When you want to eat that delicious looking cookie and have your health too!
There are various ways to substitute healthy ingredients and get the same luscious results.
Healthful Baking Substitutions
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Category Archives: Healthy Eating
Why We are Getting Fat
Obesity, and diabetes are now reaching epidemic proportions in prevalence. Here’s a look at why:
The Obesity Epidemic Started When The Low-Fat Guidelines Were Published
Source: National Center for Health Statistics (US). Health, United States, 2008: With Special Feature on the Health of Young Adults. 2009 Mar. Chartbook.
In the 20th century, scientists believed fat, especially saturated fat, to be the main dietary cause of heart disease (although this has since been disproven).
This led to the birth of the low-fat diet. Interestingly, the obesity epidemic started at almost the exact same time the low-fat guidelines first came out.
There are massive long-term studies showing that the low-fat diet does NOT cause weight loss, and does not prevent heart disease or cancer.
We Are Drinking More Sugary Soda and Fruit Juices
The brain doesn’t “register” liquid sugar calories in the same way as it does solid calories. So if we consume a sugary drink, the brain doesn’t automatically make you eat fewer calories of something else instead.
Studies have shown that a single daily serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage, including natural juices, is linked to a 60.1% increased risk of obesity in children.
Sugar is bad… but sugar in liquid form is even worse.
We Have Become Sedentary
Although leisure time physical activity (exercise) has increased, it is also true that people now have jobs that are less physically demanding.
We are now burning around 100 fewer calories per day in our jobs, which may contribute to weight gain over time.
We Are Eating More Vegetable Oils, Mostly From Processed Foods
Processed foods contain trans fats, inflammation-causing refined oils, sugar, preservatives, flavor enhancers, artificial flavors, coloring agents and a host of other chemicals to increase the shelf life or appeal of these artificial foods, increasing their addictive nature.
The vegetable oils we use in our home, irrespective of original source, goes through intense heat and chemical processes, stripping it of all benefits. Colors and flavors are then added to make them appealing.
All these are harmful in various ways.
We Are Sleeping Less
Source: Cauter EV, et al. The Impact of Sleep Deprivation on Hormones and Metabolism. Medscape, 2005.
In recent decades, average sleep duration has decreased by 1-2 hours per night. The reasons for this are numerous, but increased artificial lighting and electronics are likely contributors.
As it turns out, short sleep duration is one of the strongest individual risk factors for obesity. It is linked to an 89% increased risk in children, and a 55% increased risk in adults.
Increased Calorie Intake
Calorie consumption has increased dramatically over the past few decades.
But it’s important to keep in mind that it is not some collective moral failure that drives the increased calorie intake. Xenobiotics from toxins such as from plastics and heavy metals disrupt our hormones, altering the way our brains and bodies work.
This is the underlying reason for the increased calorie intake and weight gain, NOT a lack of willpower, as some people would have us believe.
Now that we know, we can easily take steps to Remain Healthy.
Applause for the Coconut!
Mother Nature is incredibly generous in the way she provides – offering a bounty of fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins, minerals and nutrients to nourish your body so you can enjoy a long healthy life.
One fruit in particular – the coconut – is so abundant in its healing properties it’s referred to as “the tree of life.”
The coconut is a “functional food” rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber – the essential nutritional building blocks for perfect health.
For generations, island people considered it “The Cure for All Illness” and consumed the meat, milk and coconut oil daily. Although this diet was high in saturated fat, Western conditions like diabetes, cancer and heart disease were virtually unheard of.
The islanders were instead rewarded with a lovely youthful complexion, soft wrinkle-free skin, almost no skin cancer – even with excessive exposure to year round sun – and abundant good health.
Coconut oil – a saturated fat – is chock-full of health-promoting properties – and is in no way responsible for high cholesterol, obesity and heart disease.
Finally, modern medicine and science are starting to realize this fundamental truth… and it’s been a long time coming. But sadly not before heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and a whole host of other catastrophic diseases have reached epidemic proportions!
Some oils which should be avoided:
Canola
There is no such thing as a canola in nature. Canola oil is actually a modified version of rapeseed oil. The rape plant (in the mustard family) contains cyanide-containing compounds and wild animals and even insects avoid it in nature.
The refining process of deodorizing and bleaching to become canola oil involves exposing rapeseed oil to high heat, which greatly reduces the omega 3 content (perhaps it’s only original redeeming factor).
Consumption of this “GMO Oil” has been linked to muscular disorders and fatty degeneration of the heart, kidneys, adrenals and thyroid gland.
Cottonseed Oil
Thousands of commercially produced foods contain cottonseed oil; everything from canned foods to chips and other packaged items. It is even in beverages such as Gatorade. However, cotton is not a food crop, and is therefore not treated like an edible crop but an industrial one.
Virtually anything can be sprayed on cotton plants to ward off insects and induce growth. Dangerous poisons such as trifluralin, cyanide, dicofol, propargite and naled are used on cotton crops. These work their way deep into the plants, literally transforming them into toxic organisms.
Safflower
Researchers now have evidence that it may not be cholesterol that kills, but omega-6’s. When a group of individuals replaced animal fats with omega-6-rich safflower oil, their cholesterol levels decreased, however, the rates of death from cardiovascular disease and coronary artery disease increased significantly as compared to those consuming the animal fats.
Soybean
Soybean oil is highly processed and heavily hydrogenated and found in a vast majority of products on supermarket shelves. And choosing organic soy does not make it safer… as some so-called “organic” soy farms have been found to be fraudulent, passing off the GMO-product for the real thing. It’s best to avoid soybean oil completely.
Coconut Oil is safe and healthy
It’s no secret breast feeding is about the best thing a mother can do to boost her child’s immune system. What makes mother’s milk so healthy is that it contains high amounts of lauric acid and coconut oil contains nearly 50% lauric acid.
Coconut Oil Fuels Metabolism
Researchers have discovered that in cultures where unrefined coconut oil is a part of the everyday diet, there is less obesity and less lifestyle-related disease.
Coconut Oil BoostsThyroid
Many people suffer from low thyroid function with little understanding of the cause. It’s really no wonder because most processed foods contain iodine blockers, and iodine is essential for optimum thyroid function! Plus, without a healthy thyroid, weight loss is nearly impossible—especially for women.
Coconut Oil Protects and Beautifies Skin
People living in the tropics have beautiful, wrinkle-free skin because coconut oil is not only part of their diet—but also their beauty regimen!
Coconut oil is a naturally moisturizing cleanser—and an effective sunscreen, blocking out 20 percent of harmful rays… thanks to the medium-chain fatty acids that protect and heal the skin at the same time.
Coconut Oil Can protect the Brain
Alzheimer’s is on the rise. But by helping the body produce ketones—an alternative energy source for your brain, you can protect your brain from the devastating effects of this savage disease. When MCTs—medium chain triglycerides—are metabolized by the body, ketones are created. And coconut oil is rich in MCT’s.
Coconut Oil is Good for Heart Health
Heart disease is a scary disease often treated with even scarier drugs—like statins!
Statins (cholesterol lowering drugs) deplete the body of vital heart-nourishing nutrients and can do more harm than good. Coconut oil is full of heart-healing benefits and can help prevent the need for such drugs—and even help keep you from getting sick in the first place.
Eat Healthy and Stay Healthy.
Chicken Soup for the Lungs
Dr. Stephen Sinatra.
Every year around this time I get many questions about the best natural cold and flu treatments. This season, I’m trotting out an old remedy: chicken soup. However, it’s not your regular chicken soup. This “souped-up” chicken soup is loaded with hot spices to support your immune system and to help thin and expel mucus. People with upper respiratory viruses, asthma, and bronchitis usually produce excess mucus, which eventually gets into the lungs. This buildup often leads to bronchospasms—the constriction of muscles in the walls of the airways. These spasms can contribute to difficulty in breathing and sleepless nights. You don’t hear much about bronchospasms, but our constant exposure to airborne toxins and particles make them a real health challenge.
Mucus—Both a Blessing and a Curse for Your Lungs – The lungs produce mucus as a protective agent. It traps bacteria, antigens, dust, and other irritants that enter the respiratory passages during breathing. In this way, mucus is a blessing. However, the overproduction of mucus is a symptom of many common illnesses—including colds, flu, asthma, allergies, and chronic bronchitis. Coughing is the body’s way to get rid of the excess, but this effort can be challenging because of the thick and sticky nature of mucus. In fact, I have had patients suffer minor strokes, pass out, pull muscles, or even fracture ribs as a result of their coughing attacks.
Several years ago, I came across the work of Irwin Ziment, M.D.—a retired pulmonologist and professor of medicine at UCLA. More than three decades ago, he discovered that ancient healers used natural substances such as garlic and hot peppers, as well as chicken soup to address the problem. In fact, he routinely prescribed chicken soup with garlic and hot peppers as a complement to modern drug treatments. Treating the bronchospasms without treating the mucus is backward. As he explains it, “Bronchospasm is always accompanied by mucus, but the mucus is largely ignored by doctors; only the bronchospasm gets treated.” It’s actually the mucus that’s helping to drive the bronchospasms.
Chicken Soup to the Rescue
How does chicken soup help? Chicken soup contains a natural amino acid called cysteine. A form of this amino acid, called N-acetyl cysteine, is a powerful antioxidant that strengthens immunity. It has been one of my favorite winter supplements for years because it’s been shown to be a natural flu treatment. But it’s not enough to just eat chicken soup. You need to spike it with garlic, hot peppers, hot curry, and/or Tabasco sauce. That’s because these the garlic and hot peppers add heat and pungency, and are a knockout punch against mucus. It may sound tortuous but, according to Dr. Ziment, when properly prepared the soup should bring tears to the eyes and cause a runny nose as it loosens the mucus. I recommend a more measured approach. Start with a mild mix and work up to a level that you can handle and that is also effective at clearing your sinuses.
A strong physical reaction to the soup is a sure sign that it’s having the desired effect. A runny nose and watery eyes mean the body has been stimulated to loosen mucus at even the deepest levels—making it is easier to cough out the congestion and feel better. There may be no drug that can more effectively break up mucus in your lungs, nor any inhaler that works as deeply. The drugs that affect mucus, such as atropine, merely dry the mucous membranes. And, as the body starts to require the drugs to keep the mucus levels down, a “rebound effect” occurs. Not only does the mucus return when the drugs wear off, it often returns at levels that are worse than they were before taking the drug. In our pharmaceutically controlled medical system, I doubt chicken soup (even spiced up with garlic and Tabasco) will ever get due recognition as a standard treatment for respiratory ailments. However, it certainly should be something that doctors recommend. It’s natural, safe, and effective. It’s no wonder that it’s been such a longstanding traditional remedy.
Stay Healthy, its simple!
Why we can’t stop eating, and what can we do to beat the habit
Many people falsely believe that weight gain (and loss) is all about calories and willpower.
The fact is, there are biological forces in play.
1. Sugar is a drug. And it’s not just a figure of speech. It has been proven scientifically that sugar has the same negative effects like heroin, cigarettes or alcohol.
Even though people who are obese or overweight have an intense desire to lose weight , they just can’t stop because foods with sugar are addictive.
2. Fat cells in our bodies take in and store excessive amounts of glucose and other calorie-rich compounds. Since fewer calories are available to fuel metabolism, the brain tells the body to increase calorie intake (we feel hungry) and save energy (our metabolism slows down). Eating more solves this problem temporarily but also accelerates weight gain. Cutting calories reverses the weight gain for a short while, making us think we have control over our body weight, but predictably increases hunger and slows metabolism even more.
Take Home Message
Obesity is not caused by greed, laziness or a lack of willpower. There are strong biochemical forces at play… which are mostly driven by changes in the environment, and particularly the Western diet.
The truth is… everywhere this diet goes, obesity and chronic disease follows. Not because this diet turns people into gluttons and sloths, but because it alters our biology in a way that changes our behavior.
CHALLENGE YOURSELF TO STAY OFF SUGAR AT LEAST FOR ONE DAY AND TELL ME HOW IT WAS.
Be Healthy. And Stay Healthy.