Day 299

Thoughts: How to breathe properly...

There is something you do approximately 18 times per minute, 1,080 times an hour and 25,920 times a day – and you don't even think about it: breathing. I always thought I breathed correctly - like it was a natural ability of me as a human being! Turns out not the case! Breath is, of course, fundamental to being alive. So why do so few of us know how to breathe properly?

Consider this:

* Science has proven that cancer is anaerobic - it does not survive in high levels of oxygen.
* Shortness of breath and heart disease are directly linked - the heart goes into spasm when it is deprived of oxygen.
* Studies have shown that there is a high correlation between high blood pressure and poor breathing.
* Most emotional issues, including anxiety and depression, result from the nervous system being out of balance. Breathing drives the nervous system.
* Optimal Breathing helps to promote weight loss. Oxygen burns fat and calories.
* Breathing well is the key to sleeping well and waking up feeling rested.
* Breathing provides 99% of your energy. Without energy, nothing works.
* Virtually every health condition and human activity is improved with Optimal Breathing.

"We tend to take sips of a breath," says Boston, "and hold it when we're anxious, both of which can have a ripple effect through the system. One bad habit, like shallow breathing, triggers another. Breathing incorrectly can make you more susceptible to lower back pain.

"On a philosophical level, breathing properly helps to keep the mind open, enabling you to think about who you are and what and why you're doing something. But primarily, if you breathe in the right way, you'll have better digestion, your balance will be improved, and you'll develop an optimum posture."

The diaphragm is the membrane that separates the lungs from the stomach. When we breathe in, our lungs fill up with air pushing the diaphragm down, which in turn makes the abdomen protrude out. During exhalation, the abdomen retreats in automatically.

The Secrets Of Yoga explain how to be sure you breathe correctly, you must divide the breath into three parts; lower abdomen, middle abdomen, and chest.

When inhaling, first fill up the lower abdomen with air, then the middle abdomen, and last the chest. When exhaling, the air in the chest goes out first, then the air in the middle abdomen, and lastly the air in the lower abdomen. You must physically push the abdomen out when inhaling, and in when exhaling. However, when done correctly, there is no need to pull the abdomen in because it is done effortlessly.

You can compare inhalation to filling up a glass of water. The first thing to be filled up is the bottom of the glass (lower abdomen), then the center part of the glass (the middle abdomen), and finally the top of the glass (chest). Likewise, exhaling can be compared to drinking the glass of water. First we drink the water in the top (chest), and second, the middle part of the glass (the middle abdomen), and last the water in the bottom (lower abdomen).

For most people, due to society pressures, breathing is done exactly opposite of how it should be. Studies show us that around 40% of people breathe incorrectly. Breathing incorrectly has definite negative consequences in that you could develop future illnesses. If you can consciously breathe the right way by forcing the abdomen out during inhalation your body will soon pick up this rhythm.

The human brain has many functions and one of them is to follow the breath. If you are able to breathe anywhere from 1 to 4 times per minute , you will experience what is called the meditative state. Breathing is not about just holding the breath in or out, it’s about breathing long and deeply. Do this by breathing very slowly, using the full capacity of your lungs and completely exhaling.

The best way to breath properly is to build up little by little. The lung's capacity starts to expand, and as a consequence your mind becomes calmer, more balanced, and you will be able to concentrate more fully and make better decisions.

The magic of breathing starts when you master exhaling. It seems that during the inhalation, the mind is calmer and one can hold the breath longer without experiencing any discomfort. During exhalation there is a natural urge to inhale immediately after exhalation. When this natural tendency calms down you will be able to reach a higher level of consciousness.

How to hold the breath...

A yogi should master the ability to hold the breath in and out. By relaxing the muscles in the diaphragm, ribs, and abdomen while suspending the breath, one breathes correctly and effortlessly.

Holding the breath in is definitely harder than keeping it out, making breathing correctly a challenge. The reason for this is because the brain reacts when the carbon dioxide (CO2) levels are too high, but not when the levels of oxygen (O2) fluctuate.

Based on this fact, you will be able to hold the breath in or out for longer periods of time by inhaling and exhaling several times. Inhaling or exhaling even slightly will create a change in the levels of the carbon dioxide.

To hold the breath in:

Breathe in by pushing the lower abdomen out, then the middle abdomen, and finally the chest. Hold the breath in and bring the chin in without creating tension in the neck or shoulders.

To hold the breath out :

Exhale by releasing the air in the chest first, then the middle abdomen, and finally the lower abdomen. Hold the breath out, lift the chest, pull the chin in and relax.

Breathe in this manner for as long as it is comfortable. If you start to feel dizzy stop immediately! Remember, breathing can be built up with time so be patient and start slowly.

Long deep breathing...

Long deep breathing is one of the most common ways to breathe. This type of breathing is done by using the full capacity of the lungs in both the inhalation and the exhalation. This is done slowly without rushing the breath. Normally, long deep breathing is done through the nose because it aids in breath control. However, it can be performed through the mouth as well.

Benefits

* Increases the flow of oxygen in the body, which promotes healing and a relaxed state of being
* Prevents and decreases the build up of toxins in the lungs
* Stimulates the production of endorphins and brain chemicals to fight depression
* Expands the lungs capacity which builds concentration, patience, flexibility, and resistance. This also increases the secretion of the pituitary gland which develops intuition
* Pumps the spinal fluid to the brain which increases energy
* Strengthens the aura which reduces insecurity and decreases fear
* Cleanses the blood
* Gives control over the negative emotions which helps to break bad habits

In our regular daily lives, we tend to use just a small amount of our lung capacity rather than their full capacity.

Meditation on the breath...

This is a wonderful meditation to perform when stressed, upset, or in a state of fear.

Start by closing your eyes and meditating on the breath. Feel the flow of air entering and leaving the body. Receive every breath as a gift of life.

Use the mantra “Sat Nam”. “Sat” means truth beyond time and space, and “Nam” means identity.

Be grateful and slow down your breath by breathing completely and using the full capacity of your lungs.

Breathing less than eight times per minute will have such effects like making the pituitary gland secrete. This also stimulates intuition and gives you more awareness. The pituitary gland is also known as the master gland because it regulates nine different glands.

Breathing less than four times per minute will put you in a meditative state.

Source:
www.TheSecretsOfYoga.com
www.Breathing.com
Article - Why do so few of us know how to breathe properly?

Quotes: The nose is for breathing, the mouth is for eating. ~Proverb

What I Ate Today:

Meal 1: A beetroot (beet), carrot, celery and ginger juice :)

Meal 2: 2 nectarines



Meal 3: 2 avocados

Meal 4: 2 more nectarines and some sweet chilled cherries :)

Meal 5: Garlic Prawn (Shrimp) Salad! Love it - quick, simple and 5 ingredients; olive oil, prawns (shrimp), garlic, lime and baby spinach!



Recipe: The recipe for Garlic Prawn Salad is available free on The Earth Diet website www.TheEarthDiet.Org

Exercise: Lots of bike riding today to the store and to the beach :)

And clamming for hours!


66 days to go!!!

Food Finds: Roasted Walnut Oil

I decided it was time to share my favorite food products with my blog followers. I will post them bit by bit (bite by bite?) as I can. Only food items I have tasted and really value will be listed. But this isn’t going to be an all-inclusive list. And I will share my thoughts about tips for fitting them into a balanced diet. Of course I will give you a few words about their nutritional value as well, although don’t expect to see a score! (see the last post for more on that subject).

To find all posts, see the label index on the blog home page. I will link them all to the label “food finds”. Let me know your thoughts on these products, as well as any others you’d like me to evaluate.

Walnut oil

Most people haven’t had much experience with walnut oil, unless you happen to live in or travel to southwest France. This brand, La Touranelle, (which sounds French, but is Californian) in particular is incredible—intense, rich, aromatic and nutty. I have tried other brands available locally, only to be disappointed. For the best price you can purchase it at Marshall’s or Homegoods, of all places! But it’s hit or miss. Whole Foods and Williams Sonoma carry it as well for a heftier price. 

Another brand available from a store called Fiore on Bar Harbor, Maine, is also terrific, and could be ordered on line.

Order direct at www.FIOREoliveoils.com

Walnut oil is ideal in salads, although you can also drizzle some on steamed veggies. Because the flavor is so intense, a little goes a long way, so you don’t tend to need as much oil. Toss a couple of tablespoons onto your greens (enough for 2-3 people). Then add a mild vinegar, such as a balsamic or rice vinegar (I use the unseasoned, which does not have the added salt and sugar and tastes just fine).

Another benefit of walnut oil (besides the exceptional flavor) is that it is also quite high in omega 3 fatty acids.

Day 298

Thoughts: Help your baby; gain less during pregnancy.

This is an article written by a health like minded friend of mine, Peter Springberg.

Dr. Peter Springberg is a retired Air Force Nephrologist now living in Colorado. In 1997 he invented a diet, actually a lifestyle change, which he has followed since. His basic premise was to lose weight and maintain that weight loss over an extended period of time, you clearly had to eat less and do more. The problem for most people who want to lose significant amounts of weight, is they do neither for very long.

As a serving Air Force officer, especially when he became more senior and commanded first a small hospital and then a mid-sized medical center, Dr. Springberg became very familiar with acronyms; it seemed logical to him to center his new lifestyle/diet plan around some easy-to- remember acronyms.

Twelve years later he weighs what he did in eighth grade, twenty-six pounds under his usual weight as an Air Force colonel and sixty-seven pounds under his maximum weight from the late 1960s.

August 13th, 2010

I read an article in “The Wall Street Journal” on August 6th that was a long ways away from my usual areas of interest. But in this case, it caught my attention enough to track back to an article published in “The Lancet” the day befores week and another one an Epidemiology journal from nine years ago.The synopsis of the two articles is that women who gain large amounts of weight during pregnancy have large babies. No surprise there. But large babies often end up as large teenagers.

Why did I do that legwork? Well I’m really concerned about our upcoming generation’s weight. Lots of youngsters are overweight; too many are obese and heading for trouble, medical-problem-type trouble, down the line. We can blame TV, lack of exercise, fast foods, fat and sugar-laden processed foods, families that let kids decide what they’ll eat from early on…all the usual suspects. But here was an idea I hadn’t paid much attention to, do some kids start life with an obesity strike or two against them.

My caveat is this really isn’t my turf; I’m an Internal Medicine subspecialist. I’ve delivered fifty babies, but that’s old history. Nonetheless, I wanted to see the data and decide if it stood the test of time.

The 2001 piece was a Finnish study that looked at nearly 4,400 sixteen-year-old twins and tracked their progress from birth. Not surprisingly, adolescents who were tall at birth and had tall parents, were often tall at age sixteen. The group I focused on were those who were of normal birth length, but high birth weight.

That group was much more likely to be overweight at age 16. That fits with a number of other studies that didn’t focus on twins.

So there’s been some good data indicating high birth weight increases chances of high adolescent weight; the same is true for high adolescent weight foreshadowing high adult weight.

Now how much is nature and how much is nurture isn’t clear to me. What makes sense if to re-emphasize to young women that gaining average amounts of weight during pregnancy is important. Too much gained increases the chance of heavy babies, heavy teenagers and, eventually heavy adults.

Our youngsters have enough factors that can contribute to their becoming obese adults; why add one more?

If you’re a young person planning to have a baby, discuss this one with your own doctor. The life you improve may be your child’s.

To read more blogs by Peter visit http://peterdspringbergmdfacp.com/blog/

Quotes: We are already one. But we imagine that we are not. And what we have to recover is our original unity. What we have to be is what we are. - Thomas Merton

What I Ate Today:

Meal 1: A ginger tea; boiled water with chunks of ginger.

Meal 2: 3 beautiful sweet organic nectarines.

Meal 3: Sweet Potato Pie! Created with walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, sweet potatoes, agave syrup, honey and avocado!



Meal 4: Macadamia nuts while watching 'Eat, Pray, Love'!!!

Meal 5: Chicken Lettuce Wraps! Created with bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, sherry, peanut butter, chilli, garlic, chicken breast, ginger, himalayan, salt, sesame oil, lettuce, green onion and cucumber!



Recipe: The recipe for Sweet Potato Pie and Chicken Lettuce Wraps are available on The Earth Diet website www.TheEarthDiet.org

Exercise: A lot of walking today and some stretching :)

67 days to go!!!

A Perfect Score: NuVal ranks unprocessed wheat bran number one. RD ranks NuVal a zero.

Wouldn’t it be great if we could easily assess a food, determine if it is good or bad, score it on its nutrition performance, using a single score? 

That’s just what Yale affiliated Dr. David Katz and his group of advisors decided to do, and have managed to convince Whole Foods and a range of other supermarkets to adopt. Sounds like a great idea, no?

NuVal, the Nutritional Scoring System scores ranks foods with a score from 1-100, the bigger the number the better (unlike the way many view larger numbers such as sizes and body weight). Perhaps with the exception of grade point average, SAT scores and salary, they would have done better to make the more desirable products associated with lower numbers.  But that’s a subject for another blog.

Here’s a description of how it works, taken from their website:

“The NuVal™ Nutritional Scoring System takes more than 30 different nutrients and nutrition factors into account when developing a Score. Nutrients with generally favorable effects on health are placed in the numerator: fiber, folate, Vitamins A, C, D, E, B12, and B6, potassium, calcium, zinc, omega-3 fatty acids, total bioflavanoids and carotenoids, magnesium, and iron. Higher values increase the NuVal™ Score. “

Nutrients with generally unfavorable effects on health decrease the NuVal™ Score and include: trans and saturated fats, sugar, sodium and cholesterol.

In addition to these two categories, “the NuVal™ System takes into account other key factors that measure the quality and density of nutrients, as well as the strength of their association with specific health conditions.”

And they recommend moving toward use of higher number foods to move to be healthier.

In many ways NuVal reminds me of the Rodale Press book, Eat This, Not That, a visually attractive glossy paperback of packaged food photos categorized as good and bad. The mere mention of it turns my stomach and makes me want to eat Twinkies (no, not the reduced fat ones). A top seller, no doubt, written by a non- nutrition professional who presents pairs of processed foods and declares one the winner. That is, based on some criteria he has decided (and doesn’t share) for each item. And, at least in his earliest books, the criteria appear to change. So one item may rank better given that it’s lower in saturated fat, but may be excessive in sodium. Yet on another page, the lower sodium food trumps the competitor, even if the calories are higher. Go figure.

The problem with NuVal

In this era of information overload—food rules and changing food science and recommendations that seemingly contradict, we get so much conflicting information that we no longer know what’s okay to eat. So in some ways this may seem like the perfect solution. Eat these, not those, good and healthy, versus bad and unhealthy. And move toward choosing the highest scored foods. What’s the problem, you ask?

These ratings basically do to foods what reputable organizations like the American Dietetic Association and the American Diabetes Association have worked for years to discourage. Namely, categorizing foods as good and bad, versus finding ways to have balance to our food eating. And there are a wealth of other concerns I have with it.

1) One size doesn’t fit all. You know that. So rating lite soy milk 82 and regular chocolate soy 68 might be fine for someone trying to reduce their caloric intake. But for the growing child? The athlete? The restrictive anorexic or bulimic? The elderly, struggling to get their needs met? See the problem? And to be penalized for higher calorie density?  We each have our individual health concerns and therefore need to personalize our approach to food selection. If I had kidney failure, a high potassium food, yielding a higher NuVal score would be undesirable. If I struggled with early satiety, fullness that comes quickly after eating, high fiber, low caloric density foods would not be appropriate. So the high scoring foods on NuVal’s list would be a problem for me.

2) Our perception of a food’s value can also have a negative effect on our eating. Remember when Snackwell’s came out in the 1980’s as one of the first fat fee cookies? Patients would come into my office and declare proudly that they had 5 Snackwell sandwich cookies.  They were drawn into the marketing message labeling them as a healthy, fat free item, and felt license to eat them, without regard to quantity. In fact, they contained about as many calories as the equivalent number of Oreos.

Similarly, score an item low and it becomes labeled as bad, or not good for you. You may start to see it as forbidden or “to be avoided”. You may end up eating the food, let’s say cupcakes for example, but without truly giving yourself permission. So you have a cupcake, but you don’t feel good about it. You may see it as having slipped from your healthy and desirable eating style. Perhaps you’ll start eating cupcakes when no one else is around, and leave no trace. And you’ll typically find yourself overeating in a “now or never” opportunistic way, overeating those forbidden, low-scoring cupcakes when you finally get the chance.

3) We don’t typically eat foods as single items. So the nutrition value of a single is less valuable, in fact useless, unless it is viewed as part of a whole. Let’s take today’s breakfast. While I couldn’t find an on line score for French toast, and since homemade versions are sure to vary, I will extrapolate the principles NuVal uses to rate it myself. I prepared it with my delicious homemade, low fiber challah bread, surely a low-ranking NuVal score. (Let me know if you’d like the recipe!) Then I added eggs—high in cholesterol, a NuVal negative.  So far it would hardly rank high as a healthy recommended breakfast food.

Yet the eggs are a valuable source of high quality protein, containing all 9 essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein, which NuVal gives no credit for.  And carotenoids, and vitamin D, two nutrients they do value. And add to this some berries, high in fiber, vitamin C and antioxidents, and a dollop of low fat yogurt. Maybe even a glass of low fat milk for some additional calcium and vitamin D.

And did I mention the pleasure factor? I so enjoyed my French toast this morning! It was delectable—the texture, the flavor and the sweetness from the drizzle of real maple syrup (high calorie density with little redeeming value)—a NuVal disaster I’m sure. (Quick tip—heat a small amount of syrup in a mini pitcher in the microwave for 10-12 seconds and it will both enhance the flavor and thin out the syrup, allowing you to use a smaller portion.)

And I suspect given how satisfied I felt eating this meal that I won’t be drooling over the muffins and pastries at the farmer’s market later. And I know I’ll be better fueled on my bike ride this afternoon, as opposed to if I had that perfect scoring unprocessed wheat bran! Ugghh!  So how useful was it to discredit my low fiber, non-fortified, white flour bread and French toast?

4) Even nutrients should be considered as part of the whole, not simply as their contribution to a single food. You may be hypertensive and trying to control your sodium intake. But that doesn’t mean that all items have to be low sodium. And then there’s the portion to consider. An ounce of pretzels (depending on the brand and the form) may fit just fine in a reduced sodium diet, for instance. But several ounces just wouldn’t work.

So if you struggle to manage the information overload and food selection, take this advice: pick the one or two nutrients truly relevant to you for your health and needs. High cholesterol your concern? Focus on the saturated and trans fat content of your food. But don't impose a strict rule that all foods must be low in saturated fat. Instead, consider your daily allowance to allow for some balance to your food selection. And some pleasure! And if a higher calorie intake is in order, then defy the masses and focus on your nutritional needs! Even if that means a lower NuVal score. And if you are struggling to break free from rigid rules resulting in a pattern of restricting and  overeating, than focus on getting what you really want to eat. Because ultimately, you'll be physically healthier by eating without extremes and psychologically better off as well.

Saturated Fat, Glycemic Index and Insulin Sensitivity: More Evidence

Insulin is a hormone that drives glucose and other nutrients from the bloodstream into cells, among other things. A loss of sensitivity to the insulin signal, called insulin resistance, is a core feature of modern metabolic dysfunction and can lead to type II diabetes and other health problems. Insulin resistance affects a large percentage of people in affluent nations, in fact the majority of people in some places. What causes insulin resistance? Researchers have been trying to figure this out for decades.*

Since saturated fat is blamed for everything from cardiovascular disease to diabetes, it's no surprise that a number of controlled trials have asked if saturated fat feeding causes insulin resistance when compared to other fats. From the way the evidence is sometimes portrayed, you might think it does. However, a careful review of the literature reveals that this position is exaggerated, to put it mildly (1).

The glycemic index, a measure of how much a specific carbohydrate food raises blood sugar, is another common concept in the diet-health literature. On the surface, it makes sense: if excess blood sugar is harmful, then foods that increase blood sugar should be harmful. Despite evidence from observational studies, controlled trials as long as 1.5 years have shown that the glycemic index does not influence insulin sensitivity or body fatness (2, 3, 4). The observational studies may be confounded by the fact that white flour and sugar are the two main high-glycemic foods in most Western diets. Most industrially processed carbohydrate foods also have a high glycemic index, but that doesn't imply that their high glycemic index is the reason they're harmful.

All of this is easy for me to accept, because I'm familiar with examples of traditional cultures eating absurd amounts of saturated fat and/or high-glycemic carbohydrate, and not developing metabolic disease (5, 6, 7). I believe the key is that their food is not industrially processed (along with exercise, sunlight exposure, and probably other factors).

A large new study just published in the American Journal of Clinical nutrition has taken the evidence to a new level (8). At 6 months and 720 participants, it was both the largest and one of the longest studies to address the question. Participants were assigned to one of the following diets:

1. High saturated fat, high glycemic index
2. High monounsaturated fat, high glycemic index
3. High monounsaturated fat, low glycemic index
4. Low fat, high glycemic index
5. Low fat, low glycemic index

Compliance to the diets was pretty good. From the nature of the study design, I suspect the authors were expecting participants on diet #1 to fare the worst. They were eating a deadly combination of saturated fat and high glycemic carbohydrate! Well to their dismay, there were no differences in insulin sensitivity between groups at 6 months. Blood pressure also didn't differ between groups, although the low-fat groups lost more weight than the monounsaturated fat groups. The investigators didn't attempt to determine whether the weight loss was fat, lean mass or both. The low-fat groups also saw an increase in the microalbumin:creatinine ratio compared to other groups, indicating a possible deterioration of kidney function.

In my opinion, the literature as a whole consistently shows that if saturated fat or high glycemic carbohydrate influence insulin sensitivity, they do so on a very long timescale, as no effect is detectable in controlled trails of fairly long duration. While it is possible that the controlled trials just didn't last long enough to detect an effect, I think it's more likely that both factors are irrelevant.

Fats were provided by the industrial manufacturer Unilever, and were incorporated into margarines, which I'm sure were just lovely to eat. Carbohydrate was also provided, including "bread, pasta, rice, and cereals." In other words, all participants were eating industrial food. I think these types of investigations may be limited by reductionist thinking. I prefer studies like Dr. Staffan Lindeberg's paleolithic diet trials (9, 10, 11). The key difference? They focus mostly on diet quality, not calories or specific nutrients. And they have shown that quality is king!


* Excess body fat is almost certainly a major cause. When fat mass increases beyond a certain point, particularly abdominal fat, the fat tissue typically becomes inflamed. Inflamed fat tissue secretes factors which reduce whole-body insulin sensitivity (12, 13). The big question is: what caused the fat gain?

Heirloom Potato Salad with Vegenaise®

A super easy potato salad with tasty heirloom spuds. Vegan and egg-free.

I snatched up a bag of those cute little potatoes at the market yesterday. You know the ones I'm talking about. Those baby sized spuds as cute as a button. In Easter egg colors like custard and purple and pink. So sweet and adorable you want to cradle the bag and speak in your talking-to-kittens voice. Heirloom root vegetable deliciousness. Yeah, you shell out a little extra cabbage for these pretty babies, true. But I say, live a little.

Indulge in excellent ingredients.

You only got one life. 

Read more + get the recipe >>

Day 297

Thoughts: Surprisingly, most people have never tasted real chocolate. The cacao used in chocolate candy bars, cookies, breads and other common foods is actually a hybridized cacao from a plant that doesn't have the alkaloid potency of "real" cacao.

Today Natural News brings us this fascinating article about real "heirloom" cacao vs. hybridized cacao, why chocolate is called the "food of the Gods" and how you can try real cacao yourself!

Most people have never eaten real chocolate. Sure, we've all wolfed down plenty of "chocolate" candies, bars and cakes. But as you'll see here, very little of that is actually made from real chocolate. Virtually all the chocolate used in modern foods is derived from a hybridized cacao plant that lacks the phytochemical potency that gives real chocolate its many beneficial properties.

So even though almost everyone has tasted chocolate, very few people have actually experienced true heirloom cacao from the original, phytonutrient-rich plants.

Cacao originated in a region now spanning the border of Ecuador and Colombia. Its plants were discovered thousands of years ago, and the cacao fruit and seeds have been used throughout South American culture for as long as human history can remember.

Heirloom cacao is called Arriba Nacional or just "Arriba" for short. That's the real cacao from Ecuador, harvested from heirloom plants growing just the way they grew thousands of years ago.

In comparison, virtually all the chocolate used in candy bars, chocolate chips, chocolate cakes, breads and so on is derived from the hybridized plant called CCN-51 - a pale shadow of the heirloom "Arribe Nacional" cacao it was supposed to replace.

Most consumers have no idea the chocolate they've been eating is "watered down" with what is effectively a cheap, weakened cacao substitute. And if you've been eating that watered down chocolate all your life, you're in for a real surprise when you get your hands on "Arribe Nacional" cacao, which has a deeper, more complex and "floral" flavor profile.

My first taste of real chocolate
My first experience of real chocolate was enjoyed in Ecuador, where I lived on and off for two years. One day I drove to a nursery in Zamora, a small city to the East of Loja (in Southern Ecuador). There, we picked fresh cacao pods right off the trees, sliced open the tops and began to eat the cacao fruit.

Here's a picture of Mike Adams holding cacao pods from Zamora.


Yes, cacao trees have fruit. It's a thin layer of sweet fruity flesh surrounding the cacao bean, sort of in the way a lychee fruit has a layer of delicious white fruit flesh surrounding its central seed. Cacao fruit tastes a little bit like fresh lychee fruit, in fact, with a hint of chocolate flavor in it.

Once you eat the fruit, you're left with cacao seed pods. This is where "chocolate" comes from. The seed pods are usually ground into a fine powder, with the oils being mechanically separated from the non-oil substances which are then subjected to a combination of drying, fermentation and cooking (depending on who's doing the processing), creating a finished cacao powder.

This fine cacao powder is what goes into fine chocolates, often sweetened with sugars or enriched with milk fats. Hence the name "Milk chocolate."

However, the higher cost of heirloom chocolate has kept it out of the hands of all but the most selective chocolate artisans. The number of chocolate-making shops in America that use real heirloom cacao in their confections probably numbers less than ten. That's why virtually no one in North America has ever tasted real chocolate before.

How I met the founder of Pacari
In Ecuador, there's a company producing 100% heirloom cacao that's truly raw (never goes above 118 degrees during processing), truly organic and "single origin" meaning it's all from one region and not blended with other cacaos from other countries.

That company is called Pacari, and its founder, Santiago, introduced me to his line of heirloom cacao one evening at a raw foods gathering at Matt Monarch's house in the Valley of Longevity near Vilcabamba, Ecuador.

There, I had the opportunity to taste 100% raw, unsweetened, full-potency heirloom cacao -- and it was a superfood experience that forever changed my perception about just how powerful and even enlightening superfoods can be.

Food of the Gods?
You see, the best-known active ingredient in cacao is a bitter alkaloid called theobromine. The Latin prefix "theo" is of course the same root as in the word "theology," meaning the study of God. Bromine comes from "broma" which, in the variation of "brosi" is Latin for "food."

Theobromine, then, is literally translated into "food of God" or "food of the Gods."

Why would cacao be named "food of the Gods?" If you just eat regular watered-down chocolate, you'll probably never know. To really attain a deeper experience of cacao, you must eat the heirloom variety that's naturally high in theobromine and other alkaloids. And once you do that, your experience may give you a greater understanding of why, over the last several thousand years, the indigenous people of South America have used superfoods like cacao to support their connection on a spiritual level.

In the cultures of South American people, eating heirloom cacao is not merely an act of consuming calories. Nor is it a form of entertainment as is often pursued in first-world countries. Rather, eating heirloom cacao is a way for them to connect with the universe. It is a deeply spiritual experience, to be savored and honored, not to be wolfed down with processed sugar and ice cream.

Throughout the cultures of South America, food was a way in which people were able to gain insight into the universe around them.

I realize it seems odd in our modern cultures to think of food as a source of enlightenment or wisdom, but this idea was pivotal for South American cultures, and it actually makes good sense: Since we become what we eat, to eat the seed pods of a sacred plant is to become one with that plant. Certain plants alter brain chemistry and function, expanding consciousness and inviting us to explore alternate realities before returning to their physical world, blessed with the gift of new experiential insight. Such is the nature of the "sacred plant journeys" also routinely practiced by medicine healers (shamans) of South American cultures.

While cacao is not a psychedelic plant, it is well known as a source of unique antioxidants and bitter alkaloids that may support healthy moods while brightening your day. Maybe this is why this superfood was called the "food of the Gods."

Straight from Ecuador: 100% organic, raw heirloom cacao
Now, after five thousand years of history, YOU can experience Arribe Nacional heirloom cacao straight from the rainforests of Ecuador.

Thanks to our connections in Ecuador, we were able to coordinate with Santiago to receive a large shipment of this unique heirloom cacao, straight from Ecuador.

This is the real stuff: Pure heirloom cacao, truly raw (not just a false claim, but really truly raw), truly organic and harvested with the help of local farmers in a genuinely fair manner that honors their livelihoods. (The Pacari company works in many ways to help support local cacao farmers, and while it's not yet certified as "Fair Trade," they are working in that direction.)

Right now, Natural News have available for immediate shipment from their store:

• Raw "Arribe" Cacao Beans
• Raw "Arribe" Cacao Paste
• Raw "Arribe" Cacao Butter
• Raw "Arribe" Cacao Nibs
• Raw "Arribe" Cacao Powder
• A combination "chef's pack" of Powder, Nibs, Butter and Paste (regular price is $83.80, but for this article we've marked it down to just $54.72, a nearly 35% savings)

Click here to see these products in the NaturalNews Store.

These are all single-source, straight from Ecuador, made 100% of heirloom cacao plants, organic and raw. Just as importantly, this is perhaps the finest cacao you will ever taste in the world. It is one of life's "bucket list" experiences to ingest this plant and tune in to how it is interacting with your body and mind. To miss out on this plant that our world has to offer is to truly miss out on one of life's real gems.

I regret to have to mention this, but not everything described as "Arribe" in the cacao world is truly Arribe. Some cacao producers will blend a small amount of Arribe into a batch of largely hybridized CCN-51 cacao, then they'll label the final product "Arribe" cacao. That's like calling your salad dressing "Olive Oil Dressing" when it's really made from 90% soybean oil and only 10% olive oil.

Our Arribe cacao is 100% truly Arribe with no misleading blending. Additionally, all the products have absolutely no sweeteners, no filler, no preservatives, no GMOs, no soy, no wheat... nothing! Just pure, raw heirloom cacao from Ecuador to you.

As a result, don't expect this to taste like a candy bar. It doesn't! This is not candy. This is a potent superfood in its purest form, unadulterated and uncooked. It is the closest thing you can find to venturing into the Ecuadorian rainforest and harvesting your own wild cacao pods.

This raw cacao is grown in Ecuador, harvested by Ecuadorian farmers, then processed by hand in small batches. It's never cooked! The result is some of the finest cacao you will ever encounter on our planet.

When you get some of this, consider it a treasure. I recommend not feeding it to anyone who isn't enlightened enough to appreciate what they are consuming. Most children, in particular, are expecting sweet "junk" chocolate and will likely not appreciate "Arribe" heirloom cacao.

And if you do give this as a gift to someone, please explain the history of heirloom cacao to them so they understand what a magnificent food treasure they are consuming. This is the stuff of Kings and Queens. Just a few hundred years ago, only ultra-wealthy royalty would have had access to such exotic foods. Today, we can all experience it!

And enjoy this heirloom cacao. This may be some of the finest superfood you are likely to be able to source anywhere in the world.

By health ranger Mike Adams - what a legend!!!

Some of my favourite Earth Diet recipes with cocao are: (all are available in the Recipe section of www.TheEarthDiet.org)
-Chocolate Balls
-Peanut Butter Chocolate Balls
-Raw Strawberry Nut Pie
-Raw Chocolate Icecream
-Raw Chocolate Mint Brownies
-Cookie Dough Balls
-Raw Chocolate Mousse



Quotes: The chief obstacle to the progress of the human race is the human race. - Don Marquis

What I Ate Today:

Meal 1: A beetroot (beet), carrot, celery, ginger juice.

Meal 2: A orange and grapefruit juice.

Meal 3: A Green salad, light and refreshing! My favourite salad created with avocado, baby spinach, green lettuce leafs, garlic, spring onion (shallots), coriander (cilantro), green chilli, cucumber and lime.



Meal 4: 4 nectarines, my favourite fruit! 2 white flesh and 2 red, juicy juicy!

Meal 5: Some walnuts.

Meal 6: Red Beans and Rice at a Cajun restaurant with Director Rob Graydon and Writer Steve Strangio, and Happy Cakes creator Helena TerBush :) I will be the Assistant Director of SAVAGE HOT BABE MASSACRE starring WWE wrestler MICK FOLEY!!!



Recipe: The recipe for Green Salad and Rice and Beans (Spanish, Mexican and Brazilian) available free on The Earth Diet website www.TheEarthDiet.Org

Exercise: A 1 hour workout at Big Al's Family Fitness doing cardio and abs and stretching in the sauna :)

68 days to go!!!

Day 296

Thoughts: Yoga

Tonight I did yoga - peaceful, challenging, relaxing and powerful :) I know my body, mind and essence has missed yoga immensely. I feel so much more alive and connected after the class then I did before the class.

Yoga refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India. The word yoga has many meanings, and is derived from the Sanskrit root "yuj", meaning "to control", "to yoke" or "to unite". Translations include "joining", "uniting", "union", "conjunction", and "means". It is also possible that the word yoga derives from "yujir samadhau," which means "contemplation" or "absorption.

Yoga techniques are used for experiencing higher states of consciousness in meditation. There are different forms and postures that focus on body parts etc eyes, abdomen, neck, spine, sciatic nerve and even postures for migraines, weight loss, anxiety, insomnia. Yoga is whole and complete work for a whole, perfect and complete person which is every being.

Yoga provides you with the means to connect to your infinite body. The finite self is defined as the actual physical body and the experiences that we have physically. Everyone can relate to the physical body because it is a real entity that can be seen and touched.

The practice of Yoga not only works the physical body by keeping it fit while strengthening and elongating the muscles, it also helps the nervous and circulatory systems by purifying and balancing them. Our bodies have a tendency to build up and accumulate poisons like uric acid and calcium crystals, just to mention a few. The accumulation of these poisons manifests in diseases and makes our bodies stiff. A regular Yoga practice can cleanse the tissues through muscle stretching and massaging of the internal organs. This brings the waste back into circulation so that the lungs, intestines, kidneys, and skin are able to remove toxins in a natural way.

There are many different variations of yoga.

The basis for a system referred to as "Ashtanga Yoga" ("Eight-Limbed Yoga") are:

1. Yama (The five "abstentions"): non-violence, non-lying, non-covetousness, non-sensuality, and non-possessiveness.
2. Niyama (The five "observances"): purity, contentment, austerity, study, and surrender to god.
3. Asana: Literally means "seat", and in Patanjali's Sutras refers to the seated position used for meditation.
4. Pranayama ("Suspending Breath"): Prāna, breath, "āyāma", to restrain or stop. Also interpreted as control of the life force.
5. Pratyahara ("Abstraction"): Withdrawal of the sense organs from external objects.
6. Dharana ("Concentration"): Fixing the attention on a single object.
7. Dhyana ("Meditation"): Intense contemplation of the nature of the object of meditation.
8. Samādhi ("Liberation"): merging consciousness with the object of meditation.

Buddhism and Yoga

Early Buddhism incorporated meditative absorption states. The most ancient sustained expression of yogic ideas is found in the early sermons of the Buddha. One key innovative teaching of the Buddha was that meditative absorption must be combined with liberating cognition. The difference between the Buddha's teaching and the yoga presented in early Brahminic texts is striking. Meditative states alone are not an end, for according to the Buddha, even the highest meditative state is not liberating. Instead of attaining a complete cessation of thought, some sort of mental activity must take place: a liberating cognition, based on the practice of mindful awareness.

Goals of Yoga

The goals of yoga are varied and range from improving health to achieving Moksha; In Indian religions, Moksha literally "release" (both from a root muc "to let loose, let go"), is the liberation from samsara and the concomitant suffering involved in being subject to the cycle of repeated death and rebirth (reincarnation).

Tonight our beautiful class leader Regina McGowan requested that we set an intention for the class, mine was 'to love'. I have been disconnected to love lately, love for my self, my body, love for people, love for the human species, so to connect again tonight and be in a space of love was extremely rejuvenating and healing :)Always At Aum was founded in 2002 by Tara Guber and Leah Kalish and specializes in hot yoga and vinyasa teacher trainings, kids yoga teacher trainings and holds yoga classes on Gilgo Beach in Babylon, which is near both Nassau and Suffolk County on Long Island. The yoga classes at our school are by DONATION. Tara and Leah believe that people should be able to practice yoga even if financially challenged. Beautiful :)

Source:
Always At Aum
Wikipedia
The Secrets Of Yoga



Quotes:
Watch your thoughts; they become words.
Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits.
Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; for it becomes your destiny. - Upanishads

What I Ate Today:

Meal 1: A grapefruit, orange and strawberry juice :)

Meal 2: A ginger tea and a piece of Apple Crumble. Created with Apples, Oats, Cinnamon, Honey or Agave, Coconut, Sultanas, Oil, Water, Spelt Wholemeal flour or Buckwheat Flour!



Meal 3: Water melon.

Meal 4: Cherries and 3 chocolate balls.



Meal 5: Green Salad. Crisp, light and refreshing! Created with baby spinach, green lettuce leafs, avocado, spring onion, garlic, coriander (cilantro), green snap peas, green chilli, cucumber and lime.



Recipe: The recipes for Apple Crumble, Chocolate Balls and Green Salad are available free on The Earth Diet website www.TheEarthDiet.Org

Exercise: Yoga :)

69 days to go!!!

Day 295

Thoughts: Study shows genetically modified crops 'can cause liver and kidney damage.

Fresh fears were raised over GM crops yesterday after a study showed they can cause liver and kidney damage.

According to the research, animals fed on three strains of genetically modified maize created by the U.S. biotech firm Monsanto suffered signs of organ damage after just three months.

The findings only came to light after Monsanto was forced to publish its raw data on safety tests by anti-GM campaigners.

They add to the evidence that GM crops may damage health as well as be harmful to the environment.

The figures released by Monsanto were examined by French researcher Dr Gilles-Eric Seralini, from the University of Caen.

Yesterday he called for more studies to check for long-term organ damage.

'What we've shown is clearly not proof of toxicity, but signs of toxicity,' he told New Scientist magazine. 'I'm sure there's no acute toxicity but who's to say there are no chronic effects?'

The experiments were carried out by Monsanto researchers on three strains of GM maize. Two of the varieties contained genes for the Bt protein which protects the plant against the corn borer pest, while a third was genetically modified to be resistant to the weedkiller glyphosate. All three strains are widely grown in America, while one is the only GM crop grown in Europe, mostly in Spain.

Monsanto only released the raw data after a legal challenge from Greenpeace, the Swedish Board of Agriculture and French anti- GM campaigners.

Dr Seralini concluded that rats which ate the GM maize had ' statistically significant' signs of liver and kidney damage. Each strain was linked to unusual concentrations of hormones in the blood and urine of rats fed the maize for three months, compared to rats given a non-GM diet.

The higher hormone levels suggest that animals' livers and kidneys are not working properly.

Female rats fed one of the strains also had higher blood sugar levels and raised levels of fatty substances caused triglycerides, Dr Seralini reported in the International Journal of Microbiology.

The analysis concluded: 'These substances have never before been an integral part of the human or animal diet and therefore their health consequences for those who consume them, especially over long time periods are currently unknown.'

Monsanto claimed the analysis of its data was 'based on faulty analytical methods and reasoning, and does not call into question the safety findings for these products'.

This blog thanks to Peter Der Kannibal!

Other blogs I have written that include Monsanto and GMF's:
-GMO Crop Sabotage on the Rise: French citizens destroy trial vineyard.
-Millions served GM Sweet Potatoes
-Contaminated Soil
-SV40 got into the polio vaccine because the vaccine was made by using monkey kidneys
-Lifting the veil on the nation's food industry

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1244824/Fears-grow-study-shows-genetically-modified-crops-cause-liver-kidney-damage.html#ixzz0y3StsGBj">Here.

Quotes: People squish all the caterpillars then complain there are no butterflies.

What I Ate Today:

Meal 1: A grapefruit, strawberry and orange juice :)

Meal 2: Hummus with celery sticks.



Meal 3: A avocado, walnuts and raw green snap peas.

Meal 4: A slice of Raw Strawberry Nut Pie! Created with Avocado, macadamia nuts, brazil nuts, dates, cocoa, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries!



Meal 5: Salmon with garlic herb sauce. Created with salmon, scallops, garlic, paprika, ginger, spring onions, lemon, coriander (cilantro) and olive oil! Wild rice and asparagus for the side :)



Recipe: The recipe for Hummus, Raw Strawberry Nut Pie and Salmon with Garlic and Herb sauce is available on The Earth Diet website www.TheEarthDiet.Org

Exercise: A bike ride, and dancing to my favourite music :)

70 days to go!!!

Day 294

Thoughts: "Millions served," ran the headline in the US magazine Forbes over an article that declared, "While the West debates the ethics of genetically modified food, Florence Wambugu is using it to feed her country."

Florence Wambugu is the Monsanto-trained scientist who headed up a project to create a genetically engineered virus-resistant sweet potato for farmers in Kenya. It was a showcase project intended to position GM as the saviour of Africa, and Florence Wambugu travelled the world promoting it.

"In Africa GM food could almost literally weed out poverty," she told New Scientist. In the journal Nature she wrote, "There is urgent need for the development and use of agricultural biotechnology in Africa to help to counter famine, environmental degradation and poverty. Africa must enthusiastically join the biotechnology revolution." Such a revolution, she told a Canadian newspaper, could pull "the African continent out of decades of economic and social despair". She was also invited to contribute to the New York Times, and to appear on CNN as well as several American TV shows.

Her media popularity was understandable. The results of sub-Saharan Africa's first GM crop were "astonishing", according to the article in Forbes magazine. Yields were "double that of the regular plant", with "potatoes bigger and richer in colour", indicating they'd retained more nutritional value. For hungry Africa, we were told, "Wambugu's modified sweet potato offers tangible hope".

In a report published in January 2004, the Nuffield Council on Bio-ethics said the project "could prevent dramatic and frequent reductions in yield of one of the major food crops of many poor people in Africa."

Contrast such claims with the actual results of the 3-year trials - quietly published at the end of January 2004. Under the headline "GM technology fails local potatoes", Kenya's Daily Nation reported, "Trials to develop a virus resistant sweet potato through biotechnology have failed. US biotechnology, imported three years ago, has failed to improve Kenya's sweet potato."

In fact, far from dramatically out-yielding the non-GM sweet potatoes, the exact opposite was the case: "The report indicates that during the trials non-transgenic crops used as a control yielded much more tuber compared to the transgenic". The GM crop was also found to be susceptible to viral attack - the very thing it had been created to resist.

New Scientist also reported the GM crop's failure ("Monsanto's showcase project in Africa fails"), as did an article in the British daily paper, The Guardian. The success of the GM sweet potato had previously been reported in literally hundreds of articles, even generating headlines like Transgenic sweet potato could end Kenyan famine.

Even before the results were announced, Aaron deGrassi of the Institute of Development Studies had revealed how people had been seriously misled about the GM sweet potato project. According to a piece in the Toronto Globe & Mail, "Dr. Wambugu's modified sweet potato... can increase yields from four tonnes per hectare to 10 tonnes." A piece in Canada's National Post repeats exactly the same figures: "Dr. Wambugu... said the modified sweet potato seeds should be able to produce 10 tonnes of vegetables per hectare compared with a natural Kenyan crop that yields four tonnes per hectare." But deGrassi examined all the available data and discovered, "Accounts of the transgenic sweet potato have used low figures on average yields in Kenya to paint a picture of stagnation... FAO statistics indicate 9.7 tons, and official statistics report 10.4."

In other words, Wambugu's figures on average non-GM yields understate the reality by as much as 60%. So if, as Wambugu claimed, her GM sweet potato were producing 10 tonnes per hectare, then rather than roughly doubling normal yields, the GM sweet potato would be performing no better than the conventional crop.

Aaron deGrassi also drew attention to the contrast between the unproven GM sweet potato variety and a successful conventional breeding programme in Uganda which had already produced a new high-yielding variety which was virus-resistant and "raised yields by roughly 100%". The Ugandan project achieved success at a small cost and in just a few years. The GM sweet potato, in contrast, in over 12 years in the making, consumed funding from Monsanto, the World Bank and USAID to the tune of 6 million dollars.

Nothing could better illustrate deGrassi's point that "the excitement over certain genetic engineering procedures can divert financial, human, and intellectual resources from focusing on productive research that meets the needs of poor farmers."

What are Genetically Modified Foods?
Also Read:
-GMO Crop Sabotage on the Rise: French citizens destroy trial vineyard.
-Dead cow carcasses "resurrected" to produce cloned beef.

Source: GM Watch

Quotes: In a disordered mind, as in a disordered body, soundness of health is impossible. ~Cicero

What I Ate Today:

Meal 1: Buckwheat Pancakes with Maple Sryup and Strawberries! Created with Buckwheat, water, maple syrup/agave syrup, strawberries!



Meal 2: Freshly squeezed orange juice :)

Meal 3: A beautiful salad that a dear friend Carolyn Wagner (who writes The Earth Diet For Vegans) created called 'Liana' salad -
Ingredients:
L-Linseeds, lemon juice
I-Iceburg lettuce
A -Avocado
N-Nuts (Brazil, walnuts, cashews, hazel nuts
A-Adzuki Sprouts



Meal 4: A grapefruit.

Meal 5: Potato Wedges with Avocado and Salsa! Created with Potatoes, Avocado, Olive Oil, Himalayan or Sea Salt, tomatoes, garlic, and spring onions.



Recipe: The recipe for Buckwheat Pancakes, Liana Salad, and Potato Wedges with Avocado and Salsa are available on The Earth Diet website www.TheEarthDiet.org

Exercise: A run and stretching :) And gardening in the morning!!!

71 days to go!!!

Day 293

Thoughts: Is there a monster in your gut?

Do you experience 'brain fog', hay fever, weight gain, infections, constipation, acne, depression, thrush, fatigue, bloating, cravings for sweets, alcohol, breads, pastries, chocolate, sugar, lollies (candy), fast foods? Are you still hungry even after you have just eaten. And in addition to physical discomfort, you feel cranky and irritable? Is there a little voice that says "I want chocolate now!" or "Just one more".

Most people are unaware that it even exists, because most main stream doctors are uneducated about its impact on our health. People suffering from these symptoms often go from doctor to doctor for years and are usually told they are a hypochondriac or that it is stress or a psychiatric problem, before ever discovering the real culprit.

Some call this monster 'Candida'. Candida is a genus of yeasts. Many species of this genus are endosymbionts of animal hosts including humans. Candida species have the potential to cause disease. Candida is the fungus that causes vaginal yeast infections and thrush.

Candida Albicans is a yeast that occurs naturally in the human body. Normally it lives in harmony with a variety of other microorganisms and actually performs a couple important functions. The problem occurs when something upsets the balance of bacteria in the body and this allows the yeast organism to proliferate and take over all the healthy microorganisms.

Candida overgrowth can cause various health problems, from fatigue to weight gain. Overgrowth of intestinal candida albicans, spread yeast to other parts of the body via the digestive tract and bloodstream.

Type "Candida Infection" into google and check out the perhaps perturbing images of people with candida overgrowth in different parts of their body.

It normally resides in the intestinal tract, mouth, throat and genitals, however it can burrow holes in the intestinal tract, enter the blood stream and then make it's way into any organ of the body. To make matters worse it emits over 70 different toxins into the body. Some people may even become allergic to the yeast itself.

Once this hardy organism proliferates in the body, it wrecks havoc in many ways and is the initiator of many common maladies, conditions, syndromes and illnesses in our population.

Some of the most frequent Candida symptoms are:

* abdominal gas and bloating

* headaches

* migraines

* excessive fatigue

* cravings for alcohol

* anxiety

* vaginitis

* rectal itching

* cravings for sweets

* inability to think clearly or concentrate

* hyperactivity

* mood swings

* diarrhea

* constipation

* hyperactivity

* itching

* acne

* eczema

* depression

* sinus inflammation

* pre-menstrual syndrome

* dizziness

* poor memory

* persistent cough

* earaches

* low sex drive

* muscle weakness

* irritability

* learning difficulties

* sensitivity to fragrances and/or other chemicals

* cognitive impairment

* thrush

* athlete's foot

* sore throat

* indigestion

* acid reflux

* chronic pain

One of the most well known forms of yeast is the vaginal yeast infection. However, it may play a role in just about any mental health condition or chronic illness you can think of. Yeast overgrowth is considered to be a leading contributor in alcoholism, anxiety disorders, asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, addisons disease, mcs - multiple chemical sensitivities, crohns, autism, cfs - chronic fatigue syndrome, leaky gut syndrome, pms, endometriosis,fms - fibromyalgia syndrome, prostatitis, attention deficit disorder, multiple sclerosis, asthma, food allergies, muscle and joint pain, clinical depression, repeated urinary tract infections, hormonal imbalances, migraines, digestive disturbances, difficult menopause psoriasis, lupus, chronic pain, tourette's, vulvodynia, rheumatoid arthritis and many more.

Men may like to read the Candida symptoms in males section for additional information about some of the unique aspects that apply to them.

Candida symptoms can vary from one person to another and often move back and forth between systems within the same individual. One day you may experience symptoms in the musculoskeletal system and the next day it could be the digestive system ,etc.

There are a variety of causes of candida, but the two leading contributors are a diet high in sugar and refined foods and the overuse of antibiotics. The rise of yeast infections also parallels the rise in the use of antibiotics. Antibiotics are known to promote GI candida overgrowth, and even penetration of the GI mucosa.

A diet high in sugar is a haven for yeast. It's crucial to eliminate sugars and refined foods to reduce overgrowth. Initially even fruits and high carbohydrate foods may need to be eliminated and then reintroduced to the diet later as you get better. Some meat, eggs and raw foods like low carbohydrate vegetables are what is best to stick with and a small amount of nuts, seeds and low sugar fruit.

Most people with yeast overgrowth are also suffering from nutritional deficiencies.

Some of the most effective and popular natural health approaches used in the treatment of Candida symptoms include colonics. Use of a good colon cleanse are helpful in eradicating or reducing symptoms. Good colon health is crucial for reducing yeast overgrowth.

A colonic is also known as colon cleansing (colon therapy), enema, and encompasses a alternative medical therapy intended to remove fecal waste and unidentified toxins from the colon and intestinal tract. I say there is no point in eating healthy foods if we have a dirty bowel, because all of our nutrients and vitamins are absorbed in the intestine, and if our intestine wall is covered with muck (years and years of accumulated toxins build up) then nothing is being absorbed.

Why Do We Need Colon Cleansing
Every organ, gland and cell in the human body are affected by the health of the colon. The colon is more than five feet long, and is connected to every part of the body through nerve endings. So when problems occur in the colon, symptoms can be exhibited in areas that seem entirely unrelated.

The bowel removes toxins that are found throughout your body including the intestines, blood and your lymph system. It works in conjunction with your lungs, liver, skin, and kidneys.

I go to The Balance Health and Wellness Center where Carrie the colon therapist explains how if the colon does not expel the wastes and toxins it collects, fecal matter can accumulate in the pockets of the colon or along the colon wall.

When elimination is not occurring regularly, this debris can sit for weeks or months and result in an irritated colon that produces a spastic or inflamed colon.

If the fecal material continues to sit inside the colon then decay begins. Decaying fecal matter produces toxins and harmful gasses that can be absorbed into the blood stream then get transported though the entire body and poison other organs and tissue.

This can lead to a variety of detrimental effects to our mental and physical health ranging anywhere from acne or depression to serious autoimmune diseases.

When the bowel is congested we can't absorb essential nutrients, vitamins are not processed or synthesized properly. Toxins flow back into the body and the lymphatic system becomes congested. The liver can't function adequately. All organs and systems are overburdened. Cleansing the colon, removes this fecal matter and the build up of toxins.

Therefore, cleansing the colon, cleanses the whole body and helps all organs and systems to work more efficiently.

Many people find benefits from colon cleansing ranging anywhere from a reduction in symptoms to a complete cure of their particular health condition.

Other people have used cleaning the colon as a way to eliminate parasites, Candida, lose weight, increase energy and even clear up acne.

The colon can be cleansed quickly and efficiently with an enema or a colonic and provides immediate relief for some health problems, like Candida symptoms, overload of toxins or sluggish liver.

An colonic removes the old, dried up, fecal matter that has built up on the walls and pockets of the colon very fast. This permits your system to eliminate the accumulation of toxins fast. It also removes Candida and any other bacteria that may be residing within contributing to symptoms.

Where can I get a colonic?
If you live in New York visit The Balance Health and Wellness Center for more information and treatments. They also offer acupuncture combined with colonics, so you can receive a acupuncture session before your colonic which releases the trigger points, tension and stress in your body, so that you can let go and dump the waste in your bowels freely and explosively! If you do not live in New York then google search a colon therapist in your area (or move to New York! Hehe)

The Balance Health and Wellness center also offer Chinese Herbal Prescriptions, Hot Stone Massage, Ear Candling, Ear Stapling, Facial rejuvenation, massage therapy, Acoustic Wave Therapy, Moxibustion, Reflexology, Cupping, Skin Care, Ultra Violet Heat Therapy, Electric Stimulation, Tuning Fork Therapy, Qi Gong, Bio-feedback. Hypnotherapy, Drug/Alcohol Detoxification treatments and more :) All things to keep your body in align with abundant health!

Some other effective and popular natural health approaches used in the treatment of Candida symptoms include oxygen based products like food grade hydrogen peroxide, caprylic acid, oregano oil, garlic, taheebo tea, grapefruit seed extract and colloidal silver.
Also avoid antibiotics, birth control, and foods that are high in sugar or yeast, ostensibly to eliminate excess yeast in the body.

Candida is really an insidious, tricky yeast and once you have overgrowth it can be extremely difficult to get under control. It takes a lot of patience, education and persistence. I know this all to well, as I have faced this struggle myself for many years.


Do You Have Candida?

Source:
The Balance Health And Wellness Center
No-Hype Holistic Health Solutions with Cynthia Perkins, M.ED
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candida_%28genus%29

Quotes: The greatest gift to others is to freely relinquish yourself. -Bodidharma

What I Ate Today:

Meal 1: A grapefruit and orange juice :)

Meal 2: A sweet organic nectarine.

Meal 3: Raw Pumpkin Soup. Created with Pumpkin, Onion, Garlic, Herbs, and Curry Powder!



Meal 4: A avocado and walnuts.

Meal 5: Mexican Rice and Beans with avocado :) Created with ... Red onion, Green Pepper, Pinto Beans, Brown Rice, Tomato Paste, Cumin, Chilli, Coriander (Cilantro), avocado, lime!



Meal 6: Another nectarine.

Recipe: The recipe for Pumpkin Soup and Mexican Rice and Beans is available free on The Earth Diet website www.TheEarthDiet.Org

Exercise: A skateboard in the am and stretching in the pm :) Also did some yoga and meditation breathing mmm.

72 days to go!!!