Staying GREEN and RAW While On The Road

It takes some determination, creativity and planning, but preparing green smoothies on the road can be done, and it's worth the effort.

Find a Whole Foods Market, or a really good supermarket with an organic section. You will need young Thai coconuts, bananas, pears, and some dandelion or kale. Purchase a jar of organic nut butter. In advance, using containers or zip lock bags, pack a combination of ground chia seeds and hemp seeds and in another bag, cacao powder. Of course, you will need to purchase a Personal Blender that comes with individual containers and covers to store your smoothies in. It is advisable to find an insulated tote bag for this and use it as a "carry-on," however, pack the blade portion of the blender with your checked baggage. Some Personal Blenders also offer a mini cutting board and spatula. These can come in handy and easily fit into your carry on.

Take a trip to the hotel restaurant manager, explain your dietary needs, and see if you can borrow a sharp knife, large bowl, and a a few utensils. There are great videos on line that show you how to open a young Thai coconut easily. Otherwise, pack a knife carefully in your checked luggage.

Using two Personal Blender containers, put half of the coconut water and meat in each and blend. Split one banana between the two containers, and if there is not enough coconut water, add additional filtered water. Add a few slices of pear to sweeten the smoothie and blend, Add chopped dandelion greens or kale. Add a spoonful of nut butter, chia/hemp seeds, cacao powder and some crushed ice and blend. Do not let the Personal Blender run more than 45 seconds at a time, or it will overheat and shut off. Be patient. You will create a lovely and enjoyable smoothie, chock full of goodness. If necessary, use a third container to fit everything in, After a few practice runs, you'll get the feel of how much of each ingredient you can use to get the smoothie you want.

If you are going to be out for the day, clean and cut up carrots and celery stalks, put them in a bag and munch on when you get hungry. Apples and bananas are great to have as well. Preparing these raw, nutritious foods, so that you have them later is a huge help in continuing to eat green, raw and healthy, even while on the road. Bring the bag of hemp/chia seeds too. You can pop them in your mouth, or sprinkle on almost anything, for some extra good nutrients.

You can easily make green smoothies without the coconuts, by just using banana, water, pineapple or pears...then add chia seeds, hemp seeds and even cacao powder. Another option is to pick up a bag of frozen fruit and blend that into the mixture.

HINT: If going through airport security, wrap any food you are bringing in either Mylar bags, or many layers of aluminum foil. A really neat trick is to deflate large Mylar balloons, cut them open and use several layers to wrap your food items, sealing with a rubber band or tape. If thick enough both Mylar and foil may protect food from irradiation.

When unpacking, save the Mylar so you can reuse it for the trip home. Vitamins and supplement containers should be wrapped in Mylar as well. You can purchase Mylar bags. These are more costly, but makes the process even easier and they can be reused. (Mark the contents of each bag with a marker).

NOTE: Create a wonderfully nutritious chia pudding in the Personal Blender by using the green smoothie recipe, but adding more ground chia seeds to thicken. Add cacao powder, nut butter or frozen fruits to vary the flavors. Eat immediately or store in hotel refrigerator for later.

Why Raw Food ?

You may have heard about people eating raw food and drinking juices to detoxify themselves but you may not know the ins and outs of why. The truth is, cooked food is considered as poison to the human body, in fact, every time we eat cooked food our white blood cells multiply to get rid of the invader! This process of white blood cell multiplication is known as digestive leucocytosis. Our bodies are not designed to eat cooked food and it has to be eliminated as quickly as possible or else stored in adipose tissue. Human beings are frugivores and can only live healthfully on a diet primarily consisting of raw fruit, nuts and seeds and green leafy vegetables. Raw plant material is the only thing our bodies' recognise as food and eating this way is the only way to achieve maximum vitality and optimum health.

For many years we have been told that we must have lots of protein in our diet, or lots of calcium and, we are told, meat and animal products are our way of providing this. Actually, meat and animal products are the hardest things for the human body to digest and result in poor health, directly or indirectly. This is not only because they are cooked but also because the human body is not designed physiologically to consume flesh foods or flesh products. This means that the consumption of this type of food results in an inevitable putrefaction and the resultant poisonous by-products play havoc with our health. All cooked foods are classed as alien to us and the only way the human body can take in nutrients is when the food we eat is whole, raw and plant. This means that anything other than that is thought of as poison and the body tries to expel it or store it away to prevent it from causing harm. A diet consisting of mainly or solely raw food gives us ALL THE NUTRIENTS WE NEED and is all the body requires for its vital functioning. Don't be fooled by the myths!

On switching to a raw food and juices diet many people have allowed their bodies to heal from life-threatening diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc. and have turned around the ageing process.

Vegetarian Wraps Recipe

This vegetarian wraps recipe is so easy to make, you'll wonder why you've never made it before. You can use any bean, but I used aduki, or adzuki, beans that are small and reddish-brown. They are one of the fastest beans to cook, making them one of my favorites for quick and healthy vegan recipes.

The advantages of beans are that they're low in fat, high in protein and loaded with fiber. Gram for gram, they're a much more economical source of protein than meat. Topping off the wrap, sprouts (like alfalfa or clover) are one of the foods most packed with nutrient, and putting them in a wrap is a delicious way to eat a big portion of them.

This vegetarian wraps recipe makes enough for 6 large wraps.

Vegetarian Wraps Recipe Ingredients

• 1 cup canned or cooked aduki beans (or another bean)
• 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• Flat leaf parsley, chopped
• half of a sweet onion, sliced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cucumber, sliced with skin
• 1 cup sprouts (alfalfa, clover, broccoli, etc)
• 6 wraps

Vegetarian Wraps Recipe Directions

1. Dried aduki beans, if you're using them, need to be fully cooked before you start. Soak half a cup of the dry beans overnight with lots of water. Drain them, add 2 cups of water, bring to a boil and simmer for an hour. Do not use salt during the cooking process. Putting a piece of kombu (seaweed) in the water while the beans cook will help make the beans more easily digested.
2. Using canned aduki beans is less work, but be sure to look for beans that do not have any salt. Some brands actually cook the beans with kombu, which is ideal.
3. Mix the olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice together, and you can add any herbs or spices you like, but be sure to add a pinch of salt. If you are using a vinaigrette from the store, make sure there's salt in the ingredients. If not, add some! Since the beans are not cooked with any salt, they need a bit after cooking.
4. Pour the vinaigrette over the cooked beans in a small bowl. Chop some parsley, then stir it into the beans. The beans will appreciate marinating for at least an hour, but they only get better the longer you leave them.
5. To get dinner together once the beans are flavored, heat a small pan tp medium. Sauté the onions briefly in a small amount of olive oil, to soften their flavor. Feel free to can skip this step if you prefer your onions raw.
6. There are a few ways to heat up your wraps: toaster oven, full-size oven, or heat briefly in the pan you used for the onions. Arrange some beans, vegetables and sprouts in the middle of the wrap, fold one end in, roll and enjoy your vegetarian wraps recipe!

How To Make A Creamy Spinach Dip

Vegetarian recipes are very popular today with many different types of people. You can learn how to make all sorts of dishes that you can enjoy eating and serving to others whether you are serving them at home to your family or you wish to prepare something for a special social event.

For instance, for your next get together you might like to learn how to make a creamy spinach dip. You can serve this dip with various types of vegetables on a vegetable tray. It is easy since you will be adding cut fresh crisp vegetable sticks of carrots, celery, tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, and so many others. Vegetables taste great after dipping them in this delicious creamy spinach dip.

You can also serve this dip with all sorts of different types of chips, such as corn chips, potato chips, plain or fancy crackers, bagel chips and various types of crusty crunchy breads as well as soft breads.

Making Easy Party Appetizers for Your Next Party

You can easily make some easy party appetizers for your next party while using this delicious and creamy dip. There is no cooking or baking to do while preparing it. You can make it ahead of time and then place it in the refrigerator until you need it. Making appetizer ahead of time helps save you time. You can whip this recipe up in hardly any time at all and then you will have all the time you need to prepare yourself and your party setting.

Recipe for Creamy Spinach Dip

What You Need

• 1 container sour cream 8 ounce
• 1 cup mayonnaise or plain yogurt
• ½ teaspoon dill weed
• ½ teaspoon celery salt
• ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon onion powder
• ¼ cup chopped green onions
• ½ cup pureed artichoke hearts
• ½ cups pureed water chestnuts
• 3 Tablespoons chopped bell pepper
• 3 cups thawed, cut frozen leaf spinach
• Salt and pepper to taste

How to Make It

Using a medium size bowl, add the sour cream, mayonnaise or yogurt, dill weed, celery salt, garlic powder and onion powder and then stir to combine together completely.

Stir in the green onions, artichoke, and water chestnuts and then add the bell peppers and the spinach. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir to blend thoroughly.

Cover with a lid or with plastic food wrap and then place in the refrigerator overnight to enhance the blending of flavors in the creamy spinach dip.

You can adapt this recipe by adding fresh herbs rather than dry ground spices. You can marinate the vegetables using your favorite marinade recipe or one tablespoon of lemon juice to enhance their flavors before adding them to this recipe. You can add various ingredients or remove any you do not like or even exchange one ingredient for another while preparing this type of dip. Taste it after removing it from the refrigerator after chilling the dip to see if you need to adjust any of the seasonings.

Raw Food Recipe: Good Ol’ Fashion Apple Pie

This is a classic recipe perfect for your holiday feasts and any day your family needs a healthy new twist on an old favorite!

Apple Pie Crust

Ingredients:

• 1 cup raw walnuts
• 1 tsp. vanilla flavor by Frontier
• ½ cup pitted honey dates, soaked
• ½ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. Himalayan salt

Filling Ingredients:

• 6 Granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced
• 1 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tsps ground cinnamon
• 1 cup pitted and soaked honey dates
• ½ cup agave
• 1/8 tsp. Himalayan salt

Directions for the crust:

Place the walnuts, vanilla flavor, dates, cinnamon, and salt in a food processor, and process until the mixture holds together and forms dough.
Press into a 9-inch pie pan to form a crust.

Directions for the filling:

Place the apples in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and 1 Tbs. of the cinnamon, and toss until evenly coated. Place the dates, agave, and remaining 1 tsp. cinnamon, and salt in a blender. Add a very small amount of filtered water, just enough to facilitate blending, and process until smooth. Add to the apples, and toss until evenly distributed. Spoon into the prepared crust. Slice, and serve.

Raw Food Diet Help With Multiple Sclerosis

In recent years there has been a lot of talk about multiple sclerosis and raw food diets. There is still a large percentage of the medical community that refuses to see the connection between eating a healthy diet and reduced or eliminated symptoms of MS. However, in recent years far more research is being conducted in the areas of diet and nutrition as a way to improve the overall health of the multiple sclerosis patient and alleviate their symptoms.

Why a Multiple Sclerosis Raw Food Diet?

In order for the brain to function properly, it needs a constant supply of micronutrients. These micronutrients are supposed to be obtained from the foods we eat. Sadly our standard western diet consists mainly of highly processed foods that have almost no nutrients in them. The contents of these prepackaged foods have literally been cooked to death and are devoid of the minerals, micronutrients and vitamins we need.

By creating treating your multiple sclerosis with a raw food diet, you are eating food that since it has not been heated or cooked in any way, still has 100% of all the essential nutrients that your body needs. One thing that needs to be noted here is that while technically raw food means that the foods have not been cooked, it does not mean they have not been heated. In many cases the foods have been warmed in a dehydrator or low oven, the maximum temperature must not exceed 115-120 degrees Fahrenheit as this is the point at which the foods begin to cook and lose their nutritional value.

Is a Multiple Sclerosis Raw Food Diet Effective?

One has only to look around at the vast numbers of people that are switching to an all raw food diet to see just how healthy this type of diet is. It is only within the last hundred or so years that we have become obsessed with cooking everything we eat. Recent studies of patients with multiple sclerosis and a raw food diet are showing some remarkable signs of success.

In Germany, a Dr. Joseph Evers has successfully treated over 1,000 patients with multiple sclerosis by switching them over to a raw food diet. The carefully documented results were nothing short of amazing as his patients experience full remission of their symptoms and over time have shown little or no progression of the disease. In answer to the question, MS can be helped with a raw food diet.

Multiple Sclerosis Types

Multiple sclerosis is an autoimmune disease where the immune system attacks the Myelin which is the covering that surrounds the spinal cord. The myelin provides insulation for the nerves coming from the spinal cord, and it helps the conduction of impulses along the nerves. In MS inflammation destroys the myelin causing the nerve impulses to slow down and degenerate. This can cause a person to have difficulties in walking, talking, and can affect their vision and many other important functions. There are 5 different multiple sclerosis types that patients can have, the most common forms are relapsing- remitting, primary-progressive, and Secondary-progressive.

Of the 5 different multiple sclerosis types, relapsing-remitting is the most common accounting for 65 - 80% of all MS cases. In relapsing-remitting, patients experience a series of attacks then the disease goes into remission until another attack occurs which is called the relapse. There can be days, weeks or years between relapses. Recovery during the remission phase can be partial or complete. This means that while the attack may subside, residual symptoms may be present that can be permanent due to the damage that is done to the Myelin.

Primary-progressive MS is steady symptoms from the onset that do not remit, meaning that their intensity increases over time, rather than going into remission. Between 10-20% of people with this disease are diagnosed with primary progressive. This diagnosis does not usually get made until a person has a history of unremitting symptoms and no acute attacks.

Secondary-progressive MS often follows the relapsing-remitting types of multiple sclerosis. Approximately 60 % of relapsing-remitting patients will progress to this stage of MS. Again like primary-progressive there is no real remission periods in this stage of the disease, only short breaks or plateaus from the progression of the symptoms. During this phase many people will experience a steady decline in abilities with sporadic attacks.

Of all the multiple sclerosis types, progressive relapsing and malignant multiple sclerosis are the most rare and intense. With progressive relapsing there is no remit phase, only continuous attacks and no relief from symptoms. Malignant multiple sclerosis is very rare and highly aggressive causing a swift decline into disability often within weeks or months of the onset.

I have benefited greatly from a book which has examined the link between what we eat and multiple sclerosis. If you would like to know what foods are attacking your body, what supplements you must take and how to create the energy that you need, then this book is a must read.

How To Do A Self Anchor

Throughout our lives, we unconsciously anchor many things in our mind. Whether it is our mother's cooking and the aroma that fills the room or the sound of the ice cream truck, when we smell or hear things, we are often brought back into the memory of the smell or sound.

Knowing how the mind work, we can utilize anchoring to help us feel good and accomplish things that we may otherwise feel uncomfortable doing. The most simple case would be speaking in front of a large crowd. When utilizing anchoring in this case, we are able to bring ourselves back to the time where we were more confident or whatever resource it is we need, and arm with this memory, we can go further in our presentation.

How To Anchor Oneself

Keeping with the fear of speaking in front of a large crowd, we will go ahead and think, what is it we will need, what inner resources that we will need to be able to speak in front of a large crowd.

Once one finds that inner resource that is required, one may close their eyes and begin to allow the mind to wander off into a memory where they had this resource in the past. Keep building up memories, or even staying with the same one but making sure that one is fully associated within the memory.

Once the person feels they are at the peak of the memory, full embodied into the memory, they should anchor themselves by either putting together two fingers or touching somewhere on their body that they wouldn't often touch, like an ear lobe.

After anchoring the memory, one should try it out later and see if it works. If not, one should sit down and go over the process and perhaps finding a stronger memory or piling it with other resources.

Having this technique is useful in many situation and eventually, one would be very comfortable to do what it is they want to do without even anchoring.

Using Hypnosis CDs to Change Your Life

Many people think the only way to make a lasting change in their lives is to undergo months or years of psychotherapy, working with a therapist to make slow and steady changes. In reality, you can make a change or changes to your life in just one session or a few sessions using hypnosis CDs. There are hypnosis CDs that can help you lose weight or quit smoking or manage pain or manage phobias.

So how do hypnosis CDs actually work? You basically listen to the CD in a calm and relaxing place, preferably with head phones. You then do an induction sequence in which you use your mind to try and get into a deeper and deeper state of relaxation. You can use the staircase technique in which the hypnotherapist on the hypnosis CD gradually counts backward from ten until he or she reaches one and you imaging you are descending a staircase until you reach a feather bed and a feather pillow at the bottom of the stairs.

When you are deeply in a hypnotic state, the hypnosis CDs shift to a point where they are telling you suggestions you can repeat to yourself. If your problem is pain management, you say things to yourself or listen to statements like, "I can fight off all this pain" or "The pain no longer bothers you" or "I am strong in not feeling this pain". You say a series of statements that are intended to reach into the depths of your mind and can allow your mind to think and feel differently than you ever did before.

Finally, the hypnosis CDs often go through a wake-up phase, where you are gradually brought to a new level of consciousness. You are fully awake but you are feeling refreshed and different about yourself. You may no longer feel the pain of arthritis or you may no longer feel as strongly the pain of childbirth. Sometimes the hypnosis CDs work in just one session or it may take several sessions for the maximum benefit to be noticed.

Hypnosis CDs can work on areas like self esteem and weight loss, which often go hand in hand. The CD puts you into a hypnotic trance and then begins to tell you statements like "I am beautiful as a person" or "I can fight off sweets in my diet" or "I am a thin person inside". These are things that maximize your self image and self esteem while still working on the weight loss issues. By dealing with both, the weight loss goes better and the person feels better about themselves. Hypnosis CDs can work on a variety of emotional and physical issues and can really change your life.

Natures Lessons in Tolerance

Many of us feel that we grow in levels of intolerance to certain things as time goes by. We become fed up with things and overly sensitized to certain triggers which activate our automatic intolerance patterns in terms of thoughts, feelings and behaviors.

Things which we might have tolerated in the past make us feel agitated, frustrated, angry or irate instead. We know that our reactions are possibly overly exaggerated, but somehow we cannot stop the way in which we feel, as this emotional reaction has become ingrained through experience over the years. It's as if our intolerance thermostat has been turned up to a high position and the slightest thing has the power to trigger its instinctive reactions.

We have learned to expect so many things as of right. We expect everything to flow like clockwork, to be on time and to work effectively and efficiently. But just because we are used to living at a fast pace doesn't mean that the environmental structure is designed to keep up. Nature, every so often, deals us a hand which effectively teaches us a lesson in tolerance.

We in Northern Europe have experienced a rather unusual and extreme amount of cold weather in this last few weeks and the effect of this upon our modern way of day to day living is dramatic. Trains fail to run to schedule, roads are closed, flights are cancelled. These are but a few of the immediate effects of a change in weather conditions. We are all taken by surprise.

It is at times of surprise and shock that one's basic instincts can very easily be seen. I have personally seen a diverse display of people's reactions, some of which have been heart-warming whilst others have been just plain shocking. Can you imagine that a young woman heavy in pregnancy could slip in an icy high street and find that nobody, nobody at all, would stop to help her up?

Well, that did indeed happen upon a busy street. How could those passersby not have felt a natural instinct to help? Had their feelings been frozen that badly in this cold weather? This is a sure sign of something very wrong within the community. A natural human instinct would appear to be missing in more than just a small percentage of people.

In contrast I have witnessed many a person reach out to help those who were less able than themselves; they spot someone about to slip and instinctively reach out to grab them. They pop around to see their elderly neighbors and make sure they are warm and well. That's a normal human reaction. This is how we all, every single one of us, should be; the instinct to care, to help and to assist in other's comfort and survival should be a natural, normal and instinctive part of human behavior.

I have also witnessed a relentless desire to blame others for the situations which have been encountered. Blame the airlines, blame the transport minister, blame the owners of the trains; blame, blame, blame. This has been a common theme. Certainly, some people have acknowledged that it's simply the weather and that we could not be expected to be prepared for such unusual and adverse conditions. But more seem all too quick to point and finger and find somebody to blame.

This whole situation highlights how intolerant so many of us have become. Perhaps this is nature's way of showing us what's wrong in the world and providing us with an opportunity to open our eyes, shake our heads and rethink our priorities in this life.

Weight Loss Using Hypnosis

I'm sure you've heard about weight loss using hypnosis, but did you know the hypnosis ABS formula is the key to the best way to lose stomach fat? The ABS formula is the golden rule of self help hypnosis, and you can put it to work to lose the extra fat in your abs starting today. ABS for abs will change your mind so you can change your shape.

So what's the ABS formula?

The ABS formula is the blueprint for effective self hypnosis scripts.

A stands for "absorb attention."

B stands for "bypass the critical factor."

S stands for "stimulate the unconscious mind."

When you understand this formula and put it to work, you will lose stomach fat fast.

I'm going to walk you through putting this formula to work, but before I do, I have a caveat. This process, though easy to understand, can be challenging to put into practice. Although you can start practicing this method to get the abs you want today, I recommend you think about finding an affordable hypnosis training program that can fire up your proficiency to the highest level. I've found such a program, which I'll point you to at the end of this article, but for now, here's what the ABS formula means and how you can start using it now.

1. Before you can program your subconscious mind you have to get the A, "absorb attention." In other words, you need to put your concentration on one thing and one thing only. The easiest way to do that is to choose something to look at, one small point, some spot on the wall or small object and put all your attention on looking at that point. This focus pushes out all extraneous thoughts that get between you and self hypnosis relaxation.

2. Now you need to get the B, "bypass" the part of the conscious mind that criticizes, analyzes and rejects information. You do this by using relaxation techniques to slow your brain waves. You move out of theta, or conscious brain waves, and into alpha brain waves. This is the mental state that taps into the subconscious and bypasses the conscious questioning mind.

3. Now you are read to get the S, "stimulate the unconscious mind." This is where you give your unconscious the instructions that will create the change you want. So here is where you will create a list of instructions like, "My belly gets flatter everyday. No matter what I eat, my body metabolizes it so I burn fat at a fast pace. My belly fat is melting away." Use phrases that feel like a fit for you.

Now, obviously, this is just the roughest outline of achieving weight loss through hypnosis, but it's enough to get you started. If you want quick results, do consider a comprehensive hypnosis training program. Of course, you can pay to have a hypnotist do this for you, but you'll spend much more than the cost of a complete training program that will allow you to use hypnosis in all areas of your life, including and especially in your dealings with other people. My favorite program is a conversational hypnosis program that is designed to help you get others to cooperate with you because when you learn to get others to cooperate, you can get yourself to cooperate. I don't know about you, but I find it much harder to convince myself to do things than convincing others.

Weight loss using hypnosis can be easy and fast, but only if you know what you're doing. Start with the ABS for Abs and follow it up with learning to be a hypnosis master, and you'll have discovered best way to lose stomach fat.

Best Way to Lose Stomach Fat and Keep it Off

Lose stomach fat by doing small things every day.

The best way to lose stomach fat is to start right now. Make one small change and one decision right now that will effect the rest of your life.

Jimmy decided that if those claims about sodas were true, he wanted to do something about it. It would help him get rid of his stomach fat. But it wasn't just about the big belly. Sometime tugged at his heart as he thought about the rest of his life. Colors flashed in his mind. They represented his future and what it could be if he made the right choices.

The best choices to make stomach fat to Jimmy was a hard thing to think about. Some things sounded like they'd be too hard, and would they really flatten his tummy? Wouldn't the pain of all the hard work outweigh the pleasure? He didn't know for sure yet. But the belly fat bothered him. He really wanted to look into it.

It's about choices? Yes. Choices and behavior. To lose the stomach fat and keep it off, you will have to have the right behavior every day about your health. At first, Jimmy thought this would be impossible. This is terrible, this is going to be really hard. Would it be worth it? He decided that it would be.

With a flatter stomach, Jimmy would be more attractive to the opposite sex. It could help him get an attractive girlfriend. It would mean he would have more energy. It would mean he could excel at sports. There were so many things that he would be able to do. Maybe it would be worth it to lose stomach fat.

Was watching sports, eating chips and drinking beer every night so important? No, thought Jimmy. It wasn't. Actually as he thought about it he realized this was adding a lot of stomach fat. Every day. But how much over time? Pounds and pounds, he thought. That's awful. But this was going to be hard. Where in the world should I start? Well, Jimmy decided that the next day he would get on the scale and weight himself. He was going to exercise every morning at 7am and weigh himself everyday. He would find out what wasn't working and what was.

For Jimmy, he made running and cardio into a game. Sometimes he didn't even run. He just used an exercise bike. He hardly went to the gym.

But soon enough he started to see progress. His stomach was shrinking. He first lost 2-3 pounds of stomach fat. How did he know this? The scale. This was great. The work was hard, the sweat wasn't always fun. But he belly fat was going away and he was starting to look sexy. Not quite as sexy as the guys in the fashion ads, but he imagined that to get there is just doing the right things day after day.

Jimmy was finding that each day he did the right things for his health and body, he was losing stomach fat and even working on his ab muscles. He started to get very excited and knew that he could be looking even better 90 days down the road. The best way to lose stomach fat for Jimmy was to start small, see the results, believe and then keep on doing what was working.

Jimmy has to make the right choices every day or his stubborn belly fat will come right back into his life.

Make Stomach Fat Go Away

Do you want to finally make stomach fat go away? Well, there are 3 important keys you should know that will certainly not only make it easier and quicker for you to get in shape, but your results will also be natural and permanent! Take just a couple of minutes out of your day and read to learn more.

1. Make Sure You're Eating Right - I know that sounded like a "captain obvious" statement right there, but let me explain.

You see, the problem is that many people are led astray in regards to nutrition. What many people think is "proper" nutrition is actually unnatural... and then this usually causes many problems that make people quit dieting.

The problems usually end up being a slower metabolism and yo-yo weight loss. Unnatural nutrition is the typical low-calorie, low-carb, low-fat, etc. types of diets. It's virtually impossible to lose weight and fat... permanently, by severely lowering your calorie intake or restricting fats and carbs. The reason why is the body needs plenty of calories in order to function effectively, and your body needs healthy carbs and healthy fats in order to keep the metabolism, your digestive system, and your total body healthy.

2. Exercise With Your Metabolism In Mind - Many people who start exercising typically will focus on just burning off calories to lose weight. Although that approach is important, making sure that you are exercising in a way that will boost your metabolism is much more important... and effective. So, what I recommend you do is to place most of your attention on doing exercises that will boost your metabolism such as higher intensity cardio and resistance training.

3. Never Forget The Essence Of Healthy Living - It is so easy to get caught up with dieting, exercise programs, etc. and miss the most important parts of getting in shape and improving your overall health. The most important parts are the essence of healthy living. This will include drinking lots of water each day (at least 1 liter of water daily will work), getting plenty of sleep (a minimum of 7 hours), and making sure you avoid doing anything unnatural.

Losing Fat Fast - Is it Possible?

Do you want to lose fat? Here are some tips that worked for me and many people that I know of.

In the last few months I came across more than five friends who have used a drink called Bios Life Slim in conjunction with some effort on their part to lose fat. The amount and the speed at which they lose tummy fat, and neck fat varies according to their body size and their lifestyle.

Bios Life Slim is used to help give your body the correct kind of nutrients so that you will have vibrant health. It will teach your body to balance its hunger hormones and to become more effective in using the foods that you eat.

It takes about 90 days for your body to complete this re-balancing. Your body needs time for this sort of transformation. Remember that it took many years for you to create or grow that fat. Therefore, losing fat fast is almost impossible.

However, there have been cases of people who start to see results after a couple of weeks or a couple of months. On the other hand there are people who have fats that are so stubborn that they had to use Bios Life Slim for six months for it to take effect.

I started off by introducing Bios Life Slim for a good reason. The majority of people may find that their bodies require fat burning supplements to get the best results. This is because much of the food that you eat today are devoid of complete nutrient values and are also full of chemicals.

Alright, below you will find ten tips from me:

Tip #1 - For breakfast eat proteins, not carbs.

Having proteins for your breakfast will get your metabolism off to a fast start. They will cause your body to use up its stores of fat, convert them to glucose and burn them off as your energy for the start of your day. Also, remember to eat less sugar, white rice, pasta, and white flour (e.g. breads) because they have high glycemic index. They drive insulin up fast and keep it up longer. When that happens there is no time left for fat burning to take place.

In other words, the proteins will help reduce your hunger pangs for the morning and sustain your energy throughout the day. Some of the best high protein foods are whey, peas, beans, soy milk, brown rice, almonds, oatmeal, pumpkin, sunflower, and cashew nuts.

You only have about an hour from the time you rise from your bed to the time to get proteins into your body system. Therefore you might have difficulty getting a protein breakfast. To solve that problem, you might want to take a protein meal replacement like Unicity's Soy Protein drink supplement.

Tip #2 - Do not take snacks in between meals.

Every bit of food you take will produce glucose in your bloodstream. Glucose will trigger your pancreas to produce insulin. The greater the amount of glucose, the higher the insulin will spike. When insulin is present, they prevent your body from burning the free fatty acids for energy. Thus you will feel hungry. That creates a vicious cycle of fat storing.

But you can break it with Bios Life Slim. It will also work on your leptin to re-sensitize to your body. (Leptin is the hormone that controls the amount of fat the body stores). If you really cannot go without a snack, then take some raw almonds. Do not take the processed and packaged foods. Raw almonds has anti-oxidants, and are also considered a brain food.

Tip #3 - Do not skip your lunch.

For lunch take some complex carbohydrates. If you have a choice take whole grain foods instead of processed or simple carbohydrates. You will have the rest of the day to burn off your carbohydrates, also known as carbs, so do not skip your lunch. Carbs that are not used up by your body within four hours, will be converted and stored in your body as fat.

Simple carbohydrates are considered bad carbs. They have been processed and broken down before being put back together in an unnatural way. Examples of simple carbs are biscuits and chocolates.

Whole foods such as nuts and unprocessed grains are natural carbohydrates. They are the best carbs to include in your diet, if you are trying to lose fat.

Tip #4 - For Dinner, eat vegetables and proteins.

Eat either steamed vegetables or salads. Do not eat simple carbs for dinner. Vegetables and fruits have high water content and will bulk your food without overloading you with fattening calories.

They also give you a wonderful feeling of being full until breakfast. Always take your vegetables and fruits before taking other foods such as meats. Vegetables and fruits provide fiber and enzymes which are needed for proper absorption of nutrients from foods.

Bios Life Slim can be used to supplement your shortfall of fiber intake. The recommendation by the Ministry of Health is to take a minimum of five servings of vegetables and fruits every day, that is, three vegetables and two pieces of fruit. The best fruits to take are papayas, mangoes, pineapples, guavas, kiwis, olives, avocados, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries.

The best fruit juice drink is cranberry juice. Another food to take to complement the fiber in Bios Life Slim is yogurt. For example, you might want to take yogurt with berries for your morning snacks.

Tip #5 - Take a walk every day.

Your target is to walk at least 5,000 steps a day. You should not do exercises that will result in excessive loss of energy. That will make you feel hungry. Then you will increase your intake of calories. In the end you do not benefit from your exercise.

To have more amount of fat breakdown, it is better to have two short workouts with a break in between, than to have a single longer exercise session.

Tip #6 - Do not starve yourself.

Fat loosing through starvation diets will usually last as long as the program is maintained. As soon as you stop the program, you will usually tend to regain nearly all the fat that you have lost during the program.

In the same way, doing rigorous tough exercises and then stopping abruptly will cause you to regain all the fat you have lost during the program. You need to start gently and gradually build up your momentum over a few weeks.

Tip #7 - Drink 8-10 glasses of water a day.

When you do that you will feel full and be prevented from snacking until your next main meal. You may substitute plain water with fruit juices, soups or even take vegetables and fruits. Just be aware that fruit juices may contain sugar and calories.

Therefore water is the best alternative. Tea is healthy but coffee and sugared drinks must be avoided. You may take alcohol, but limit it to 2 glasses of wine per meal.

Tip #8 - Watch your calorie count.

In order to enhance your figure, remember to use or burn up more calories than you take. In order words you have to manage your appetite. One method to accelerate your fat loss or weight loss is to halve the portion of what you would normally take. Also, take less carbohydrates such as rice and noodles and have more vegetables.

I also do not recommend that you go on a starvation diet as it will deny you of a balanced diet. This will result in a daily nutrient deficit which is detrimental to your optimal health in the long run.

Tip #9 - Chew well and eat slowly.

When you chew well you will maximize the effect of Bios Life Slim. When you eat slowly you will allow your brain to be aligned with your stomach.

When you eat slowly you will also get a feeling of having had a full meal that will last you through the 4-4-12 meal cycle. (4 hours between breakfast and lunch, 4 hours between lunch and dinner, and 12 hours between dinner and breakfast).

When you maintain a regular eating pattern, your body will learn to eat only when it has to. It will eat enough for you to have a normal day of activities.

Tip #10 - Take one serving or your fat burning supplement, namely, Bios Life Slim ten to twenty minutes before your meals.

You may take two or three servings a day. Most people would be able to see some of the benefits of Bios Life Slim within six weeks. If that does not happen, then you might want to check your estrogen, progesterone and testosterone levels.

Best Way to Lose Fats

Most are probably asking if there is really an easy fat loss method that works. Diet programs and some fitness trainer advertised on TV and the internet that they found a sure fire way to beat those fats. Most of these diet programs turned out to be just fads. It can be confusing and most of the time disappointing that you have to choose from hundreds of diets available.

You do not really have to buy those special tea or shake. There is no special machine, which can help you lose those fats faster. Diet pills might work but they can be expensive and health risk will always be there. If you really want to lose weight, do it the old way. Eat a well balanced diet and exercise.

It is hard to lose weight specially that this is the era of instant super-sized meal, cable TV and the internet. Everything almost seems easy except losing those pounds. If only, there is a remote control for those fats to go away. Well there is liposuction but it is not a permanent solution. If you continue to eat supersize meal while surfing the net all day long you will be coming back to the doctor in no time asking for another procedure.

As mentioned it is all about well-balanced diet and exercise. You do not have to starve yourself or spend hours in the gym. The keyword is balance. Eat nutritious food and avoid salty junk food. You should also drink a lot of water especially if you regularly exercise to replenish your body. If you are bored with exercise, ask a friend to join you to make it more enjoyable. You can also ask your family to help you with your new diet. It is more effective if the whole family are eating healthy. There are healthy recipes you could try that are also delicious.

When it comes to exercise a combination of aerobics and strength training are the best ways to shed those fats. You do not have to do strength-training everyday; in fact, it is recommended that you rest every other day. It is not good if you over exhaust your self from too much exercise.

Patience and commitment is they key to weight loss. It may not be easy and fast but the natural way will be more beneficial to your health.

The Successful Weight Loss Diet Plan

Weight loss is perhaps one of the most difficult goals we face in our lives.
And what is even more difficult is keeping the weight off. We are all different, our bodies are different, our habits are different. What works for one person doesn't always work for another. This is true of most things in life, and weight loss is no exception.

Do you ever wonder why some people can eat whatever they want and never gain a pound? Or your friend that is doing well on a simple diet and exercise plan. Yet, that same diet plan just doesn't seem to work for you.

Weight loss and dieting are hard. And lets face it, it can be a lonely road. Not all diets are the same. But, with the right attitude and motivation, and a well laid out game plan achieving your goals will be that much easier.

Here are some things you will want to do on your path to a new you.

First thing you want to do is cut back on the calories. The best way to do this is to eat 4 or 5 smaller meals throughout the day. It's not easy at first, but you will get the hang of it. The benefits of this are that it does enable you to consume less calories and by having more frequent eating periods, 5 meals being the optimal number, you won't be feeling hungry between meals. Add in some fresh fruit or raw vegetables as a snack and you are good to go.

Once you start eating a more sensible diet, you definitely want to avoid all junk/fast foods. There really isn't any two ways about this one. All your weight loss efforts will be in vain if you don't stay away from this type of food. Now, I know we are all just human, and that piece of pie can be tempting, try not to give in. If you do slip up make a note of it in your journal. This way you can keep track of your progress.

The last thing I want to talk about is exercise. Yep I said it. Any successful weight loss diet plan would not be complete without a proper exercise program. Do you have to kill yourself in the gym for three hours a day? No. But you do need to have a good combination of aerobics along with some basic weight training. Exercise will speed up your metabolism allowing you to burn more fat in less time. Diet and exercise go hand in hand. You will start to increase your muscle mass as the pounds come rolling off. This isn't body building, so, don't think you are going to bulk up like the Hulk. Dieting along with exercise will have you feeling and looking better than you ever have before.

Remember, a simple diet and exercise plan will give you the foundation you need to achieve your weight loss goals. If you don't feel you can do it alone, seek out the advice of an expert to help you get started. Bottom line is to get started now. you will be glad you did.

Losing weight can be a difficult challenge. Proper guidance and a strong commitment are key to a successful weight loss diet plan.

Avoid These Food Crimes

Do you know there are few healthy foods that can completely ruin your fast weight loss diet plan? Healthy foods are sometime not really healthy if not eaten in the correct way. Read further to know these 5 healthy foods and why they are no healthier for your weight loss quest in not taken in a right manner.

1) Salads: It is quiet strange to know that salads can be harmful for your fast weight loss plan. It is because salad is something which is difficult for most of the people to gulp it down their throat. So in order to make it tasty what they do is load their healthy salads with dressing of mayonnaise, sweeteners, other preservatives and lots of salt contains harmful sodium. Instead, putting a light dressing of olive oil, lemon juice or garlic could be a better choice.

2) Fruit juice or drinks: I think it is not required to emphasis the importance of eating raw fruits as compared to fruit juices. When a fruit is converted into fruit juice, it loses a lot of minerals and vitamins. Moreover, the fruit juice we get in the restaurant contains almost 80 grams of sugar preservatives and the juices are actually made of fruit pulp instead of fresh fruit. Hence, we tend to gain more weight drinking fruit juices. The right choice would be eating fresh fruits with their skin to get the most out of it.

3) Muffins: Muffins may look like a healthy option but in fact they are not. Muffins are loaded with sugar and refined flour. Each muffin has a good 500 calories hidden in it. So the right option would be a muffin made of whole wheat which is safer.

4) Cheese: Cheese is made of milk which contains the much needed protein and calcium. On the other hand, cheese is also full of fat. And the cheese we get in the market are processed ones with added salt and artificial flavors. The best choice is cheese such as feta or parmesan which are good for health.

5) Grains: It is a popular belief that when something contains cereals or is multigrained, it is a healthy food. However if you check the label of the most of the food like bread or pasta, it merely contains refined grains such as white flour which is not a healthy options as compared to whole grains.

The best way to avoid eating such unhealthy stuff is to avoid eating out and stop eating processed or tinned foods. The way to lead a fat free and a healthy life is eating healthy life and also eating them in the right manner.

Tips For Switching to the Raw Food Diet

There are many diets out there today that you can choose from. Many of them are healthy, and many are unhealthy. However, many diets, including the unhealthy diets are accepted by society, but the healthiest of them all, which is the raw food diet, is not usually accepted by most. Thus switching to the raw food diet can be one of the most difficult diets to switch to, as there just is not enough social support.

However, if you are determined to switch to the raw food diet, then there are ways that you can take matters in your own hands and stay on it, regardless of whether or not you have support from others.

Make Gradual but Permanent Changes

One of the keys to switching to the raw diet is to do it gradually. Not only will this be easier on your body, but it will give you time to learn how to prepare your foods, without being overwhelmed. Thus if you crave pasta one day, but don't know how to make raw pasta, then you can go and have your pasta as you normally would. (Raw pasta by the way can be made from zucchini by using a spiral vegetable slicer).

Get to Know Your Foods

At first you may not like the taste of raw plant-based foods, but once your taste buds come back to life, you will enjoy them just as much as any other food that you are used to. To help you get through this stage, you should take the time to educate yourself on the health benefits of the raw foods, so that you can focus on that, instead of the taste.

Eat Plenty

The raw plant-based diet is not about eating less, although most raw foodists do not eat as much. But when you first make the change, you will notice that you eat more because your body is being cleaned and nutrients are being restored. Thus it is important that you eat whenever you get hungry, and let your body tell you when you are full, as opposed to counting calories.

Drink Plenty

The more raw foods you eat, the more water you will need to drink as well. This is because raw foods contain a lot of fiber that absorbs water and other toxins in the digestive tract. Thus forget about the standard 8 glasses of water, and drink when you are thirsty. You will notice that when you listen to your body, you will drink a lot more than just 8 glasses a day.

Resolve to Eat Healthier

This is a resolution for anyone who wants to eat healthier and take permanent steps to improve their diet. I have changed my diet substantially over the past 30 years and want to share what I've learned. My wife and I are largely raw foodists, buy nearly all organic including dairy, eat a diet which combines super food smoothies, veggie juice blends, sprouts and wheat grass grown by us, salads, kefir, and home-prepared organic soups, and virtually no meat.

When you eat more healthy and pay attention to what goes into your body, you will notice quick changes in your energy level and how you feel in general, and ultimately your overall health improves. So here's the challenge: "I resolve to eat healthier this year."

There are many levels to healthy eating, some fairly easy to incorporate into a lifestyle and diet, and others which take a fair amount of research and planning. Whichever level you wish to attain, changing your food intake will require a dedicated commitment to yourself. This need for commitment and planning is likely why so many people in my part of the world at least are overweight, unhealthy, and generally surviving on an extremely low-quality diet. But I think you can do better than mere survival eating, so I'm providing a list of suggestions to get you started.

Start Where You Are

Researching any of the ideas on this list can help you immensely. I recommend you get started by choosing the things you think you can do first, then work up to the bigger steps. Let me say for those whose diet is based on meat, it really is possible to eat another way. There are many incredible choices of meatless diets today and lots of available information--offering plenty of necessary nutrition without negative side effects that can come from a dead-food diet. Vegetarians don't have to survive on berries and nuts!

Yet vegetarian or raw food diets may be a far off dream for many. I recommend you begin where you are and make changes that seem possible for now. Then set out to learn about other options--there's no one right way to follow this list.

Suggestions For Healthier Eating

• Explore more nutritious food options, such as organic vegetables, fruits, juicing, sprouting, kefir, cultured vegetables, healthy supplements and super food items, and lots of healthy water.
• Learn to cook and prepare healthy foods for yourself, reduce your dependence on fast food/restaurants and all convenience foods.
• Consider more raw food--raw food is live food with intact enzymes which are important for digestion, while cooked foods are enzymatically dead and usually much lower in vitamins, minerals, water and other important nutrients.
• Eliminate or at least substantially reduce your intake of such non-healthy items as sodas, doughnuts and pastries, chips, sugar/high fructose corn syrup/sweeteners, fried food, white flour items, and all gmo products.
• Be a more conscious consumer: It starts at the grocery store, don't shop when you're hungry, educate yourself, read labels and know what they're saying, buy organic whenever possible, spend more time in the produce section and less in the convenience food aisles.
• Use more self-control at the eating table, eat slower, stop when you're three-quarters full instead of stuffed, eat smaller amounts more often rather than large meals.
• If you eat meat and/or dairy, look for such things as organic, free range, no hormones or antibiotics, and certified humane raised and handled.

Basically, it's important to learn to eat for nutrition rather than desire. Much of our food intake in the United States at least is for the wrong reasons, such as social occasions, to fulfill addictions and desires, or simply to stuff ourselves out of habit. Learn to give your body what it really needs and it will take you to a new world of healthy eating and nutrition. This is a great resolution for this or any year!

Getting More Protein In Your Diet

Getting a balanced diet is important part of how we feel and how we function every day. It affects how our skin and hair looks. It affects how our bones and organs function. Without a balanced diet, we don't feel good. We feel sick, have low energy and don't look forward to all the good things in life. Protein is something that many people have a difficult time getting enough of. Ten to thirty-five percent of our calories should come from protein. Without protein in our diets, our bodies cannot make amino acids. The reason we often have low protein in our diets is that it's seen as an expensive food source. He are some ways to up your protein in-take that won't break the bank.

Meat is the obvious first choice. Chicken, lean cuts of beef and seafood are great ways to add protein to your diet. It does not have to be the expensive cuts either. Chicken thighs are a great example of a good protein source that is not expensive. Check with your local butcher for other cuts of meat that are good but not expensive. Something that is easy to take with you is jerky. You can make if from beef or any wild animal. Many hunters make jerky from their deer meat to give them protein but a tasty snack also.

Dairy is another source of protein that is often overlooked. Milk, cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and hard cheeses such as cheddar and parmesan are great choices. Yogurt is another source of protein that is easy to eat on the run. Today, many cheese sticks are available in different types of cheeses for school and office lunches.

Eggs are a great, inexpensive source of protein. You can eat them boiled or fried or scrambled. They are great made into an egg salad sandwich or added to a tasty vegetable stir-fry. Eggs are great because they taste good by themselves or added to other things. My husband's favorite way to eat eggs is deviled eggs.

Another non-meat way to get protein is through soy, nuts and legumes. This includes soy milk and soy beans. Nuts and nut butters, include peanut butter, soy nut butter, etc. Legumes include beans, peas, and lentils. They are a particularly inexpensive source of protein. Split pea soup, black beans and rice and lentil soup are all great high protein meals that are inexpensive to make.

5 Tips You Need To Know To Eat Healthier

Hello everyone. For this article, I decided to talk a bit about eating and our diets. Many people want to eat in a healthier way, but how do we go about eating healthier? What should we eat more of? How should we go about doing this? With these questions in mind, I present my list of my top 5 tips for eating healthier.

1. Start Small, Not Big!

First off, when making any changes in your diet, you need to start small! Do not completely change your diet overnight. This will make it a lot more difficult to stick to your diet. You will really miss the old foods and it's likely your new diet will not work. Slowly changing your diet is the best way to go. Remember, don't quit cold turkey!

2. Nutrition Facts

When you buy foods they do have the nutrition facts label and its there for a reason! When buying foods, try reading the labels before hand and you can figure out just which foods are healthier than others.

3. Fruit, Fruit, And More Fruit!

When eating healthier, one thing you should always try to do is to focus on eating more fruit. Fruit has many health benefits and it is a must if you wish to eat healthier. There are also so many different fruits that you are sure to find a fruit that you love.

4. Vitamins

When you try to eat healthier, you should always focus on vitamins. We were always told as a kid just how important vitamins are and it is just as true today! Trying to get enough vitamin in you is crucial to eating healthy. Some of the best foods for vitamins are fruits, so again, focus on fruit!

5. Low-Fat All The Way!

Finally, when trying to eat healthier, you should try to avoid fats as much as possible. The nice thing these days is that there are so many fat-free versions of food. If you want to eat meat, stick to lean-meat! Stick to low-fat milk! It's really not that hard to avoid fats if you stick to the lean or low-fat versions of products.

I hope this list has helped you to understand a bit more about eating healthy and how to go about doing it. It is important for everyone to eat healthy, and with these tips, you can be well on your way to eating healthier. Good luck!

How To Get Kids To Eat More Fruit

Getting kids to eat more fruit and vegetables can be a tricky task but there are plenty of ways in which to get even the most fussy of eaters to enjoy their recommended five-a-day.

Getting kids to eat fruit and veg can be tough; especially when one in five children refuse to touch the stuff in the first place. Packed with essential vitamins and minerals, consuming a balanced diet that's rich in fruit and veg is extremely important for growing bodies and minds. Parents with fussy kids needn't give up at the first hurdle, however, as there are plenty of ways in which you can get your child to eat more fruit and veg and enjoy it too.

The first step to get your child to enjoy fruit and vegetables is to lead by example. If you're a fussy eater yourself, the chances are your child will look to mimic behaviour or see it as acceptable to refuse certain dishes. Enjoying fruit and vegetables as a family builds a child's confidence and interest in food as well as nurturing their creativity in the kitchen in later life.

Many parents find that it takes more than verbal encouragement to get a child keen on fruit and veg. In cases such as these it pays to be creative, which means exploring the different ways in which you can present fruit and vegetables to kids. Smoothies are particularly popular among children and great fun to make too. Some children might be put off by the idea of eating fruit salad but if the equivalent is whizzed up into a colourful liquid the transformation often sparks intrigue and genuine enjoyment.

Furthermore, as children many adults will remember the phrase 'don't play with your food'. For some children, meal times can be a formal affair that encourages boredom and bad behaviour. Encouraging children to 'play with their food' is one way to add the fun back into dinner time.

Simple Raw Vegan Recipes For Radiant Health

Preparing simple raw vegan recipes can be surprisingly pleasurable. There are hundreds of simple recipes and the list of raw vegan ingredients to choose from is amazing. A full wholesome meal of entrees, soups, salads, desserts, smoothies and drinks can be created using simple raw vegan recipes. It will taste fantastic and give your health a massive boost.

Why simple raw vegan recipes can give radiant health

All the goodness and nutrients naturally present in food are found in Raw Vegan recipes.

Cooking above 130 degrees damages or destroys the vitamins and nutrients, which are required by the body. It's like eating empty foods, or empty calories, that just fill you up temporarily.

Your skin will feel and looks cleaner and the need for moisturiser becomes a lot less. The natural health from the raw food transfers to your body and skin. Your hair will also benefit and look a lot more naturally shiny & healthy.

Imagine watering a plant. Give it fresh water with nutrients each day and the leaves will shine and the flowers will blossom. You give it soapy dishwater to drink instead and it will soon appear unhealthy.

There are many other health benefits of eating Raw

The Raw food diet has helped many people find health when nothing else did. It can give healthy levels of blood cholesterol and blood sugar levels, pain-free joints, a permanent boost to your immune system, amazingly restful sleep and unbelievable energy.

Alter your lifestyle, not the diet

Replacing fatty and dairy products from recipes is perhaps the first step towards healthier eating. Your body requires perhaps 4 times less energy to digest raw food over processed food, and the supplementary energy is freed up to make you feel a lot more alive. Cellulite disappears, weight is lost, headaches disappear.

Diets cause distress to your body. Most diets have short term benefits, at best, but don't address the problem long term. Diets make you less healthy since the weight loss that occurs on these diets is caused by bodily distress, not healthy living.

High-protein diets don't have to include meat

The protein derived from animal sources is very acidic to the human body and it causes acids to rise in the blood stream. It's been shown over and over again that excess proteins and acids stress kidneys, too. High protein and fat consumption can contribute to cancer, heart disease, arthritis, kidney and liver problems, and osteoporosis.

Protein isn't just in meat. It can be found in all natural foods -- vegetables and fruits have protein as have nuts, seeds (especially hemp seeds), which can satisfy even the higher protein demands of pregnant women, athletes, and people trying to gain lean muscle mass.

Raw Food Vegan Recipes

Transitioning to a raw food diet can be difficult, especially when you find yourself with cravings of former comfort foods, like cheese and milk and ice-cream. Fortunately, there are hundreds of raw food vegan recipes to satiate your dairy-desires that are simple and delicious. They encourage amazing nutrition, taste fantastic, and are super easy to make.

Dairy-Free Raw Cheese
Raw "cheese" can add delicious flavor and texture to your raw food vegan recipes. Most recipes require very few ingredients and utilize nuts and seeds as their base. Nuts such as almonds, cashews, and macadamia nuts have fantastic nutritional value! Almonds for example can help lower your LDL-cholesterol and reduce your risk of heart disease. They are rich in Manganese and Potassium, which is an important electrolyte involved in nerve transmission.

Raw cheese recipes can vary in complexity depending on what type of cheese you want to emulate. You will need some form of food processor or blender capable of mixing various nut bases while certain recipes may use a dehydrator to create "cheese" slices that can top sandwiches or raw burgers.

Dairy-Free Raw "Milk"

Raw "milks" are incredibly simple to make and can be used in numerous raw food vegan recipes. Milks can be used on raw cereals, in raw breakfast smoothies, or raw salad dressings. Various spices or sweeteners such as cinnamon or honey can also be added to raw milk depending on your personal preference.

Only two tools are needed to make raw "milk:" A blender and strainer. You can use a nut-milk bag or simply double layer cheesecloth to attain the same result. Raw "milks" commonly use a nut base such as almonds, Brazil nuts, or Hazelnuts, but may also be made of a variety of seeds including pumpkin seeds or hemp seed. Hemp is a great choice as it is high in protein and contains all nine of the essential amino acids. Each nut and seed will contribute its own unique flavor to your milk, so experiment and find which you prefer!

How to Make Raw Nut "Milk"

All raw food vegan recipes for nut milk will begin with soaking. Soak the nuts or seeds of choice for 6-8 hours or overnight. The next morning, drain the soaking water and combine soaked nuts in a blender (or Vitamix) with just enough water to cover them. Blend the mixture until it is a very smooth, uniform mixture and there are no longer chunks of the nuts or seeds visible. Arrange your nut milk bag or cheesecloth over a bowl and carefully pour the mixture through the strainer. Carefully strain your milk until nut pulp is all that remains in your strainer. The "milk" will keep for two to three days in your refrigerator while the pulp can be discarded or dehydrated into flour.

Ataxia and Multiple Sclerosis

Ataxia is the term given to any number of abnormal movements that take place while doing some voluntary movement. It sounds simple enough.

I guess that whenever medical terms or definitions are involved things can get a little (if not a lot) complicated for most of us so, I'll try to put it in layman's terms.

Folks suffering from ataxia have problems coordinating muscle movements. Often, these problems manifest themselves in the legs but also in the arms, eyes and in muscles used in speech. Some of these involuntary movements result in you experiencing incoordination or interruption in your movements. Lots of MSers have experience this type of Ataxia when we under - or over - shoot something we intended or target with our hand, arm, leg or eye.

This missing of target is a type of Ataxia known as Dysmetria. Since my diagnosis, I started to experience Dysmetria of the hand. This can make your writing and picking things up difficult or even impossible.

Your cerebellum is the part of your brain in charge of synchronizing all voluntary muscle movement throughout your body, cerebellar ataxia is the result of lesions on the cerebellum or in the nerves that connect into it. Cerebellar ataxia can result in:

Uncoordinated walking - gait ataxia.

Inability to maintain a steady posture - hypotonia.

Shaking when attempting fine movements - intention tremor.

An inability to coordinate the muscles involved in speech - dysarthia

Jittery eye movements - nystagmus

If the damage is located in the spinal cord - in its posterior columns to be more exact - the type of Ataxia that occurs is known as sensory ataxia.

Whenever you experience not knowing exactly where your limbs (hands and feet) are, you are experiencing Sensory ataxia. Another manifestation of this type of Ataxia happens when you experience an unstable stance. Common problems seen by this type of Ataxia are:

Loss of position sense

Inability to detect vibrations

Unstable stance also known as Romberg's sign

In multiple sclerosis, the last type of Ataxia is known as vestibular ataxia which is caused by lesions to the brainstem and the vestibular nuclei. Common problems seen by this type of Ataxia are:

Loss of Balance

Dizziness

Nausea and

Vomiting (vertigo)

Jittery eye movements - Nystagmus

I know now that I experienced this type of Ataxia when I had my first MS relapse. It came with a loss of balance, dizziness, vertigo and a little jittery of the eyes (nystagmus) besides the optic neuritis that never really went away.

Contrary to what most people think, Ataxia is not a direct result of muscle weakness (atrophy) but a dysfunction in the sensory nerve inputs or motor nerve outputs.

HOW COMMON IS ATAXIA AMONG MSers?

It is estimated that between 80 and 85% of MSers will experience ataxia or tremors at some point during their disease. Ataxia is quite a common symptom in Multiple Sclerosis but is also seen in other conditions such as:

1. Spinal cord compression

2. Diabetic polyneuropathy

3. Acute transverse myelitis

4. Vacuolar myelopathy

5. Tumor or cord compression and

6. Hereditary forms of ataxia

HOW IS ATAXIA TREATED IN MSers?

In order to help you manage these symptoms, several different treatments currently exist. They can be categorized by:

Physiotherapy

Neurosurgery

Oral medications - Some of them containing marijuana or cannabis extract, isoniazid or baclofen.

The Cochrane Collaboration, currently published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2010 Issue 11, Published by John Wiley and Sons, Ltd. concludes that there is not enough evidence to suggest that any treatment (drugs, physiotherapy or neurosurgery) provides sustained improvement in ataxia or tremors.

The one thing everybody seems to agree on is that more research is required.

Last but not least, along with the multiple problems caused by ataxia, you may experience tremors.

Tremors are rhythmic shaking movements of different amplitudes.

Whenever I stand in the same place for too long, I experience tremors in my right knee. These tremors are nothing serious and once I start moving they just vanish. While researching the subject I found out that tremors in MSers are mostly affecting the head, neck, vocal cords, trunk or limbs.

TIPS & EXERCISES FOR ATAXIA

In ataxia the person presents.

• Incoordination
• Tremor
• Disturbances of posture
• Balance and
• Gait

Physiotherapy is directed at promoting postural stability, accuracy of limb movements, and functional balance and gait.

Postural stability can be improved by focusing on static control (holding) in a number of different weight bearing, antigravity postures (e.g. prone on elbow, sitting, quadruped, kneeling, plantigrade and standing). Progression through a series of postures is used to gradually increase postural demand by varying the base of support and raising the centre of mass and increasing the number of body segments (degree of freedom) that must be controlled. Specific exercise techniques designed to promote stability include:

• Joint approximation applied through proximal joints (through shoulders or hips) or head or spine
• Alternating isometrics (PNF)
• Rhythmic stabilization (PNF)

Patient with significant ataxia may not be able to hold steady and may benefit from the technique of slow reversal- hold (PNF), progressing through decrements of range. The desired end point is steady mid range holding. Dynamic postural responses can be challenged by incorporating controlled mobility activities such as:

1. Weight shifting
2. Rocking
3. Moving in and out of postures or movement transitions

The patient should practice important functional movement transitions, such supine to sit, sit to stand and scooting.

Distal extremity movements can be superimposed on proximal stability to further challenge dynamic postural control. For example, resisted PNF Chop or lift patterns combined upper extremity movements with trunk movements (flexion rotation or extension with rotation).

An important goal of therapy is to promote safe and functional balance. Static balance control can be improved by using force platform training. The person with ataxia learns to reduce the postural sway (frequency and amplitude) and control centre of alignment position. The added biofeedback from visual and or auditory feedback display can improve control in some patients. Somatosensory, visual, and vestibular inputs can be varied, as appropriate, to assist in sensory compensation in sensory system less involved, for example:

• Standing with eyes open to eyes closed
• Standing on flat surface top a foam surface

Prolonged latencies (onset of responses) should be expected. Dynamic balance control can be initiated using self initiated movements (e.g. reaching, turning, bending). A movable surface can also be used. For example, sitting activities on Swiss ball are an excellent way to promote balance control.

Control of dysmetric limb movements can be promoted by PNF extremity patterns using light resistance to moderate force output and reciprocal actions of muscles for example: slow reversals, slow reversal- hold. Frenkel's Exercises can be used to remediate the problems of dysmetria. The exercises are performed in supine, sitting and standing. Each activity should be performed slowly with the person using vision to guide correct the movement. The exercises require a high degree of mental concentration and effort.

For those patients with prerequisite abilities they may find helpful in regaining some control of ataxic movements through cognitive processes.

Ataxic movements have sometimes been helped by the application of light weights to provide additional proprioceptive loading and stabilize movements. The use of Velcro weight cuffs (wrist or ankle) or a weight belt or weight jacket can reduce dysmetric movements and tremors of the limbs and trunk.

The extra weights will also increase the energy expenditure, and must, therefore, be used cautiously in order not to bring about increased fatigue. Weighted canes or walkers can be used to reduce ataxic upper limb movements during ambulation.

For patient with significant tremor, this may mean the difference between assisted and independent ambulation. Elastic resistance bands can be used to provide resistance and reduce ataxic movements.

The pool is an important therapeutic medium to practice static and dynamic postural control in sitting and standing. Water provides graded resistance that slow down the person's ataxic movement, while the buoyancy aids in upright balance.

Swimming and shallow water calisthenics have shown to be effective in improving strength, decreasing muscular fatigability and increasing endurance. Furthermore, the use of moderate or cool water temperature may help moderate spasticity. In general folks with ataxia do better in low stimulus environment that allows them to concentrate more fully on their movements. They benefit from augmented feedback (verbal cuing of knowledge of results, knowledge of performance, biofeedback) and repetition to improve motor learning.

How To Make Perfect Pasta Salad With Grilled Vegetables

There are thousands of different pasta salad recipes and a lot of them can be made quickly and easily, using canned or fresh ingredients, as well as perhaps some meat, poultry or seafood.

Popular ingredients for such salads include olives, shrimp, tuna, mayonnaise, corn kernels, tomatoes, capers and more, although the sky is the limit and you can add pretty much anything. Pasta does not have a lot of flavor so it makes a great base for a salad. Alternatively you could use potatoes or rice as your base.

Have you ever used grilled vegetables to make a salad? These transform your pasta into a stunning appetizer, lunch or supper. Serve a homemade pasta salad at your next cookout, buffet, party, or picnic. You can serve it with a tossed green salad and the following recipe makes enough to serve four people.

Feel free to alter the vegetables. You might like to leave out the eggplant but double the amount of bell peppers or use mushrooms or another grill-friendly vegetable. Use your imagination and taste as you go, to ensure everything is going to taste perfect.

What You Need:

• 1 lb corkscrew pasta
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 eggplant
• 2 minced cloves garlic
• 2 zucchini
• 10 shredded basil leaves
• 1 pinch ground oregano
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and hot red pepper flakes

How To Make It:

Wash and dry all the vegetables. Cut the eggplant into half inch slices and sprinkle salt over them. This will draw out the bitter juices so leave the slices in a colander over the sink for half an hour. Take the seeds, stems and ribs out of the bell peppers and cut them into flat strips. Grill them skin side down or broil them to blister the skins, and then take the skins off. Running them under cold water while you scrub the skins off makes this process quicker.

Rinse and pat dry the slices of eggplant. Slice the zucchini into half inch lengthwise slices. Grill the zucchini and eggplant slices over a hot grill, turning them once. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half and cook them for a minute or two. Cut the sliced veggies into strips and mix them with the grilled tomatoes in a bowl. Add the oregano, basil, garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, and olive oil and refrigerate the mixture.

Cook the pasta until it is al dente (tender but still with a bit of bite to it), then rinse it under cold water. Stir the cold pasta with the vegetable mixture and serve immediately. If you want to serve it later, you might need to stir another tablespoon of oil into it to break it apart.

This recipe is fantastic served with any kind of meat or poultry and it has plenty of flavor so it will go with even a plain chicken breast or steak, adding color to the plate as well as an amazing taste and aroma.

Raw Food Diet - Eat Well to Live Well

One of the largest grounds behind many families around the globe today moving their diet over towards eating raw food is the evidence available today indicating that simply by cooking the food we eat we are taking out so much of what we want from the meal itself and the reasons we eat it. Once you get to the 75% uncooked meals you're at a point that is classed as living from raw food intact, by this time fruits and vegetables will make up a great part of your daily food intake.

Individuals who have turned to this way of life can still enjoy a great and tasty diet. Using a cooker known as a dehydrator you can still sit down to hot meals at the table without killing the cells in the meal that the body wants most. The soaking of nuts and drying of many fruits are used as well as juicing down of vegetables and fruits to prepare a health raw juice meal, a nice raw carrot in your lunch box is a great place to start this diet its much easier today to get your hands on really fresh food from your local store that are in the bag and read to eat.

With many saying it's just too hard and time consuming to prepare it. organic foods have started to take over the reading in many papers when health and diet are involved but it's not essential to eating the raw food manner meals. If you can get some or all your food from a trusted organic store then all the better but if not don't worry. Raw foods in the diet will always be so much better for your health whether they are organic or not.