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Eating Clean

5 Tips For Eating Clean

Eating clean means making sure you choose the healthiest option in each food group. In order to eat clean you need to know what your food is made of and, if possible, consume it in its natural form. If you want to start living healthier but aren’t sure exactly what to change in your diet, here are five great tips for eating clean.

Stock Up On Fresh Produce

The type of diet that you’re following doesn’t really matter – you’ll always need to stock up on fresh produce. This is the golden rule of proper nutrition, as your body needs fresh fruits and vegetables in order to function properly. You can’t get this amount of minerals, vitamins, and other crucial nutrients from other types of food. Not to mention that eating fresh produce is much healthier and more natural than taking supplements.

Many people don’t eat as many fruits and veggies as they should. To get a great nutrient spread you’ll need to bring some variety into your dishes. The best way to do this is to learn when certain fruits and veggies are in season, since that’s when they’ll taste better. If you’re a world traveler, I’m sure you’ve noticed that restaurants in some countries only serve fruits and vegetables that are in season. The color and the flavor of the food adds to the experience, and puts the greatest amount of nutrients possible on your plate.

If you have a garden, you can also plant some herbs and spices. This will provide you with a fun new hobby, and will encourage you to eat healthier by allowing you to eat foods straight out of your garden.

If you just can’t seem to eat fresh fruits and vegetables to get your daily requirement, consider concentrated nutrient sources such as Juice Plus.  You can get the nutrients you need even when you’re away from your fridge.

Limit Processed Foods

It can be pretty hard to avoid processed foods. Almost all of the snacks available in your local supermarket are filled with too much fat, sodium, and sugar. Processed foods are basically any foods that have been altered in some way, either for convenience or safety reasons. The main difference between eating processed foods and preparing something at home from scratch is that when you prepare it yourself you know how much sugar and salt you’re adding to the dish.

However, it’s important to note that just because a food is processed doesn’t mean that it’s unhealthy. For example, milk can be processed (pasteurized) to remove harmful bacteria.  (Ignore that line if you only use raw milk!)  However, excess fat, sugar, and salt added to foods to make them tastier and to prolong their shelf life may actually cause you to develop  health problems. Consuming a large amount of unhealthy processed foods can lead to a higher risk of heart disease or cancer.

Two rules to remember:

  1. If you can’t recognize or pronounce the ingredients, see if there is another option.
  2. If there are more than 5 ingredients, see if there is another (cleaner) option.

Focus On The Nutrients

A lot of people make the mistake on focusing on calories instead of nutrients when they start dieting. However, don’t get too caught up in the numbers game – focus on the nutritional value instead. Just because a certain food is low in calories doesn’t mean it’s a healthy choice.

Although you should make sure you’re not consuming too many calories, it’s much more important to pay attention to your food’s nutritional value. One easy way to get your essential nutrients while keeping your calorie count low is to stock up on fresh produce – and eat it while it’s fresh.

Don’t Be Too Strict

Remember that it’s completely okay to have a cheat meal sometimes. If your diet is too strict, you might end up dreading all of the meals that you eat – or get into the rut of eating the same foods every day.

Some recent studies suggest that you should have one cheat day – not meal – every week. This prevents your body from going into starvation mode and gives you a chance to ingest different types of nutrients on that psychologically-charged cheat day.

Drink More Water

Drinking water is sometimes all you need to feel full. By drinking 8-10 glasses of water each day, you will feel healthier and energized, which will motivate you to eat clean. Unfortunately, many people consider water ‘boring’ due to the extremely high number of flavored drinks that are available. Keep in mind that water flushes toxins out of the body, keeps you hydrated, and can help prevent joint pain and headaches.

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Stress Kills

Stress Kills: Is Yours Out Of Control?

Stress is arguably one of the most silent killers on the planet, largely because people don’t realize something is going wrong, or they refuse to act on it.

But why does stress contribute to so many aspects ill health, ultimately leading to death?

Because often it is untraceable. You may not even realize that you are suffering from stress overload.

Interested to know if your stress is rapidly becoming out of control? Look for the following tell-tale signs:

Unexplained Aches And Pains

A little pain here and there is normal, and should be nothing to get worried over; but it can spell a worrying trend when it occurs too often. And this is the case with being overly-stressed all the time.

Muscular pains most commonly occur around the back, neck or shoulder areas, and may be attributed to poor sleep patterns, although not always. Medication to treat the pain many only yield temporary relief, and should not be relied upon as a long term solution.

Frequent Colds And Infections

One thing associated with high stress levels is the negative effect on immunity. Cortisol suppresses the immune system and leaves the body wide open to infection. This is especially troublesome during flu season, and necessitates that extra precautions be taken (such as increasing anti-oxidant food consumption).

Poor Sleep Patterns

Insomnia is usually one of the first signs that you are over-stressed, as cortisol does not work by itself. In fact, it recruits the neurochemicals adrenalin and noradrenalin, which enhance awareness, and energy levels.

This is an important function in the morning when you need that “get up and go” boost, but not at night when you should be unwinding. Use of heavy stimulant based supplements (such as caffeine) too late in the evening can cause this to occur out of sync with your normal functionality.

High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure involves multiple pathways all experiencing dysfunction, with cortisol happy to oblige. High blood pressure in this case is precipitated by increased retention of water (which increases blood volume), faster heart rate, and blood vessel constriction. All these factors increase blood pressure, so care needs to be taken to manage cortisol and stress levels.

Loss Of Sex Drive

Both men and women require a normal level of testosterone to modulate sex drive, but this important hormone is suppressed when levels of the stress hormone cortisol are high. Cortisol and testosterone share a negatively inverse relationship, meaning that as one goes up, the other goes down. If this loss of sex drive occurs in a young person who previously enjoyed normal sex drive, it can be an indicator that the person is overly stressed.

Frequent Outbursts Or Mood Swings

It can be hard to maintain a level head when stress levels are high.  High stress levels can cause someone to lash out for seemingly no reason. This is not normal behavior, especially if the individual was previously very level headed. If it does occur, it may be best to reduce the work load and make a concerted effort to lower the stress level by relaxing in nature or by spending more time with family and loved ones to connect to what is important in life.

Depression or Feelings of Inadequacy

Stress can seriously affect your emotional well-being, especially since it can tear apart relationships with loved ones. You are likely to be irritable, picking fights, or feel pressured to perform. This can lead to depression, anxiety, or feelings of disappointment. Depression is sometimes difficult to diagnose, especially in individuals who do not possess a strong support system.

Conclusion

If you find yourself experiencing one or more of the symptoms above with increasing frequency, it is time to take a step back from the burden you have placed on your shoulders. Sometimes a short vacation, weekend getaway, or just a simple trek in the great outdoors can do wonders for your wellbeing.

It would also be a good time to check in with your body and see if you are carrying old baggage with you that is negatively impacting your life. Old traumas, memories, and emotions can create physical symptoms in your body. We can explore those and rebalance your body so it can function more efficiently, throw off those old symptoms, and bring peace back into your life.

 

 

 

 

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Holistic Healers

About Holistic Healers

Holistic care is a type of alternative treatment that addresses the three most important parts of the client:  the body, mind, and spirit.

These three elements are believed to make up the entirety of every human being, giving them a deep sense of purpose and their own personal energy.  Those who practice holistic care are known as holistic care practitioners, or holistic healers. Holistic care considers the whole person in order to promote optimal health and wellness.

Who They Are

Holistic healers are practitioners who view their clients in a unique way that can make all the difference when addressing physical and emotional issues. They take the whole person into account when creating a plan of action, so that the client’s three most important elements will be in harmony to promote better balance throughout the body.

Holistic healers approach their clients as a whole person, striving for body and soul wellness. A great holistic healer always maintains the highest ethical standards while they work with the client’s innate personal power to heal. The goal is to bring the client into balance in all aspects of their lives – financial, emotional, mental, and physical.

What They Do

Holistic healers provide exceptional alternatives that complement medical modalities and integrate various energy healing modalities. They incorporate unique alternative therapy methods along with conventional treatments such as medications and surgery prescribed by the client’s physician to provide the optimal healing environment for the client. Holistic care practitioners take their vast knowledge of the holism philosophy and other forms of alternative treatments (such as essential oils) to bring their clients to their best possible future.

The best practitioner-client relationship is achieved when both parties trust one another, working together in a confidential environment to address deep-seated issues that have been eluding the client’s conscious thought. Holistic practitioners work with their clients to get to the root of all obstacles that are in the way of their health and wellness. So, as opposed to conventional doctors that treat disease, holistic practitioners treat the person. This goes back to the idea of treating the “whole” person. When the practitioner takes the client’s mind, body and spirit into account, they can explore other reasons behind diseases and mental health problems.

How to Choose a Good Holistic Healer

Choosing a great holistic healer is not hard, but it can require research and patience.  Something brought you to this website, so you’ve probably already done your due diligence, listened to your intuition to check out this site, and are seriously considering booking a session.  But if you ultimately decide that this isn’t for you, don’t give up hope.  Here are some suggestions that may help you continue your search for the practitioner that feels right for you:

  • An Online Search:  Finding a practitioner is as easy as typing key words into a database.  To find healers certified in the Emotion Code or the Body Code modalities worldwide, check out the Healer’s Library Practitioner Map. Healing is done long distance, so the location of the healer is really irrelevant, but the map is still interesting and provides a comprehensive list of certified Body Code and Emotion Code practitioners.
  • Search Other Modalities:  If the Body Code, Emotion Code, or EFT do not resonate with you, give another modality a try. Acupuncture, acupressure, Healing Touch, Healing Codes, Reiki, Family Constellations, and many other energy modalities have excellent healers that might resonate with you to assist you in your quest for a healthier and happier life.

The right practitioner can really make all the difference in a client’s healing process and overall treatment.  Look for one today using these resources, and begin enjoying the positive effects of holistic energy healing.

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Heart Disease

Alternative Therapy for Heart Disease

It seems amazing that an organ as strong and as resilient as the heart can be slowed down and diseased, but this is a very real possibility that affects more people than you may imagine. In the United States, heart disease is the leading cause of death.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States each year. This equates to 1 in 4 deaths. Each year 720,000 Americans have a heart attack. 205,000 of these heart attacks are in people who have experienced one previously.

Heart disease costs the United States $108.9 billion each year, including expenditures for medications, health care services, and lost productivity.

Heart disease is often tackled by modern medicine by prescribing drugs and surgery. Unfortunately, the treatment plans for this condition can be just as frightening as the condition itself, which causes many people to ignore their symptoms and avoid medical help.

Luckily there are alternative therapy options for those suffering with heart disease that are both natural and effective. When used in concert with conventional medicine these options can increase the probability of healing success, and can go a long way toward prevention of heart disease.

What Happens When You Have Heart Problems

Heart disease is defined as any condition that prevents your heart from working correctly. Over time, heart disease can cause a deterioration of the heart’s arteries and vessels, dramatically increasing your chances of heart attack.

Coronary heart disease is the most common type. It is defined as the hardening of the arteries on your heart’s surface. The hardening of these arteries is caused by plaque accumulating on the artery walls and this plaque is typically caused by too much bad cholesterol in your system.

When left unchecked, the plaque can continue to build up and narrow the arteries, making it harder for blood to flow through the heart and the rest of the body. This makes the likelihood of a blood clot, heart attack, or acute chest pain very high.

When these conditions are not treated or improved, they can lead to sudden death. It is important to maintain heart health in order to maintain a healthy body. There are many everyday practices and habits that can lead to heart disease and these often start when you are young and build up gradually.

The Road to Heart Disease: Risk Factors and Prevention

One of the most prevalent risk factors is family history. If heart disease is part of your genetics, you might be at higher risk for developing this disease yourself. However, there are still preventive steps that you can take to protect yourself against future problems.

If your family history is clear, there are still measures you can take to minimize the risk of heart disease later in life. Here is a list of the factors you can control, and how you might manage them:

  • Avoid high levels of low-density lipo-protein cholesterol, also known as bad cholesterol and low levels of high-density lipo-protein, also known as good cholesterol
  • Avoid high levels of triglycerides, which can increase when you consume too many fatty foods and take in excess calories.
  • Avoid or quit smoking
  • Exercise more regularly
  • Avoid a high fat diet
  • Monitor high blood pressure
  • Monitor ongoing stress, anxiety, and depression
  • Monitor weight gain to avoid being overweight and obese
  • Monitor diabetes

Alternative Care

The best alternative medicine for heart disease is prevention. Stop it before it starts, and stay on top of symptoms and risk factors.

Most modern medicine becomes necessary once heart disease exists, but by simply trying alternative preventative practices and treatments you might be able to avoid the damaging effects of this condition.

Alternative Methods for Heart Disease Prevention

  • Consult with a holistic nutritionist that will teach how to eat smart and fill your diet with healthy foods high in Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. These include fish, vegetables, fruits, and lean meats.
  • Consult with a holistic practitioner that can help assess your individual needs and provide a customized treatment plan to get you on the road to general health and wellness.
  • Practice regular exercise a few times a week and get regular check-ups to stay on top of your heart health.
  • Dietary Treatments: Learn to avoid foods high in fat and cholesterol
  • Chelation Therapy: This treatment rids the body of heavy metals and is often used for mercury poisoning. It adds the amino acid EDTA to your body, which can help remove dangerous blockages from the arteries
  • Stress Reducing Exercises: Engage in Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, and other similar exercise routines.

Schedule your next session to evaluate your body’s toxicity level and nutrition needs.

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Anti-Aging

Holistic Approach to Anti-Aging

As people live longer, many of us search for a way to slow down the effects of aging. Many people use different creams and gels, or use plastic surgery to keep their youthful appearance. But there is a holistic approach that we can use to combat aging.

Holistic healing, unlike the topical creams and gels, treats the underlying cause for the problem and not just the symptoms of the problem. While we may never be able to stop the aging process, we can use holistic practices to slow down the aging effects.

Your Skin

The skin is the largest organ in the human body and is easily impacted by day to day factors. You cannot have good skin if you are not eating right, getting enough sleep, or if you live your life in a state of constant stress.

Inflammation and Free Radicals

Understanding that free radicals cause inflammation in the body is very important because, according to Dr. Michael Klentze, international medical director of the Vitalife Corporation at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok, inflammation is what causes us to age. Free radicals occur naturally and, if your body does not get enough antioxidants to fight them, they are free to go about the body and do their damage.

Damage caused by free radicals can be stopped by eating antioxidant-rich foods or taking supplements such as vitamin C, coenzyme Q10, zinc, and magnesium. Water is also an important factor in slowing the signs of aging. Your body is made mostly of water and if you allow it to dehydrate you will see more wrinkles. Ensuring that you get enough water will also allow your skin to retain its elasticity over time.

Proper Circulation

Using holistic healing to maintain proper circulation is important when it comes to slowing down the aging process. Your entire body relies on proper circulation, and without it you will quickly see your body start to age and “fall apart”.

How Holistic Healing Works

There are reasons one person ages faster than another, and it is those reasons that can be treated with holistic healing. You cannot separate the health of your skin, your mind, and your body. You must be treated as a whole person. The chances of you reducing the signs of aging by simply focusing on your skin are slim, but if you focus on your entire body ensuring that you are physically, mentally, and spiritually healthy you will see that you can significantly reduce the signs of aging.

Reversing the Signs of Aging

It is also possible to reverse the signs of aging with holistic healing. One way to do this is to ensure that your body is getting enough essential fatty acids. Each cell must have essential fatty acids in order to function properly, help to nourish the skin, and provide tone. You can find essential fatty acids in foods such as leafy greens, walnuts, fish oils, and flax seed oils.

Exercise

Physical activity is an important factor when it comes to reversing or slowing down the aging process. Our bodies are made to move, and physical exercise can help to raise your metabolism as well as reduce your weight. Ensuring that you are not over-stressing your body by causing it to carry around extra weight is an important part of slowing down the aging process.

Through adding exercise and supplements to your daily routine, ensuring you are getting enough water and sleep, and keeping stress levels at a minimum, you can help to reduce the signs of aging. The best way to slow down the signs of aging is to focus on your body as a whole ensuring that you are in the best health possible instead of focusing on your specific physical aging symptoms. This way you will be likely to keep your youthful appearance for years to come.

Balance

Keeping your body in its optimal state of balance will keep your stress levels low, your cells oxygen-rich, and your emotional and physical health at their peak. Knocking down the walls of resistance to exercise, healthy eating, and emotional stability are key to your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.  Schedule your next healing session now to explore your possibilities. You may even find your own personal Fountain of Youth!

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Health Benefits of Probiotics

The Health Benefits of Probiotics

Most people spend a lot of time trying to get rid of bacteria in their lives, but what if we told you not all bacteria is bad for you? In fact, your body relies on millions of healthy, helpful bacteria to keep you safe and healthy every day. And by giving your body beneficial probiotics, you can improve the population of helpful bacteria inside your body that are necessary for your continued health.

Eating foods rich in probiotics can not only prevent illness but also treat some disorders and imbalances. Learning which foods are high in probiotics, as well as the benefits these organisms offer to your body, will help you feel better and stay healthier over time.

Understanding Probiotics

You have bacteria, yeast, and other microbes all over your body, both inside and out. Luckily, many of those organisms are helpful bacteria that perform vital functions for your cells, tissues, organs, and body systems.

Probiotics and the beneficial bacteria they support can help to:

  • Boost your immune system, allowing you to heal faster from sickness and injury.
  • Prevent infection by stopping hostile bacteria from taking over.
  • Improve your digestion, which allows you to better absorb nutrients from the foods you eat.

The majority of helpful bacteria in your body live in your gut and keeping your digestive microflora healthy not only aids your digestion but also ensures your immune system is working properly. These two systems are directly linked. When you throw off the balance of good versus bad bacteria in your gut, such as when you are sick or when you are taking antibiotics, you need to help your body replenish the friendly bacteria in your system. Eating probiotics can restore this balance, which creates a barrier against harmful microbes.

Probiotics and Antibiotics

When you take antibiotics to treat an infection, you not only eliminate the bad bacteria that are making you sick but also the healthy, beneficial bacteria that can make you well. When you take probiotics during and after using antibiotics, you are helping to restore the natural gut microflora that your body needs quickly. This also can help increase the effectiveness of antibiotics, which can help you feel better faster and require fewer and smaller doses of antibiotics in the future.

Probiotic-Rich Foods

Foods that are cultured or fermented are good sources of probiotics, as bacteria are what create their flavor and texture. Examples of foods that are high in probiotics include cultured yogurt, miso, tempeh, kefir, buttermilk, sauerkraut, kombucha, kimchi, and nattō. While some of these foods have bacteria which grow naturally, some include bacteria that are adding during the preparation process. These foods and beverages contain one or more of the following strains of probiotics:

  • Lactobacillus acidophilus
  • Lactobacillus casei
  • Bifidobacterium bifidum
  • Lactobacillus bulgaricus
  • Lactobacillus gasseri
  • Saccharomyces boulardii
  • Lactobacillus plantarum
  • Bifidobacterium lactis
  • Enterococcus faecium
  • Bifidobacterium longum

Adding probiotics to your diet is one health move you can make to improve your health. These foods contain beneficial bacteria your body needs to fend off unwanted visitors. Help your body today by including probiotics in your next meal or snack.

Eating Probiotics

You can also be sure the bacteria in your system have plenty of fuel by feeding them a high-fiber diet. The fermentable fiber in fresh vegetables, fruits, flax, and chia seeds are perfect for giving probiotics the food they need to maintain your healthy bacteria levels.

In addition to eating foods that contain probiotics, you can create an environment that is supportive of the healthy bacteria in your body. You can start by altering the pH of your digestive system by eating more sour foods. Fermented vegetables and vinegars contain small amounts of probiotic, but their acid content is the most powerful part of their benefits. They contribute to a gut environment that allows probiotics to flourish.

Supporting a Probiotic Environment

Any food that claims to have probiotics should contain at least one of the strains listed here. This is also true for probiotic supplements, so always read the label if you are in doubt.  And it’s always a good idea to muscle test your supplements before you buy them to make sure you are purchasing something that will provide the best benefit for your body.  If you don’t know how to muscle test, we can help you with that.

In addition to eating foods that contain probiotics, you can create an environment that is supportive of the healthy bacteria in your body.  You can start by altering the pH of your digestive system by eating more sour foods.  Fermented vegetable and vinegars contain small amounts of probiotic, but their acid content is the most powerful part of their benefit.  They contribute to a gut environment that allows probiotics to flourish.

You can also be sure the bacteria in your system have plenty of fuel by feeding them a high-fiber diet.  The fermentable fiber in fresh vegetables, fruits, flax, and chia seeds are perfect for giving probiotics the food they need to maintain your healthy bacteria levels.

Adding probiotics to your diet is one health move you can make to improve your health.  These foods contain beneficial bacteria your body needs to fend off unwanted visitors.  Help your body today by including probiotics in your next meal or snack.