Low Fat "In a Nutshell"
The low-fat diet (roughly ten percent of total calories consumed) is universally recommended by health experts for maximum health and fitness results. Understanding the low-fat concept can be a bit tricky for some people, as even small volumes of fat can provide such high quantities of calories as to be misleading.....
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(original source: foodnsport.com)
Sense and Nonsense
Is there one diet that all humans are biologically designed for? What is that diet? When you're born into and come of age in a society where a particular diet is the norm, it can be difficult to swallow a way of eating that is different from what you're used to.....
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(original source: foodnsport.com)
Transitioning to a Healthy Raw Diet, the Easy Way
There are two, well-travelled roads to raw, and several other lesser paths. There used to be just one main route. It was via the SAD (Standard American Diet), vegetarian, (sometimes accompanied by a side trip into macrobiotic), vegan, and eventually raw-food styles. A lot of people have travelled that road. When they were on the SAD, they had no idea that they would ever change their diet. When they became vegetarian, they had no idea that vegan was in store for them. Upon going vegan, most would have argued that, "No way" was raw in their future.....
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(original source: health101.org)
Why Most Diets Don't Work
You eat for two basic reasons: 1. For fuel (measured in calories), and 2. For nutrients (vitamins, minerals, etc.). There are also emotional reasons for eating, but the above two requirements are the only reasons your body needs to have food. Keeping these two requirements in mind, let's look at how they can keep you from being the weight nature intended you to be.....
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(original source: health101.org)
Sleep, the Great Healer
For many years, science did not know why we slept. It was obvious that we did, but we had no idea why. Although today we know why, it is not common knowledge, and it really should be, because sufficient quality sleep is vital for vibrant health. Some refer to sleep as "recharging your batteries". This is very close to the truth. It has been estimated that 85% of the U.S. population is "under-slept", and this, in addition to other violations of the "basics of health" account for the tons of serious degenerative disease plaguing our society......
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(original source: health101.org)
The Fastest Way to Succeed on a Raw Food Diet
In my yoga classes we talk about the Sanskrit term "samskara", which refers to our habitual ways of doing and perceiving, both helpful and unhelpful. When you focus your attention on creating and living in new, positive samskara, old unhelpful habits wither and fall away easily, no longer keeping their hold. It's like the law of attraction, which states that what you think about grows, or what you focus on expands.
The #1 Reason Why it Seems So Hard to Get Healthy!
Health is the result of healthy living. That makes total sense, and we all want health, so why do we all have such a hard time with the "healthy living" part? We could name many different, valid reasons, of course, such as busy work schedules, children's needs, environmental toxins, addictions to cooked foods and other substances, lack of energy, unlucky genes, unsupportive family or friends, and on and on. But if we are willing to be really honest, we will see that these are just excuses. The real #1 reason why many of us fail to live healthfully is that deep down inside we do not feel worthy of vibrant health. Most of us do not even let ourselves imagine the power we would come into if we experienced our true health potential. We could quite literally change the world.
Build Your Immunity with Restorative Yoga Poses
You've all heard that chronic stress adversely affects your health. When stress becomes chronic, toxic byproducts build up in your body and this can lead to disease. In response to stress, your adrenal glands secrete hormones that act upon the autonomic nervous system to prepare the body for "fight or flight". When this stress is not quickly resolved (as is so often the case in today's chronically stressed lifestyles), the body's ability to heal itself is compromised, as many systems such as digestion and elimination are shut down so that the body can direct its primary energies to the perceived crisis.
The Whole Truth About Whole Grains
In the big picture of life on Earth, feeding grains to humans is still an experiment in its infancy. Thus far the results are very questionable! Most people don't realize that humans thrived for ten million years without consuming grains, representing more than 99.9% of the time that we have walked the Earth. There are still societies who experience robust health without eating grains, while there are no exceptionally health grain-eating societies.
Connecting the Yamas and Niyamas from Yoga Scripture with The Raw Food Lifestyle
Yoga is classically divided into eight aspects, or limbs, which are interconnected and lead eventually to the highest states of awareness. The limbs become progressively more internal. The first two of these limbs of yoga are the Yamas and the Niyamas. The five Yamas are ethical precepts, or universal principles of right living, to be practiced in word, thought, and deed. These include non-violence, truthfulness, control of the senses, non-stealing, and non-possession. The five Niyamas are personal practices to be observed, which will help one establish discipline in one's life. These include purity, contentment, austerity, self-study (study of the sacred texts), and surrender to God.
6 Steps to Conquering Food Cravings
It's that time of year, when powerful food cravings can really sneak up on you and threaten to undermine all of your diligent dietary efforts! When you cave in to these cravings, you may feel disappointed and frustrated with yourself, confused, and even powerless. If that isn't enough, you may suffer some unpleasant physical symptoms as well! Let's face it, cravings are real, and they really test your commitment to health. Many of the food-stuffs you may crave contain addictive substances, such as the many opioids in grains and chocolate (addictive, toxic, morphine-like molecules), or the caso-morphine in cheese. Salt and spices also excite your system and lead to cravings. And for different people, certain foods trigger emotional associations, which can also exert a powerful influence.
Yoga for the Raw Lifestyle Part II: Santosha
In my last newsletter I began an exploration of the Yamas and Niyamas, a series of 10 disciplines or steps, presented thousands of years ago by the great sage Patanjali, which purify the body and mind and help lead the yogi to enlightenment. I wrote to you about "tapas", or self-discipline, and offered a way of making this practice be about self love and self respect. Today I'd like to look at another one of the Niyamas, "santosha", or contentment. In anticipation of Thanksgiving, I am especially inspired to speak about the practice of expressing gratitude for what is, and contentment with yourself and your life.
Yoga for the Raw Lifestyle Part III: Saucha (Purity)
The Yamas and Niyamas are an ancient code of ethics created to guide yogis toward a pure life, and they make up the first two limbs of the eight limbs of ashtanga yoga. The Niyamas are about constructive discipline, or self-regulation which will help the practitioner to maintain a positive environment in which to grow. The first of the five Niyamas is saucha, which means purity in both mind and body. This requires making choices about what you take in through all channels - eyes, ears, nose, mouth, mind.
Fasting for Health
"Fasting is a period of comprehensive, maximal rest augmented by abstinence from all foods." (Graham, Douglas N., Hygienic Fasting, 2001, p. 2.) This is the type of true fast I am writing about here, in which only pure water is taken in, to satisfy thirst. Notice Dr. Graham's emphasis on rest. In order for the body to direct maximum energy toward healing during a fast, sufficient rest is critical. This means rest on all levels: physiological, sensory, psychological, emotional, and digestive.
Create a Nutritious Kitchen Garden in Winter
I receive a lot of questions about growing and eating sprouts, so I've decided to write a little article to express my views on the issue, and to provide support for those of you who want to explore this food. First, I'd better let you know that I am not an expert on sprouts! I grow them sometimes, and eat them sometimes, but they have never been a staple in my raw diet, in any season of the year. For me they are a "fun food" that my children and I enjoy every now and then. They are fun to grow, and add a nice texture to soups, salads, and raw sandwich wraps. And yes, they are nutritious.
You Don't Have to "Catch" Another Cold!
Germs only cause colds in bodies that feed them. Clean up your body (from the inside out!), and unwanted germs will go in search of food somewhere else. How do you clean up your body from the inside out? It's simple, really. Eat the foods your body is designed to eat, rest when you are tired, frequently spend time being active outdoors, year-round and in the sunshine, and enjoy and appreciate your life. Okay, so maybe it feels a little more complex for most of us, but you can get started by learning to focus your diet on appropriate foods, and learning to get sufficient rest.
A Raw Food Diet You Can Stay On
Many raw food educators and coaches today will encourage you to learn a repertoire of complex gourmet raw recipes that mimic common cooked dishes, with the aim of a "painless" transition to a diet of all raw food. This approach has pitfalls.
11 Essential Facts & Fallacies of a Raw Food Diet
1. Fact: A healthy raw diet is simple, exciting,
deliciously satisfying, and fun!
Fallacy: You need cooking, spices, salt, and herbs for
food to taste good, and you will miss and crave the old
diet.
My Fasting Story Part, I
For many years I knew that I wanted to undertake a long
fast, on water alone. Having suffered for more than twenty
years from a debilitating array of different maladies, and
having sampled an even wider array of treatments and
therapies, I knew I needed something big, something
powerful, to heal myself.
My Fasting Story, Part II: The First Week
Our first night together is spent at a hotel just outside
of the capital city of San Jose. Upon my arrival from the
airport, I meet the woman who is to be my roommate for the
duration of the fast. She is young and very chatty, and I
worry that her bubbly energy will bother me. Later I will
appreciate her as the perfect roommate for me - she is
solid, thoughtful, calm, positive, and deeply spiritual.
Her mantra: "It's all good".
My Fasting Story, Part III
I have a new intern monitoring me this week. I am still
feeling fine, still passing the "grip test" (a handshake
test of overall strength and vitality). My only new
symptom this morning is some soreness in the roof of my
mouth. I dreamed of food last night, but not the addictive
cooked foods Doug said we might revisit. In my dreams it
was all luscious, juicy ripe fruit! I attribute this to
the fact that I have adhered to a raw frugivorous diet for
several years preceding this fast.
My Fasting Story, Part IV
I am experiencing such brilliant clarity of thought this
morning! Every word of an original full-length article
just flows right through me, and I get out my journal and
simply transcribe it for my website. If only it was always
like this, and everything came so easily!
My Fasting Story, Part V
I am glad I will be allowed to have food today, because
after feeling physically rather lousy yesterday, I was
surprised to have a significant bowel elimination, even
after 25 days with no food going in! I worried that a
healing crisis like that would warrant continuing my fast
another day, but Doug says it's time to eat, and Lennie
says, "be thankful for a great liver flush!", so I am glad
that my body was able to eliminate, and glad that I
continued the fast long enough for my body to get to this
level of cleansing. I have lost a total of 19 pounds.
My Fasting Story, Part VI: Returning to "Normal" Life
My plane lands at Detroit Metro Airport in the middle of
the night, in a snowstorm. Goodbye to warm, sunny Costa
Rica! It is 2 am when my luggage finally makes it to
Baggage Claim (the cargo truck crashed in the storm!), and
3 am when my parents arrive to pick me up (they were caught
behind a snowy highway accident!). I feel like I'm caught
in a time-warp, sitting in a virtually empty airport
baggage claim at 3 am, adjusting to the shock of freezing
air and falling snow, and also feeling overstimulated,
sensitive, and ravenously hungry.
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