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Dealing with a Sluggish Thyroid

    Symptoms of a Sluggish Thyroid

 

There are many conditions that show a poor thyroid function. It is widely known that your thyroid gland plays a key role in controlling your metabolism and body weight. But did you know that depression, heart disease, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, menopausal symptoms, muscle and joint pains, irritable bowel syndrome, or autoimmune disease could actually indicate a problem with your thyroid? Continue reading Dealing with a Sluggish Thyroid

Artificial Sweeteners

The Real Truth About Artificial Sweeteners

    If you truly want to detoxify your body, to lose weight, lose belly-fat,and live healthier, know the facts about these three common artificial sweeteners listed below. Positively, if you want to lose weight, belly-fat, and save your brain cells, avoid these three artificial sweeteners at all cost!

  Most people think that using artificial sweeteners are better for them than real sugar. They assume that these artificial sweeteners are healthier because they contain no calories that may get turned into belly-flab. Here are some facts about artificial sweeteners that may change your mind the next time you reach for a soda, “nutrition” bar, frozen yogurt or low-fat ice cream. . .

The chemical compounds found in artificial sweeteners replace the ‘sweetness’ of sugar, without the calories. “Fat-free” and “Sugar-free” does not necessarily mean low-calorie. In fact these artificial compounds can actually increase your appetite, or “cravings” for more, which is bad, if you are trying to lose weight. There are also sugar-free products with ingredients that can raise blood sugar. As you can see, “sugar-free” doesn’t necessarily mean “fat-loss-friendly.”

In fact, these compounds can be literally “deadly!”  These three artificial sweeteners can actually “kill your IQ!” Let me tell you about some of the problems associated with the most common artificial sweeteners on the market.

 

  • Aspartame: This is a common artificial sweetener with some side-effects that range from hallucinations to seizures to actual brain tumors. Example brands are Equal and Nutrasweet.
  • Saccharin: This compound is produced by combining anthranilic acid, nitrous acid, sulfur dioxide, chlorine, and ammonia. Not only is this compound thought to cause cancer, it is also associated with causing headaches, breathing issues, and skin rashes. Some brand examples are SugarTwin and Sweet ‘N Low.
  • Splenda (often on labels as “Sucralose“): can enlarge both the liver and kidneys and shrink the thymus glands. Other side-effects include skin rashes, panic attacks, diarrhea, headaches,
    bladder issues, and stomach pain.

 

As if these sometimes “deadly side-effects” are not bad enough, the added problem is because these compounds are actually “sweeter” than sugar. This leads to training your taste buds for really sweeter foods. This leads to wanting more and more sweets, rather than satisfying your cravings.

There is a “solution” to these artificial sweeteners, without resorting back to using sugar. Steviais what I recommend to all my family and friends.

     Stevia, is an herb from South America that has been used as a sweetener by theGuarani Indians of Paraguay for hundreds of years. The leaves of this small plant have a delicious sweet and refreshing taste. Of course it is also 100% all-natural with many excellent properties

For one, the body does not metabolize Stevia, so there is no caloric intake and it doesn’t adversely affect blood glucose levels. This makes it an excellent choice for kids, as well as for diabetics.

In learning more about how you can detoxify your body, avoid these artificial sweeteners like the plaque. Also eat more all-natural fruits, which provide your body with anti-oxidants, vitamins and nutrients that your body actually needs.

If You’re Already Overweight

How You Can Protect Yourself Even if You’re Already Overweight

     Obesity is one of the most devastating conditions in the world today, especially here in America. In addition to diabetes and heart disease, obesity is also associated with cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as arthritis and hormone imbalances.

Of the main symptom that all these conditions have in common is chronic inflammation. Obesity has been linked to trigger systematic inflammation due to adipose fat. Studies have been shown that white adipose fat actually operates like an endocrine organ. This fat tissue actually secretes hormones that more times than not causes more inflammation. Detoxifying your body will stop this build up of toxins and reduce the amount of inflammation, and consequently, shrink this adipose fat layer.

Fortunately for us fruits and vegetables help to offset chronic inflammation and reduce your risk for diseases such as heart disease and cancer. It has also been found that high intakes of these certain fruits and vegetables help you lose weight and keep it off, only when they replace the high-glycemic foods that you normally eat everyday.

So the first question you may have is can fruits and vegetables actually offset the dangers of obesity in someone like me who is already overweight? Can a diet rich in fruits and vegetables reduce the chronic inflammation often seen in obesity?

FYI, a study has been conducted in Korea where researchers asked 22 overweight women to eat two different diets for two weeks each. In this study proof was found that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables actually had miraculous results.

For the first week, they ate a high fruit and vegetable diet that consisted of six servings of fruit and six servings of vegetables every day for two weeks. Then these “testers” were given a two week break and allowed to consume their regular (normal) diet. Then they ate a low fruit and vegetable diet that consisted of just one serving of fruit and one serving of vegetable every day for two weeks. These “testers” were then given a dietary fiber powder to compensate for the fiber they would have gotten with the higher fruit and veggie intake.

The researchers drew blood before and after each given test to monitor a number of biomarkers, chiefly these that follow:

  • Total antioxidant capacity
  • Interleukin-6 (inflammation marker)
  • C-reactive protein (inflammation marker)
  • Leptin (hormone that regulates hunger and appetite)
  • Adiponectin (hormone that helps regulate glucose)
  • Lutein/zeaxanthin (antioxidants)
  • Lycopene (antioxidant)
  • Beta-carotene (antioxidant)

 

It was shown that the diet high in fruits and vegetables had remarkable higher levels of the antioxidants, as well as total antioxidant capacity. What is more interesting is that researchers also found that adiponectin levels were significantly lower after the low fruit and vegetable diet as compared to baseline. This is bad, however, because it indicates poor glucose regulation. Similarly, C-reactive protein levels increased in this diet, indicating a greater degree of inflammation.

The research also found that interleukin-6 and C-reactive protein levels were all reduced. That is good news. There was not any difference in the levels of leptin, since these test people were also given the fiber dietary powder that raises leptin levels, thus helping to control your appetite.

In conclusion of this research the researchers found that “Eating a lot of fruits and veggies can positively affect oxidative and inflammation changes that normally occur in overweight or obese people.”

New Year Resolution

What a wonderful goal for you to set yourself this New Year. Add, or replace your normal diet of toxin-based foods with more fruits and vegetables. Six servings of each probably does not sound that appetizing, but as an example, below is a menu that will surely help you not only detoxify your body, but ramp-up your metabolic rate and help you lose weight:

For Breakfast

  • (2 fruits and 2 vegetables) – Scrambled eggs with 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1/2 cup chopped peppers and 1 cup spinach. 1 cup raspberries and 1/2 cup blueberries.
  • Snack – one fruit – try 1 orange or apple with 1 ounce almonds

 

Lunch

  • (2 vegetables and 1 fruit) – 1 cup romaine lettuce and 1 cup Bibb lettuce; 4 ounces grilled chicken; 1/2 cup sliced strawberries
  • Snack – (1 vegetable and 1 fruit) – 1/2 cup carrot sticks, or 1/2 cup celery sticks, and 1 cup cherry tomatoes (remember, tomatoes are a fruit), or 1/4 cup nuts, like almonds

 

Dinner

  • (1 vegetable and 1/2 fruit) –  4-6 ounces of grilled salmon with mango salsa (1/2 cup diced mango mixed with chopped scallions, 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon rice vinegar).
  • 1 cup steamed broccoli, or 1/2 cup brown rice.

 

Dessert

  • 1 baked apple topped with cinnamon.

 

This is only a suggested menu that will help you in detoxifying your body with the proper amounts of nutrients. By reducing the amount of toxins that are present in your usual menu and replacing them with nutritious foods high in vitamins and antioxidants, you shrink the adipose fat that is secreting hormones that cause inflammation. With your inflammation reduced, you will notice a change in your weight and the way you feel.

For more information on what foods to add to your daily intake and what particular nutrient each food supplies, see my other pages on this website.

 

 

 

Flavored Water

I was in the store the other day and while I was getting some things that I knew I had to get I discovered something. It spiked my curiosity so I bought it. It was only $3.28 I believe.  It is “flavoring you add to water” to make it taste good. Now I know there are a lot of flavors that you can buy for water. I grew up on Kool-aid, thank you very much. This stuff actually is not bad for you.. the name of this “miracle flavor” is –>Mio Liquid<–. It comes in a tiny 1.62 fluid ounce bottle that is good for 24, 12 ounce bottles of water…You do the math.

 

Twenty four bottles of flavored water would normally cost you what? Around Three dollars a bottle, if memory holds true. But I bought this flavoring, which, by the way, comes in six different flavors that I could tell. I bought this tiny bottle for $3.28 , which will flavor up to twenty-four bottles of water…..That means that each bottle of water I flavor is only costing me .13 cents a bottle! Thirteen cents a bottle of flavored water! WOW. If I bought a case of the normal flavored water at a discount price of $1.98 a bottle, that equals $47.52!

OK, ladies and gentleman, I saved the best for last. As if saving $44 dollars is not enough, it even gets better! I read the back label this tiny flavor bottle, “fruit Punch” is what I bought. The back label states: Calories 0; Total fat 0g (0%DV); Sodium 0mg (0% DV); Total Carb 0g (0% DV); Sugars 0g; Protien 0g. OMG! Absolutely nothing described here that would ward off any reason not to try it. Like the old Alca-seltzer commercial – “Try it, you’ll like it…So I tried it……”

 

I have been waiting on something like this to get produced because I need to drink a lot more water than my usual one glass per day ritual. The reason I don’t drink water is because there is no taste. I have become spoiled being on this earth for 1/2 century. Give me something that taste good, I’ll drink it all day long. I do drink a lot of coffee, but now I have to wean myself off of my morning favorite cup of java. Or at least cut way back. This flavoring just may be the trick that I need, the spark to ignite my passion for water..

 

I hope that you are not stuck in a similar situation. If you are, then do as I did. It will work because it does work. Have a wonderful day!