I listened to a great podcast the other day about why we're not burning fat the way we'd like. You may know this but I'll mention it here again, fat is primarily disposed of via the breath. Calories, as well as excess carbs and proteins, are converted into triglycerides and stored in lipid droplets of adipocytes.

Here are a few reasons why you may not burn fat:
 

• Chronic Inflammation: If you're body is chronically inflamed, you'll most likely have a hard time losing extra weight.
  
• Glycemic variability: Refers to the blood glucose variations during the day. If GV gets out of control, the body does one of two things: transfers sugar into muscles, or stores as body fat
  
• Cortisol and stress: Cortisol can suppress your insulin secretion, key for losing weight.
  
• Sleep deprivation: Not getting enough sleep can be very harmful. 
  
• Snacking and post-workout calories: The whole grazing or 6-8 small meals per day is a total myth. Snacking will increase your glycemic variability and eliminates all the great benefits of fasting.
  
• You're not moving enough: Self-explanatory, but you need to move during the day. Get up every 30-45 min.
  
• Too much exercise: If done too much, too extreme, it can lead to increased levels of cortisol & inflammation. Don't do too much of the same exercises. Get enough rest after workouts.
  
• Chronic cardio: If you do too much cardio, your body will catabolize your muscles and store fat. You'd be better off doing high-intensity cardio 2 days a week.
  
• The SAID Principle: It stands for "specific adaptation to imposed demands". Humans are amazing machines that can adapt to almost anything. So change it up, keep your body guessing, mix it up!
  
• Lack of cold therapy: Cold can be a strong metabolic stimulus. Do cold shows or cold baths for 2 min a day.
  
• Hormonal imbalance: Self-explanatory. You may want to get tested and find out if your hormones are ok.
  
• Toxin and chemical exposure: We live in a pretty dirty environment. Constant toxins and chemicals are pounding our bodies. Try to remove as much of these toxins as possible.
  
• Food allergies and intolerances: Pay very close attention to food allergies. You may "feel" funny an hour after dinner…pay close attention to that! What was it that you ate or drank?
  
• Micro-nutrient deficiencies: Many are deficient in Vitamin D, A, K2, Magnesium and so forth.
  
• Thyroid: Get your thyroids checked.
  
• Disordered eating: Eat at a regular time, otherwise, your metabolism will get irregular, too.
  

If you want to listen to the entire podcast, here is the source - click here.

Key Contributors to Inflammation

Inflammation is a vital part of our immune response. It is the body’s way of healing itself after an injury, repairing damaged tissue, and defending itself against pathogens. Looking at is from that way, inflammation is advantageous. But, inflammation can also be damaging to your health. Learning what causes inflammation can help you protect yourself.

There are two types of inflammation, acute and chronic.

• Acute inflammation is your body’s natural defense against damaged cells, viruses and other harmful invaders. It starts quickly and helps the body heal itself.
• Chronic inflammation is systemic, low-grade inflammation that lasts for months or years. It is the common cause of many health issues.

An inflammatory diet, blood sugar imbalances, and leaky gut syndrome can cause chronic inflammation. Sleep loss, chronic stress, environmental toxins, and chronic infections are added factors that can lead to chronic inflammation. It is vital to understand and address these factors to attain optimal health.

8 WAYS CHRONIC INFLAMMATION CAN DAMAGE YOUR BODY

1. Memory loss & cognitive decline
2. Increased cardiovascular risk
3. Abnormal growth of healthy cells
4. Compromised digestive function
5. Loss of muscle tone
6. Weight gain
7. Accelerated skin aging
8. Joint pain and loss of mobility

Here are seven leading factors that can cause inflammation in the body. Many of these causes are related to diet and lifestyle and can be modified.

1. Eating inflammatory foods
   1. Sugar
   2. Refined carbs (white flour, white rice, white potatoes)
   3. Gluten
   4. Conventionally-raised meat and dairy
   5. Farm-raised fish
   6. Processed meats
   7. Trans fats (partially hydrogenated oils)
   8. MSG and other food additives and preservatives
   9. Highly processed vegetable and seed oils (canola, corn, sunflower, peanut, grapeseed, and safflower)
   10. Artificial Sweeteners
       
       
2. Blood sugar imbalances
   Consuming high glycemic foods, such as refined sugars and carbohydrates, causes our blood sugar to rise rapidly. When blood sugar rises, insulin is released from the pancreas to move the sugar from the blood into the cells. This spike in insulin leads to a quick drop in blood sugar and a rise in cortisol. This rapidly fluctuating pattern causes inflammation by producing inflammatory cytokines.
   
   
3. Leaky gut syndrome
   Leaky gut syndrome is a condition in which the cell lining of your gut is damaged and loses its ability to regulate what does and does not pass through. This damage is due to many different stressors, often including the consumption of GMO foods, pesticides, chlorinated water, antibiotics, and processed foods. As a result, the tight junctions become loose and larger, undigested food molecules can enter the bloodstream.
   
   
4. Chronic stress
   Chronic stress causes inflammation by modulating key inflammatory pathways. These pathways include oxidative stress, sympathetic activity, transcription factor nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kB), and pro-inflammatory cytokine production.
   
   
5. Poor sleep habits
   Numerous studies on the effects of sleep loss have shown that mediators of inflammation are altered by sleep loss. Sleep loss induces a systemic, low-grade inflammation characterized by the release of several molecules, including cytokines and acute-phase proteins
   
   
6. Environmental toxins
   We live in a very toxic world. Environmental toxins are found in the food we eat, the air we breathe, the products we use, and the water we drink. Personal care products, household cleaners, medications, heavy metals, smoke, and mold exposure are all environmental toxins.
   
   
7. Chronic infections
   Chronic infections result from a variety of pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi . They are either persistent or latent infections with a host. Pathogens escape from our immune system by modulating, or regulating, our immune response. This causes inflammation that can persist if the infection goes unresolved.
   
   

Here some healthy options that can be anti-inflammatory:

For a complete list of references and more in-depth details, go to the article source - Click Here

SSB - Sugar-Sweetened Beverage

Have you ever wondered what that sugary beverage can do to you and your health? This study published at JAMA (link below) is very interesting. Titled "Association of Sugary Beverage Consumption With Mortality Risk in US Adults".

Here some details from the study:
The research has linked sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption to coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, but the role of nutritionally similar fruit juice and the association of these beverages with mortality risk is unknown.

Study's Objective:
To assess the association of SSBs and 100% fruit juices, alone and in combination (sugary beverages), with mortality.

Study's Results:
The findings of this study suggest that higher consumption of sugary beverages, including fruit juices, among older adults is associated with increased all-cause mortality. The metabolism of fructose, which is unique from all other sugars, occurs unregulated and almost exclusively in the liver. Fructose consumption is known to alter blood lipid levels, markers of inflammation and blood pressure, while high glucose consumption has been associated with insulin resistance and diabetes, independent of weight status. Fructose consumption may also stimulate a hormonal response that promotes fat deposition centrally. Greater central adiposity is a long-recognized cardiovascular disease risk factor. In addition, research suggests that calories consumed in liquid form can increase obesity risk owing to an incomplete compensation for the calories they contain.

Source: Jama Network

How Exposure to Blue Light Affect Your Brain & Body
 
By disrupting melatonin, smartphone light, TV screens and computer monitors can ruin sleep schedules. This can lead to all kinds of health issues.

Among these issues are:

• Disrupted sleep can impair your memory
• Poor sleep can make it hard to learn
• Overtime, not sleeping enough can lead to neurotoxin buildup
• Suppressed melatonin levels can cause depression
• Disrupted melatonin & sleep can potentially increase obesity risk

Check out the image below for more potential risks of blue light.

Source: Harvard Health Publication

Exercise Alone is Almost Useless for Weight Loss

Hear me out. The benefits of exercise are real. Don't get me wrong.  While exercise can lead to modest weight loss, it can have a range of health benefits, including reducing blood pressure and triglycerides in your blood.
Exercise reduces the risk of Type 2 diabetes, stroke, and heart attack. A number of  studies have also shown that people who exercise are at a lower risk of developing cognitive impairment from Alzheimer's and dementia. They also score higher on cognitive ability tests. If you've lost weight, exercise can also help weight maintenance when it's used along with watching calorie intake.

Very simplistically put, a pound of human fat represents about 3,500 calories. Therefore, cutting 500 calories per day, through diet or physical activity, can result in about a pound of weight loss per week. Now that's VERY simplistic. The human energy balance as "a dynamic and adaptable system", but when you alter one component, let's say cutting the number of calories you eat in a day to lose weight, doing more exercise than usual, it can set off a cascade of changes in the body that affect how many calories you use up and, in turn, your body-weight.

The 80/20 rule applies to exercise as much as it applies to many other things in live. Only about 20% of total energy expenditure come from exercise. Roughly 70% are used via basal metabolism - energy used for basic body functions at rest and about 10% are used to metabolize food. The rest, about 20%, is used up via physical activity. Which is not nothing, but it's definitely not a major part of weight loss.

Now, exercise can undermine weight loss in other subtle ways. How much you move is connected to how much you eat. Calories in and calories out are not independent of each other. If you exercise a lot, you might consume more calories than you burned off. Therefore, watch what you eat after an intensive workout. One slice of pizza could undo the calories burned in an hour's workout.

There may also be an upper limit of energy expenditure via exercise. After a certain amount of exercise, you might don't burn calories at the same rate anymore - total energy expenditure can eventually plateau.

One more thing…don't be fooled by the food & beverage industry. They keep telling us to "move more" while selling their sugar-loaded products. You just can't outrun a bad diet. We're losing the obesity battle because we're eating too much, and too much of the bad, processed stuff. Physical activity is vital to health, YES, but paying close attention to what you eat & drink IS MUCH more effective for losing weight.

As the article states: "But this focus on calories out, or the calories we can potentially burn in exercise, is an inadequate and a potentially dangerous approach, because it is liable to encourage people to ignore or underestimate the greater impact of energy-in, an obesity doctor and professor wrote in the journal Public Health Nutrition."

If you'd like to figure your challenges out, let's connect!

Article source - click here.

Why should we drink plenty of water? How can water affect our bodies? Check the list below to find out what happens when you don't drink enough water - get dehydrated:

6 items that decrease as a result of dehydration

• Blood volume
• Performance
• Blood pressure
• Sweat rate
• Cardiac output
• Blood flow to skin

4 items increase as a result of dehydration

• Core temperature
• Heart rate
• Perceived exertion
• Use of muscle glycogen

2 items are retained as a result of dehydration

• Water
• Sodium

How much water should you drink then? It all depends. Adequate hydration before, during, and after exercise is very important. Remember, the body cannot adapt to dehydration, which impairs every physiologic function. Some studies have shown that a fluid loss of even 2% of body weight will adversely affect circulatory functions and decrease performance levels.

A good general guideline is: Sedentary men and women should consume on average 3.0 L (approximately 13 cups) and 2.2 L (approximately 9 cups) of water per day, respectively.

This is a generalized guideline and should be adjusted based on activity level.

If you're trying to lose weight, try to drink an additional 8 ounces of water for every 25 pounds carried above ideal weight.

Also, try to consume about 14 to 22 ounces of fluid 2 hours before exercise and drink 6 to 12 ounces of fluid for every 15 to 20 minutes of exercise. And finally, if you work out hard, drink 16 to 24 ounces of fluid for every pound of body weight you lost after an exercise.

Cheers.

Below are 5 simple tips and suggestions on how to get your diet dialed in. Clean eating habits with lots of unprocessed, real and natural foods is key to great health. Add 20 to 30 min of exercise to your daily routine and you should be on your way to a healthier you!

1. Nutrition is the 1st and most important key to health! Focus on eating whole, unprocessed foods while avoiding grains & sugars
2. Eat a diet primarily high in healthy fats like coconuts, avocados, olive oil, olives, butter, raw nuts and lots and lots of raw, organic vegetables
3. Consume good protein such as grass-fed, organic meats and pasture-raised eggs. Wild caught fish, ideally smaller fish, as they contain less heavy metals
4. Eat fruits moderately because of the high contents of fructose
5. Reduce grains from your diet as much as you can to help lower your insulin

I believe that you should always be aware of what you eat. This means, again, staying away from all processed foods that are loaded with additives, harmful chemicals, and genetically engineered ingredients that could put your health at risk.

Below a visual of this somewhat reversed Food Pyramid.
Courtesy of Dr. Mercola's website:

CARDIO - It's really good for You!

Why should you do some cardio-respiratory exercises every day? We all know or read somewhere that it is healthy for us. But do you really know why? And what is considered a good cardio workout? Below is a great list of reasons why you should do some cardio every day. 30 minutes to an hour of light cardio is recommended. Also check out the list of possible cardio exercises. Enjoy!
 
Reasons for Cardio-respiratory Exercise:

• Increases
  • cardiac output
  • breathing efficiency
  • oxygen transport and use
  • use of fats for fuel
  • mental alertness
  • ability to relax and sleep
  • tolerance to stress
  • lean body mass
  • metabolic rate
    

 

• Decreases
  • resting heart rate
  • cholesterol
  • blood pressure and the risks of heart disease
    
  • blood clots
  • depression
  • anxiety
  • obesity
  • diabetes

 
Types of Cardio - 30 to 60 min per day is ideal:

• Light to brisk walks
• Treadmill or elliptical
  
• Stair Climber
  
• Light to moderate hikes
• Light jogging
• Gardening (also a good body-workout)
• Swimming
• Kettlebells
• Jumping ropes
• Battle ropes
• Rowing
• Cycling
• HIIT circuits
• Sprinting
  

Leave a comment on your preferred cardio below.

How to Train for Strength & Power

You got endless time in the gym to build large, bulging muscles? If not, you may want to try these 3 training methods next time you're at the gym, park or at the beach. It is possible to get strong without adding too much size.

Here are 3 ways to train your muscles to be functionally strong without the "Hulk-Effect" and bursting out of your favorite clothes.
 
1. Speed Strength Sets
Fast and powerful sets of exercises. Try cleans, overhead presses, squats, and deadlifts. Perform them as explosive as safely possible. This will maximize your movement economy, motor-unit recruitment and lactate threshold. It also contributes to the strength of those small but very useful muscles. Keep in mind to use heavier weights while making it safe to perform the movement as quickly as possible. It can get tricky so please start on the rather "too light" side. You can always add weight once your body is more comfortable with the exercise.
 

2. Complex Training
To be considered complex, try 4 to 10 different exercises, and complete 5 to 20 repetitions in a row with NO rest breaks in between. This way, you can combine strength with explosive movements, which in turn result in much greater rate of force development = Increased Overall Power!

You can try this with a barbell:

• 5 to 10 deadlifts directly followed by
  
• 5 to 10 bent over rows followed by
• 10 - 15 front squats followed by
  
• 15 - 20 overhead presses finishing with
  
• 10 good mornings

Remember - You do all of these 5 exercises without setting the barbell down!


3. Plyos
A plyometric exercise is any activity where a muscle is stretched rapidly followed immediately by a rapid shortening of that same muscle. Focus on moving your body through its full range of motion. Again, as fast as you safely can. Pay close attention to your form at all times. When the form goes, you should stop or you risk injury.

You can try:

• Box jump-up with stabilization
• Box jump-down with stabilization
• Squat jump

 
You can do these three types of workouts several times per week, with at least 2 days between hard sessions. Always keep in mind that your fitness is built by maintaining a good balance between stress/workout and rest/recovery not by continuously having sore muscles.

We probably all had it at some point in our lives. But what exactly is going on? It is a physiological condition that results from a disruption in the body's circadian rhythms, also known as the body clock. It is seen as a circadian rhythm disorder. Symptoms tend to be more severe when traveling eastward compared with westward. Jet lag can cause headaches, insomnia, and irritability.

I found these 5 tips you can try next time you travel:

1. First, fast up until the first morning at the destination. If you arrive in the afternoon, fast until the next morning. If you arrive in the morning, eat right away. Food is a powerful circadian entrainer. Breakfast "starts" the day for your circadian rhythm, so make sure you're breaking the fast at the right time.
   
   
2. Second, don't sleep until bedtime. That means no naps (cat or otherwise). Stay active all day long, going for walks (which is the best way to see a city) and even exercising a bit.
   
   
3. Third, get as much natural light throughout your first day as possible. Immersing myself in bright natural light tells your circadian rhythm that it's daytime, catapults you into the new time zone. Staying indoors allows it to stick to the previous time zone.
   
   
4. Fourth, get a good workout in on the first morning. If it's morning when you arrive, that means training right away.
   
   
5. Fifth, take 2-3 mg of melatonin and 20 grams of collagen an hour before your desired bedtime in the new location. Melatonin is most crucial here because it helps establish a new circadian bedtime, but collagen is also good for its glycine content, which improves sleep quality.
   

 
So choose one of these tactics, and you'll improve your resilience and adaptation to the new time zone. Do them all, and you'll be untouchable.  

Let us know if you have any questions or need help.

Foods that naturally remove toxins from your body

Eliminating or removing toxins from the body is an important thing to do to maintain your body to stay healthy. The body is often conceded toxins as a result of an unhealthy lifestyle or unhealthy food consumed. Or via bad habits such as alcohol consumption and smoking habits. These toxic substances can harm the soft organs in the body if left unchecked. Also, the toxins can weaken the immune system. By removing the toxins the body will become fresher and healthier as well as the immune system will be stronger.
 
5 great ways to remove toxins from your body naturally:

1. Avoid Processed Food Consumption
   Organic fruits, vegetables, lean & organic, clean meats along with whole grains that are not processed should be the food you consume. These foods should help the body recover from the situation in the body that is carried by the junk food you consume. By avoiding processed foods is synonymous to cutting your excess bad fats and process & refined sugar content as well as materials such as fructose corn syrup. Clean, unprocessed foods can cleanse your body and make you feel more awake and alert.
   
   
2. Green Tea Consumption Green tea contains antioxidants that help speed up and facilitate the body's metabolism. In addition, green tea is also able to effectively hydrate the body and can help prevent diseases such as the flu. To that end, rather than soft drinks or consume unhealthy beverages, it may be better to switch  and start  consuming green tea daily.
   
   
3. Sweating Everyone probably already knows that sport is healthy for the body, but why? Intense exercise can help remove toxins from the body. With intense exercise, the body sweats and  some of the harmful toxins in the body will be excreted through your skin. Therefore, no more excuse for not exercising and sweat toxins from your body.
   
   
4. Enough of Water Consumption Water can flush unwanted toxins out of your body. By drinking a lot of water you can speed up the process of excretion of toxins from the body. In addition, water provides other benefits, such as cleaner skin and eventually a slimmer waist line.
   
   
5. Stop Smoking and Reduce Alcohol Consumption Stopping a habit that has been ingrained for a long time is not easy. Smoking and alcohol consumption can worsen the performance of the heart and lungs because they're getting contaminated by hazardous substances. If any way possible, you should immediately reduce and stop these bad habits.
   

 
14 foods that naturally Remove toxins from body

1. Cucumber: on average around 95% water, this veggie helps flush out toxins and alkalize the body while delivering a powerful nutrient punch.
   
2. Garlic: stimulates the liver to encourage production of detoxification enzymes.
   
3. Broccoli: delivers a large dose of vitamins while neutralizing and eliminating toxins.
   
4. Lentils: extremely fiber-rich (1 cup cooked has 62.5% of your RDA!), lentils aids in toxin elimination, lower cholesterol, and balance blood sugar. Make sure to soak lentils overnight before you cook them!
   
5. Turnip greens: loaded with antioxidants and sulfur-containing nutrients (without sulfur, the body cannot properly detoxify substances such as pharmaceuticals, environmental toxins and heavy metals), turnip greens also contain phytonutrients called glucosinolates that help activate and regulate detoxification enzymes.
   
6. Sunflower seeds: these little slivers of sunshine are not only high selenium and Vitamin E, but also assist liver's detoxing capabilities and prevent cholesterol build up in the blood and arteries. Be sure to choose organic as their high fat and oil allows them to easily soak up chemicals used in the production process.
   
7. Walnuts: infuse the body with healthy omega-3 oils to assist detoxification.
   
8. Turmeric: stimulates liver function. Also a great addition to your diet for all-around health.
   
9. Yellow & Red pepper: when it comes to cleansing, vitamin C is one of the cream of the vitamin crop because it transforms toxins into digestible material. One red pepper contains about 3 times more vitamin C than an orange.
   
10. Citrus fruits. Any are great!
    
11. Grapefruit: a class of its own, grapefruit lowers cholesterol, prevents kidney stones and aids the digestive system, which set it apart from the other citrus fruits.
    
12. Watercress: keeps free radicals away from cells, energizes cleaning enzymes in the liver and is a natural diuretic.
    
13. Mung beans: used by Ayurvedic doctors for thousands of years, this easily digestible bean absorbs toxic residue from the intestinal walls. Same here, please soak overnight before cooking.
    
14. Artichokes: chock-full of cynarin, which increases bile production and promotes healthy digestion.
    

As always, these are just suggestions. Please use your own good judgement when trying these out. Always listen to your body and stop immediately if you don't feel well.

Contact us if you have any health related questions.

Have you ever wondered which organs are affected by which emotions?

Ancient Eastern civilizations have long understood the way our mental and spiritual bodies inform our physical nature. Western science too has begun to understand the interdependence between the emotional and physical body. We all know the "gut" acts as our second brain and stress is toxic. We all have felt it in the "gut" first and knew it was right or wrong.

In fact, every organ corresponds to the energy of a certain emotion, and every disease stems from an imbalance in an organ or its meridians (energy channels). This is a fundamental idea in Oriental Medicine. Many times a physical disorder linked to a certain organ actually stems from an imbalance in the emotion associated with that organ. The reverse could be true, too. An imbalanced organ can heighten the specific emotion experienced by an individual.

The PDF - click here - shows a few emotions and the associated organs. Enjoy!

PLEASE read the disclaimer - click here.

Why You Should Stay Away From Them

Resisting the push to drink that soda pop or eat those greasy chips can be tough, especially if you have grown accustomed to eating these highly addictive foods as part of your normal diet. But once you understand a little bit more about how these and other processed foods affect your mind, body, and even your soul, it becomes easier to make healthier food choices that improve your being rather than sap it.
Below are nine motivating reasons how to possibly cut processed foods from your diet for good:

1. Processed foods are highly addictive. Your body processes whole foods much differently than it does refined, processed, and heavily-modified "junk" foods. Processed foods tend to over-stimulate the production of dopamine, also known as the "pleasure" neurotransmitter, which makes you crave them constantly. Your body ends up not being able to resist the temptation to continue eating junk foods in excess, which can lead to obesity and other health problems.
   
   
2. Processed foods often contain phosphates that destroy your organs, bones. Many processed foods contain phosphate additives that augment taste, texture, and shelf-life. But these additives are known to cause health problems like rapid aging, kidney deterioration and weak bones, according to the Rodale Institute, which makes foods that contain them far less attractive to those in the know.
   
   
3. Fresh foods are actually cheaper than processed foods. People with junk food addictions often claim that fresh, healthy foods are too expensive. But according to numerous studies and assessments, whole foods made from scratch end up costing less per serving than their unhealthy, processed equivalents. According to Rodale, a single serving of 100 percent organic chili made with fresh ingredients and grass-fed beef, for instance, is about 50 cents cheaper to make than buying a can of chemical-laden, microwaveable chili from the grocery store.
   
   
4. Processed foods cause chronic inflammation. One of the leading causes of chronic illness today is inflammation. And studies continue to show that refined sugars, processed flours, vegetable oils, and many other nasty ingredients commonly found in processed foods are largely responsible for this inflammation epidemic. So the next time your body craves a candy bar or a box of cheese crackers, consider the fact that heart disease, dementia, neurological problems, respiratory failure, and cancer have all been linked to the chronic inflammation caused by processed food consumption.
   
   
5. Processed foods ruin digestion. Because they have been stripped of their natural fibers, enzymes, vitamins, and other nutrients, processed foods tend to wreak havoc on the digestive tract. Chronic consumption of such foods can throw your internal ecosystem off balance, harming beneficial bacteria and exposing your system to infection. So you can basically think of those gummy bears and that piece of cake as literal poison for your system, which may help deter you from eating them.
   
   
6. Processed foods destroy your mind. If you suffer from chronic bouts of brain "fog," or have difficulty concentrating and thinking normally, chances are your diet has something to do with it. And a recent study out of Oxford University lends credence to this possibility, having found that junk food consumption can cause people to become angry and irritable. Nutrient-dense whole foods, on the other hand, can help level out your mood, sustain your energy levels, and leave you feeling calmer and more collected.
   
   
7. Processed foods are loaded with GMOs. The basic buildings blocks of most processed foods on the market today are derived from laboratories, not nature. Genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) are prolific in processed foods. Excess consumption of these poisons promotes weight gain, acidifies your blood, and can even permanently alter the composition and function of your intestinal flora.
   
   
8. Processed foods are loaded with pesticides. In order to effectively grow the GMOs used in processed foods, conventional farmers have to apply Roundup (glyphosate) and other pesticides and herbicides, many of which end up in the final product. According to data compiled by Rodale, breakfast cereals alone have been found to contain up to 70 different types of pesticides, including warehouse fumigation chemicals and other residues.
   
   
9. Processed foods are not actually food. One of the ways you can assess the nutritional value of food is to see how animals, insects, bacteria, and fungi respond to it. Real foods will actually rot or grow mold, for instance, while fake, processed foods remain largely the same in appearance and shape no matter what their age. As we reported recently, processed food is essentially synthetic, and the industry that produces it admits that heavy tampering and crafty modifications are necessary to make it taste real, even though it is not.

This great info is present by Natural News - click here to see the source.

Need some inspiration for a few Snow Action exercises?
Here you go:

What Causes Bags Under Your Eyes?

Bags under your eyes aren't always caused by getting too little sleep at night, contrary to what many people believe. They can be caused by factors that differ from one person to another. According to a 2007 study:

"DC (dark circles) are caused by multiple etiologic factors that include dermal melanin deposition, post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation secondary to atopic or allergic contact dermatitis, periorbital edema, superficial location of vasculature and shadowing due to skin laxity."

Puffiness and bags under the eyes that appear in the morning may be caused by your sleeping position. Sleeping only on one side places pressure on the blood vessels under your eyes. The pool of blood that accumulates in this area makes the skin appear darker. According to Medical News Today, buildup of excess fluid and weakened muscles may cause dark bags under the eyes as well.

Stress may also contribute to the appearance of dark circles. In Chinese medicine, having puffy eyes can be a symptom of water or kidney imbalance, while dark bags under the eyes may imply allergies.

5 Diet Changes You Can Try that May Help

1. Drink enough water — Staying hydrated will help restore your skin’s moisture and may help eliminate toxins from it.

2. Avoid salty food — Sodium contributes to fluid retention, which causes bags under eyes. Cutting down on your salt intake at night is one way to reduce bags under eyes and puffiness in the morning.

3. Add retinol-rich food to your diet — Retinol or vitamin A helps prevent further thinning of the skin. Nourish the skin under your eyes by adding food rich in retinol such as grass fed beef liver, cheddar cheese, pasture-raised chicken giblets, turkey liver, grass fed butter and organic, pastured eggs to your diet.

4. Reduce or avoid alcohol intake — Alcohol is one of the fluids that can dehydrate your body, including the skin under the eyes. This thin area may likely sink and form a bag. If you do imbibe in alcohol, be sure to balance it with at least 8 cups of water throughout the day.

5. Consume vitamin C-rich food — A 2009 study found that vitamin C from sodium ascorbate lotion may help thicken the skin of the lower eyelids. The results showed that dark coloration is significantly diminished when the dermis has thickened. Reduce the appearance of bags under your eyes by adding foods rich in vitamin C such mango, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, broccoli, tomatoes, green and red bell peppers, strawberries and winter squash to your diet.


5 Possible Topical Remedies for Bags Under Your Eyes

1. Moisturize — Wrinkles and bags under the eyes become more visible when your skin is dry. Keep your skin well-moisturized, especially around the eyes, by using all-natural moisturizers such as pure emu oil and pure coconut oil.

2. Use Brazilian ginseng — A 2009 study found that topically applying a serum sample containing Brazilian ginseng twice a day may help reduce the intensity of dark circles around the eyes.

3. Opt for eye creams with coffee extracts — A 2013 study found that caffeine has antioxidant properties that may work as a sunscreen. These polyphenol compounds protect the skin from UVB radiation, which may help prevent rapid skin aging.

4. Use a safe sunscreen and wear sunglasses — Though sun exposure is vital in achieving optimal health, you must consider factors such as weather conditions, season and time of the day when you stay under the sun to avoid photodamage and the appearance of wrinkles.

According to a 2013 study, using a broad spectrum sunscreen and wearing UV-coated sunglasses may help reduce bags under the eyes. However, in choosing a sunscreen, make sure that it doesn’t contain oxybenzone, synthetic fragrances or retinyl palmitate; your safest choice is a lotion or cream with zinc oxide. You may also wear a wide-brimmed hat or a cap to protect your face and eyes.

5. Gently remove your makeup — Excessively scrubbing your face may break your blood vessels, which may worsen the bags under your eyes. Avoid this by gently swiping some mild makeup remover over your eyes (coconut oil is a good option) and leaving it on your face for a minute before washing it off.

The entire article is written by Dr. Mercola and summarized above for a quick read. For all research links & sources - click here

A new scientific study reveals that the artificial sweatener "aspartame" may be one of the most damaging vectors for the widespread "dumbing down" of humanity. Published in AJTCAM (African Journal of Traditional, Complementary and Alternative Medicines), the study is entitled, "IMPACT OF ASPARTAME CONSUMPTION ON NEUROTRANSMITTERS IN RAT BRAIN." Source -  click here.

The results of the study found a dose-dependent relationship between aspartame consumption and the destruction of neurotransmitters - brain chemicals necessary for the function of neurons.

The conclusion of the study found that, "Consumption of [aspartame] for a long time increased oxidative stress in brain tissue and disruption in neurotransmitters that affect physiological functions."

Possible solutions & alternatives: Ideally, stay away from any added sugars. We do not need to add extra sweetnes to foods. Buf if you must sweeten your foods, use all-natural, unprocessed sugar or go for Stevia.

Check out these useful charts below. From Magical Herbs to the top 10 teas to some of the most helpful and nutritious foods. Enjoy and remember, You Are What You Eat.
Cheers.

Great and intensive AM session at Swami's beach. I like hard 30 min workouts with my steel mace and kettle bell. Throw in some push-ups and squat exercises and you're having a full body workout, outdoors, while grounding and soaking up the happy vitamin D ;)

How do you workout? Leave a comment.

Happy Thursday!

Do you have constant pain or do you know someone who does? Are you fatigue all over your body for months at a time? Do you lose sleep because of this feeling of exhaustion? Are you developing headaches? Do you suffer from cognitive problems such as forgetting names or mixing them up? These could be symptoms of fibromyalgia.

So what is fibromyalgia really?
It's a chronic pain condition that is said to be caused by an abnormal response to stress. It's a muscoskeletal pain and tenderness all over the body. The common signs of fibromyalgia are overall pain & tiredness, restless sleep, numbness, higher sensitivity, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and muscle spasms, not being able of focusing on mental tasks, disorientation and short-term memory loss. Many have difficulty or are completely unable to perform daily tasks.

There is no particular test for this condition and symptoms may be similar to other ailments. There is no known cure but there might be ways to reduce the symptoms and manage the flare-ups. And all that without dangerous pharma drugs. Making lifestyle changes to control fibromyalgia is HUGE. Once a person is diagnosed, unfortunately, most conventional doctors will most likely prescribe pain meds, antidepressants and muscle relaxants. But be careful with these drugs as we all know they come with a plethora of side effects. Just to name a few: antidepressants could increase your risk of developing mania and bipolar disorder.

Here a few holistic methods to help alleviate fibromyalgia pain:

1. Acupuncture - This helps to restore your normal balance of life force.
   
2. Massage Therapy - A gentle massage helps move and stimulate the body's muscles and soft tissues
   
3. Yoga & Tai Chi - Mediation, slow movements, deep breathing and relaxation have been found to help.
   
4. Essential Oils - Lavender, chamomile, lemongrass, ginger and black pepper to alleviate pain | Sage, frankincense, sweet orange, grapefruit and jasmine to relief stress | Neroli and roman chamomile to sleep peacefully | Peppermint and marjoram for headaches
   
5. Taking Supplements - Get enough magnesium (muscle pain), fish oil (anti-inflammatory), melatonin (sleep)
   
6. K-Laser Therapy - Stimulates red blood cell flow to affected areas, which helps reduce pain & inflammation. Also helps to enhance venous and lymphatic return by oxygenating tissues
   
7. Mild Exercise - Get some movement into your daily routine. Walking can help bring oxygen to joints and decrease pain & stiffness
   
8. Get Plenty of Vitamin D - This nutrient  can help hinder the production of cytokine, which is an inflammation-causing protein. The best way to get vitamin D is via save sun exposure. Get sunlight onto your skin! If that's not possible, look for a high-grade vitamin D3 supplement
   

 
Diet for Fibromyalgia
Remember that fibromyalgia is not a specific illness. It's more like a symptom complex. Everybody is not the same. What works for one person might not work for another. The best thing to do is to keep a food log or diary. Write down everything you eat and how you feel a few hours later. That way you can differentiate foods that have different effects on your body.

Some general tips are listed here:

1. Well-Balanced Diet - Include fresh organic fruits and veggies, healthy fats (coconut & avocado to name a few), only eat grass-fed, pasture-raised dairy and meats
   
2. NO Processed Foods - Try to avoid any and all processed foods. If it has more than a few ingredients, don't eat it. Processed foods are loaded with sugar, bad fats (trans fats) and a whole bunch of synthetic additives that are horrible for humans
   
3. Omega 3s - Load up on these! Get wild Alaskan salmon, flaxseeds (oil or ground seeds) and walnuts
   
4. NO Artificial Sweeteners - Say no to aspartame and any other artificial sweetener
   
5. NO MSG - Monosodium glutamate is an excitotoxin that may trigger or worsen pain symptoms
   
6. Minimize or avoid Yeast & Gluten - No breads and baked goods. Yeast can foster overgrowth of yeast fungus in the body
   
7. NO Nightshade Plants - Stay away from eggplants, tomatoes, chili and bell peppers. They can trigger flare-ups. Unless you can tolerate these. Use your food log to analyze how you feel after eating nightshades
   
8. NO Caffeine - Don't combat fatigue with caffeine. This only makes the problem worse. It can lead to poor sleep and trigger headaches
   

If you need help figuring out what you could do, contact us today.

Did you know that Americans spend 90 percent of their lives indoors?

Between commuting to and from our jobs, spending 8+ hours a day working and going about our normal daily business, we see nature more on TVs than we do in real life.

Benefits of the outdoors:

GET FRESH AIR: I hate to break it to you: indoor air pollution can be up to 10 times worse than what you’re inhaling outdoors.

VITAMIN D: One of the most common deficiencies among American adults is a vitamin D deficiency. Get some sunshine exposure.

EASE ANXIETY: Feeling anxious about something? Taking a stroll outside can help.

GROUNDING: Have you heard of grounding, or earthing, before? It’s a way of connecting to the earth’s energy by going barefoot.

So enjoy the outdoors.