In today’s super fast, instant gratification society, we rush around from activity to activity attempting to “get it all done.”   When we finally get around to a meal, we tend to stuff down the food faster and faster to keep up.  When it comes to eating, studies are beginning to show that this can be counterproductive.  We need to follow what our mothers told us; “slow down and chew your food!”

We learn more and more about how the body works, this is a great example:

1. Lose weight. A growing number of studies confirm that just by eating slower, you’ll consume fewer calories — in fact, enough to lose 20 pounds a year without doing anything different or eating anything different. It takes about 20 minutes for your brain to register that you’re full. If you eat fast, you can continue eating past the point where you’re actually full.
2. Enjoy your food. It’s hard to enjoy your food if it goes by too quickly. Make your meals a gastronomic pleasure, not a thing you do rushed, between stressful events.
3. Better digestion. If you eat slower, you’ll chew your food better, which leads to better digestion. Digestion actually starts in the mouth, so the more work you do up there, the less you’ll have to do in your stomach.
4. Less stress. Eating slowly, and paying attention to our eating, can be a great form of mindfulness exercise. Be in the moment, rather than rushing through a meal thinking about what you need to do next.
5. Rebel against fast food and fast life. A hectic, fast-paced, stressful, chaotic lives — the Fast Life — leads to eating Fast Food, and eating it quickly. Rebel against that entire lifestyle and philosophy with the small act of eating slower.

excerpt from  http://articles.mercola.com

Hope these tips help you find better health and a more relaxed spirit!

White Sage

In June of this year Zicam was taken off the market because of possible side effects.  Anosmia- long-lasting or even permanent loss of smell has been reported.   Zicam was available as a nasal gel and a over the counter swab.

Here are some possible alternative methods to combat the aggravating symptoms associated with nasal irritations or colds.  Hope you can use a few of these suggestions!

from http://www.examiner.com/ and http://www.washingtonpost.com:

• The herb sage is good for stuffed noses, coughs, and sore throats. Put into water and gargle with it. A sage gives powerful antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal benefits.

• Myrrh is an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory great for chronic sore throats. Another use for Myrrh is it helps to cure gum disease.

• Keep zinc lozenges on hand along with taking vitamin c. This will help the cold stay at bay.

• Dab small amount of mentholated salve under the nose, such as Vick’s. This will open the breathing passages rather quickly.

• Keep hydrated with water and hot teas. Green tea is a great way to sooth the throat and boosts the immune system. Green tea is known to have many antioxidants.

• Get proper rest; this is not the time to cheat the body of sleep. This is the time in which to build the immune system up being that it is working to fight off a cold and flu.

• Steaming is good for the soothing the throat as well as clearing the sinus. If you belong to a health club use the steam room, but otherwise take a hot shower.

• Eat chicken soup however you prefer be either chicken noodle or just the broth. This has been used for many years, and no one can explain why it works, but it does.

Cherry upside down cake is made with cherry pie filling and a from scratch cake batter.  Cook Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients:
•    1 can (20 ounces) cherry pie filling
•    1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
•    2 teaspoons baking powder
•    1/2 teaspoon salt
•    1/4 cup butter
•    2 eggs
•    3/4 cup granulated sugar
•    1/2 teaspoon almond extract
•    1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•    1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

Preparation:
Heat oven to 350°.
Generously butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Spread the cherry pie filling over the bottom. Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and flavorings. Beat in the sifted dry ingredients, alternating with the milk. Beat until well blended.
Spoon over the cherry pie filling; spread to cover.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched with finger.
Let cool for about 10 minutes. Loosen sides and carefully invert on a serving plate or cake server.
This flavorful turkey chili boasts a secret ingredient — dried cherries. The fruit makes this dish more nutritious and lends a subtle sweetness that complements all the spices.

Delicious Cherry Chili

This flavorful turkey chili boasts a secret ingredient — dried cherries. The fruit makes this dish more nutritious and lends a subtle sweetness that complements all the spices.

Ingredients

4 ounces dried tart cherries, chopped (3/4 cup)
2 cups fat free low sodium chicken broth, divided
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon freshly chopped garlic (not bottled garlic)
1 pound lean ground turkey (7 percent fat)
1 roasted red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon dried mustard powder
1 teaspoon chopped fresh oregano or 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
4 cups chopped fire-roasted tomatoes or regular canned chopped tomatoes (we recommend Muir Glen canned fire-roasted tomatoes)
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 16-ounce can, rinsed and drained)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1. Heat one cup of the broth. Place cherries in small mixing bowl. Add hot broth and set aside.

2. Heat olive oil in a 4-qt. saucepan over medium heat. Add chopped onion and sauté for about five minutes or until onion is soft. Add garlic and cook one minute longer. Do not brown garlic. Add turkey and cook until it is no longer pink.

3. Add roasted bell pepper, chili powder, cumin, coriander, mustard and oregano. Cook mixture over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally for about two minutes. Add tomatoes and remaining cup of broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes. Stir in beans, cherries and cilantro. Continue cooking for an additional 2 minutes or until mixture is just heated through. Season with additional salt if desired.

Problems sleeping? Can’t remember things as well? Or maybe experiencing some major jet lag? Recent research has showen cherries to be helpful from everything to easing stiff joints to reducing the risk factors for heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers.

Cherries contain a number of anti-oxidants which help eliminate free radicals in the body- those pesky, unstable molecules which cause damage to other (otherwise healthy)cells. This damage causes us to feel bad, gain weight, and age faster… Basically free radicals are no friend of mine!

There are two types of cherries, sweet and sour. The most popular type of sweet cherry is the Bing cherry, which is sold fresh in the grocery store. Tart or sour cherries are canned and used in pies, dried into fruit snacks and made into juice concentrate. Like most other fruits, cherries are fat-free, low in calories and sodium and high in certain minerals and vitamins such as
•    Vitamin A
•    Bioflavonoids
•    Ellagic acid
•    Perillyl
•    anthocyanins
•    Melatonin

Furthermore, cherries are a good-ol American grown fruit. The US is currently the 2nd largest producer and  exporter of cherries in the world!

So cheers to cherry good health!  And to quote the famous Emily Dickinson- “Merry, merry, take a cherry, mine are sounder, mine are rounder”.

View my favorite cherry recipes.

So what does that mean and how is the foot bath supposed to make you feel so much better? Well this negative hydrogen ion is a powerful antioxidant, pH balancer and the catalyst most responsible for ATP (adenosine tri-phosphate) production, our body’s greatest energy resource. In the past, we received the negative hydrogen we needed through the consumption of raw vegetables and light proteins but modern processing, storage and handling has virtually stripped the modern diet of this increasingly vital element.

Many users of the ionSpa report the following benefits:

* Reduced pain
* Relieved tension
* Reduced inflammation
* Weight loss
* Enhanced body detoxification
* Increase in energy

just to name a few. The IonSpa’s website contains a library of information on foot bath detoxification, including scientific information on toxins, positive and negative ions, and much more. Check out their Foot Bath Comparison Chart and Ionic Foot Bath Reviews at www.theionspa.com.

The contestants first Roadblock was to endure a 10-minute Chinese traditional foot massage. Sounds great huh? Well take a look at some of their faces and try not to wince at just the thought…

Here a SimpleViewer Flash gallery should be displayed. Click here to open the post in your browser to see the gallery.

Amazing Race Photos: Amazing Race 14 Episode 10 - CBS.com

So what is this painful “therapy” really all about? Apparently it’s some ancient Chinese tradition known as Tuina, a medical method using the arms, hands, fingers, elbows and knees as tools for treating diseases and illnesses. Tuina is also used to protect health and build up body immunity, so that disease can be stopped in its beginning acting as a preventative medical measure, without any side effects.

Tuina uses techniques and manipulations to stimulate acupuncture points or other parts of the body surface so as to correct physiological imbalances of the body and achieve curative effects. The effect of Tuina is to disperse and smooth obstructions whilst checking and restraining hyperfunction. Tuina is an important part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which also encompasses acupuncture, herbal medicine, nutrition and exercise to treat the whole body, mind and spirit.

In summary, Tuina rectifies anatomical anomalies, alters the inner energy state of the biological system and adjusts the bio-information of the body. For soft tissue injuries, Tuina relaxes muscles and tendons and promotes smooth passage of the channels. It also promotes blood circulation and removes blood stasis. (http://www.chisuk.org.uk)

Hopefully we’ll get some real insight into whether this method could possibly be worth the torture! Update to follow ASAP! In the meantime, here’s an example foot chart for you to use if you wanna give it a try at home…

Negative hydrogen has been established as the “ultimate antioxidant.” Vegetables are loaded with specialized, unique antioxidants as well as negative hydrogen, the simplest. Negative hydrogen, simply stated, is the energy stored in vegetables. Therefore, those of us who do not eat the recommended portions of healthy vegetables would greatly benefit from the supplementation of negative hydrogen. Even if you eat enough of these vital foods, negative hydrogen can help the brain to function at even higher levels.

Source: The Journal of Neuroscience, October, 1998

Additional research has shown a link between cocoa and cardiovascular health, with reduced risk of blood clots, strokes, and heart attacks. In fact, raw cocoa has the highest antioxidant value of all the natural foods in the world!!!
Cocoa also appears to have anti-aging and anti-inflammatory properties. And cocoa is a good source of the minerals magnesium, calcium, iron, zinc, copper, potassium, and manganese; plus some of the B Vitamins.

Furthermore, cocoa has a high content of the “beauty” mineral, sulfur. Sulfur helps build strong nails and hair, promotes healthy and beautiful skin, helps detoxify the liver, and supports healthy functioning of the pancreas.

So what are you witing for? Eat/drink up!