The Healthy Journal

I love the dress-up part of Halloween. When our son was young, I enjoyed coming up with fun costumes. One year I made a tyrannosaurus rex costume and my husband and I dressed as cave man and woman. We won best group costume at our community Halloween Festival as the Prehistoric Family. What I don't like is all the candy. Lots of sugar gets consumed even before we hand out candy to trick or treaters calling at our door (of course not in my household). Seeing all those tiny (and some not so tiny) kids dressed as their favorite hero, princess or ghoulish figure at your door is part of the fun of Halloween. But we don't have to give them candy. We get lots of kids to our door from the neighborhood, but they get something different from us—fun/playful treats. I'm not about to contribute to the sugar addiction of a new generation. I went to the Dollar Store and spent $10 getting multi-packs of erasers, pencils, bling rings, dinosaurs, bugs and glow-in-the-dark bats. It's all

Health Tip: More food for thought on the Death By Sugar post. Pass this on to anyone receiving conventional cancer treatments. What do they use to "light up" cancer in the body during a CT Scan? That's right! Sugar! Glucose is used to carry the radioactive material to any sights with cancer. It's known that cancer feeds on sugar. So why would oncologists NOT tell their cancer patients they need to eliminate sugar in their diets to help starve the tumor? And why do they serve sugary treats to patients receiving their chemo infusions? Did you know that most cancer patients don't die of cancer? They die of starvation. Doesn't it all make sense? If you feed the cancer with a diet of sugar (from breads & pastas, products with added sugar, desserts, sodas, etc.) you do so at the expense of healthy cells.

Sugar Will Kill You Sugar can be as addictive as cocaine . It activates the brain’s reward system causing pleasure-inducing chemicals (dopamine) to flood the body. The result is a craving for more… and more. Sugar damages your health  on several levels. For starters we now know that fructose/sugar elevates blood pressure and potentially damages your kidneys. It increases uric acid which leads to chronic, low-level inflammation—the foundation for most disease. For example, chronically inflamed blood vessels can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Let's look at the what happens in the body when you consume a 20 oz soda: Within 20 minutes— Your blood sugar spikes, and your liver responds to the resulting insulin burst by turning massive amounts of sugar (17 teaspoons full on average) into fat. Within 40 minutes— Caffeine absorption is complete; your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and your liver dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. Around 45 minutes— Your body increases d

Tip: I hate to burst anyones' bubble, but I must set the record straight about chocolate . The news regularly reports that chocolate is healthy for you... BUT that is NOT the whole story. What is healthy for you is the raw form of chocolate called cacao, which is dried and unsweetened. Cacao nibs are cacao bean pieces that can be ground to make a powder for recipes. Known as a super food, the health benefits of raw cacao include: Powerful antioxidant—high in resveratrol, the potent antioxidant found in red wine. Rich in minerals—magnesium, iron, potassium, calcium, zinc, copper and manganese. Boosts your mood. Reduces your risk of stroke and cardiovascular disease. Cocoa, the basis of virtually all chocolate sold including the unsweetened powder you buy for baking, is the result of roasting cacao, which destroys the enzymes and reduces the nutritional value. No more super food. :( Don't fall for the idea you can eat lots of chocolate because you read that its good for you. That

Have you ever listened to Tim McGraw's song  Live Like You Were Dyin'  and wondered what it meant to you? McGraw's song speaks of skydiving, mechanical bull riding and dispensing forgiveness previously denied. Living a life of optimum wellness encompasses living a life with no regrets. Bronnie Ware , a hospice nurse for many years, discovered that people faced with death experienced many emotions, but eventually came to an acceptance and peace. When asked if there were regrets or things they would do differently, she found five common themes. Live a Life True to Myself The regret heard most often was wishing they were true to themselves. Not bending at the whim and expectation of others, keeps you at peace with who you really are. The extreme of this regret is a pleaser—a person that does things to make others happy. Learn to be your authentic self. Don't rush to do or be what others expect of you—or what you  think  others expect. Don't Work So Hard Don't be th

Whatever it takes to eat more veggies, whether that's eating vegan (no dairy or processed foods), cutting out meat (vegetarian), adding another serving of veggies each day or like me (vegan, but eat wild fish, organic eggs and occasionally goat cheese), eat like your life depends on it. Because it does! Your mind will clear, the scales will dip, your skin will look amazing, you'll sleep better and you can say good-bye to those pesky colds and flues. Graphic Source: Fix.com