On the basis of “calories in versus calorie out” what you drink might be a primary indicator of what you carry around your waist. A new analysis “What America Drinks” suggests that beverage choices could play a key role against Americans’ battle of the ever-increasing bulge.

“What America Drinks” report states that Americans consume about 500 beverage calories per day. Calories from sweetened beverages, such as soda, fruit flavored drinks, alcohol, pre-sweetened iced teas and sport/energy drinks can account for one quarter of your total calories per day and do not supply your body with the satisfaction it is looking for. A regular glass of wine, for example, carries approximately 120 calories, sport drinks/sodas can magically hold 200 calories, pub beers also hold about 200 calories and hard liquor has about 70 calories per ounce, which equates to the size of a small shot glass. These liquid calories do not provide the vital nutrients that aide in healthier bodies.

Most of you may not compensate for drinking your calories by eating less. Because liquid calories typically do not satisfy our hunger you may continue to eat your normal portion size. The report suggests that most adults drank soda or another calorie rich beverage more often than a healthier milk product. It also suggests that Americans who drank more milk and less nutrient poor beverages tended to weigh less than those who drank milk regardless of overall calorie intake.

Another independent study found that when a calorie beverage was consumed with a meal there was not a reduction in total food volume intake and the beverage calories added on to the calories from food, which resulted in a larger total caloric meal. This is a similar finding from many studies on portion size awareness. The more food that is placed in front of us the more is consumed. Subjects from this study reported that they did not feel more full by adding caloric beverages to a meal. Subjects also reported that the more beverages they were served they more they drank. The psychology of these various studies seem to be redundant—the larger the plate or glass the more you consume. Think small to help control your waist line.

Side note: According to the American Beverage Association, the average American consumes over a gallon of soft drinks per day. 7-Eleven’s bestseller, the Double Big Gulp, contains a whopping 800 calories.

Listed below are some tools to help you fight the bulge.

Instead of.. Try..

Coffee Starbucks regular cappuccino (400) Dunkin Coffee

w/skim and splenda (40)

(Avoid cream, sugar and whip)

Alcohol Long Island Iced Tea (230) Beck’s Light (64)

(Limit alcohol consumption

Stay hydrated, use lower %)

Juice Nestea (180) Fruit H20 (0)

(Use non-sweetened teas, try

seltzers, watch sugar content.

try fresh lemon, lime

or 100% fruit juice in water )

Energy Drink Gatorade (200) Propel (25)

(Check label for calories per bottle)

Dairy Whole Milk 1% or skim

Remember, saving just 100 calories per day can make a difference toward your weight loss goals. Compare your favorite sweetened beverage to low fat milk by visiting this interactive site: http://thinkaboutyourdrink.com/weighing_bb.php

What’s on our minds today? What is our #1 biggest concern, on average mind you, for being fulfilled or content in life? Is it making more money? Getting a bigger house? Finding a better job? Making sure our children can get into college? All these are valid and admirable goals. But I believe we have a more rudimentary desire. One rooted deep in our minds, hearts, bodies & souls. One that we are born with, yet when attempting to come to terms with it, we struggle. I’m talking about our health!

In our youth we run, and jump, and play, most of it outside in the sun and fresh air. Then, school brings our first introduction to the dangers of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ). No one tells us about it, yet there we are in the midst of it, day after day, for 12 years. Next comes college for a lot of people. More rooms, and different types of buildings. Larger gathering places with mechanical ventilation systems. People who have to be there an can’t afford to miss a day. So they come no matter how they feel, coughing & sneezing & hacking their way through class just to make a grade.

For many others it is the workplace, and Sick Building Syndrome (SBS). Unless you’re in the trades that allow you to work outdoor, many professional careers keep us tightly knit inside a building for 9 hours a day, 335 days a year, for what may turn out to be the next 40 years. The driving, the stress of performance, acceptance, advancement, it all adds up to, in many cases, more than our bodies can handle.

We study more, work more, and play less. We gather ‘things’ along the way, and the responsibility of maintenance becomes a burden to us all. We drink, we smoke, we eat… oh how we eat. Even if we don’t smoke, or if we don’t drink (alcohol), we consume so many other things that our bodies don’t need; fats, sugars, caffeine, carbohydrates, manufactured fillers & dyes that we can’t process, or simply just can’t handle in the volumes by which we ingest them. We are quite literally polluting our system with toxins. Our body then goes into a self-preservation mode, and it begins to store this excess in various ways to protect us from our self-destructive lifestyle. Fat becomes an insulation between life & death. In some people, that is the only reason they are still alive. The body actually stores the toxins in the fat cells so that they do not kill us when we’re unable to excrete them from our body in the normal course of bodily functions.

Which brings me to diseases. Given the environment I’ve just described, is it any surprise that we have such epidemic proportions of diabetes, gout, arthritis, acid reflux, osteoporosis, erectile dysfunction, attention deficit, autism, Alzheimer’s, and numerous forms of cancer, that all spread havoc throughout our society today?

Perhaps you formed good habits that began at a very young age, continued through adulthood, and on into your senior years. Good eating, drinking, and exercise routines that didn’t end when life’s transitions occurred. But when you did not get the good direction in your younger days, and now you’re suffering from such ailments as have been mentioned, what does one do?

Resveratrol, alkaline, antioxidants, immune system boosters, to name just a few, can be found in natural forms when a person observes proper dietary habits. But when you’re so far into the game that you may never offset the damage done, simply by normalizing your eating habits alone, must we automatically turn to Big Pharma for the all-to-often sought after ‘quick fix’?

The pH in your body can be altered by drinking Alkaline water. Antioxidants as well, can be found in alkaline water. Resveratrol can be found in a glass of red wine, and if you’re like me and don’t drink alcohol, then you can find it in highly concentrated forms of consumable juice products Resveratrol has also been show in studies to actually enhance some cancer treatment medications. Lastly, let me add, it has been proven by Otto Warburg, winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1931, that cancer cannot survive in an alkaline environment, and his thesis went on to show that cancer thrives in an acidic environment. http://www.nndb.com/people/682/000127301/

So, after all that, my questions are these: Why do we continue to focus so much on “treatment”? And, in this world of knowledge, technology, advancement, and higher learning of which we live, when are we going to shift our attention to ‘PREVENTION’? There have to be close to $700 billion reasons every year that the pharmaceutical industry doesn’t want us to change. And don’t expect any doctors to get off that wagon train anytime soon either. The fastest hands I’ve ever seen are those of a doctor reaching for the prescription pad.

Please don’t misunderstand me here, I accept that modern medicine has a place in our society. The vast majority of us, at one time or another, have been aided in our recovery efforts by a pill or potion. I just think it’s time for us to take a good hard look at ourselves, at our personal responsibility, and the simple approach to health by taking matters into our own hands. Then we have to decide to make a change in our habits, our choices, and our lifestyles. If you keep doing what you’ve always done, you’ll continue to get what you’ve always gotten. A wish changes nothing, a decision changes everything. Decide today, please.

Serves 6

Cooking of tomatoes aids in the bioavailability of lycopene, an antioxidant found abundant in tomatoes. Lycopene is thought to be present in the form of crystals associated with the membrane structures in tomato cells and studies have demonstrated that lycopene bioavailability from tomato paste that was both homogenized and heat-treated was higher than from fresh tomatoes and this bioavailability was due to the cooking effect. Red peppers and carrots are a good source of vitamin C, thiamine, vitamin B6, beta carotene, and folic acid. Green peppers have less carbohydrate content than red peppers per weight. Peppers (Capsicum) also contain a large amount of phytochemicals that have exceptional antioxidant activity and lycopene.

The asparagus is a member of the lily family, which also includes onions, leeks and garlic. The green type is most common but you can also find white asparagus. Asparagus hardly have any calories and loaded with vitamins and minerals and folic acid. They are also a fair source of calcium and fiber. Asparagus also contains the phytochemical glutathione, which has antioxidant and anticarcinogenic properties. There are old beliefs that asparagus could increase feelings of compassion and love, promote fertility, reduce menstrual cramping, and increase milk production in nursing mothers. In some countries they are also used as an aphrodisiac.

Shiitake mushrooms are an excellent source of selenium, required for repair of DNA mutations and a very good source of iron. Recent studies have traced shiitakes mushrooms legendary benefits to an active compound contained in these mushrooms called lentinan. Among lentinan’s healing benefits is its ability to power up the immune system, strengthening its ability to fight infection and disease. Mushrooms also contain extremely high concentrations L-ergothioneine (up to 13 mg in a 3-ounce serving), a powerful antioxidant, higher than either of the two dietary sources previously believed to contain the most: chicken liver and wheat germ. Mushrooms are very porous, so if they are exposed to too much water they will quickly absorb it and become soggy. Therefore, the best way to clean mushrooms without sacrificing their texture and taste is to clean them using minimal, if any, water. To do this, simply wipe them with a slightly damp paper towel or kitchen cloth.

Pineapples are rich in manganese, a trace mineral that is needed for your body to build bone and connective tissues. Just one cup of pineapple provides 73% of the daily recommended amount of manganese. The benefits of pineapple can affect the growth of bones in young people and the strengthening of bones in older people. Garlic contains two main medicinal compounds: allicin and diallyl sulphides, which can help boost the immune system and fight off cancer. One of the active compounds in ginger, gingerol, may help to suppress tumour growth and tumour blood supply and can kill cancer cells. Current studies show that dark soy sauce, a naturally brewed fermented produce with wheat, has a protective role against the action of acrylamide, a byproduct formed during cooking. More about soy beans and soy sauce are discussed in “Is your food killing you”

Ingredients:

1 large piece pork loin, thinly sliced (or 6 pieces of fish steaks, salmon or halibut are best)
2 pips garlic, thinly shredded
1 inch fresh root ginger, washed and peeled then thinly shredded
1 tsp. sesame oil
3 large plum tomatoes, chopped and blended, then pass through a sieve to remove any seeds
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 medium sized red pepper, sliced
1 medium sized green/yellow pepper, sliced
175 g shitake mushroom, washed just before cooking and pat dry. Cut into halves.
1 bunch young asparagus, soak and wash well to remove grit, then cut into lengthwise into bite sized pieces
1 small can pineapple pieces, in natural juice
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
4 -6 tbsp. white wine vinegar
2-3 tbsp. unrefined sugar
1 tbsp. Japanese light and dark soy sauce
2 tsp. corn flour, dissolved in a little cold water to make a runny paste
1 tbsp. olive oil for cooking
Unrefined salt and freshly ground white pepper

Method:

Marinate the ginger in white wine vinegar. Prepare the sauce by mixing together the pureed tomatoes with balsamic vinegar, sugar, sesame oil and soy sauce. Leave aside.

Steam the carrots and peppers over a steamer of hot boiling water until just tender but still crisp. This should only take about 5 minutes, although the carrots may take a few minutes longer to become tender. If you do not have a steamer, add a very small amount of hot boiling water in a large pan, add carrots and peppers, cover and cook over a low to medium heat for 5 minutes and until the carrots are tender. Do not throw away the water used for boiling if using this method (this should only be a tablespoon or so).

Meanwhile, in a frying pan add olive oil, garlic and meat (do not add fish if using this instead) and cook this lightly over medium heat for a minute. Add the sauce and let it bubble over a low heat. Add the steamed vegetables (and water from the boiled vegetables) and asparagus. Mix well and cook for 3- 5 minutes. The asparagus should still be crunchy. Add the marinated ginger and mushrooms. If using fish, add at this stage. Add the corn flour mixture to obtain the desired thickness to the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook a further 2 minutes. If cooking with fish, do not remove the cover until ready to serve.

Serve hot with plain rice. A simple dish but delicious wholesome dish.

In the beginning

As revealed by fossilized remains and cave paintings in now numerous sites in larger Europe, the grape vine was one of the first plants to be recognized in its rawest form, cultivated by Palaeolithic and Mesolithic communities around 20,000 years ago, although the remains of the ancestors of grapes can be carbon dated hundreds of thousands of years earlier.

As man became a farmer, the vine was replanted and cultivated then as a valuable nutritious food source, later excess fruit would have been stored and the resulting fermentation, the first pressings of wine in history. Wine as an alcoholic beverage would then also naturally contain a rich diversity of nutrients including an array of antioxidants, this then a history dated back to around 9-8,000 BC, originating in the Middle East. Similarly, nearly 4500 years ago, Ayurveda, the ancient medicinal book of Hindus, lauded the health effects of darakchasava, the fermented juice of red grapes, while the Sumarian, Hittite, Babylonian and Assyrian empires all show evidence of a great respect for the grape.

The mighty Egyptian dynasties left indelible records of their sacramental and secular relationships with wine on walls of temples and tombs, and the Ancient Roman and Greek penchant for wine was deified in the forms of Bacchus and Dionysus, with innumerable songs, poems and cultural events dedicated to the vine and its virtues. Wine then was very common in ancient Greece, Thrace and Rome and was also used by early Minoan and Etruscan civilizations. The Roman armies so revered wine, in particular for its antiseptic value but also its nutritional (and of course its ability to build fortitude and valour before the battles) it introduced the rootstocks and winemaking throughout Europe as the Roman Empire expanded.

After the Bible was written about 2,000 years ago, it describes wine as a, “Good gift of God”, for its spiritual and healing attributes, Christian churches started to use wine for sacramental purpose, which further stimulated or maintained the wine industry after the fall of the Roman Empire particularly through the dark ages.

Although human cultures of grape consumption as mentioned have a history dated back at least to 8-10 thousand years ago, grape seeds were not traditionally believed valuable for nutrition. Modern sciences however have allowed detailed investigations into the nutritional secrets hiding deeply inside the grapes. The grape seeds are amongst the richest sources of OPCs and other health-beneficial polyphenols. Red wine, in particular when made from red grapes varieties, containing the red coloured pigments such as anthocyanins which can offer an array of health benefits. In the preparation of red wine, whole grapes are crushed and macerated for fermentation without removal of skins and seeds. Among the most notable substances are natural chemicals called oligomeric proanthocyanidins (OPC), their monomers, gallate esters, anthocyanins, and Resveratrol. Consequently, red wine contains rich natural phytochemicals including OPC, stemming from all the majour components of the grape: skin, seed and the middle section between seed and skin.

For further information visit: http://www.cellsuperfood.com

-By Robert Thumm

A common misconception, often touted by those who oppose the use of vitamins and herbal supplements, is that you get all the vitamins you need simply by eating properly. That’s virtually impossible to do. Scientists tell me that to get all the necessary vitamins and minerals our body needs for optimal health, that we would have to eat sixty-five pounds of food each day.

Our soil has been nutrient depleted for over 50 years. Add to that most of our fruit and vegetables have very little nutritional value because of chemical fertilization and pesticides. Then add preservatives to that it’s no wonder we get so few nutrients in our food.

So what’s the answer? The key is the right supplements. Many grocery store supplements are loaded with fillers, while they may be cheap, you may be wasting your money on unnecessary fillers. Also pill forms are not readily absorbed by the body.

Liquid healthy juices now line the organic shelves at the grocery store. While these are a better option, they can be very pricey and loaded with sugar. If they are not sugar based you will have trouble drinking them because of the awful taste.

A good supplement formula should do two things for you. The first thing it should do is give your body what it needs to feel good now! And second, it should help protect you from the wear and tear of aging!

Hundreds of studies reveal that pomegranates deliver one of the most powerful antioxidants available, even more powerful than red wine, cranberry juice and green tea.

Multiple studies show that the active ingredients in pomegranates help maintain healthy cholesterol.

The juice of the pomegranate has been the focus of numerous investigations centering upon the vascular and antioxidant effects on the human body.

“Pomegranate juice is the antioxidant of choice. It is very rich in polyphenols and demonstrates a high capability to scavenge free radicals and to inhibit, LDL oxidation in the vitro and in vivo.” (Clinical Nutrition (2002)23, 423-433 Elsevier Ltd.)

Pomegranates also provide minerals to the liver and assimilate vitamin A from your food intake.

While a pomegranate juice is a wonder heart healthy supplement, on it’s own is not enough to achieve optimal health.

We also need plant nutrients or herbal supplements. Scientists refer to the best as adaptogens.

Simply put adaptogens are plants that help the body to adapt to stress at the cellular level.

What most people don’t realize is that stress is responsible for more than 80% of all illnesses. Yes, simple everyday stress! If you’re under physical or mental stress (who isn’t!), you use more nutrients and generate more acidic waste products than your body can process and dispose of.

Stress does more than just leave your stomach in knots and your head pounding. Get enough of it, and it can actually kill you!

Research shows that stress can lead to a whole host of illnesses including depression, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, brain atrophy and osteoporosis.

The daily onslaught chips away at your immune system opening the way to viral and bacterial infections, and even cancer. Stress eats away at your digestive tract and lung promoting ulcers and asthma. It weakens your heart, leading to stroke and disease. Is it any wonder why 80% of all illnesses are caused from stress!

The typical advice on how to lower stress is things like diet, exercise, breathing and relaxation techniques. But the right supplements can go a long way toward managing stress!

Dr. Brekhman in the 1940′s discovered adaptogens and have since been prized for their ability to help maintain optimal health thanks to their sustaining, invigorating and stress-fighting properties.

Seven Best Adaptogens

Eleuthero (Known as Siberian Ginseng)

May normalize body systems, reduce stress, increase stamina and work capacity.

Stemmancantha Carthamoides

May increase physical productivity, attention and work capacity, combat fatigue and exhaustion.

Rhodiola

May improve muscular performance improve circulation and mental activity.

Rose Hips

May equalize body systems, provide antioxidants, multi-vitamin activity.

Schizandra

May increase stamina and endurance, improve memory and attention span, improve hearing acuity.

Japanese Aralia

May aid digestive, respiratory, urinary and intestinal systems, provide effective, restorative action on some internal membranes.

Chinese Licorice

May enhance skin tone and provide support to the immune system.

So are Supplements Bad? Well, no of course not. The drug companies would prefer us to think so! The key is the right supplements and proper intake of them.

The right supplements set the foundation for your health now and for the future. The wrong ones will do nothing but waste your money. Make clear, informed choices about your supplements. Your health is the last place you should ever skimp!

These days it almost seems that fast food and packaged convenience foods have become the norm. Our busy lives just contribute to the fact that we often choose convenience over nutrition. However, if we want to preserve our health over the long term we would be wise to consider what we eat.

Most people are aware that what we eat contributes to our good health but it goes even deeper than that. The food we eat can not only help us maintain our good health but it can actually promote our good health, help prevent disease, reverse the problems of aging and help us to live longer, healthier and more vibrant lives.

The foods found in nature should be the basis for our complete nutrition plan. This means the food that our great-grandparents ate, the food that grows in the ground, on trees and vines and in our gardens, the stuff that you find at the farmers market and in the produce section of your favorite supermarket. There is a place for meat, poultry and fish if you choose to eat those things but a truly healthy diet has the basis in plant-based foods.

Recent research into the study of antioxidants has uncovered a wealth of potential health benefits from a variety of foods. There are carotenoids and flavonoids and polyphenols. There is selenium, folic acid, lutein, lycopene. Recently you may have heard about an outstanding nutrient called resveratol. The names go on and on and it can get to be very confusing if you read all of the data.

However, it is actually quite easy to include all of the nutrients you need in your diet. You just need to look for the most colorful fruits and vegetables, make sure that the grains you eat are whole and never processed, eat beans frequently as a great source of protein and fiber, include some nuts and seeds for the best snacks. You can even sneak in one glass of red wine and a small chocolate treat as often as everyday so long as you stick with the dark chocolate and don’t eat more than about an ounce.

Look for orange foods like pumpkin, orange bell peppers, butternut squash, cantaloupe, sweet potatoes and carrots. The orange foods provide many of the carotenoids and other vital nutrients. Eat plenty of orange foods. Also include the red foods like tomatoes and watermelon. The only white foods you should probably eat at all would be cauliflower and jicama.

Look for green foods like spinach, kale, swiss chard, bok choy and romaine lettuce. Green foods provide an abundance of different nutrients that are all beneficial to our health. They are also low in calories and high is fiber, which makes them an almost perfect diet food. The deep blue to deep purple foods provide some of the best antioxidant capacities on the planet. That would be the berries, especially blueberries, cranberries and the acai berry.

If you want to not just maintain your health but actually promote your health and prevent many of the problems of aging and disease, make your diet as colorful as possible.