Have you been given a Diabetes Diagnosis by a health professional?

3 Helpful Tips to Reverse a Diabetes Diagnosis

If your blood sugar levels are higher than the average person, your doctor may have examined you, performed a glucose tolerance test and then given you a diabetes diagnosis. While this diagnosis can seem scary, it doesn’t have to mean an end to your quality of life or a reduction in longevity. Now that you have received the diabetes diagnosis, the most beneficial thing you can do for your health is to work on taking proper care of yourself.

Taking care of yourself includes exercising and eating right. Doing just these two things can reduce or eliminate your dependence on insulin and prevent serious complications including diabetes shock, kidney failure and circulatory concerns. While making healthy lifestyle changes might seem complicated, it really isn’t impossible if you start with baby steps.

1. Add Many More Fruits and Vegetables to Your Diet

If you are a diabetic, it is best to avoid certain foods containing sugar and excessive calories. Examples are:

Bacon & Pork
Cake
Cookies
Donuts
Ice Cream

Instead of reaching for these unhealthy options, put more fruits and vegetables on your plate. It may not sound like the most appealing option in the beginning, but there are ways to make these healthier foods taste great.

Consider blending some fruits and vegetables together for a smoothie. If you add an avocado with a handful of blueberries or strawberries, a tablespoon of coconut oil and a cup of non-fat yogurt, you can enjoy a thick smoothie that will easily replace any fattening and excessively sugary breakfast you would normally consume.

If you are missing out on eating those crunchy potato chips, consider baking your own kale chips for an afternoon snack. Add your favorite seasoning to pieces of kale, spread them out on a greased baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and then cook them in the oven until they are perfectly crisp. There are many fun recipes available for making fruits and vegetables taste good, so consider looking into them and making small changes to your daily diet, one meal at a time.

2. Choose Alternatives When Preparing Meals

Diabetic nutritionists recommend anyone diagnosed with this disease avoid traditional potatoes, white rice, white bread and a few other carbohydrates that quickly turn to sugar during the digestive process. If you were eating those foods in the past, you may struggle to stop. However, there are some great alternatives that make it easier to give those specific carbohydrates up for good.

Instead of making mashed potatoes, start making mashed cauliflower. It is easy to prepare and will taste just like the real thing. Simply mash cooked cauliflower, adding in your favorite seasoning or even a dollop of butter or low-fat cheese. Other alternatives include enjoying baked sweet potatoes or baked sweet potato fries instead of having greasy French fries or a traditional baked potato.

You can even make gluten-free cloud bread as a replacement for traditional white bread. You’ll only need a few ingredients to make this healthy alternative, including cream of tartar, eggs and Stevia as a substitute for real sugar. Many people enjoy baking this bread at home, and they often use it to prepare healthy sandwiches.

3. Spend 30 Minutes or More Exercising Daily

Staying active is an important part of keeping your diabetes under control. You do not have to run around until you feel exhausted to make progress. In fact, these are a few great exercises you can do daily:

-Walk in the park for 30 minutes.

-Jog lightly on the treadmill.

-Do a 30 minute session of lunges, squats, jumping jacks and crunches.

-Go for a swim.

-Ride your bicycle with a helmet of course !

These are just a few ways to exercise, but there really is no limit to what you can do. In fact, you can have fun dancing, running, walking the dog, sliding and swinging in the park with your children or even working out at the gym with a personal trainer.

After a diagnosis of diabetes, it’s important to work on living a much healthier life. This can help to reduce your need for medications, increase longevity and in some cases, it may even allow for a change in your diabetes diagnosis. Consider making those necessary dietary changes and adding exercise into your schedule to help you live your best life ever.

About the Author
Louis Venter is the creator of Diabetes Scoop which is a website devoted to providing support and on-topic, frequently updated information for diabetics and those in their support network.

What is the Health Message in the Bible? In 2004, I began reading the Bible. In 2006, I began to study the Bible. There is a big difference between reading and studying.

Top 10 Reasons to Be Healthy Now

1. If you say you are a Christian, you belong to God, not to yourself.
2. God desires that we be healthy, in mind, body, and soul.
3. We are to glorify God in all we do.
4. Our minds and bodies are intricately connected.
5. Satan is trying to destroy us.
6. Satan is intensifying his attacks.
7. God has provided His people with a health message that will protect them from Satan’s attacks.
8. Health reform and the third angel’s message go together. Revelation 14:9-10.
9. We are to be an “offering without blemish”.
10. We are living in the Day of Atonement.

New King James Translation of the Bible Texts Dealing with Health & Healing:

Exodus 15:26 “If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”

Deuteronomy 32:39 “Now see that I, even I, am He,
And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.”

Psalms 6:2 “Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.”

Psalms 41:4 “I said, Lord, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”

Psalms 103:3 “Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases?”

Psalms 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

Isaiah 57:18-19 “I have seen his ways, and will heal him; I will also lead him, And restore comforts to him And to his mourners.”

Isaiah 58:8 “Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.”

Jeremiah 17:14 “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For You are my praise.”

Jeremiah 30:17 ‘For I will restore health to you And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord, ‘Because they called you an outcast saying: “This is Zion; No one seeks her.”’

Jeremiah 33:6 “Behold, I will bring it health and healing; I will heal them and reveal to them the abundance of peace and truth.”

Romans 12:1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

3 John 2 “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.”

Books for Health

Ellen White: Counsels on Diet and Foods, Counsels on Health, Healthful Living

Mind Character & Personality

Caroline Leaf: Think & Eat Yourself Smart

In the Bible, Jesus was out healing people of all kinds of afflictions more than HE was preaching during His earthly ministry. God wants us to be vibrant and healthy. When you are healthy, you are able to go out into the world and minister to other people.

Our Health covers four areas of our lives. Human Beings have a Spiritual Life, a Physical Life, an Emotional Life, and a Mental Life. By taking action, a person can improve their health in all four of these areas of their being.

Taking care of our Physical Health has an impact on how we fee emotionally and mentally. My preference is to work on my Spiritual Health through Prayer and Meditation early in the morning.

My morning routine is to have a healthy breakfast so I can fuel the body for the day. Then I enjoy doing exercise from Sunday through Friday mornings. I rest on Saturday as I am in church all day working on my Spiritual Health. I have found the Health Message In the Bible to be an excellent resource for living life to the fullest.

Contact me

if I can help you in any way.

You can Balance Hormones the Natural Way by following nine easy steps. Watch the video to learn more:

Adrenal Glands and Your Health

Are you struggling to lose the last 10 pounds or so of body fat to get to your ideal weight?

Do you get tired in the afternoon?

Do you struggle with cravings for sugary foods like cake, cookies, donuts, ice cream, or pie?

The adrenal glands are located on the top of each kidney. The glands produce hormones that help the body control blood sugar, burn protein and fat, react to stressors like a major illness or injury, and regulate blood pressure. These glands are responsible for releasing different classes of hormones.

The outer part of the gland is the adrenal cortex. This gland produces the hormones cortisol and aldosterone.

The inner part of the gland is called the adrenal medulla. This glad produces the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline.

These hormones control many important functions in the body:

• Controlling the “fight or flight” response to stress
• Maintaining metabolic processes, such as managing blood sugar levels and regulating inflammation
• Regulating the balance of salt and water
• Maintaining pregnancy
• Initiating and controlling sexual maturation during childhood and puberty

The adrenal glands are also an important source of sex steroids.  Estrogen and testosterone are the two main sex steroids. Getting these hormones balanced is very important for your health.

If the adrenal glands produce too many hormones, symptoms may include:

• High blood sugars
• High blood pressure
• Muscle and bone weakness
• Moodiness, irritability, or depression
• Slow growth rates in children

Nine Natural Tips for Balancing Hormones

1. Take a Bio Available Multi Vitamin & Mineral Supplement to ensure you are not mineral deficient
2. Eat a Healthy Diet Loaded with Fiber. A plant based diet is recommended. Raw foods are best followed by lightly steamed vegetables so your body gets more enzymes, minerals and vitamins from your food. Avoid eating dairy and sugar together as well as bread and cheese. Avoid MSG food starch or potato starch. Read the labels if you are still buying processed foods.
3. Eat More Omega 3 Fatty Acids
4. Get Enough sleep at night to have plenty of energy for the next day.
5. Stress Reduction is very important. Participate in yoga or Pilates classes that emphasize deep breathing techniques to reduce stress. Add some weight bearing exercises as well to keep your muscles firing and toned. Weight bearing exercises help the body burn fat even while you are sitting.
6. Get some sunshine as often as you can.
7. Avoid Caffeine
8. Get in a 30-minute walk as many days of the week as you can.
9. Use herbal supplements that are known to balance hormones:

• Blessed Thistle
• Ort
• Wild Yam

Hemp tree has also been known to effectively balance hormones in the case of PMS, menstrual cramps and breast pain. Chaste Tree Berry has been shown to balance the pituitary gland and the hypothalamus. Evening primrose oil is very high in essential fatty acids and is particularly indicated for hormonal imbalance related to PMS symptoms. Dong Quai and Asian Ginseng have been used in ancient Chinese medicine to balance hormones.

VelociTea has five herbs that have been used for over 4,000 years to gently cleanse the soft tissues of the body including the digestive tract, colon, kidneys, liver and lungs.

• Blessed Thistle
• Malva Leaves
• Marshmallow Leaves
• Milk Thistle
• Persimmon Leaves

The Medicinal Tonic will help your body keep your hormones balanced as well as keeping your system clean on the inside.

You can get a free sample on my website below:

Rush Me a Week of VelociTea

Daniel Parsons

Medical Missionary

Permanent Weight Loss

Much of my success in maintaining a healthy weight is attributed to an exercise program.

I have studied, researched and read much about the benefits of an exercise program. In 1998, I began a daily exercise routine and have stayed active all these years by having a simple program to follow.

Did  you know that if you just walk for 30 minutes a day, you will be healthier and help your body in a number of ways?

Studies show that an early morning workout that includes a 30 minute walk increases your metabolism rate. The rest of the day you can be sitting at a desk and the rate that your body burns calories will be higher because of the exercise. Walking also helps your cardiovascular system as well as your digestive health. Getting fresh air into the blood and lungs invigorates you. After a week of exercise, your body will be learning the new healthy behavior and walking becomes second nature to you as it makes you feel better also.

Besides walking, I also enjoy:

1. Exercise Ball

2. Inversion Table for 10 to 13 Minutes

3. Push Ups

4. Sit Ups

5. Stretching & Yoga Stretches

I spend anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes everyday except the Sabbath Day ( Saturday ) doing various physical activities. My body has responded well to the exercise.

I feel much more energy than I did when I was young and out of shape.

People have commented that I look great and have tone muscles. I never miss a workout as that is how much I value fitness now.

What do I do for those cold, rainy or snowy mornings? I have cold weather gear and head out into the elements to do a workout. I even have ice hockey skates if a local pond or small lake should freeze.

Want to feel better naturally?

Put healthy food into the body and have a solid exercise program that you can safely manage. The results are guaranteed.

The Seventh-day Adventist church is active in 209 of the 232 recognized nations of the United Nations.

Viral Infections

Did you know that there are viral outbreaks happening more frequently ?

Antibiotics have been used for many years to treat outbreaks of viral infections.

Avian flu started about a 100 years ago. More recently in 2009 there was the serious outbreak of H1N1 or Swine Flu in Asia. Outbreaks of Avian Flu, Bird Flu, MRSA and Swine Flu have been reported by the media for many years now.  According to Pub Med which is the National Library of Medicine:

MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. MRSA is a “staph” germ that does not get better with the first-line antibiotics that usually cure staph infections. When this occurs, the germ is “resistant” to the antibiotic.

Symptoms

It is normal for healthy people to have staph on their skin. Many of us do. Most of the time, it does not cause an infection or any symptoms. This is called “colonization” or “being colonized.” Someone who is colonized with MRSA can spread MRSA to other people.

A sign of a staph skin infection is a red, swollen, and painful area on the skin. Pus or other fluids may drain from this area. It may look like a boil. These symptoms are more likely to occur if the skin has been cut or rubbed because this gives the MRSA germ a way to “get in.” Symptoms are also more likely in areas where there is more body hair due to hair follicles.

MRSA infections in patients in health care facilities tend to be severe. These staph infections may be in the bloodstream, heart, lungs, or other organs, urine, or in the area of a recent surgery. Some symptoms of these severe infections are:

• Chest pain
• Cough or shortness of breath
• Fatigue
• Fever and chills
• General ill feeling
• Headache
• Rash
• Wounds that do not heal

Medical providers are now having problems treating people that come down with viral infections.

Pharmaceutical drug companies do not want to invest a billion dollars in antibiotic drugs that people will only take for one week or so.

Drug companies are more interested in spending money on researching lifestyle disease drugs that treat diseases like Diabetes, Heart Disease and Obesity.

Many people do not respond to antibiotics now and medical personnel have very little to treat some of these viral infections.

There is hope.

Nature provides an all natural antibiotic.

Stabilized Allicin is a powerful natural product that has been available since around 1999. Dr. Peter Josling is a British Biochemist that found a way to capture the Allicin Powder through a process that he discovered in his lab.

Before you rush off to your local grocery to buy some garlic, you should understand a little more about the process of stabilizing the allicin from crushed cloves of garlic. When you peel a clove of garlic and take a knife to begin chopping up the garlic, the chemical allicin is released. Allicin has been proven to kill the MRSA virus in a petri dish in the United Kingdom.

Dr. Josling has created a natural antibiotic that contains Stabilized Allicin and Organic Camu Camu. The product Dr. Josling formulated is Camucin.

When you take one veggie capsule of Camucin, you are getting the equivalent of eating 30 cloves of raw garlic but without the taste! You won’t even smell like Garlic either!

Find out more about Camucin by going to my page below:

Camucin

If you’re not familiar with the pomegranate, it is a red fruit with a tough outer layer; only the juice and the seeds inside are edible. Pomegranate juice is available year round, but you can purchase fresh pomegranates in most grocery stores from September through January. When refrigerated in a plastic bag, pomegranates keep for up to 2 months. This fantastic little fruit recently made its way back into the news after some spectacular clinical results. Here’s what you need to know:

Compounds found only in pomegranates called punicalagins are shown to benefit the heart and blood vessels.

Recent medical research studied heart patients with severe carotid artery blockages. They were given an ounce of pomegranate juice each day for a year. Not only did study participants’ blood pressure lower by over 12 percent, but there was a 30 percent reduction in atherosclerotic plaque. Just as astounding, participants who did not take the pomegranate juice saw their atherosclerotic plaque increase by 9 percent.

Not only are pomegranates good for your heart and blood vessels but they have been shown to inhibit breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer, leukemia and to prevent vascular changes that promote tumor growth in lab animals.

Pomegranate juice contains phytochemical compounds that stimulate serotonin and estrogen receptors, improving symptoms of depression and increasing bone mass in lab animals.

This is one fruit that you can’t afford to exclude from your diet!

Features of a Pomegranate

Most powerful anti-oxidant of all fruits
Potent anti-cancer and immune supporting effects
Inhibits abnormal platelet aggregation that could cause heart attacks, strokes and embolic disease
Lowers cholesterol and other cardiac risk factors
Lowers blood pressure
Shown to promote reversal of atherosclerotic plaque in human studies
May have benefits to relieve or protect against depression and osteoporosis

Effective Weight Loss to Reduce Cellulite

This post is about Effective Weight Loss to Reduce Cellulite. Cellulite is not a life threatening condition but it does indicate an unhealthy lifestyle that can lead to serious health problems in the future. Cellulite is often associated with sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits and this is evident even in slim people who do not practice healthy living.

Cosmetic treatments can only provide temporary relief while some creams can worsen your cellulite problem. To achieve a long term solution, you need to be willing to sacrifice your time and effort to achieve dimple free skin.

What is Cellulite?

Cellulite is basically fat cells under the skin. When these fat cells become big, the cells will push the connective tissues upward creating a dimpling effect on the skin. This skin problem is caused by different factors such as hormones, skin elasticity, lifestyle and diet.
To reduce cellulite formation, you need to reduce the presence of fat in your body and improve skin texture. You can achieve both through exercising and proper dieting.

If you want to know how to get rid of cellulite on thighs naturally and experience a successful weight loss program, you need to start right. Here are tips to help you get started with exercising and dieting.

Exercise

Commit: The first step is always the hardest but the end result is rewarding. Whatever you do in life, real success comes with sacrifice and pain and this is true with exercise. Commit to exercise everyday whether you like it or not because this is what commitment is all about. Place reminder notices around your work area  if necessary.

Choose a fun workout: Choosing a workout that you enjoy is a good way to condition your mind that physical activities are fun and rewarding. If you don’t enjoy weight lifting, you can try running or zumba.

Motivate Yourself: Sometimes to help you get moving is to continuously motivate yourself. You can buy new shoes, dumbbells or even a yoga mat to keep the excitement running. These small things can do much for your success.

Find a Partner: Workout partners can help you become more accountable with your exercise routines. They provide you with support and competition at the same time.

Dieting

Plan: Planning your meal will help you stay on track. Creating a healthy eating plan is vital for successful weight loss. Eating crackers or following a fad diet will not yield lasting results. You need to create a habit of eating healthy and it starts with planning a healthy program.

Healthy eating plans involve plenty of vegetables, whole grains, lean meat, fruits and nuts.

Start Slow: Starting a weight loss program can tempt you to change everything all at once. This behavior is discouraged because your body needs time to cope with changes particularly your diet. Pushing too hard can lead to failure. Start with small changes because it will eventually become a habit and become a part of your lifestyle.

Think Small: Moderation is always the key to healthy eating. When ordering a big meal in a restaurant, share it with a friend. Use smaller plates at home when eating and incorporate plenty of veggies and fruits. Consume smaller portions of meals throughout the day.

Enjoy: Eating is easy but enjoying the food we eat is a lost art. To enjoy what you eat, chew your food slowly and take time to appreciate the texture and flavors of the food. Don’t gulp everything down. Chewing will also make you feel full faster.

The presence of cellulite can be managed and reduced with exercise and proper dieting. If you want lasting results you need to overhaul your lifestyle and develop healthy habits. When you see the result, starting again is not an option. You will experience Effective Weight Loss to Reduce Cellulite.

Why Most People Never Lose Weight

Welcome to my Why Most People Never Lose Weight blog post. Did you know that the Standard American Diet ( SAD ) and lack of exercise is the main reason tens of millions of people have lifestyle diseases? Lifestyle choices are the leading cause of weight gain.

Why is the $35 to $50 billion per year Weight Loss Industry still growing rapidly?

If you are overweight like almost half of the people in North America, ( Canada and United States ) your risk of Diabetes drastically increases.

Many people have been misinformed into thinking that an overweight person can take a magic weight loss pill and still continue the same old habits of eating fast foods, junk foods and processed foods and be a couch potato. These weight loss product companies have savvy advertising that lure people into  ‘this is not your fault’  kind of thinking. They hire celebrity spokespersons and proclaim that if you buy their low carbohydrate burgers, pizzas and desserts, you can just continue with your current lifestyle.

Folks, if nothing changes, NOTHING CHANGES. What happens over time is you spend hundreds of dollars on their processed foods and never make the changes that will give you the life you so long to have. You will decide that their expensive prepared packaged foods or weight loss pills are too expensive and cancel your order. There is hope so read on!

Here is a typical lifestyle as far as foods eaten by many of the people who are overweight.

Bad Habits

You ate a heavy meal at supper time and might have snacked on junk foods late at night when the metabolism is very slow. All of the calories are turned to fat because your food is not burned up while you are sleeping. Poor digestion causes your body to continue working on the digestion process while you try to sleep.

You stayed up late at night watching depressing news reports of people being killed, raped or murdered. Many people do not get enough sleep as it is. Sleep helps the body repair your immune system which is your defense against illness and disease. Your alarm goes off and you now have to rush out of your home without getting any nutrients into your body.

A favorite donut shop is on your way to work. You stop in and get a large coffee with mega caffeine because you need so called energy. The sugary donuts and caffeine are not the kind of energy your body needs.

Around mid morning, your body is hungry again. Your body is actually starving for water as it is dehydrated. The hunger is actually a signal that the body did not get the nutrients and water it needs to function properly. You grab another coffee and someone has brought in some cookies and pastries and you take a coffee break.

You get to go to lunch for 30 minutes and only have time to run to a greasy burger restaurant and you are really hungry now so you order a super size burger, fries and soda. You have to eat fast and get back to your job so the break is adding more stress to your life.

Mid afternoon you are again hungry and by this time your body is starving for water and nutrients. Our body needs 1/2 of the ideal body weight in fluid ounces each day to maintain health. There is very little nutrition in any of the foods you have eaten so far today. If you get an afternoon break at work, you head straight for a vending machine and grab a bag of potato chips that are loaded with salt and fat. You also need that afternoon sugar soda because you feel drowsy.

When your work day is over, you may be stuck on a freeway in your car or deal with commuting on a crowded bus or train. You were going to go and work out at the gym or go for a brisk 30 minute walk in your neighborhood but you are too tired due to lack of nutrition and proper hydration.

By the time you reach your home, the only thing you want to do is order a pizza. The ball game is on so you may open up an alcoholic beverage or two. Alcoholic beverages have many calories. You may argue that the red wine you drink is for your heart health. You can get better nutrients and antioxidants from organic grapes and leave all the calories from the wine alone.

Your pizza arrives and you can put your feet up and watch a ball game or a situation comedy show. The next thing you know it is time for the late news and once again, you start the cycle over.

Is there a way out of this unhealthy lifestyle? YES !

What is the Answer to Why Most People Never Lose Weight?

My very next post is titled Healthy Breakfast. I show you with a video and in writing the kinds of foods that have helped me maintain permanent weight loss since 2001. I was 70 pounds over weight and came home from Alaska Airlines one day and realized I had to make some changes to my diet. I was eating a very similar diet to the one I just laid out for you above. I have been abstinent from alcohol for decades but I really liked sodas and coffee.

If you need to eliminate the late night news show so you can go to bed earlier, then adjust your schedule by 30 minutes or an hour. You will have plenty of time now in the morning to prepare some healthy foods for your breakfast. I always made my healthy lunch meal for the next day the night before and kept it in the refrigerator so it would be ready the next morning.

Some really good news for you is that the money you have been spending on fast foods and processed foods will easily buy you fresh organic beans, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds, vegetables and whole grains. It is amazing how many delicious recipes you can make from these food groups. Best of all when you eat foods as grown, there is no nutrition label so your body will be getting the nutrients it needs for good health. Have you ever seen a nutrition label on an apple or kiwi?

By skipping the late night news you will not worry about all the insanity in the world and sleep better. You are on your way to permanent change. Hang on and experience the way life is meant to be! I know many people that began to live their lives again by breaking away from the television set.

Many people are now engaged in hobbies and activities that they are passionate about. Here are just a few:

Bicycle Riding Groups

Board Games

Book Clubs

Chess

Church Activities

Civic Activities

Dancing Clubs

Hiking and Walking Groups

Mexican Train Dominoes

Poetry Clubs

Your body will feel alive again as it has the energy needed to function each day. Permanent weight loss is all about giving the body the following:

1. Body Needs Nutrients

2. Body Needs Pure Water

3. Body Needs to Move ( Exercise )

Here is a link to my Blog with hundreds of healthy recipes in my Healthy Living category. If you want to be alerted of my next blog post, just Subscribe in the top right of the page. I never sell, share or disclose any personal information due to my Privacy Policy and out of professional courtesy. Who knows, you may become a Medical Missionary yourself!

Healthy Living Blog

Activated Charcoal Poultice

Activated Charcoal has been around for centuries as a remedy for many common health issues; from insect and snake bites to stomach poisoning and cancer. Activated charcoal is adsorbent as it adsorbs just about anything into itself.

Poultice ingredients:

For any injury or trauma to the skin. Be careful not to get the charcoal into an open wound as it will leave you with a black tattoo!

Activated Charcoal

Flaxseed meal/Psyllium Powder

Warm Water

Paper Towel – no colored designs

Take warm water and begin to add the charcoal to water. Grind flaxseeds to a meal and add until it becomes a paste. Place charcoal paste onto white paper towel or gauze. Apply to affected area and secure with a plastic wrap or gauze. Wrap with an Ace bandage, being careful not to wrap too tightly. Use overnight and remove in the morning. Depending on the type of injury, this may take several applications.

Slurry Water

Use for an upset stomach.

Add 1 Tablespoon of Activated Charcoal to one 8 ounce glass of water. Stir well and then allow to settle for several hours. Pour off the clear water on the top then drink freely. Since Activated Charcoal is an adsorbent, do not take this with any medication as it will affect the efficacy of the medication.

This an excerpt from an article written by Micaela Karlsen, M.S.P.H, shared from a “Forks Over Knives Newsletter”.

They’re all around us – goji berries, chia seeds, maca, pomegranates, and the list goes on. Certain individual foods are labeled “superfoods” by the food industry and so concentrated powders, extracts, oils, and juices of these foods are then marketed as beneficial because of their supposed special effects. The claims around these concentrated forms of certain foods include “improves vitality,” “wards off disease,” or even “boosts libido.” The modern shopper is hopelessly confused as he or she tries to match a host of products with a wide array of specific desired benefits. Even the person on a whole-food, plant-based diet may wonder, “Should I be taking something to make sure I’m getting enough antioxidants?”

In spite of the fact that the word “superfood” is neither a technical nor scientific term, some of these claims about specific nutrients do have research supporting them. However, focusing on any single nutrient or class of nutrients outside the context of the whole, natural foods that contain them is a misplaced emphasis; the total dietary pattern is what most influences health outcomes, even if experimental evidence exists that a particular nutrient may have a given effect on the body.

Popular media defines a “superfood” as a food that contains unusually high amounts of specific nutrients, often antioxidants-substances that combat cell damage due to aging and other factors. It’s easy to fall into thinking that if some is good, more must be better.

What we are forgetting here is that eating more of a nutrient doesn’t necessarily mean that our bodies will use it; absorption and utilization are largely determined by the body’s need at the time of consumption along with many other variables. Drinking pomegranate juice or blueberry extract may do no more than put a hole in our pockets, along with encouraging overconsumption of simple sugars without the fiber those sugars are naturally paired with in the fruit. And in some cases an excess can be every bit as problematic for health as a deficiency.

The example of antioxidants illustrates the misconception around “getting enough” of this class of nutrients. When we’re eating a colorful whole-food, plant-based diet, we don’t need to concern ourselves with antioxidant deficiency. It is when we eat a diet poor in fruits and vegetables (and therefore antioxidants) that we need to worry about getting enough of them. Processed foods contain few antioxidants, because they are stripped during processing. And the antioxidants present in animal foods reside in the animal’s tissues only because it consumed plants during its lifetime. Why not eliminate the middleman and get the antioxidants directly?

When are plant-based “superfoods” good for us? When they are whole and part of a low-fat diet comprised of foods eaten fresh, as grown, then yes – absolutely! Eating colorful foods is beneficial, as long as they are whole foods and not extracts, powders, or concentrated individual nutrients.

Eating for variety and color is a strategy that will deliver all the nutrients we need (with the possible exception of vitamin B12), as long as we are consuming adequate calories. We need not worry about whether or how we are getting enough of certain single nutrients or classes of nutrients. It might be easier to just call a whole-food, plant-based diet a “superdiet” and leave it at that.

Here is an excellent video to help you unwind in our stressful world. Tai-Chi meditation is very useful to help people with many health issues.