Put Yourself in My Shoes

You’ve worked really hard to prepare this meal. You shopped a week in advance, at least. You pressed the last of the napkins hot out of the dryer. You’re really pleased with your menu. Broiled fish, roasted chicken breasts with garlic cloves, bell pepper and onions and steamed broccoli, steamed asparagus, and corn you took off the cob just this afternoon. And by request, your special macaroni and cheese is also on the menu.

It’s time to get everything heated, so you’ve got the oven set to 200 up and the warming pots on the stove. The vegetables are steaming and all that’s left is the macaroni and cheese and the corn. Planned down to the minute, your family will be arriving in twenty minutes; the macaroni will be put into the microwave, straight from the fridge in your microwave-safe plastic ware. Your corn will go in right after that for three minutes.

Everyone is on time. You’re placing the last two items on the table as the guests are seated—it went like clockwork.

What Could Possibly be Wrong with This Picture?

The only problem is the microwave. You know how you learn something but it doesn’t stick because it’s so out of line with the rest of life? That was my problem with the truth and fallacy of microwave cooking.

Many, many years ago, when the microwave was banned in Germany, I can recall hearing about it. I was a child and I remember thinking, What an odd thing to ban. Those poor people are so oppressed. Little did I know.

The Problems with Microwaving Foods

Microwaving changes food on the molecular level, denaturing its nutrients and therein making foods empty, useless substances.

What are you left with?

• Carcinogens in your proteins in cereal and milk
• Radiolytics – stuff unknown in nature
• Destroyed meat proteins

As a result of eating this food, studies have recorded the following:

• Reduces blood hemoglobin count (indicator of anemic condition)
• Increases cholesterol and white blood count

In 1991, microwaving blood denatured it enough to kill a transfusion recipient who received that warmed blood.

Most nutritionists will warn parents away from warming baby milk and formula in microwaves for two reasons:

• It destroys the nutrients in the formula
• The formula is generally much hotter than the bottle indicates when removed from the microwave

It’s even been demonstrated to be unsafe for people to stand in front of microwaves. It’s actually causing cell destruction.

Why People Still Use Microwaves

I am going to guess that many people are a lot like me. I extend to the government a benefit of the doubt that they wouldn’t deliberately make me sick. (I don’t know why I extend the government this because obviously that very thing is the case. It makes me sick.)

I am all about the convenience of heating food quickly. I remember our first microwave. It meant and end to oven and stove reheating. No more steam burns—almost no more—hello, 4-minutes-to-a-complete-meal. Speed can’t mean a sacrifice of health. Who would allow that? Actually it was the same people who prosecuted a United States researcher, William Kopp, who went and collected the Russians’ and Germans’ research results.

So, What Does All This Mean to Me?

Instead of saying thank you to my family and friends for the excellent care they took of me after my surgery, I was giving them damaging garbage to eat with the rest of their meals.

The statistics on weight loss nutrition are grim. Research shows that almost 95% of repeat dieters fail in their efforts, and ultimately regain any weight that they initially lost. What about that successful 5%? What is their secret to weight loss nutrition?

Basically, people who have successfully lost weight and kept it off for years have made a few simple changes to their eating and exercise habits that have enabled them to live a healthier and lighter lifestyle. When asked to describe their eating habits, the top responses among this group usually involved weight loss nutrition that was low in fat and low in red meat. Here are some more secrets for success from those who have lost weight and kept it off for good.

Take Stock in Healthy Foods

Stock your kitchen with healthy organic foods so that you will always have the right things around to choose from. Weight loss nutrition includes fruits and vegetables, whole grains, dried beans, nonfat dairy and fish or lean poultry. Also, try to plan meals in advance in order to avoid making unhealthy selections just because you are hungry and rushed. And make a shopping list so that you’re more likely to choose healthy foods at the grocery store.

Eat Your Organic Fruits and Veggies

Dieters with long-term weight loss success also typically eat more fruits and vegetables than dieters who have failed in their efforts. For example, one recent Harvard study looked at the diets of 75,000 women over a ten-year period. Their results found that the more fruits and vegetables the women ate, the less likely they were to become obese.

Cut Calories

It’s a good idea to know how many calories you eat in a typical day. So if you don’t already know, make an effort to keep a food journal for a few weeks. Then you will be able to find the areas where your diet is weakest. You will also be able to identify the “hidden” calories such as high calories sodas or snacks that sabotage your weight loss efforts.

Once you know how many calories you typically eat, you can make a weight loss nutrition plan that gradually reduces your caloric intake. Make sure you still eat enough food to keep your energy levels high and your metabolism charged. But simply making an effort to limit your portion size will help you cut calories dramatically.

Get Support

Find some kind of support system to aid you in your weight loss efforts. Whether you join a weight loss group, work with a dietitian or simply enlist your family and friends, it is helpful to have someone with whom you can share your experiences. A support group can also be a source of new ideas and strategies for losing weight effectively.

Go Slow

Slow weight loss is critical to long-term weight loss nutrition. Aim to lose no more than one to two pounds a week. Quick weight loss is more apt to lead to the yo-yo dieting that has a negative impact on your long-term health.

It’s also a good idea to go slow while you are eating. Health experts say it takes about twenty minutes for your brain to realize it’s full. That means the amount of calories you take in before you feel full will vary depending on how quickly you eat. Go slow, savor your food, and enjoy every bite of your meal.

Stay Hydrated

Aim to drink at least 8-10 glasses of purified water each day. When the body isn’t adequately hydrated, the kidneys may compensate by conserving or “retaining” water. Drinking a lot of fluids also helps to stimulate the digestive system and makes the stomach feel fuller, so you don’t feel as hungry.

Get Physical

Physical activity is very important for losing weight, but you don’t have to workout to the point of exhaustion in order to see results. Try incorporating exercise into your normal activities. Walk to work, or take a stroll in the evenings with the kids.

The below two videos were produced as a WH-TV News Special. They cover the pro’s and con’s of organic farming and whether or not it can feed a nation on a long-term, large scale. They look to be a few years old, but nonetheless, they are very informative when describing how organic farming really works.

Organic Farming: Can It Feed Us (Part 1)

Organic Farming: Can It Feed Us (Part 2)

While these two videos are pretty long, and look to be a few years old. It’s clear that there are many health benefits to growing your own organic foods and organic farming. Consumers should definitely consider buying more organic foods while shopping at the grocery store. The more consumers buy organic foods, the cheaper organic foods will become over the upcoming years.

When you get sick, you go to the doctor. And the doctor will, of course, prescribe medicines. You will go and buy medicines. You take them, and hopefully, you get well. This is how the health profession goes on nowadays, a cycle of diagnosis and prescription.

If anyone were to give you herbs for medicine, you would probably say that that person was a quack.

But nowadays, studies are being conducted to see if there are really is any merit to what is called natural medicine.

Natural medicine is the use of natural methods, herbal medicines, and traditional practices to heal ailments. Every culture has a form of natural medicine. In ancient cultures, village medicine men served as the doctors of the community, passing on medical knowledge to the apprentices that followed them.

Many categories of the healing methods fall under natural medicine. Among these are traditional medicine, complementary medicine, and alternative medicine.

Usually, natural medicine refers to medical practices that were in place before the advent of modern medicine.

This includes herbal medicine, or phytotherapy, which is prevalent in Chinese, Ayurvedic (or Indian), and Greek medicine.

Upon the advent of modern medicine, many professionals discarded the use of herbs in favor of man-made medicine. The fact that these treatments are based on the healing properties of some herbs was forgotten.

For example, opium, digitalis, quinine, and aspirin all have their roots in traditional medicine.

Natural medicine can be considered as a lost art. This does not mean that it has lost efficacy over time. In some cases, natural therapy is actually better than modern medicine. This leads some doctors to seriously consider and study the possible uses of natural medicine

Before we continue, it is important to stress that not all the natural remedies are legitimate. It would help to only try those remedies which have been thoroughly studied and are relatively risk free.

Take herbal medicine for example. There are many well-documented and studied herbal remedies available. However, only those that deal with minor ailments such as cough, colds, fever, skin rashes, and the like are likely to be recommended by health professionals. These remedies are sometimes superior to synthetic medicine. This is because herbal medicines are less likely to cause negative side effects.

Currently there are numerous organizations that study the effects and advocacy of natural medicine among which is herbal medicine. Some governments and health agencies openly advocate the use of natural methods since they are inexpensive and relatively risk-free.

As their studies compile, more herbs and treatments are added to the list of accepted medicines. However, many herbs and treatments have been proven to be bogus medicine. This represents a challenge for both the user and the agencies because they have to ascertain that the treatments they either use or advocate are legitimate.

Today there are many alternative medical treatments that fall under natural medicine. However, not all of them have been proven to be effective. You could mention homeopathy, aromatherapy, acupuncture, and other alternative medical treatments. It would pay to consult the experts as to the legitimacy of these treatments.

Natural medicine should also be thought of as an accompanying medicine. Right now, the current collective medical thought suggests that natural medicine be used only to supplement accepted modern medical practices. In that case of minor ailments your expert we actually advise you to take natural therapies instead.

The practice of modern medicine revolves around diagnosing an illness and prescribing treatments for such. Natural medicine is helpful because it suggests that treatment be not necessarily given only when sick. Natural medicine strives to make each patient practice good health habits. These habits include good diet, healthy living, and the regular natural treatment.

It is this same line of thought that leads our parents to tell us to eat our vegetables. Yes, a healthy lifestyle and will do no harm to our well-being. And this is the foundation of natural medicine; may it be massage, herbal medicine, aromatherapy or others.

It is funny but true that science, in its quest for excellence, is studying the knowledge of sages past. This, surprisingly, leads us back to the remedies nature offers. The possibilities of finding remedies to everyday illnesses in natural medicine are encouraging. So staying tuned to studying these remedies is worthwhile until we can verify that these therapies are truly helpful to our health and our society.

Detox footpads (such as the LIFE Foot Patch™) operate on the principle of withdrawing toxins from the body through the more than 60 acupuncture points found on the soles of your feet. Many natural healthcare practitioners believe toxins travel downward through the body during the day and these special points on the bottom of the foot are directly related to the major organs and systems of the body. LIFE Detox Patches™ takes advantage of this biorhythmic network in a way that is non-invasive yet extremely effective.

Furthermore, LIFE Detox Patches™ are manufactured without animal ingredients, harsh chemicals, or other unnatural substances. Combining ancient wisdom with modern technology, LIFE Detox Patches™ are designed to promote the natural detoxification of your body through its own immune system response to foreign matter.Simply apply LIFE Detox Patches™ to the soles of your feet before going to sleep. LIFE Detox Patches™ work gently while you rest, using the power of proven herbs and naturd to allow the passage of toxic waste out of the body. You can see the visible results of the detoxification by the discoloration of the pads the next morning; they will turn from white to a dark brown or gray tone as they become soiled with toxins. After a while, you may notice the pads being less soiled in the morning, which is a sure sign your body is reducing its toxin load.

To explain further, when stimulated properly, your skin’s pores can expand to allow the passage of toxic waste out of the body. You can see the visible results of the detoxification by the discoloration of the pads the next morning; they will turn from white to a dark brown or gray tone as they become soiled with toxins. After a while, you may notice the pads being less soiled in the morning, which is a sure sign your body is reducing its toxin load.

How to Apply the Detox Foot Patch

	Remove foot patches and plaster from the air tight packaging
	Peel the backing paper off the center of the adhesive plaster as shown above. Leave the backing paper strips at either end for easier handling.
	Apply the LIFE Detox Patches to the center of the adhesive plaster. Ensure that the foil side faces down against the adhesive side of the plaster. The perforated paper side of the patch should touch the skin.
	Apply the LIFE Detox Patches and plaster to the ball, arch or heel of the foot. Position the plaster by holding on to the strips on both sides. This will make it easier to place the patches on the feet without the plaster sticking in the wrong place.
	Once the patch and plate are in position, carefully remove and discard the backing paper strips from each side of the adhesive paper.
	Smooth the plaster on the foot, ensuring the plaster is tight. Remove and discard used LIFE Detox Patches the next morning or after eight hours. Wash your feet thoroughly.

USEFUL TIP
The more surface that the patches touch, the better the absorption and the result will be. It is recommended to cover the foot patches and plasters with a light sock to avoid accidentally displacement during the night. Drink purified water when using foot patches to help flush toxins through the body. At least 1-2 liters of purified water is recommended.

For more information regarding this great product, visit www.ghchealth.com.

Kava Kava is a member of the pepper family which grows as a bush in the South Pacific. Captain James Cook first discovered kava, and gave the plant the botanical name which means intoxicating pepper. Kava has been used for thousands of years for its medicinal effects as a sedative, muscle relaxant, diuretic, and a remedy for nervousness and insomnia. Kava has also found to be a very effective pain reliever comparable to aspirin, acetaminophen and ibuprofen.

Recent clinical studies have shown that kava is a safe, non addictive anti-anxiety herbal, which is as effective as prescription medications containing benzodiazepines such as valium. However, unlike the prescription meds which may cause confused thinking processes and lethargy, kava actually has been demonstrated to improve concentration, memory and reaction time for people who are suffering from the symptoms caused by anxiety. Kava can be beneficial in achieving a relaxed state of mind without the adverse side effects.

Kava is mildly narcotic and produces mild euphoric changes which elevate the mood, and can also increase the sense of sound. Care should be taken to regulate dosage levels however, as very high dosages can lead to muscle weakness, visual impairment, dizziness, and drying of the skin. Long term usage can contribute to hypertension, reduced protein levels, blood cell abnormalities, or liver damage. Mixing kava with alcoholic beverage intake can increase the action of kava, and should be avoided.

With the exception of the opium poppy, kava is known to herbalists to be the most relaxing drug. Pharmacological studies have shown that kava’s active ingredients, kava lactones, produce a physical and mental feeling of relaxation and well being. It has been used in the treatment of vaginitis, gonorrhea and menstrual cramps. It is also useful for the treatment of gout, rheumatism, bronchial congestion, and cystitis. Kava can also be applied topically as a liniment for pain relief. Because of the relaxed state and sharpening of the senses this herb creates, it is also a powerful aphrodisiac.

One of the main benefits of Kava Kava is that, unlike St. John’s Wort, which requires a cumulative effect in order to be beneficial, kava works within a few minutes to help alleviate anxiety. Kava Kava can be found in many traditional and herbal pharmacies in tablet or capsule form.

NOTE: Do not use if pregnant, nursing, or being treated for depression. (Kava is a temporary mood enhancer and should not be used to treat clinical or severe depression.)