Nature's Pharmacy

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye. The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and YES, science now shows carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart has four chambers and is red. All of the research shows tomatoes are loaded with lycopine and are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food.

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds on the nut are just like the neo-cortex. We now know walnuts help develop more than three (3) dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys.

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and many more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bo ne strength. Bones are 23 % sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet, the body pulls it from the bones, thus making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Avocados, Eggplant and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats one avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight, and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? It takes exactly nine (9) months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the mobility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm as well to overcome male sterility.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries.
Oranges, grapefruits, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts.

Onions look like the body's cells. Today's research shows onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells. They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes. A working companion, Garlic, also helps eliminate waste materials and dangerous free radicals from the body.

PRESENTED BY: MARYJANE BALTHAZAR

The Magic of Water

With the recent power surge of sunshine and heat, many of us are finding our way to the water cooler.
I am always promoting the benefits of water, not just for weight loss but for general health and well being.
Why you may ask?
Water is the universal solvent and detoxifier.
The more ingredients food or beverages have, the more work the liver has to do. Water helps the kidneys, liver and other organs to process out the vitamins, minerals and other nutrients from our foods. Water also helps our organs to process out the toxins.
Additionally, every single system in your body depends on water to function effectively. Remember that your body is over 75% water.
Note: A simple way to develop a better metabolism is by drinking adequate amounts of water. Everything in your body can run at full throttle if you have adequate water intake.

How Much Protein Do I Need Each Day?

Recently one of my clients asked me how much protein he needs to eat each day.

Ever since the high protein diets became really popular, people have been consuming lots and lots of protein. Even though protein is really good for building muscles, tissues and helping with regeneration of all our cells, too much of anything is not always good. And protein is no different.

Protein is acidic to our bodies. Our bodies have a pH balance, which tends to be slightly acidic to begin with. This helps with digesting our foods and protecting us from foreign invaders. When our bodies get to be too acidic then problems can occur. If we don’t get enough alkalinizing foods, to balance out the pH, then our body will leach calcium from our bones – which can lead to osteoporosis. Also, the kidneys and the liver have to cleanse out the acid from the body and that can cause problems for those organs. Gout is also a common problem with too much uric acid – a by product of protein.

As for how much to take, it is actually recommended that the average person gets about .8 (that is point 8) grams per kilogram of body weight. There are 2.2 pounds per kilogram. Now, that is for the average person, and being that we are all individuals, you may need a little more or a little less. It depends on what your personal goals are for your body and your workout programs. For the more athletic person you can go up to 1.8 gram per kilogram.

1. Weight in pounds divided by 2.2 = weight in kg
2. Weight in kg x 0.8-1.8 gm/kg = protein gm.

And, not to be pushing any particular product, but my client also asked about whey powder. There is a particular brand that I recommend to my clients and I thought I’d just share it with you. The company is called Isagenix. We got involved with this company because the quality of their products are amazing! They have a whey protein powder called IsaPro. This protein comes from New Zealand cows. These cows are grass fed, not grain fed and the protein is organic. There are no pesticides, colorings, etc. in the products. They are the cleanest products on the market.

Top 5 Tips for Losing Weight - Part 5

I have covered four of the five tips, and today will be the last tip: action. It is definitely important to set a plan of action. Think about what your goals are and how you would like to go about reaching them. You may need to just take it one meal or day at a time.

Set a list of priorities up for yourself and just start with one at a time. Sometimes it is easiest to take baby steps when a goal is lofty.

If your goal is to lose 40 pounds, then just focus on the first five pounds. As an example of setting priorities for the 40 pounds goal, a first priority would be to start keeping a food journal. That way you can see in black and white what you are actually putting into your body.

The next step would be to see how many servings of fruits and veggies you are actually consuming on a daily basis. (It is very common for most people to be low in fruits and veggies.)

Once you get the right amount of fruits and veggies into your diet and keeping a journal has become part of your lifestyle, then you can move onto your next priority.

One step at a time. This way you have made healthy living part of your life and will never DIE - T again!

Top 5 Tips for Losing Weight - Part 4

So far in these blogs I have posted three of the five tips for weight loss. Today I will write about the fourth tip: exercise.

Exercise is very important for several factors. Weight loss is just one of the factors. Moderate exercise also helps with decreasing our stress levels, raising our immune system, keeping us with a better sense of balance and building our metabolism.

The important thing with exercise is to do both cardio training as well as weight lifting. Cardio helps to burn fat and weight training (strength training) help to increase lean body mass (muscle) which helps to speed up our metabolism.

Our friend Steve writes a fabulous blog for NutritionData.com all about exercise. Click here to read his blog. I would highly recommend his blog for ideas on types of exercises to do and ways to keep your workouts interesting.

Hopefully this will motivate you to get up and go!

Top 5 Tips for Losing Weight - Part 3

In yesterday's blog I wrote about our food choices and the day before that I wrote about motivation. Today's top tip for weight loss is on water.

I know that there are numerous reports on how much water a person should or should not drink. My belief is that each person is an individual, and you may have to do some experimenting to see how much daily water consumption is right for you. Some people believe that it is best to take your weight and divide it in two. That is how many ounces of pure water a day to strive for. However, this does not take into consideration drinking caffeinated drinks such as sodas and coffee, or taking diuretic medications, sweating a lot or hot weather. In those conditions it might be best to drink more water.

Well, what kind of water am I talking about? There is bottled water, tap water, filtered water, designer waters, sports drinks, carbonated water, etc. I am speaking of pure plain water. Depending on where you live, your tap water may be okay. Bottled water is okay as long as it tastes okay. If it tastes like plastic, then do not drink it. Chemicals have leached into the plastic, and that can mess up your hormone balance. And now that warmer weather is upon us, it is definitely not recommended to leave your bottled water in the hot car.

And for those of you trying to lose weight, next time you feel hungry, drink some pure plain water first. Many times we are thirsty when we think that we are hungry.

Just writing this is making me thirsty....time to go get some water. :)

Top 5 Tips for Losing Weight - Part 2

Yesterday I wrote about motivation as the first tip for healthy weight loss. Today I am going to write about the second tip, food.

The main thing about the food we eat is to make sure that it is as "whole" as possible. What I mean by this is eat whole foods versus processed foods. Whole foods tend to come in their own wrappers, think fruits and veggies. Look for the term Whole Grain when purchasing your carbohydrates. Whole foods contain fiber, vitamins and minerals, and even water. These will keep you fuller and more satisfied all day long.

The next tip on our food is portion size. Portions are huge these days, especially when we eat out. A serving of fruit is about the size of a tennis ball, veggies are usually one cup raw or half a cup cooked, half of a cup of cooked brown rice is one starch serving, and a deck of cards is a portion of protein.

Finally, the last thing to do in regards to our foods is to read labels. Try to be able to pronounce the words on the ingredients list! Definitely try to avoid things like High Fructose Corn Syrup, Hydrogenated/Trans fats, Sucralose, aspartame and MSG.

Eating more natural foods will help you feel your best, and help you to achieve your weight loss goals.

Top 5 Tips for Losing Weight - Part 1

In order to lose weight there are five main areas that one needs to focus on. They are: motivation, food, water, exercise and action. Today I will discuss motivation in detail.

To stay motivated in the process of losing weight, it is important to have a positive attitude. You CAN do this! It is all about incorporating a healthy lifestyle and not being on a DIE-t.

Believe in balance and moderation. I like the 1 to 3 rule: if you have one indulgent item/meal/day, then balance it with 3 healthier items/meals/days.

Visualize how you want to look/feel. Have a favorite pair of jeans that you like to wear? Picture yourself in them and looking good! Affirm that you are in the process of living a healthy lifestyle.

And, finally, to stay motivated it is important to reward yourself. However, it is also important to not use food as a reward. Give yourself a spa gift, or a new outfit or something else that you feel you deserve.

How do you like to keep yourself motivated?