Easy, Healthy Ways to Detox

If you have been eating too much junk food lately, you may be feeling the urge to detox your body. However, resist the urge to try some highly-touted fasting or juice diet because they can be potentially dangerous. Instead, try focusing on eating naturally nutrient-rich whole foods, and cut back on processed foods.

1. Increase fiber
Eat lots of fresh fruit and vegetables. Whole foods, in their natural state, are high in fiber and full of wonderful vitamins and nutrients. The soluble fiber in oats, whole grains and beans is filling, making it a good weight loss tool. It also helps pull cholesterol out of the bloodstream, moving it through the digestive tract.

2. Increase lean proteins
Lean proteins from sources such as chicken (without skin), tuna and wild salmon preserve your lean body mass. Having some at every meal stabilizes blood sugar levels and helps you feel fuller longer. By increasing your intake of protein from non-animal sources such as whole-grain cereal and beans, you may also lower your blood pressure. These foods are rich in fiber and magnesium that can help reduce your risk for heart disease.

3. Avoid sugars
Eating high sugar foods not only pumps calories into your body, it spikes your blood sugar. Sugary foods also promote inflammation that can increase your risk for heart disease and certain cancers, and they make you feel foggy and fatigued. Stay away from foods that list sugar, high-fructose corn syrup or dextrose on the ingredients label. High-fructose corn syrup sweetens many processed foods and food makers often add it to reduced-fat foods to make them tastier. High-fructose corn syrup can cause spikes and dips in your blood sugar.

4. Avoid bad fats
Saturated and trans fats clog your arteries and promote inflammation. Avoid them by eliminating fried foods and anything made with hydrogenated vegetable oils (check labels) from your diet. Certain types of saturated fat (red meat, whole milk, cheese and butter) may actually override those signals your body sends out that tells you to stop eating because you’re full. However, don't eliminate fat entirely. Use healthy olive oil and eat avocados and nuts.

5. Reduce alcohol
Alcohol taxes your liver. Drinking too much increases your risk of high blood pressure and obesity. Instead, drink lots of water. You can also indulge in an occasional glass of red wine. Resveratrol, the potent antioxidant in red wine, may help prevent cancer, keep your heart and brain healthy, and reduce inflammation.

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Healthy Snack Ideas

Almonds Animal Crackers Apple Apple Chips (dehydrated apples) Apple dipped in Peanut Butter Apricots Bag of 100-calorie popcorn or air-popped popcorn Baked Apple Baked chips (about 7-10) with salsa Banana Black Beans (mix 1/4 cup black beans with 1 tablespoon salsa) Blackberries (1/2 cup mixed with plain yogurt) Bowl of bran flakes with 1/2 cup skim milk and berries Broccoli Florets Celery with peanut butter and raisins Cherry Tomatoes Chocolate Covered Strawberries (dip 5 into 2 squares of dark chocolate) Chopped Red Peppers (dipped in fat free ranch) Cottage Cheese Craisins Cubed Apples and Cubed Cheese Dried Fruits Frozen Banana (peel it, stick in the freezer overnight) Frozen Grapes Frozen Mango Frozen Yoplait Whips Yogurt Fruit Smoothie (any combination of fruit and ice) Goldfish Crackers Graham Crackers Granola bar (whole grain, 150 calories or less) Guacamole with veggies Handful of blueberries with 2 tablespoons fat-free Cool-Whip Handful of olives Hard Boiled Egg Homemade Popsicles (puree fruit, freeze in popsicle molds) Kabobs (thread low-fat cheese, pineapple and cherry tomatoes onto a stick) Laughing Cow Light Cheese Wedges Lettuce wrap (two slices ham with 2 tspns honey mustard        rolled in a lettuce leaf) Low-fat Yogurt Mixed berries (1 cup tossed with one Tbsp fresh-squeezed orange juice). Oatmeal Orange Slices Parfait (build your own with yogurt, fruit, and granola) Peaches and Cottage Cheese Peanut Butter and Bananas on whole grain bread Pecans (5 pecans roasted with 1 tspn maple syrup and cinnamon) Pickles Pistachios Pita Bread and Hummus Pretzels Quesadilla (whole grain tortilla with tomatoes, beans,        corn, olives, guacamole, etc.) Raisins Raw veggies with hummus Rice Cakes Sherbet (1/2 cup serving) Sliced Cantalope Small Green Salad with light dressing S'more (2 graham crackers, 1 roasted marshmallow,        1 small square dark chocolate) Soy Chips Strawberries dipped in fat-free Cool Whip String Cheese Sugar Snap Peas Sugar-free Jello Sunflower Seeds Sweet Potato Fries (1 medium sweet potato sliced, tossed with         1 tspn olive oil, baked at 400° for 10 min) Trail Mix (dried fruit, sunflower seeds, nuts, low-sugar cereals) Triscuit's Thin Crisps dipped in cottage cheese or hummus Tuna with Triscuit crackers Turkey Roll-Ups (4 slices smoked turkey rolled up,        dipped in 2 tspns honey mustard) V8 Vegetable Juice Watermelon Yogurt (1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt with a dash of cinnamon & honey)

Peanut Butter and Bananas on whole grain bread

Pecans (5-7 pecans roasted with 1 teaspoon maple syrup and cinnamon)

Pickles

Pistachios

Pita Bread and Hummus

Pretzels

Quesadilla (whole grain tortilla with tomatoes, beans, corn, olives, guacamole, etc.)

Raisins

Raw veggies with hummus

Rice Cakes

Sherbet (1/2 cup serving)

Sliced Cantalope

Small Green Salad with light dressing

S'more (2 graham crackers with 1 roasted marshmallow and 1 small square dark chocolate)

Soy Chips

Strawberries dipped in fat-free Cool Whip

String Cheese

Sugar Snap Peas

Sugar-free Jello

Sunflower Seeds

Sweet Potato Fries (1 medium sized sweet potato sliced, tossed with 1 teaspoon olive oil, and baked at 400° for 10 minutes)

Trail Mix (dried fruit, sunflower seeds, nuts, low-sugar cereals)

Triscuit's Thin Crisps dipped in cottage cheese or hummus

Tuna with Triscuit crackers

Turkey Roll-Ups (4 slices smoked turkey rolled up, dip in 2 teaspoons honey mustard)

V8 Vegetable Juice

Watermelon

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Tighten Up your Arm Jiggle

If you have extra loose skin on the back of your arms, that ugly "jiggle", you need to reduce your body fat levels. This is done by really tightening up your diet and focusing more effort toward an exercise plan that will burn those calories.

Here are some great strength training exercises to tighten up this area:

Exercise #1 - Grab a 3-5 pound dumbbell securely with both hands. While standing, position the dumbbell above your head with your arms extended with a slight bend in them. Slowly lower the dumbbell behind your head while keeping your elbows in through the movement. Slowly raise the dumbbell back up to the starting position.

Exercise #2 - While standing, slowly lean over while holding a dumbbell in one hand. Keep your arm tucked into your side at a 90-degree angle. Slowly extend your arm out and keep your elbow in. At full extension of the movement, make sure to keep a little bend in your arm and all the tension on your tricep muscle. Slowly lower the dumbbell back to the starting position. Repeat with your opposite arm.

Exercise #3 – Sit on the edge of a chair with your palms by your hips facing forward. Your legs should be straight in front of you. Inhale and lift yourself off the bench and lower your hips until your elbows are bent at a 90-degree angle. Exhale and press yourself back up to the starting position. Repeat for four sets of 15 repetitions.

Your diet is critical for really losing the extra body fat around this stubborn area. Focus on getting enough low-fat protein throughout the day by choosing lean items like chicken breast, egg whites, turkey breast, soybeans and fish. Increase your fiber intake by eating fruits, vegetables, oatmeal, whole grains and fiber-rich cereals to fuel your workouts and cut calories at the same time.

To avoid bloating and water retention, eliminate all empty calories from your diet like soda, high sugar fruit juices, candy, high-sodium processed and packaged foods and fast food. These foods have no nutritional value whatsoever and are actually harmful to your health. Eat several small and nutritious meals throughout the day. By cleaning up your diet, you should see a vast improvement in your physique.

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How to Bust Belly Fat

If you are like many people, you have too much fat around your belly. Belly fat can be very difficult to lose. This is the unhealthiest place to store fat on our bodies, but unfortunately it’s very common.

There are several things you can do to lose belly fat. You will have the most success if you use the right mix of dietary components but what matters most is what kind of calories you do eat.

Increase Water – You need to drink plenty of water and decrease your salt intake. Too much salt and too little water will cause you to become bloated.  Getting enough water also flushes fat and other toxins out of your system when you continuously drink water and keep your cells hydrated.

Increase Fiber – You must eat foods with plenty of fiber. Whole grain bread and pastas as well as fruits and vegetables (preferably raw) help you get the nutrients you need and help you to digest food properly. Most people feel bloated because they are not eliminating waste properly. If you eat a lot of fiber, you shrink your waistline.

Avoid Simple Carbs – Simple carbohydrates such as cookies, white bread, white pasta, and candy not only cause you to put on weight fast, they are stripped of their nutritional quality and are full of empty calories. 

Avoid Processed Foods – Like simple carbs, processed foods have no nutritional value and have additives that can actually do harm to your body. ALWAYS read the labels. The more ingredients that are listed, the less nutritious it is.

Eat Fish – When it comes to protein you should choose fish over red meat as often as possible. The mono-unsaturated fat in seafood helps eliminate cholesterol and shrink belly fat. Taking a cue from the Mediterranean diet, you can eat plenty of seafood and olive oil and use your diet to lose belly fat. 

Excess belly fat is more serious than fat in other areas of the body. While you may not like the fat that’s on your hips, thighs, and butt,  these areas don’t pose a major threat to your health. Fat around the middle of your waist, however, does pose a health risk and should be decreased as much as possible.

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A Healthy Lifestyle in Retirement

If you have recently retired, you have entered an entirely new phase of life that is filled with new challenges, adventures and hopefully, complete and total satisfaction. However, if you’re like most people, change isn’t always easy and is sometimes stressful.

This stress is completely normal but may be compounded if you don’t learn how to balance all the demands on your time. Below are some tips that help you achieve a healthy and balanced life.

Find your purpose. First and foremost, you must take some time for soul searching. During stillness, you must determine what it is that you truly value and what are your priorities. List them from 1-10. Be very specific about what is important to you and how you plan to strengthen those priorities.

Develop a workable plan. Second, now that you know what priorities are important to you, develop a workable plan to donate time to each one. To accomplish this, you should write them down and clarify how you can achieve each one. Decide now what steps you will take to fulfill your priorities.

Become committed. Third, you must become committed to your plan and realize that you can’t do everything. By being committed to achieving your most important priorities first and getting them done, you’ll enhance your self-esteem tremendously and feel powerful.

Take care of yourself. Fourth, you must always factor in time to take care of yourself. By being focused on your health and developing a healthy lifestyle, you’ll make sure that you have the stamina to effectively balance your priorities. Therefore, take time to access your current health situation and if necessary, make any needed changes or improvements.

Enjoy! Fifth, you must be willing to enjoy this precious time. Be grateful that you are gaining control over your retirement goals and take pleasure in being able to live a balanced life.

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Phytochemicals and Your Immune System

Phytochemicals are the active substances in plants that give them their color, flavor, odor, and protection against plant diseases. Phytochemicals work as powerful antioxidants that have anti-carcinogenic effects, increasing our resistance to disease. Plus, they boost the body’s immune system and help reverse the aging clock.

To get adequate phytochemicals in your diet, it's important to fill your plate with all the colors of the food rainbow. Eat the blues, reds, purples, oranges, yellows, and greens.

Which is Best, Fresh or Frozen?

It's okay if you don't have time to steam your own fresh veggies. Frozen fruits and vegetables are nearly as nutritious as fresh because they can wait to be picked until they're at the peak of freshness.

Fresh produce is usually picked early, before it's ripe and fully nutritious, so that it ships well. But if you're lucky enough to grow your own fruits or vegetables, or you can buy straight from a farm - that's where you'll find the most nutritious fruits and vegetables.

Phytochemical Supplements?

The power of phytochemicals seems to be lost when removed from food, except if you're fortunate enough to find a high quality 'greens drink'. Drinking one glass of a quality 'greens drink' supplies more than 5 servings of powerful, phytochemical rich nutrition.

Other Phytochemical Foods:

FRUITS: Apples, apricots, avocados, bananas, berries, cherries, citrus fruits, grapes, kiwi fruit, lemons, mangoes, melons, nectarines, oranges, papayas, peaches, pears, plums.

GRAINS: Barley, cornmeal, whole grain, quinoa, brown rice, wheat germ.

NUTS and SEEDS: Flaxseed (a small brown seed used in cooking), macadamia, pecans, sesame seeds, walnuts.

VEGETABLES: Asparagus, beans, beets, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, cabbage, carrots, celery, cauliflower, corn, eggplant, dark leafy greens and lettuces, mushrooms, onions, green and dried peas, sweet and hot peppers, white and sweet potatoes, pumpkin, soybeans, watercress, winter squash, tomatoes, and a host of others.

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Improve Your Productivity

Living a healthy lifestyle will not only make you feel better physically and mentally, but it can also greatly improve your productivity at home and at work. Many people think they lack the time (or money) that it takes to lead a healthy lifestyle, but the fact is that it is far easier than one might think. Making small, simple changes that lead to a healthy lifestyle is as easy as taking a look at what we put in our bodies and how we treat ourselves on a day-to-day basis.

Eating properly is essential to providing your body with the proper fuel that is needed to get through each day. Fueling it with excess sugars and highly-processed foods increases the production of insulin in our systems, which eventually affects the sugar in our blood. This up and down in our blood sugar levels drains our energy and keeps us from focusing on the tasks at hand.

WHAT TO EAT:

Eating whole grains and complete proteins will level out blood sugar and help decrease food cravings throughout the day. Our bodies are much better able to use the fuel supplied when the sources include lean proteins, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. The result is sustained energy and proper nutrition. Highly-processed foods do not provide the vitamins and minerals our bodies need, and may actually harm us with additives such as trans fats and preservatives.

VITAMINS AND MINERALS:

Even if we practice proper eating habits, we may not always get the nutrition we need. If our diets are lacking nutrition due to a hectic lifestyle, supplementing with vitamins, and minerals can help. Deficiencies in many vitamins and minerals can cause problems with digestion, eyesight, and even sleeping patterns. Keeping the proper level of nutrients in our blood gives our bodies the added fuel when our diets fail to provide it. A good multi-vitamin will include most of what is needed.

WATER:

Another important factor in healthy living is staying hydrated. Providing hydration for our bodies is crucial to keeping our systems working optimally. Our bodies are composed mostly of water, and require about two liters of water per day, not only to maintain the proper water level, but to also flush out the impurities that are created through the body’s daily processes. Proper hydration is necessary in sustaining our energy, and also aids in properly burning the fuel we have taken in by way of food.

EXERCISE:

To burn the extra fuel we taken in, we must exercise and burn calories. Without exercise, our bodies will only burn so many calories daily. Any excess fuel will turn into those ugly fat deposits so many of us wish we didn’t have. To lead a healthy lifestyle, one must incorporate a half hour of exercise each day. This can be fulfilled by simply taking a pleasurable one-mile walk during lunch or after work. Speed and distance aren't usually as important as keeping your body active on a daily basis. This alone should give you the pep and vitality needed to be more productive at home or work.

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Olive Oil and Free Radicals

We now know that there is a strong correlation between eating habits and good health. Most of us are aware that we need to eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean protein to help our bodies be healthy. One of the words we often hear is “antioxidants.” What exactly are antioxidants?

We all have free radicals that roam throughout our body. These free radicals have the potential to attack the body, primarily in the form of cancer and other acute diseases. Antioxidants fight back. A nutrition plan that includes antioxidants helps to reduce the potential for illnesses caused by free radicals.

Coffee and tea have a certain amount of antioxidants, but it is fresh fruit that is especially rich in antioxidants. Fruit, of course, remains high on the list of recommended foods by the U.S.D.A., but it may surprise you to know that extra virgin olive oil as part of a balanced diet can provide as much antioxidant as a piece of fruit.

A diet that is lean in saturated fats (red meat) balanced with a healthy dose of fatty acids provides a number of health benefits. Most of the fatty acids that your body needs can be found in extra virgin olive oil. The health benefits of olive oil include the reduction of LDL (bad cholesterol) while increasing the amount of HDL (good cholesterol).

Some researchers believe that the many health benefits of olive oil is one of the best kept health secrets available. Beyond its antioxidant properties, extra virgin olive oil has provided significant data to indicate it can lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and aid in the fight against many types of cancer.

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30 Minutes to Good Health

America is becoming obese at an alarming rate and the rest of the world is following close behind. We are eating more, we are eating the wrong stuff, and we are not getting enough exercising. Our health is in steep decline, weight-related diseases are increasing exponentially and doctor and hospital visits are at an all time high.

You name it, we have it, and it’s getting worse. Heart and cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, stroke, out of control blood sugar levels, diabetes, obesity, and more. The U.S. Surgeon General recommends getting at least 20-30 minutes of moderate activity each day and most of us fall far short.

We just do not get the exercise our ancestors did a hundred or so years ago, plus we eat processed and refined foods that have no nutritional value. For many of us, most of the steps we take are from our couch in front of the TV to the fridge to get snacks. For others, we sit at a computer all day as part of our jobs.

Most fitness experts recommend we take a brisk 30-minute walk every day. This simple addition to your daily schedule will bring many wonderful changes to your life. You will lose weight, burn fat, improve your heart health, and release feel-good endorphins that will reduce your stress level and make you feel better all over.

Become creative on ways to increase your steps. At work, go for walks at lunchtime. Go for walks with your spouse or children. Walk the dog. Walk to the store instead of driving, or park at the far end of the parking lot. Use the stairs instead of the elevator. For me, I take brisk 2-mile walks around the neighborhood everyday.

Do whatever works best for you, but do it! Nothing is more important than your health.

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How to Live in the Moment

We all live in a very stressful world. There are bills to pay, kids to raise, homes to take care of, and jobs that probably increase the stress level even more. We are always so focused on what we have to do an hour from now, tomorrow, or next week, that we fail to live in the moment. This only exacerbates our stress level.

The solution to dealing with some of our daily stress is to stop and focus on the moment. The act of concentrating on the present experience is mindfulness. Mindfulness can help you take a step back and see situations clearly without overreacting. It also helps to relieve anxiety and allows you to focus on positive emotions.

How do you practice mindfulness? There is no right or wrong way. It really is as simple as breathing. Focus your attention toward your breath and on the sensations in your nose and abdomen. It doesn't matter how fast you are breathing. If your mind wanders, bring it back to your breathing. Try to find 10 minutes a day to practice this. The more you do it, the easier it becomes.

Some people can become anxious with the prospect of being quiet. After all, when you are so used to the constant flow of thoughts running through your mind, it can be difficult to ignore it. If you are too challenged by the act of quieting your mind, try some routine activities to practice mindfulness.

Listen to some relaxing instrumental music and focus on the instruments you are hearing and how the music makes you feel. If you like to walk (which is also excellent for your physical health), use that time to focus on the sights and smells you experience as you walk. Or find a hobby that you enjoy to help you develop the skill of learning to focus and quiet your mind.

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