People are seeking happiness. And yes, Virginia, there is a path, not one simple answer. Happiness is a state of mind, a state of being. If you are not happy, consider how you can improve your state of mind through optimum health, giving and receiving love, and becoming attuned to your own spirituality.

Be Healthy

There are lots of excuses when it comes to poor health. Most of them are self-defeating nonsense. Truly healthy choices reap immediate benefits. When we eat right, we feel better. Right then. In that moment. It’s hard to be happy when you don’t feel good.

What if you adopted a healthy lifestyle? What if you felt full of energy and vitality each and every day? Wouldn’t you be happier? It’s not that hard. It’s not a sacrifice. It’s a shift; one that’s well worth the change.

Diet

You argue about your lack of time, lack of money, lack of ability. You can’t cook. You can’t afford organic food. You don’t have time to shop carefully. Set aside the B.S. for a moment and consider the facts. Choosing and preparing a truly healthy diet can be easy and fast.

• Organic – Organic foods are grown with far fewer pesticides, in healthier soil. They taste better and are better for you. It’s a no-brainer. Fill your body with poison and toxins and you are poisoning yourself.
• Raw – Raw foods are full of enzymes and nutrients. A diet consisting of 80% (or more) fresh, raw, organic produce will nurture every cell in your body.
• GMO-Free – Studies conducted by biotech companies suggest genetically modified foods are safe. Long-term studies conducted by unbiased scientists tell a different story, one of reproductive difficulties and cancerous tumors. Avoid GMO foods. Learn where hidden GMOs lurk in food. Better yet, don’t eat processed foods!
• Stop Drinking – All that hype about alcohol being good for you. Come on. You know better. If may relax you a bit, but so does meditation.
• Eliminate Caffeine – It’s just another addiction. An expensive one.
• Additive Free Foods – Avoid all of the things that result in poor health! The list is long, but basically, avoid eating chemicals. Never eat MSG, artificial sweeteners (except stevia), artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives, trans fats, refined sugar, and high fructose corn syrup.
• Gluten – Eliminate gluten if you suffer from any chronic disease, digestive disease, autoimmune issues, or allergies.
• Top of Food Chain – If you choose to eat meat, seafood, and dairy, you must consider the source. If those animals were fed antibiotics, GMO foods, and garbage, what are you putting in your body when you eat them? If diary is not organic, chances are it contains rBGH, a genetically modified growth hormone. If you eat seafood, make sure your purchase is not on the list of those with the highest levels of mercury. Don’t eat farmed fish. They are fed GMO feed and garbage. When it comes to meat, dairy and eggs, choose organic.
• Fresh – Check out your local farmer’s markets for the freshest foods.

So, let’s go back to the original pushback on healthy food – lack of time, lack of money, lack of ability…

Yes, organic food is more expensive. But when you stop eating processed foods, drinking coffee, drinking alcohol, and most of your diet consists of fresh, raw, organic produce, it’s very affordable. You will probably save money. Food prep is pretty fast and easy, too. Anybody can pick up an apple and eat it. Anybody can chop up veggies and make a salad. Anybody can throw stuff in a blender. Where you go from there is up to you; these three actions are the basics.

So why is a truly healthy diet so important? You put the nutrients in; you leave the toxins out. In addition, this kind of diet does two things: it continually detoxes the body and it builds a healthy gut.

A healthy gut is the key to a healthy body. Autoimmune diseases, allergies, and a poor immune system are all symptoms of poor gut health.

Detox and Build a Healthy Gut

Make sure your diet includes chelating foods. Eat lots of raw garlic and onions. Eat fresh cilantro and plenty of cruciferous veggies. In fact, a daily salad with 10-15 veggies is a great start. Not only will you be cleansing your gut, you will be aiding in the proliferation of healthy bacteria with a high fiber, veggie salad each day.

Fermented foods have been getting a lot of attention lately. Unfortunately, a lot of the probiotic benefit of fermented foods is neutralized by stomach acid. Yes, fermented foods help. Salads help more. So eat both! But focus on those daily salads. And skip the sugar filled yogurts.

You will never be healthy with a sick gut. It’s that simple. Learn about Candida, gluten, and leaky gut syndrome.

Exercise

Don’t have the time to go to the gym? Don’t have the money for a membership? Don’t know how to exercise on your own? Oh, come on! Walk!

Get outside and walk in the sun. A daily walk for a minimum of 15 minutes gets the body moving and provides a huge benefit – lymphatic circulation. Our lymphatic system is vitally important to our health. Lymph carries waste from the cells and is a basic part of our immune system. Lymphatic fluid has to circulate through our body to dump waste and for our immune system to find, identify, and eliminate viruses and bacteria. But the lymphatic system does not have a pump. Unlike the circulatory system that relies on the heart, the lymphatic system relies on physical movement, the contraction and relaxation of muscles in order to move through our bodies. So walk, run, dance, bounce on a trampoline. But move every day for your health.

Love

If you want to attract love into your life, give it, give it, give it. Stop focusing on what you don’t have and find a way to make the world a better place.

Whether you choose a cause or find a calling, make sure your choice involves positive change, not empty protest. You can denounce poverty or volunteer to teach literacy. You can rail against deforestation or plant trees. Find something positive and productive to do. If it is your passion, try to make it your work.

When you find a way to give to others or give to the world, you enrich your life and raise your self-esteem. You also meet like-minded people. It’s a win-win.

Spirituality

This is an area in which you need to be true to yourself. Whether you believe you should attend services every Sunday and Wednesday or believe your road to enlightenment is found through meditation, honor your beliefs.

Think Right

No one can deny the fact that we are creatures of habit. What we do and what we think are patterns of behavior. If you’re not happy, these are patterns crying out to be broken.

Vengeance and Forgiveness

Let it go. Holding on to hate or anger hurts one person – you. Well, to be perfectly honest it may hurt those around you as well. Forgiveness does not mean making yourself vulnerable. You can forgive someone and never speak to them again. But holding onto the anger and the pain hurts you.

Forgiveness can be difficult. Sometimes forgiveness is a process rather than an outcome. If someone has hurt you that deeply, violated you so horribly that forgiveness is ongoing even though you no longer have contact, it is still better to work at forgiveness that wallow in anger and pain. Let the hurt go.

Gratitude

If you are not grateful for what you have, what you have achieved, and the people in your life, how can you possibly be happy? Practice gratitude. Whether you say the words aloud each day in private, write in a journal, or share your gratitude with your friends and family around the dinner table, make the expression of gratitude a daily ritual. This one act will create the fundamental shift from a glass half empty to a glass half full mentality.

Right Your Mind

If you’ve never seen it before, watch the Bob Newhart skit called Stop It. The skit is so famous, if you google “stop it”, the video is Google’s first hit. But we’ll also give it to you here.

This is a simple, silly take on a very real phenomenon. Unhappy people tend to dwell on their failures, live in the past, and fear the future.

Stop worrying about the things you can’t change. Stop keeping a tally of everything that’s gone wrong. Shit happens. It happens all the time, to all of us. Life is full of disappointments and tragedy. Everyone faces pain and hardship, challenges that sometimes seem too huge, too overwhelming to survive. But we do.

Instead of dwelling on what has gone wrong in the past, instead of fearing the future, recognize that you control today. Plan for your future. Make goals and achieve them. But live in the now.

Last but not least, be good to yourself. When you become an adult, you become responsible for you. In other words, you become your own parent. Be kind. Be compassionate. Become your better self. How could you not be happy?

Related Reading:

• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Candida, Gut Flora, Allergies, and Disease
• Candida, Gut Flora, Allergies, and Disease
• How To Be Happy
• How To Be Happy
• How Candida Leads to Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, and Other Mental Disorders
• How Candida Leads to Depression, Anxiety, ADHD, and Other Mental Disorders

“A people without knowledge of their past, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”-Marcus Garvey

All over the world, parents are reacting out of fear. They are terrified of germs, yet they trust toxic injections. Why does the Western world adopt a culture of vaccination? Because we fear microbes. We have been trained to believe that communicable diseases are life threatening and that we are powerless to fight them without vaccinations. After all, it is reasoned, people used to die from diseases like the measles, didn’t they?

Although this is true, we don’t look at the evidence in perspective. In the past, we didn’t have access to clean water and nutritious food. Under conditions like these, many mild illnesses posed a serious threat and were more likely to prove fatal.

Research is Time Consuming; Besides, Isn’t That What Regulators Are For?

In America, and much of the Western world, we are busy and overworked. Understandably, we want to be able to trust the expert opinions of public servants in their respective fields. Some would call this the height of naiveté, but it’s understandable. No one has the time to be an expert on everything. But when we outsource responsibility for our health, the outcome is uncertain at best. Many Americans look to the CDC for guidance, but are they really the best source of unbiased information?

Four scathing federal studies, including two by Congress, one by the US Senate, and one by the HHS Inspector General, paint CDC as a cesspool of corruption, mismanagement, and dysfunction with alarming conflicts of interest suborning its research, regulatory, and policymaking functions. CDC rules allow vaccine industry profiteers like Dr. Offit to serve on advisory boards that add new vaccines to the schedule. In a typical example, Offit in 1999 sat on the CDC’s vaccine advisory committee and voted to add the rotavirus vaccine to CDC’s schedule, paving the way for him to make a fortune on his own rotavirus vaccine. Offit and his business partners sold the royalties to his rotavirus vaccine patent to Merck in 2006 for $182 million.-Robert Kennedy 

Big business is driving vaccine mandates, and they are using regulatory agencies as the vehicle.

Those Who Do Not Know The Past Will Believe Anything

It suits pharmaceutical industry interests to give credit where none is due and to revise history, giving credit to vaccines for eradicating disease. In medical school, doctors are taught that vaccines eradicated all manner of diseases when, in fact, improved sanitation is responsible. When doctors tell you vaccines eradicated disease, this shows a profound ignorance of history and the pharmaceutically biased indoctrination that they have mistaken for a medical education.

Any college freshman can tell you that correlation does not equal causation. Just because something correlates, that doesn’t mean that the cause is easy to determine. Vaccines were introduced well after diseases were already on the decline. Vaccine manufacturers and government regulators tell us that vaccines made the difference. While they try so hard to turn this correlation into causation, they paradoxically try to ignore the rapid rise of autism, asthma, allergies, ADHD and other neurological disorders that tightly correlate with today’s dirty vaccines and the overblown vaccine schedule. A few graphs are worth a thousand words. Here are some visuals of our forgotten history (click on the image below for more charts):

Pro-industry propaganda has permeated so deeply into Western consciousness, vaccines are seen as a panacea for diseases everywhere, both here and abroad. Foreign aid often comes in the form of a syringe, even when people don’t have access to the most basic of necessities, such as healthy food, or clean water.

We May Not Like To Admit It, but All Cultures Do This

When faced with an unknown, people often resort to rituals and other superstitions. Germs are intimidating because they can bring down the young and the old. They are invisible and are usually untraceable. Communicable diseases are frightening, powerful forces of nature. When people feel powerless, they often resort to magical thinking.

You can see this kind of behavior in sports fanatics. As fans, they have little influence over the outcome of sporting events. To grant team supporters an illusion of control, they often wear their lucky jersey in order to “help their team win.” The belief that their actions can have a direct effect on their teams’ outcome is widespread. According to one ESPN poll which showed no statistically significant differences between race, education, or gender, as many as 1 in 5 fans try to improve the luck of their favorite team in a variety of different ways. Some fans never purchase or own things that are the colors of their rival teams. Other fans believe that they are the bad luck, so they refuse to watch their favorite teams play. Some of the most die-hard fans don’t watch the seasons’ most crucial games due to the belief that watching those games will “jinx” their team. This behavior is very ironic, as it is actually the opposite of supporting one’s team.

Westerners are just as superstitious as everyone else. We just show it in different ways. We make connections where none exist. We see correlations where none exist.

Ritualistic behavior is common to all cultures. When people die (death is another aspect of life with which we have little to no control) a series of rituals, such as a wake, a viewing, burial/cremation, and so on take place as a means of mitigating the loss and showing respect for the deceased. These rituals help to give a sense of control over death. Even though we can not stop death, we can organize our activities around it.

When faced with microbes and the threat of disease, something we believe to be out of our control, many of us subject ourselves or our children to the ritual of vaccination. We are attempting to control the invisible.

The Ritual of Vaccination

Even though they seldom work in a lab, doctors wear lab coats, which lends an air of authority, and an illusory scientific presence. They tell their patients vaccines are safe and effective without discussing the risks. Unfortunately, most doctors are not fully aware of the risks. They cannot tell you what the shots contain or why many of the ingredients are included. They are however, usually aware that they and the pharmaceutical companies are safe from harm should your child die or become disabled due to the vaccinations they recommend.

Vaccination is a form of ritualistic practice that is filled with make-believe. Why are vaccines injected? Infants and children often cry when injected, and this pain engenders a renewed commitment from the parents. The injury of injection, however small, doubles their commitment. After a brief surge of guilt, parents become more entrenched in the idea that vaccines must be necessary, because of the belief that no one, even pharmaceutical industry employees, would put a child through pain if it wasn’t necessary.

Despite the fact that there has never been a study proving all of the vaccines in the schedule are cumulatively safe, and the growing concern among scientists and doctors about their synergistic toxicity, parents all over the world are sacrificing their children to the superstition of vaccination. With reassuring voices, they tell their children the shots are necessary, even when they know nothing about them.

The information age has begun to change this entrenched belief. It is difficult, if not impossible, to silence tens of thousands of parents, holistic health care practitioners, and vaccine injured people connected to the Internet. The truth is being disseminated all over the web. Vaccines can and often do cause the exact diseases they are intended to prevent. Also, death is a known risk of immunization, as is paralysis, brain damage, neurological disorders, and auto-immune disease.

If We Are To Believe the CDC, Formaldehyde is Unsafe in Construction, Yet Perfectly Safe When Injected

Ever since the CDC released a report on the dangers of formaldehyde found in laminate flooring, people have been in an uproar over the health risks. News stories abound warning people to avoid laminate flooring or advising them to limit their exposure. The CDC even recently revised their report, showing that the dangers are in fact worse than they originally stated.

Formaldehyde in laminate flooring can contribute to respiratory problems and irritation in the general population, not just to those in at-risk groups. The lifetime cancer risk was raised from a range of 2 to 9 per 100,000 extra cases of cancer to 6 to 30 extra cases per 100,000 due to exposure from the fumes of formaldehyde additives in flooring. With all this concern over the risks to people’s health from breathing in minute particles of formaldehyde dust from flooring, it stands to reason that more people should be concerned with the fact that formaldehyde is commonly found in vaccines.

Formaldehyde is injected directly into the bloodstream via vaccination. But under the auspices of vaccination, anything goes due to enculturation. People of a culture believe that their way is the correct way to do things, and other cultural practices are backward or flat out wrong.

Health Doesn’t Come From a Bottle, and It Doesn’t Come From a Syringe

With clean hands and dirty injections, doctors spread disease to all those who heed their advice. Using a syringe heightens the sense of urgency because injections are commonly used with trauma victims and those who are unconscious. If more vaccines came in another form, they would be less popular. They would seem less urgently needed, and the connection between failed pharmaceuticals (like the countless medications taken off the market because they weren’t safe) and vaccines would be better formed in the minds of the public. Vaccines are, in fact, pharmaceuticals. They are made by the same corrupt companies that are regularly caught breaking laws and fined for putting profits before public safety. Health doesn’t come from pharmaceuticals. It comes from good sanitation, proper nutrition, and low exposure to toxins.

Conclusion

For a culture to be functioning, people must believe that their way is the right and proper way to do things. Most Westerners, especially Americans, believe that culture is something other far away people have and that we live by the scientific method. When it comes to the health of our children, we live by the untested method.

When Andrew Wakefield first recommended that the MMR vaccine be split up into separate vaccinations, he was vilified, labeled a quack, and stripped of his medical license. He dared to research the dangers of vaccination. He challenged the Western cultural paradigm. He was seen as a traitor to our way of life. Yet, when an entire country, Japan, refused the MMR vaccine and chose to use 3 separate vaccines, they were not vilified because they belong to a different culture.

The Japanese do not begin vaccines until two years of age, and their schedule has less than half of the immunizations than the U.S. schedule. As a result, their SIDS rate has plummeted to nearly nothing, and their autism rates are a tiny fraction of America’s. As vaccinations have been added to the CDC schedule, autism rates have been rising. The vaccine injured are all around us, so many now that they have become the new normal.

We are told that vaccines are keeping diseases from making a comeback and that herd immunity is propping up our health like the Greek Titan Atlas holding up the world. These are myths. Vaccine mythologies run deep, and many people are beholden to these beliefs. Improved sanitation eradicated disease. If we are fortunate enough to open our eyes to this basic historic fact, then we must open the eyes of others as well. Many of us are under the cultural delusion that to vaccinate is to do something, and not to vaccinate is to do nothing. In truth, there is much that we can do to build up our immune systems. Only the truth can set us free and pull back our cultural blinders.

Recommended Reading:

• How Plumbing (Not Vaccines) Eradicated Disease
• How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children
• Doctors Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research
• Celebrities Who Have Spoken Out Against Vaccines
  
• Statesmen Against Mandatory Vaccines
• Scientists Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research
• How to Detoxify From Antibiotics and Other Chemical Antimicrobials

Sources:

• Mercury & Vaccines – Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
• Graphs – Dissolving Illusions
• CDC/ATSDR Revises Report of Possible Health Effects Associated with Formaldehyde in Select Laminate Flooring – CDC Newsroom
• Poll Results: 1 in 5 fans try to improve luck for favorite team – ESPN
• Chemtrails, Vaccines & GMOs: Toxins from Above and Below with Jason Christoff – YouTube 

Acne or acne vulgaris is a long-term skin disease that occurs when hair follicles become clogged by dead skin cells and oil. Acne is the common cause for spots and it usually affects the face but sometimes may also affect the back, neck, and chest. Characterized by blackheads, whiteheads, pimples, and greasy skin; the resulting appearance can lead to anxiety, reduced self-esteem, and in extreme cases, depression.

Causes of Acne

Acne usually occurs when oil glands attached to the hair follicles are stimulated during puberty due to hormonal changes. However, there are cases when acne is stimulated by the following factors:

• Hormones: Adult hormonal activity also contributes to the formation of acne. Acne developed between the age of 21 and 25, though uncommon,  is usually linked to follicular glands that grow larger and make more sebum.
• Genetics: Genetic components play an important role in acne formation. It is believed that there are multiple candidates for genes related to acne.
• Diet: The relationship between diet and acne is unclear, but high-glycemic-load diets have been found to have an effect on its severity.
• Smoking: Smoking increases the risk of developing acne and it worsens it if the person increases the number of cigarettes per day.
• Psychological: A few high-quality studies have demonstrated that stress causes and worsens acne.

Acne Treatment

As per recent research done by NYU Langione Medical Center, physicians who treat acne prescribe ineffective antibiotics and leave patients on the medication for too long. According to Seth Orlow, the study’s senior investigator, physicians need to recognize within weeks, not months, the need to change medications in cases of severe acne.  The study mainly focuses on the overuse of antibiotics in cases of acne. As per the published findings, doctors kept patients on antibiotics for an average 11 months before switching to isotretinoin (former brand name Acutance), a stronger treatment.  As per Orlow, the doctors should limit the use of antibiotics to a maximum two to three months each, or a cumulative total of no more than six months, and then only if significant improvements are seen.

Complacent About Overuse of Antibiotics

As per the research, the doctors and patients have become complacent to antibiotic overuse and the subsequent danger of microbial drug resistance. The main reason for late prescription of isotretinoin is the side effect linked with the medicine. Sold with a federal restriction, the side effect includes the risk of birth defects and some potential threats like causing depression.  It is also recommended to use isotretinoin only when acne therapy has failed.

Nevertheless, the federal restriction is designed to work as a protocol to prevent and carefully manage the risk related with isotretinoin. It does not mean that patients suffering with severe acne must be left on prolonged use of antibiotics, even when they are not helping. It is important to find a better balance between trying antibiotics that may work and getting isotretinoin quickly to patients for whom antibiotics are not working.

Finding balance will not only help to decrease the number of  cases of acne found in young people, quick healing will help boost their confidence.

Recommended Reading:

• Healthy Skin
• Get Naturally Gorgeous Skin with These 4 Home Remedies
• Natural Remedies for Acne
• Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases
• The Power of Our Hormones and How To Balance Them

It’s no secret that health in the United States ranks lower than that of many other industrialized nations but did you know it was this bad?

Life Expectancy

According to the World Fact Book (data compiled by the CIA) the United States ranks 43rd for life expectancy at birth.  with an expectancy of 79.68 years, nearly a full 10 years behind Monaco, the country holding the number one spot at 89.52 years. The 41 countries in between include Japan, Hong Kong, many of the European nations, Canada, and Israel.

Maternal Death Rate

There are 47 countries that had a lower maternal death rate in 2010 (the latest available data). In the United States, 21 women die from complications per 100,000 live births compared to 2 per 100,000 in Estonia, 3 in Greece, 3 in Singapore, 4 in Italy, and so on.

Infant Mortality Rate

The infant mortality rate, the number of infants who die before reaching their first birthday, is another shameful ranking – with 5.87 deaths per 1,000 live births. A terrible ranking with 57 countries ahead of us. Again, Monaco takes the top spot with 1.82 deaths per 1,000 births.

Fetal Death Rate

In 2011-2013, the fetal death rate, the rate of miscarriage after 20 weeks gestation, surpassed the infant mortality rate, though the numbers are very close. In 2013, the rate was 5.96 per 1,000 live births, giving the United States a high rate of loss before and after birth. What does this say about the health of our nation?

https://youtu.be/Cns6BCPjrss

Health Expenditures

In 2012, the United States actually rank number one in this category – health expenditures – 17.9% of the GDP. Let’s compare that to Monaco with its greatest life expectancy and lowest infant mortality. It ranked 155 on the list of 191 countries with 4.40%. Estonia, with its lowest maternal death rate, ranked 113 with 5.90%.

Conclusion

Something is very wrong with this picture. We spend the most on healthcare but our lifespan is shorter than the leading nation. What do we have an abundance of? An ever growing abundance of vaccines and processed “foods” filled with genetically modified organisms, sugar, high fructose corn syrup, MSG, artificial flavors, colors, preservatives, and pesticides.

We can choose a healthy lifestyle. We can choose alternative health care and focus on nutrition as our primary source of healing. We can choose to live an organic lifestyle.

Further Reading:

• Doctors Against Vaccines – Hear From Those Who Have Done the Research
• Gluten, Candida, Leaky Gut Syndrome, and Autoimmune Diseases
• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• How To Detoxify and Heal From Vaccinations – For Adults and Children

Sources:

• The World Factbook : Country Comparison- Life Expectancy at Birth – Central Intelligence Agency
• The World Factbook : Country Comparison- Maternal Death Rate – Central Intelligence Agency
• The World Factbook : Country Comparison- Infant Mortality Rate – Central Intelligence Agency
• Fetal Deaths Outnumber Infant Deaths for First Time in US – Medscape

You have probably heard that carbs are bad for both your health and your figure. Most weight loss diets advocate reducing carb intake, but since carbohydrates are important for seamless functioning of the human body, their role as a primary energy source should not be overlooked even if you have a good few extra waistline inches. That is why knowing the difference between good carbs and bad carbs is essential for good health – and a sexy shape as well. Here are some major differences between the two types of carbohydrates to help you structure your diet in order to maximize the health benefits of every single bite.

Structure of Simple vs. Complex Carbs

The main difference between good and bad carbs is found in their chemical makeup. Bad carbs are also known as simple sugars, and the name itself points to their less complex molecular structure and therefore, easier and faster digestion. Unlike simple carbs, good carbohydrates consist of longer chains of sugar molecules that take more time for the human organism to digest.

Sources of Good vs. Bad Carbs

Simple carbs are usually found in processed food such as refined sugar, sodas, artificial syrups, candies, pastries, white bread, white rice, pies, cookies, cakes and other additionally sweetened foods. Complex carbs, on the other hand, have a lower glycemic load, which points to their lower but more consistent energy release.  They are normally found in natural, fiber-packed food such as brown rice, whole grain bread, oatmeal, peas, beans, lentils, fruit, seeds and nuts, soybeans, skimmed milk, and low-fat yoghurt.

Effects of Intake of Simple vs. Complex Carbs

Due to their faster molecular breakdown, simple carbs lead to quick energy boosts and improved focus, but these positive effects are short-lived and wear off within an hour or so. Not so with complex carbs. Due to their slower digestion, good carbs may not produce an instant energy spike, but they do provide lasting energy and keep you full for longer periods of time.

Vitamin and Mineral Content Makes a Difference

Unlike complex carbs, simple sugars have low or no nutritive value because they do not contain vitamins, minerals or phytochemicals necessary for normal bodily functioning. That is why simple sugars are often termed “empty calories” – they have nothing except fast energy that your body could use. Complex carbs normally go hand in hand with fiber, vitamins, minerals and other vital nutrients, so their effect is twofold: they provide energy and other aspects of nourishment that living cells need to function.

Simple Carbs Can Contribute To Development of Health Problems

Since simple sugars contain few or no nutrients other than instantly available energy, a diet high in simple carbs can play a significant role in the development of various health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, weight gain, and obesity. On the other hand, complex carbs contain both energy and beneficial nutrients, which is why diets focusing on complex carbs accompanied by high fiber, minerals and vitamins are considered healthier than those that rely on refined sugar and products with added sugar.

Simple Sugars Can Be Good in Some Circumstances

Although most nutritionists swear by complex carbs, there are certain times when simple sugars can be extremely useful. For instance, foods high in simple carbs can be a great post-workout meal for professional athletes as the muscles require extra energy for repair and recovery after periods of intense physical activity.  Most runners and other endurance athletes use industrial-made snacks during matches and marathons. The body needs more easily digestible fuel to function during intervals of added physical strain, so an energy bar with high quantities of simple sugar will produce positive effects on overall performance.

Desserts Can Contain Complex Carbs, Too

Do not write off all desserts as bad for your health just because they have a sugary taste. In fact, various homemade sweets can pack good carbohydrates, too. For example, protein gingersnaps, baked oatmeal cups, and chocolate-coated desserts packed with fiber and fresh fruit are a healthier alternative to donuts, regular ice cream, and cheese cake. To maximize health benefits of your sweet snacks, prepare desserts with sweet, fiber-packed natural ingredients such as fruit, pumpkin, squash, or potato, without the use of processed sugar. Carbohydrates are a necessary part of the human diet and the body uses them to generate energy, repair, grow, and recover from periods of strain.

A diet low in carbohydrates can result in fatigue, weakness, and susceptibility to infections and viruses as well as prolonged healing and recuperation. That is why you should not write off all carbs as an enemy, rather, restrict intake of simple sugars, make sure your energy comes from raw or at least natural and not industrial sources, and enrich your diet with ingredients that pack complex carbs, fiber, vitamins, and minerals instead of monosaccharides, and you will stay healthy, slim, happy and well-nourished in the long run.

Recommended Reading:

• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Total Nutrition – Make your own Homemade Multivitamin and Mineral Formula
• Understand Hypothyroidism – Prevention and Natural Remedies
• Heal Cavities, Gum Disease, Naturally with Organic Oral Care – Toothpaste recipes included

Sources:

• Excellent Sources of Complex Carbohydrates – Weight Loss For All
• Proper Nutrition – Carbohydrates – Body Building
• A Complete Guide to Complex Carbohydrates – Live Strong
• What Is the Role of Carbohydrates? – Healthy Eating
• The Importance of Carbohydrates: Functions & Impact of Deficiency – Study
• Good Carbs, Bad Carbs: Why Carbohydrates Matter to You – WebMD
• Your Guide to Eating Healthy Carbs – WebMD
• 8 Carbs You Should Be Eating – Huffington Post
• 10 Things You Don’t Know About Sugar (And What You Don’t Know Could Hurt You) – Huffington Post
• Carbohydrates and Blood Sugar – Harvard School of Public Health
• 20 Healthy Dessert Recipes That Won’t Blow Your Diet – Legion Athletics
• Eating too much added sugar increases the risk of dying with heart disease – Harvard Health Publications

We all know at least one or two people who are super fit and never seem to get sick. They always seem to be really happy, too. But how do they do it? Were they born that way?

The short answer is no! Healthy people have some rules they live by, even if they don’t consciously follow them. So what are these rules?

They Enjoy Exercising

Healthy people love to exercise and have exercises or sports that they really enjoy doing. As a result, they keep doing exercises because they like to, not because they have to. When we try to do exercises we don’t like doing, the lifestyle change never lasts long term. Try to find an exercise or sport that you actually enjoy. That way you will look forward to it rather than dread it.

They Eat Bad Foods In Moderation

Many people think healthy people never eat any “bad” food. While this may be true for some, it’s not true for everyone. But healthy people have a different definition of “bad” food. They don’t drink conventional sodas and eat GMO corn chips, but they may have a sweet snack or a dessert once or twice a week, compared to others who eat junk food or sugary snacks once or twice a day. Try to make sure your meals and your snacks are healthy. Over time, you’ll elevate your definition of junk food, too.

They Eat Healthy Snacks

Snacking on junk food can cause all sorts of damage and contributes to weight gain. Healthy people make sure they eat healthy snacks and prepare them ahead of time. They eat snacks such as raw nuts (unsalted and unroasted), fresh fruit, and cut up vegetables (eg. celery and carrots). Try and plan ahead when it comes to snacks, and the next time you are at the grocery store, shop accordingly.

They Drink Plenty Of Water

Water does so many good things for your body. Keeping hydrated helps your skin and hair look great. It’s no wonder healthy people always seem to look great. They drink plenty of water and don’t drink sodas. Sodas are full of sugar, and don’t think diet sodas are any better. Diet sodas are filled with extra chemicals and terrible artificial sweeteners. Don’t be drinking plenty of fruit drinks such as orange juice either. Why? Have you ever thought of eating 30 oranges in a row? No? Well that’s pretty much what you’re doing when you drink a glass or two of orange juice. It’s a lot of sugar! Some fruit drinks are also full of other nasty ingredients. Try drinking water and herbal teas. Or check out this recipe for cranberry lemonade with stevia.

They Go To Bed Early and Are Early Risers

We all know that sleep is an important part of life. But healthy people know just how important it is to get at very least 7 hours of consistent sleep every night. They go to sleep earlier and get up much earlier even on their days off. And then, they tend to exercise first thing in the morning. Exercising in the morning has great benefits and can make us far more productive during the day.

Have you changed anything in your life that has made you healthier? Whether it is your diet or exercise regime, or a sport you love. Post your changes in the comments below.

(NaturalNews – S. D. Wells) Step right up to your favorite food bar, whether at Whole Foods, Harris Teeter or Farm Fresh, and “get you some” potato salad, coleslaw, egg salad, pasta salad, chicken salad, tuna salad, baked goods, or just make your own salad with lots of salad “dressing” and you are most likely getting a few heaping tablespoons of rapeseed oil with each serving, better known these days as canola oil. Now, whether or not there really is any such thing as organic canola oil, well, the jury is still out on that one. Regardless, canola oil is not good for you, and it ALL goes through a “deodorizing” processing stage that removes the “stink” of rapeseed, in case you didn’t know.

Canola oil can have detrimental effects on your health, especially the genetically modified (GM) canola that Monsanto so conveniently manufacturers for the masses to consume. It’s all mixed into those fancy, condiment-loaded, creamy salads at the friendly grocer, and it’s FRESH! Step right up to the fresh bar! Add in some tasty conventional spices and keep it hot or cold in those little bins for those “whole” food enthusiasts. Lots of people pack a few of the canola “mixtures” into plastic (BPA) containers and take them home. What exactly are you taking home, though?

There is no such thing as a canola plant

Wait, did you think there was a canola plant, like corn, soy or sunflower? Did you think making canola is just about pressing seeds? How DOES rapeseed oil magically turn into canola oil? It’s “deodorized” with a chemical component. Do you want to put a “hex” on your health? Insert “hexane” and wait for problems to rear their ugly head. Hexane, a vapor component of gasoline, is used to process oils and has been since World War II. And yes, hexane is flammable. Hexane is a chemical made from crude oil, the mainstream solvent extraction method of the entire Western world. So how is this organic? Good question.

The omega-3 fatty acids of processed canola oil are transformed during the deodorizing process into trans fatty acids. The reason why canola is particularly unsuitable for consumption is that it contains a very-long-chain fatty acid called erucic acid, which under some circumstances is associated with fibrotic heart lesions.

Here’s an interesting fact: In 1985, the Federal Register (official journal of the federal government of the United States) stated that the FDA outlawed canola oil in infant formulas because it retarded growth. So, 25 years ago it was not good for babies, but now it’s suddenly okay for everyone else? (http://www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com)

There’s a “not-so-heart-healthy” nation just below Canada

Just when you think that you’re eating healthy, you get fooled again. It’s the “cash crop” canola con! They’ve exploited that “gray area” so well for years. If you’re not sure, it probably “ain’t pure.” Oh, but its Canada’s top export to the USA by the millions of pounds of seed, oil, and meal per year.

But wait, some fast food chains were bragging recently because they are getting rid of their trans fat oils and switching to canola oil, like it’s some big move toward a “heart-healthy” nation, instead of using that pesticide-ridden soybean oil. So they must have been using that “close by choice” sales trick, where the consumer chooses from a lesser of evils but still falls for the gag. Sounds like two-party politics. So what’s your mayonnaise made with? What is the most prominent ingredient of your salad dressing, meaning what are the first few ingredients listed, because you know food manufacturers must list ingredients from the most first to the least last, right?

Oh, but the backlash will come, because people love their canola! Either that or they have no idea how much they are eating each day. They’re not doing the math. Add up those items from the canola food bar, condiments at home and some baked goods and what have you got? A “little bit” of rapeseed oil is moving through your digestive tract and your cleaning organs, and your body is not happy about it. Do you think Whole Foods uses organic canola for the food bar, or should you ask? Should it say? Everything that is prepackaged says so on the label. Too bad you can’t “Fooducate” the food bar items using the phone app (http://fooducate.com). Would it even matter if it was organic? I mean, can you have organic fibrotic heart lesions?

A biochemist would tell you that canola oil has higher levels of trans fatty acids than soybean oil and other toxic GMO “hybrid” oils that the masses use on a regular basis. This would include the hydrogenated vegetable oils cottonseed, safflower and corn.

Avoid the “All-You-Care-to-Eat” Canola Food Bar!

Take a quick look at the short-term and long-term damage you could be doing to your body by consuming canola regularly:

• Canola depletes vitamin E.
• Canola increases the rigidity of membranes, which can trigger degenerative diseases.
• Because of canola’s high sulfur content, it goes rancid easily, which can exacerbate allergies and compound problems for people with bronchial or asthmatic issues.
• Human studies reveal canola causes an increase in lung cancers.
• Canola can shorten lifespan of animals and lower platelet count.
• Daily canola consumption can raise your triglycerides over 40 percent.
• Canola oil molds quickly and also inhibits enzyme function.
• It opens the door for free radicals, undermining natural antioxidants, and can be linked to increased incidence of many diseases.
• Canola leaves no foul taste when it’s spoiled, so it’s hard to tell if you’re eating rancid erucic acid.

The Harvard School of Public Health stated decades ago that there is no safe level of trans fats, yet still, if there are less than 500 mg per half-cup serving, the FDA allows food manufacturers to use the label saying “no trans fats.” So who measures that half-cup at the food bar? Maybe you’re getting A HALF-CUP of CANOLA for lunch and dinner. Do you know the chemistry of your own cell membranes? Maybe you should. (http://www.bostonglobe.com)

Did you know that canola was man-made by a scientist at a university lab in Canada? The genes of the rapeseed plant were actually bred to produce less toxic erucic acid. Great, design a poisonous crop to meet FDA guidelines, then ship it to the USA! After creating this infamous genetically modified “invention,” this same scientist, Dr. Baldur Steffanson, went to work for Calgene, which was later bought by the biotech giant Monsanto! Who do you think also developed the “Roundup-Resistant” variety of GMO Canola? You guessed it – Dr. Steffanson, the “Father of Canola.” Thanks doc – for your contribution of weed killer and rapeseed oil hidden in our food! (http://timemachine.siamandas.com)

Still want to fill up those handy “to-go” containers at the “whole” foods bar? Still think all those creamy salads are the “bomb”? Think again. Don’t be fooled by canola just because the “debate” isn’t settled. Thanks to the “cloud” around the debate, it infiltrates the “whole food” market. Try grape seed oil or coconut oil for your own salads that YOU put together and can trust. Both of those oils can also tolerate high heat. Organic extra-virgin olive oil is good for you, but only if you don’t cook it at high heat. Stay healthy my friends.

Sources for this article include:
http://www.greencradle.net
http://www.youtube.com
http://www.organicconsumers.org
http://timemachine.siamandas.com
http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.laleva.cc
http://preventdisease.com
http://www.functionalmedicineuniversity.com
http://www.bostonglobe.com