Monday, January 21, 2008

How sweet can you get?

This is the age of convenience, one that offers humankind an easy way, a faster way, a more time-efficient manner of living.

And one major component of living is food.

Easy food

Fast, as against slow, or quick food is cooked to meet the time demands of people in a hurry. Enzymes that would otherwise be preserved if food is prepared in low heat, are killed due to high cooking temperatures.

As a result, when a person relies mainly on processed, overcooked food, a low nutrition diet becomes his/her regular regimen. Over a period of time, a high-fat, high-sugar diet will result in obesity and high blood sugar levels.

Sugar = wrinkles

Sugar is vital to cell life and health but sugar in the body that is called glucose can become poison to the cells.

A person’s skin condition is affected by sugar, which attaches to the proteins of collagen. This results in stiffness and inflexibility leading to wrinkles. So to protect the skin, the intake of sugar has to be reduced.

To do

1. Replace white bread with high-fiber wheat or multi-grain bread.
2. Remove all potato chips in your cupboard. However, if you have the habit of munching on chips, choose the high-fiber variety. Also, do not eat chips on an empty stomach. This will send your sugar levels soaring. Instead, eat them only after you have had a snack or a meal.
3. Snack on items that are nutritious—nuts and fruits.
4. If you have a supply of carbonated drinks, have an equal supply of fruit juices and soy milk.
5. Add a new supplement to your daily menu—the antioxidant alpha-lipoic acid. It helps to keep vitamin C, E and glutathione longer inside the body thus providing the skin cells more protection.
If you also want to detoxify the system, especially the liver, consider metathione, a whitening pill if taken twice a day but is a detox pill if taken only once daily (available in Watsons & Mercury Drug).
Alpha-lipoic acid has more staying power than other antioxidants. Adding this to your supplement list is a wise choice. More than a health pill, it can also make your skin look younger.
6. Eat fish and more fish. It is lean and whatever fat it contains is omega 3. If you learn to eat more fish each day, you will find yourself losing weight gradually.
7. Reduce the carbohydrates. They add up to your sugar intake so go easy. Take a cup of ampalaya tea after meal time, especially after eating dessert.

Fatigue-buster

Did you know that maintaining a low insulin level guarantees you an energetic body? It also is a great fatigue fighter.

People on see-saw diets—over-eating then starving—will suffer from high-low sugar levels wreaking havoc on the body.

Keep your sugar level steady. If you are hungry, eat. But eat slowly.

You will find that your ability to concentrate will also improve. And you get a bonus—high levels of serotonin in your brain that will give you a sense of well-being.

Sweet nothings

Sweet nothings are made up of sweet things you do for yourself when you feel you are about to be in a foul or depressed mood.

Try to:

1. Keep your cool. Being in a sweet mood guarantees good health. Losing your temper will only quicken your breathing and make your heart race.
2. Keep a little love in your heart. It will make you smile not only at others but also at yourself.

Affirm: “My life is as sweet as my expectations.”

Love and light!

Reference: “The Wrinkle Cure” by Dr. Nicholas Perricone

Source: http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view/20080121-113864/How-sweet-can-you-get


Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Time to clean out & clear out

A random survey of people’s habits found that most refused to surrender them for a healthier lifestyle.

So why beat yourself up repeatedly for your inability to achieve your personal health and beauty goals if you are not willing to compromise or pay the price?

Odds in your favor

The physical body is designed to survive practically impossible odds. Pregnant women in the ghettos during World War II carried their babies to full term despite near dehydration and starvation.

Avalanche victims trapped in snow overcame the harsh environment despite frost bites, while some crash and accident victims miraculously survived even though badly bruised.

There are many stories of people who overcome. The conditions mentioned were not of their own making but they had no choice but to face the odds.

The basic difference between an average person and one trapped in an unforeseen circumstance is the exercise of freedom. The average person has it. You have it. So, if victims can survive, why can’t you, unless you are willing to gamble away your freedom.

Choose right

The challenge here is clear—whether to make the right or the wrong choices.

Moralists will say there is always a right or wrong choice, given a situation. So, let us ask ourselves the question: what stand will you take when it comes to your health and wellness. Do you take steps today or simply fall into the pit of helplessness?

Housekeeping tips

Steps to prepare your personal landscape:

1. Take a good look at yourself. See yourself in your ideal you—what you would like to be. Then get to work.

2. Now, make a strong sweeping assessment of your habitat. Your home—room, living space, kitchen—should reflect this new image. Is there anything that is out of synch? Example: You want to lose 10 pounds but your bedside table is full of junk foods. Obviously, this needs fixing. So, start cleaning out the mess or removing the temptation.

Next, your refrigerator should be purged of the following: leftovers from last Christmas like fruitcake, pastries and chocolates. Why are you hoarding them? Give them away now. The spirit of giving lives on in you, so it is a good excuse to gift a neighbor or office mate.

3. If birds of the same feather flock together and you would like to start over in a healthier way, make new friends who are like-minded. They make the best support group. They will see you to the completion of your wellness goals.

In fact, when choosing a mate, find someone who does not smoke, drink, or do drugs. He/she will make a great ally, friend and gym buddy.

4. Think light. If your bedroom/home is full of clutter (papers, boxes, files, outdated clothes, etc.) how can you breathe? Begin decongesting your physical living space. A clean and orderly environment has a direct connection to your own mental and emotional clarity. Donate your old clothes and shoes to charity.

5. Remove the cobwebs from your mind and heart—the fears (whether real or imagined), obsessions, hurts, worries. Stressing over the present and the future is counter productive to your well-being. Learn to trust God and yourself more.

Inner cleansing

Make it a habit to take two capsules of acidophilous (live nature bacteria) on an empty stomach to assure you of healthy flora in your intestines. This will improve your digestion. Note: A diet rich in fat and sweets can disrupt the normal balance in your gut.

Want a smaller waistline and flatter tummy? Have only vegetable juice and fruits for breakfast, plus a small serving of oatmeal or high fiber cereal.

Light as air

Being light on your feet is easy once you have embraced a wellness regimen. And the feeling is lighter when you fill your heart with love and faith.

Love and light!

Source: http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view/20080115-112364/Time-to-clean-out--clear-out


Monday, January 07, 2008

Be good to yourself

It is not about second chances, attempts at redemption or to ease a guilty conscience.

Abuse, neglect and ignorance may not justify your lamentations.

If you find yourself unattractive, unappealing and unhealthy, these are valid reasons to embark on a makeover mission.
The start of a new year should signal your own renewal.

Crush not crash

Instead of being dismayed upon stepping onto a weight scale, be challenged. Think and say to yourself, “It is only a number.”

Crush your defeatist attitude. Allowing yourself to panic only triggers your own defeat. Of course, the last thing you should do is to go on a crash diet. This will only guarantee one thing—whatever weight you lose will definitely come back with a vengeance.

Studies have shown that people on diets experience depression. Therefore, do not starve yourself. Pace yourself instead. And use your common sense.

Detox not destroy

It is fairly easy to self-destruct. Simply give in to all your physical and emotional cravings without limits. In short, eat all you can and allow yourself to be swept away by your unchecked feelings.

This way, the word extreme will rule your life. Once accomplished, you will find yourself overweight, overburdened and over-exhausted.

Detoxify now. And the promise of a higher and more energetic body is yours.

Detox to-do:

1. List down your cravings. These may include chocolates, pastries, peanuts, ice cream, wine/spirits, high-fat foods, etc.

Know your weaknesses. This way, you will be on guard each time you are faced with your temptations.

2. Do not deny yourself a craving. Instead, take a little piece or small amount. By tasting something you will not feel totally deprived.

3. Stop eating when you feel full. Sins against the belly begin when you have burped once. And if you are the type that does not burp following the feeling of fullness, your waistline will expand and a feeling of tightness is inevitable.

4. Do not prolong the gaps between meals. Waiting too long to eat will only rob you of much-needed vitamins and minerals. If you wait too long to eat, there is a chance that your blood sugar levels will be affected and, in fact, may even fail to return to its normal level. This will immediately cause fatigue and depression.

5. If you intend to fast, make sure you are fully hydrated with water and vegetable juices every 30 minutes. Fasting will cleanse your gut and colon.

Make sure when you end your fast that it is quickly followed by two tablespoons of virgin coco oil or two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or a combination of both.

6. Try a lemon or organic coffee enema.

Lemon rinse

One lemon, juiced. Mix into one pint of warm, purified water. Use as an enema. Hold in the liquid for ten minutes. Then release. Take two capsules of acidophilous (bacteria) to replace the ones lost during the enema (great for colds, cough).

Coffee cleanse

One heaping tablespoon of organic coffee (Baraco, Batangas variety, is good), boiled for 10 minutes in one pint of purified water. Introduce into your colon in three installments. Hold in for 15 minutes (if possible), then release.

You will instantly feel light and able to breathe better (if you have sinusitis problems).

7. Think of colors—red, pink, orange, green, gold, silver, etc. Make this your emotional guide for the day—red, passion/love; pink, affection; blue, calm; green, healing; orange, energy; gold/silver, prosperity.
Adopt a color and watch your outlook change.

New year, new you

The possibility of a new you is within your reach but only if you have the determination to claim it—inside and out.

Love and light!

Source: http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/lifestyle/lifestyle/view/20080107-110930/Be-good-to-yourself