Don’t get sucked into the idea that food is your enemy when you’re trying to lose weight. In fact, it’s just the opposite: Befriend the right foods, and the pounds are much more likely to peel off than if you just try to cut calories across the board. Here, five foods known by nutritionists to boost your body’s fat-burning potential
1. Oats
Wait a minute; aren’t oats a carb? Yes and no. Oats are a whole grain, and they’re high on what nutritionists call the “satiety index,” meaning oats have tremendous power to make you feel full. Not only that, they’re also high in soluble fiber, so they cut cholesterol and blood fat. Oats digest slowly, so they don’t raise your blood sugar, and they keep you feeling filled up well into the late morning. Old-fashioned steel-cut and rolled oats, with up to 5 grams of fiber per serving, are best, but even instant oatmeal has 3 to 4 grams of fiber per serving.
2. Apples
To keep the pounds at bay, eat an apple–or two–a day. Numerous studies have found that eating an apple a half hour to an hour before a meal has the result of cutting the calories of the meal. Why? The fiber in the apple makes you feel full, so you eat less. Recent research suggests eating apples has other benefits, too; the antioxidants in apples appear to prevent metabolic syndrome, the combination of high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and prediabetes that tends to accompany thickening around the waist. Also, apples are high in pectin, which binds with water and limits the amount of fat your cells can absorb
3. Eggs
Nutritionists have been trying for some years to restore the reputation of the lowly egg. No longer thought to be a cholesterol-booster (eggs contain a different type of cholesterol than that in humans), eggs are a concentrated form of animal protein without the added fat that comes with meat. Dietary studies have repeatedly found that when people eat an egg every morning in addition to (or instead of) toast or cereal, they lose twice as much weight as those who eat a breakfast that’s dominated by carbs.
4. Cinnamon
This simple spice appears to have the power to help your body metabolize sugar, according to surprising data that came out of a USDA study involving diabetics. Eating as little as 1/4 to 2 teaspoons of cinnamon a day was found to reduce blood sugar levels and cut cholesterol from 10 to 25 percent. So add cinnamon to smoothies, sprinkle it on your cereal, or flavor your coffee with it.
5. Almonds and Almond Butter
Another counter intuitive choice; aren’t nuts and nut butters supposed to be incredibly fattening? Well, almonds are calorie-dense, but they also pack a huge nutritional punch–and they’re particularly effective in counteracting cholesterol and triglycerides. One study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that eating almonds was as effective as taking a statin. Spreading almond butter on your morning toast gives you a nice protein boost while preventing the carbs in the toast from spiking your blood sugar
Friday, March 5, 2010
Friday, January 29, 2010
The Salt of the Earth: Its Probably Not What’s on your table.
Recently, a lot of information has been brought to my attention about the importance of getting good quality salt in your diet. I imagine you’re shaking your head; we always hear that we’re supposed to avoid salt.
It appears salt has gotten a bad rap. Like all things your body needs to survive, too much – or the wrong type – can be a problem. Recent research associates salt with strokes, calcium deficiency and osteoporosis, fluid retention, weight gain, stomach ulcers and stomach cancer. But all this research points to refined, processed, chemically altered, common table salt, or refined sea salt – but not unaltered holistic, mineral-rich crystal salt.
Essentially, every cell in the human body depends on the presence of sodium. We find sodium diffused throughout the fluid between the cells. And each cell is like a small ocean containing salty water. Inside the cells we find primary potassium. These two minerals – sodium and potassium – need to be in constant, dynamic balance so the cells can exchange incoming energy with outgoing, depleted fuel.
Sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) are two of the primary electrolytes. The others are calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), chloride (Cl-), phosphate (PO43-) and hydrogen carbonate (HCO3-), plus other significant mineral salts. Electrolytes regulate the hydration of the body, blood pH, blood pressure and are crucial for nerve and muscle function. The muscle tissue and neurons are considered electric tissues, able to conduct electricity. It’s the electrolyte activity in the body that activates the muscles to contract.
Without sufficient levels of the key electrolytes, muscle weakness or severe muscle contractions may occur. Electrolyte balance is normally maintained by eating salt or drinking electrolyte-containing substances.
Water and salt regulate every metabolic function of the body, including functions of solid matter itself. Your body is constantly monitoring these minerals and working to maintain their delicate balance. Without salt, it is said, we couldn’t exist for a moment.
Not all Salt is the Same
There is a tremendous difference between table salt and crystal salt. In its natural state, salt consists primarily of the elements sodium and chloride, but it also contains up to 82 other naturally occurring minerals.
Manufacturers of table salt view these important trace elements as impurities. So, since the advent of industrial development, most of the salt we use has been stripped of its inherent mineral content through a process that “chemically cleanses” and reduces it to only its most fundamental elements, sodium and chloride.
This table salt is not a natural element and is considered poison to the body. Additionally, additives increase the salt’s aggressive profile. As common as iodized salt is to our tables, so are the number of diseases attributed to it. The body recognizes this chemically enriched sodium chloride as toxic, and tries to get rid of it as quickly as possible. This causes a constant overburden on our excretive organs.
Other processed foods that we eat aggravate this situation. In almost every refined product, salt is used as part of the preservation process. So, in today’s normal diet, the body receives more salt than it can get rid of.
The body now ties to isolate the overdose of salt. In this process, water molecules surround the sodium chloride in order to neutralize it by ionizing it into sodium and chloride. For this process, water is extracted from our cells; the body has to sacrifice its most precious cell water in order to neutralize our salt intake. The dehydrated body cells die.
Natural, unrefined salt crystals – with all of their important trace elements – behave differently in the body. Here are just a few of the claimed benefits of pure crystal salt,
when consumed properly:
• Regulates your blood pressure, in conjunction with water
• Extracts excess acidity from your body’s cells, particularly the brain cells
• Balances the sugar levels in the blood
• Generates hydroelectric energy in your body’s cells
• Enhances adsorption of nutrients through the intestinal tract
• Clears mucous plugs and sticky phlegm in the lungs, particularly in those afflicted
with asthma and cystic fibrosis
• Clears up congestion of the sinuses
• Provides your body with a strong natural antihistamine
• Regulates sleep
• Prevents gout
• Helps the kidney to pass excess acidity into the urine
• Is a strong anti-stress element for the body
• Helps maintain muscle tone and strength
• Strengthens bone structure (Osteoporosis, in many ways, is a result of salt and
water shortage in the body)
• Prevents muscle cramps
The information on salt is interesting and worth digging into further. When I first heard this information, I shook my head too, because it never ceases to amaze me how much conflicting information there is out there when it comes to health and proper nutrition. In my research on salt, I found this quote. Be well.
“.. all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and , therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And, when we go back to the sea. ..we are going back to whence we came.” -John F. Kennedy
By: Janee Kuta-Illiano Reprinted with permission
It appears salt has gotten a bad rap. Like all things your body needs to survive, too much – or the wrong type – can be a problem. Recent research associates salt with strokes, calcium deficiency and osteoporosis, fluid retention, weight gain, stomach ulcers and stomach cancer. But all this research points to refined, processed, chemically altered, common table salt, or refined sea salt – but not unaltered holistic, mineral-rich crystal salt.
Essentially, every cell in the human body depends on the presence of sodium. We find sodium diffused throughout the fluid between the cells. And each cell is like a small ocean containing salty water. Inside the cells we find primary potassium. These two minerals – sodium and potassium – need to be in constant, dynamic balance so the cells can exchange incoming energy with outgoing, depleted fuel.
Sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) are two of the primary electrolytes. The others are calcium (Ca2+), magnesium (Mg2+), chloride (Cl-), phosphate (PO43-) and hydrogen carbonate (HCO3-), plus other significant mineral salts. Electrolytes regulate the hydration of the body, blood pH, blood pressure and are crucial for nerve and muscle function. The muscle tissue and neurons are considered electric tissues, able to conduct electricity. It’s the electrolyte activity in the body that activates the muscles to contract.
Without sufficient levels of the key electrolytes, muscle weakness or severe muscle contractions may occur. Electrolyte balance is normally maintained by eating salt or drinking electrolyte-containing substances.
Water and salt regulate every metabolic function of the body, including functions of solid matter itself. Your body is constantly monitoring these minerals and working to maintain their delicate balance. Without salt, it is said, we couldn’t exist for a moment.
Not all Salt is the Same
There is a tremendous difference between table salt and crystal salt. In its natural state, salt consists primarily of the elements sodium and chloride, but it also contains up to 82 other naturally occurring minerals.
Manufacturers of table salt view these important trace elements as impurities. So, since the advent of industrial development, most of the salt we use has been stripped of its inherent mineral content through a process that “chemically cleanses” and reduces it to only its most fundamental elements, sodium and chloride.
This table salt is not a natural element and is considered poison to the body. Additionally, additives increase the salt’s aggressive profile. As common as iodized salt is to our tables, so are the number of diseases attributed to it. The body recognizes this chemically enriched sodium chloride as toxic, and tries to get rid of it as quickly as possible. This causes a constant overburden on our excretive organs.
Other processed foods that we eat aggravate this situation. In almost every refined product, salt is used as part of the preservation process. So, in today’s normal diet, the body receives more salt than it can get rid of.
The body now ties to isolate the overdose of salt. In this process, water molecules surround the sodium chloride in order to neutralize it by ionizing it into sodium and chloride. For this process, water is extracted from our cells; the body has to sacrifice its most precious cell water in order to neutralize our salt intake. The dehydrated body cells die.
Natural, unrefined salt crystals – with all of their important trace elements – behave differently in the body. Here are just a few of the claimed benefits of pure crystal salt,
when consumed properly:
• Regulates your blood pressure, in conjunction with water
• Extracts excess acidity from your body’s cells, particularly the brain cells
• Balances the sugar levels in the blood
• Generates hydroelectric energy in your body’s cells
• Enhances adsorption of nutrients through the intestinal tract
• Clears mucous plugs and sticky phlegm in the lungs, particularly in those afflicted
with asthma and cystic fibrosis
• Clears up congestion of the sinuses
• Provides your body with a strong natural antihistamine
• Regulates sleep
• Prevents gout
• Helps the kidney to pass excess acidity into the urine
• Is a strong anti-stress element for the body
• Helps maintain muscle tone and strength
• Strengthens bone structure (Osteoporosis, in many ways, is a result of salt and
water shortage in the body)
• Prevents muscle cramps
The information on salt is interesting and worth digging into further. When I first heard this information, I shook my head too, because it never ceases to amaze me how much conflicting information there is out there when it comes to health and proper nutrition. In my research on salt, I found this quote. Be well.
“.. all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and , therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And, when we go back to the sea. ..we are going back to whence we came.” -John F. Kennedy
By: Janee Kuta-Illiano Reprinted with permission
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
A poisonous sweetener
According to a UK documentary, “Sweet Misery,” the National Cancer Institute identified a significant and impressive increase in brain cancer starting in about 1984. Why did brain cancer shoot up? Evidence suggests that it is because of artificial sweeteners such as those found in diet drinks and food.
Scientists noticed that in 1983 humans began consuming something never before consumed by humans — aspartame, a chemically created substance acting as a sugar alternative used in diet drinks, food, and even on the table in most restaurants (i.e. NutraSweet, Crystallite, Equal). Increase in Aspartame, Increase in Brain Cancer
According to the documentary, in 1984, one year after its introduction, 6.9 million pounds of aspartame were consumed by Americans. In the next year, that number doubled. It continued increasing into the ’90s. This spike in Aspartame consumption parallels the spike in brain cancer.
From 1984-1987, other cancers outside the brain basically remained the same or declined. However, brain cancer rates shot up.
Scientists noticed that in 1983 humans began consuming something never before consumed by humans — aspartame, a chemically created substance acting as a sugar alternative used in diet drinks, food, and even on the table in most restaurants (i.e. NutraSweet, Crystallite, Equal). Increase in Aspartame, Increase in Brain Cancer
According to the documentary, in 1984, one year after its introduction, 6.9 million pounds of aspartame were consumed by Americans. In the next year, that number doubled. It continued increasing into the ’90s. This spike in Aspartame consumption parallels the spike in brain cancer.
From 1984-1987, other cancers outside the brain basically remained the same or declined. However, brain cancer rates shot up.
Scientists confirmed that the increase in brain cancers is not due to technological advancements that made diagnosing brain cancer easier and it is not a result of changes in disease classifications.
Why is it suggested that aspartame has this neurological effect?
Scientists think that it is because 10 percent of the chemical substance, after ingestion, becomes free methyl alcohol (wood alcohol), which as one scientist in the film states, is a “real poison.” Another says, “the poisonous effect of methyl alcohol and its methyl esters are well-known.” Even small amounts of this poison can lead to blindness and death. The “miniscule” amounts in our common foods and drinks seem to sometimes lead to cancer and other neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis.
Bottom line — maybe it’s time to cut artificial sweeteners out of your diet!
Monday, September 14, 2009
Flu Shot Data
Here is a link to Dr Mercola's FREE report "Forget the Flu Shot, Here's how you REALLY prevent the Flu!" Arm yourself with good information BEFORE getting the shot! Go to
http://www.mercola.com/Downloads/bonus/beat-the-flu-without-a-shot/download.htm
For more information that will allow you to improve your health through educated life style choices, go to The 24-7 Shop Healthy Practices (112407)
http://www.mercola.com/Downloads/bonus/beat-the-flu-without-a-shot/download.htm
For more information that will allow you to improve your health through educated life style choices, go to The 24-7 Shop Healthy Practices (112407)
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Protect Your Brain
By Chicken
It may, thanks to a little know nutrient that seems to prevent memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according a new study. When researchers gave mice with dementia nicotinamide (a form of B3 or niacin), they performed memory tasks as if they’d never had the disease. The vitamin also boosted memory in normal mice. Scientists believe B3 lowers level of a protein that contributes to tangles that can clog brain cells and lead to Alzheimer’s. Be sure to get around 15mg of B3 a day – the amount in a serving of chicken and ½ cup of brown rice.
Prevention April 2009 pg 50
It may, thanks to a little know nutrient that seems to prevent memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease, according a new study. When researchers gave mice with dementia nicotinamide (a form of B3 or niacin), they performed memory tasks as if they’d never had the disease. The vitamin also boosted memory in normal mice. Scientists believe B3 lowers level of a protein that contributes to tangles that can clog brain cells and lead to Alzheimer’s. Be sure to get around 15mg of B3 a day – the amount in a serving of chicken and ½ cup of brown rice.
Prevention April 2009 pg 50
Monday, December 1, 2008
Sweet Potates
Thanksgiving here in the USA. One of our traditional dishes served alongside the turkey dinner is sweet potatoes. Whether you make them roasted or mashed, or serve them in a pie for dessert, sweet potatoes are one of the most nutritious vegetables you can eat. They are an excellent source of both vitamins A and C, they're full of dietary fiber, vitamin B6, potassium, and iron. Despite the "sweet" in their name, sweet potatoes help stabilize blood sugar levels and lower insulin resistance. Sweet potatoes are also good for your liver. And they are delicious! Do you have a favorite sweet potato recipe? Or another dish you love to make for the holiday? Share with our community at familyeveryday.com.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Live long & Caffeinated
Women who drink 2 to 3 cups of regular coffee daily have a 25% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease than nondrinkers, according to researchers who tracked the habits of more than 100,000 adults. Coffee drinkers also had a 30% lower risk of death from causes other than cancer or cardiovascular disease that coffee skippers. Researchers say the protective effect may come from something other than caffeine, because decaf drinkers also had lower death rates (though not as low as those of caffeine drinkers). Our advice : Use fat-free milk and minimal sweetener to add flavor – some coffee drinks can pack 300 plus calories
Prevention Mag. pg 74 Nov 2008.
To view advantages of a healthier coffee with a power food – Ganoderma Lucidum, go to The 24-7 Shop coffee site.
For more information that will allow you to improve your health through educated life style choices, go to The 24-7 Shop Healthy Practices (112407)
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