Alkaline - The Anti Cancer

I can't stress it enough, you are what you eat. It never seems to amaze me what people will eat as part of their everyday diet. Well in case it wasn't obvious, you get out what you put in.

I'm sure a lot of you have heard of an alkaline diet vs. an acidic diet? Well, the theory is that your blood is slightly alkaline making the pH levels between 7.35-7.45. When you eat diets high in acid, is disrupts this pH level and inhibits your ability to absorb certain nutrients/minerals. Cancer also thrives in an acidic environment and cannot survive in an alkaline environment. Most people have an acidic diet (hence the enormous cancer rate). I read a fascinating book where the author compared our diet to that of primates. Since we share over 90% of the same DNA you would think we were susceptible to the same diseases, however, they do not get a fraction of the diseases we do. In this book she attributes this to their diet. She breaks it down even further and if you would like to check her book out it is called "Green for Life" by Victoria Boutenko.

You can find a good list of what foods are alkaline/acidic on this website: http://www.rense.com/1.mpicons/acidalka.htm.

As you may suspect all the "fun" foods (by fun I mean you knew they weren't gonna be good for you) are acidic. The way I look at it, if you keep filling the "cup" with acidic foods and never empty it, or refill it with alkalized food, there will eventually be an issue. I can't stress the importance of detoxes here. You can almost compare your body to a car. If you never tune it up or flush it out every now and again, build up will occur; it's just a matter of when. The same goes for your body. I saw an amazing quote the other day that I will end this post with...

"Health is not simply the absence of sickness"

Diatomaceous Earth

Hello strangers ;o) I'm a part of a local yahoo group for conscious parenting and they were talking about Diatomaceous earth (DE). Has anyone heard of it before? I have heard of it, but I haven't tried it. It sounds fascinating though. It is basically a fossilized hard shelled algae (phytoplankton) that has a ton of uses. It can be used as a stabilizer in dynamite, for pool filtration, pest control (it takes the exoskeleton of the bugs, especially fleas) among lots of other uses. It is important to know to get the food grade DE. You can give it to your pets orally for about 60-90 days to get rid of any parasites they have. Actually, you can use it on yourself if you suspect you have a parasite (I read on one website to take one tsp with a drink per day). The food grade DE does not work chemically so there is no chemical toxicity to it. It resembles the shape of a honeycomb (when magnified) and the sharp edges to it are what kill the parasites, much like the fleas I mentioned earlier. You can use it topically to control many insects, for instance, rub it on your dog’s fur for fleas. If you see roaches, spread it where you see them. Pour it over an ant mound. Sprinkle it where you see aphids. Pretty cool stuff! I love how nature provides use with the most perfect remedies that are useful in so many ways and they don't poison everything else in their way!

http://www.earthworkshealth.com/

http://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/ProductCart/pc/Diatomaceous-Earth-Food-Grade-5-lb-Bag-11p39.htm?gclid=CIzP0Ymm86oCFcER2godWBcBOA

Coconut Oil Sale

I just wanted to give everyone a head's up (sorry a little last minute though). Nutiva has a sale on coconut oil right now.

Here is the sale: Save $$ on Nutiva ORG Coconut Oil 1 Gallon @ $46.99 till Friday 12th midnight coupon code: cocodeal - or buy case of 4 for $41.45 ea code: cocodeal4 - http://ow.ly/5Zf7I

This is a GREAT deal!! If you miss this one though, you can find them on facebook and if you like their page they will give you a $10 off coupon code. They also have a bulk deal on chia seeds too, 3 pounds for $20. If you don't need that much, split it with someone! I just ordered some of each of these things!

I use coconut oil for most of my baking, and as a lotion. It isn't greasy when you rub it in real good and it is great smelling (well as long as you like the smell of coconuts).

Nutrition and Hospitals - Need I Say More?

So my father was recently in the hospital having surgery. He had a fistula from Diverticulitis (hence why I had the few posts on fiber). Anyway, I just wanted to vent how disgusted I am by the stuff they tried to pass as food in that place. I really don't understand how a place full of sick and injured people wouldn't place any emphasis on good nutrition. It's not like they aren't making any money in these places. Two days after his surgery (to remove a section of his colon) they put a tray in front of him with an ice cream scoop of processed mac n cheese, brown vegetables (they had been nuked to death) and a piece of white bread...SERIOUSLY!? Thankfully my sister was there and let them have it about how ridiculous that was and they promptly gave him some slightly more nutritious foods. But think about how many people don't have any advocates there for them, or the people who just don't know any better. Shouldn't a place full of health workers know better? It really makes me want to figure out a way to change things. This is where I really wish I had a nutrition degree to back up the wealth of knowledge I have so that these people will listen to me and make a change. If anyone has any other suggestions, please let me know.

Fiber

So I was talking a few posts ago about the importance of eating your fruits and veggies. I want to add to that. I think I should have emphasized the importance of fiber instead. Did you know that everyone should have an average of 30-40 grams of fiber every day. That's a lot of fiber! Most people only consume around 8-12 grams each day. So as you can see, there is quite a gap. I wanted to provide a link I found on different ways to get fiber and how much fiber some food actually has. If you can try to consume your fiber via food, rather then fiber supplements, that would be the best option. Besides fruits and veggies, some other fiber sources are whole grains, beans and nuts.

There are two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble. I found this website that gives a pretty good breakdown of the two and here's what they said: "Soluble fiber is found in dried beans, peas, oats and oat bran, flaxseed and psyllium husks. It's also found in fruits such as oranges and apples and vegetables like carrots. Soluble fiber binds with fatty acids in your stomach and prolongs digestion time. This helps to regulate blood sugar. Studies also show that soluble fiber can help reduce your overall cholesterol count. But what's even more important, soluble fiber lowers your LDL, which is considered to be bad cholesterol.
Insoluble fiber is found in whole wheat, wheat bran, vegetables such as cauliflower and green beans and the skins of fruits and root vegetables. Insoluble fiber helps remove toxins from your colon and balance intestine acidity. It also helps move waste through your intestines and bowel."

As you can see, fiber is some pretty important stuff. Here is the link that I mentioned earlier. At the bottom of the chart it has links for other charts, check those out too.

http://commonsensehealth.com/Diet-and-Nutrition/List_of_High_Fiber_Foods.shtml

Chia Seeds

Chi Chi Chi Chia... Remember that commercial? Well it's not just for clay pots anymore. Chia seeds are pretty amazing little creatures. Chia seeds come from the mint family. They are high in omega 3 fatty acid, antioxidants, fiber among other things. They have virtually no flavor so you can add them to anything and no one would be the wiser. They don't even need to be ground (unlike flax seeds) to receive the amazing benefits they offer. I just throw them right in our smoothies. You can order them online or pick them up at any health food store. Hey, we were just talking about adding more fiber to your diet and here's a super easy way to do it!

Here is a link to order them online from a place where I buy my coconut oil.

http://nutiva.com/chia-seeds/chia-seeds-101/

Diet Related Illnesses

We hear it all the time "eat you fruits and veggies", are you getting enough fruits and veggies?" and then we proceed throughout our busy days NOT eating our fruits and veggies. So why do you think that is? Honestly, I have no idea. Sometimes I am guilty of not eating the proper amount myself, although I somehow manage to get my kids to eat their fair share. But if you really stop and think about it there are SO many health issues we can avoid if we just ate more of those things. I mean it's not like they don't taste good for Pete's sake!!

For example, have any of you heard of Diverticulitis/Diverticulosis? You hear it a lot in older people but basically it is a condition in which the small pouches in your intestines or colon bulge outward and become inflamed and infected. If it is serious enough you have to have surgery to have the infected parts of your intestines and/or colon removed. Now maybe you didn't know this but it is completely diet related. It is from not eating enough fiber. Where does fiber come from...fruit and veggies of course! So I ask the question again...why don't we eat enough of them when we know they are the best thing for us?? I think we just have to treat our body like a true temple. What you put into it, is what you get out of it. Let's all try and be more intentional and grab an apple the next time we have a sweet tooth. You have to start somewhere!

Homemade Chai Tea

I have the most amazing Chai Tea recipe. It is way better then any store bought one I have ever tried. If you can't have milk, I'm sure you can swap it out with almond or coconut milk. I keep all the spices in my freezer to prolong their shelf life. Let me know what you think!

Chai Tea
2 cups water
2 individual tea bags (black or green or one of ea)
1 cinnamon stick
6 cardamom pods, crushed
1 whole clove
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
2 1/2 cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a pan over medium heat, combine the first 6 ingredients and bring it to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in the milk and bring to a boil for 1 minute. Strain all the spices out then add sugar and vanilla. Serve hot or over ice. Enjoy!

Homemade Almond Body Scrub

I found this recipe and can't wait to give it a try. Maybe it will inspire some of you. If anyone does it before me, please let us know how it turned out.

1/4 cup coarse sea salt
1/4 cup oil (baby, olive or coconut -- I would use coconut)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Mix and enjoy the exfoliation!

Bentonite Clay

Sorry it has been a while since my last post. I will try and not let it go so long between posts in the future :o)

I recently bought some Bentonite Clay from my Frontier Coop. There are a lot of uses for it from what I have read but I got it for detox purposes. It comes from volcanic ash, mostly from Wyoming. You can use it topically or orally. Either way all you do is add water. Although I did read on one website that you could add rose water or milk for a more soothing effect when applying it topically. You want to make a paste if using it on the skin. When you drink it just add a teaspoon to 8 oz or more of water. Oh, you can also add it to your bath water too.

Bentonite Clay has a negative ionic charge and most impurities, toxins, parasites have positive ionic charges so like they say "opposites attract". The toxins will stick to the clay and move out of your system. The clay is inert so it will not be absorbed by your system.

I have used the ready made store bought kind of Bentonite Clay before when I had a stomach bug. It did not have much of a flavor. I have not tried the powder I just bought yet so I can't let you know how that tastes. I will post some links so that you can do some research and see if this is something you are interested in too!

http://www.bulkherbstore.com/Bentonite-Clay-Powder
http://www.naturalnews.com/025854_clay_body_detox.html
http://www.aboutclay.com/