Nature's Lovers Healthy Living

Get to Sleep!

admin — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 02:46:22 +0000

Let’s face it, there are endless suggestions as to how to achieve a better night’s rest; from “don’t eat before bed;” to “keep it dark;” all the way to “stop sleeping in so late!” They all work, but if you haven’t yet uncovered the true source of your sleeping discomfort, perhaps you should start looking at stress.

Stress can play a detrimental role in getting a good night’s sleep, and more than likely it’s your relationship and/or work that is hindering the process. If you’ve been having a rough week(s) at work, and you still can’t find time to take care of all the other necessities, it may be keeping you up at night! Similarly, if your significant other is giving you troubles, it may be time to let that go or perhaps give it a break.

But no matter what, almost 90% of the time the root of the problem is stress. Even some of those cool tricks like using a more soothing (non-abrupt) alarm clock; using something loud and abrupt will be reflected in the days to come – If your body becomes used being jolted awake, it then begins to tell the brain to wake up before the event, further decreasing the number of sleep hours. Similarly, the human body/mind is preprogrammed for fun and play; if you’re not getting regular exercise and tiring yourself out, chances are your going to stay up later.

Psychologically, lessened exercise (i.e. – treadmills, ellipticals, etc…) can ultimately lead to weight gain, causing unwanted feelings of depression. Technically, your body will tire itself out by experiencing a raised level of endorphins during the day (exercising directly before bed is a bad idea!).

Another great way to remove any unwanted stress is to remove clocks altogether. If you’re already having trouble getting to bed, starring at a clock won’t help. This will only make you worry about how late it’s getting, which will further stir up stressful thoughts about why you still can’t get to sleep.

Nevertheless, I still must address some other factors that may be keeping you awake:

Sickness

Ambient light

Snacking before bed

Pills

Temperature (keep it cool)

Too much exercise

Treating your bedroom like your living room

Air quality

Outside noise

No noise

More or less, all of these things can create a domino effect of stress, followed by less and less sleep. As the week progresses, don’t forget to maintain a healthy lifestyle by acknowledging problems at work or in a relationship. Similarly, following these few extra hints will lead to improved sleep and lessened fatigue!

Jim Rollince of Gym Source, a distributor of home gyms, home gym equipment, and training materials to enhance your overall workout.

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Katie’s Quick Healthy Pizza

admin — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 17:19:24 +0000

Katie’s Quick Healthy Pizza

Serves 1

1 Rudi’s Organic Spelt Pitta Bread (any other healthy flat bread will do)

1tsp Organic Extra Virgin Olive oil

pinch of dry basil (optional)

pinch of dry oregano (optional)

1 slices medium tomato

salt (optional)

¼ cup grated Mozarella Style Rice Cheese

Pre-heat your oven to 450 F. Place flat bread on a cookie sheet, brush with olive oil, equally sprinkle basil and oregano, arrange a layer of sliced tomatoes, add salt and spread grated cheese to cover all the tomatoes.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and slightly browned.

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Got Milk?! – Chapter 2

admin — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 16:54:47 +0000

Got Milk?! – Chapter 2

Antibiotics and Hormones in Your Milk

In our last newsletter we talked about how processed (homogenized) dairy can impact our digestion therefore our health. Unfortunately, it looks like that is not all we need to know when consuming milk products.

During my first course of Holistic Nutrition studies I was exposed to a lot of information about dangers of growth hormones and antibiotics that cows are being treated with. Especially on of the “greatest” Monsanto products rBGH (recombinant bovine growth hormone), which basically increases milk flow in lactating cows. Consequently, greater lactation increases mastitis infection and makes farmers to use antibiotics to treat such infection in cows. This practice leads to high levels of antibiotics and its byproducts (toxins) in the milk that we drink ourselves and give to our children. I don’t even want to mention the ethics of animal rights; it breaks my heart to think what these poor farm animals have to go through.

Sadly, there were quite a few studies that suggested how genetically engineered rBGH may promote hormonal cancers (breast, prostate, ovarian), colon cancer as well as hypertension and diabetes. Other studies suggested that lab animals who were fed rBGH developed illnesses like thyroid cysts and prostate tumors, evident signs of disrupted hormonal levels.

While other studies show no increase in health risks associated with the use of rBGH, cows treated with rBGH do have increased levels of IGF-1 (insulin growth factor). rBGH is said to be removed from milk during the pasteurization process, but IGF-1 is not. Organic Consumers Association published the following regarding the usage of rBGH:

“Eli Lilly, in its application for registration of rBGH, admitted that IGF-1 blood levels of injected cows are increased up to ten-fold. IGF-1 is resistant to pasteurization and digestion, and is readily absorbed from the small intestine. Monsanto’s own data revealed that feeding IGF-1 to adult rats for only two weeks significantly increased body and liver weights, and bone length.”

Research published by Harvard Medical School in 1998, clearly showed that that IGF-1 is a potent risk factor for prostate, breast and colon cancers.

Excuse me being straight-forward, but sometimes I wonder…does Monsanto has some kind of a deal with FDA and pharmaceutical giants?! “We produce the cause of the illness and you do your best to find the right drug for it”…to me it looks like a win-win deal for those folks, but I refuse to be an experimental lab rat!

If you are of those dairy consumers who may start to wonder: “What am I suppose to replace my milk and cheese with then?!” or “How can I make healthier choices?” Well, there are plenty of choices like rice, almond, hazelnut and hemp milk. Farmers Markets and Whole Foods Markets all carry wide variety of delicious rice, soy and almond cheeses. There is huge variety of yogurts made with coconut and rice milk. So all you need is a desire of making a change J If you decide not to give up your dairy just yet, at least try to buy organic dairy.

We at Nature’s Lovers will be happy to provide you with our monthly dairy-free and cruelty-free recipe that you may find even more appetizing knowing that no animal suffered in order for you to enjoy every bite!

Should you like more information about dangers of growth hormones in dairy, I would strongly suggest to read the following article published by brilliant Hans R. Larsen, MSc ChE – http://www.notmilk.com/drlarsen.html

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Got Milk Chapter 1

admin — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 16:46:19 +0000

Got Milk?! – Chapter 1

For the last few years, there has been a controversy around homogenized milk and dairy consumption in general. Myself, I read a number of articles and medical research reports, which either support or dismiss the need of dairy in our diet.

Many vegan-living advocates and many medical and nutritional experts support the idea that we are better off without dairy due to the following facts:
- conventional cattle farming exposes cows to heavy treatment with antibiotics and growth hormones.
- we can get all the calcium we need from a healthy, balanced plant-based diet
- homogenized milk has been associated with heart disease and cancer

Let’s take a brief look at homogenization process.

The homogenization process breaks up an enzyme in milk (xanthine oxidase), which in its altered (smaller) state can enter the bloodstream and react against arterial walls causing the body to protect the area with a layer of cholesterol. There is some very compelling research demonstrating clear associations with this absorbed enzyme and increased risks of heart disease.

Robert Cohen, Executive Director of the Dairy Education Board, wrote in his article “Homogenized Milk: Rocket Fuel for Cancer,” accessed Nov. 28, 2007.

“Homogenization is the worst thing that dairymen did to milk. Simple proteins rarely survive digestion in a balanced world. Milk is a hormonal delivery system. With homogenization, milk becomes a very powerful and efficient way of bypassing normal digestive processes and delivering steroid and protein hormones to the human body (both your hormones and the cow’s natural hormones and the ones they were injected with to produce more milk). Through homogenization, fat molecules in milk become smaller and become ‘capsules’ for substances that bypass digestion. Proteins that would normally be digested in the stomach or gut are not broken down, and are absorbed into the bloodstream…Homogenized milk, with its added hormones, is rocket fuel for cancer.”

What about calcium?! – Indeed, this question makes me want to ask another question. Where do cows get calcium for their huge bones?! I doubt it comes from human milk consumption, please pardon my sarcasm. Well, let’s see…may be plant based diet is the answer! Many researches have shown that celery, spinach, broccoli and other plants and vegetables have few times more absorbable calcium than a glass of milk. All we need to do is to learn how to bring these plants back into our diet. Leafy greens, nuts, fish and soy foods contain impressive amount of absorbable calcium along other minerals that are easy for our body to assimilate.

So what are the options of individuals who are not ready to give up their dairy? My advice is to look into buying organic non-homogenized sheep, goat or cow dairy products. Goat and sheep dairy is known to be a little easier to digest even by people who are unable to digest cows milk.

In our next newsletter I will share with you few facts about antibiotics and growth hormones in conventional dairy produce and how to prevent it from harming our children and us.
With healthy blessings,

Nature’s Lovers

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How To Maintain Healthy Cholesterol Levels

admin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:50:06 +0000

When I was working as a supplement consultant for a Natural Food Store chain in Atlanta, GA. I met at least two or three customers daily, who were diagnosed with elevated LDL levels and came to the store to seek natural remedies. Some of those customers were already on statin drugs, which were making them have bad side effects. I personally know a couple, where husband encountered problems with male function after 3 years of taking Lipitor. It was a sad reality for this man, because he was only 43 years old. Looking at his diet I wasn’t surprised that he was diagnosed with high low-density lipoprotein levels in the first place, because a KFC mega-bucket for dinner will most likely kill a whale in the long run too. Sadly, he did almost nothing, dietary wise, to improve his condition. I believe that in order to create awareness about dangers of high LDL levels we need to educate our society about the causes and prevention of this condition.
So what does elevated LDL levels mean? LDL means low-density lipoprotein known as “bad cholesterol”. Cholesterol, which is a kind of a lipid found on our blood stream, can’t dissolve in the blood. It has to be transported to and from the cells by carriers called lipoproteins. When too much LDL (bad) cholesterol circulates in the blood, it can slowly build up in the inner walls of the arteries that feed the heart and brain. Together with other substances, it can form plaque, a thick, hard deposit that can narrow the arteries and make them less flexible. This condition is known as atherosclerosis. If a clot forms and blocks a narrowed artery, heart attack or stroke can result.
Main causes of elevated LDL levels are bad dietary habits and stress, sometimes people say it’s hereditary, but medical and naturopathic professionals do not agree. They confirm that many hereditary conditions can be managed and prevented with healthy diet and natural supplements. Lack of dietary fiber and exercise in American diet and lifestyle respectively are also major factors for raised LDL levels. After all there is a wise saying: “You are what you eat”.
In his book “The New Optimum Nutrition Bible” Patrick Holford talks about how Vitamin C deficiency may lead to increased levels of cholesterol as well.
Dr. Elson Haas, in his book “Staying Healthy with Nutrition”, emphasizes about dangers of consuming long-chain saturated and hydrogenated fats, which can drastically increase LDL levels and cause vascular problems. According to Haas, deep fried and fried foods are overheated and over-processed therefore it makes it very hard for our bodies to process and eliminate them. The most disturbing fact mentioned by Haas, in my opinion, is that elevated LDL levels may lead to atherosclerosis, which is a plague that builds up in arteries and can cause stroke or heart attack.
Linda Page PhD writes that high cholesterol affects nearly 60 million of Americans annually. In her book “Healthy Healing” she mentions a new research that shows how high cholesterol levels may increase a risk of Alzheimer’s disease as well.

The closer we will get to natural and whole foods, the less risk we will run into when it comes to developing these, to say the least, unpleasant diseases. Many researches have shown that consuming significant amounts of Omega-3 fats may help to raise HDL and lower LDL levels in the blood. Omega-3 fats are found in oily fish like salmon and mackerel, as well as flax seeds and chia seeds. Making an oily fish a part of our diet at least two to three times weekly and sprinkling a table spoon of flax seeds on our daily green salad will help us to increase Omega-3 fats. Otherwise for extremely busy people there are many good quality Omega-3 supplements on the market today, from such respectable companies like Barleans, New Chapter, Garden of Life and Jarrow. Increasing dietary fiber in our diet should not be a challenge either. Simple steps like switching to whole grain bread instead of white bread. Adding a spoon of powdered fiber, which is widely sold in health food stores, into breakfast smoothie or breakfast cereals, consuming more whole grains will make a difference in the long run. Reading labels on packaged foods is also extremely important, according to Haas, we should know the following measures in order to avoid high amounts of hidden saturated and trans fats:
• Saturated fat – not more than 25% of saturated fat daily
• Hydrogenated fats – should be avoided all together
• Total fat – less than 25 grams daily for 1,800 calorie diet
Good news for red wine lovers – it shows that it may help to raise HLD levels and helps to reduce stress. Just don’t get carried away.
Interestingly enough, few extensive researches have shown that eggs, egg yolks in particular, have nothing to do with raising LDL levels in the blood. So the myth of avoiding egg yolks, if you were diagnosed with high cholesterol, is just a myth. Although if followed correctly, vegan diet and life style never hurt anyone ☺

Enjoy more healthy tips, healthy recipes, and various articles that will help you to live healthier and happier life.

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Just a thought about modern nutrition

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:19:53 +0000

Healthy eating is a key to good digestion; moreover, it is crucially important for overall well-being. I always remember what Hippocrates said: “Let the food be your medicine”…so true indeed.
Many health experts say that stress can interfere with our digestion. From my own experience I can definitely conclude that once the diet becomes healthier, stress response also becomes better. Simply because due to good nutrition our adrenals are starting to function better and our pH is becoming more balanced and of course the less acidic our blood is, the less negative emotions we experience. Good health in my opinion is a true freedom, it enables us to do anything we want, as well as to have much more positive outlook on life.
So how do we achieve that freedom? Healthy body means good immune response and according to many studies 70% of our immunity is in our digestive tract, therefore we must thrive to keep our digestion optimal and healthy.

Unfortunately, in modern life, there are many factors, which contribute to impaired and weak digestion. First and most common one is probably hectic life style, where people are stressed and don’t have time to plan, cook or even make a healthy meal choice. Second, and in my opinion, most dangerous one is extreme availability of junk and fast foods, this “phenomenon” will always keep me puzzled and outraged. Never in my life in any other country (and I have been to at least 12) I’ve seen such an abundance of fast food places. Burger King, Taco Bell, MacDonalds to name a few, are situated across and a mile within from one another, making it so convenient for everyone to just order “a meal”. I will not even elaborate on quality of the ingredients of those “meals”. It’s so sad that little children are becoming addicted on Chick-fil-A and parents think they are doing good by giving their kids “healthy” chicken instead of unhealthy burger. The fact that those chickens were raised with antibiotics and growth hormones remains unknown to the majority and they keep doing it, wondering why kids are getting sick very often, become overweight and hit puberty at age 10.
Third factor is of course a major lack of knowledge about healthy nutrition. About a year ago I read somewhere that future medical doctors are exposed to only 50 hours of nutritional education in medical schools. I certainly hope those hours have increased by now or will be increased soon. Knowledge is power and in order to empower ourselves to live healthy lives, we need adequate knowledge, which we should start acquiring from childhood in order to make it a habit. Hopefully soon, nutritional education will become one of the subjects in elementary and middle schools. If our society was exposed to TV shows about healthy nutrition, we probably wouldn’t have a show like “Biggest Loser” or horrifying TLC series about heaviest people who cannot even get out of bed. Educating society about how to plan, cook, combine and balance meals would be a major step ahead in modern health care and the faster it will be done the less health insurance will be paying to medical establishment and pharmaceutical industry.

Enjoy more healthy tips, healthy recipes, and various articles that will help you to live healthier and happier life.

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Toxins in Peanut Butter!

admin — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 20:06:20 +0000

Few years ago, when I first heard about peanut butter, I was a bit confused, because my grandmother always told me that peanuts were legumes and she couldn’t digest them. She wouldn’t let me eat or buy anything with peanuts and stubbornly repeated to everyone in the family: “There is nothing good in legumes, which were roasted months ago and packed in a paper bag”. No kidding! Now I know, that peanuts are just wasted when they are over-roasted mixed with preservatives, sugar and packed in jar to make a “delicious, nutritious snack”. Here are few facts about toxins in peanut butter; this paragraph is from a project I wrote for my college about human carcinogenic substances. I hope everyone will find it useful and pass the information to their friends and family who keep buying jars of peanut butter or any products, which contain this hazardous ingredient.

“Aflatoxin is a potent human carcinogen. It is a naturally occurring toxin produced by certain fungi, Aspergillus flavis, a mold found in food products such as corn, peanuts and peanut butter. It acts as a potent liver carcinogen in rodents and presumably humans. Aflatoxins have been associated with various diseases, such as aflatoxicosis, in livestock, domestic animals and humans throughout the world.

Aflatoxins have received greater attention than any other toxin because it clearly has a potent carcinogenic effect in laboratory rats and its acute poisonous effects in humans. Humans are exposed to aflatoxins by consuming foods contaminated with products of fungal growth. Such exposure is difficult to avoid because fungal growth in foods is not easy to prevent. Even though heavily contaminated food supplies are not permitted in the market place in developed countries, concern still remains for the possible adverse effects resulting from long-term exposure to low levels of aflatoxins in the food supply. Epidemiological, clinical, and experimental studies reveal that exposure to large doses (>6000mg) of aflatoxin may cause acute toxicity with lethal effect whereas exposure to small doses for prolonged periods is carcinogenic.”

My advice to everyone who loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches is to switch to almond, hazelnut or cashew raw butters. Those are so much healthier and safer.

I would recommend buying at the website that my husband recently discovered.

My family and I always buy raw almond butter and other Raw and Organic products from this wonderful website -

- we use raw almond and cashew butters in sandwiches, salad dressings and just as a healthy snack

Source for information on aflatoxin:
Retrieved July 6, 2009 from – http://www.ehso.com/ehshome/aflatoxin.php
Retrieved July 6, 2009 from – http://www.aflatoxin.info/health.asp

Enjoy more healthy tips, healthy recipes, and various articles that will help you to live healthier and happier life.

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Healthy Pesto Sauce Recipe – Dairy Free

admin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 03:03:25 +0000

I love pasta and I love fresh basil! Must be a part of my Italian heritage (my grandpa was from Sicily) Although eating regular white pasta, brings so little nutrition, so I cook ONLY brown rice pasta or rice noodles for my guests and family. I figured, it’s better to get the fiber while enjoying my favorite dish
Here’s my Healthy Pesto Sauce Recipe. Milk products do not agree with my digestion, so I avoid making pasta sauces with any cheeses, but when you make this sauce you will not even notice that it has no Parmesan cheese. I promise you that

Ingredients:
1 cup of fresh basil tightly packed (arugula will also work)
1/3 cup of cold pressed olive oil
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 tbsp pine nuts
2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
pinch of dry oregano (optional)
pinch of salt

Place all ingredients in food processor or blender, blend until well chopped and incorporated. Mix as much as you like into your freshly boiled whole grain pasta. Pour the rest in a glass jar and store it in your fridge for 5-7 days. This pesto sauce can also be used in salads and as spread for breads and pizzas.

Buono appetito!

Enjoy more healthy tips, healthy recipes, and various articles that will help you to live healthier and happier life.

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Healthy Rice Pudding Recipe – Low Glycemic

admin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 02:35:58 +0000

Brown Rice Pudding

I invented this recipe after watching one of the Food Network shows, where host put 1 cup of sugar into rice pudding, made with cow’s milk, butter and white rice, I figured that’s a little too much for any kid or adult to digest. Anyhow, here’s my version of Yammy & Healthy Rice Pudding, which my family and friends absolutely love.

Ingredients:
2 cups already boiled brown rice
1 cup organic rice milk or soy milk
1/2 cup agave syrup (raw sugar could be an option as well, but not for insulin resistant folks)
2 tbsp kudzu powder (kuzu powder) or 1 tbsp corn flour (kuzu/kudzu can be found in asian markets and Whole Foods)
1/2 vanilla bean
1/4 tsp lemon or orange zest (optional)

Place brown rice and milk in stainless steel pot and boil until milk slightly reduces for about 10-15 on low heat. Mix kudzu or corn flour well with little milk in a separate bowl and slowly add into simmering rice stirring until it starts to thicken; add vanilla bean and turn off the heat; add lemon zest and serve in ramekins or small ice-cream bowls. Pudding can be stored in the fridge for a day and warmed up for breakfast, snack or dinner
Enjoy!

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A little about Yin and Yang Food Balance

admin — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 01:40:58 +0000

The balance of Yin and Yang in our food

My good friend Tanya, gave me an idea to write a post about the balance of Yin and Yang in foods we eat. For those who are new to Yin/Yang, it is basically the balance of acid and alkaline in any foods we eat or combine.
We know that in order to function properly and not get sick we need to eat balanced diet, and even when sometimes we eat healthy foods, we may feel that something isn’t right. That’s because we are all different with different bodies and different acidity levels, various foods will have a different impact on a different person. So all we need to do is listen to our body and notice how we feel and how a variety of foods can influence our physical and emotional state. For example, when I have a cup of coffee and a piece of chocolate my heart starts beating faster, I feel light headed and it becomes harder to concentrate on things I’m doing. This basically tells me that my body is out of balance due to my food choice.

That’s what Traditional Chinese Medicine says: “Health is a state of balance in which food choice is key.”

Modern dietitians count nutrients in form of calories of protein, fat and carbohydrates, unlike Traditional Chinese Medicine where certain foods are seen as a balancing feature for many health issues. For example, heavy carbs like yeast bread, pasta and cakes have very moist nature and therefore are not beneficial for people with respiratory or weight problems. Although other carbs like brown rice, wheat berries and barley can be beneficial in these cases due to their different energetic characteristic.

Yin foods are more cooling and moistening for the body. Yang foods are warming and drying. And this is not so much about the temperature of the food as it is about the energetic aspect of the food.

My point is that if we will eat according to what our body accepts better, we will prevent illnesses and have more energy to do things we want to do
If you want to learn more how Yin and Yang foods affect our bodies, get couple of good books on macrobiotics by Michio Kushi or “Healing with Whole Foods: Asian Traditions and Modern Nutrition” by Paul Pitchford.

Enjoy more healthy tips, healthy recipes, and various articles that will help you to live healthier and happier life.