Mosquitoes: Keep Them Away Naturally

Fighting mosquitoes is a battle for many on an annual basis.Many of us hate using chemicals on our skin and when Deet products are printed with warnings about our kids, it's difficult to ignore. We don't want to put toxic products on our kids and on ourselves for that matter.

We also don't want West Nile Virus, Malaria or the awful swelling/itching/misery that goes along with being a lunch buffet for neighbourhood mosquitoes. Here are some natural tips:

-Plants. Plant things like basil, citronella, marigolds, catnip, garlic and tansies throughout your property. Your herb and your flower gardens can naturally repel mosquitoes

-Standing water. This is a no brainer. Get rid of it!

-Listerine. This one is under debate but many sources say spraying bugs and your patio with Listerine Mouthwash will kill mosquitoes and spraying around your property will repel them. There are sources saying this is an urban myth so be cautious

-oil of eucalyptus. (I tried this on the weekend at the drive in and it did work! I watched bugs hover near us and then leave. We used Off! Botanicals that contained Lemon Eucalyptus. It only worked for just over an hour though and we all had to re-apply.)

- Food. By eating certain foods you can make yourself less appetizing to mosquitoes. These foods include bananas, garlic and food or supplements high in b vitamins.

Reasons to Eat Cinnamon

Who doesn't love cinnamon? Beyond being a flavourful item for your toast, apple cider and your apple pie, cinnamon has some great health benefits as well. Cinnamon is a great anti-inflammatory spice that can be part of a good diet with anti inflammatory foods chosen for warding off disease and discomfort.

What else is cinnamon good for?

Beyond making a Cinnabon roll rather tasty, having this spice present in healthy foods is a good idea. It can act as a natural and safe way of preserving food for longer periods of time as an antibacterial and can slow the affect of spoiling. It can be helpful with recurring yeast infections and can lower cholesterol levels.

Cinnamon is also an antioxidant and is being researched for helping with issues such as diabetes as well as cancer.

The aroma of cinnamon is a great way to naturally create scent in your home and from an aromatherapy perspective, this spice is known for helping with memory and concentration.

Tips to Rapidly Alter Your Health

If you want to change your health for the better, you can do it no matter what age you are at. It can seem like a big thing to do but if you simply start off with a few small tasks, you will find that you look and feel better. Those small steps can lead to big leaps over time as well.

Drink more water!

Your body needs hydration otherwise you’ll feel tired, sluggish and you’ll crave unnecessary and (probably unhealthy) foods. Most headaches come due to dehydration and most people who snack between meals really aren’t hungry at all but don’t recognize that extra hydration can calm hunger pangs between meals. By drinking more water and less sugary drinks you’ll look and feel better.

Add Colour To Your Plate!

Let's call it a rainbow diet. A colourful plate is going to be filled with vitamins and nutrients. Try to get as many natural colours on your plate as possible. This helps you get 5-10 servings of vegetables in as well which can reduce your risk for serious illness later in life as well as help reverse the aging process with healthy antioxidants.

Eat Breakfast!

Most people who are unhealthy skip breakfast. Taking the time to eat a small amount of food in the morning will not only help you feel more awake and alert but will jump start your metabolism. It’s called break-fast for a reason. Your body needs to break the fast and get moving again. Don’t think breakfast adds on extra calories because if you choose a healthy breakfast like fruit and cereal you have a better chance of losing weight because your metabolism will start working harder.

Take Vitamins

Despite best efforts, most people don’t get all their required vitamins and nutrients every day. While you should strive to get as much nutrition from your food as possible, taking a multivitamin is a very good idea. Take something that’s natural instead of synthetic and take something that is age and gender appropriate to ensure you are getting all your body needs.

Baby Steps To Better Health

Health and lifestyle changes in small steps can lead to a healthier, happier you. The most important aspect to health is knowledge. Learn more about how to get and stay healthy. The more attention you give to your health and wellness the more vital you’ll feel and after a while, being healthy can become more addictive than living an unhealthy lifestyle!

Do You Want To Live Forever?

Scott at wrevenue.com posted a blogging challenge this week to get people to ponder living well indefinitely. There are some thought provoking points raised on the blog post.

Do you want to live forever?

With what we know today about health we can get to a point where we live longer and where we have the ability to live more vibrant lives. Your body has a built in alarm system that tells you when something isn't quite right. You know what it takes to live longer and healthier. While we know that many people who are diseased simply grow weary and are tired of fighting, we also know that the power of positive thinking and faith has a significant impact on our health. I recently watched a video with Dr Edward Group lecturing about cellular cleansing and it made a big impact on how I think about my own health and wellness.

With areas such as cord blood storage, stem cell research and other health advances I do believe that we can live longer, healthier lives and there may come a point where people can choose to live a lot longer than the average 80 years with enhanced vibrancy in their lives. Healthy living is a choice and can reward you with a longer life. It brings to mind the movie, Cocoon. The idea of being old but enjoying life the same as today is something that appeals to me! I would love to roll on the floor and do somersaults with my grandchildren instead of being brittle and achy and reliant on a large mittful of pills to keep me alive each day. Vibrancy and being able to be flexible and pain free is something that you can have a say in by taking care of your own health.

How can you change your health for the better?

-Eat well. You know what you should and shouldn't eat.
-Exercise. Exercise is addictive and releases natural endorphins so those who exercise are happier AND healthier
-See the doctor when your body tells you something is 'off.'
-Ask for second opinions. Too many people give one single doctor a God complex by not questioning them.
-Support research on longevity and anti-aging!. When you tithe, tithe a little to the medical community and support companies who give to this type of cause. Don't deal with companies that don't support your way of thinking and soon the world will have more responsible corporate citizens.
-Most importantly: Learn. learn about your health and advances and support increased knowledge and research into fighting medical diseases and age related disorders.
Keeping your brain active will also help keep you young. Thanks to Scott at wrevenue.com for an inspiring post and blog challenge!

Should You Use Teflon Coated Pans?

It’s difficult to find a non-stick pan that is not coated with Teflon. But, is Teflon safe? Websites like Mercola.com got me concerned about it. Jokes about how to get Teflon to stick to things when nothing will stick to it come to mind but I did a bit of research and found out that there’s a mixed bag of responses as to whether or not it is safe to use this material.

Non stick is helpful when cooking and cleaning but at what price? The non-stick coating made by the company DuPont more than 70 years ago is considered safe according to them and many experts but most say that you should only use it at lower temperatures. You’ll find a lot of information stating that it can be toxic and poison and even cause birth defects though. How do you separate myth from fact? I tend to err on the side of caution in life.

I’ve read that when you cook at very high temps it can emit toxic fumes that can even kill birds. On the other hand I’ve also read that it is completely safe. My thoughts are as follows: I prefer not to use any non-stick coated products unless they are ceramic coated.

One safety caution would be to use non stick coated items only at lower temperatures. When you fry food, you typically fry at high temperatures. Perhaps it is better to not use it for frying anything higher than 350 degrees.

What could you use instead?

Ceramic coated cast iron is becoming popular. While it is a bit on the expensive side in contrast to other non-stick coatings, it can do well for preventing sticky food and allowing you to cook at a higher temperature. The pans can also last a very long time where Teflon pans seem almost disposable to me since they show wear and tear quickly.

I also find that using regular pots and pans can be effective provided you cook longer at lower heats to prevent food sticking and prevent sticking by using cooking sprays, butter or oil. My favourite cooking oil is coconut oil which can cook without burning at high temperatures and doesn’t release Trans fats plus has multiple added health benefits. (Dig into my archives to learn more about benefits of coconut oil)

One bit of consensus I’m finding is that if any of your non-stick pans coated with Teflon are flaking and showing excessive wear it is not advisable to continue using them. When you use them at brand new try to use non metal utensils to prevent scratches and the minute they show signs of wear, get rid of them.

Tips For Dealing With A Toothache

How do you get rid of a toothache? There aren't many things worse than a nagging, painful toothache and you know you need to get to the dentist asap but what do you do in the meantime? Ibuprofen or acetaminophen is going to help take down the swelling but here are a few other things that can help you temporarily.

-Rinse with h202, hydrogen peroxide. You'll feel bubbling and it might sting a bit but can be really helpful in cleaning out the mouth, dislodging food and getting rid of painful aches in the teeth and jaw

-Eat yogurt. Something about yogurt seems to help with mouth bacterium. It is said to help with toothache and cold sores. Opt for the probiotic yogurt varieties if you can.

-Rinse with alcohol. It'll numb the pain and disinfect

-Orajel or Anbesol can numb and create almost instant relief.

-saltwater rinsing can have a similar impact to H202 and can relieve pain and is especially helpful when you have had mouth surgery.

-dab the sore spot with cloves, clove oil, vanilla extract or almond extract

Get to the dentist soon but these things can help dull or alleviate your toothache pain in the meantime.

Information about the Zig Zag or Calorie Shifting Diet Information

There are many names for the calorie shifting diet. This diet plan can also be referred to as the zig zag diet or the Idiot Proof Diet and is widely marketed under the name, "Fat Loss 4 Idiots". The goal of this diet is to trick your metabolism so that it doesn't adjust to habitual eating.

When we reduce our caloric intake, our bodies burn energy reserves. The trick according to most is to burn more than you consume. There are many ways that fad diets suggest you do this including the Negative Calorie Diet. Our bodies burn a pound for every 3500 calories that we go over our reserves with.

Many people find that when they change their caloric intake, they lose weight rapidly but all of a sudden, they plateau. A zig zag diet plan where calories are shifted around continuously is said to trick your metabolism so it cannot anticipate how much calories are coming and therefore it can remain high. When our metabolism slows down, it's more difficult to achieve weight loss.

Various plans are in existence including through websites, videos and books. You can even join a site with an automatic menu generated to help you plan for your days when you will be taking in high calories versus taking in low calories. One of the benefits to the zig zag or calorie shifting method is that you don't feel deprivation because you are not going for weeks on end without any treats which can lead to falling off the wagon.

The down side to zig zag eating is that you could have a difficult time if you try to go too low on your low cal days. Some dieters get over zealous and try to drop their caloric intake so drastically that they impact their health and well being.

If you're interested, you can learn more about this method of dieting and read success stories and diet reviews of the Fat Loss 4 Idiots program or calorie shifting in general but whatever you choose to do, make informed decisions always about your health. Take care with your hydration and potassium levels. Anyone dieting on a regular basis should take care to monitor their vitamin intake and consider using a food journal to determine if there are any gaps (there's a free one at www.fitday.com in my sidebar) and consider taking a multivitamin.

Interested in learning more about Fat Loss 4 Idiots?
Click Here!

Quitting Smoking. Just Take It Three Minutes At A Time

I needed and wanted to quit. I felt imprisoned by my habit for years and had decided in 2003 when I found out I was carrying my second child that I would quit for good. I tried to slow down while getting ready to conceive but the only thing that helped was the plus sign on the pregnancy test. I decided that the only way to do it was just convince myself that my will was stronger than my addiction. Here are a few things that helped.

I had to trick myself into not realizing I wasn’t smoking. We smoked outside the house and my husband didn’t quit but every time I felt the urge to smoke, I would step outside with him and sit and talk to him as if I’d had my cigarette. By the time I came back inside it often felt no different than if I’d have had one myself.

I kept busy. Every time I wanted to smoke, I would do something physical like clean the house or take a walk.

I drank a lot of water and ate healthy food to cleanse my body.

I took it three minutes and three days at a time. I read that after three minutes, the worst of your cravings are gone. So every time I had a craving, I told myself that I only had to survive for three minutes and the craving would disappear so instead of feeling like I had months and months of cravings ahead of me, I believed that after three minutes I would stop wanting that cigarette. I read that after three days, the nicotine leaves your body and you begin to heal.

I moved desks at work and no longer sat near the smokers. This isn’t always possible for others but helped me. I no longer saw a group of people getting their coats on every few hours and that kept smoking off my mind.

I took up knitting and crocheting and crossword puzzles to keep my hands busy.

I had a hard time with thinking I could never have a cigarette again so what helped me the most was by carrying an emergency cigarette in my purse. I carried it for about a month or two. In Canada we have warnings on our cigarette packages with graphic photos of ill hearts and blackened lungs and people hooked up to machines in intensive care but the one I chose to carry around was of an eight month pregnant woman smoking a cigarette while holding her big, round belly. It said, “Smoking during pregnancy can harm your baby” in big bold letters. I carried that emergency smoke around knowing I’d have to look at that package before taking it if I decided to do it. This helped me tremendously because I found that I had a panic attack if I didn’t have access to a cigarette but if it was there, it was easier to choose not to light it. I quit and 4+ years later am still smoke free.

I knew I had the addiction bad and it was ruining my health. I was a young woman with a smoker’s cough and who coughed up phlegm every day. I am very pleased with my decision. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do but the things I’ve written here helped me. It also helped to read others’ success stories. Engulfing myself in my fight to overcome this addiction helped. I fell off the wagon twice in the first week but after that week I was done. I just kept telling myself in three days, the nicotine is out of my body and I begin to heal. After I fell off the wagon the first time I knew I had that three days to contend with all over again so three minutes at a time is the first battle and after three days, you’ve overcome a second battle. If you do want to quit, you will be able to.

Boost Your Immune System This Winter

Many people feel they should avoid the flu shot unless there’s a very specific reason for it I’m one of those people. I’ve sat through many debates on the subject but it’s how I feel. IF you want to read some more about it, stop by www.mercola.com and you can read some compelling stuff.

Anyway, instead of my family marching off to get flu shots, we try to boost our systems naturally. Here are a few of the things we do and some links in the document that explain a bit about some of these ideas.

-Take greens plus. It’s filled with LOADS of good stuff. I always feel healthier & better when I take it.
-Use coconut oil in a lot of my cooking. Coconut oil contains good stuff like lauric acid which is what helps babies get a boost of immunity from their mother’s milk
-up our fruits and vegetables
-wash our hands well everytime we come in from outside. We don’t bother with antibacterial soap at home, we simply sing the tune of happy birthday or the abc’s while we wash to help us wash long enough. I do keep instant hand sanitizer in my purse and the car for when we’re out and feel like we’ve touched something questionable.
-apple cider vinegar helps boost immunity as well
-Drink white tea. It can help kill bacteria like strep and staph.
-Clean your ears with hydrogen peroxide if you think you’re coming down with a cold.
-Get some good flora in your gut by eating yogurt and probiotic cheese

Sometimes our doctor advises us to get a flu shot for a specific reason and if your doctor does, by all means! But, don’t just assume you need one every year if you’re perfectly healthy. I do believe we are harming our immune systems by stopping our bodies from fighting off mild viruses alone. Too many immunizations and antibiotics can do more harm than good!

Targeting Your Ideal Heart Rate When Training

Do you know your ideal heart rate for training purposes? Some people that are new to fitness believe they should simply push as hard as they can to get maximum benefits from exercise. This is not true and may actually harm you. Whether you're exercising for health purposes or because you want to lose weight, knowing your ideal training zone for heart rate can help you maximize your workout.

Your ideal zone will help you train the most effectively, burn the most fat, build the most muscle and have staying power for your workout.

Overdoing it can tire you out prematurely, leave you out of breath and make you so sore after a workout that it can take longer to recover for a following workout. Many websites tell you to do a talking test to ensure that you are not overdoing it. If you are unable to carry on a conversation while exercising, you are probably pushing yourself too hard.

You can buy heart rate monitors for your workout and / or you can measure manually. Many treadmills have heart rate monitors directly on the machine.

How do you measure your heart rate?

Many websites publish the formula. This particular method is taken from truestarhealth's website but is very commonly found online. Take 220 minus your age and that number equals your maximum heart rate. The ideal training zone is from between 65 to 85 per cent of this rate.

This rate has a margin of error and everyone is different depending on many health circumstances. If you are new to exercise and have been given the green light by your doctor, give it a go and try to target this range. Some are able to push a little harder and still get great results while others find the range a little too difficult to achieve. As you become more fit and become more aware of your personal levels you can find the best training zone for you.

H202: To Drink or Not To Drink (Hydrogen Peroxide)

Have you been sifting through all the research you can find on drinking hydrogen peroxide? Me too. Many say that H202 can be healing from many bacteria, diseases, oxygenate your blood beneficially and even kill Cancer cells. Others say that if you ingest Hydrogen Peroxide, it could cause harmful ulcers, rupture your colon, make you violently ill or even be fatal.

Hydrogen peroxide research has been ongoing for many years but when you research whether or not it's safe to drink it, you'll find conflicting reports. Many reports that tell you that it's not safe are concerned about heavy concentrations. Many reports that tell you that it is safe to drink H202, tell you that when you take it highly diluted, it can be very safe and beneficial to your health. In some countries, it's used to purify drinking water.

There are many debate sites that list both sides of the argument. What do you think?

I know that I use it as an antiseptic dental rinse and use hydrogen peroxide on cuts, bruises and in my ears to clear out wax and ward off an oncoming cold or flu. I firmly believe I have been reading about the virtues of it for a long time. I guess I'm still on the fence about ingesting it but leaning towards believing that if you follow naturopath guidelines very carefully it could be quite beneficial.

How To Take Off The Baby Weight

So you've had a baby and you're ready to get your body back. Don't beat yourself up for not fitting into your skinny jeans six weeks after baby; it can take a lot longer to take weight off than it can to put it on! Start slow and follow some common sense rules to help your body get back in shape slowly. Here are some facts and tips to help:

-Many women hold onto some reserve weight for six months to ensure they have fuel to make milk for the baby. A lot of women feel like the weight starts to melt off at around the point baby begins the transition to solid food

-Breastfeeding burns about 500 calories a day. Many women find that if they breastfeed past the six month mark, they accelerate their weight loss. Do you know how much exercise you'd have to do to burn 500 calories a day? Another reason to breastfeed!

-Count your calories. Use a calorie counter and after you've stopped lactating, try to scale back to 1500 calories a day. Try something to jump start you like the special K diet or the sacred heart that can help you accelerate weight loss (these are quick fix diets though and shouldn't be used long term!)

-Pilates and Yoga. These are low impact sculpting exercises. They can really help you tighten your abs again and get rid of the junk in your trunk.

-Baby exercise classes. Many gyms are now doing strollercize and exercises where you use your baby's weight for resistance training. it's bonding, it's an outing and can help you get tone and trim again.

-drink water! Stay away from the soda pop, switch to skim milk or 1% and drink lots of water. You might be surprised at how many empty calories come from what you are drinking!

Most of all, persevere. Little changes like reducing your meat and potatoes and increasing your vegetables on the plate will give the illusion of loads of food but cut your caloric intake while increasing your nutrient intake. Many vegetables and fruits are actually negative calorie foods that can help you lose weight. Taking off the baby weight can be a lengthy process but you can do it for your health and your body image.

*****

Buy direct from the manufacturer and Save Big on Home Exercise Equipment today at ProForm.com

The 100 Mile Diet, Eating For Change

The One Hundred Mile Diet encourages you to eat locally. The slogan of the 100 mile diet of " Eating Local for Global Change" makes a heckuva lot of sense. The premise of eating local helps your local economy, your local hard working farmer, means you get fresh food and are minimizing the impact on the environment of the need to move mass amounts of food by pollution causing transportation methods.

This isn't a restrictive calorically managed diet or something where you are not allowed to eat red meat on tuesdays or must drink four servings of cranberry juice a day...it's just about eating food that's come from a 100 mile radius from your home.


The website, www.100milediet.org offers a great resource for information and downloadable tools and resources for you to spread the word. Here are a few tips to help you get started:

-Discover your local farmers market
-Plant a garden
-Shop at your local organic supermarket
-Explore local supermarkets with local produce and local meat or butcher shops

The result of the 100 mile Diet will be that you'll not only be impacting the global environment and the local economy but you'll be eating healthier, tastier food that hasn't had to sit on a truck, boat, plane or train to ripen and you'll be eating more produce and less preservatives and processed food.

Le Mierre's Syndrome, The Forgotten Disease

I had trouble finding information on Le Mierre's disease or Lemierre's Syndrome. It's pretty rare. I needed to find out about it recently because my 39 year old brother in law was diagnosed. It was kind of bizarre.

He suddenly had this grapefruit sized lump in his neck. The next day it was the whole side of his neck was huge. He was in pain. At first, the doctors weren't sure what it was. Then we heard he had a collapsed jugular vein. Sounded pretty scary since the jugular is pretty vital...

Fast forward a few days and we find out that LeMierre's or Lemierre's Syndrome is rare (less than .8 in a million) and it was coined in the early 1900's. Before antibiotics was almost always fatal. It's so rare that many don't test for it. It starts with a sore throat for many although for my brother in law, it simply started with swelling and we all know that a sore throat doesn't typically warrant antibiotics.

Lemierre's is a staph infection. How it starts looks pretty technical to me so I won't go into it here but if you get the disease you need heavy antibiotics for several weeks. my brother in law spent a week in the hospital and is now home and expects to be on his IV for 6-8 weeks.

Our neighbour joked that since he got such a rare disease, he should probably be told he's much less likely to win the lottery. I think we'll wait until he's fully recovered to break that news to him.

Hearing about the surfacing of rare illnesses and knowing that something seemingly minimal such as a small anaerobic bacterium that can suddenly almost kill you can happen out of nowhere is pretty frightening.

Fire It Up!

How do you rev up your metabolism so you shed more weight?

Here are some tips:

-Exercise. Your body is used to needing a certain number of calories per day and if you do very little each day, your body will not burn much. Exercise can keep your metabolism increased for several hours even after you finish your workout.

-Break the fast. Eating breakfast tells your body to start using energy and gets it moving.

-Water. Drink lots of water. It helps everything move through your digestive track.

-Green tea. Green tea is said to increase your metabolism. Even if it doesn't do much, it's chocked full of antioxidants as well. Coconut oil, grapefruit and apple cider vinegar are also said to increase your metabolism.

-Smaller, more frequent meals will tell your body to use the energy instead of hoarding it. Many overweight people eat only one or two big meals a day.

-Do something after you eat like take a walk to get your body using the calories.

-Eat well with lots of roughage and fiber. These will move through your system faster than unhealthy food which our colons struggle to process. Many of these types of foods are actually known as negative calorie foods and they cause you to burn more than you take in. Visit my blog archives for more information on negative calorie foods.

Cheers,

Gaining Weight The Healthy Way

Not everyone wants to shed body weight. Some people look for healthy ways to gain weight for various reasons, namely for body building efforts or because they’ve always been just too skinny. Here are some ideas to help you gain weight a healthy way. By simply over eating or eating really fattening foods, you could find yourself with more than you bargained for. Not only will you gain excess weight but you could affect your cholesterol levels, your blood pressure or have a negative impact on your digestive system.

Here are some good ideas to help you gain weight with healthy, high caloric foods.

-Gradually increase your caloric intake. Use a calorie counter like the free one at fitday.com and track what you eat. Adding an extra 500 calories a day will require a bit of effort but can result in a pound or so per week of weight gain.

-Eat nuts! Peanut butter, almonds, trail mixes with lots of nuts are high calorie but also filled with healthy fats and protein which are great for muscle building

-Heavy breads and bagels. Pumpernickel and rye have whole grain wheat and are dense, heavy, tasty breads. Having a slice of bread with each meal can add plenty of calories to your diet.

-Flax seeds. Flax is not only good for you but are high in calories. Adding ground flax to your oatmeal or a smoothie can add lots of good calories and be good for your overall health

-Shakes! Shakes or smoothies can be filled with lots of extra calories with flax, whole milk, peanut butter, protein powder and even by adding skim milk powder to thicken it and give yourself extra calcium

-Milk powder can go into your cereal, shakes, mashed potatoes and other dishes for extra health and calories

-Avocados. Avocados contain lots of calories and lots of healthy fat so are a great vegetable choice

-Cheese. Shred it on stuff, eat it plain, eat lots of it!! Your bones and teeth will thank you too.

-Boost or ensure shakes. These are like the opposite of Slim Fast but used the same way. High calorie shakes can be filled with vitamins, minerals and calories

Lots of good healthy foods can be added to your diet instead of fried foods and can result in a healthier, heavier you.

Wondrous Coconut Oil

Is coconut oil bad for you?
Surprisingly, No. There are stories that suggest it was a bit of a ploy to raise cash crops. If you look at recently released research, there's great news about coconut oil and all the associated benefits.

There was a time, that I heard that anything with tropical oils was bad for you. Palm oil and coconut oil should be avoided like the plague. A few months ago a client had me research and write an article about organic coconut oil and I was astounded to the point that I decided to use it as much as possible and have been telling everyone I can about the many benefits of organic coconut oil.

Coconut oil contains lauric acid which a component of human breast milk that is known for boosting the immune system. Coconut oil also can withstand much more heat before burning. I started using it and couldn’t get over how well stir fry dishes turned out as well as roasted potatoes. The oil didn’t burn and the food turned out beautifully. Coconut oil has a huge amount of health benefits that are definitely worth checking out. The types I’ve used didn’t even taste like coconut which was a plus for my spouse who really doesn’t like strong coconut flavour.

I can’t get as in depth as I’d like due to the fact that my research was for a client and I ghostwrote the article but one point to mention is that there was a man who lived on coconuts alone for almost a month following the boxing day tsunami a few years ago and he survived unscathed despite being surrounded by bacteria filled waters and rotting corpses. Coconut oil can do wonders for your immune system and I’ve read great things about your metabolism, skin and that it’s antibacterial as well as increases your energy levels.

Organic is best due to the processing. Although organic can be rather expensive, the health benefits make it very worthwhile.

I am looking into more coconut related news due to recent discoveries about coconut water and coconut kefir that I've stumbled upon. More on those subjects later.
Cheers to your health,
Dana

Grab Some Blackberries Even While Using Your BlackBerry

Has the harried lifestyle got your eating habits at a less than stellar level? Don’t abuse your body by eating garbage. Even if you’re a busy exec who’s always on the run, take good care of your health.

Here are some tips for the busy bee who’s always buzzing with the blackberry.



-Buy good food that makes life easy. Even though it’s best to prepare food from scratch, there are some great healthy quick entrees that re available. Your grocery store might also do prepared fruit and vegetable platters that are done up and can go right in your fridge so you can assemble some healthy snacks to drop in your briefcase. While working, nibble on fresh fruit or vegetables or grab a salad with lean protein instead of a greasy burger and fries

-Grab some yogurt & berries for breakfast. Toss them together with a handful of granola or trail mix and you’ve got a delicious breakfast.

Speaking of blackberries, did you know that blackberries are full of antioxidants so can almost be considered like the fountain of youth? Throw some berries into some probiotic yogurt to not only feel like you’re eating dessert but to feed the healthy flora in your tummy as well as zap those free radicals that cause premature aging and cancer.
They also have lots of vitamin E and folic acid.

Fibre Is Your Friend

Have you heard of the All-Bran Two Week Challenge? All-Bran has been blitzing to get people aware of how much we actually need fiber.

The average person gets about 7-8 grams of fiber a day and the recommendation is 25 grams a day. Are you riddled with constipation? Are you bloated and gassy or suffer from digestive upset? You need to get things MOVING, friend...

The All-Bran challenge suggests adding a 1/2 cup of bran per day to your diet. Bran based cereal isn't the tastiest thing out there but it really can improve your health. There's a famous article out there called "Death Starts in the Colon" and it's worth a read if you can find it...people need to keep their plumbing systems in tip-top shape to ensure that they're keeping their health at the top of their priority list. Elimination is KEY.

Fast food and fiber-less food will hurt your health in many ways.

Here are a few tips:
-eat lots of fruit and vegetables
-eat whole grains and beans and legumes
-drink plenty of water
-avoid commercial laxative products unless absolutely necessary
-add bran or psyllium fibre to your breakfast cereal every day

Remember the movie, Crazy People with Dudley Moore? I loved the part that said something to the effect of that you needed to take Metamucil otherwise get cancer and die. The slogan was, "YES! I want to go to the bathroom!"
So true.

Maximize Your Fruit Intake With Smoothies

Yum. It's a like a healthy and guilt free milkshake without leaving you feel like you're being cheated. You can pack a lot of punch into a smoothie. I often use it to take my greens plus but it's a healthy snack that does a lot for my taste buds and is also a healthy way to snack without racking up calories and fat.

Here's my basic smoothie and you can mix this around any which way you like. If something is in season, load up on extra and freeze it (like berries!) or if you're running out of room in your fridge and don't want all that fruit to go to waste, make a pitcher of smoothies and serve them with breakfast.
This is really versatile depending on the type of fruit, yogurt or juice you use. If you want a calcium boost for you or your kids you can also toss in a few teaspoons of fat free powdered milk which is a great thickener too.

1 banana (per person)
your favourite yogurt (I like to use probiotic ones like Activia or Bio Best)
a glug of any kind of juice or milk
as much fruit as you like.

You can throw supplements in there if you are on them and put in some ground flax seed for an extra omega boost as well.