Sunday, September 29, 2013

Prescription vs food

When we used to watch TV in our house (who has time now?) I was always shocked when a commercial came on for a prescription drug - the list of possible side effects would make me think "really? With that list of possible side effects, would I really be better off than if I didn't take the drug and just lived with whatever the drug was for? Do any of you ever have similar thoughts as you watch the list of possible side effects scroll by?

What if I were to tell you many, if not all, of the things we get prescribed medication for can be taken care of with food? Side effects: feel better, more energy, the body is nourished, you healthier.... The list goes on, but they are all HEALTHY side effects, unlike death or suicidal tendencies, lack of interest in sex (okay - you may want your teen to have that side effect lol) that are common with prescription medications.  Here is a list of the 7-most-prescribed-drugs-in-the-world-and-their-natural-counterparts. Pretty fascinating. The more I learn, the more I wonder why anyone would want to put chemicals into their body that mask the problem by reducing / eliminating the symptom - but causing so many more (how many people do you know that are on 3 or 4 medications and 1-3 of them are to counteract the symptoms of one of the other medications?  Why not just give your body the nutrients it needs in order to take care of the underlying problem - the symptoms will go away and you'll be healthier!!!

Friday, September 27, 2013

Processed foods

As my family has been on this journey to better health we have been dismayed to discover so many things that are labeled "Healthy" (or some version of the word, leading the consumer to believe it is healthy), in actuality contain ingredients that are hazardous to our bodies.  I recently contacted a brand name company, which houses several brands, about the unhealthy ingredients in their "healthy" food.  I was actually pleasantly surprised to hear back from them, but woefully disappointed in their response.  According to this company (I won't mention who as I am not here to slander any particular company and by looking at ingredients I know they are not the only ones who feel this way) harmful ingredients are okay in small amounts eaten occasionally.

Hmmmm, while I don't agree with that statement (brings to mind things like Lead Poisoning and Arsenic poisoning which can be undetectable in small amounts but build up until they are fatal - or how about the frog in the boiling water story?


Granted, not all toxins build up in our system. But they do cause problems and do damage. For example Aspertame (which is found not only in "sugar free" items such as diet soda and sugar free gum, but also in sugared items - such as gum) which causes the body to crave sugar and store fat (wait - aren't those "diet" sodas? And they cause sugar cravings and fat storage?) as well as causing migraines and brain stem cancer.  There is absolutely no nutritive value in this chemical, and it harms my body - so exactly WHY would I want to put ANY of it in my body? Another ingredient that is in almost all processed foods (sweet and savory) is HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup). Did you know this is actually a byproduct of making menthol gas? It is addictive and causes sugar cravings and really adds nothing to the foods it's in.  It is also banned in most countries, so again - why would I even climb in that pot of water? It has no benefits and is harmful? Why have they even put it in the foods? In fact, as consumers are becoming more aware and refusing to buy products w HFCS, many companies are marketing versions of their products labeled "no High Fructose Corn Syrup."  Most of these are the products we have eliminated from our diets long enough we don't miss them - so I haven't taken the time to read / compare the labels to see what, if anything, they have replaced it with. I have my opinions, but that's an entirely different blog post. I'm sure it boils down to greed though.

If you are looking to eliminate the toxins from our diet as much as possible, here is a great place to start, an article titled "10 Foods Sold in the US That Are Banned Elsewhere." 

Wherever you are in your journey to good health - start reading labels and decide - "Do I really want to put that in my body and what good will come out of it?" Then decide for yourself if the benefits outweigh the costs or vice versa. If the only benefit is taste, but the costs to your health are numerous......... Only you can decide for yourself. As for me, and the choices I make for my family....... well, I think you can tell what I decide 9.9 times out of 10.



Monday, September 23, 2013

Soup's on!!!!!

Fall is in the air and  I'm starting to think soup is what's for dinner!


Unfortunately all of my former go to soups are laden with crap ingredients I not only don't want to put in my body, I don't want to feed to my family either. So this morning I began a quest for healthy homemade soups. I created soup boards on my Pinterest. I want to invite you to come follow me as I search out new healthy soups to try out.  I have 2 soup boards - one is simply titled "soups" - these are ready to go as is. Then I have a second soup board titled "Soups to tweek". Some of you may find them fine the way they are.  My family is working to eliminate processed sugar from our diet, and reduce unhealthy fats - so there are some soups here and the tweeks I'm going to do are listed in my comments. If you try one and make any tweeks please comment what you did and how it worked out for others to try. Check back often for new recipes to be added

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

The power of Cellular Nutrition

Cellular nutrition is just what it sounds like - getting nutrition all the way to the cellular level. . Nutrients pass through the villi in your intestines to your cells.  To achieve optimal health your cells need to be nourished with the best nutrients possible. Unfortunately things like stress, aging, environmental toxins, unhealthy eating habits, certain medications, among other things can damage and plug up these villi. Essentially instead of passing through a shag carpet the nutrients pass over a slip and slide.  Minimal nutrient absorption happens. It doesn't matter how healthy and nutritious the food you are eating is, if it isn't absorbed through your villi - it does you no good.

The good news is, with Herbalife's patented Cell Activator this can be reversed.  Cell Activator is a proprietary blend of herbs that goes in and cleans out, heals, and protects the villi so that your body can once again function as it was designed to.

Once your body is absorbing nutrients to the cellular level your energy will increase, your immune system will improve, your health will improve.  Your cells will be healthy and happy cells - which equates into a healthy, happy you.  Think about it, your cells are constantly replicating. If they are unhealthy, malnourished cells (not saying you aren't eating right, they just aren't able to get the nutrients) and they replicate - what are they going to replicate? Unhealthy, malnourished cells. In addition, have you ever made xerox copies and noticed when you copy a copy - eventually the copy isn't as good as the original? The same degradation happens when our cells copy themselves. Now what if you could reverse that? What if your cells became better copies of themselves - so when they replicate, they are replicating something closer to the original? What if each time they are replicating they are getting closer to the master copy instead of further away? Fountain of youth? Maybe.  All I know is since I started taking Cell Activator every day I look and feel younger.