimensional lists.”

 



 
 
Often, we have default systems of prioritization that skew our relational lives. So, as we look at our various task lists, let us remember to periodically step back, step up, and see our lives from a broader perspective.

First, evaluate how you allocate your time, on average, each day. Here, there are little, practical things you can do to reduce the noise: turn off the television, say “no” to some invitations, limit your email exposure.

Next, and most importantly, see if your priorities are aligned with these 6 fundametal priorities:

1. honoring your physical health so that it can thrive
2. honoring your relationship with your spouse so that it can thrive
3. honoring your relationships with your children so that they can thrive
4. honoring your revenue-producing activities so that your career can thrive
5. honoring the relationship with the givers in your life so that your friendships can thrive
6. honoring your relationship with the planet so that you can leave it better off than you found it

 
We need to be cognizant of the relational, three-dimensional nature of our two-dimensional lists. Intellectually, we already know that not all tasks are created equal, but sometimes we slip into autopilot and an objective assessment of our lives reflects muddled priorities.

There are other priorities in life beyond these six listed above, but start with these six first. They are the fundamentals and to return to them is to refocus on what matters most. We express our spirituality and purpose best in earthly ways.
 
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There is a denial in our society about body fat. This denial can be traced to a shift in norms.

What we, as a society, begin to see as normal, still does not shift the effect on our bodies! In other words, if a person is 15 pounds into the overweight-zone, they may look perfectly acceptable from a cosmetic standpoint. However, overweight is a medical term, not simply a cosmetic one.

there seems to be an amazing solution
that is being omitted from the conversation”

The fact is that most medical disorders can be traced to surplus body fat. An excess of body fat increases the risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Simply put: overweight people do not live as long.
 

The Skinny on Body Fat

We accumulate excess body fat for two reasons:

• fat cells become bloated from excess calories
• fat cells become dysfunctional, impairing the burning of fatty acids for energy

 
Until recently, we’ve remained unaware of a direct solution for targeting the mechanisms responsible for these for these bloated and dysfunctional fat cells.

A recent survey suggests that approximately 30% of overweight Americans believe they are within normal range, and 70% of obese Americans believe they are simply in the overweight range.

There are those who believe that the medical community has really dropped the ball on this issue. In fact, some go so far as to claim that doctors who do not take aggressive action to reduce overweight patients’ fat mass are committing malpractice. Telling them to diet and exercise might not cut it — and there could a new solution to aid in weight loss.
 

Anti-Adipocyte Plant Extracts
 
Have Transformative Impact on the Human Body

Adipocyte is simply the technical term for fat cells. So, you can surmise the meaning of Anti-Adipocyte! This is potentially exciting stuff — not just for our appearance, but for our health!

The Life Extension Foundation reports that, of the more than a thousand plants that scientists evaluated (to see which effectively inhibit fat accumulation and enhance fat-burning) there were
two that demonstrated significant biological effects:

• sphaeranthus indicus flower
• mangosteen fruit

Here is an article from Life Extension that provides all of the nitty gritty details of the study. Suffice it to say, the figures are remarkable!
 
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instantDane.tv is a lifestyle blog for creative, active people over-40 that offers shortcuts to extreme health.

 
 
 
 
by Jim Harris
 
When I was a practicing dentist I was well aware that the state of the oral tissues was a good indicator of my client’s general health. As a naturopath I realize that other physical clues, like the condition of the fingernails or hair, can tell me a lot about an individual’s overall health status.
 

Look at Your Fingernails for Health Clues

Have you ever seen fingernails that were splitting, cracking, chipping, peeling or layering?

White spots on nails are very common also.

Most nutritionists will say white spots can be remedied if a proper amount of zinc is added to the daily diet via supplementation; however, this only works if digestion is optimal for zinc absorption!

Sadly, digestion issues are amongst the most common symptoms I see with my clients. Without absorbing ionized zinc into the blood stream the symptom of white spots in the fingernails remains, no matter how much zinc is ingested.
 

You’re Ingesting Nutrients,
 
but Is Your Body Absorbing Them?

The Zinc in Your Body

An acid medium in the stomach is required to cleave the zinc from the material that it’s chemically bound to. Zinc comes in many forms; zinc oxide, gluconate, asparate and so on. It doesn’t matter what the form is, if the conditions in the stomach aren’t correct, the zinc will stay bound to the molecule and not be a free ion for active use within the body. This is true for all minerals, not just zinc.

Good health for your fingernails also requires other trace minerals, along with amino acids from protein and calcium, all of which need healthy digestion to become bio-available.
 

How Much Vitamin D Are You Getting Each Day?

I’ve talked about vitamin D in the past and its role in bone health (and reducing inflammation and pain, as well as the risk of colorectal cancer). Vitamin D plays a similar role for nail health! For most adults, 4000IU is a safe dose.
 

…vitamin D is so crucial to thyroid function
that its status has now been elevated by researchers to co-hormone.
We now know that the variability of thyroid to work or not work in your body
is dependent upon the presence of Vitamin D,
making it not just of benefit, but absolutely essential”
                      ~ Richard Shames, MD

Make Friends with Your Thyroid Gland

An often-overlooked factor when it comes to nail health is the thyroid gland. The thyroid gland (through the production of hormones) affects our basal metabolic rate. The thyroid’s effect on the rate of protein synthesis affects fingernails.

If metabolic rate is slowed down due to an under-active thyroid gland, this is reflected in the nails as the body prioritizes where the protein will go (fingernails would be low on the priority list for overall health and takes a back seat to the heart muscle, as an example). A healthy thyroid gland extrapolates to healthy protein synthesis and potentially healthy hair and fingernails.
 
The take-home message here is, that when the nails lack a healthy appearance, look beyond the nails to find what the underlying cause is!

 
Jim Harris is a Naturopath and Nutritional Consultant assisting people all over the world through his virtual practice at The Art of Wellness Center. Jim is a graduate from the American Naturopathic Medical Institute and recognizes that our bodies have the innate capability for self-healing — especially when the correct information and energy is supplied in combination with the correct food, supplements and herbs. You can reach Jim directly at: theartofwellness@earthlink.net