» Food and Beverages

Say NO to Diet Drinks and Foods

Weight Loss Coach — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 21:54:40 +0000

Today’s Lesson:

If you really want to lose weight – get off of the DIET DRINKS and all artificial sweeteners. That includes any thing with aspartame, acesulfame potassium, splenda, equal, sucralose or saccharin. Artificial sweeteners are linked to obesity, not weight loss. I know what the ads say and I know what Weight Watchers says but more and more studies are coming out saying that the are harmful and will impede your weight loss efforts. Many clients come into my office who drink a lot of diet drinks. Reluctantly they follow my advice and stop drinking them and focus on water. They generally lose 2 to 4lbs the first week they stop. I found an article, Confessions of a Soft Drink, that explains why this would happen and I also have my reasons. One, artificial sweeteners are chemicals and chemicals put toxins in the blood and impair your body’s ability to function properly. In particular, toxins disturb your metabolism, thyroid and hormones – all necessary to maintain a normal weight. Two, artificial sweeteners may cause you to consume more calories. The sweet of the drinks makes your body think it is getting calories but none follow, so you may find yourself more hungry. Lastly, it is important to balance your body so that you do not crave sugar and salt. By drinking sweet acidic drinks all day long – you will always crave more acid foods . Like craves like. You also want to start to enjoy the natural taste, sweetness of foods and learn to enjoy eating more healthfully. How can you do this when the “sweet” you are drinking on a daily basis is 3-10x’s sweeter than what is found in nature? You will never find anything to be sweet enough and will continue to crave sweet, fattening foods.

Action:

Learn to enjoy water. I know at first it may seem awful. But after a few days – the taste of your diet drinks will make you sick. To get your body more alkaline and remove the acid from the sweeteners, sugar and salt in your diet drink a glass of water with one entire, fresh lemon squeezed in it. Do it on a daily basis, when you feel a sugar or salt craving or after you have eaten something sweet or salty. This is a good trick to cleanse the body and get it “thinking straight” so it naturally desires healthy foods. This is a mandatory for the clients I coach because I know too well the power of a craving.

Some Healthy Alternatives:

Try Stevia. Stevia is a natural plant sweetener and also has no calories.

Celestial Seasoning came out with a product that you add to your water to flavor it. The key is that it contains Stevia and not artificial sweeteners like most other similar products. They comes in 4 flavors. Definitely a great way to increase your water intake with no calories and no chemicals. Some flavors have a little caffeine – 20g to a pack (Blueberry and Peach) and some have no caffeine (Wild Berry and Tangerine). Enjoy! I will continue to address the issue of beverages and healthy choices as the year goes on. So be sure to subscribe to my blog to stay updated.

Overstimulating Foods that May Cause Weight Gain

Lingerie Lady — Sat, 02 May 2009 21:31:28 +0000

If you are over weight or have health issues, ask yourself what foods can’t you live without?

What foods do you eat most every day?

What are your favorite foods?

Chances are these are the culprits. Especially watch foods like bread, cheese (dairy in general), diet sodas, chocolate, pretzels, nuts and sugar. If you need them on a daily basis your body may have become allergic and you find the food stimulating (in some strange, bad way). Because they overstimulate the body, they can attribute to stomach upset and weight gain along with a host of other bad symptoms. I challenge you to avoid these foods and watch the bloat weight come off rapidly.

Harmful Effects of Sugar on Your Health and Body

Weight Loss Coach — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:31:39 +0000

78 Ways Sugar Can Ruin Your Health – Harmful Effects of Sugar

Sugar is harmful for your health and your figure! Sugar addiction is common especially around the Holidays or any special occasion. You may already know that sugar is bad for your health (and your waist line) but you may have forgotten why. In addition to throwing off the body’s homeostasis, excess sugar may result in a number of other significant consequences. The following is a listing of some of sugar’s metabolic consequences from a variety of medical journals and other scientific publications.

1. Sugar can suppress the immune system.
2. Sugar can upset the body’s mineral balance.
3. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, concentration difficulties, and crankiness in children.
4. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
5. Sugar can adversely affect children’s school grades.
6. Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
7. Sugar contributes to a weakened defense against bacterial infection.
8. Sugar can cause kidney damage.
9. Sugar can reduce helpful high density cholesterol (HDLs).
10. Sugar can promote an elevation of harmful cholesterol (LDLs).
11. Sugar may lead to chromium deficiency.
12. Sugar can cause copper deficiency.
13. Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
14. Sugar may lead to cancer of the breast, ovaries, prostate, and rectum.
15. Sugar can cause colon cancer, with an increased risk in women.
16. Sugar can be a risk factor in gall bladder cancer.
17. Sugar can increase fasting levels of blood glucose.
18. Sugar can weaken eyesight.
19. Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitter called serotonin, which can narrow blood vessels.
20. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
21. Sugar can produce an acidic stomach.
22. Sugar can raise adrenaline levels in children.
23. Sugar can increase the risk of coronary heart disease.
24. Sugar can speed the aging process, causing wrinkles and grey hair.
25. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
26. Sugar can promote tooth decay.
27. Sugar can contribute to weight gain and obesity.
28. High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
29. Sugar can cause a raw, inflamed intestinal tract in persons with gastric or duodenal ulcers.
30. Sugar can cause arthritis
31. Sugar can cause asthma.
32. Sugar can cause candidiasis (yeast infection).
33. Sugar can lead to the formation of gallstones.
34. Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones.
35. Sugar can cause ischemic heart disease.
36. Sugar can cause appendicitis.
37. Sugar can exacerbate the symptoms of multiple sclerosis.
38. Sugar can indirectly cause hemorrhoids.
39. Sugar can cause varicose veins.
40. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraception users.
41. Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
42. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
43. Sugar contributes to saliva acidity.
44. Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.
45. Sugar leads to decreased glucose tolerance.
46. Sugar can decrease growth hormone.
47. Sugar can increase total cholesterol.
48. Sugar can increase systolic blood pressure.
49. Sugar can change the structure of protein causing interference with protein absorption.
50. Sugar causes food allergies.
51. Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
52. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
53. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
54. Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
55. Sugar can impair the structure of DNA.
56. Sugar can cause cataracts.
57. Sugar can cause emphysema.
58. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
59. Sugar can cause free radical formation in the bloodstream.
60. Sugar lowers the enzymes’ ability to function.
61. Sugar can cause loss of tissue elasticity and function.
62. Sugar can cause liver cells to divide, increasing the size of the liver.
63. Sugar can increase the amount of fat in the liver.
64. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
65. Sugar can overstress the pancreas, causing damage.
66. Sugar can increase the body’s fluid retention.
67. Sugar can cause constipation.
68. Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness).
69. Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
70. Sugar can cause hypertension.
71. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraines.
72. Sugar can cause an increase in delat, alpha and theta brain waves, which can alter the mind’s ability to think clearly.
73. Sugar can cause depression.
74. Sugar can increase insulin responses in those consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets.
75. Sugar increases bacterial fermentation in the colon.
76. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance.
77. Sugar can increase blood platelet adhesiveness which increases risk of blood clots.
78. Sugar increases the risk of Alzheimer Disease.

Remember – If you happen to eat too much sugar or find yourself craving it – drink a glass of water with an entire fresh lemon squeezed in it to cleanse your body and have it return to its normal alkaline state. See the Health Benefits of Drinking Lemon Water.

Amazing Health Benefits of Drinking Lemon Water

Weight Loss Coach — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:04:42 +0000

Drinking lemon water can benefit your health and your waist line…

Amazing Health Benefits of Drinking Lemon Water

When life gives you a lemon…

Squeeze it, mix it with six ounces purified water
and drink it daily…

The value of eating lemons is reported by Jethro Kloss in his book Back to Eden:

“The medicinal value of the lemon is as follows: It is an antiseptic, or is an agent that prevents sepsis [the presence of pathogenic bacteria] or putrefaction [decomposition of tissue]. It is also anti-scorbutic, a term meaning a remedy which will prevent disease and assist in cleansing the system of impurities.”

Due to the digestive qualities of lemon juice, symptoms of indigestion such as heartburn, bloating and belching are relieved. By drinking lemon juice regularly, the bowels are aided in eliminating waste more efficiently thus controlling constipation and diarrhea.

“The lemon is a wonderful stimulant to the liver and is a dissolvent of uric acid and other poisons, liquefies the bile, and is very good in cases of malaria. Sufferers of chronic rheumatism and gout will benefit by taking lemon juice, also those who have a tendency to bleed, uterine hemorrhages, etc.; rickets and tuberculosis. In pregnancy, it will help to build bone in the child. We find that the lemon contains certain elements which will go to build up a healthy system and keep that system healthy and well. As a food, we find, owing to its potassium content, it will nourish the brain and nerve cells. Its calcium builds up the bony structure and makes healthy teeth.”

“Its magnesium, in conjunction with calcium, has an important part to play in the formation of albumen in the blood. The lemon contains potassium 48.3, calcium 29.9, phosphorus 11.1, magnesium 4.4. Lemons are useful in treating asthma, biliousness, colds, coughs, sore throat, diphtheria, la grippe [flu or influenza], heartburn, liver complaint[s], scurvy, fevers and rheumatism.”

Since many people today suffer from what they used to call biliousness, it is important to edify our definition. Biliousness — 1. A symptom of a disorder of the liver causing constipation, headache, loss of appetite and vomiting of bile. 2. excess of bile; a bilious fever.

Why the lemon works so well

“Man does not live off the food he eats but off of the energy that is produced from the food he eats.”

The energy you get from your food comes from the atoms and molecules of energy in your food. A reaction takes place as cationic food enters the digestive tract and encounters anionic digestive enzymes. To explain further, an ion is part of a molecule con-atom or a group of atoms that carry an electrical charge. Ions which carry positive charges are “anions.” Lemons are considered to be anionic, having more anions (negatively charged ions) of energy as compared to cations (positively charged ions) in their atomic structure. Saliva, hydrochloric acid, bile and the stomach’s other digestive juices are also anionic.

Lemon is one of the only foods on the planet that has more anions than cations in its atomic structure.

When considering the electromagnetic properties of food Dr. Beddoe points out that all foods are considered cationic with the exception of fresh, raw lemon juice. Some have suggested that the reason fresh lemon juice is similar to digestive enzymes is due to the low amount of sulfur in lemons. It should be noted that pasteurized and packaged lemon juice is cationic and, therefore, ineffective as a health remedy.

Who Can Benefit From Lemon Water

“Lemon water is used in every person that can tolerate it. That is, if there is no allergy to lemon (a very few have a true allergy to lemon) and no active ulcers, then all adults and most children should use the lemon water. The purpose of the lemon is to:

a. Provide a natural strengthening agent to the liver enzymes when they are too dilute.

b. The liver can make more enzymes out of fresh lemon juice than any other food element.

c. The lemon helps fix oxygen and calcium in the liver because it regulates blood carbohydrate levels which affect the blood oxygen levels.”

Other uses for lemons:

· For sore throat, dilute lemon juice with water and gargle frequently. Dilute one-half lemon juice with one-half water. It is even better to use straight lemon juice.

· A slice of lemon bound over a corn overnight will greatly relieve the pain.

· A slice of lemon bound over a felon [pus formation on a finger joint] will not fail to bring the pus to the surface where it can be easily removed.

· To relieve asthma, take a tablespoon of lemon juice one hour before each meal.

· For liver complaints, the juice of the lemon should be taken in a glass of hot water one hour before breakfast every morning.

· To break up la grippe [flu or influenza], drink a large glass of hot water with the juice of a lemon added, while at the same time have the feet in a deep bucket or other vessel of water with mustard added to it. The water should be deep enough to where it comes nearly up to the knees. Keep adding hot water to the patient’s tolerance and until the patient begins to perspire freely (about 20-30 minutes). Be sure there is no draft on the person while this is done. The patient should be near a bed so he can get in it easily and avoid any danger of getting chilled. If convenient, a full hot bathtub would be good in place of the foot-bath. The lemon water should be taken every hour until the patient feels that all the symptoms of the cold are gone.

· A teaspoon of lemon juice in half a glass of water relieves heartburn.

· For rheumatism, one or two ounces of lemon juice diluted in water should be taken three times a day: one hour before meals and at bedtime.

· In cases of hemorrhage, lemon juice diluted in water and taken as cold as possible will stop it.

· Scurvy is treated by giving one to two ounces of lemon juice diluted with water every two to four hours.

· In excessive menstruation the juice of three to four lemons a day will help check it. Best to take the juice of one lemon at a time in a glass of cold water.

Tips on Buying a Lemon

A rule of thumb for selecting a lemon that is both sweet and high in mineral content, is to pick one that has a high specific gravity measurement and is heavy for its size. By comparing equal-sized fruit, the one with the greatest weight will have the most mineral content and sugar. A thick skinned lemon will not be as heavy as a thin skinned lemon and will not have the desired sweetness or mineral content.

The method I use to ensure the purchase of sweet lemons is to look at the stem end of the lemon. There are two ends on the lemon. One end has a point where the blossom started to grow; the other end has a stem or a dimple where the stem used to be located. On the stem end of a highly mineralized, sweet lemon, you will see little lines radiating out of the stem like sunbeams. These little lines can look like a star shaped structure and is called a calyx. The calyx may have three, four, five or more points to the star. The greater the number of points on the calyx, the higher the mineral content of the lemon.

How much lemon to use

If you are in good health and weigh less than 150 pounds, squeeze the juice of one half a lemon (one ounce) into a glass of purified water and drink this mixture twice a day (one whole lemon a day.) If you weigh over 150 pounds, squeeze the juice out of an entire lemon (two ounces) into a glass of purified water and drink this mixture twice a day (two whole lemons a day.) The lemon juice can be diluted more according to taste.

To help your body get the energy from the food you are eating, drink lemon water regularly. Next to drinking plain purified water, drinking lemon water daily is the most important thing you can do for your health.

Soft Drinks Contribute to Weight Gain and Bloating

Weight Loss Coach — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:57:03 +0000

Soft Drinks Contribute to Weight Gain and BLOATING!

Confessions of a Soft Drink

By: by Debbie Moody
Hello. I am a humble, effervescent liquid. Humble? Well, that is debatable. Actually, I am quite proud of myself. Allow me to brag a little.

I fizz, sparkle, and bubble my way into thousands of people all over the world, every day. I HAVE MUCH POWER! I cause masses of humanity to make beelines for snack dispensers in plush, high-rise buildings. I stir men, women, and teenagers to dash into their cars late at night to speed to their nearest 24 hour convenience store.
To give me an appetizing brown tint, I contain caramel coloring, which has genetic effects and is a cancer causing suspect. I sometimes have polyethylene glycol as one of my ingredients. Glycol is used as anti-freeze in automobiles, and as an oil solvent. The bubbles and fizz with which I potently burn human insides is caused by my phosphoric acid. The phosphorus in the acid upsets the body’s calcium-phosphorus ratio and dissolves calcium out of the bones. This can eventually result in OSTEOPOROSIS, a weakening of the skeletal structure, which can make one susceptible to broken bones. Also, the phosphorus fights with the hydrochloric acid in human stomachs and renders it ineffective. This promotes indigestion, bloating and gassiness in many individuals.
I offer a selection of three types of sweeteners, according to the customer’s preference. The sweeteners are: Saccharin or Aspartame in the diet type, and sugar or corn syrup in my regular drinks. These substances enhance my appeal and come disguised as ‘good’ for everyone. However, tastes can be deceiving! Let me explain.
SACCHARIN is an artificial sweetener which has raised some concern about cancer in laboratory animals. There are warning labels on containers in which saccharin is an ingredient. ASPARTAME, the more common “diet” sweetener, has been linked to convulsions, depression, insomnia, irritability, weakness, dizziness, headaches, mood changes and mental retardation. SUGAR and CORN SYRUP can induce both HYPOGLYCEMIA (low blood sugar), and HYPERGLYCEMIA (high blood sugar), in susceptible individuals. Hypoglycemia has been linked to mental illness and hyperglycemia to diabetes. Sugar gives you a lift or burst of energy, then sends you crashing down to severe fatigue. To get another charge, more sugary drinks are consumed. This pattern exhausts the adrenal glands and leaves a person with a chronic tired feeling.
GORGEOUS! THAT’S WHAT I AM! I come dressed in a shiny metal can in various colors and tints. Sometimes I am silver, sometimes gold, sometimes blue, red, etc. I beckon and dazzle shoppers as they stroll past me in the supermarket. On a HOT DAY, I am especially ATTRACTIVE, and hands reach for cases of me to share with friends at picnics and parties. However, I am very tricky. My thirst quenching liquid, which is alluringly encased in a the aluminum can, contains traces of the same metal. The acid in the soft drink eats away the aluminum , which floats around until it is ingested by the consumer. Aluminum is a very toxic substance and builds up in the human body. It has a particular affinity for the brain and has been linked to the degenerative senility affliction, ALZHEIMER’S Disease.

Many times humans think they can LOSE WEIGHT by drinking me in the “diet” form. NOT SO! My high sodium content helps them retain water in their bodies, and they become edemic. The kidneys and bladder do not function properly after a long habit of soft drink intake. The sugar in me destroys the beneficial flora in the colon and constipation results. This locks the toxins in the body so they cannot be eliminated properly. The blood is not pure, as a result, and the cells are affected. In order to lose weight, fat must be flushed from the cells. The enzymes responsible for aiding the process of fat release are paralyzed when they are poisoned, and so cannot do their job. People DEFEAT THEIR PURPOSE when they try to lose weight by drinking me.
In conclusion, I would like to admit there is not a smidgen of humility in me. I am very EGOTISTICAL! I am MASTER over much of the decision-making ability of the human race. HA! You don’t believe me??? Look on school campuses, in city parks, at ball games, in business offices, at street corners…anywhere there are people…SEE YOU AROUND!

First published in 1986 in Today’s Herbs, a newsletter published by Woodland Books with Louise Tenney, editor. Reprinted about 10 years later in The Enrich Magazine.