Are you a sugar junkie?

For some people, sugar can be as addicting as any other addiction such as alcohol, drugs, or caffeine.  If you are a diabetic you probably have a pretty good idea of what I am talking about.  You crave it, eat it and and then it sends your blood sugar soaring.   That can cause tremendous problems with your health.

It is getting harder and harder to shop for healthier foods because there are so many other names for sugar.  Today, it can be in foods you wouldn't haven't thought of; sugar can be found in canned vegetables, tomato sauce and even in meats.  We know sugar is in all those fun, tasty things like candy, fudge, cookies, and most of the cereals that our children eat.  It is even more confusing and challenging to eat healthier when you have to read every label, but it's also worth it.

Joshua Carter of Carter Fitness advises you to stay away from these 4 breakfast foods:

1. Breakfast pastry: Muffins, doughnuts, bear claws and croissants sure taste good with coffee, but all those refined carbs are going to cause unwanted weight gain. But you knew that, right?

2. Granola Bars: Watch out for the breakfast bars that claim to give you fiber, vitamins and minerals.
Check the number of carbs and sugars on the back of the label - most contain the same sugar as a pastry. That is probably what makes them taste so good (and why you should avoid them like the plague)

3. Cereal: Here's another popular breakfast item that has tons of sugar lurking beneath its surface.  I think the concept of a "healthy" cereal is one of the BIGGEST lies perpetrated by the health food industry. Carbs upon carbs.

4. Drive Thru Breakfast Sandwich: Oh please. Don't even think about heading to the drive thru for a quick breakfast sandwich.  You are much better off grabbing a hard boiled egg from home to enjoy on your commute.

So before rushing out the door this morning, make sure to give yourself  a good start to the day. Fuel yourself up with a quick, healthy breakfast. (Just because it's quick does not mean it has to be unhealthy.)
Want to burn fat throughout the day? - Then don't start your day with a boat load of sugar.

It’s difficult to deny our love for sweet things, but sometimes it’s more difficult to break the addictive cycle of processed sugar. I don’t believe that any food is innately bad. It’s not what you eat some of the time; it’s what you eat most of the time that makes a difference.  You have also heard of the saying "everything in moderation", which may be ok for most but again the diabetic has to be very careful and cut out most of the sugar from their eating plan.

Learning how to read food label's and educating yourself can be a full time job but one well worth it if means a longer healthier life.  Knowing and listening to your body when it’s sending you physical and emotional cues is important.
Try experimenting with these sugar alternatives, derived from natural, less-processed ingredients. You may find you’ll reduce your sweet tooth and give yourself some lasting energy.

Maple Syrup – Maple syrup is made from boiled down maple tree sap and contains minerals like magnesium and zinc. It adds a tasty flavor to your morning oatmeal and is great for baking. Be sure to buy 100% pure maple syrup, and not maple flavored corn syrup.

Honey – One of the oldest natural sweeteners, honey is sweeter than sugar. Raw honey contains small amounts of enzymes, minerals and vitamins. It’s also great for baking, adding to sauces, smoothies or your cup of tea.

Molasses – Organic molasses is probably the most nutritious sweetener. It is derived from sugar cane or sugar beet and is made by a process of clarifying and bending the extracted juices. Blackstrap molasses, the most nutritious variety, is a good source of iron, calcium, magnesium and potassium.

Stevia – The extract from stevia is 100 to 300 times sweeter than white sugar. It can be used in cooking, baking and beverages, does not affect blood sugar levels and has zero calories. Be sure to get the green or brown liquids or powders, as the white and clear versions are highly refined.

Date Sugar – Date sugar consists of finely ground, dehydrated dates, utilizing this fruit’s vitamin, mineral, and fiber content. It can be used as direct replacement for sugar, and comes in a granulated form.

If you are a diabetic, please always check with your doctor before trying new sugars and sugar alternatives.
For other interesting articles,tips and exercises relating to nutrition, health and fitness check out my website

The Monkey Mind

Great article to get you thinking by Alison J Kay

This is the time of change leading up to December 22, 2012.  It is a time like never before, when everything is intensified because we are at a turning point in the evolution of the human kind.  And the nature of our times is causing, to a degree, "the monkey mind," or racing thoughts fueled by what feels like "run-away fear."

This time of the "Human Awakening" - awakening from the illusion that the physical level is what is most real and important to us instead of learning that what we think, feel and believe is in fact the most important - is where we are now.  Furthermore, this awakening is to awaken us from the cage we each, in our own individualized way, have thought, felt and believed ourselves into, with our "monkey minds."

The term "monkey mind" comes from the Buddhist metaphor that the human mind, when allowed to run away and lead the human system (as opposed to the heart or the Higher mind), is like a drunken monkey, erratically leaping from tree to tree, in search of the next banana, barely taking time to finish swallowing the banana it has found in the tree it's in.  This monkey mind is also heavily affected by our conditioning when growing up, as well as the dominant cultural beliefs and moods we exist within, locally, nationally - and within our own homes.

What this means for you is what you determine.  And that is the trick.  You have to actually learn to get out of your own way with your own version of the monkey mind with its fears, doubts and list of things to do, to be able to ground yourself.

How often does your monkey talk tell you, "I don't have the time to get everything done?" or "I can't do that, I don't know anything about it."  It's always been that way is another good one, so we don't step outside our comfort zone because the fear of failure, of the unknown is harder to overcome than the joy of accomplishment or trying something new and exciting.

Sometimes the best thing to do is to overcome the first obstacle realizing the monkey mind is a strong influence on what you do and think.
For other articles, tips, exercises etc visit website

Meet The New “Silent” Killer

Here is a great article By Kevin DiDonato MS, CSCS, CES on Inflammation.

There is a NEW silent killer in town.  Its name is INFLAMMATION.  You have run into it before, maybe once or twice.

Redness, itchiness, and swelling are tell-tale signs you have met and experienced inflammation first hand.Classic Tell-Tale Signs Of InflammationImagine for a minute, walking through the woods and brushing up against a bush of poison ivy.  Itching, redness on your skin, and HIVES which last for DAYS!Or getting stung by a bee, the reaction causing raised red marks on your skin, making your skin itch and burn for hours!

Or even yet, twisting your ankle and feeling the cuff around your ankle as blood and fluid fill your ankle cavity.

You have THEN experienced some of the classic symptoms of INFLAMMATION.

Most of the time, you rub some crème on the area, or give it a cold ice bath to soothe the burning, itchy feeling.  Inflammation can be useful but only to a CERTAIN EXTENT.  When you suffer an injury, or are inflicted with an allergen, your body sends a response to speed the healing process.

When you sprain your ankle, finger, or knee, there is instant swelling.  This is the beginning of the inflammatory response.  Your body is sending cells to the injured area, in hopes of healing the wounded area.  What happens, though, when there are NO SIGNS or SYMPTOMS of inflammation?

What happens when your body keeps sending the inflammatory response?
Damage!Inflammation and Damage - Not just damage to the injured area, but to all cells in the body.  You need to keep inflammation in control or else the cells in YOUR body CAN be damaged!  When the inflammatory response does not subside, it creates havoc in ALL the systems of the body.  But do you always know if your body is inflamed?  Not unless it’s blatantly obvious!

The NEW Silent Killer - Chronic inflammation is often referred to as the “silent” killer.  Yes, you have heard this term before, especially with heart disease.  But inflammation is also a SILENT KILLER!  Give me a minute to explain.  Chronic inflammation rarely is painful and rarely do you ever show symptoms that YOUR very cells are INFLAMED!

Imagine the amazing heat of a fire, how the heat and the flame destroy everything in their path.  Imagine now, that the same fire is in YOUR BODY!  Do you think that fire is going to be put out on its own?  Do you think that it’s not going to STOP and not destroy “stuff” in its deadly path?

You would be correct in saying that IT WON”T!

Chronic inflammation impedes the body’s ability to repair and heal tissue.   Your body always tries to repair and replace damaged cells.  When you are exposed to chronic inflammation, IT MAKES IT HARDER for YOUR body to heal damaged cells!  Can this silent killer cause pain?  Not usually.

How Can You Tell - Chronic inflammation falls below the pain threshold, making it impossible to detect.  But damage to certain cells can cause long lasting, and even INTENSE pain.  Chronic inflammation can target cells of the central nervous system, altering the cells that affect your pain centers.  Altering these cells can increase pain intensity, how long the pain lasts, and also HOW SENSITIVE YOU ARE TO PAIN!

This is something you want to avoid at all costs! - Chronic inflammation not only damages cells in your body, but it damages the cells OUTSIDE your body as well.  The cells in your skin can be damaged as well, speeding up the AGING process.

You DON”T need any help speeding up how fast YOU age!

There are numerous diseases linked to chronic inflammation.  Diseases such as obesity, heart disease, and metabolic syndrome are classic examples of low grade, chronic inflammation processes.  But there are others.  And each one can be detrimental to YOUR health.

Here are some diseases linked to chronic inflammation which is present in YOUR body:

• Acute and Chronic Pain
• Cerebrovascular Disease (strokes and poor circulation to the most vital organ, YOUR BRAIN)
• Cancer
• Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurodegenerative diseases
• Type II Diabetes
• Autoimmune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, irritable bowel syndrome, and ulcerative colitis)
• Allergies
• Pulmonary disease
• Sarcopenia
These diseases have been linked by one common thread- chronic inflammation!

Your body does not want to be exposed to a constant fire all the time.

Have you ever stood next to a bonfire for hours?  Of course not, the fire can burn too intensely, forcing you to step away because of the intense heat from it!  The same holds true for your body.

What Your Body Thinks! - It does not want to be exposed to chronic inflammation for long periods of time.  Your body always wants to maintain a level of HOMEOSTASIS, or the perfect atmosphere in which the body is able to function.  However, due to numerous things in the food we eat and the air we breathe, our bodies are unable to fight off all the different toxins.  These toxins are the accelerant to the flames, keeping the fire of inflammation burning for long periods of time.

Keeping the constant “fire” CAN lead to complications later on in life!

There are ways to manage inflammation.  Some natural, and some use anti-inflammatory medications.  However, these have problems too.  Anti-inflammatory medications can damage the liver and kidneys, when you are exposed to them for long periods of time.  And the natural ways:  To take in all the right nutrients to extinguish the fire, you would be eating A LOT of fruits and vegetables and this is very, VERY EXPENSIVE!  You are talking hundreds of dollars a month.

You need to be aware of this silent killer which is taking home in YOUR body right now.  Inflammation is nothing to joke about, and certainly not something to take lightly.


Visit Power By Choice website for other tips, articles, exercise programs, etc

Slow cooker black bean mushroom chili

Great recipe reposted from Eatingwell.com
Black beans, earthy mushrooms and tangy tomatillos combine with a variety of spices and smoky chipotles to create a fantastic full-flavored chili. It can simmer in the slow cooker all day, which makes it perfect for a healthy supper when the end of your day is rushed.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound dried black beans, (2 1/2 cups), rinsed
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup mustard seeds
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds, or ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom seeds, or ground cardamom
• 2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
• 1 pound mushrooms, sliced
• 8 ounces tomatillos, (see Ingredient Note), husked, rinsed and coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup water
• 5 1/2 cups mushroom broth, or vegetable broth
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1-2 tablespoons minced canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, (see Ingredient Note)
• 1 1/4 cups grated Monterey Jack, or pepper Jack cheese
• 1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 limes, cut into wedges

PREPARATION

Soak beans overnight in 2 quarts water. (Alternatively, place 

beans and 2 quarts water in a large pot. Bring to a boil. Boil 

for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 1 hour.) 

Drain the beans, discarding soaking liquid.

Combine oil, mustard seeds, chili powder, cumin and cardamom

 in a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven. Place over high heat and stir 

until the spices sizzle, about 30 seconds. Add onions, mushrooms, 

tomatillos and water. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until

 the vegetables are juicy, 5 to 7 minutes. Uncover and stir often

 until the juices evaporate and the vegetables are lightly browned,

 10 to 15 minutes. Add broth, tomato paste and chipotles; mix well.

Place the beans in a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Pour the hot

 vegetable mixture over the beans. Turn heat to high. Put 

the lid on and cook until the beans are creamy, 5 to 8 hours.

Garnish each serving with cheese, a dollop of sour cream 

and a sprinkling of cilantro. Serve with lime wedges. 

Stovetop Variation: Total: 4 1/2 hours In Step 2, increase 

broth to 81/2 cups. Omit Step 3. Add the beans to the 

Dutch oven; cover and simmer the chili gently over low 

heat, stirring occasionally, until the beans are creamy to bite, about 3 hours.

TIPS and NOTES

• Make Ahead Tip: Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days 
• or freeze for up to 3 months. | Equipment: 5- to 6-quart 
• slow cooker

• Ingredient notes: Chipotle peppers are dried, smoked 
• jalapeño peppers. Ground chipotle chile pepper can be
•  found in the specialty spice section of most supermarkets. 
• Chipotle chiles in adobo sauce are smoked jalapeños 
• packed in a flavorful sauce. Look for the small cans with 
• the Mexican foods in large supermarkets. Once opened, 
• they'll keep up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator or 6 months
•  in the freezer.
• Tomatillos are tart, plum-size green fruits that look like 
• small, husk-covered green tomatoes. Find them in the
•  produce section near the tomatoes. Remove the outer 
• husk and rinse them well before using.

NUTRITION

Per serving: 306 calories; 10 g fat ( 4 g sat , 2 g mono );
 20 mg cholesterol; 40 g carbohydrates; 18 gprotein; 
13 g fiber; 415 mg sodium; 735 mg potassium.

Nutrition Bonus: Fiber (52% daily value), Folate (47% dv), 
Iron (22% dv), Potassium (21% dv).

Carbohydrate Servings: 2

Exchanges: 2 starch, 2 1/2 vegetable, 1 medium-fat protein, 1 fat

12 Days of Shopping Left Check out the Sale List

I am posting a sale each day until Christmas.  If you are interested contact me for the link.  If you buy all 12 specials, I will come and present to a group of your friends and coworkers on exercise and each of you will walk away with a workout and stretches for the day.

Day 1 - Stabilize Your Core Video Only $10

Day 2 - Home Workout created for you with little to no equipment  $20

Day 3 - Fitness Assessment $15

Day 4 - One 30 minute Personal Training session $18

Day 5 - Get Fit at Work Day $20

Day 6 - Get Fit Small Group P.T. Class Unlimited for 1 week $17

Day 7 - One 30 minute Buddy Personal Training Session $10 each

Day 8 - One TRX Suspension 30 minute session $15


Day 9 -  Stabilize your core with 4 30 minute classes $22


Day 10 - De Stressing exercise session $10


Day 11 - One 30 minute Blast Your Booty Session $ 13

We know that the holidays can be the ruin of an exercise regimen

With all that food, no time to go to the gym, days of travelling, all mean that it’s pretty easy to find yourself in early January feeling like you’re starting over from scratch.  Luckily, there are strategies for getting through the holidays in good shape.  In this article, I give you five great exercises to keep up your six-pack abs anytime, anywhere, and some tips for getting through holiday gatherings unscathed (physically, that is – dealing with your family is up to you!).

Abdominals are relatively simple to maintain during the holidays, because there are exercises you can do at home if you’re too busy to get to the gym, or in a hotel or guest room if you’re travelling.  You don’t need extra equipment or a lot of space.  Also, unlike other major muscle groups, which need a day’s rest between workouts, you can work your abs every day.  So, even on the days you’re out of the gym, you can keep up a routine for awesome abs.

I am Wanda McCormick, an NPTI certified personal trainer and nutritional consultant, and the owner of Power By Choice dba Perfect Fit Personal Training in Colorado Springs, CO and I have a program of five abdominal exercises guaranteed to keep you in gear (and yes, I am a female trainer – but I also used to be in law enforcement, so listen up!).  For an advanced workout, do three sets of fifteen repetitions for each exercise each day.  For an intermediate workout, pick three of the exercises each day and do four sets of twelve repetitions, rotating the exercises daily.  And remember, it’s OK to cry.  Always check with your doctor prior to starting an exercise program.

Exercises

Oblique Push-Up - On the floor, assume a modified push-up (plank) position, with your elbows under your shoulders and bent at ninety degrees.  Your forearms will rest on the floor pointing forward.  Keep your torso steady and tight as you lift your right arm out and up toward the ceiling, with your elbow remaining bent.  Simultaneously turn your torso toward the ceiling, until you are perpendicular to the floor.  Hold for a moment, without letting your hips drop toward the floor, and then rotate back to the starting position.  Repeat with the left arm.

Leg Row - Sit on the floor with your hands on top of your head.  Bend your knees, lean back slightly, and raise your feet off the floor.  Keep your torso still and tight while extending your legs out, then pull your knees back toward your chest.

Alphabet Abs - Lie on your back on the floor with one leg bent at the knee, and that foot on the floor for stability.  Raise the other, extended leg to no higher than forty-five degrees and, with your foot flexed, write the alphabet with the heel of the extended leg.  For a modification, point the toe.  If this seems too hard, or too time-consuming, try writing your first and last name.  Repeat with the other leg.

On All 4’s - On your hands and knees on the floor, and keeping your chin down, bring your right knee all the way in to touch your chin (if you can) as you contract up through your center.  Press the leg back until it extends straight behind you.  Complete set on right side, then repeat on the left.

Rope Climb - Sit on the floor with knees bent.  Dig in your heels for stability, and lean back slightly.  Tighten your core, reach your arms up overhead, and slowly pull down alternate arms toward your face as though climbing a rope.   Really reach and stretch at the top – climb high.

These exercises will go a long way toward keeping your abs strong and lean through the holidays – but, of course, a lot depends on how and what you eat.  Enjoy


This is a sample of the types of exercise you will learn when working with me.  Visit Perfect Fit for more info.

Roasted Herbed Artichokes w/ Leeks instead of artichoke and spinach dip.

Artichokes are beautiful to present and fun to eat.

Preparation time: 1 hour

Serves: 6

Cups of Fruits and Vegetables per Serving: 1

Ingredients:

6 medium to large artichokes
1/3 cup lemon juice or white wine vinegar, divided
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 medium leeks, trimmed, cleaned and sliced
½ cup each chopped fresh basil, mint and Italian parsley
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper

Rinse artichokes.  Trim off and discard ends of stems and top third of petals.  Cut stems off at base; set aside.  Stand artichokes stem side down in large saucepot. Add water to fill pot almost halfway.  Add reserved stems, 3 tablespoons of the vinegar and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Simmer, covered, until a petal pulls out easily, 30 to 35 minutes. Drain and cool slightly.  Chop cooked stems; set aside.  Preheat oven to 425°F.  In large skillet over MEDIUM-HIGH heat, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Add leeks and cook until tender, 7 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in chopped stems, herbs, salt and pepper.  Using spoon, remove and discard fuzzy center of artichokes.  Sprinkle remaining vinegar into center of artichokes.  Divide leek-herb mixture among artichoke cups.  Stand in 9x9-inch pan or baking dish.  Brush with 1 tablespoon olive oil.  Bake 10 minutes. 

To eat, pull off outer petals and dip bases into herb mixture in center of artichokes, then cut the heart into bite-sized pieces.

Each serving provides: An excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin C and magnesium, and a good source of potassium and fiber.

Credit: Recipe courtesy of Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH). This recipe meets PBH and Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) nutrition standards that maintain fruits and vegetables as healthy foods.

Nutritional Information per Serving
Calories: 174	Carbohydrates: 27g
Total Fat: 7.2g	Cholesterol: 0mg
Saturated Fat: 1.0g	Dietary Fiber: 11g
% of Calories from Fat: 32%	Sodium: 459mg
Protein: 8g

Worksite Wellness Programs

Ideas to Incorporate Fruits & Veggies—More Matters® Messaging & More Fruits and Vegetables

Improve Cafeteria Options

o   Have your cafeterias provide healthful, tasty food.  Information on many fruits and vegetables can be found in PBH’s database, http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/?page_id=164

o   Change food preparation techniques, menus, and food offerings so employees can choose items that fit into a healthful diet. 

o   Offer and make available helpful and nutritional tips.  The PBH Get Smart tips, located at www.pbhfoundation.org make great, inexpensive hand-outs.  Just click, print, and the tips are ready to give to your employees.  Planning, shopping, and cooking tips can be found throughout the www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org site.

o   If you contract-out for food services, work with the food service contractor to develop menus and meals meeting the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.  Menu and meal planning is an easy way to incorporate more fruits and vegetables in your cafeteria offerings.

o   Introduce a new fruit or vegetable through promotions and taste tests.

o   Proudly display Fruits & Veggies—More Matters signage throughout your cafeteria.  Scroll through the PBH online catalog, www.pbhcatalog.org, to find a variety of signs and posters.

Improve Vending Machine Options

o   Provide healthful options in vending machines.  This can be done through work with a local, for-profit vendor, or by buying vending machines for your worksite and stocking them with healthful foods.

o   Beware of “fruit drinks” when you ask for 100% juice to be added to machines.

o   Ensure a wide variety of healthier products in vending-size packaging are available (dried fruit is a great form to include in a vending machine).

o   A refrigerated unit would expand the number of healthful options you could sell (fresh fruit, salads, and low-fat yogurt with fruit added in).

o   Subsidize healthful items such as fruits and vegetables by charging more for less healthful items.

Direct Marketing of Fresh Produce at Worksites

o   Organize a Farmers’ Market at your worksite through local farmers or through your employee base.  Some percentage of employees plant gardens each year, and there is always extra harvest to be sold at your company’s Farmers Market.

o   Hold a kick-off event and conduct ongoing publicity of the market.

o   Provide recipes for items sold at the market, especially for unusual produce.  Great recipes can be found at www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org.

o   Proudly display Fruits & Veggies—More Matters signage throughout the market.  Scroll through the PBH online catalog, www.pbhcatalog.org, to find a variety of signs and posters.

Create Food Policies

o   Establish nutrition standards for food served at meeting, banquets, etc.  Policies could address the following: 1) inclusion of a variety of fruits and vegetables, 2) healthful alternatives at all company-sponsored events, 3) offering 100% juice instead of soda, and 4) cafeteria foods that follow the U.S. Dietary Guidelines.

Special Nutrition Promotions

o   Increase awareness about the importance of good nutrition by conducting campaigns around a specific food or group (a specific fruit and vegetable or a group of fruits and vegetables).  The promotions should involve multiple channels (email messages, bulletin boards, posters, etc.) and have a very simple message such as Fruits & Veggies—More Matters.

o   Develop a plan for promoting the food/group.

o   Consider conducting the special promotion during a nationally observed health week/month such as National Nutrition Month in March or National Fruits & Veggies—More Matters Month in September.

Salad Bowl Lunches

o   Instead of ordering out during a working lunch, each participant can bring a salad ingredient (a great way to incorporate a variety of fruits and vegetables) in a serving container.  Arrange the food on a table and have the meeting participants go through the line and build a healthful salad.  This is a great way to introduce your staff to fruits and vegetables that they may not have considered adding to salads, and everyone will have  a healthy, tasty lunch that costs considerably less than ordering out.

Lastly, link your company employee or wellness site to ours!  It’s easy to do, costs nothing, and is a great way to enhance your worksite wellness program.

If you are interested in more information on worksite wellness plan including exercise and nutrition for your company please email to set up appointment.  I can create a program specific to your business and employee's.

Benefits of the Aloe Vera Plant

Aloe vera contains two important substances, the first one under the rind of the leaf, a yellow, milky slightly bitter liquid (aloin) having been used for centuries, the second one the aloe gel, a fibrous liquid situated in the interior of the leaf.

The Gel has been used for several years only, although it has special therapeutic virtues and it is the most efficient component of the plant.
However the Aloe vera gel, in spite of miraculous effects, has a major disadvantage, it is very sensitive to oxidation (it oxides very quickly), if it is not processed immediately, within two hours it loses its therapeutic properties and it is destroyed by oxygen and micro organisms. So this gift of nature could be used by those who had access to the fresh plants.
FLP Aloe vera gel is thus stabilized, it cannot deteriorate, preserving its therapeutic properties.
One of the greatest companies and very successful, Aloe vera of America which holds two patents of stabilizing the aloe vera gel. This company was incorporated by Forever Living Products, which patented two methods of stabilization of the gel, which constitute the basis for obtaining a 100% purified and stabilized gel.

Reposted from their article at http://gel-aloe.com

I use aloe vera juice in my protein smoothies.

7 Ways to Make Water Less Boring

I hear this often from my clients and here is a great article from Everyday Health about water.

We hear ya, water isn’t the most exciting drink in the world — but it’s probably the healthiest. Drinking water regulates body temperature, flushes out toxins, aids in digestion, and balances blood sugar, to name a few of its benefits.
And water is especially healthy when consumed in lieu of sugary drinks like soda, whose health risks are increasingly well-documented. One new study from the American Heart Association’s annual meeting found that women who drank two or more sugar-sweetened beverages a day had more heart disease risk factors than those who drank less. Other research found that teens who drank the most sugary sodas were more prone to violent behavior.
But many Americans aren’t spending enough time at the water cooler. A Rockefeller University survey found that nearly 10 percent of people don’t drink water at all, and 28 percent only drink two servings per day. Though many experts agree you don’t need exactly eight glasses a day, it’s still a good idea for many of us to swap other sugary beverages for more agua. Here, some creative ways to, uh, whet your appetite for water.

1. Add Fresh Fruit - Natural, fruit-infused water is trendy these days. Make your own at home by smashing raspberries, strawberries, or watermelon right into a pitcher. Cucumber is refreshing, too. Prefer a citrusy taste? Go for lemons, limes, and oranges.
2. Water Down Juice - Give your regular glass an extra shot of flavor with a few drops of your favorite juice (the natural kind, with no sugar added). Cranberry, pomegranate, grape, and apple work well for this trick, but go with your taste buds.
3. Get Creative With Ice - Make your water extra “cool” by adding flavor to your ice cube tray. Add things like mint, cucumber, or fresh fruit to your usual tray, then plunk these funky cubes into your water glass. Or consider making cubes out of juice, coffee, or tea. 
4. Sip Tea - Drinking tea — which is essentially water infused with leaves and herbs — is a great way to increase your H2O intake without feeling like you’re guzzling more plain old water. Experiment with different varieties to suit your mood: chamomile to relax before bed, green tea after a big meal (it helps your body burn fat), or ginger when you’re feeling sick to your stomach.
5. Switch Your Appetizer - Can’t squeeze in another glass of water? Have it for dinner by ordering or preparing soup. Water-based bouillons, broths, and consommés are a great way to sneak in an extra serving. If you go the canned route, make sure to buy low-sodium and avoid soups that contain cream, which adds extra fat and calories.
6. Add Fast Flavor - If you’re all about convenience and minimal prep time, pick up some sugar-free Crystal Light mix in your favorite flavors. For a little carbonation, try a naturally effervescent mineral water or carbonated water.
7. Eat a Salad - A good 20 percent of our water intake is derived from food, according to statistics from the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Lots of foods contain varying amounts of water, but fruits and vegetables have the highest percentages. Iceberg lettuce, zucchini, cucumbers, celery, red cabbage, radishes, broccoli, and tomatoes are all more than 90 percent water. So stack up a big, healthy, water-filled plate of it next time you don’t feel like a glass of water. Fruits like watermelon and strawberries are also jam-packed with it.

For other interesting articles, tips, etc visit Perfect Fit

Calorimeter

Great article reposted from Fitperkz

Over the Holidays, as you pour the gravy (38 calories per spoonful) on your mashed potatoes (180 calories) and take a bite of pumpkin pie (323 calories), you may find yourself doing the math in your head: How many calories in all of this?
As it turns out, calorie-counting started in a basement at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut
Wilbur O. Atwater, a professor of chemistry at Wesleyan from 1873 to 1904, developed the respiration calorimeter to measure precisely the energy provided by food and created a system to measure that energy in units, known as calories. Maintained in the basement of Judd Hall, the 4- by 8-foot chamber housed a machine that measured human oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output.
Suzy Taraba, archivist at Wesleyan, said Atwater developed the respiration calorimeter with the help of fellow scientists Edward B. Rosa and Francis G. Benedict. They began the first of about 500 experiments in 1896.
Subjects would stay in the chamber — sometimes for days at a time — and eat various types of food, portions of which were precisely measured by Atwater and his co-researchers. The subjects, usually students, then would perform various tasks, such as riding a stationary bicycle in the chamber, and the calorimeter would measure the heat the subjects gave off.
Hence, the calorie.
“He figured out that 1 gram of fat is worth so many calories, and the numbers he defined are still used today,” said Amy DiCioccio, an oncology dietitian at the University of Connecticut Health Center. “He’s the father of dietetics. He made a huge difference in our field.”
Erika Taylor, an assistant professor of chemistry at Wesleyan, said much of what we know about nutrition comes from Atwater’s early experiments.
“He knew the first law of thermodynamics — that what you consume and whatever you can’t use is going to be left over and stored in your body,” she said. “He knew there was an energy in and an energy out.”
And Atwater was willing to suffer reproach from the public for his research. His call for people to cut back on their fat intake led to something of a backlash. Also controversial were his findings that alcoholic beverages provided some nutritional value. This didn’t sit well with the very vocal temperance movement, to which he belonged.
“He was very prominent in the temperance movement, and every year he would lecture the students about temperance and tried to promote [abstention from alcohol],” Taylor said. “Being a good scientist, he reported the data and was very upset that alcohol companies used his research” to promote their products.
But as more studies have come out in recent years touting the health benefits of wine and beer, Atwater comes off as prescient.
Though not always. He downplayed the value of fruits and vegetables because neither contained much in the way of calories. To be fair, little was known about vitamins at the time.
Before the respiration calorimeter, plenty of experiments on calorie intake and expenditure had been conducted on animals.
“But there was debate during the time that these laws of thermodynamics didn’t apply to humans because they were special,” Taylor said. “But [Atwater] showed that they applied to humans as well. It changed how people thought about science, and about humans. He changed a lot.”

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