For my daughter’s birthday, I decided to hire a raw food chef to prepare a totally raw gourmet dinner. I knew it would be a completely new experience for the whole family, except me, who has eaten this way before.  Not only was this a healthy gift, consuming a diet of raw food has a healthy impact on the environment as well. Read on to find out how.

I consulted with both Alexi Bracey (the raw food chef) and my daughter and came up with a menu that would suit most of the varying taste buds within our family. What we came up with was a choice of soups; Sweet and Spicy Red Pepper or Borscht, Lasagna and Coleslaw for the main course and Carrot Cake or Lemon Tart in Pecan Crust for desert.

The choices were good as we covered most of the family taste buds that way. During the dinner, there were tons of questions about ingredients and how it was made and most of the family enjoyed the meal.

The resounding response was that the meal was extremely filling and there was no snacking after the meal and during our evening conversation. Everyone felt very nourished and very full. So I felt that I had given a very healthy gift not only to my daughter but to the rest of the family as well. The grandkids will grow into it as they mature, but they at least tried everything.

So why raw food?

The raw food diet is one of the best kept secrets to creating optimal health, emotional balance and spiritual transformation. I find when I eat more raw, my energy changes. I am more alive and have more energy. I also notice a difference in my vibration. It is not as dense. In terms of the environment, it reconnects me again to Nature and Mother Earth.

Raw foods are alive with their enzymes intact. Processed food has valuable but fragile vitamins, enzymes, phytochemicals and probably other things as well, destroyed during cooking and processing.

Raw and living foodists eat all fruits, vegetables, seaweed, sea vegetables, roots, sprouts, nuts, seeds, grains, sea vegetables and other organic/natural foods that have not been processed, such as fresh fruit or vegetable juices, sweeteners, fresh herbs, raw spices, young coconut milk, fresh nut milks, purified water and oil.

There are special ways to prepare the foods by soaking, sprouting, juicing, dehydrating, pickling, and blending. This involves equipment like:

• containers for soaking the seeds, grains and beans
• a dehydrator (a piece of equipment that can blow air through food at low temperatures)
• a juicer, blender, food processor, and a sprouter

There are other pieces of equipment you may need when you get into the gourmet aspects of preparation, but these are the essential ones.

There are numerous health benefits to eating this way:

• increased energy,
• clearer skin,
• illness prevention,
• slowed aging,
• a naturally detoxed body,
• reduced risk of disease, etc.

In addition, raw food is rich in fiber, more flavorful, you can eat as much as you want and still maintain a healthy weight, it is easier to digest and it takes less time to prepare in most cases, easier to clean up, and there is more nutritional value in the food.

Let us not overlook the effect on the overall environment.  Eating raw is also environmentally sound. Think about it: with humanity on a diet of raw foods, the food industry would close up shop and take up organic gardening. What a concept! This would save us enormous amounts of natural resources used to produce power for these industries. Also, think of the forests we’d save, when we wouldn’t need the paper and plastics used in packaging our processed foods. There would also be less carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere when all the cooking stopped.  More oxygen would be produced from all the new orchards and gardens. I know this whole idea might seem improbable, but if all of us made a few changes bit by bit, it would add up to help save Mother Earth.

I know we are not anywhere near this little dream of mine, but it is good to dream and throw around these ideas. I want our future generations to enjoy this planet as much as we have. Slowly more and more people are getting back in touch with themselves and with nature. So you never know what the future holds.

I’d love to get your feedback.  Here on my blog, you’ll get commentluv.  That’s great for all bloggers out there. If you leave a comment, you can provide a link back to your own blog.  But you don’t have to be a blogger to leave a comment; I’m looking forward to hearing from all of you!

To your good health!

Charlene

With the New Year upon us,  here is a list of things to do to make 2011 great!

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. Make time to practice meditation and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

4. When you wake up in the morning, complete the following statement, “My purpose is to___________ today.”

5. Live with the 3 E’s — Energy, Enthusiasm, Empathy.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Dream more while you are awake.

8. Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

9. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat fewer foods that are manufactured in plants.

10. Drink plenty of water. Eat more fruit, vegetables, nuts & seeds.

11. What other people think of you is none of your business.

12. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

13. Clear your clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.  Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

14. Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

15. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.

16. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

17. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

18. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.

19. Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

20. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

21. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: “In five years, will this matter?”

22. Watch more movies, play more games and read more books than you did in 2010.

23. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

24. Burn the beautiful candles, use the nice sheets, and wear the fancy clothes.  Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

25. Forgive everyone everything.

26. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

27. Have an attitude of gratitude.

28. Stay in touch with your friends and family.

29. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

30. Stay in the present moment!

31. The best is yet to come.

32. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: “I am thankful for __________.” Today I accomplished _________.

33. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

34. Enjoy the ride.

35. Life is precious.

I’m sure there are many more, but this is a great list to start with. The bottom line is that we need more interior time than what our busy schedules allow. More reflection time. The interesting thing is when we take it, life is much more enjoyable.

Do you have a story to share? I’d love to get your feedback.  Here on my blog, you’ll get commentluv.  That’s great for all bloggers out there. If you leave a comment, you can provide a link back to your own blog.  But you don’t have to be a blogger to leave a comment; I’m looking forward to hearing from all of you!

Happy New Year!

Charlene

What is environment?

We generally think of the environment as being outside of ourselves. But just think about it for a moment. If we look at our planet from outer space and see the globe, we are part of that picture. Yes, we are too small to be seen by the physical eye but we are in that picture. So technically we are part of the environment not separate from it.

Our environment consists of land and water. There are many creatures both in the water and on the land. All connected in what we call the web of life. In this environment, the human creatures grow food from the land and drink the water that is potable.

What is food?

Food starts from a seed and that seed grows in the soil and we humans eat various parts of the end result, either the root or the above ground part. Humans also kill animals and fish for food as well. There is a whole cycle of life involved here.

Have you ever marveled at the miracle of the seed? Inside the seed is an imprint of a plant along with the initial nutrients needed to get the seedling stage. The seeds need some good soil, the right temperature, oxygen, water and sun in order to germinate. Each seed produces a life form with its own circulatory system and roots for assimilation of soil nutrients. Each seed knows every possible detail of the plant or tree it is to become. All that information is wrapped up in a tiny seed. Isn’t that amazing?

When we grow our food or we buy it from stores (who buy the food from food producers through a whole distribution channel), we get the results of the seed interacting with the environment. When we grow the food ourselves, we are in control of the kind of soil we use, the fertilizers and the growing conditions like where we place the seed.  We can choose not to spray any pesticides or herbicides and have everything organically grown. When we purchase from a store we have to be more careful of our choices. There is some organic produce available but it may take some extra effort to find it.

As the plants grow, they take in water and mineral elements from the soil through the root system. They absorb carbon dioxide from the air and through the action of light, directed by chlorophyll, liberate oxygen into the environment. This process is called photosynthesis and the chlorophyll makes more simple substances such as sugars, starch, cellulose, acids, lignin, tannins, amino acids, etc.  The living material of the plant is called protoplasm. Many plants have their own unique substances formed exclusive to that plant. So really plants are energy converters. This is truly a miracle when you think about it.

There are minerals in good rich soils that we can’t absorb until the plant takes them in through the root system and converts them through this whole process of photosynthesis. The energy in the earth comes through the plants and after we eat and absorb these plants, we get the kind of energy we need.

Energy vibrates.

Everything vibrates at different frequencies. Let’s think about what we are putting into our bodies.  Remember we are not only physical; we are also vibrating mentally, emotionally and spiritually. So when we nourish our bodies, we are nourishing all aspects of us. Every meal gives us a chance to energize physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

All the plants and all our food vibrate. If our food has been treated in any way, that changes the vibration.  There are too many factors that change the vibration to list, but bottom line, the more fake a food is, the more the vibration has been changed.

The vibration we are looking for is the one that keeps our energy high. So the more alive and untreated the food is, the more it will nourish us on all levels. So going back to we are the environment, what we do to our food, we do ourselves. What we do to our water, we do to ourselves. Everything is connected.

Our planet is in a state of disarray presently. I believe we are getting signals to remind us to go back to nature and everything natural. I hope that this blog made some connections for you. A gentle reminder to be more aware of what we are putting into our mouth if our desire is to be healthy.

Do you have a story to share? I’d love to get your feedback.  Here on my blog, you’ll get commentluv.  That’s great for all bloggers out there. If you leave a comment, you can provide a link back to your own blog.  But you don’t have to be a blogger to leave a comment; I’m looking forward to hearing from all of you!

Stay tuned for more on the vibrational effects of food.

Charlene

One Food That Can Save the Day

We are faced with numerous environmental challenges these days. This one is particularly dangerous and I wanted to inform you where you are being exposed to these chemicals and the effects it is having to our future generations.

The word “xenoestrogens” means foreign estrogens. They are man-made environmental chemicals, which are taken up by the estrogen receptor sites in the body and seriously interfere with natural biochemical changes.  These estrogen-like mimics have an uncanny ability to mimic natural estrogen and/or block natural hormones. They have distinct effects in different species and organs. Xenoestrogens are fat-soluble, not biodegradable or well excreted, and accumulate in fat tissue of animals and humans.  They are also dangerously toxic. The principle function of estrogens is to cause cellular proliferation and growth of tissues of the sexual organs and other tissues related to reproduction. So the union of hormone mimics to receptors, triggers genes that stimulate the production of proteins that accelerate cell division. This cell division is leading to a host of health challenges.

Mounting research is now revealing an alarming situation worldwide created by the inundation of these hormone-mimics. In the book, Our Stolen Future, authors Colburn, Dumanoski, and Meyers have identified 51 families of hormone mimics each able to unleash a torrent of effects such as reduced sperm production, cell division and sculpting of the developing brain. These mimics are not only linked to the recent discovery that human sperm counts worldwide have plunged by 50 per cent between 1938 and 1990 but also to altered sexual behaviour, lowered immunity, increased genital deformities, breast, ovarian, uterine, prostate and testicular cancer, and interfered with behavioral and neurological development.

For women, fibrocystic breast disease, polycystic ovarian syndrome, endometriosis, uterine fibroids and pelvic inflammatory diseases are also suspected. These may be influenced by developmental or chronic lifetime exposure to estrogen mimics.

These estrogenic chemicals are everywhere: in the air, water, food, soil, and over-abundantly in our bodies. These chemicals are mostly from the petrochemical industry and unfortunately for our health, petrochemicals are everywhere. Our machines run on petrochemicals such as gasoline and kerosene. Organochlorines are produced by chlorine gas reacting with petroleum hydrocarbons. Today there are organochlorines being used in plastics, pesticides, solvents, dry cleaning agents, refrigerants and other chemicals. Thousands more are by-products of the disinfection of water, bleaching of paper and incineration of chlorinated products.  Millions of products, including various plastics (polycarbonated plastics found in babies bottles, toys, food containers and water jugs), PCBs, microchips, medicines, even our synthetic vitamins, clothing, foods, household cleansers, air deodorizers, personal care products (such as cosmetics, antiperspirants, soaps, toothpaste and mouthwash), pesticides and herbicides (such as DDT, dieldrin, heptachlor, etc.) and perfumes, either contain or are made from petrochemicals.

Some proven environmental estrogens used as pesticides, most notably DDT, toxaphene and dicofol, have been banned in most western industrial countries but are still used in many developing nations. Averages of over 25% of all regular Canadian and imported produce show residues of pesticides. In just one example, California raisin and strawberry growers and Washington State apple growers are permitted to use DDT-laced pesticide dicofol on food crops.

Drinking water may be contaminated by other proven estrogenic compounds  (nonylphenol (NP), endosulfan) still being used in plastics manufacturing and pesticides.  NP from our liquid laundry detergent, all-purpose cleaners, soaps and shampoos also taint our water.  Airborne ash from industry or hazardous waste incinerators is often high in hormone disrupters like dioxin (one of the most virulent) as well as lead, mercury, and cadmium. The ash lands on grass or hay eaten by livestock and then is passed along, concentrated, to humans.

Our food is one of the most common pathways for these hormone-disrupting chemicals to gain entry. Processed foods now comprise 80% of our food supply. Packaging, excess sugar and hydrogenated fats, preservatives, artificial colour and flavourings may all be hazardous.  For example, Red Dye No. 3, a powerful carcinogen, is still widely used. Plastic containers, styrene cups, food packaging or can liners may contain PVCs (polyvinyl chlorides), alkylphenols, nonylphenols, bisphenol-a and phthalates. These are known xenoestrogens that migrate into food when heated or stored for long periods.

Food animals and dairy fat are a major source of hormonally active chemicals in our food and waterways. The highest concentrations are in beef and dairy products, with high residues of DDT and other chlorinated pesticides, antibiotics, veterinary drugs and growth-stimulating sex hormones. Fish from industrialized waterways are contaminated with a wide range of xenoestrogens. All Great Lakes salmon show enlarged thyroid glands in recent years.

Taking it one step further, synthetic estrogens are also being dumped into the waterways through the urine of women and enter our food chain. This has also increased our levels of estrogen exposure.

So we see xenoestrogens are everywhere and that we are being bombarded with them. Many women are considered “estrogen dominate” because of our over exposure to these foreign estrogens.  Because this is a big topic, I will deal with this subject next week. What I want to cover this week is that there is a safe alternative that can actually protect us from this over exposure.

Plant estrogens, called phytoestrogens, compete with natural and xenoestrogens for binding to receptors in the body. The phytoestrogens protect us from the toxic, synthetic petrochemical estrogenic compounds. They act as weak estrogens and appear to produce estrogen effects in postmenopausal women and anti-estrogen effects in premenopausal women.  Phytoestrogens thus have this ability to act as “balancers” – by raising low levels of estrogen and by lowering high levels by replacing a strong estrogen with a weaker one.

Significant amounts of phytoestrogens are found in many foods including soy products, flaxseeds, chickpeas, cashews, oats, corn, apples, and almonds.  One of the best sources of phytoestrogens is called isoflavones found in soy.  By eating these foods on a daily basis, we can protect the cell receptor sites from the xenoestrogens. This is an important awareness as most people do not know the benefits of these foods. Phytoestrogens are therefore the “good guys” and can counteract the bad effects of the “bad guys”. So do yourself a favour and protect your cell receptor sites on a daily basis.

Every morning I take my water washed soy protein powder and mix it with water. After I drink it, I know that I have protected my cell receptor sites for the day. I highly recommend that you do the same for increased health and wellness. Feel free to contact me for more information on the difference in the brands of soy protein powder.

Do you have a story to share? I’d love to get your feedback.  Here on my blog, you’ll get commentluv.  That’s great for all bloggers out there. If you leave a comment, you can provide a link back to your own blog.  But you don’t have to be a blogger to leave a comment; I’m looking forward to hearing from all of you!

Next week I will cover the different types of estrogens and estrogen dominance.

Stay tuned.

Charlene Day

Charlene Day on Women’s Health Issues

In honour of Mother’s Day month, I am continuing to address women’s health issues.  These are issues affecting physical aspects of healing, but that have a profound effect on our mental, emotional and spiritual fields as well.  When we are in the flow of good energy physically, then it is easier to be in harmony on all levels.

Our bodies consists of trillions of cells that need vitamins, minerals, essential fats, carbohydrates and proteins (amino acids) to stay healthy.  Optimum levels of health require optimum nutrition and equally optimum cell performance.

Birth Control

Deficiencies produce problems and some women use birth control pills which cause nutritional deficiencies. Oral contraceptives cause many metabolic changes and more seriously, the hormones present in contraceptive pills have been shown to increase the risk of coagulation, increasing the risk of blood clots and pulmonary embolisms. This risk is especially heightened in women who smoke and who are over the age of 30, as both conditions also can predispose towards coagulation.

So women in this category absolutely need to supplement to counter the insufficiency of nutrients within the body. These women need a whole food multi vitamin and mineral supplement and extra zinc, B complex, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, calcium-magnesium and Beta Carotene as the birth control pill intake depletes these nutrients.

Pregnancy

On the other hand for those women who want to get pregnant, there are other nutritional needs. Start with preconception care by cleaning up the diet and avoiding toxins.  Take a multi vitamin that contains at least 400 mg of folic acid to prevent neural tube defects thus preventing spina bifida, a very serious birth defect.

I have helped many women who could not get pregnant simply by adding in some whole food supplements and presto they conceived. What I suggested is very simply what the body needs. Our cells have daily requirements of vitamins, minerals, essential fats, carbohydrates and proteins (amino acids).

When we want to make another human being, it makes sense that both partners supplement a healthy diet with whole food supplements. If we want to produce a healthy baby then we need healthy raw elements.

Once a woman conceives, then it is important to make sure there is a daily intake of amino acids as our need for high quality protein goes up from 44 to 74 grams per day. A whole food multi vitamin is essential during this time. Calcium/magnesium is needed as the calcium need increases up to 1200 mg. plus. Iron needs go from 18 mg to 60 mg and B complex is needed for the general wellbeing of the mother and proper nerve development of the fetus. B complex is also vitally important to help prevent birth defects. Also it is helpful in the first trimester to help alleviate morning sickness.

Vit D, magnesium and zinc help with the hormone receptor sites which are important during pregnancy as levels of progesterone and estrogens rise continually throughout pregnancy as do the adrenal hormones. There are certain nutrients like calcium/magnesium and electrolytes that aid in childbirth comfort too.

At least 300 mg of Omega fatty acids are especially important in last trimester. Omegas are a major structural fatty acid in the brain and retina, and are naturally found in breast milk. It is important for a mother to consume adequate amounts of essential fats during pregnancy and while nursing to support her well-being and the health of her infant. Avoid certain fish as it is often very high in heavy metal contaminants. Supplement with a high quality fish supplement that is triple distilled.

A balanced, nutritious diet is an important aspect of a healthy pregnancy as you are eating for two. Eating a healthy diet, balancing carbohydrates (a variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains), essential fats, high quality protein and your whole food supplements usually ensures good nutrition. To counteract constipation make sure you eat plenty of fiber, get regular exercise, eat healthy foods especially veggies, and drink lots of purified water.

Nutritional Needs During Lactation

A nursing mother’s diet can have a profound effect on her baby. A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is that whatever you eat, your baby eats, too. Healthy nutrients and contaminants alike pass from breast milk to baby.

Calorie and protein needs continue to be high during lactation, as they were in pregnancy. The breastfeeding mother requires an extra 300 to 400 calories above her pre–pregnancy needs for the first 12 months of breastfeeding.

Fortunately, eating well and fulfilling the needs of your newborn child are really quite easy. The healthiest diets derive their nutrients from these sources: vegetables, fruit, legumes (beans, peas, or lentils), whole grains, and nuts and seeds. A diet built entirely from these foods has the added advantage of reducing levels of environmental contaminants in breast milk. Plant foods have much lower levels of contaminants than foods from animal sources and are even cleaner when they are grown organically.

Studies show that women who consume meat and dairy products have higher levels of chemical contaminants in their breast milk, probably because these chemicals tend to concentrate in animal tissues. Fish is often very high in contaminants. It commonly contains mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and other organochlorine pesticides, which can pass through breast milk to nursing babies.

Dairy products, including cow’s milk, raise another issue.  Cow’s milk proteins ingested by the mother can also enter her breast milk. These proteins can cause colic, as well as contribute to allergic reactions and a whole host of other problems in babies as their tiny systems cannot handle the large molecules of milk protein.

Many of the supplement needs during lactation are similar to those of pregnancy. Since babies will take a substantial amount of calcium from breast milk, it is essential for nursing mothers to supplement with calcium/magnesium. Also important are a whole food multi vitamin/mineral, amino acids, Beta Carotene, B complex, Vitamins C, E, D and the Omegas.

Whatever you take, the child will benefit from. So remember to take care of yourself as you are the well of nutrients that builds a healthy baby.

Do you have a story to share? I’d love to get your feedback.  Here on my blog, you’ll get commentluv.  That’s great for all bloggers out there. If you leave a comment, you can provide a link back to your own blog.  But you don’t have to be a blogger to leave a comment; I’m looking forward to hearing from all of you!

Next week I will cover some more feminine issues for later on in life.

Stay tuned.

Charlene

Health is a Choice Part 3 – Conscious Behavior

The human body is a self-repairing, self-regulating system that will maintain good health if we properly support it. Almost all chronic illness can be prevented or put into remission by making different choices.

On the physical level these imbalances are brought about by making inappropriate choices regarding our diets, environment, and conscious behavior. So in this post, let’s look at our behavioral choices.

First let’s define it further into conscious and unconscious behaviors. Our conscious behavior is the one we do have choice with as we are conscious that we are doing a particular behavior or action. When we are unconscious about our behavior is it a lot harder to control as we are not always aware of what or why we just did a particular action.

So in terms of this post we will refer only to conscious behaviors in terms of making good choices that respect our physical body and lead to balancing all the vibrational bodies as well.

So consciously we need to look at our behaviors around anything we think is stressful. Chronic stress causes a distortion of the body’s daily maintenance systems and processes. The physical body can literally fall apart without regular maintenance.  Millions of people suffer from chronic stress.  If you were to go onto Google and do a search on stress, you would see there are over a hundred million searches done on that keyword alone.

Stress has many components. It can be:

1. physical,
2. chemical or
3. mental/emotional stress.

Let’s look at the different actions or behaviors we can do for these different aspects of stress.  The first behavior is learning new ways of dealing with stress. As the different kinds of stress are what is commonly behind our vibrational imbalance leading to illness and disease.

1. Physical stressors. There are many new behaviors we can chose including some from the previous blog posts like choosing the right foods and eliminating the ones that don’t feed our cells. Lack of water is a major physical stressor, so drinking at least 8 glasses of water a day is an essential behavior for good health.

Physical exercise is another behavior to adopt for good health. The human body was designed to be physically active. It will not function properly without a high level of activity. Without movement, the heart/lung system does not get the stimulation it needs to deliver adequate amounts of oxygen to the body’s tissues. This causes a gradual decline in health and leads to premature aging. There are many forms of exercise and finding the right one for you is important so that you feel motivated to stay with that behavior.

2. Chemical stressors. We saw in previous the blog post that choosing the right cleaning products as well as the products that touch our skin and avoiding the toxic ones were important components in our health choices.

3. Mental/emotional stressors are vast as everyone reacts to different events in their own personal way. So looking at behaviors in this category is going to be very personal. Some people choose therapy to deal with the various issues that show up that may interfere with good health. There are many ways to deal with this category of stressors and the behavioral choice here will differ from person to person.

To assess your current level of stress, take the test on Eli Bay’s website by clicking here.

A major stressor on health, I would like you to consider, is that our modern allopathic health care system promotes disease by instilling feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness in the chronically ill. Modern medicine tells the chronically ill they are powerless to act on their own, that they cannot be restored to health, only treated, and that they have no options other than the medical system. This promotes feelings of helplessness that actually lead to a further breakdown in health. When people are experiencing these feelings, it is very hard to make good choices.

Knowing that health is a choice gives people a sense of personal power, which enhances physical and emotional vitality, in fact all the vibrational bodies. Being able to visualize and feel a positive outlook for the future has a profound effect on your health.

So it is very important to understand that your body is yours and that you can make choices regardless of what other opinions are being offered. Please don’t give your power away. You have the power to make choices and chose your health and the kind of life you want to live. This is one conscious behavior, I hope you exercise.  It is precious.

Do you have a story to share? I’d love to get your feedback.  Here on my blog, you’ll get commentluv.  That’s great for all bloggers out there. If you leave a comment, you can provide a link back to your own blog.  But you don’t have to be a blogger to leave a comment; I’m looking forward to hearing from all of you!

Next week I will cover some the ways we can connect with spirit.

Stay tuned.

Charlene Day

Good Health is a Choice

The human body is a self repairing, self regulating system that will maintain good health if we properly support it. Illness results when we don’t listen to our body on all levels. Almost all chronic illness can be prevented or put into remission by making different choices.  Illness shows up in the physical body as a result of long term imbalances on all the body’s vibrational levels usually beginning in the outer bodies and showing up finally on the physical body.

On the physical level, these imbalances are brought about by making inappropriate choices regarding our diets, environment and conscious behavior.   By knowing what our bad choices are we can change these habits, choose new actions, and effect changes in our biochemistry that will redirect our lives toward health and well being.

Here are 7 tips on how our diet choices affect our health.

1.  Bad choices for health include white bread and flour (it can stick up your bowels).  These products have been stripped of their fibre and break down quickly in the body.  Better choices are whole grains such as brown rice, millet, barley, wheat, oats, buckwheat, rye, and amaranth.  Whole grain bread which is dark, dense and heavy and whole grain pastas are good in moderation.

2.  Simple sugars such as white sugar can lead to diabetes.   Avoid artificial sweeteners because they have not been tested properly.  Instead, use complex sugars (e.g. honey, maple syrup, molasses, rice syrup, barley malt), which are broken down more slowly.

3.  Experts feel margarine is the biggest contributor to cancer because it is hydrogenated.  Free radicals are formed through consuming margarine, hydrogenated oils and fried foods.  A better choice would be to use cold pressed or cold expelled oils and store them in the refrigerator to prevent them from going rancid.

4. Be careful with meats since most are tainted with chemicals.  Look for free range, naturally fed animals.

5.  Cow’s milk is a by-product of the drugs being fed to the animals, it builds up mucous and 90% of white people have lactose intolerance.  Yogurt, ice cream, and cheese from the cow are also bad choices.  If you crave dairy products, try rice or almond milk or goat’s milk.

6. Limit alcohol consumption as it increases the risk of osteoporosis.  Eliminate coffee. The caffeine is toxic and it taxes your adrenal glands, which are essential for stress management.   Drink only SWISS PROCESS WATER DECAF coffees if you have to drink coffee.  Of course we all know about the hazards of smoking.

7. The ideal choice for good health is a diet that is rich in organic, whole, unprocessed foods.  The foods that are the best choice include complex carbohydrates (vegetables, fruits, beans, legumes, whole grains).  Increasing your intake of fruits and vegetables is important and have at least one portion a day of raw vegetables.   Eat plenty of seeds, nuts and sprouts.

You can refer back to this Ideal Basic Diet chart from an earlier post for more ideas on good choices.

Do you have a story to share? I’d love to get your feedback.  Here on my blog, you’ll get commentluv.  That’s great for all bloggers out there. If you leave a comment, you can provide a link back to your own blog.  But you don’t have to be a blogger to leave a comment; I’m looking forward to hearing from all of you!

Next week I will cover the environmental choices that we can make for our health.

Stay tuned.

Charlene Day