Nutrition

Curbing your appetite (and losing weight) with cranberries 

Curbing your appetite (and losing weight) with cranberries 

Reach for the cranberry to help you lose weight while you naturally suppress your appetite

First things first: If it ain't working, fix it!

Whether the summer months are on the distant horizon or not, we're talking weight loss and health goals big time these days.  With an estimated 1-in-3 Americans now considered medically obese, the world is clearly in need of some proper education about healthy eating habits and lifestyle practices in general. The diet pills, fad diets and bogus workout plans are evidently still not working (nor will they ever work as is).  This is a call to consciousness, if you are tired of being overweight and are ready to make a true change in your lifestyle, you and only you can take the first step!

The Miracle of Fasting, another life-changing book to buy (and read)

The Miracle of Fasting, another life-changing book to buy (and read)

Praises for The Miracle of Fasting: Proven Throughout History for Physical, Mental, & Spiritual Rejuvenation

The Miracle of Fasting: Review

Yet another book that will change (and also likely save) your life, "The Miracle of Fasting: Proven Throughout History for Physical, Mental, & Spiritual Rejuvenation." Lifestyle Extension Specialist and Health Crusader, Dr. Paul Bragg, N.D., Ph.D. and his daughter, Dr. Patricia Bragg, N.D., Ph.D. co-author this masterpiece of a book, explaining the history, basics and fundamental practice of fasting.  From the very first few words of this book, you will feel drawn in and connected to the knowledge that the Bragg duo are sharing with the world.

The ABC's for losing weight

The ABC's for losing weight

Never mind the diet pills, look to your local fruit stand for 3 common foods that can help you to naturally lose weight

Whether you're looking to lose weight for summerget fit to look as perfect as can be in to your bride's dress (and even groom's suit) for the upcoming wedding; or you just want to enhance your overall health by shedding some excess weight from your body, you can lose weight naturally by including some essential foods like apples, bananas and cherries in your diet.  And, you won't have to break your bank or look too hard as apples, bananas and cherries are rather inexpensive to buy and all three can usually be found year round at your nearby grocery store, local farmer's market or street-side fruit stand.

Don't be scurred of complex carbohydrates 👻

Don't be scurred of complex carbohydrates 👻

Uncovering the truth about complex carbohydrates to help you eat right (while simultaneously losing weight)

This article goes out to all of my fellow brothers and sisters who are still limiting the amount of carbohydrates that they eat with every meal.  Trust me, I know how you must feel -- I lived for years upon years refusing to eat rice or potatoes with my meals, just ordering "protein" and asking for no rice while I watched my family and friends next to me enjoying the rice and potatoes that they carelessly ordered.  Well, that was then and, now, I eat complex carbohydrates literally with each and every meal.

An apple a day keeps the (bariatrics) doctor away

An apple a day keeps the (bariatrics) doctor away

Examining the anti-obesity and digestive health benefits of apples for weight loss

Whether you're familiar with the old English proverb or not, an apple a day can and does actually help to keep us out of various types of doctor's offices, perhaps most notably, the bariatrics doctor's office.  Research and clinical studies show supporting evidence of apples (red apples specifically) as being effective in preventing, treating and reversing obesity with the help of water-soluble, vacuolar pigments known as anthocyanins (*as well as hints of another phyotchemical, malvidin, a type of anthocyanidin).

How Not To Die, a must read how-to for staying alive (and well)

How Not To Die, a must read how-to for staying alive (and well)

How Not To Die, the master plan prescription that navigates you to a longer, healthier life free of illness, disease and extravagant medical bills

How Not To Die: Detail & Review

How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease is one of my recent (self) health and wellness book favorites!  With Dr. Greger, M.D. safely guiding you past some of the leading causes of death in America, those who take heed can steer clear of heart disease, cancers, diabetes, high blood pressure, Parkinson’s and many more deadly tolls that have been taking lives annually.  How Not To Die is literally a must read for anyone looking to stay alive and well for as long as humanly possible.  Avoid illness and disease and save money on medical bills with the help of Dr. Greger's book, How Not To Die, full of research and nutritional facts designed to show you the way to the good (i.e. healthy) life.  Similar to The China Study, this is another book that just may save your life.  Literally.

Keep calm and stay cool this summer

Keep calm and stay cool this summer

30 Plant-based foods that you can eat to keep your cool and stay comfy in the summer heat

Cooling foods

Whether you're feeling beach body ready yet or not, the summer like temperatures are beginning to increase for us with record high heat waves on the horizon the coming season.  This summer, you can work to naturally keep your body temperatures as cool as humanly possibly by eating foods that are known to cool the body by hydrating it and flushing heat and toxins from it.  Some of Mother Nature's most popularly known cooling foods are fruits and vegetables but, there are also some good legumes and whole grains that are known to cool the body down, too.

Forks Over Knives, a great teaser for the plant-based life

Forks Over Knives, a great teaser for the plant-based life

Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health is a quick, easy and insightful read about the healing power of a whole food, plant based lifestyle

Forks Over Knives: Book Review

With approximately 60 pages of factual information about human diet, nutrition, and health; real-life, heart warming examples of patients reversing their chronic illnesses using plant-based foods (and no pharmaceutical drugs or surgeries); and 125 healthy recipes to get you started, Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health is a must read for anyone looking to take their health into their own hands and truly live the lives of their dreams with an all natural, plant-based lifestyle. It is such a short and easy to comprehend read, too, with mentions of the research conducted (and written book), The China Study, which you can read for more detail after getting your palette wet with Forks Over Knives. 

Cherry sweet dreams 🍒

Cherry sweet dreams 🍒

Cherries, an all natural source of melatonin, help to provide a good night sleep for all who eat

Melatonin (mel·a·to·nin)

Melatonin, scientifically known as N-acetyl-5-methoxy tryptamine, is a hormone (produced by our pineal glands) that regulates our sleep and wake cycles.  Our bodies naturally produce melatonin for us but, dependent on our current wake-sleep cycles; the amount of sunlight we take in with each day; and the overall settings of our body's internal system (i.e. circadian and biolgical rhythms), our melatonin levels may not be at their most optimal conditions.  Perhaps one of the most common afflictions resulting from an imbalance in melatonin is difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep and staying awake throughout the day, otherwise known as insomnia.  Although some research and/or studies claim that one-half of the human population will experience symptoms of insomnia in any one given year, there is truly nothing to fret or even be alarmed about as you can always use natural remedies to increase your melatonin levels and improve your sleeping patterns.  Perhaps the easiest and 100% all natural method for increasing melatonin in our bodies is by utilizing the foods within our medicine cabinet (i.e. fridge) and, at the top of the list of the foods that we can eat to naturally boost melatonin and create sweet dreams with are, CHERRIES.  So, prepare to fully hit that snooze button and make yourself ready for a good night sleep with this sweet bedtime story about, cherries, one of Mother Nature's (many) natural sources of melatonin.

The China Study, a recommended read for everyone

The China Study, a recommended read for everyone

A look at The China Study: The Most Comprehensive Study of Nutrition Ever Conducted And the Startling Implications for Diet, Weight Loss, And Long-term Health

The China Study: Feedback & Review

One of my all time favorite books to date, full of factual information (that's actually backed by non-biased, scientific research) about dietary nutrition, self-health practices and human biology and anatomy.  The China Study is one of the first books ever to be published that reveals the truths about what we should be eating as human beings in order to live our lives as healthy as humanly possible.  This book truly served as a huge eye-opener for me, uncovering a lot of the (hidden) facts about nutrition and human health in general, helping me to lose more weight while also living my life in a more conscious way.  From the first few sentences of the first introduction chapter, I was fully engaged and had to read on to discover more of.. the real truth about dietary nutrition. This book may literally save your life.