5 Easy Ways To Prevent Obesity

More and more people are affected by obesity everyday. This is mainly due to all the unhealthy foods that are available on the market. Vending machines will do you no favor, and driving down a busy city street is also of no help, especially around mealtimes. However, despite of all that, there are many things that you can do to prevent obesity and even reverse it. Here are 5 sure ways to get you started.

Avoid Temptations

The best thing that you can do for yourself is to avoid food temptations whenever possible. That means if you have to drive on the outskirts of town to get to the other side to avoid all the fast food places, then do so.

To avoid vending machines, bring your own snacks such as nuts and seeds. And when filling up at the gas station, pay at the pump, as this will keep you away from the rows and rows of chips and candy bars inside.

Eat Healthy Foods

Eating healthy is also extremely important as that will not only provide you with the proper nutrients, but it will also help you to avoid fast foods and other junk foods.

Some of the best foods to add into your diet are nuts and seeds, avocados, leaf vegetables, sprouts, and lots of fresh fruits and vegetables. You may also add in plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables juices, or even go on a juice fast.

Avoid Animal Products

Animal products such as milk and milk products, meat, especially red meat, as well as eggs are high in saturated fats that will cause you to gain weight. Thus if you eliminate them, or at least reduce them, then you will be able to better manage your weight.

Plenty of Fluids

Once you start adding in more fruits and vegetables into your diet, then you will also need to drink more fluids. This is due to the high amount of fiber that is contained in fruits and vegetables. The fiber absorbs the water in the digestive tract, and thus the more water is absorbed, the more you need to drink.

Some of the best fluids to add into your diet are water, fresh juices and herbal tea such as ginger tea, and a combination of other herbs and spices including cilantro, parsley, lemon balm, rosemary, sage, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Exercise

Last but not least, exercise can help you to stay in shape and retain your muscle mass. Muscle mass weighs more, but it also helps you to burn more fat cells. Several 30 minute sessions of cardio and strength training per week is really all you need to maintain your muscle mass.

Is There a Difference Between Table Salt and Unrefined Sea Salt

There is not much of a difference between table salt and unrefined sea salt. However, the small difference that is found between the two is enough to make people switch to sea salt. The main reason why people make the switch is for health reasons, as sea salt is healthier for you. Not only is it healthier because it contains more minerals, but it also does not contain any unnatural ingredients.

Here are some of the main differences:

More Minerals

Sea salt is obtained naturally from sea water by allowing it to evaporate naturally from the sun and wind. As the water evaporates the salt crystals are left behind and then are raked into piles of sand. The salt is purified, but all the minerals are left within the salt.

But table salt on the other is stripped of all the essential minerals during the processing. Then iodine is added back into the salt. But it is added in such large quantities, that you will overdose on the iodine if you want to obtain the recommended daily dosage of sodium from your salt. Thus you are better off to obtain your iodine from the sea salt in small quantities. Click here for more information on the recommended daily dosages of sodium and iodine.

Unnatural Ingredients

Table salt contains several unnatural ingredients that are harmful to the body. These are anti-clumping agents such as alumino-silicate or alumino-calcium silicate which help to keep the salt dry in the shaker so that it does not clump up. However, these anti-clumping agents contain aluminum, which not only is bad for your health, but it adds a bitter taste to the salt. Thus a form of sugar (which is also bad for your health), is added to the salt to help eliminate the bitterness of it.

Unrefined sea salt does not contain any of those harmful ingredients, which is why it will clump in your salt shaker. However, there are brands of unrefined sea salt that are fairly dry and will not clump up much. The salt may stick from time to time, but a light tap on the shaker will break it loose.

My personal favorite salt to use in a salt shaker is Redmond RealSalt. It is a gourmet, all natural sea salt with a sweet taste. And once you try it, you will never want to go back to regular table salt again.

The Color

Another major difference between sea salt and table salt is the color of it. Table salt is white, but unrefined sea salt comes in different colors. At first you may be turned off by the gray or pinkish colors of the sea salt, but after a while you will appreciate the rich colors. Because the richer the color of the salt, the more minerals it contains.

Three Variations of the Raw Food Diet

Raw Foodists do not believe in heating their foods above 115 degrees Fahrenheit because that destroys the enzymes as well as many of the vitamins and minerals. Hence the main source of their food is plant-based.

However, there are several different variations of the raw food diet, which do allow you to incorporate raw animal proteins as well. These include raw meat, fish, poultry and eggs, as well as dairy and dairy products such as raw cheese, butter or yogurt.

To avoid harmful bacteria, the raw foodists choose their animal products from grass-fed animals whenever possible. Studies do reveal that those animals which are grass-fed have far less harmful bacteria, and contain more nutrients than those that are raised on conventional methods. Hence the risks of getting sick from grass-fed animal proteins are greatly reduced.

Here are the Three Main Variations of the Raw Food Diet:

Raw Vegan Diet. The raw vegan diet is the strictest and most popular diet when it comes to raw foodism. It does not allow you to eat any meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy and dairy products, or any other animal substance.

You can have any food that is plant-based and not poisonous to your body such as lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, herbs, nuts and seeds as well as sea vegetables and protein powders. These foods provide you with all the nutrients that your body needs, thus they eliminate the need to consume any animal products such as meats, dairy and eggs.

Within the raw vegan diet are three other groups of dieters, which include fruitarians, juicearians and sproutarians. And you can probably guess what the main type of food is for each group just by looking at the name.

Raw Vegetarian Diet. The raw vegetarian diet also promotes a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables, and other plant-based foods, but it also allows you to consume eggs, dairy and dairy products.

Within this group there are also several different groups: Some enjoy both eggs and dairy; while some do not consume eggs, but will consume dairy and dairy products; and others refuse dairy and dairy products, but will eat eggs.

Raw Omnivorous Diet. The raw omnivorous diet is fairly relaxed and laid back, as you are allowed to eat just about anything on the plate including all types of raw meats, eggs, and dairy and dairy products. However, you should still aim to eat mostly raw fruits and vegetables as they are by far the healthiest choice.

Tips for Exercising When Suffering From Fibromyalgia

Most people who suffer from fibromyalgia suffer from a lot of muscle pain and chronic fatigue. Hence the thought of engaging in regular exercise may seem daunting. However, doing so can put you on a faster road to recovery, as it helps to strengthen muscles, increase energy levels, and decrease pain.

Here are some tips to help you get started.

Talk To a Physio Therapist

Fibromyalgia is a muscle disorder, and the last thing you want to do is further aggravate those muscles. Therefore a physio therapist can help you figure out what you are capable of and which exercises to start with. They are trained professionals and will be able to guide you in the right direction so that you can avoid further injury.

Always Listen to Your Body

Always, always listen to your body and stop any exercise session when you become tired or when you begin to feel pain. Just because you were able to handle 10 minutes on the treadmill yesterday, does not mean that you have to endure that long today. Some days are better than others, and you should always exercise according to how you feel.

A small amount of pain after the session is okay, but if the pain persists or gets worse, then you need to reduce your exercises and/or talk to a medical professional.

Learn to Breathe Correctly

Breathing correctly during exercising can help to increase energy as well as reduce the pain.

You may be surprised to discover that you most likely are not breathing correctly. Most people breathe into their chests rather than using their diaphragm. When breathing into the chest you are only using the top portion of your lungs, and your goal is to use the bottom portion as well.

To find out whether you are breathing correct or not, pay attention as to whether or not your stomach expands when you inhale. If it expands, then you are breathing correct. However, if it does the opposite then you need to do some practising.

The best way to practise is by lying on your back, either on the floor, your bed or even in a bath tub. Then with your hands on your stomach, consciously practise breathing deep into your stomach so that it expands when you inhale. It may take some practise, but you can do it.

Join a Group

There is nothing like joining a group that has the same agenda as you. This allows you to motivate others when they are feeling down, and most importantly, others will be there to support and motivate you on your not-so-great days.

Click Here for some easy exercises for fibromyalgia

Simple Fibromyalgia Exercises

Fibromyalgia is a chronic muscle disorder that can affect a number of muscles in the body particularly in the neck, shoulders, back, elbows, wrists, hips and ankles. On top of the pain, those who suffer from fibromyalgia, also suffer from chronic fatigue. As a result the thought of exercising may not seem reasonable to those who suffer from the disease.

However, exercising can help to relieve both the physical as well as the mental pain that is associated with fibromyalgia. In addition it can also help to increase energy levels, so that you can begin to make a recovery.

The key is to start off with simple exercises, and short exercise sessions to prevent further injury. Over time you will be able to move on to more challenging exercises and endure for longer as well. Here are some simple exercises to get the ball going.

Stretches

When you are first starting out, you may not be able to do much more than simple stretches, and that is fine. You can do whole body stretches or just certain parts of your body such as the neck, arms or legs. Your goal is to stretch just enough so that your muscles can open enough in order to improve the blood flow. Never stretch until you feel pain, as that may worsen the condition.

If your muscles are very tight and they do not want to stretch without pain, then you may want to try warming them up in warm water first. You can add sea salt, Epsom salt, grated ginger or relaxing bath oils to your water to help with the process. Once you feel that your muscles are more relaxed, then you can begin your stretches.

Hatha Yoga

Hatha yoga is perfect for beginners and those who suffer from fibromyalgia. The techniques used in hatha yoga are proper breathing techniques, meditational poses and simple stretches. These work together to strengthen the muscles, and help the body and mind to relax as they become one.

Walking and Biking

Walking and biking are also very simple exercises to engage in. Just remember that you will have to walk or bike back, so make sure not to travel too far on your first few journeys. The key is to find out what you are capable of doing, and then build upon that. Thus everyday you may be able to travel slightly farther than the previous day.

Water Exercises

Water Exercises such as swimming, marching, stretching or floating can also be very beneficial in helping the muscles to strengthen and relax. Water exercises also make it easier on the body because the water naturally reduces the weight of the body.

Click Here for some Exercise Tips for Fibromyalgia

A Bittersweet Day

I could not sleep any more; I would toss and turn for several hours every night before I would finally fall asleep. And to make matters worse, I would wake up crazy early and could not go back to sleep. My overall sleeping time was maybe 5 to 6 hours per night.



And that is how I went to work every day for about 10 months. Well not everyday, because there were days when I just could not get myself out of bed. Even though I could not sleep, just laying there seemed to help me feel better.



I had a lot of issues, but the worst one was the pain in my neck and shoulders, and because of it, I could not do my job duties anymore. I did not believe in conventional medicine, but I finally went to see a doctor just so I could get a note stating that I could not do the heavy lifting anymore.



Well my doctor told me that I had muscle spasms and thus he prescribed pain killers and muscle relaxers. Right away my instinct told me that it was a bad combination and thus I never even went to pick up the meds. However, a month later, my condition got so bad that my doctor told me to just quit my job, and look for something else.



And so I did. July 4, 2008 I signed my release papers, and on July 11, 2008 it was official that I was no longer employed. It was a bittersweet day. Sweet because I was able to take a break from work and recuperate, but bitter because I did not know what kind of job I would find, or how I would end up paying my bills.



My doctor had given me anti-depressants, and this time I actually went and picked them up, because I had hit rock bottom and I needed something to pick me up. However, when I got home I read the warning label, and flushed them down the toilet. Why did I do that? Because the label said that they would cause thoughts of suicide. I have never been suicidal and even in my worse situation, I knew that it was not the end even though it seemed like it. I knew that things would get better, and I had no intention of ruining that.



Since I had quit my job, I decided that I no longer needed the doctors and that I would find my own way to heal myself. I figured within a few months I would be good as new. But a few months went by and I still had all the pain, not as severe, but it was still there. I spent a lot of time in front of the computer and there were many days when I could not hold my head up. I mean literally.



I did all my exercises that I had been given, but I was not getting better. I kept searching for answers online on how to cure muscle spasms, and in almost every forum that I went to there was talk of fibromyalgia, and how it resulted from prolonged muscle spasms. I had never heard of it before, and had no idea what it was, but from what I read I discovered that it was incurable.



I knew that I did not have anything that was not curable, and thus I did not look into what fibromyalgia was. But one day, as I in desperation searched for answers again, I decided to look into what fibromyalgia really was. I cried when I saw the list of symptoms that are associated with the disease...because I had just about all of them.



I knew that I could not go back to the doctors, and so I continued to search online on ways that I could help myself naturally and heal myself. It is now just over 2 years and I have come a long way! Most of my symptoms are gone, I still get cold easy, but I don’t crank my furnace to 28 degrees F anymore. And I still battle with depression from time to time when the pain returns. But for the most part I feel good, and am ready to take on the world.



I have found so many good people here online who have helped me, and there is no way that I can ever thank them enough. But I figure the least that I can do is pay it forward, and that is my reason for starting this blog and my website LivingFood101; to share my story and help spread the news about natural health.

Thanks for reading...

Why I Switched to a Raw and Living Food Diet

As I mentioned in my previous post, I knew that I had to make changes in my diet, or else my health would deteriorate. I was terrified of dying of cancer, mainly because mainstream medicine tells us that it is hereditary, and everyone on my dad’s side of the family who had passed away, did so of cancer. My dad suffered from prostate cancer, which the doctors got, but the treatments left him sicker than a dog. Yet somehow he managed to hold on to life for another 10 years before his body shut down.

Therefore when I began to feel sluggish and had absolutely no energy to do anything, I was terrified that I would come down and die of some kind of cancer as well. However, at this time I had already discovered that doctors were not doing everything they could to help their patients, and that their medicines was what made others sick many times. (I discovered this by following the mainstream news).

As a result I began to search the internet for natural cures for cancer. It did not take me very long until I was convinced that there really were alternative and natural ways to treat the disease, and that medical professionals and the FDA were not interested in curing cancer, but rather to reap the money that it would bring in.

At this time I began to decrease the amount of junk foods that I was eating, and started to eat more of the fruits and vegetables which were said to help with cancer. But I needed another boost in the right direction, and I believe that God gave it to me a few months later, when I came home from work one day with a splitting headache and could not breathe properly.

I worked in an automotive factory, and had just begun to operate spotwelders and mig-welders. I had never operated those kinds of machines before, and the training that I received was worse than if they had shoved a manual in my face and told me to figure it out myself. A manual could at least have walked me through the proper steps. However, I somehow managed to get the job done at the end of the day, and that seemed to be satisfactory for them.

Anyhow, that particular day was a cool fall day, and all the doors of the factory were shut. I was to operate a mig-welder which sent off a tremendous amount of smoke. I had run it before, and always had a fan to blow the smoke away from my face. But because it was a chilly day, I decided not to turn the fan on. But after about 10 minutes or so, I began to cough uncontrollably. I went and got my coat and turned the fan on.

A few hours went by when someone finally pointed out that there was an exhaust fan that I could turn on that would suck the smoke up. No one had mentioned this to me before, and that is why I said that the training was worthless. As long as the job got done, the health of the employees did not matter.

The damage to my already mal-functioning lungs was done. I had a terrible headache and had a very difficult time breathing, but I managed to get through the day somehow. I thought that it would go away after I would go home, but that night I could not fall asleep. For as soon as I would lay down, I could not get any air into my body. I found myself gasping for air, and I was terrified. I finally fell asleep in a semi-sitting position so that I could still somewhat breathe. That is how I slept for the next week or so.

I called in sick the next day, and spent the day searching the internet for ways that I could naturally help my lungs get better. I came across a YouTube video where a young teenage boy was cured from asthma in as little as 2 weeks just by changing to a raw food diet.

I did not know what I had at this time, whether it would result in asthma or lung cancer, but I was inspired to find out more about the raw food diet. This is when I discovered that I could cure any disease imaginable just by avoiding junk foods and other toxins and by eating a healthy diet.

So I made a few changes in my diet and within a week or two I was able to sleep in a normal position again. (But after the incident I could no longer sleep good, I found myself tossing and turning for most of the nights). But because I was able to breathe again, I was convinced that the raw food diet was working and thus I decided to go raw 100%. However, I could not let go of my favorite foods, so I decided to make the changes gradually. 

It has been 3 years from then and I am still not 100% raw. The good thing, however, is that there is no rule that says that I have to be, as long as I refrain from eating processed foods and prepare my occasionally cooked foods from scratch.