StressBusters: Foods to Calm You Down Fast
Regardless of the cause, when we're stressed we often counterintuitively turn to diet-busting goodies for comfort. Instead of soothing our frayed nerves, many of them ultimately make us feel worse.
Take the classic, curling up with a pint of ice cream. It's a total backfire. Why? Sweets are insidious: After the initial rush, the body's insulin response kicks in, causing a sudden blood-sugar drop that triggers the release of stress hormones. Soon you're feeling more jangled than you were before you inhaled that whole container of Chunky Monkey. And alcohol, of course, is a wolfish stimulant in calm sheep's clothing.
But true comfort foods do exist:
Berries, any berries. Eat them one by one instead of M&Ms when the pressure's on. For those tough times when tension tightens your jaw, try rolling a frozen berry around in your mouth. And then another, and another. Since the carbs in berries turn to sugar very slowly, you won't have a blood-sugar crash. The bonus: They're a good source of vitamin C, which helps fight a jump in cortisol, a stress hormone.
Avacados. If you're craving something creamy, look no further. Avocados are loaded with B vitamins, which stress quickly depletes and which your body needs in order to maintain nerves and brain cells. Plus, their creaminess comes from healthy fat. 
Mixed nuts. Just an ounce will do. Walnuts help replace those stress-depleted B vitamins, Brazil nuts give you a whopping amount of zinc (which is also drained by high anxiety), and almonds boost your E, which helps fight cellular damage linked to chronic stress. Buy nuts in the shell and think of it as multitasking: With every squeeze of the nutcracker, you're releasing a little tension.
Oranges. People who take 1,000 milligrams of C before giving a speech have lower levels of cortisol and lower blood pressures than those who don't. So lean back, take a deep breath, and concentrate on peeling a large orange. The 5-minute mindfulness break will ease your mind, and you'll get a bunch of C as well.
Chai tea. A warm drink is a supersoother, and curling up with a cup of aromatic decaf chai tea (Tazo makes ready-to-brew bags) can make the whole evil day go away. Read more about healthy eating here...
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The Easy Way to Guard Against All Cancers
Here's an easy way to drop your risk of any type of cancer by 10 to 15 percent: Get a move on.
 Research shows that an active lifestyle, one where you not only exercise but also keep your body busy through as much of the day as possible, can help reduce the risk of several different types of cancer.
Any day-to-day activities counts, including walking to the store, doing housework, and working on a physically demanding hobby.
Researchers think exercise may have a beneficial effect on certain hormones that influence the growth and spread of tumors. In one study, exercise seemed to have the most impact on colon, liver, and pancreatic cancer risk in men, while a greater amount of activity was particularly protective against stomach cancer in women.
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REFLEXOLOGY
Nothing feels better than a good foot rub. It is relaxing, comforting, and invigorating.
The soles of our feet are intrinsically connected to our body's systems. By applying pressure to certain areas of the feet, a trained Reloxologist can positively affect our muscles, joints, and organs.
Reflexology treats the body as a whole, therefore bringing the mind, body and spirit into balance. This encourages the body to work naturally to restore its own healthy balance.
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Cancer in your Glass
 No one seems to want to admit when American water isn't safe to drink. Instead, they try to hide it.
For years, U.S. health officials have claimed that although the drinking water at North Carolina's Camp Lejeune is contaminated, it poses no danger to Marines or their families.
This April, the government reversed itself, saying that its assessment of the water contained "omissions" and "inaccuracies," and adding that a million people over the course of three decades may have been exposed to the carcinogen benzene in their water.
Sadly, Lejeune, recently declared a "superfund site," is just one of the many recent poisoned-water cover-ups in American history.
Henderson County has had four sites designated as Superfund sites in recent years, all of which affected the local groundwater: Belding Corticello Thread Co., The Henderson County Sanitary Landfill, the old Western North Carolina Fair grounds, and the Spann Property.
And keep in mind, these are only the spills that were reported and were bad enough to be designated "Superfund sites." Consider the sheer number of manufacturing facilities and "shade tree mechanics" in the area. What toxic chemicals are in the city water and local well water that we don't know about?
Bottled water may or may not be cleaner, but it is still far from the pure, clean water our bodies need. Filters don't get out all of the toxins.
The only way to be sure your water is pure is distillation. Distillation turns the water into steam, leaving behind toxins, and is recondensed into pure, clean water.
We use and recommend Waterwise distillers. And since distilled water is slightly adcidic, we also recommend balancing the PH and remilneralizing the water with Hallelujah Acres Watermax. Contact us today at to find out how to get your own Waterwise Distiller.
Click here to read more about distillation... |
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Did You Know??
Children with diabetes who are massaged every day by their parents were more likely to stick to their medication and diet regimens, which helped reduce their blood glucose levels.
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