TIP of the Day!
According to a recent CDC report, Americans eat less than two servings of vegetables each day.
A Simple Solution: Try these easy vegetable Smoothie Recipes that help you boost your daily intake of nutritional greens.

Nutruition!

Start Your Day Out With a Great Breakfast.

A good breakfast is the best way to wake the body up and prepare it for a day that is alive. Gluten Free Oatmeal, using frozen blueberries, strawberries or any other fruit to sweeten it up naturally and Cage Free egg whites are always a great start. Remember to remove the egg yolks as there is not much nutritional benefit and is a HIGH CHOLESTEROL item which could lead to heart problems in the future. Cholesterol platelets coagulate and adhere to the insides of our arteries and in time actually make the passage smaller and smaller, thus increasing our blood pressure. High blood pressure medication only thins out our blood and does NOT clean up our arteries and will only remove the WARNING LIGHT our body is giving us. Eventually, it will close up the artery and an Emergency Bypass Surgery will be necessary to keep you alive. You can avoid these high risks by thinking ahead and making the right choices now.

Contrary to what many so called Diet Experts claim, carbohydrates are actually a FUEL for muscle building. There is one important catch to it all though... If you DON'T USE that fuel and get a good workout, it will then turn to glucose and at THAT time will become a fuel for FAT. In other words, don't eat carbs then go sit at your computer the next 2 hours.

Another common misconception is that getting a firm mid-section is all about doing crunches. However, the truth is Abdominal Exercises alone will never create a firm stomach, no matter how hard you try. We all have the abs but whether they show up or not depends on how much fat is covering them, making them virtually disappear. How do you get rid of this layer of fat? It is Much easier than you would think. First, remember that CARDIO is the main thing you will need to do... and lots of it. Cardio and exercise are about the only thing that will BURN UP those calories and force the body to FEED off the fatty tissue buildup. Running, jogging and bicycle riding are three of the best ways to burn calories while feeding muscle with that fatty tissue. It sort of "kills two birds with one stone"

Always remember to FEED the body properly for what you are going to DEMAND from it. Give it the right fuel.

A Plant Based Diet actually nourishes the body, increasing cell growth and repair. It gives our body what it needs without giving it other things that actually harm it.

8-10 years of extra life is what you can expect when you move away from eating animal foods and toward a plant-based diet. According to a recent report on the largest study of vegetarians and vegans, those eating plant-based diets appear to have a significantly longer life expectancy. Vegetarians live on average almost eight years longer than the general population, which is similar to the gap between smokers and nonsmokers. This is not surprising, given the reasons most of us are dying. In an online video, ," Michael Greger, M.D. explores in detail the role a healthy organic vegetarian or vegan diet can play in preventing, treating, and even reversing the top 15 killers in the United States. Yes, that Specifically includes Cancer. Yes, Exercise alone CAN help combat cancer cells BUT it must be STRENUOUS Exercise. In a 14 year study, Literally 5000 hours in the gym resulted in just over HALF the effectiveness of a plant based diet without any exercise. Why would anyone not incorporate a healthy diet AND some form of exercise in their life.

Heart disease is our leading cause of death. In a 35-year follow-up study of the Harvard Nurses Health Study which was recently published, it found that now the most definitive long-term study on older women's health. Dietary cholesterol intake -- only found in animal foods -- was associated with living a significantly shorter life and fiber intake -- only found in plant foods -- was associated with living a significantly longer life. Consuming the amount of cholesterol found in just a single egg a day may cut a woman's life short as much as smoking five cigarettes daily for 15 years, whereas eating a daily cup of oatmeal's worth of fiber appears to extend a woman's life as much as four hours of jogging a week. (Why can't we do both!)


High Blood Pressure and Diet

What if your cholesterol is normal, though? I hear that a lot. But here's the thing: having a "normal" cholesterol in a society where it's "normal" to drop dead of a heart attack is not necessarily a good thing. According to the editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Cardiology, "For the build-up of plaque in our arteries to cease, it appears that the serum total cholesterol needs to be lowered to the 150 area. In other words the serum total cholesterol must be lowered to that of the average pure vegetarian."

We literally poison our bodies slowly each day thus removing days of our lives every time we eat conventionally grown vegetables with chemical pesticides.

What is pH? (the Potential of Hydrogen)

Our pH Balance is the level of Acid and Alkaline in our system. Studies have shown that the hormones and antibiotics given to cattle and chickens are passed down to the end user ... PEOPLE. That's why most of us are on medications in our later years because of how those horomones slowly deteriorated our body. The human body is an incredibly complex system of systems all working in harmony. Pain is our warning system letting us know that something in our body is out of balance ... medications such as pain relievers don't correct the problem, they just bypass the warning system. Most of the time the body can heal itself but often takes a little longer. We are too spoiled to the "quick fix" of medications. But even the medications have unwanted effects on the human body. Have you noticed how long the list of disclaimers in commercials for many prescription medications are? Listen to them next time you see one on TV. A two minute commercial will have as much as one full minute of disclaimers. Who do you think is paying for that extra minute of prime Television Advertisement time? This is another reason why pharmaceuticals are so expensive.

Antioxidants are intimately involved in the prevention of cellular damage ...the common pathway for cancer, aging and various diseases. The scientific community has begun to unravel some of the mysteries around this topic and the media has started our thirst for knowledge. Athletes have a keen interest because of health concerns and the idea of enhanced performance and recovery after exercise. This should serve as a beginners guide to what antioxidants are and to review their role in exercise, nutrition and our overall health. The following is only a glimpse into the dynamics of how and why they are so important in our diet.

Antioxidants are molecules that can safely interact with free radicals and terminate the chain reaction before vital molecules are damaged. Although there are several enzyme systems within the body that scavenge free radicals, the principle vitamin or micronutrient antioxidants are beta-carotene, vitamin C and vitamin E. Additionally, selenium, a trace metal that is required for proper function of one of the body's antioxidant enzyme systems, is sometimes included in this category. The body cannot manufacture these micronutrients so they must be introduces through our diet.

Beta-carotene is a precursor to vitamin A (retinol) and is present in egg yolk, milk, butter, carrots, squash, broccoli, spinach, yams, tomato, cantaloupe, peaches, grains and liver. Because beta-carotene is converted to vitamin A by the body there is no set requirement. Instead the RDA is expressed as retinol equivalents (RE), to clarify the relationship. (Vitamin A has no antioxidant properties and can be quite toxic when taken in excess.)

Vitamin E : d-alpha tocopherol. A fat soluble vitamin found in nuts, seeds, vegetable oils, fish oils, whole grains, wheat germ and apricots. Current recommended daily allowance (RDA) is 15 IU per day for men and 12 IU per day for women.

Vitamin C : Ascorbic acid is a water soluble vitamin found in citrus fruits and juices, green peppers, cabbage, spinach, broccoli, kale, cantaloupe, kiwi and strawberries. The RDA is 60 mg per day. Any amount above 2000 mg could bring on adverse side effects in some people.

WHAT ARE FREE RADICALS?

Free radicals are atoms or groups of atoms with an odd or unpaired number of electrons that forms when oxygen interacts with certain molecules. Once formed these highly reactive radicals can start a chain reaction like dominoes. Their chief danger comes from the damage they can cause when they react with important cellular components like DNA or the cellular membrane. Cells may function poorly or die if this occurs. To prevent this damage from free radicals, the body has a defense system of antioxidants.