We are very excited to introduce our new shirts to you.  We have some in stock and are selling them for $20 ($25 if you need them shipped).  They are a a bamboo fabric.

The benefits of bamboo are abundant. Because bamboo grows so quickly, it is a resource that is not only sustainable, but also gives back to the environment. Beyond the environment, there are many benefits for the people wearing bamboo t-shirts. You can feel good about yourself when you wear a bamboo t-shirt. You can paint a smile on your face just knowing the material you are wearing is fed by rain. Just rain. Little drops from the sky. Your shirt didn’t need to be bathed with water resources we can’t afford. It wasn’t saturated with pesticides or fertilizers. It grew naturally, with the sun, the rain, the stars and the moon. Bamboo t-shirts feel smooth against your body and move with you beautifully.

“If you don‚Äôt want to be touched all the time, don‚Äôt mention it‚Äôs bamboo.”

– Anonymous

If you are interested in purchasing one please contact us at [email protected] ¬†or ¬†615-562-2633

Perhaps you haven’t heard of glutathione, but you wouldn’t be alive without it. Glutathione was first identified by J. de Rey-Pailhade in 1888, but it wasn’t a known detoxifier until about 30 years ago. Now it’s recognized as a chief antioxidant and detoxifying element. What’s more is that it also supports a healthy immune system and healthy cells by its potent antioxidant and detoxifying functions.

Glutathione is made in the body at the cellular level and works its way outward from there. Known also as GSH, glutathione is comprised of three amino acids: glutamate, glycine and cysteine. It has numerous health benefits, too, including boosting the immune system by assisting in the multiplication of lymphocytes, the cells that mediate specific immunity.

It also aids in the detoxification process and fighting off free radicals. Free radicals, of course, are those unstable molecules responsible for tissue damage, accelerated aging and overall unhealth. Antioxidants like glutathione are what the body uses to scavenge for free radicals and quells the damage they cause.

As for detoxification, the highest concentrations of glutathione are in the kidneys and the liver. In fact, glutathione serves as one of the major liver detoxification pathways. Glutathione actually attaches itself to toxins and turns them into a form that can be safely eliminated from the body. In short, glutathione neutralizes and liquefies toxins so that they can exit the body as harmless waste.

Truth be told, without glutathione, our cells would disintegrate from the destructive forces of oxidation and our livers would cease functioning due to the overwhelming accumulation of toxins. But that‚Äôs not all that glutathione does. It also protects the skin, as well as the eyes’ lenses, corneas, and retinas. In addition to detoxifying the kidneys and liver, it also detoxifies the lungs, intestines, epithelia and other organs.

Normally, glutathione levels stay at 90% functionality in the body and all is well. What happens if glutathione supplies wane, though? The good news is that it can regenerate itself—that is, unless there’s too much toxic waste for it to take on. The bad news is that if glutathione levels fall below 70% of its activity potential due to inactivity or excessive oxidation, then serious health consequences can result.

Understandably, it’s important to keep glutathione levels at an optimal level. Eating specific foods can help. Our bodies can create glutathione naturally from foods such as broccoli, asparagus, onions, garlic, eggs, poultry, red meat, fish, dairy products, beans, fruits, avocados and walnuts.

So make sure you get enough of these foods. They help feed glutathione levels so that it can consistently deliver its “knockout punch” to toxins.

By Jordin Rubin  (Extraordinary Newsletter)

I know there are a lot of  us that run, I also know that there are a lot of you that hate it! Those of us that love running have learned to love it, much like you learn to love drinking water, eating your vegetables, working out or getting to bed on time. It is a good habit to run, does this make it good for you? Well that remains a topic of discussion for a later blog. All I will tell you is that long distant running without proper diet is comparable to smoking while running. It will cancel the good that running does real quick.

All that aside, if you are out there and wondering how anyone could love running think of it this way. Running can be relaxing if you let yourself relax, like paying for a really good massage and then being all uptight and stiff because you don’t like to be touched. The parallel is you get what you put into it, if you can find something to take your mind of the pain in running you will become more relaxed and find success in it. What keeps me going is the feeling that I am mastering the technic, this allows me to focus on anything other than the pain. Starting with the thought of “I am going to have fun” or “remember to breath” even “let’s kill these 5 miles!”

Whatever it takes to bring yourself to something positive. Yes positive thinking and even meditation can be a great thing to work on, I prefer prayer or a good conversation with a great friend. But whatever that is for you find that place and visit it as often as it takes.

Change up your scenery!

Find a new route or go a different way on the same route, trail run, track run or run hard all these can be something to mix up the mundane task of running. If you feel like running is a chore than I invite you to choose one of these things to mix it up. Remember there is great power in the mind, you will get through it just stop apologizing and remember your form.

Form?

Of course! Shoulders back, relax your back, kick at the knees not the hips, arms relaxed and not held up at your chest, swing them forward and not side to side. This is just the start, there is a little bit to think about but don’t let that discourage you, let it motivate you and maybe even distract you. Shut the ipod off and listen to your breathing, find some good conversation or maybe just some alone time with the stillness of this great world that we have been blessed with.

Go! Do it! And do it now!

New Study Suggests Asthma Could Have a Natural Fix!

by Dr. Mercola | April 06 2010

Researchers have discovered that African American children with asthma in metropolitan Washington, DC, are significantly more likely to have low levels of vitamin D than healthy children.

This study supports recent research that suggests vitamin D plays a greater role in the body than just keeping bones healthy. Vitamin D deficiency has been recently linked to a variety of non-bone related diseases including depression, autoimmune disorders, and now asthma.

The research team found that 86 percent of the children in the study with asthma had insufficient levels of vitamin D, while only 19 percent of non-asthmatics had these low levels.

Only 5 to 37 percent of American infants meet the standard for vitamin D set by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Although breast milk is the perfect food in every other way, it’s often low in vitamin D. Since humans originated in equatorial areas with year-round sunshine, babies in the distant past wouldn’t have needed to get vitamin D from breast milk. Many mothers also are vitamin D-deficient. Based on these facts, researchers now recommend that most babies should take a daily vitamin D supplement, reports USA Today.

In addition, Mothering Magazine offers several tips on how natural medicine can strengthen immune function to prevent asthma attacks.

Oriental medicine and Chinese herbs have the ability to directly strengthen immune function. The disadvantage of herbs is their bad taste, and the most effective strategy for children is to mix liquid extracts of herbs with juice to improve their taste.

A licensed acupuncturist experienced in the treatment of children can assess an individual child’s needs and prescribe an herbal formula to relieve congestion and build immune function.

Massaging specific points on your child’s body during asthmatic episodes helps to relieve cough, induce relaxation, and decrease wheezing. The techniques fall into two categories: pressing on acupuncture points and massage of acupuncture channels. Both are simple, straightforward, and require no training.

For more details, please see the full article in Mothering Magazine.

Sources:

Mothering Magazine March 2010

Eurekalert March 19, 2010

USA Today March 22, 2010

Asthma is a growing problem, both for children and adults. In fact, asthma now affects some 20 million Americans, as it has increased by more than 300 percent over the last 20 years.

Wouldn’t you like to have a simple, highly effective and incredibly inexpensive treatment for this very serious illness?

Unfortunately most physicians are clueless about using vitamin D to treat asthma, but by subscribing to this site you can easily keep abreast of the latest that science has to offer in providing safe, inexpensive natural therapies to common problem.

That is what we specialize in.

If vitamin D is indeed a major underlying cause of asthma, which it surely appears to be, many are needlessly suffering with a potentially life threatening ailment since vitamin D deficiency is easily remedied.

Not to mention the fact that many are needlessly exposing themselves to the dangers inherent with the standard drug treatments for asthma.

Advair, for example, contains the long-acting beta-agonist (LABA) salmeterol. A 2006 analysis found that regular use of LABAs can increase the severity of an asthma attack. Researchers estimate that salmeterol may contribute to as many as 5,000 asthma-related deaths in the United States each year.

Conventional asthma treatments can also increase your risk of heart disease and osteoporosis, just to name a few.

So isn’t it great to know that there is an effective, and infinitely safer, method to treat asthma?!

Vitamin D Deficiency Likely an Underlying Cause of Asthma

According to the senior author of the study:

“For African American kids with asthma, vitamin D testing and ensuring adequate vitamin D intake may need to become necessary steps in their primary care.”

Yes!

And this does not apply to African Americans exclusively. As reported by USA Today, a mere five to 37 percent of all American infants meet the standard for vitamin D set by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which is at a mere 400 IU’s per day!

This dose was recommended to prevent rickets, which works well, but does not provide protection from more serious diseases such as cancer, heart disease, infections and probably asthma as well.

Previous research has shown that the pediatric recommended daily allowance is woefully inadequate for most children, stating that many infants may need as much as 10 times that amount to reap all the health benefits.

In addition, it’s important to realize that you are laying the groundwork for your child’s health while still in the womb.

One 2007 study discovered that poor diets and the lack of vitamin D among mothers were the determining factors in whether their children suffered from asthma, independent of the child’s own vitamin D intake after birth.

There are also several other studies showing the beneficial impact of vitamin D on lung health.

This makes perfect sense once you know that just one of the 3,000 genes vitamin D upregulates is a gene that produces over 200 anti-microbial peptides, some of which work like a broad-spectrum antibiotic.

Here’s a short list of studies confirming the inverse association between lower respiratory tract infections and 25(OH)D levels in children. Meaning, the higher your child’s vitamin D level, the lower his risk of contracting respiratory tract infections:

1. A 2009 study on vitamin D deficiency in newborns with an upper respiratory infection (URI) confirmed a strong, positive correlation between newborns’ and mother’s vitamin D levels. Over 87 percent of all newborns and over 67 percent of all mothers had vitamin D levels lower than 20 ng/ml, which is a severe deficiency state.
   Newborns with vitamin D deficiency appear to have an increased risk of developing a URI, and since the child’s vitamin D level strongly correlates with its mother’s, the researchers recommend that all mothers optimize their vitamin D levels during pregnancy, especially in the winter months, to safeguard their baby’s health.
2. A similar Indian study published in 2004 also reported that vitamin D deficiency in infants significantly raised their odds ratio for having severe a URI.
3. A 2009 analysis of the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey examined the association between vitamin D levels and recent upper respiratory infections (URI) in nearly 19,000 subjects over the age of 12.
   There was a positive correlation between lower vitamin D levels and increased risk of URI, and this correlation was even stronger in individuals with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
4. Another 2009 report in the journal Pediatric Research stated that infants and children appear more susceptible to viral rather than bacterial infections when deficient in vitamin D. And that, based on the available evidence showing a strong connection between vitamin D, infections, and immune function in children, vitamin D supplementation may be a valuable therapy in pediatric medicine.

Yes, optimizing your immune function is an essential part of treating asthma, and vitamin D is proven to be an incredibly powerful immune modulator, which is why optimizing your child’s vitamin D levels should be at the very top of your list.

How to Optimize Your Child’s Vitamin D Levels

Remember, it is quite likely that your child will need far more than the recommended daily allowance, which is a mere 400 units a day. You really need to make sure your child is getting therapeutic levels.

Ideally, your child would get his vitamin D from safe sun exposure, although many children spend more time outdoors than their parents, many are still not getting nearly enough sun exposure – particularly if you slather them with sunscreen.

I recommend you allow your child to spend some time outdoors without sunscreen. But you do want to be very careful and make sure your child does not get sunburned!

You can tell he’s had enough exposure when his skin turns the lightest shade of pink. After that his body will not produce any more vitamin D and continued exposure is only going to cause skin damage.

If your child does not have access to regular sun exposure, I do recommend oral supplements. You can also use vitamin D drops for children who are too young to swallow a pill.

Based on the latest research, the recommended dosage for children is 35 IU’s of vitamin D per pound of body weight. There is one caveat however, and that is it would be helpful to get your child’s vitamin D levels tested after starting oral supplements, to ensure they’re within the therapeutic range of 50-70 ng/ml.

You also want to make sure you’re using the correct test, and a reputable lab. In the US, I recommend using LabCorp. If you get it done by Quest, you’ll need to divide your result by 1.3 to get the “real” number.

For more information, please review this previous article that explains the available tests and the differences between labs in more detail.

If you get your child‚Äôs levels to about 60 ng/ml, there‚Äôs a strong likelihood — especially if you combine it with exercise and balancing out her omega 3 and omega 6 fats as described below — that she will not experience asthma anymore.

Additional Safe and Effective Strategies to Treat Asthma

Although asthma is a serious disease, safely treating your asthma is not a complicated affair. Optimizing your child’s vitamin D levels is the first step, but there are other basic, simple strategies that can help treat the root of the problem as well.

The Mothering Magazine article sourced above contains a variety of helpful methods to help strengthen your child’s immune system to prevent asthma attacks, and natural therapies that can help soothe the symptoms of asthma, so feel free to read through that as well.

In my experience, the following strategies are highly effective when treating asthma:

• Increase your child‚Äôs intake of animal-based omega 3 fats ‚Äì I can‚Äôt emphasize enough the importance of getting sufficient amounts of high quality animal-based omega 3 fats in your child‚Äôs diet.
  Although I strongly believe we all need plant-based omega 3 fats, the difference is that most people do not possess the metabolic machinery to rapidly convert the ALA in these plants to the higher order fats DHA and EPA, which are potent anti-inflammatories.
  Although I still recommend fish oil in some instances, I believe krill oil is an even better source of omega 3 fats for most people.
• Reduce your child‚Äôs intake of omega 6 fats ‚Äì In addition to adding omega 3 fats to your child‚Äôs diet, you also want to reduce the amount of omega 6 fats he consumes because the ratio between these two fats is very important.
  Many don’t realize that about a century ago, people only consumed 1-2 pounds of plant-based omega 6 fats per year. Today, the average American is consuming about 75-80 pounds a year of these vegetable oils, such as corn oil, soy and safflower oil.
  When you eat lots of them, which you will if you use a lot of processed foods, the balance between omega 3 and omega 6 fats will become distorted, which can cause the type of inflammation that leads to asthma.
• Consider the hygiene hypothesis ‚Äì There‚Äôs a tendency in our modern culture to be obsessive about cleanliness, especially in children. However, this may not be as healthy as initially thought. It appears that being exposed to common bacterial and viral infections as a child can be instrumental in providing the stimulus to your immune system to prevent asthma naturally.
• Get regular exercise ‚Äì Exercise (especially out in fresh air if you‚Äôre an asthmatic) is actually crucial, as it helps to moderate insulin levels. It increases your insulin receptor sensitivity, and as a result your body produces less insulin, which tends to optimize it.

You can also use allergy testing to build up your child’s immune system. However, my experience is that conventional testing does not work very effectively and there is a fair amount of risk. A far better test would be provocation neutralization testing, which is an intradermal skin test.

The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) has a list of physicians who are trained in this highly effective technique.

As for natural remedies, you can try some Butterbur (Petasites hybridus). This perennial shrub has been used since ancient times to treat a variety of conditions. As far back as the 17th century, butterbur was used to treat coughs, asthma, and skin wounds.

Researchers have since identified the compounds in butterbur that help reduce symptoms in asthma by inhibiting leukotrienes and histamines, which are responsible for symptom aggravation in asthma.

Also remember that pasteurized milk products are notorious for making asthma worse.

Conclusion

Vitamin D is such an essential part of optimal health, and the research being done in this area is mounting as we speak. I believe educating the public about optimizing their vitamin D levels is so important, I’ve created a brand new site dedicated to vitamin D.

After all, wouldn’t you agree it’s a safer and wiser strategy to address the cause of your disease, rather than treating the symptoms with expensive, potentially dangerous drugs?

As it turns out, vitamin D deficiency is at the core of countless diseases and health problems, and the cure couldn’t be safer or simpler!

If you follow these simple strategies discussed above, you can virtually eliminate your need for bronchodilators and steroid drugs, for example, and THAT’S a perfect example of taking control of your and your family’s health!

Nutrition Experts Battle Industry Groups Over Sugar
Posted by Dr. Mercola | March 23 2010
There’s a heated debate going on over the health risks of consuming too much sugar, high-fructose corn syrup and other caloric sweeteners.
On one side are leading nutrition experts, who believe that these sweeteners add empty calories to people’s diets and promote weight gain.
Emerging scientific research indicates that consuming too much of these sweeteners may increase your risk of cardiovascular disease and other health problems.
On the other side are industry groups representing sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). They claim that their products are natural and don’t cause weight gain or health problems. And they have launched advertising and marketing campaigns to spread this idea.
The American Heart Association is on the nutrition experts’ side. The group recently issued a scientific statement saying that high intake of added sugars is implicated in many poor health conditions, including obesity, high blood pressure and other risk factors for heart disease and stroke.
Sources:
USA Today March 3, 2010

Dr. Mercola’s Comments:

The sugar industry groups can tout all the misleading propaganda they want, but it won’t change the fact that sugar, and especially fructose, is essentially public enemy #1 for human health.
When you eat sugar, it actually causes negative changes in your genes that last for two full weeks! So indulge in a couple of sodas or splurge on a hot fudge sundae and not only do your genes turn off controls designed to protect you from heart disease and diabetes, but the impact lasts for 14 days!
Even more concerning, if you eat too much sugar for a long time, your DNA may become permanently altered, and the effects could be passed on to your children and grandchildren.
For most Americans, sugar is not only a regular part of their diet, but often the source of the most calories! On average, adults are eating over 22 teaspoons of sugar a day … which is way over the American Heart Association’s recommended limit of 6.5 teaspoons a day for women and 9.5 for men.

How Can Industry Groups Continue to Claim Sugar and Fructose are Healthy?
We now know without a doubt that sugar in your food, in all its myriad of forms, is taking a devastating toll on the health of the United States and other developed nations.
Yet, industry groups are trying to take away all the negative press by highlighting that sugar and high-fructose corn syrup are “natural.” The Corn Growers Association, for instance, wants you to believe that HFCS has the “same natural sweeteners as table sugar and honey.”
But don‚Äôt fall for it. HFCS is highly processed and does not exist anywhere in nature. The biggest difference is that due to its costs HFCS has massively increased the sugar load in the typical diet, but additionally, HFCS also has fructose as a “free” sugar not joined to other sugars like glucose so it is more easily absorbed and able to devastate you metabolically.
Still, even in its “natural” form, it is a well-proven fact that sugar and more specifically, fructose, increases your insulin and leptin levels and decreases receptor sensitivity for both of these vital hormones. This can lead to:
• High blood pressure and high cholesterol
• Heart disease
• Diabetes
• Weight gain
• Premature aging
Elevated insulin levels are one of your key physical influences that contribute to rapid aging, and there is no question that optimizing your insulin levels is an absolute necessity if you want to slow down your aging process.
Consuming sugar (and grains) will increase your insulin level, which is the equivalent of slamming your foot on your aging accelerator. There’s simply no more potent way to accelerate aging than eating sugar.
Agave syrup, too, is being falsely advertised as “natural.” In reality, it is actually HIGHLY processed and is 80 percent fructose. The end product does not even remotely resemble the original agave plant and has virtually no nutritive value.
Likewise, honey is very high in fructose. Although its fructose content varies, it typically contains about the same amount as HFCS, or more. So even though honey contains many other beneficial nutrients, you’ll want to use honey very sparingly.

Why You Need to Avoid Fructose-Based Sweeteners, Even if They‚Äôre “Natural”
One of the main claims that industry groups are making for the safety of their sweeteners is that they‚Äôre “natural.” But this argument falls flat when you look a little deeper at the way sugar, and especially fructose, behaves in your body.
I am convinced that FRUCTOSE is the primary cause of the obesity epidemic in both children and adults. Sweetened beverages and processed foods are the main sources of fructose.
For an in-depth understanding of just how fructose is destroying your health, and that of your children, please watch this excellent video lecture from Dr. Robert Lustig, Professor of Pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at University of California in San Francisco, in its entirety.
It was Dr. Lustig’s presentation on this subject that really opened my eyes to this issue, and then Dr. Johnson, who is the chairman of medicine at the University of Colorado, reinforced that with his book The Sugar Fix: The High-Fructose Fallout That Is Making You Fat and Sick.
You probably already know that fructose is a sugar, but what you may not realize is that it’s distinctly different from other sugars as it’s metabolized through very specific pathways that differ from those of glucose, for example, and through its distinct metabolic action, uric acid is generated.
Uric acid is a normal waste product found in your blood. High levels of uric acid are normally associated with gout, but it has been known for a long time that people with high blood pressure, overweight, and people with kidney disease, often have high uric acid levels as well.
It used to be thought that the uric acid was secondary in these conditions, and not the cause — but Dr. Johnson‚Äôs research indicates that it could be a lead player in the development of these conditions.
And it turns out that one of the most potent ways to raise uric acid is via fructose!
Folks, this is exactly why I am so passionate about educating you on the dangers of fructose! I am thoroughly convinced that it’s one of the leading causes behind the massive rise in needless suffering from poor health and premature death.

Cutting Back on ALL Forms of Sugar is Essential for Optimal Health
Sugar, in any form, will contribute to the decline of your health. Fructose will do so as well, and likely even more rapidly.
This is why significantly limiting sugar in your diet has long been at the crux of my nutrition plan for optimal health.
Reducing sugar in your diet can be tough for some people. After all, sugar is just as addictive as cocaine! But it’s possible, and Dr. Johnson provides helpful guidelines for doing so in his book.
If you’re currently a soda drinker, this will be one of the first areas in which to start cutting back. The major sweetener used in soda is HFCS, and since 55 percent of HFCS is fructose, one can of soda alone would nearly exceed your daily allotment. It is easy to see that anyone who is drinking three, and certainly four, will easily exceed 100 grams of fructose per day.
As a standard recommendation, I strongly advise keeping your TOTAL fructose consumption below 25 grams per day.
However, for most people it would actually be wise to limit your fruit fructose to 15 grams or less, as it is virtually guaranteed that you will consume “hidden” sources of fructose from most beverages and just about any processed food you might eat.
This includes limiting your consumption of fruit and especially fruit juices so you don‚Äôt go over this limit. I‚Äôve included the reference table below to help you keep the total fructose from fruit below 15 grams per day (which should allow you to stay below 25 grams a day total after factoring in the excess fructose from “hidden” sources).

Are Any Sweeteners Safe?

A far safer alternative to table sugar and fructose is to use pure glucose.
I personally prefer to use the herb stevia but lo han can also be used.
You can buy pure glucose (dextrose) as a sweetener for about $1 a pound. It is only 70 percent as sweet as sucrose, so you‚Äôll end up using a bit more of it for the same amount of sweetness, making it slightly more expensive than sucrose — but still well worth it for your health as it has ZERO grams of fructose.

By Jordan Rubin

Food labels can tell you a lot. For instance, they can indicate how many calories, carbs, proteins and fats are found in foods. What they don’t tell you, however, is how your inflammation levels may be affected by that food.

Inflammation? You may be wondering what inflammation has to do with the foods we eat.

The answer? Plenty.

The truth is that some foods—such as foods high in omega-3s, antioxidants and other important nutrients—are better for your inflammation levels than others are. One expert in the area of foods and their inflammation-influencing abilities is Monica Reinagel, a well-known nutritional researcher.

Reinagel’s book The Inflammation Free Diet Plan provides helpful dietary guidelines for selecting foods that can support healthy inflammation levels in the body. In fact, Reinagel created the IF Rating™ system that is utilized to give an inflammation factor for various foods.

Simply put, foods with a positive rating can support healthy inflammation levels, while foods with a negative rating can foster unhealthy inflammation levels.

The foods we eat influence inflammation through chemicals called prostaglandins from the foods’ nutrients. Foods like wild fish, cruciferous vegetables, green, leafy vegetables and some spices like ginger and garlic may be especially healthy for supporting normal inflammation.

Other foods may not be particularly healthy for inflammation levels. Let’s say, for example, that a typical American breakfast includes a plain bagel (-186 on the inflammation scale), a cup of corn flakes cereal (-182), with maybe a glass of low-fat milk (-33)—perish the thought. According to Reinagel’s rating system, a breakfast like that comes in at about a -401.

If a person picks up a Caesar salad from a fast food joint (a -42 rating) and a small soda (ranging from -53 to -58 for a small order), the negative numbers begin to accumulate. Throw in chicken nuggets, french fries (a whopping -336 rating) or some pizza for dinner with a chocolate ice cream dessert and you have negative numbers that go way over the top!

Here’s a surprise. Even many “good inflammation” foods like salmon have ratings that have to do with whether they are farm raised or wild. According to Reinagel’s rating, three ounces of farm-raised Atlantic salmon weighs in at a -180, while three ounces of wild Atlantic salmon comes in at a +493.

Wow.

Other foods that rank positively in supporting healthy inflammation levels include: extra virgin olive oil, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, kale, almonds, chia seeds, walnuts, pecans, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and onions.

So, if you’re looking to support healthy inflammation levels through your diet, then you might want to rethink your food selections, including that bagel for breakfast. Maybe you’d like some fresh berries instead?

Chances are, yes… If you are answering the question above. But you are most likely not eating enough. It seems like everyday I see people who never have breakfast or eat breakfast and then nothing again till dinner. You must eat to lose weight, but more than that you must eat so you don’t send your body into “starvation mode”. This will only complicate things more.

When you are not eating and then on top of that eating NON-nutrient dense foods then you are fooling your body. Making it believe that this is all the nutrients it going to get, this will send it into store/starvation mode. This is when the body will store everything for fear of not getting any more. So you will store everything from good carbs to bad carbs, fats and oils, vitamins and minerals all this on top of or in your fat. The little nutrients you are getting will be burnt quickly for energy leaving the harder to burn toxins from bad foods and chemicals to be burnt later. This will compound the problem if you are looking to lose weight and achieve whole health, taking you longer to lose or to start losing the weight.

Calorie restrictions are fine just don’t obsess about the amount but do worry about the nutrient density. If you reduce calories make sure the calories you are getting are so packed full nutrients that you can feel it. Trading your soda for kombucha, coffee for water, nutri-grain bar for grass fed eggs and turkey bacon. Eat more and more nutrient dense foods often, you will retrain your body and start using the fat that you have store. Your body will actually start thriving instead of surviving, you will lose weight before you even step into the gym.

Eating well also helps you finish your day strong or get through that tough work out with that annoying trainer You will also save energy for digestion and your immune system. This will give you a much higher quality of life as well as the energy to live it.

Try eating every 3 hours but eating foods that don’t have labels, you know? Real raw foods. Throw in some cooked treats to but nothing starchy or with any sugar or sweeteners at all. Ask us how we can help you more!

Dr. Richard Johnson is professor of medicine at the University of Colorado, where he runs the kidney division and is in charge of transplantation and research in blood pressure. He has also written the best book on the market on the dangers of fructose called The Sugar Fix.
About 70 percent of his work involves research and, for a number of years, he has been studying the effects of fructose on the metabolic system in animals and cell culture, as well as in clinical studies.
Most of this research is focused on how fructose might cause obesity, high blood pressure, kidney disease, fatty liver, and other health-related problems.
Here, Dr. Johnson discusses how uric acid in your blood can wreak havoc on your blood pressure, insulin production and even kidney function.

Read more:Click Here

The health benefits of yogurt have been cited for centuries, but many people still don’t realize just how valuable yogurt can be to living a healthy lifestyle. Yogurt can actually benefit your health in a variety of ways, and it should definitely be added to your shopping list the next time you head out to the grocery store.

The most outstanding benefit of yogurt comes right from the unique way yogurt is made. Yogurt is simply milk or cream that is cultured with active live cultures. These cultures are the key to many of yogurt’s health benefits. Active live cultures are basically good bacteria that are necessary for the body to function at its best. These good bacteria prevent the growth of harmful bacteria that cause bacterial infections and diseases. Healthy levels of good bacteria also promote digestive health and boost the immune system. Good bacteria prevent imbalances in the body’s yeast levels, which can prevent various types of yeast infections. It has been shown that good bacteria can also prevent urinary tract infections. If you are taking antibiotics, they may be destroying the good bacteria present in your body. Eating yogurt regularly can help restore your good bacteria levels. Active live cultures actually reduce yogurt’s level of lactose, making yogurt a delicious dairy alternative for anyone who is lactose intolerant.

We Love Yogurt and I think it is a wonderful snack.¬† Here is my “recipe” for a yogurt snack.

6 oz whole milk plain yogurt

1/2 cup mixed frozen berries

handful raw almonds

Mix all ingredients in a small container that has a lid, and let set overnight.  This allows the almonds to sprout and soften.