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Top Ten Toxins We Regularly Put Into Our Bodies

November 7th, 2011

Top Ten Toxins We Regularly Put Into Our Bodies

Article by Sarah Manners

We often consume foods and drinks that stress our bodies and overload our systems.

Below is a list of the top ten toxins we are putting into our bodies on an almost daily basis. Luckily there are ways to reduce our intake to maintain a healthy, balanced lifestyle.

Freshly Ground

Each day we caffeinate ourselves to the point of near psychosis. Sure, it’s a great way to stay awake during those dull meetings but what it really is, is a fast-acting stimulant which sends blood sugar and adrenaline soaring. Continual coffee drinking can force your adrenal glands to work too hard until they eventually become exhausted and dependent on another coffee fix. However hard it may be at first, attempt to stick to just one cup a day and substitute with antioxidant-rich green tea which has just enough caffeine to stave off cravings.

Carb Overload

Bread is one of the cornerstones of modern day eating habits. We eat bread morning, noon and night without sparing too much of a thought towards the negative effects it may have on our body. If your digestion is compromised by eating too much sugar or caffeine or stress, partially digested wheat can actually enter your blood stream and build up to an intolerance that can cause anything from fatigue and headaches to indigestion, bad skin and depression. Too much yeast can upset the balance of bacteria in the gut and encourage infections such as Candida. For the sake of your own health cut down on bread and go for varieties such as wholemeal as they contain less yeast.

The Cola Wars

Where’s the appeal in fizzy cold drinks? They’re loaded with sugar, which rots teeth and wreaks havoc with our blood glucose levels. Ah, you drink the diet version do you, well in that case… Stop Immediately. Diet fizzy drinks play havoc with your blood sugar and increase your appetite and don’t even get us started on how terrible the artificial sweetener used in fizzy drinks is. Aspartame has been linked to various cancers, hair loss, depression, dementia, behavioural disturbances and epilepsy. In fact – scrap all artificial sweeteners immediately, your body will be grateful. If you insist on drinking fizzy drinks, have carbonated water but make sure you don’t drink it near meals as it can lower stomach acid production and stop you digesting your food fully.

Who ate all the Pies?

Who doesn’t love pies – they’re quick, easy, comforting and really yummy. Pies are not as warm and delightful as we make them out to be, they’re essentially empty calories; saturated fat and sugar which put strain on our livers and surreptitiously creep up on our weekly weigh ins. Bottom line – enjoy the occasional Cornish pastie or Danish but don’t make it the cornerstone of your diet.

Metal Mouth

While tinned foods are convenient for those of you on the run, the metal in these tins can potentially get into your system. Acidic food like fruit can start to break down metal and fatty foods may absorb toxic residues. Our livers don’t have the detoxification pathways to get rid of the metals so they begin to interfere with mineral absorption. Tinned foods are often heated at extreme temperatures so they lose a lot of their nutrients too. If you must eat tinned foods, go organic, some organic brands have coated tins which prevent metals leaking into the food, but the best solution is to always eat fresh foods.

Processed Meats, Anyone?

The amount of additional salt in processed meats can upset your fluid balance, which can also cause the loss of other minerals such as magnesium that are important for chemical body reactions. High salt intake can also lead to problems with blood pressure, bloating and kidney function. Processed meats also tend to be high in saturated fats and, unless organic, in chemicals, hormones and antibiotics. You can combat this by buying lean, unprocessed, organic meat. It’s also important not to eat more than three meat servings a week.

Cheesy very Cheesy

I’m sure most of you will agree that cheese is possibly one of the greatest, most versatile and tasty foods ever. Mature cheese is however extremely fermented and can contribute to yeast overgrowth, it is also very acidic and hard for the body to digest. Mature cheese is also thought to be very mucus forming, which can be a trigger for allergies, nasal problems and skin problems like eczema. Cheese lovers – stick to goat’s cheese – it’s much less acidic and lower in lactose (which is great for the unfortunate lactose intolerant among us).

Roasted Chestnuts and all that Jazz

Raw, natural, unsalted nuts are fantastic for health because they contain healthy essential fats that are good for skin and brain function. However, when they are roasted, the ‘good’ fat changes chemically into unhealthy fats, which your body isn’t equipped to cope with. Raw nuts are great snacks as they actually help the liver to clear out the toxins that can encourage fat gain and help you to burn fat more efficiently and above all stay away from the roasted variety.

Who’s Keen for a Fry-up

While there is something momentarily comforting about fried foods the long term effects that they have on your body is disastrous. Frying destabilises oil molecules and produces free radicals – damaging molecules that zip around your body attacking your cells. We can deal with a certain amount of free radicals but too many leads to cell damage, anything from premature wrinkles to cancer. Instead of frying, steam, bake or grill your, food it’s healthier and often tastier. If you must fry; do it in a wok and use refined peanut, avocado or high oleic sunflower oil as these withstand temperatures better.

Drink and be Merry

Studies have shown that a good night out leaves us with more than an excruciating hangover. Alcohol depletes nutrients, especially the B vitamins that are vital for memory and metabolism, leaving you sluggish and slightly brain dead. It sends blood sugar levels soaring and makes your liver fatty, which prevents it regulating hormones and detoxing your system effectively. We’re not saying “no more partying” all we’re saying is “moderation” – don’t drink more than 14 units a week or more than three in one session. Take vitamin C before and after drinking to protect your liver, and drink plenty of water to counteract dehydration and keep your body working properly. If you’re tempted to reach for the fourth glass of wine keep in mind that tomorrow you’ll be suffering and as we’re likely to want to eat greasy offerings from the local Chippy once intoxicated it’s not just your job this advice might save, it’s your waistline too.

About the Author

The ground breaking Channel 4 TV show You Are What You Eat hosted by acclaimed holistic nutritionist Gillian McKeith, is taking Britain by storm. Advocating the benefits of healthy foods, the show is educating viewers on the necessary steps to take in order to live a happier and healthier lifestyle. Check out the website for more tips on healthy living.

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What’s Love Got to do With it?

November 7th, 2011

What’s Love Got to do With it?

Article by Dr. Clotaire Rapaille

The following is an excerpt from the book The Culture Code
by Clotaire Rapaille
Published by Broadway Books; June 2006;.95US/.95CAN; 0-7679-2056-2
Copyright © 2006 Clotaire Rapaille

I held imprinting sessions all over the country searching for the Code for love. During these sessions, I asked participants to focus on the word “love” without specifying whether I meant romantic love, parental love, sibling love, love of country, love of pets, or even love of a sports team. When I guided participants back to their first imprint though, a vast majority of them went to the same place.

“My first experience with the word love, or related to love, was when I was four or five. In the kitchen, mother was preparing a cake, my favorite cake, a cheesecake. The smell was the smell of love. She opened the oven and I told her, ‘I love you!’ She closed the oven, came to give me a kiss, and told me, ‘I love you, too.’ Then she gave me a big portion of the cake and I knew she really meant it when she said, ‘I love you’.”
– 40-year-old man

“Mother loved us so much, she cooked all Thanksgiving day. She was so happy to see her family all together again, around the table, eating… so much love around the table, so much food. We could not stop eating.”
– 36-year-old woman

“When you are little, parents are there to care for and protect you. You have no care or worries. If something bad happens, your family is there for you. I miss this protection.”
– 58-year-old woman

“The best way to describe my parents’ room is a nest. The carpet was light brown and the walls were blue. The bed was in the center of the room and had a huge white comforter. It was on this bed that I sat with my mother as a child and asked her about the world.”
– 21-year-old man

“I remember lying in my mother’s lap in my early years. I remember talking with my mother and sharing caresses.”
– 65-year-old man

Consistently, participants related their first experience of love to their mother’s care — feeding them, holding them, making them feel safe. This is entirely understandable. After all, for nine months, our mothers provide us with the most perfect “resort hotel” imaginable. The room service is first-rate and available immediately upon demand, the space is neither too hot nor too cold, transportation is free, and there’s even a musical backdrop (her heartbeat) for entertainment. And even though we ultimately must leave this vacation paradise, our mothers are there for us to guide us through the transition, feeding us with their bodies, keeping us coddled and warm, taking us out to see the world, and providing numerous ways for us to occupy our time and delight in the act of learning.

The nature of these responses was very consistent with the thinking of an adolescent culture. Adolescents, after all, flit from pressing for independence to acting like children throughout this period of their lives. When in the latter mode, they seek the succor (inwardly if not outwardly) of their mothers, the safe harbor provided by that all-encompassing love.

Then there is the former mode, the mode that demands a rejection of home and the right to make one’s own mistakes. When I asked participants to recall their most powerful memories of love, different stories emerged.

“I went to college. I was so happy. Free at last. But it did not go so well. First time I started drinking, I could not stop. Then I don’t know what happened next, I was so sick. None of the boys who were after me the night before were there to help me.”
– 50-year-old woman

“I was 13 and I liked a boy but he liked someone else. This taught me a big lesson because I thought that I was prettier than her and she was fat, but I was spoiled and sometimes mean.”
– 24-year-old woman

“My most powerful experience is when my parents decided to separate. I found out eavesdropping on their discussions late at night. Things were tense, but everyone wanted to be normal.”
– 37-year-old man

“I have an image of a white beautiful horse and a blonde beautiful woman in a flowing crepe-like dress with a lush green forest and waterfall and a handsome man meeting and embracing her. I long to be that woman.”
– 38-year-old woman

This was a different component of the adolescent experience: the part where experimentation leads to exhilaration and disappointment, to success and failure. The vast majority of these stories expressed some level of discomfort, of uneasiness with the events described, much in the way an adolescent describes experiences he doesn’t like and doesn’t understand. Remember, these stories were about the most powerful memory of love.

Perhaps the most significant element of the adolescent experience, however, is the loss of innocence. There comes a point in every adolescent’s life when he realizes his ideals aren’t as gilded as they once seemed. This realization usually leads to new maturity and the acquisition of new coping tools. It also often comes, though, with a sense of disillusionment. When participants wrote of their most recent memory of love, they repeatedly told the story of lost ideals.

“I know what boys want. They say they love you, but I know what they want.”
– A 35-year-old woman

“I have three children from three different fathers who died in drive-by shootings. Before I die, I want once again to have a baby, to feed him, to love him, and to be loved unconditionally.”
– A 15-year old woman

“I purchased a diamond for my girlfriend. I recall her taking it off in the car while we were arguing and I became infuriated. I took the ring and threw it out the window. I told her since it meant so little to her I threw it away.”
– 31-year-old man

These three sets of stories — the first imprint, the most powerful memory, and the most recent memory — revealed a distinctly American pattern. Participants spoke repeatedly about the desire for love, the need for love, the belief in something called “True Love,” but they also spoke consistently about being disappointed in this quest. A very large percentage of the “most recent memory” stories spoke of loss, bitterness, and sadness. When it comes to love, Americans — regardless of their ages — view love the way an adolescent views the world: as an exciting dream that rarely reaches fulfillment.

The American Culture Code for love is FALSE EXPECTATION.

Without question, losing at love is an international experience. Even in cultures where marriages are arranged and courtship is rare, there are tales of forbidden love and the sad consequences when that love dies. In older cultures, though — ones that passed through adolescence centuries ago — the unconscious message about the expectations for love are very different.

In France, the concepts of love and pleasure are intertwined. The French consider the notions of true love and “Mr. Right” irrelevant. The refinement of pleasure is paramount and romance is a highly sophisticated process. Love means helping your partner achieve as much pleasure as possible, even if this requires finding someone else to provide some of this pleasure. French couples can of course be devoted to one another, but their definition of devotion differs greatly from the American definition (fidelity, for instance, is not paramount) and their expectations are set accordingly.

The Italians believe that life is a comedy rather than a tragedy and that one should laugh whenever possible. They expect love to contain strong dimensions of pleasure, beauty, and, above all, fun. If love becomes too dramatic or too hard, it is unsatisfying. The Italian culture centers very strongly on family and Italians put their mothers up on pedestals. To them, true love is maternal love. Therefore, their expectations for romantic love are lower. Men romance women, but seek true love from their mothers. Women believe that the best way to express and experience love is by becoming mothers. A man is “Mr. Right” as long as he provides a child.

The Japanese offer perhaps the best illustration of the differences in attitudes toward love between an adolescent culture and an older culture. Japanese men and women often ask me to describe how westerners marry. I tell them that a young man meets a young woman (often one younger than he is himself) and they begin the process of getting to know one another. If he happens to fall deeply in love, the man will ask the woman to marry him, and if she loves him as well, she will say yes. (Obviously, it’s more complicated that this in practice, but I get the main points across this way.)

Stunned expressions always meet this description. “The man is young?” the Japanese questioner will say. “If he is young, how can he possibly have enough experience to make a decision of this type? Only his parents can know what kind of marriage is appropriate for him and will allow him to raise the best family. And you say the woman is younger. That means she is even less experienced than he is!”

They save their greatest contempt, though, for the notion that westerners marry for love. “Love is a temporary disease,” they tell me. “It is foolish to base something as important as the creation of a family on something so temporary.” This is still the prevalent sensibility in Japan today, even though the “content” of the Japanese culture has changed. While Japanese teens might date more often than their parents did and might spend more time meeting up at clubs, most marriages are still arranged, and few have anything to do with romance. While this all might sound terribly harsh to American ears, there is at least some logic in this sentiment. While nearly half of all American marriages end in divorce, the Japanese divorce rate is less than 2%.

This is not to suggest that older cultures automatically have a clearer vision of the world. In fact, as you will see over the course of this book, there are many instances where the “adolescent” approach is the more effective one. When it comes to love, however, it is obvious that the American culture is currently in an uneasy place. A woman searches for “Mr. Right” because she believes the stories she reads in books or watches at the movies, finds someone she believes she can “change” into her ideal man, and disappointedly sees her efforts fail. A man searches for “Ms. Perfect” for many of the same reasons, finds a woman who excites him, believes it will stay this way forever, and becomes disappointed when motherhood takes her interests elsewhere.

This quest for perfection is, of course, on Code — our cultural unconscious compels us to have unrealistically high standards for love. However, as that 50% divorce rate indicates, the Code isn’t making our lives easier. Here is a case where an understanding of the Code can help those frustrated by love to go off Code in a productive manner. If you realize your unconscious expects you to fail, you can begin to look at love with more sensible goals. While understanding and respecting the tug to find “Mr. Right” or “Ms. Perfect,” one can look for someone who can be a partner, a friend, and a caring lover who can’t possibly fulfill all of one’s needs.

A prominent diamond company deals with the Code in a distinctive fashion. One component of its marketing focuses on the “false expectations” the American subconscious feels about love: its ads feature couples using diamonds to profess their forever love or to confirm their commitment after years together. Another component of its marketing, however, deals with the consequences of false expectations in a clever manner: highlighting the investment and re-sale value of diamonds. Both campaigns are strongly on Code, addressing our undying belief in the permanence of romantic love and providing a useful benefit when that belief fails to pan out.

Excerpted from The Culture Code by Clotaire Rapaille Copyright © 2006 by Clotaire Rapaille. Excerpted by permission of Broadway, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

About the Author

Dr. Clotaire Rapaille is the chairman of Archetype Discoveries Worldwide and has used this decoding approach for thirty years.. He is the personal adviser to ten high-ranking CEOs and is kept on retainer by fifty Fortune 100 companies. He has been profiled in many national media outlets, including 60 Minutes II and on the front page of the New York Times Sunday Styles section. He lives in Tuxedo Park, New York.

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Is There Any Heart Healty Alternative To Your Favorite Spread?

November 6th, 2011

Is There Any Heart Healty Alternative To Your Favorite Spread?

Article by Ng Peng Hock

Mayonnaise, cream cheese, and any other tasty spread that are favored by people in the past are quickly replaced by nut butters. And the growing concern over peanut allergies and aflatoxin (a harmful mould found in peanuts) will definitely arouse interest in creating alternatives to a favorite comfort food.

All nut butters share the stellar nutritional profile of peanut butter. Some are even better. Nut butters are loaded with vitamin E, fiber, magnesium, zinc, iron, and heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, which can help the blood thin and prevent platelets from clotting and sticking to arterial walls.

According to research, women who eat nuts are 40 percent less likely to die from heart disease than those who never eat nuts. In fact, nearly all nuts are high in naturally occurring cholesterol-lowering compounds called phytosterols. So, nut and nut butter lovers who consume several times a week tend to have a healthier ratio of “good” to “bad” cholesterol. For an extra cholesterol-lowering punch, try pistachio nut butter. A new study shows that pistachios and sunflower seeds contain the most phytosterols of commonly eaten seeds and nuts.

Nut butters not only can prevent heart disease but also are good for energy production, hormonal balance, and anti-ageing. New research has focused on their beneficial impact on blood sugar.

A study conducted by Harvard University found that women who consumed 5 tablespoons of peanut butter a week had a lower risk of developing Type-2 diabetes, compared to those who never ate peanut butter. Nuts and their butters do contain high calorie and fat content (one tablespoon of nut or seed butter contains 80 to 100 calories and 7 to 10 grams of mostly unsaturated fat), but they have consistently been confirmed by research that they do not contribute to weight gain. The Harvard research has reported that women who consumed more nut and nut butters had a lower body mass index than those who abstained from nuts.

Nuts and nut butters promote satiety and may assist in weight loss because they help people feel full for longer. One tablespoon of nut butters spreading on bagels or toast is not considered too much, especially when it can prevent you from snacking on other high calorie foods or replace the high-fat spreads like butter, mayonnaise and cream cheese. They will help you keep your weight in check.

Besides peanut butter and jelly, you can have other alternatives:

- add sweet or savory spices such as cinnamon, cardamom, or cumin, to a tahini salad dressing mixed with equal parts yogurt and orange juice,

- use nut butters as a crust on fish or chicken,

- kick up the flavor in the favorite sandwich by replacing mayonnaise with a little almond butter or tahini.

Former Heart Surgeon Reveals… How to prevent and even reverse heart disease – without drugs or surgery. Read more about Dr Robert’s confession at: http://www.howtopreventheartdisease.com/dr-robert.html

About the Author

Feel free to use this article on your website or ezine as long as the following information about author/website is included.

Heart Disease Prevention – 8 Simple Ways You Can Do Immediately, Go to: http://www.howtopreventheartdisease.com

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Drop 35 Pounds A Year Just By Changing The Way You Snack

November 4th, 2011

Drop 35 Pounds A Year Just By Changing The Way You Snack

Article by Lee Dobbins

Just because you are watching your weight doesn’t mean that you’re going to be eating a snack here and there and, in fact, eating smaller meals or healthy snacks In between meals can actually help boost your metabolism.

Even if you’re not on any type of diet plan but still want to drop a few pounds you can do this easily by changing the types of snacks that you eat. Let’s say you have a snack in between breakfast and lunch, another one in between lunch and dinner and another one later night – that’s three snacks today. Now let’s say that you choose for the snacks a bag of chips, a candy bar or cookies. Each one of these snacks is probably 250 to 350 calories. Now, if you replace the snacks with healthier snacks of around 100 calories you’ll be able to lose weight even if you don’t not change any of the other things that you eat!

Switching to healthier snacks is not only better for your waistline it’s better for your overall health to. Now instead of eating 800 or 900 calories worth of snacks today you’re only eating 300 or 400 calories worth which is a savings of around 500 calories a day which can really add up. Given that there’s about 3500 calories In a pound if you really did shave off 500 calories a day you could be losing a pound a week!

So the next time you reach for snack, think about being good to your hips and your health by choosing one of the healthy, low calorie snacks:

Apple slices with peanut butter are a great healthy snack as long as you choose all natural peanut butter that doesn’t have additives and especially sugar added. Go easy on the peanut butter, though as it is fatty ( healthy fat, but using too much can really pack on the calories). I like to cut the Apple open to slices and spread a thin layer of peanut butter in between two slices like a sandwich.

Fresh fruit is a great healthy snack and can help curb those sugar cravings. Fruits to have sugar but the body can metabolize them easier than the processed sugar, high fructose corn syrup in other nasty elements in process snack foods. Some great healthy choices for fruits include blueberries, pomegranate seeds, strawberries and cantaloupe.

If you’re a chip lover then you might want to think about switching to soy chips which will help curb your cravings for crunchy foods and will also add some protein into your diet which can help you feel full longer.

Yogurt can be a great healthy snack if you choose the right kind, and in fact, recent studies show that eating low-fat dairy products can help you to lose even more weight. You need to choose yogurt that has no sugar added and not the kind that has the blobs of fruit that you stir up as this will be loaded with sugar. The best pick is organic yogurt that has live cultures which can give your digestive system some of that good bacteria that it needs to work properly.

Just because you are trying to lose weight doesn’t mean that you should avoid snacks altogether, in fact eating more smaller meals during the day will help you feel full longer and less deprived as well as keep your metabolism revved up for more weight loss. You just need to pick snacks that are low in calories and fat and healthy!

About the Author

Lee Dobbins writes for Low Carb and Low Gi Resource where you can learn more about eating the right foods to help you lose weight.

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Ways to Boost Your Libido

November 4th, 2011

Ways to Boost Your Libido

Article by kate miller

Has your sex drive or sex tempo lowered? Lack of interest in sex could be due various factors. Sex drive in the long run declines as sex hormone level drops and some vitality is lost as a person becomes older.

The sexual peak of a man is in their adolescent years but lowers after 50 when their testosterone level drops. A women’s sexual peak on the other hand is between their 30s and 40s and lowers like men 50s. But individually some feel sexually active while others do not.
With lack of interest in sex there is lack of enthusiasm to attract the opposite sex and disinterest in masturbation. People having low sex drive rarely experience sexual arousal, sexual fantasy, and interest in engaging in sexual activity.

What cause low sex drive?
There are both physical and psychological factors associated with loss of interest in sex. Sex mostly seems to be a physical matter. So if you are facing libido issues, you should look at physical factors. Health problems affect our libidos. Some people have sexual dysfunctions arising from a medical condition that need to be dealt with treatment by your doctor. A low testosterone level can likely be the cause of low sex drive as it’s common and natural for testosterone levels to drop with age. These problems can be tackled if people take care of them.

How to boost your libido?
Relax and be stress free Sex weakens an individual’s libido. When there is a lot of worry and the mind is strained one does not feel interested in sex as both the body and mind feel tired. Relaxing is the best way out. Relax by taking a good message or a warm bath. Message helps in increasing blood circulation and thus makes you feel energetic.

Sleep Well
Taking a good sound sleep at night gets you rid of tiredness. Too much workload and tiredness tends to keep you away from engaging in sexual activity. Get some good sleep to boost your libido.

Exercises
Physical fitness is crucial for both men and women for a happy healthy life. An unhealthy body will never be interested in any activity including sex due to lack of energy and enthusiasm. Exercises stimulate the body and make a person energetic.

Attitude
The attitude of people does make a difference in their sex life. People with positive thinking have a good sex life. Couples who get engrossed in disputes and take them to the bedroom can never have good sex. So it is important that you build a positive attitude and not to take minor disputes to heart.

Food that sets you in mood
A variety of foods are considered to arouse sexual appetite and no more so than when it comes to aphrodisiacs. The smell taste and the look of these foods inspire you to have sex. Oysters are said to remind a man of his lover’s intimate parts as its sexual shape resembles a woman’s genitals. Moreover oysters are loaded with zinc that helps raise testosterone levels. Tomatoes, known as “love apple”, are considered as love food that have great nutritional value and are great sex stimulant. The irresistible chocolate according to scientists contains substances similar to the sex. The scent, aroma, the sticky-sweetness, and the exhilarated feeling that the chocolate gives gets you in the mood.

Balanced diet
A good nutritious diet that includes fruits and green vegetables, whole grains, along with lean meats, fish, and low-fat dairy foods helps you to be energetic and does boost your libido.

Touch
Touch one another as is has the power to arouse sexual feelings. As couples you should hold hand or hug each other to show you care and love. Such acts are not sexual bust boost you feelings for each other and thus help you during the event.

Find more information visit: Ways to Boost Your Libido

About the Author

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