Work Out To Work Well

In order to do whatever job it is you are trying to do in a physical or mental arena, the smartest way to ensure good results is ...to work out! Studying, training for a specific task via courses or on the job tasks is a given, but the true way to make the most of your abilities is to get moving. By giving your body a physical workout on a regular basis and raising your heart rate for 30 to 45 minutes will ensure a good boost of blood flow to the brain. When this happens you not only get to release endorphins and reduce stress, you handle later stresses better, and open up your brain function to working on a more efficient and creative level. By fast paced walking, or a good aerobic activity of your choice, running, biking, etc., you engage the mind in a whole new arena. Keep a pad and pen on you and write down new ideas or solutions that may pop into your head.

On the physical side, per the manual labor side, you will condition your body to withstand physical and mental stresses that your job doles out on a regular basis. Take the nurse and her patients...lifting people out of bed, or helping someone out of a chair, and that list can go on and on. The body and mind takes a toll, and these stresses can be reduced drastically by regular workouts. It doesn't have to be anything fancy or over the top either. Walk briskly, do some stair climbing, and do some core training with crunches, squats and push ups a few days a week for about 30 minutes. You will feel a difference, get stronger, be better at your job, make a better impression to others at work, and be less prone to injury, no matter what your career. You will also be healthier. So in a nut shell, eat lots of veggies, focus on positive instead of negative, and work out for physical, mental, spiritual ...and even occupational health. Be strong! Preserve and empower your life!! Merry Christmas!

Seasonal Foods

We are all told how good seasonal foods are, but why? Well I can tell you a bit to help you understand better. Let's take this season for instance. Pumpkin is fantastic for vitamin A, as are other squash family vegetables with an orange or yellow color. Pomegranates are great for antioxidant health and keeping you healthy this time of year. These nutrients are helpful for keeping us healthy for the cold and flu season, and keeping the taste buds happy. Season foods add color and a lot of micro nutrients to our diet so that we can keep a healthy immune system to fight off all types of disease. Everything from antioxidants for cancers, to protection from viruses and other degenerative diseases. Our bodies need a huge variety in foods to keep things healthy and running smoothly. The best sources for vitamins and minerals and all micro nutrients is their natural food source...and organic at that. The best thing is to get the vitamins you need from the foods you eat and maybe take a whole foods multivitamin to add any back up additional help you may need. If you eat a largely organic, plant based, maybe even raw foods diet (vegan) than I would say make sure you are getting a fantastic variety. If not, then you have some work to do. Remember also that you shouldn't depend on supplements for your nutrients, but keep the fresh foods on hand for that. The other stuff should merely be a compliment to your intake. Keep it in whole foods form, and they can be found at your local health foods store, or at www.classicnutrition.net if you so choose. The name brands you see in the common drug stores are synthetic usually...even the best sellers. They can't be absorbed by the body, so hunt our a good whole foods vitamin if you are serious about getting or staying healthy!

Whatever you decide, just remember that the food source is the best source. Easy on the animal proteins like meat and dairy, and keep the fruits and vegetables high priority!

My seasonal favorite? A butternut squash soup, with onion, potato,garlic,carrots,broccoli,barley, and some cayenne pepper or "picka-peppa" sauce for flavor. I suggest the spicy stuff as alone it is bland. I make it with a vegetable base or vegetable broth, and add water not any milk of any kind. Enjoy it hot. For a treat with a hot drink I like vegan pumpkin bread, and that is a great family favorite too! There is a recipe on www.classicfitness.ning in the Nutrition Circle. Enjoy!!

A Healthy Holiday Treat

Hot chocolate is pretty much synonymous with the holidays, and really has some great properties indeed. Sure there is that "Oh my gosh! This is so delicious!" factor, but it really can be good for you too. Chocolate is high in antioxidants and great for the cardiovascular system. It also has some great cancer fighting properties, and just makes us feel comfy. The dopamine release alone is enough to keep us coming back for more-literally. The addictive properties in chocolate aren't your imagination...it truly hits the addiction parts of the brain! But, back to the good parts.

There are different kinds of chocolate and most of the commercial stuff you get is hardly chocolate at all. It mostly consists of cream and sugar, with just enough cocoa powder in it to make it dark. With the exception of "white chocolate", that is cream, sugar and the cocoa butter in it (must be 20%) to qualify for the listing of chocolate, though there is none of the healthier dark ingredients to be seen. Basically fat, milk and a lot of powdered sugar of one kind or another.

For the optimal benefits of chocolate, raw cocoa nibs can be used. Moving up from there, are the dairy free dark chocolates. Everything from 100% and moving down from there! Anything below 60 to 70% is just a waste of time and an indulgence in the mostly cream version of the treat at hand.

In this holiday season I hope you find great recipes, and I will provide a few, of this wonderful treat from south america. I am a huge fan of hot chocolate, and due to both dietary health choices, and even tastes of preference, I would like to give a recipe I found on Recipezarr.com for vegan hot chocolate. I find great pleasure as I sit here in the cold air knowing that I have enjoyed a nice warm chocolate treat, without the dangers of milk. I hope you all enjoy and explore the health benefits of chocolate for yourself. Preserve and empower your life!

SERVES 1 (change servings and units)

• 1 cup soymilk (vanilla, regular, ricemilk, whatever- even unsweetened is good)
• 2-3 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 1 tablespoon raw sugar
• 2 tablespoons warm water

1. Heat milk in on stove. Get it just a little hotter than drinkable, stirring as you heat at a low to medium heat.
2. Stir the cocoa and sugar into the warm water in a small container to dissolve sugar. Pour this into the mug of hot milk. Enjoy and be healthy!!
3. 
   

Supplements and Nutrition

There are great supplements out there that can really help your nutritional balance, but NOT give you the answers all in one or two conatiners. Don't let a great sales pitch fool you into buying a product (or five) and let you think that you don't have to make an effort to change your diet for the better. With all that is offered in the world of supplements (and we can get great balancing benefits from some of them) we must be careful not to depend on them.

Whole foods vitamins and Amazon Thunder with the extras like flaxseed oil and spirulina are to be taken as extras and not depended on for the main sources of nutrients. Our diet should consist of mostly vegetables and fruits and be minimal (if at all) in consisting of animal proteins. Dairy and meats are acidic to the body and calcium is taken from the bones to buffer the acids in the body and keep the body alkaline. This is why the countries that consume the most dairy and animal proteins actually have the highest in Osteoporosis. Fruits and veggies are great for micro-nutrients (we can't get them naturally from animal proteins) and are responsible for the protection from free radicals on a cellular level. Colorful foods rich in antioxidants and other nutrients and enzymes help keep the body functioning in tip top shape, and best of all preventing disease!

The reason for the extras such as the Amazon Thunder, whole foods vitamins, and the others mentioned above, are to support the body better because our soils have been so depleted in minerals and vitamins. Organic foods and supplements are best for keeping the system supported in times of incomplete nutrients in our food supply. Less pesticides in the body is optimal, as some cancers can be initiated from these and other chemicals. Wash your produce, and buy organic when possible from the local Farmer's Market. Drink lots of clean water, and try to use a good filter. I use the Aquasana filter, and enjoy confidence when giving it to my family. Go to http://www.aquasana.com/ you can check it out for yourselves.

So although it seems so odd to lose dependency on meat and dairy, try it for a while. www.fatfreevegan.com is a great site with awesome recipes to help you into the new cuisine. The fresher the better, and try raw foods when you can. It retains the enzymes and nutrients and gives you such a boost of energy! Have a food processor? Then you could have a lot of fun with new recipes that are extremely good for you!

Plant based foods, whole foods vitamins, and fresh water with any extra help you choose to add to your diet for a boost in health and disease prevention, and you are on a great road to good health. As for the Acai Berry and it's weight loss benefits...it is not what it is mainly intended for. The nutrients is where the gold is in this fruit, but should it help drop extra pounds from the body, then so be it!! I won't mind at all! Be healthy, and get happy about it! Preserve and empower your life...only you can.

Viral Defense

This is the time of year for colds and viruses of all kinds. How many times have you gone to the doctor only to hear,"It is a virus. I can't do anything for you and antibiotics won't touch it. Just let it run it's course." Well in the world of working for a living and trying to keep healthy, I know that there are some things you can do to boost that immune system from a viral attack.

First, keep the fruits and veggies in full swing! Have your OJ and take your whole foods multivitamin in the morning with breakfast. Keep breakfast healthy and make sure you have breakfast! Keep the body healthy by giving it nutritious fuel, and not causing it extra stress!

Keep dairy at a minimum. That is correct...little to no dairy so that the system is less acidic and the mucus doesn't have a chance to increase. Drink lots of water and keep those sinus cavities clear. Niel-Med makes a great nasal rinse complete with bottle and pH balanced saline mixture packets (appx. 50 of them!) to help make it easy to combat the sinus infection via cold, virus or allergy. It is awesome, and nobody needs to know you actually do it if you are sensitive about it. But it beats weeks of sinus pressure and pain and keeps you healthy.

Keep your foods fresh and organic when possible. Better nutrients ARE in there. Keep active to keep that immune system up, and wear the activity and weather appropriate clothing to protect yourself from the elements. Stay dry in wet weather, and drink plenty of water in all weather. Drink some tea-green is the best, and a bit of hot chocolate is a great treat and immune helper, too! It doesn't have to be dairy...so don't worry about that.

Keep foods higher in vitamins A and C in the diet rather than taking a pill. Beta Carotene is absorbed in the body best from the food sources and is very good for your kidneys, too. Sweet Potatoes, pumpkin, squash, yams, carrots, yellow peppers, oranges, tomatoes, kiwis, and berries are a great way to keep your system in good shape. Throw in lots of greens too!

A little boost with some Acai Berry, spirulina, and chlorella for a great defense...as long as you are not prone to allergies to specific molds that spirulina and chlorella may belong to. Always keep food allergies in check!! Check with your physician for all allergies and any specifics in your diet that may inhibit these things from benefiting you.

At last, a huge factor in viral defense is Elderberry Syrup. This wonder extract works wonders in keeping virus cells at bay by destroying them when the body has enough nutrients to give it the help it needs. If you can support the body through nutrition, fitness, and the little extras like Elderberry Syrup, you stand a very good chance of keeping illness at bay through this season of colds, flus and viruses. You don't have to take my word for it, just try it yourself. Stop at your local health food store and ask for Elderberry Syrup extract. You can take it and drink liquids with it, as it will still work. Amazon Thunder is my choice for Acai Berry products.

Elderberry Article....

Elderberry flavonoids bind to and prevent H1N1 inf...[Phytochemistry. 2009] - PubMed Result

Amazon Thunder...

http://www.amazonthunder.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&ref=5782&products_id=6&affiliate_banner_id=1

Check out this article if you would like to read up on the benefits of Elderberry! Stay healthy, and have a great Holiday Season! Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, and many Blessings to those celebrating their own holiday of choice.

May the Force Be With You

When food seems to want to take over your brain in the mid afternoon or even mid morning...be wary of your surroundings and the the machines that offer quick fixes. This is the time to work on your skills with food choices. Are you really that easy to give up or give in to your food addictions? This is where you could actually say it isn't such a bad idea to keep the belly a bit on the empty side if all you have is a craving. Are you really hungry, or do you just wish for a joyful comfort food fix? A dopamine release that will give you the euphoric feeling that you have just done the right thing for your nervous system...or a trap like Darth Vader and the Death Star! It is more the food trap than the hunger relief!

If you are going to be active, then have some complex carbs, and make them uber healthy...oatmeal and fruit or whole grain bread in that 1/2 sandwich with salad. If you are just looking for a time filler until the next meal...choose wisely young Jedi! Be healthy, you must...right choices must you make! These are the things that will serve you in your battle for healthy living. Not foods being processed and added chemicals from the ones that care not for you and your family.

Sorry, I like the way Yoda puts it, and it can be looked at that way if you have trouble putting it into perspective for yourself. Look at the complex carbs and the whole natural foods as the Alliance in your Galaxy, and the processed foods with all it's fats, processed sugars and chemicals as the Empire! When Yoda is trying to train you and get you ready for your battle from becoming Jabba the Hut - you have a whole bunch of adversaries throwing things at you left and right. Sand People with cream filled cakes, and Jawas with chocolate bars! Boba Fett will show up and tempt you with something from the coffee shop or some other fast food. Sure, it is subtle and everywhere. Storm Troopers loaded with sugary items every where you go.

It is hard to seek out those that would help you. Fear not, if you look hard enough you will come across a droid or two to help you find your way in this confusing Galaxy of wrong choices and easy distractions. Just read the labels and when you see the chemicals, fats, and high sugar content, you will know that these are not the foods you seek. These are other foods, that do not serve your purpose.

Somewhere there is a Wookie with an apple and a Han Solo to help you steer towards the salad bar or the whole grain cereals. Fill your tummy with water throughout the day to keep the force strong with you. This can help curb your appetite and sway misleading pangs that may be the body requesting water rather than food. Keep hydrated and stay focused. Do not strike at the object closest to you...feel your way to the foods that will make you stronger. Search them out, and find them you will! The produce section at a grocery store, or bring your own fruits from your home planet...I mean your house. Keep a small container of nuts on hand-but indulge only a small handful at a time. Moderation and tight control in high fatty foods is a must. Nuts are just that. Keep the focus on the goal, and do not let those around you sway you from your path. Yours is a path of health and wellness, and this you must stick to for strength and a good example to young ones. The dark side is subtle and tempting...but you CAN overcome it! Stay focused, and listen to the force that guides you in your quest for healthy choices. This you must do. Go. Be healthy, choose wisely, and may the force be with you.

Keep Moving and Eat Well

Some people think that no matter how "healthy" their diet is they can slack on the workouts. Not so! The key to good health is a diet high in a variety of vegetables, fruits, with seeds, grains and some nuts minimizing(if not eliminating) animal proteins of all kinds. This means dairy, meats, fish, and eggs of all kinds. I know you are thinking, " But Lise! That is NOT what the mainstream media has been saying! How can you say that and why?!" Easy...because it is the truth, that is why. The mainstream "healthy diet" has always pushed high protein foods, pegging animal based proteins as the best source for muscle building and repair. Yes, animal based proteins do help these cells increase at a high level...but at what cost? The cells that are also being nourished are diseased cells. Cancer cells, and such are not left out when the time for reproduction of cells occurs. On the contrary, there is no preference in this process. ALL cells are nourished, even the bad ones.

It's not because we need to all hold hands and sing happy songs that I am saying that the plant based diet is the way to go, (although I am sure it wouldn't hurt in the same respect). I say this because it is the wide variety of disease fighting antioxidants in plants that the body needs and uses to get what it truly needs. There are no micro nutrients and antioxidants in animal proteins. Vitamin D is added to milk, and high animal protein intake actually blocks the absorption of Vitamin D, and calcium for that matter!! The animal may have Vitamin D in it...but it made that for it's own use, just as our bodies do! We can't absorb the animal's source for our own use, it doesn't work. Go to www.tcolincampbell.org, or read the Harvard Nurses Study for information regarding vitamin D and calcium absorption and release from increased animal proteins. John Robbins also wrote a great book called "The Food Revolution" which sites this study and I feel should be required reading for every person in the country.

That is why high animal protein consumption is linked to colorectal cancers ( and other forms) as we make our own from sunlight. And popping a vitamin isn't the answer. It can be used as a compliment to a diet lacking, but the only true way to ensure these nutrients and proper absorption of them is to eat the vegetables and fruits themselves, and get some daylight for about 10 minutes or so a day.

If you don't like vegetables, dress them up a bit. Add lemon, or hummus, or a bit of orange juice to add flavor you like. Even a touch of pomegranate adds a nice flavor to say...brussel sprouts. Okay, a big touch, but the point is if you don't eat what your body truly needs, and eat what the major companies are telling you to eat simply because they sell it ( or are working with those that do) you will become ill. It may not happen all at once, but it will happen eventually. Sadly these diseases come in the form of not just cancer, but M.S., Fibromyalgia, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and many other forms of cardiovascular disease.

As for the workouts, start light and go for a walk or a swim, or even do some chair workouts if you can't get up and walk around! How? Grab a resistance chord or some light dumbbells, and start doing reps that you can handle to get your body moving. Doing light repetitions ( the same movement over and over) to start with, and getting up to the point where you can do 20 to 25 reps at a time is ideal! Don't ever think that it is too late or that it won't help, because it will. Get your heart rate up for 20 to 30 minutes a day for good cardiovascular health and prevention of disease! It can be done and YOU can do it! Not moving has the same effect on your cardiovascular system as smoking a pack of cigarettes a day! You can fix that! Keep moving, and eat well, and you will feel amazing!Add resistance training to help build strong bones and muscles and be strong no matter what your age or fitness level. Even if it takes a little while to get there, you can do it!!! Get moving, and eat your veggies and you can be Healthy at 100!