Browsing August, 2007

My Yoga Story

08/29/07
admin
· Bikram Yoga · fitness · yoga

I began practicing Yoga a couple of years ago. At the time I was getting zero exercise. My musical gig, which was one of the best gigs I have ever had, was great, but not physically demanding of me.

So one day my wife Maria and I were driving around town doing some errands, when a woman and her young son appeared on the side of the road with a broken down car. Maria quickly yelled to me “Stop! Let’s help them!” So along with another man who had also stopped to help, I pushed this woman’s car a small distance up the street to the nearest parking lot.

Well, I literally thought that I was having a heart attack! My heart began pounding faster than I ever thought possible, my legs were about to give out, all from pushing this car a few feet! For the next hour, my heart felt like it was going to burst out of my chest. This was my wake up call.

I had done nothing for too long. I needed to get into shape or I was going to DIE. I was only 34 years old at the time.

So a friend of mine -who I was telling this pathetic story of myself to- suggested that I come with him to a Bikram Yoga class. Reluctantly I said, “Yoga, I don’t think so”. But I eventually agreed, knowing that something had to be done. So I went. And I got hooked.

This form of Hatha Yoga awakened something in me that had been dormant for too long.
The physical benefits were obvious, as Bikram Yoga is a full and total body workout. But the mental benefits actually outweigh the physical ones. I quickly began to realize that there was a focus and calm pervading my existence, one that I could apply to every part of my life. It has now become part of who I am. I have more energy, more focus, more peace, more happiness.

Bikram Yoga has, in fact, changed my life. I would highly recommend trying it out. You can find a local studio where the instructor has been trained by Bikram himself and this staff here under class finder.

Yoga;Videos;Props;Clothing

Yoga fitness

Bikram Yoga is a series of 26 postures (asanas) and 2 breathing exercises performed in a room heated to at least 105 degrees. The heat does a few things: It allows for the release of toxins throughout the body, while at the same time alows the body to be more flexible, reducing the risk of injury. And believe me, at first the heat seems unbearable, but after a while you will LOVE the heat.

After taking a Bikram yoga class you will have worked every muscle, joint, tendon, organ and ligament in your body, and realeased damaging toxins. It’s amazing stuff!

I encourage everyone to give it a try- All you need is yourself, a yoga mat, a towel and water!

Go get healthy!!

Health and Wellness,

Jamie

Meditation – What is it? How can I use it?

08/25/07
admin
· Uncategorized

Meditation and Manifesting, SimplifiedHow to put them to practice for the purpose of health, healing, and more.
_____________________________________________________________________

Meditation Simplified

The simplest definition of meditation is “the focusing of the mind on any one thing”, whether it be a thought, idea, concept, person, place, thing, object, smell, sound, taste, feeling, emotion, intention, word, phrase, sentence, nothing, etc. Meditation has many different purposes, for many different people. It really depends upon the individual, their current level of consciousness & truth, and what they want to accomplish by doing it. The most common reasons people meditate are to reduce stress and to find greater peace. Being at peace within one’s own mind brings peace and happiness to EVERY aspect of an individual’s life, at ALL times, despite life’s circumstances. One is not subject to negative mentalities (stress) when the mind doesn’t react negatively to outside phenomenon. Silence and one-pointedness of mind are generally the goal.

There is no specific physical position in which you need to assume when meditating. Some people prefer sitting on the floor with the legs crossed, in the lotus position, while other people prefer sitting in a chair with their feet on the ground. (Meditation chair can be found here).

Find a position that is comfortable for you. It can even be lying down if you so choose, but that may lead to sleepiness, and falling asleep would defeat the whole purpose of doing meditation in the first place. Really, the only common recommendation is to be in a position where the spine is straight and erect, and the head is in alignment with the spine. This is mainly to promote better circulation and energy flow throughout the body.

A meditation that many people start with is focusing on their breathing. Oxygenating the mind and body is excellent for focus and concentration, as well as for healing physical problems and health issues. It’s been said that “breath is the substance of life”. There are many different breathing techniques out there, none of which are specifically “needed” but they all recommend breathing deeply through the belly, not the chest. If you want to breathe both in and out through the nose, do that. If you want to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth, do that. If you’re unable to breathe in through the nose, then do it through the mouth. Again, do whatever you are comfortable doing. There are no specific rules although certain techniques may provide more substantial results and effects.

Naturally, unless you’re focusing on an object you are looking at, it’s recommended to have the eyes closed. As for the amount of time to sit in meditation for, 20-30 minutes is quite often a popular recommendation. Again, it comes back to what the individual is wanting to accomplish by meditating. At first, training the mind to focus on one thing will probably be difficult and the mind will most likely constantly wander. As soon as you take notice that it’s wandering, just let those pointless thoughts go and return to the point of focus. Frustration, impatience, and boredom are some of the exact pointless thoughts that should be let go of. Just like anything else in life, the more you practice meditation, the easier it will become. Don’t expect dramatic changes and results overnight. Changes might not even be noticeable at first but don’t let this deter you from keeping up the practice. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained” and “practice makes perfect”.

Manifesting Simplified

Thoughts, emotions, feelings, and most importantly the INTENTION behind those thoughts literally creates PHYSICAL reality. We all think that the thoughts in our head are “mine” and that they only exist in “my” head but this is absolutely not true. Thoughts are mostly random and repetitive, happening all by THEMSELVES, which is not the individual’s doing, and because of our unawareness we identify those random thoughts as being “me”, when they’re not. Thoughts, just like everything else, are just a small minute part of the larger whole, which is the entire universe. Nobody and nothing is separate from any other person or thing. Everything is connected and everything is One thing.

This can be demonstrated quite easily by focusing on a cloud in the sky with the thought/intention “square cloud”, and after roughly 10 minutes of gentle concentration, that cloud will be square. You ARE that cloud, and Everything else. ANYTHING can be set into motion and created with nothing more than focus, intention, feeling and KNOWING that it’s working. The catch is that it won’t work if you even SUBCONSCIOUSLY doubt it or don’t believe it. Being skeptical will not reveal the truth. Open mindedness and believing are absolutely required to shape that cloud, or to heal the body.

MOST IMPORTANT KEY POINTS:

Never focus on the negative. Never focus on what you hate, don’t like, or don’t want.

Always focus on the positive.

Focus on being perfectly healed and healthy, not on the disease or ailment.

Always focus on what you do want, in the present tense, as if that something ALREADY IS, and then it will be.

Why? Because time is an illusion and because “thoughts are things.” – Napoleon Hill

Thoughts literally create PHYSICAL reality, in one’s body, and in the rest of one’s “outer” life circumstances.

What we think, we receive. “What we think, we become.” – Buddha

Whatever you put your focus on, think about, and give attention, you give more energy and a greater physical reality.

Whatever you put your focus on, think about, and give attention, you receive.

Let’s repeat… NEVER focus on the negatives because that will only create MORE of the negatives.

We can’t focus on the negative and somehow expect to receive the positive.

It may be difficult to understand or accept but thoughts don’t just change the present, they can also change the “past”.

This is referred to as “synchronicity”. This creates so-called “co-incidences”, “accidents”, “luck”, “miracles”, etc.

Hold the positive thought, feel it with your very being, KNOW IT, allow it, NEVER doubt it, and it will come to be.

Be grateful for what you already have and what you have will grow. Gratitude is EXTREMELY powerful.

Positive thoughts are FAR more powerful than negative ones, so there is NOTHING to fear.

If focusing on healing an ailment or disease, don’t automatically expect the healing to be a direct result of the meditation, although it sometimes can be. Everybody and everything is an interconnected One, and your meditations/prayer may be answered by a health product or book appearing in your life. It may be answered by a person saying a particular thing to you. It may even manifest in the form of a sudden inner revelation, inspiration, idea or epiphany. It’s a simple matter of being open to all possibilities and taking action the moment things present themselves. The mind of the individual cannot see the endless and infinite possibilities of the universe. Let the truth reveal ITSELF in whatever form it presents itself.

What’s Done Is Done So Let It Go

We cannot possibly place guilt or blame upon ourselves for something we were not aware of so please use past “errors” to learn and grow from, and NOT to feel bad about. The key to growth is to LEARN from the past so as to improve our present circumtances, and our present circumstance means nothing because it’s based upon what we USED to be aware of. As long as we learn from our “mistakes” the negatives will always turn into positives. ALWAYS keep this in mind! So right now we’re learning to manifest things purposefully but the major point to grasp is that it’s actually happening at all times whether we are aware of it or not. Both our conscious and subconscious thoughts are creating our individual realities. Which means that there is no such thing as a co-incidence, accident, random event, miracle, fluke, luck, or chaos. Everything is the sole creation of the individual. Everything that happens to an individual, positive or negative, is the result of their own past actions, choices, thoughts, emotions, feelings and intentions, either in this life, or in past ones. “What goes around, comes around”, “you reap what you sow”, “everything comes full circle”, “the ebb and flow”, “balance in the universe”, “the law of attraction” or “karma” is in effect 100% of the time. How would it be possible for it to be in effect only some of the time? Likes attract likes. Whatever you make yourself to BE, you attract more of, to you. So basically, each of us is a magnet. There can be no outside “cause” for anything. There are only effects of one’s own choices and thought processes. It’s important to realize that sometimes things manifest in the form of “group karma” as well. There is now science to back this up but we won’t get into Quantum Physics, String Theory or Applied Kinesiology at the moment. Right now it’s going to be up to YOU to put that cloud experiment to practice so that you can verify all of this for YOURSELF.

Just How Easy It Is

All we have to do is start taking notice of the random negative subconscious thoughts, and then let them go by adopting the positive instead. How do we know what is Negative or Positive? Normally when people aren’t aware of this information, the thoughts in their head are all over the place, flip-flopping back and forth between what they want and don’t want. Whatever thoughts/intentions are the most dominant will be the ones that manifest. If you doubt that your meditations/intentions are creating what you want, you’ve stopped the creation process. This is how the physical universe works, so OF COURSE it’s working. Believe to the point of KNOWING that it’s working, and it will. Just don’t put a time restriction on it. It’ll happen when it’s ready to happen. Choose to be happy at all times, despite life’s circumstances, hold the positive intentions, or forget about them completely, and they will come to be.

Quotes

“…and who shall not doubt in his heart that whatsoever he saith shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he desires.” – Mark 11:23

“Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.” – Albert Einstein

“If you love life, life will love you back.” – Arthur Rubinstein.

“That which supports life, is automatically supported.” – David Hawkins

“An idea that is developed and put into action is more important than an idea that exists only as an idea.” – Buddha

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” – Lao Tzu

“Prayer is not an old woman’s idle amusement. Properly understood and applied, it is the most potent instrument of action.” – Mahatma Gandhi

“If you’re asking for something for yourself, it is because it benefits others. In becoming a better person yourself, you will be helping others in turn.” – The Truths of Life

“I try to learn from the past, but I plan for the future by focusing exclusively on the present. That’s where the fun is.” – Donald Trump

“Everything you believe, is the truth, but only to you, and only because you believe it’s the truth.” – Jarett Sabirsh

“At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable.” – Christopher Reeves

What Creates What

Thoughts like “I can’t afford it”, “I don’t have the money”, “I’m too busy”, “there’s no time”, “I have disease”, “I need “, “I can’t “, “I don’t like “, “I hate “, etc., are creating MORE of that exact physical reality for the individual. This is the ONLY reason “the rich get richer and the poor get poorer”. Focusing on a lack of something will create a lack of something. Focusing on happiness and completion will create happiness and completion. Every individual and their “outside” life circumstances are a perfect reflection of their state of mind and what they choose to allow to go on inside their head. The ONLY limitations that exist are the ones we create for ourselves with our limited perceptions, ways of thinking, and lack of understanding of how the universe ACTUALLY works.

The Secret Movie

There’s an excellent movie that can’t be recommend highly enough that explains all of this, and much more, including some of the science behind it. The movie is called “The Secret” and it can be watched online for the same price as a movie rental, or the DVD can be bought from the website for $29.99US. It’s worth every penny. The change it brings to one’s life is worth FAR more than that. After all, money comes easily and frequently, IF you believe that it does. Life is full of INFINITE abundance and opportunities, IF you believe that it is. Life unfolds in perfect harmonious order, IF you believe that it does. There may be bumps along the road but that’s nothing more than past karma. (Learn from the Teachers of The Secret here.)

The Potentiality of Nothingness

Nothing is manifested/existing physically unless there is an observer/mind watching and taking part. EVERYTHING is pure potentiality. There is a POTENTIAL for something to exist physically. From the infinite potentiality of the Unmanifest, comes the Manifest. From Non-Existence comes Existence. From “Nothing” comes “something”. If you’re interested in seeing a quick video about the science behind this (Quantum Mechanics), click here:Double Slit Experiment from “What The Bleep Do We Know” movie. Believe nothing, know by doing.

Positives and Negatives for Reference Purposes

What not to focus on (negatives, falsehood):

Anger, hate, frustration, irritation, impatience, anxiety, grief, stress, fear, guilt, regret, pity, doubt, shame, blame, judging, greed, jealousy, playing victim, dishonesty, control, competition, force, rigidness, intolerance, righteousness, ego, pride, selfishness, inflexibility, closed-mindedness, pessimism, skepticism, ignorance, apathy, boredom, neediness, craving, addiction, attachment, disease, illness, etc.

What to focus on (positives, truth):

Compassion, kindness, peace, ease, calmness, serenity, silence, focus, attention, awareness, tolerance, freedom, flexibility, neutrality, acceptance, respect, responsibility, forgiveness, patience, non-attachment, simplicity, moderation, contentment, balance, harmony, trust, faith, gratitude, honesty, sincerity, purity, modesty, humility, mercy, generosity, good intent, co-operation, good-will, service, selflessness, wisdom, love, joy, hope, happiness, humor, energy, health, strength, courage, power, optimism, etc.

Read.. Practice.. Repeat

If you’re interested in putting this to work in your life, the key is to read this article over and over again until it all sinks in DEEPLY into the subconscious. If on the other hand you’re not at all interested in any of this information, hopefully you didn’t go wasting your time reading all of it.

Advanced Meditation & Enlightenment

At the highest levels, meditation is used to focus on the stillness and silence that precludes all individual will, intentions, desires, wants, “needs”, emotions, thoughts, ideas, concepts, and thinking. This is for the purpose of letting the Truth with a capital “T”, become us. Without our minds interfering, everything just IS, nothing more and nothing less, and it’s the words, ideas, concepts, thoughts and thinking of the mind that keeps us from realizing we are ALREADY the Truth that is beyond the concept of “Is”. This level of meditation is generally only for the very few who seek Enlightenment, or the truths of the universe, or their true nature as All of Existence. This step is for those who seek absolute and permanent completion, wholeness, perfection, peace, happiness, joy, bliss, etc. It’s for those who wish to serve the world/universe in the highest possible way. It’s for those who want to let go of the little self; the me, myself & I, which is the source of all problems and suffering. Purposefully creating with thought is one goal, while moving beyond thought totally is a different goal altogether. One helps us cope with this physical world, while the other takes us beyond it. One perpetuates individual karma (positive & negative), while the other frees us of it permanently.

“The part always has a tendency to reunite with its whole in order to escape from its imperfection.” – Leonardo DaVinci

Separation of ANY kind is an illusion created by our limited physical senses and ways of thinking. All is One, which is Self, which just Is.

Rising Fuel Costs & Air Pollution

08/24/07
admin
· pollution · saving you money

Let’s take a quick break from our normal wellness discussions. For me, wellness and a clean environment go hand and hand. When you become healthy yourself, you naturally want to be in a healthy environment. So let’s discuss ways that we can help with the issue of pollution.

Our driving habits can seriously contribute positively or negatively to the effect of global climate change. there are some simple things we can do right now to curb the negative effects. Think about it, if everyone made the decision to implement a few of these strategies today, we could dramatically enhance our overall environment. Always remember- change begins with us individually- then it spreads out to the collective.

Also, there is a lot of products out there that claim to enhance fuel economy and or horsepower. Most of these are rubbish. A company called Bitron has some products that actually DO work! check it out and decide for yourself here. Let me know what you think. in the meantime,
print this sensible driving guide out and put it up where you will see it every time you get in your car. With each of us doing our own small part, we can make a HUGE difference!!

SENSIBLE DRIVING GUIDE

1. Keep your tires properly inflated and aligned. Check your tire pressure regularly, especially after a drop in temperature occurs. Each tire that is under inflated by 2psi can cause a 1% increase in fuel consumption. Properly inflated tires can increase fuel economy by up to 3 percent!
• Almost 70% of cars and light trucks on the road have at least one tire that is over or under inflated and one third of these vehicles have three or even all four tires improperly inflated!

2. Try switching from premium to regular gasoline with the addition
of Bi-Tron Fuel Conditioner.
• Unless your engine is knocking, buying higher octane gasoline is a waste of money.

3. Warm Up By Driving. Once a vehicle is running, the best way to warm it up is to drive it. With computer controlled, fuel injected engines; you need no more than 30 seconds of idling even on winter days before driving away. Anything more wastes fuel and increases emissions.

4. Aggressive Driving. Accelerating is by far the, “thirstiest” work you can ask your vehicle to do. Fast acceleration guzzles gas and wears out your engine and tires quicker.
• Drivers who manage their driving habits- accelerating gradually, driving smoothly and with care- can boost fuel economy as much as 20 percent compared to more aggressive driving styles.

5. Keep Your Vehicle Well Maintained. A poorly maintained engine can use up to 50% more fuel and produce up to 50% more C02 then one that runs properly. Neglecting to replace warn out oil and gas filters results in poor engine performance, higher fuel consumption and possibly, severe engine damage.

6. Use Your Vehicles Air Conditioning Sparingly. Using your air conditioning system in stop and go traffic can increase your fuel consumption by as much as 20%.

7. Don’t Idle. Idling for 10 minutes a day can produce a quarter of a tonne of C02 emissions each year and costs you about $70 in wasted fuel. If you stop for more than 10 seconds, except in traffic, turn off your engine and save.

8. Drive At The Posted Speed Limit. With most vehicles, increasing your cruising speed from 100 kilometres per hour to 120 kilometres per hour will increase fuel consumption by 20%. Speeding also reduces the life of your tires.

9. Use overdrive gears and cruise control when appropriate. They improve the fuel economy of your car when you’re driving on a highway.

10. Remove excess weight from the trunk. An extra 100 pounds in the trunk can reduce a typical car’s fuel economy by two percent.

11. Avoid packing items on top of your car. A loaded roof rack or carrier creates wind resistance and can decrease fuel economy by five percent.

Follow the above driving guide and feel confident that you are doing your best to save money and protect the environment!

SAVING YOU MONEY

Following posted speed limits can save you gas!
Air Conditioning use increases you fuel consumption by as much as 20%!
Overdrive and cruise control can improve fuel economy!

Try to avoid putting items on top of your car. Air resistance can decrease fuel economy!

Health and wellness,

Jamie

Affirmations

08/22/07
admin
· affirmations · empowerment

Today I would like to post an informative article about affirmations by Jeff Staniforth.

I am also giving away a free Affirmations Course for anyone who would like it. You can download the free e-book course here.

Enjoy the article- it may change your life!

Health and Wellness,

Jamie

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“Why Do Some Affirmations *Work* – and Others Don’t?”
- by Jeff Staniforth
==========================================

By definition, an affirmation is a statement repeated time and again either verbally or mentally — or written down. The words of the affirmation statement – in themselves -when spoken, thought of, or written *without* a pictorial (visualized) or emotional connection — make a very weak affirmation.

Affirmations, when worded correctly — and when emotionally charged – are able to tap into the unlimited creative power of your subconscious mind, and manifest your desires.

Affirmations are not all created equal. Some are, of course, better than others. There are *power affirmations* that have been proven again and again to work – and I’ll reveal some of them in a moment.

When you examine the structure of these power affirmations, you, too, can learn how to create your own powerful affirmations for your specific purposes.

Consider the following:

“I am what I choose to be.”

“All my needs are met instantaneously.”

“I love and accept myself exactly as I am.”

“_____________ comes to me easily and effortlessly.”

(Fill in the blank with what you desire.)

“I am now perfectly healthy in body, mind and spirit.”

“I now create my wonderful, ideal life.”

What do the above power affirmations have in common?

1) They’re stated in the present tense.

An affirmation is more effective when stated in the present tense. For example; “I now have a wonderful job.” Avoid affirming something in the future tense, e.g. “I am going to have a wonderful job” or the results will always be waiting to happen.

2) They express a positive statement.

Affirmations need to be stated in the most positive terms possible. Avoid negative statements. Affirm what you do want, rather than what you don’t want. For example: “I am no longer sick.” This is a negative statement. Instead, affirm: “I am now perfectly healthy in body, mind and spirit.” This statement is much more powerful as it is positive and reinforces your desired goal and doesn’t confuse your subconscious mind with the mention of the undesirable condition.

3) They’re short and specific.

Short affirmations are easy to say, and have a far greater impact at the subconscious level than those which are long and wordy. Keeping them specific and to the point adds power as the idea is uncluttered by extraneous elements.

The mechanics that make affirmations powerful are:

* Repetition
The importance of repetition cannot be overemphasized. It imprints the affirmation into your subconscious mind.

* Emotions
Get involved, be passionate, and use your emotions. Think carefully about the meaning of the words as you repeat them rather than just writing, typing or saying them.

* Persistence
Practicing affirmations with persistence achieves results much sooner than practicing them periodically. Successive sessions will have a compounding effect.

* Belief
You don’t necessarily have to believe your affirmation initially, in order for it to work. Belief will grow with your forthcoming successes. What you do need is the ability to *feel* what it would be like when the desire you’re affirming is fulfilled, or your need met. Every time that you have a need — and that need is met — a certain “feeling” is produced in you. You need to evoke that same feeling when you state your affirmation. In other words, you need to feel with every fiber of your being that what you desire has already happened. Without this feeling, your affirmation is powerless.

* Impress Yourself
Personalize your affirmations. They must *resonate* with you — feel right for you. The stronger your connection with the affirmation, the deeper the impression it makes on your mind, and the sooner you will experience positive results.

So there you have it – the simple formula for creating affirmations that work. Based on the above, you can easily create your own affirmations to manifest any desire or need you have in life.

TIP: Although the practice of affirmations is easy, some people find it challenging to repeat the affirmations continuously while maintaining the highly charged emotional state necessary in making affirmations work. DID YOU KNOW… that you can use your computer to make the affirmation process effortless – and that you can automate those challenging aspects (such as maintaining highly charged emotions), and thereby, manifest your desires more quickly? Go HERE to find out how.

Join the millions of People Around the World Who Have Discovered the Power of Affirmations. Send for FREE subscription of “Affirmations For The Mind” Tips and Techniques Newsletter, the premier publication on self-improvement & personal growth. Each issue contains powerful sample affirmations that have been tested and proven to get results.
Click Here

The Desire to Be Well

08/20/07
admin
· Uncategorized

I visit a naturopathic doctor about once a month. He keeps me in check and lets me know when my system is out of balance. On my first visit, he had me fill out a form detailing what my symptoms and ailments were. On this form was a question- “Do you have a desire to be well?”.
At first glance this seemed like a ridiculous question- I mean, isn’t it obvious-of course I want to be well!! But actually this gets at the root of many of our problems in life. Do we truly have a DESIRE deep down inside to do something-whether it is getting well, or getting a job, or finding our true path in life. We must want it, then ask for it, THEN receive it.

By now everyone has heard of “The Secret”. The reason that that stuff works is because of the science behind it. First of all, the knowledge given in The Secret is nothing new. Countless Sages and Masters throughout history have known it’s validity. Paramahansa Yogananda, in his Autobiography of a Yogi recounts using this science many times, as was taught to him by his Guru Sri Yukteswar Giri.

These days, we use quantum physics to demonstrate why the concept of creating the life you want is under our own control. It has been proven, for example, that you cannot observe an object without changing that object. Our simple act of looking at it changes it. Hmmm. Something else to ponder- It has been shown that our brain fires a message, then our eyes perceive what we see, not the other way around.

If you want more info or want to learn more about the Secret and this amazing science, check out the teachers of the Secret themselves here.

This technology can be used for any purpose in your life. So, to be healthy, the 1st step is to proclaim, “I WANT TO BE HEALTHY!”

For healthy products, click here.

I wish you health and wellness,

Jamie

Get Healthy Starting Right Now!

08/16/07
admin
· Uncategorized

There is soooo much information out there today in regards to what is the right way to eat. The article below is from Dr Mercola. It is all about what you can do right now to increase your health. I encourage you check out his website as well, it is a gold mine of great info. Also for great health and wellness products click here!

I wish you all great health, peace and happiness.

Jamie

Reduce Grains and Sugar to Lose Weight and Improve Health

For several million years, humans existed on a diet of animals and vegetation. It was only with the advent of agriculture a mere 10,000 years ago — a fraction of a second in evolutionary time — that humans began ingesting large amounts of sugar and starch in the form of grains (and potatoes) into their diets. Indeed, 99.99% of our genes were formed before the advent of agriculture; in biological terms, our bodies are still those of hunter-gatherers.

While the human shift to agriculture produced indisputable gains for man — modern civilization is based on this epoch — societies where the transition from a primarily meat/vegetation diet to one high in cereals show a reduced lifespan and stature, increases in infant mortality and infectious disease, and higher nutritional deficiencies.

Contemporary humans have not suddenly evolved mechanisms to incorporate the high carbohydrates from starch- and sugar-rich foods into their diet. In short, we are consuming far too much bread, cereal, pasta, corn (a grain, not a vegetable), rice, potatoes and Little Debbie snack cakes, with very grave consequences to our health. Making matters worse, most of these carbohydrates we consume come in the form of processed food.

That 65% of Americans are overweight, and 27% clinically obese, in a nation addicted to sesame seed buns for that hamburger, with a side of French fries and a Coke, is no coincidence. It is not the fat in the foods we eat but, far more, the excess carbohydrates from our starch- and sugar-loaded diet that is making people fat and unhealthy, and leading to epidemic levels of a host of diseases such as diabetes.

If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, chances are very good that the excess carbohydrates in your body are, in part or whole, to blame:
Excess weight
Fatigue and frequent sleepiness
Depression
Brain fogginess
Bloating
Low blood sugar
High blood pressure
High triglycerides

We all need a certain amount of carbohydrates, of course, but, through our addiction to grains, potatoes, sweets and other starchy and sugary foods, we are consuming far too many. The body’s storage capacity for carbohydrates is quite limited, though, so here’s what happens to all the excess: they are converted, via insulin, into fat and stored in the adipose, or fatty, tissue.
Any meal or snack high in carbohydrates generates a rapid rise in blood glucose. To adjust for this rise, the pancreas secretes the hormone insulin into the bloodstream, which lowers the glucose. Insulin is, though, essentially a storage hormone, evolved over those millions of years of humans prior to the agricultural age, to store the excess calories from carbohydrates in the form of fat in case of famine.

Insulin, stimulated by the excess carbohydrates in our overabundant consumption of grains, starches and sweets, is responsible for all those bulging stomachs and fat rolls in thighs and chins.

Even worse, high insulin levels suppress two other important hormones — glucagons and growth hormones — that are responsible for burning fat and sugar and promoting muscle development, respectively. So insulin from excess carbohydrates promotes fat, and then wards off the body’s ability to lose that fat.

Excess weight and obesity lead to heart disease and a wide variety of other diseases. But the ill effect of grains and sugars does not end there. They suppress the immune system, contributing to allergies, and they are responsible for a host of digestive disorders. They contribute to depression, and their excess consumption is, in fact, associated with many of the chronic diseases in our nation, such as cancer and diabetes.
The bottom line is this: Americans need to reduce their intake of grains, including corn-based foods, and all sweets and potatoes, dramatically.

Related Articles:

The Paleolithic Diet and its Modern Implications

Low Grain and Carbohydrate Diets Treat Hypoglycemia, Heart Disease, Diabetes Cancer and Nearly All Chronic Diseases

The Beginning

08/10/07
admin
· homeopathic

The purpose of this Blog is mainly AWARENESS. Our current state of healthcare here in the US is dreadful, focusing on the suppression of symptoms instead of the natural healing forces of the human body. It is time to get back to the basics of health, and I believe this starts with holistic/naturopathic healthcare.

I would like to share my experiences regarding holistic/naturopathic healthcare. My goal is for everyone to be aware that this is the best treatment option, but also is the best PREVENTATIVE course of action to take in ones life. Far too may of my close friends and family members have had certain medical conditions and symptoms where their MD recommended taking out one of their organs. This is truly horrific, when if they only realized that by going to a practitioner who utilizes homeopathic methods this could all have been avoided. The FDA is out of control, making up new conditions and then recommending drugs for them on a daily basis it seems.

It can be difficult to explain to someone that there is a better way. This blog is about spreading that message. THERE IS A BETTER WAY!

Also, I will be discussing subjects that affect the world at large, namely things like global warming and what we can do as individuals to help. While we are taking care of ourselves and living long, healthy lives, we naturally want to keep our planet in good shape for our future generations.