For Health and Balance

It may not surprise you but food companies, in an effort to have you purchase THEIR product and to keep costs as low as possible, will trick you into thinking you are getting something that you are not!

 Here are a few fake-out label words to watch for:

Made with whole grains: It may have a pinch of whole grains, but unless it's 100%, you won't reap most of the potential benefits.

Multigrain: This tells you nothing about whether the grains are whole or refined. Even if you're getting 38 different grains, that isn't much good if they are all refined.

Whole grain: If the label doesn't say "100% whole grain," it may have many grain blends. Bad words to see paired with "flour": enriched, bleached, unbleached, semolina, durum, and rice.

What it should say: "100% whole grain" or "100% whole wheat."

 source: www.realage.com

Silent but deadly is the phenomenon of high blood pressure. Symptoms can include headaches, shortness of breath and decreased energy….or worse….no symptoms at all. Check out this new site that has important information about this important health concern. www.signsofhighbloodpressure.info. It contains articles, video and more!

Annual checkups can catch this condition early. And when you get it early, you can manage it most times WITHOUT drugs. There is a great deal of information about natural remedies, but the one that amazed me the most is (according to two different healthcare professionals) that it is a condition of dehydration. If you increase your water intake substantially, and especially with purified and magnetized water, your intra-cellular hydration level can increase easily and result in lower blood pressure. Now isn’t that better than the alternative?

Of all the activities that can bring you blood pressure down and your energy up is hearing about the developing life of your children. I have 3 boys, plus a husband. Needless to say, data is MINIMAL! And being a woman, I like lots of data.

My youngest son (age 14) has just left the room. I had a 2 minute conversation with him. AND…it REVEALED his current life in just 2 minutes. Her name is Alex. They have hugged, kissed a little, and verbally agreed to be each other’s “hug buddy” (my term, certainly not theirs!). Apparently she told her mom, so he felt it was only right to do the same! I am reeling in gittiness, cuz the other boys gave me nada on the girl-front other than they are “high maintenance and cost you money”. …hmmm not sure where that came from.

How cool is it to hear about your childs first.......what ever...from them!

Any way…God is good to give us “flutters”. Amen.

Hard to believe that just 4 weeks ago we were buried under 30 inches of snow. Today the weather is close to 60 degrees and all but small remains of Snowmagedan appear under shaded trees and areas. Now we have the Annual Spring Fever, and soon clothing will be lighter, windows will be open and flowers will scatter the neighborhoods. Even if you are an old scroodge, you can not miss the undeniable air of hope that Spring brings every year. The unveiling, cleaning, purging of old ways and inside days, to being outdoors and moving with the wind.

Do not ignore this change. This is important for every person who is blessed with the waning of winter.  Step outside, take in 10 deep, deep breaths, stretch out your arms and say HALELUIA!  Go ahead, indulge in the 3 to 4 minutes it will take you to do this! I guaranteed it will fill your week with more than another 3 to 4 minutes of working.

Cheer’s to sun gods!

Need a real purge? check out this journey to wellness in the Red Rocks of Utah. Coming April 14 to 18. www.mindbodytherapy.org

Every minute of every day, you can make a choice as to what you THINK.  You have the power to choose what you focus on. And we have SO MANY things we can focus on and Think about. The key is to focus on what you want MORE of in your life, and de-focus (is that a word?) or scramble the thoughts that bring your attention to what you do not want.

Consider something as simple as traffic (in DC this just IS). You can sit and be irritated, or you can plan on the traffic and bring along music or audio book, thus turning an annoying journey into an educational or inspirational time for you. But sitting in traffic, steaming about it, does not move the traffic, it only messes up your biological state. Sitting and worrying is the biggest waste of natural energy because nothing gets done while you worry.  Instead of worrying or focusing on a problem, consider the stress relieving alternative: acceptance, alteration, or addition.

Acceptance: consider that (problem) is the way it is…as in the case of traffic. You can not influence this! You can accept it and work with it. BE creative. If you take your focus off the problem state and go into the possibility state, you will discover hundreds of options!

Alteration: The wonderful word of CHANGE. Change the way you travel. Change the way you think. Change the destination. Change the time. Change something so you get more of what you do want.

Addition: Add something so that your situation becomes more pleasurable. Think of it as a recipe. If you add flavor, the quality can be improved. So if you are focused on weight, stress, too much work (which you have accepted), add something like music, movement, or nourishment of the mind, so that the task or situation becomes more pleasant.

Allow yourself the CHOICE to improve the way you handle your life. And Discover how much freedom you have to feel better.

The headline reads: Autism and Diet: Many Questions to Digest. And the fact that this is published in the very controlled contents of the Washington Post is a breakthrough for many people looking for the truth behind the rising statistics of diseases in America. It may not be the actual food, but how the food is processed that holds the key. Breaking the Vicious Cycle introduces us to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) which helps us to heal the intestinal tract and rid it of bacterial and fungal overgrowth. Recent research indicates that it is proving to be a successful dietary intervention in treating autistic children, schizophrenia and other neurological disorders.

Food is a constant part of our lives…almost hourly for some people. And with the massive amounts of processed food choices in America, one HAS to look at this as part of the problem/solution. The study linking vaccinations to Autism has now been “retracted” partly because it caused so many parents to skip vaccinating their children. Unfortunately, there is no mention on whether the statistics of Autism actually changed during this period of reduced vaccinations.

I have a few simple questions: how long has Autism been a part of the health problem? (same goes for MS, Lupus, and all kinds of other disease which are all on the RISE). Autism went from 1 in 250 children to now 1 in 110 in America. What else is on the rise? Processed foods. Vaccinations. Environmental toxins. Sedentary lifestyles. Being indoors. Technology running our lives. Hmmm….many questions to digest for sure!

Let’s applaud Michelle Obama for taking on the most important part of healthcare reform: Education and prevention starting with children. Children are open to learning and trying new things! Children are courageous in learning new concepts. Children are the future of our country, and right now they have a SHORTER life expectancy than we do as their adult parents!

Boo to the Washington Post, which felt that her service project on child obesity did not warrant front page news. In fact it was on the BACK of the Style section…So is that saying that saving children from the poor lifestyle choices is STYLISH??? Come on….this HAS to become front page news!!!

Please help the First Lady by being a disciple of better life choices…move more, eat more fresh/real food, drink more water than anything else you drink. Start there, and let’s change our children’s future!

As many people embark on the Journey of January…to get healthy…diet fads will take front stage on advertising spots. Too bad. Millions of people will spend ridiculous amounts of money on weight loss products (over $40 BILLION according to Business Week article), but neglect a central solution to managing cravings and getting some balance of nutrition: the daily multi-mineral/vitamin that can actually help you in the long run of life. Don’t waist your money. Invest in your body with WHOLE FOOD BASED nutritional supplements and feel the difference. Skip the C#ntr#m and On# a D#y types which are filled with things your body doesn’t use. Food is the best source of nutrition, so use WHOLE FOOD BASED nutritional supplements for the best results. Available at specialty nutrition stores and independent distributors.  

The mad rush to get gifts, wrap, send cards, cook foods (both healthy and not so healthy) attend parties, host parties, and more...is what many of us experience as a result of the holiday season. The end result is usually waking up in a "daze", having spent too much, eaten too much and run around too much. And all because a special boy was born many years ago.

 We celebrate this amazing time of year so deliberately and truly it is a celebration. My only concern is the pressure we create for ourselves, the expectations we pile up, and the consequences of these expectations cost us in the long run. We lose sight of the original celebration.

Find time this week to let go of the expectations. Set some new ground rules this year for next year while the "daze" is still fresh in your mind. Tell your friends and family what you will not be doing next year to reduce the stress and the cost of the holiday. Make a plan together on how you can enjoy each other more....face to face, heart to heart, head to head.  Blessings for a joyous New Year.