Archive for the ‘Diet and Nutrition’ Category
Locating the Darkness Within
For those of you who are curious, I ended up doing the last juice fast for 7 1/2 days, starting on the evening of October 4th and ending on the afternoon of the 12th. My friend Alex, who was also fasting, went about 5 days on this fast; pretty good for her first major fast 🙂
The experience was a powerful one, as you might imagine, I feel much more connected to everything now. These sorts of experiences have the potential to alter the very core of your being and call into a critical light the habits that we rarely expend any effort to contemplate during the normal course of our day.
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Herbs For Liver Detox
Source: WorldVillage
Our liver is the one of the most vital organs in our body. Our liver cleanses everything that is consumed or eaten by us. The liver along with our kidney helps excrete toxins and waste products from our body. Our liver also controls our blood sugar, cholesterol, and heart problems. Thus it is very important for us to take care of our liver and detox it regularly. Herbs for liver detox have proved to be the most beneficial treatment to cleanse our liver.
The liver performs many important tasks; however the most imperative task is to regulate the metabolism of fat in our body. It helps throw away the extra fat from our internal system in the bile. The fat in our body is caused due to various reasons such as, alcohol, fatty food, unhealthy diet, chemicals, drugs and so on, thus damaging the liver. All the extra fat that is accumulated in our liver prevents the organ from functioning in the appropriate way. There are many ways to detox our body, such as correct diet, healthy food and medication. However, herbs for liver detox have confirmed to be the best solution for liver damage.
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Juice Fasting!!
Went out to the store and bought enough Celery, Bok Choy and Carrots to last about a week. A friend and I started this fast on Friday we plan on doing this for as long as each of us feels we are capable. I think it would be great if I can keep the juice fast going for at least 10 days, which would put the ending at about October 15. If I’m still able to function reasonably well by then, there’s no reason to limit the experience, but 10 days seems like a reasonable goal to start with.
While most people that I’ve talked to seem to think that Juice fasts are very difficult, I firmly believe the difficulty lies in the mental aspects of such an endeavor. This kind of fasting still allows your body to have calories, depending on the juices selected, as well as many of the essential nutrients and vitamins.
My research indicates that juice fasts have the potential to get our bodies more nutrients than eating “normally.” The reason being, when we eat whole foods that are in liquid form, they are very easily assimilated into the body with very little strain on digestive system. Read the rest of this entry »
How food manufacturers hide MSG…
MSG is a common food additive which is used in a wide variety of processed foods at restaurants and the supermarket. MSG is dangerous because it is an excitotoxin, which means it overexcites your cells to such an extent that they become damaged.
The substance is often hidden in foods under names, including but not limited to: broth, casein, hydrolyzed and autolyzed. As dangerous as the substance is, it can even be found in the infant formulas.
Although you may realize that MSG is harmful, you may not know that scientists have also linked MSG to obesity; this fact was known all the way back in the 1960’s. It causes your body to produce visceral fat, a dangerous fat that surrounds organs and increases the chance of insomnia, stroke, heart attack and type 2 diabetes.
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Dr. Mercola’s Beginner Nutrition Plan!
If you’re ready to make a change in your nutrition, but don’t know where to start, I would highly recommend you take a look at Dr. Mercola’s nutrition plan. There is no charge or signups, it is posted there for the benefit of the public.
If you have the discipline to follow the steps you can greatly reduce your risk of Type II diabetes, cancer and a myriad of other chronic degenerative illnesses. Despite the trouble of changing lifestyle and altering habits, it can make you feel quite good; if it is anything like my experience, you will wonder why you didn’t try something like this earlier.
The plan is designed to help you move from a standard diet into a progressively healthier diet, rich in whole raw foods, and without many of the harmful foods that are so commonly consumed today.
Most of us don’t realize that (un-sprouted) grains are actually quite harmful to your health and should be taken sparingly. They cause your insulin levels to be excessively high and lead to Type II Diabetes or even Celiac Disease.
So thats the plan in a nutshell, give it a shot if you’re ready for a nice change 🙂
Raw Milk Debate is Finally Reaching the Mainstream.
The enzymes in foods are very delicate, so delicate that they are actually destroyed by the proceses of pasteurization. Foods that lack the benefits of enzymes steal enzymes from the body and cause it to work much harder during the digestion processes.
In addition to destroying the nutritional benefits of food, Pasteurization creates harmful proteins that can harm the body, and irradiation modifies the foods, sometimes creating toxic byproducts. Read the rest of this entry »
Fast Food Milkshakes Exposed
mercola.com health blog (video)
Even though I live in America now, I still like to keep an eye on the British press to see what’s going on in Britain. A little while ago, I came across an article in one of Britain’s biggest newspapers, The Guardian. I found the article funny, but at the same time, shocking.
The headline of the article went like this: The 59 Ingredients in a Fast Food Strawberry Milkshake. Now, that’s not a very good start. Is it? Fifty-nine ingredients. So, I looked a little further, and it turns out that in one fast food restaurant strawberry milkshake from a big fast food chain, there are two ingredients that are notably absent: Milk and Strawberries!! Does that put you off for life already? Well, let’s see if I can put you off a bit further. Read the rest of this entry »
ADA Finally Admits that Fluoride is Bad
After more than half a century of denial, the American Dental Association has finally admitted the facts and issued warnings regarding the many dangers of fluoride.
Fluoride has been added to drinking water for about 60 years, supposedly to prevent tooth decay. Research on the effects of fluoride have, however, shown that fluoride actually damages teeth through a process known as fluorosis.
Too much fluoride can lead to fluorosis, a discoloring of the teeth and breakdown of enamel — itself a result diametrically opposed to the dental health it supposedly is meant to prevent. It has also been connected to more serious developmental problems such as lower IQ. Excessive use of fluoride has also been linked to osteoporosis and damage to the nervous system.
Fluoride is an industrial waste product from the phosphate fertilizer industry. It is wise to filter all fluoride out of your water using a reverse osmosis filter. Also, you can obtain Ayurvedic toothpastes which are natural and contain no fluoride.
Finally – Even Dental Association Agrees Fluoride is Bad
The American Dental Association, which has for many years been one of fluoride’s biggest advocates, alerted its members late last year that parents of infants younger than a year old “should consider using water that has no or low levels of fluoride” when mixing baby formula.However, while public health agencies in some states, such as Vermont and New Hampshire, immediately issued warnings in the media based on the ADA alert, other states took months to relay the message. Read the rest of this entry »
Intestinal Bacteria Plays an Important Role in Obesity
There are billions of species of bacteria in the intestines. Without all of this bacteria, we would be unable to survive because the bacteria plays an integral role in the digestion of food. Since the intestinal bacteria are vital for the digestion process, we must be certain that we have the proper balance of “good” versus “bad” bacteria.
The balance of this bacteria is strongly influenced by the foods we eat and our exposure or lack thereof to antibiotics. Junk foods, bad food combinations and antibiotics facilitate the prevalence of “bad” bacteria, whereas whole foods and probiotics facilitate the prevalence of “good” bacteria.
How The Bacteria In Your Gut Can Make You Fat
Two new studies show that obese people have different intestinal bacteria than slim people. What’s more, the microbes in an overweight body are much more efficient at extracting calories from food.One study looked at mice, the other looked at humans. In both, a family of bacteria known as firmicutes were more plentiful in the obese (20 percent more). Bacteria called bacteroidetes were also much more abundant in those of normal weight (the obese had almost 90 percent fewer bacteroidetes). Read the rest of this entry »
Soft Drinks Contain Cancer Causing Agent: Benzene
The widespread consumption of “soft” drinks is, by far, one of the most dysfunctional and self-destructive customs to have taken hold in Western culture. Carbonated beverages do absolutely nothing for you, period.
Anyone who has even remotely looked into this subject should know that there are no health benefits whatsoever and a myriad of risks. As the beverages sit in the trucks during warm days, the preservative Sodium Benzoate converts to Benzene, a cancerous agent.
When we consume soft drinks, the rich corn-syrup causes the blood to become quite acidic, forcing the body to utilize emergency measures to bring the PH back to the safe range. It therefore has to release calcium from the teeth and bones, weakening robbing the skeletal system of vital minerals.
Cancer-Causing Benzene Found in Drinks
By ANDREW BRIDGES, Associated Press Writer Fri May 19, 8:18 PM ET
WASHINGTON – A government analysis of more than 100 soft drinks and other beverages turned up five with levels of cancer-causing benzene that exceed federal drinking-water standards, the
Food and Drug Administration said Friday.The companies that make the drinks have been alerted and either have reformulated their products or plan to do so, the FDA said. Government health officials maintain there is no safety concern, an opinion not shared by at least one environmental group. Read the rest of this entry »