Whole Wheat Mania

Media attention the last couple of decades has steadily built up the fixation in our minds to avoid white breads, pasta and white rice etc., especially the diabetic. All of these items, over-processed during production, lead to a rapid breakdown of glucose (sugar) in our system during digestion, thus it leads to a spike in blood sugar levels and insulin levels.

So what's always been the recommendation - switch to whole wheat products instead for a slower more steady increase in your sugar levels.

Now The Bad News

If you are over 50 years of age, when the term good "ole days comes up, you're now right. The problem here is quite simple. Even whole wheat products today are using genetically modified ingredients so much within the last half century that our bodies can no longer recognize these items as food anymore. This means the carbohydrate content of whole grains now converts to glucose so rapidly during digestion they are almost as bad as the white products have always been reported to be.

Need proof? You don't have to look any further than the glycemic index to find the scores of whole wheat products and you will notice it's not a whole lot better than the white products. A few examples are:

• one sering of lentils has a GI of 29
• one serving of unsweetened orange juice has a GI of 50
• one serving of Coca Cola has a GI of 63
• one serving of whole wheat bread has a GI of 71
• one serving of a white bagel has a GI of 95

Now considering the GI scale is based on a high of 100 points, from looking at these numbers, actually sitting down and drinking a glass of orange juice (which we are always told is very high in natural sugars) or drinking a Coke (which is nothing but lots of calories and totally devoid of any kind of nutrition), this chart shows these two are actually going to be better for you than eating those 2 slices of whole wheat bread.

The point here is you must remember, yes whole wheat bread is better for you than white breads (a 71 vs a 95 score rating), but that still doesn't make it good for your daily food choices. Sure you can have some occasionally as a treat, because the whole wheat will spike your sugars a little slower. But to consider it a good choice, no the lentils on the scale at 29 are a much better selection to prevent any rise in your blood sugars. Many of the alternative grains, like coconut flour, almond flour, buckwheat, rye or barley flours are all lower on the GI scale and also make excellent bread flours for your own personal use in the kitchen. If you would use many of these instead, with repeated use you will notice your blood sugars are barely budging at all!

Problems Associated With Red #40

There is actually seven man-made food dyes used predominantly in the food manufacturing industry the most but the Red #40 has the distinction of being the most troublesome for adults and children alike. Reported adverse reactions like hyperactive behavior, allergic reactions or brain and sensory disorders are normal reports to many licensed practitioners.

Surprising Places To Find Red #40

Don't ever make the mistake with any of the food dyes, just because a food does not look red, blue, orange etc., this is not any indication there is no dyes in it. Many people are tricked by this situation.

 Also, it is not unusual that some foods actually add dye to an already existing product to make it look redder, more yellow etc.. This brightens up the colors which actually just makes it look more visually appealing. Manufacturers have already determined the buying public is easily swayed by their positive response to color. Because of this, manufacturing uses this to their greatest advantage.

So for some common "trick" foods that you need to check the ingredient label closely before purchasing, these include some of the following:

• vanilla cake frostings, pre-mixed
• Twinkies cupcakes
• Doritos (or many other snack-like chips and crackers)
• Marshmallows and marshmallow creme
• Some varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables (tomatoes, apples and oranges are standard dyed)
• Fresh cuts of meat from the butcher and grocer

This is just a short list of easily recognizable selections to most people. When you read the ingredient label on any of these, most people are amazed how and why are all those food dyes in there. This is just one easy example how Red #40 can easily be sliding into you or your child's diet even without your knowledge. Never assume just from color the item in question is safe. You must always read that food label.

Especially important now, many individual's with a diagnosis of ADD, ADHD or Autism have noticed remarkable improvements in symptoms just by eliminating ALL traces of Red #40 for three to six months from their diet. Children and adults both seem to get quieter and calmer, more in control of their life and surroundings in every day situations. Even family interactions are benefited, many times the uncontrollable outbursts are reduced or eliminated altogether.

This type of program is not a Do-It-Yourself at home testing project. You must have a doctor's supervision. Ask around and find an experienced practitioner that is willing to work with you.

Do not become overly expectant here though. It is warned, do not expect a 100% cure rate. For the largest percentage of families, many remark the improvements are so marked that life has become so much easier for both the afflicted child/adult and the other family members themselves.

A Simple Explanation Of Type 2 Diabetes

Predominantly, diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas. The pancreas is responsible for the production and excretion of the hormone insulin. Insulin is vital to the efficient operation of many of the organs within our entire system.

Some people do not produce enough insulin within the body for their everyday use. Others, they produce enough, it is just their body has lost its capability of utilizing that insulin which is there. Either way, your cells themselves are starving for an influx of insulin within their boundaries.

How Does Food Factor Into The Equation

Although the pancreas is responsible for the production and excretion of insulin, none of this is possible without the presence of food. Our digestive system takes the foods which we eat and breaks them down into its component parts. Then each of our body's cells, organs etc. pulls the "parts" they need for efficient operation.

Actually the whole process is like one big machine. If any part in the cycle fails, it throws off the balance of the whole machine. Diabetes therefore is like a "failed part" in the operation of our machine - the human body.

What Should I Put On My Plate

Many factors go into the health of our system. Reversing diabetes though  (type 2 or gestational diabetes predominantly) is often possible by just staging the correct building blocks going into our mouth which sets the correct principles in motion. All of this can easily be accomplished though by filling your plate and feeding your body the foods which stage efficient digestion.

Most of the foods you need on your plate you are probably already using. The problem the majority of the time though is the excessive quantities of poor food choices, the frequency of poor food choices and the incorrect cooking methods leading to poor nutritional benefits in our system.

So diagram your plate out in your head each and every meal into a final picture which looks like this.

One half of your dinner plate should always be fruits and vegetables. At least 1/2 of those need to be raw and organic, if at all possible (to receive the maximum allottment of vitamins, minerals and nutrients which are the highest in fresh produce). Next fill 1/4 of the plate with a good quality source of lean protein and the second quarter with a good source of beans, legumes and some whole grains. Always include a small serving of good quality fats (extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, extra virgin coconut oil, raw nuts and or seeds etc) with every single meal also for efficient digestion. Add a side of fresh water for hydration and you now have the ideal formula for good digestion.

Mix and match all of the different selections, add a couple of good quality daily snacks for variety and soon you will find lower numbers at your next doctor's appointment on your blood pressure levels, cholesterol, triglycerides, A1C hemoglobin test and best of all those scales will start going down without you even trying to lose weight.

The ultimate advantage to all this, a reduction in your medications is the next step you and your doctor will be able to talk about for your benefit only though with their guidance.

Personal Day - Part 2

As I stated in my first post, motivation I had plenty of (I felt, looked, acted and was just downright miserable).

 Being a type 2 diabetic on a continuous downward spiral even when I did follow all of the doctor's orders was not only disheartening, it was so very depressing. I spent over a decade going from doctor to doctor, trying each for a year to 4 years, trying to find something new which could help me find a way out of this trap.

And all I ever heard, as the complications stacked up, the disease progressed, and my medications and dosages increased higher and higher, was the continuous refrain, "You're just not trying hard enough!" To be honest, it made me want to get up and slap them! These people had no idea just how hard I was trying!

But the years went by and I kept searching anyway. It was obvious it was either find someone who could help or I was going to be a "basket case" before I made it to 60 years of age anyway. One day, at one of those new doctors, I was given a name with the message I doubt he can see you anyway.

This gentleman was a Holistic physician with training in Functional Medicine also.  For me, it turned out to be the answers I sought, but yes, the referring physician was right, I couldn't get in. But thank God the referring physician convinced this other doctor to accept me as his patient anyway.

Functional medicine, many people have never heard of it, was the start of a new life, one where I was shown that promise is available if I am willing to apply the principles of this program to my diagnosis. But after one doctor's appointment which lasted me over 4 hours of nothing but conversation, I knew I had found my way, hope was springing in my mind as the hours went by. This doctor had no idea at that time but he had a new patient which was so determined this may as well have been day one of my life. I was going to make this work, I did not care how often he mentioned many people find it difficult since it is a complete lifestyle change. Hope had sprung and I could see a way!

Now, it's 16 months later. During this time we have isolated food allergies (often common to a diabetic but you never knew it) plus environmental and chemical allergies and intolerances my body has been fighting. All of these combined were helping to feed my difficulties with my blood sugars.
After the answers were found, with this new lifestyle plan my body dropped weight as if by magic. Pound after pound dropped and I was eating more food than I had been for so many decades. Blood pressure stabilized, cholesterol and triglycerides plummeted, medications continuously kept disappearing. My body was healing and along with it my attitude towards life.

Life was once again worth getting up for every day. I now had the energy and drive to actually do it.

Functional medicine is a new way of living your life. That means it's new to us but guess what, your grandparents and their parents and their parents ... they all lived this way every single day. Therefore it's not a new program, it's an old program which has been thrown away in the hustle and bustle of today. Getting back to your ancestors daily habits is the road out of the troubles this disease contributes to our society today.

The best news of all, this basic program is available to everyone, right from your own home. How can I say that, because in the last 16 months I have actually only had 2 doctor's appointments. My initial visit and one more for follow-up testing. Although it is a new program for most, it is not difficult. All it needs is taking the time to learn how your grandparents used to spend their days.

I personally am one, if they could do it, so can I!

 For your sake, if diabetes is your current nemesis, please take the time, look up Functional medicine, read about it and start making your own dreams come true. You do not have to get up and live your life miserable every single day. Follow along with me also, read the information on my website, add it to your daily life. Little baby steps do add up also. It is not necessary to throw your entire lifestyle away today if you are more comfortable with walking your way up the "rungs of the ladder" to achieve better health.

If you need help, a friend, some support in your quest, I am here. Never be to shy to reach out and let someone else help you through the struggle. You will soon find, the struggle turns into a new way. The burden falls away and the enjoyment in life once again can be new and tangible in your daily life also.

David vs Goliath

Today I am going to take a small break in my routine... continue my blog the next time... because I have some information I wish every single person in this world could hear and know.

It is no secret to anyone which follows me where my feelings stand on this issue. But I believe in being fair. I do give a report on both sides of the issue on my websites. If you need and want more information, it is there. But for today, I posted this on my current events blog for today. I also wish to post it here. It needs the visibility because it is every Americans right to know.

Therefore please take the time to read it, understand it, or if you need to know more you can ask me or follow along on the website address I give you at the bottom of this article. There is several very large, very dependable organizations, many call them grassroots organizations, which are researching and advising us the consumer of the information.  We do have a right to know, but this information  has been and they still are trying to require it  not be made public to the general consumer.

September 17,2012

Information Source: Natural News, online resource for news and important information relevant to the actual consumer AND site owner's opinion.

The Skeletons Coming Out Of The Closet?

The actual voting on Prop 37 this Fall in the state of California is heating up as the corporate giant Monsanto is seemingly showing their true colors.

Monsanto is the largest corporation in the world with a vested interest in the US never having GMO on a food label. You see, Monsanto has no desire to let the general public know we are actually eating "doctored and engineered food". There's very little actual real food in the supply chain anymore. Corporate America has figured out ways to change it to bring them a monetary advantage.

So, if you purchase your food from any grocery store, from many farmer's markets, from a lot of those farmers on their own personal property and even if you now get it online... the chances you are getting some of "Monsanto's Specials" are greater than you are getting the old and real versions your grandparents used to eat.

You may not live in California and figure this whole debate has nothing to do with you, let them worry about it. But, this is one of those cases of David (us general consumers) versus Goliath
(the majority of corporate America) where without solidarity now, we are going to continually be served up tainted food on an even larger and grander scale in the upcoming future.

It's no secret to anyone familiar with my websites, I gave up that food entirely 15 months ago. I research every piece of food which goes into my mouth to confirm to myself I am not getting any of the "Frankenfoods" as they are called. That might sound like a pain but healthwise, since that stuff is out of my life, I am healthier now than I have been in the last 58 years of my life.

So, if you are unfamiliar with the current events surrounding this story, please take the time and do familiarize yourself for your sake, your children's sake and your grandchildren's sake. I am not a corporate America guinea pig and if you actually realized what is going on, I don't think you want to be one either.

Check here for some more information important to you and your family, get informed and when the time comes that your advice and vote is needed, please let the whole world know we are not a test subject for corporate America while they line their pockets with our health and our gold.


Monsanto supported GMO labeling in Europe, but not in US

Personal Day

Today I want to tell you a little bit about me. After reading it, I think you will understand a little better why this quest has become one of my missions in life.

Yes, it's a personal tale - all true. Many of the things I will tell you, 99% of the females, and many males would never admit. But I want everyone to realize where and why I do what I do. If I can help even one more person to find a way to get out of the rut they are stuck in with either of these conditions (allergies or diabetes), then I know I have finally gave them hope. Because last year, someone gave me that hope. I am still using it to try to finish my quest.

Yes, I am a female. Thirty plus years ago I had emergency back surgery. While still in recovery, the physician kept repeatedly asking me a question. I didn't understand a word he said. I could just tell he seemed to be so Urgent with the question, I thought there was a problem but I was still too sleepy to care.

Turns out, the hospital I was at was a teaching hospital also. The normal routine after surgery, the "parts" removed, if possible, were always packed up and returned to the patient as a souvenir. Well, this physician, being the head of his department, wanted to keep my parts. It was necessary to get my permission though so they could be taken away and prepared correctly to prevent deterioration. He kept them anyway, hoping I would agree later to allow the hospital to keep them.

Why the urgency? I am a big girl - put mildly. My body, according to this physician, is bigger than anybody's he's ever seen in over 40 years of surgery. Why is that an advantage - to him at least. Because as I stated, this is a teaching hospital. They can teach and train all the new students the inner and out workings of the spine without even using a microscope. My frame is so large, the details so well-defined, a microscope is not needed. He was praying therefore I would turn down the offer of the souvenir!

Why is this so important? A large frame means extra body weight. I have always been about 100 lbs heavier than most people would guess. My entire life I have had people mention the scales must be broke. They are always so embarrassed when reading the weight because they were sure that number couldn't possibly be right. It always was!

So, being overweight to start because of bone size and then with the advancing years, tacking on more weight because of health problems, put mildly, I did rival the Good Year blimp.

Now, no I did not like this. I actually figured out at a very young age there was something wrong with all the members of my family. At this young of an age, everyone called it Diabetes. I was too young though to figure out what that meant, I just knew I wasn't going to get it. Oh the dreams and ambitions of preschoolers.

But, I was determined, my parents saw that. I was not going to get this disease which was ravaging my family, my extended family and even the people who lived in our apartment when we were kids. Yes, it is a lifestyle disease (type 2). But to a kid stuck in a poor environment, limited funds and only certain foods available to eat, I actually had no idea all my determination was for nothing because unless something major changed, I was going to get it anyway. I did, with a vengence.

Over a decade came and went. I now had it and it just kept getting worse. Doctor after doctor told me how, what and why I was to do certain things and it would help to slow the progression and help alleviate the symptoms. I became a one-man working machine to get rid of diabetes. Where did that end up?

Last spring, I was now on 580 units of insulin every single day, close to 150 lbs overweight (plus that extra hundred because of my large body frame, remember), I had no energy, my muscles and joints were in constant pain ( neuropathy), failing eyesight... there was just one long list of  one symptom after another. And all I could think is I have spent over 50 years of my life now preventing this from ever happening. What a joke that was.

Check back next time and I'll explain how and where I did find my hope, my help!

Emotional Eating - Breaking The Ties

Have you ever noticed, we as a people seem to believe food is a reward system?

When you were a baby and you cried, you got a bottle. As a toddler, create a fuss, you get juice. As you grew up, the little zip lock bag full of Cheerios or animal crackers was always along for the ride.

We again, as a people seem to think food solves all the ills of our everyday world!

But did you ever stop to think just what are we teaching that child?

You are teaching them within the very first days of their life that comfort food will solve every problem you have as you grow up. Is that really what you intended?

How To Curb The Urge

Emotional eating is a means to an end. Granted it is a positive response and don't we all appreciate the positive more than the negative? But those lessons we were taught as a child, now that you are all grown up, have left you with a lifetime of bad habits and poor nutrition. Our emotional triggers are what defines our daily health. Bad habits learned and carried through the years have now left you sitting in a doctor's office with the diagnosis you dread more than anything else - Diabetes.

But breaking those bad habits now are going to mean the difference between you living out the rest of your life in the constant presence of one more medical doctor or you enabling your body to learn how to control those urges and desires to afford you a better future health.

Here is a list of enablers. That means these suggestions, if followed religiously, will help you achieve a positive response without the use of food as your defense mechanism.

• To start, we all have that picture of ourselves we hate more than anything else. Place it in a dominant area, right on the front door of your refrigerator so every time you open that door, you are also staring at that picture. Yes, it may be nasty, but yes, guilt is a fantastic motivator.
• Next, get constructive/get busy. Pre-plan right now what you are going to do with your hands EVERY single time you get the urge to have just that one bite. For some, it may be pick up the telephone, for others, grab your knitting needles and knit a sweater. Whether you will shovel dirt to work in your garden, grab papers and make copys from the copier at work, type up the next chapter of your own biography; grab a book and read to your child, go take a bath, take the dog for another walk, whatever your desire is, have that motivation in your mind BEFORE the mood strikes. When it does, you already know what you will be doing with your time, and fingers.
• Utilize the buddy system. Talk to a friend or another family member. When the urge strikes so hard even your pre-planned project isn't going to stop you from eating, call this person and talk for at least 10 minutes. The human brain is wired, any kind of temptation will usually pass within 10 minutes. If you can hold out for that long, the urge to splurge will no longer seem as important after those few minutes have gone by.
•  Stop starving yourself all day long so you can be famished by nighttime. So many people believe if they skip breakfast and lunch, just eat dinner, they can avoid a whole host of extra calories. Your body is not wired that way and all of your rationalizations aren't going to change that.

        Starting today, every 2-3 hours you will be eating something high in good quality protein and excellent fats. Grab a piece of oven roasted chicken or turkey (no skin preferably), a 1/2 cup of lowfat cottage cheese, some raw vegetables with a side of hummus or fresh salsa, some celery, cucumber or apple slices with almond butter, a handful of raw seeds and nuts, a hard-boiled egg. Solutions for quality protein and excellent fats are limitless. Then at your mealtimes, include the same types of foods with good quality carbohydrates. These are needed to give your body an unlimited source of energy to get through your days. You can actually feed your body constantly with the right type of foods and the pounds will just melt off all on their own anyway. Your problem has never been you eat too much, you just eat all the wrong kinds of food.

And finally, have a drink - 6-8 times a day at least. And no, that's not alcohol. Plain old-fashioned water is your destination. If you want flavors, add a squirt of fresh lemons or limes. Or you could throw in a few pieces of smashed fresh berries for flavor, without the extra calories, sugars and chemical additives common to every other kind of man-made drink there is on the market.

The trick here is to isolate your triggers. Know in advance just what is your downfall and then you can plan for it by having a healthier alternative already available. That diagnosis of diabetes does not have to be a beginning to a lifetime of poor health, future medical complications and a bottomless pit of money constantly being shelled out for doctors, drugs and supplies, it can be a new awakening to a different type of life. Aren't you interested enough in letting you control your foods, not the foods you eat controlling you?

New To The Diagnosis?

The world is full of type 2 diabetics and the numbers are growing more and more. We all know that - we've heard it in the news all the time. And yet, now your doctor has said it to you, now it affects you. You're sitting there thinking about all the horror stories you've heard in your life about diabetes and all of a sudden you feel so alone and so terribly scared!

First thing, guilt isn't going to get you anywhere, forget it. I'm not saying you personally did not contribute to this diagnosis, but a guilty conscience isn't going to help any now. Use this guilt though as a building block towards your future treatment and recovery plan.

Your New Basics

Next, forget all the horror stories about you can never have pizza and ice cream, a piece of cake or a cookie. Other than the fact it's not true, it's scare tactics. You don't need scare tactics right now, you need facts.

And personally, I believe the number one fact you have got to realize, and change - we all do it after all - we use food as a means of entertainment.

 Food is Fuel For Our Body, nothing more, nothing less.

 But no, we use it when we're depressed, when we are bored, when we are happy, when we are at a business luncheon or a party. See, all some kind or form of entertainment.

The problem though, the right foods give you good health, the wrong foods, well you just got the diagnosis. The wrong foods can actually lead to a lifetime of illness and disease. So from here on out your responsibility to yourself is just to figure out what are the right foods and use them a whole lot more often than you do the wrong foods.

Now that basic plan of action sounds good for the diabetic, doesn't it? And yes, it sounds relatively simple in words. But execution, so much "stuff" gets in the way of good intentions.

• our emotions (happy, sad, bored)
• our eyes (boy, doesn't that look good)
• our lack of knowledge about the basics of nutrition
• our location (stand inside of a working bakery and the sights, the sounds and the smells - see what your mind wants to do then)

You get the idea here, our daily life is full of triggers which make us accept the opposite of what we know to be the ideal. And so, for most people, the worst part of this diagnosis means you have got to learn to trust your mind and control your instincts.

Yes, it's not easy. And yes, it is possible. For now, just remember those words.  If you take nothing else away with you today -  just remember, It Is Possible!

The Transition To A Whole Foods Diet

Are you thinking about changing to a whole foods, plant-based diet? For the best results, for most people, take it slow and make a few small changes over time. This not only allows you and the other family members time to become adjusted to the change of selections, it also usually resolves the mutiny from your digestive system itself.

But remember this, with each step you take, this is absolutely a 2 step process you must adhere to. Don't forget to make your transition by:

1. Eliminating the harmful foods now in your current diet
2. Always choose a healthy alternative to replace it with

Following these two stages will result in a markedly improved healthier and more energetic body in your near distant future.

Harmful Foods To Eliminate

How do you know what is harmful when you are in the grocery store?

The easiest way, ask yourself these three questions. If your selection passes all three tests, go ahead and place it in your cart. You are probably safe to consider that item as a part of your new whole foods lifestyle.

• Check the ingredient label of every package you pick up. If there is a list of food dyes or colorings, additives and preservatives (most of these are all those names you don't recognize), artificial sweeteners or any added flavorings, put the item back on the shelf.
• Over-processed food ingredients which our digestive system no longer recognizes as food includes white flours, white rice, white pastas, alternative sugars or artificial sweeteners etc.. Avoid them all.
• Comfort foods for most people all fall into the same category. These include "crutch foods" we use to make us feel better, happier, wake us up, give us energy, reduce our stress, provide relaxation or any type of product used as a mood-enhancing agent. Coffee, teas, artificial sweeteners, ice creams, cookies, cakes and pies, candy or low quality chocolate selections... this list can just keep going on and on. These are all nothing but a wrapper full of calories with very little to no nutrition. Coffee and tea varieties must be handled carefully because these are a form of diuretics in the body. Over-consumption can lead to a whole host of other health complications.

Although every one of these types of food products do solve an immediate need in your body, none of them are doing anything to prolong your dream of better health.

Your Choice Of Healthy Alternatives

Now you know what to eliminate, here is what you add back. Remember though, each day as you remove one avoidance food (group), add back a healthier alternative which your digestive system accepts as a true food.

• alternative grains such as buckwheat, quinoa, millet, oats, almond flour or coconut flour or if you are not gluten sensitive look for all 100% whole grains
• raw nuts and seeds
• fresh organic fruits and vegetables
• fresh legumes and beans
• good quality lean sources of protein
• good quality monounsaturated fats or saturated fats (such as extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil) which are sourced directly from nature (no man-made processing was utilized to change any of its characteristics)

While this process may seem so slow and labor-intensive, with time and patience the day will come when you and your entire family realize you are now more energetic with fewer aches and pains, you are actually losing weight (without even trying) and you have fewer doctor's appointments or trips to the pharmacy for minor illnesses and inconveniences.

So, initially, following a whole foods diet plan is going to take some time and effort on every member of the family.
But once you learn this style of offering your body what your ancestors used to thrive on, you will soon realize all the common everyday inconveniences you used to be so tired of, none of these are any longer a part of your life.

Easy & Cheap: Good Health In A Snap

Well, no this might not work for everybody, not quite that quick and easy. But if you happen to be having problems with muscle fatigue, weakness in the limbs, seemingly high occurrences of nuisance medical conditions, you're more depressed than usual or you just feel like it's a case of slowly deteriorating health, then this may be the answer for you. And the best part, yes, it's so super easy to fix!

How To Start On The Right Road

Small local downtowner's and city dwellers, by the numbers get hit the worst from this condition.

What is it? Nothing more strenuous than a lack of mother nature. Quite often this translates into a shortage of vitamin D within your body.

The sunlight itself plus a nice crop of good clean grass is the only prescription which is needed. After all, when you are accustomed to the bright sunny days and it just seems to be raining all the time for a few days to a week, stop and think back to how depressed you get. Our body's thrive on sunlight to aid in lifting our mood, relieve the aches and pains from normal tired muscles and simple arthritis, reduce infection plus it can help to reduce the symptoms of diabetes or heart disease.

Grounding, or the simple act of walking across the grass in your bare feet, is a process where the human body has access to the electrical charge ever-present in the earth's core. Our body is full of electricity same as the earth's core. The two in contact actually generate a friendly healing environment as our cells get help to regenerate themselves all with the compliments of mother nature.

Therefore, a simple walk outdoors on a bright and sunny day, maybe with a short break of laying in the grass and watching the clouds float by during your lunch break, often this is enough to soak up enough sunshine and electricity to charge your cells onward to better health.

No longer should working through lunch to gain those few minutes advantage to be considered a viable step towards winding your way through a day.

Breakfast Cereals

I don't know about you but a few years ago I used to rely on breakfast cereals when I needed something quick and (what I thought was) healthy. I read all those labels to make sure I was getting a flavor I could live with but the best balance of nutrition between comparable brands. So what happened here...

Boy, was I ever wrong! Why! Because I read the front label of the box, not the ingredient/nutrition label.

Now, I'm not going to bore you here with the how's and why's you shouldn't make the same mistakes I did. What I am going to do, give you a checklist here what you should find on that label before you put it in your cart. If you are dead set on purchasing all those boxes and bags anyway, at least do make it the healthiest version you can find for your own and the family's health.

• the line that says Sugars:  6 to 8 grams/serving is good. Try to stay around 10 if possible.
• looking for high fiber - find the box that says 3g/serving or better. The ingredients must say 100% whole grains (the word whole is very important). If you don't see the word whole - don't buy it.
• the serving size must be around 3/4 to 1 cup/serving. If the label says anything less, you are going to be starving within a couple of hours which means you will be grabbing for junk foods because you did not get enough nourishment to carry you through until the next meal.
• try to find a variety marked 135 calories or less/serving
• if your selection says fortified with vitamins and minerals, this will give you a slight increase in nutrients 
• generally avoid any cereal which has the word granola in the name. Most people think this is healthy. But granola is very high in sugars and fats. You are safer buying a small box of true granola and sprinkling this on your "healthy cereal"
• adding fresh fruits and berries is OK, just remember 1/2 cup approximately equals one more carb choice. This then must be added to the quantity on the label. The best fruits, stick to the berries. Raspberries, blackberries and blueberries are the lowest in carbs.
• children's cereals - nothing is going to fall in these parameters. The easiest way to get the kids to accept eating better is start using 1/2 cup of their favorite "junk" cereal to 1/2 cup good cereal. Slowly add a little more of the good stuff and then start adding in a few pieces of real fruit, some good unsweetened coconut flakes or raw nuts etc.. Eventually the kids will be so used to eating your new mix, they won't realize they are not eating all that sugar and food dyes anymore.

So yes, at the onset it's going to take some work to read all those labels and find where the good choices are hiding. But once you find the varieties you know your family likes, with consistent use you will start noticing your body is starting to lose weight, your energy levels have increased and you don't tend to get sick as much any more.