I'm back!!  My computer is giving me all kinds of problems...I haven't been able to blog for three weeks now...I still can't put pictures on my blog, but at least I can type!

Did you know that when plaque forms in arteries, it's not just forming in the arteries of our heart, it is also forming in the arteries in our neck, kidneys, legs, etc?  That's why plaque not only increases our risk of a heart attack, but when our carotid arteries become blocked, a stroke can occur.  The same goes for our kidneys, when the arteries going to the kidneys become blocked, kidney insufficiency occurs, which leads to kidney failure.  It becomes a snowball effect allowing many diseases to take root.  The cholesterol and saturated fat we get from animal products doesn't only go to the arteries in our heart, it gets deposited in several different places...saturated fat and cholesterol doesn't discriminate.

Let's look at the difference between what we get from animals and what we get from plants:

ANIMALS                                                                     PLANTS
Contain cholesterol                                                         No cholesterol
Highly saturated fat                                                         Zero saturated fat
Animal fat is solid at room temperature                            Liquid at room temperature
Has arachidonic acid (toxic)                                             Linoleic acid (body utilizes this)
Raises inflammation                                                        Decreases inflammation
Has prostaglandin 2 (triggers inflammation)                       Has prostaglandin 1 and 3 (Decreases/soothes inflammation)

Animal fat also sticks to fat cells...all animal fats will do this.  There is absolutely NO NUTRIENT in animals that you can't get from plants.  There are no nutritional requirements needed from animals, NONE.  Animal fat clogs your arteries and makes YOU fat.  And then there's cancer.  

Eating animal products significantly increases the risk of many cancers including breast and prostate cancers.  In this country, we have MORE CANCER now than we have ever had in history.  Why?  Scientists and researchers can now prove what we are eating can either PREVENT disease from starting, or set our bodies up with an environment that allows disease to thrive.  When we consistently feed ourselves with animal products and processed foods, we are constantly causing all kinds of havoc to occur within our body...all kinds of diseases are able to begin.

However, when we eat foods from the Plant Kingdom, we get nothing but benefits for our body.  We flood ourselves with all kinds of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, FIBER (something that is lacking miserably in the Standard American Diet) and phytochemicals that only protect us and gives our cells the ammunition they need to fight off all the "bad stuff" that can occur within us.  

Don't wait until you are diagnosed with a disease and then try and "clean it up".  I like to use the analogy of a car about to go over a cliff....it's a lot easier to stop the car from going over the cliff than it would be to fix the car after it rolled over.  

Not sure how to begin?  Just let me know and I would be more than happy to help you get started!

Of all the health problems we have in this country, the one disease no one wants to be diagnosed with is cancer.  Every man and woman wants to prevent cancer, any kind of cancer, but women of course want to prevent breast cancer and men want to prevent prostate cancer.  In the past, doctors were taught that every man will eventually get prostate cancer if he lives long enough.  However, this is not true.  But, the condition is so common that an ounce of prevention can go a long way.  

If you've been reading my blogs, it will come as no surprise to you that food plays a decisive role in preventing cancer. For people who have been diagnosed with cancer, the same foods that will help you to prevent cancer are the same foods that will help your body stop the progression of this disease and many times reverse the damage.  

Research teams have studied different populations eating different diets with different cancer rates.  For example, breast cancer was rare in Japan, where traditional diets are based on rice, but breast cancer is very common in North America where diets are based on meat and dairy.  However, when fast-food chains and meaty diets invaded Japan, cancer rates soared!  Obviously, the people's genes did not change, their diet did, and the changes were dramatic.  

So, how does food affect cancer risk?  Part of the issue is body fat.  As meaty, cheesy diets fatten us up, that extra body fat is not just dormant--it's living tissue--one of it's jobs is to build hormones.  The more body fat you have, the more your body produces estrogen, the female hormone that's linked to breast cancer.   The American Institute for Cancer Research summed up the evidence, showing that if foods fatten you up, your cancer risk rises, but not only for breast cancer, but for uterine cancer also.  Extra body fat increases our risk of cancer of the colon, rectum, esophagus, pancreas and kidney too.  The good new is that the reverse is true--as we slim down, cancer risk falls. 

But, body fat is not the only issue.  Even women who are not heavy, but whose diets are high in animal products and low in fiber, tend to have more estrogen in their blood.  This is probably why Westernization of the diet in Asian countries have had an increase in cancers.  The same goes for men--a meaty, low-fiber diet increases testosterone levels which increases the risk of prostate cancer.  And we all know that red meat is linked to colorectal cancer as well as other forms of the disease.  This is especially true for processed meats--bacon, sausage, ham, bologna, pepperoni, etc.  

Grilled chicken contains carcinogens called heterocyclic amines, linked to breast cancer as well as many other forms of the disease.  These carcinogens are found in essentially every grilled chicken sandwich or grilled chicken salad.  And, as you will recall, dairy products are linked to prostate cancer--milk drinking men appear to have 30-60% higher risk of prostate cancer than men who avoid milk.  

But the food news is not all bad.  Vegetables, fruits, whole grains and beans are CANCER FIGHTERS.  Their healthy fiber that fills you up also helps to protect you against cancer.  The same is true for the beta-carotene that gives carrots their bright orange color and the lycopene that gives tomatoes and watermelon their bright red color.  They are powerful antioxidants.  

So, what this all means is by eliminating meat and dairy from your diet and eating loads of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and beans, not only will the pounds drop off, but you are cutting your risk of all kinds of diseases, including cancer, down to nothing.  Remember, eating this way will help you to prevent ANY DISEASE from starting.  

What are you waiting for?  

The relationship between diet and disease is as old as the Bible.  As a matter of fact, there is a story in the Bible about Daniel.  After suffering through bad health, Daniel decided to take the servants off their rich, royal diet (heavy with meat and dairy), and put them on a diet of vegetables and water.  In only 10 days, the servants looked healthier and better nourished than any of the other men who had eaten the rich, royal foods.  

You don't have to eat just vegetables and water to achieve the results the servants did.  Eating a Whole Food Plant Based diet is a very simple solution to the health problems that are running rampant.  Instead of all these complicated, expensive, drugs that come with so many side effects, your diet can  replace them all and bring health and balance back into your life.  I think people just don't believe this because it sounds "too simple".  That's the beauty of it, it is simple.  

Our bodies are incredibly smart.  We have TRILLIONS of cells automatically coordinating their activities so we can just go on with living.  We don't have to think about what are cells are doing.  But, when we feed bad foods to our body, (meat, dairy and processed foods), we start to destroy this masterpiece of ours...the balance is lost and disease starts to set in. Our body will do whatever it can to recover and regain balance, but as long as bad food keeps coming in, disease will take over.  Our body is extremely forgiving of bad habits--but only up to a point--and when it can't take anymore, people will get a wake-up call like never before.  

What most Americans and medical experts consider to be a balanced diet today is not--it brings on heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and all the other health problems we have today.  One of the sayings I hear everyday is, "when we get older we tend to get ________"(fill in the blank).  But, I am here to tell you this is NONSENSE!  Do you think that arthritis, heart disease, cancers, diabetes and obesity, comes with age?  We get these diseases as we age BECAUSE of a lifetime of bad eating habits along with a sedentary lifestyle.  

The people that want to improve their health, BUT, will not change their diets, are not going to achieve their goal.  It's like people who want a nice retirement "egg" but don't want to save money.  It doesn't work!  

Eating this way is not about adding years to your life, but it's more about raising the bar on the QUALITY of your life by avoiding diseases.  I want to be the person in their 70's and 80's running 5K and 10K races.  I want to be the person running around with my grandchildren, going to all the places I want to go to before this life is over....and I want to be on my own two 'strong' legs doing it.  I refuse to be the person sitting in a chair, unable to go places and do things I want to do because of pain and disease.  

It really doesn't matter how much money you may have in your pocket...if you don't have your health, you really don't have anything at all.  Health ALWAYS comes BEFORE wealth--you just have to get your priorities in order.  

I dare you to change your life by adopting a lifestyle that I GUARANTEE will pay off throughout your entire life.....

There is unhealthy food available everywhere all the time...in gas stations, schools, drug stores, etc.  These foods are usually either pure sugar or refined foods.  Refined foods are plant foods that have been denatured and stripped of their fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients.  These foods are literally "imitations" of the real foods found in nature.  Because these foods have little or no nutritional value, they do not satisfy hunger, they wreak havoc on your health and sadly, about HALF of the total calories in a typical American diet come from these refined foods.

Refined foods are simple carbohydrates like white flour, sugar, pastries, white pasta, white bread, white rice, french fries, chips of any variety, cakes, cookies, soda and similar junk foods.  These are all foods that have been taken from their natural state and transformed into something man-made that really is not "real" food.  

Because refined foods have no fiber, they spike your blood sugar (which will cause insulin surges), stimulate your appetite, accelerates calories into body fat and leads you down the path of promoting diseases.  As far as your body is concerned, when you eat refined foods it's the same as eating sugar right out of the box!  Many people think they are eating a plant-based diet because they are eating foods that do not contain animal products.  Eating refined foods are just as bad for your body as animal foods, and they should be eliminated from your diet.  A plant-based diet is about eating NATURAL, whole plant foods.  The health benefits of this diet will be greatly diminished if refined foods are not eliminated, (as will weight loss if that is your goal).  

Food manufacturers spend BILLIONS of dollars trying to find ways to mix the right ingredients in order to keep you eating more and more of these bad foods.  For example, scientists have found that chocolate reaches its point of "maximum irresistibility" with a mix of 50% sugar and 50% fat.  But, they don't stop there.  They have created "ingredient profiles" that are targeted right down to gender and age groups in order to make refined foods as addicting as possible.  Doesn't this sound just like the tobacco companies?  Remember, if people buy it, they will make it.

Statistics show that  Americans now spend about 90% of their food budget on refined foods.  Because the natural flavor of the food is destroyed, they are replaced with chemical additives.  So, the "flavors" in these foods are nothing more than chemicals made in a lab.  That breaks down to 90% of the money Americans shell out for food buys a chemistry-mix of fiber-less, processed "fake food" that has no real nutritional value whatsoever.  We have not only LOST our taste for real food, but we've come to PREFER the taste of CHEMICALS!

Not to mention, not only are we eating all these refined foods, but 75% of all refined foods are now made using genetically engineered ingredients.  This is a whole different can of worms!

Complex carbs are found in natural, whole foods, such as whole grains, vegetables and fruits.  These are the GOOD carbohydrates that keep your blood sugar level on an even keel, promote health and keep you feeling fuller longer because they contain their natural fiber and all the nutrients that nature gave them.  Always use WHOLE wheat pasta or WHOLE wheat bread because they have kept ALL their natural fiber and all the other nutrients all the way to the grocery store.  Make sure the label says WHOLE wheat, not wheat flour.  With grains, the first ingredient should ALWAYS have the word "whole" in it, sprouted or organic rolled oats.  Don't let the words "hearty wheat", "stoned wheat" or "multi-grain" on the package fool you.  This is just REFINED white flour.  There is no difference between white flour and wheat flour except that wheat flour has some caramel coloring so it looks brown and sounds healthier, but it's the SAME AS WHITE FLOUR!

Plant fiber does so many miraculous things for your health, but one thing it does best is remove toxic substances from your body so you can flush them right out of you.  Fiber can even remove heavy metals such as mercury, which you probably have in your body as a result of eating fish, or ate farm animals that were fed fishmeal.  Fiber also removes cholesterol and binds to estrogen to help remove it from our body.  

Think of plant fiber as a broom because it will CLEAN OUT our intestines and keep bad things from happening--like colon cancer.  Not only do refined foods have no fiber, but animal products also have ZERO FIBER.  

If you don't think you're eating much refined foods now, try this...refined foods come in a package, so every time you eat any refined food, keep the packaging it came in and put it in a bag.  Do this for one week and at the end of the week look at the contents of the bag...you may be surprised.....

I believe we really have to stop sugar-coating nutrition.  There absolutely is a way to achieve excellent health through nutrition without taking all kinds of pills, supplements, and whatever the latest and greatest "concoction" happens to be on the market promising us all kinds of nonsense.  Many mainstream nutritionists and dietitians tell us things that will NOT benefit us in any way.  For example:

1. There is no such thing as junk food/bad foods.  This is CRAZY!  We all know what foods are "junk foods" and we really should not be eating them....they have nothing but empty calories....calories that are making us fat and sick.  If someone is eating a candy bar everyday at 3:00 for their afternoon snack, this is not a healthy choice.  We know this, but we LOVE to hear that it's OK....It's NOT OK!  Just because there may be someone out there that can eat a candy bar everyday and lose weight, doesn't mean that it's healthy.  Let's face it, weight loss can be achieved on an unhealthy diet.  Junk food makes people feel fatigued and tired...soda and cookies are not going to give you anything but more fat on your waistline.  Or, how about an Egg McMuffin...that choice must be good because you can get protein from the egg and calcium from the cheese....Ever look up what's REALLY in an Egg McMuffin???
2. Everything in Moderation.  If I don't hear these words everyday of my life, I would eat my hat!  In my mind, this is just a way to rationalize what you're eating.  If this were true, that would mean Pop-Tarts, soda, chips, candy, lentils and apples should all be approached the same way.  This is CRAZY!  Eating three cups of greens are not the same thing as three cups of ice cream.  A large Coolatta should not be consumed with the same frequency as green tea.  Of course, the fast-food industry just loves "moderation" because it means their super-sized portions can be part of a "balanced diet".  REALLY??? And we wonder why the American public is in the shape it's in....
3. Healthy eater=extreme.  At least one person a day will tell me that eating a "vegan" diet is just too extreme.  Cutting out all animal products is just not "normal" and certainly cannot be "good" for anyone.  Again, take a look around!  People following the Standard American Diet, (SAD), are most likely lacking fiber, vitamins and several minerals including magnesium.  The majority of Americans eat a highly processed diet with little nutritional value...in my mind this is extremely dangerous for anyone's health.  
4. "You have to be realistic".  I hear this from many health care professionals...many of whom think that the average person will just not adhere to a "strict diet".  So by going to a fast-food chain and ordering a "smaller sized meal" is a "healthy choice" because it's not the super-sized meal.  Well, yes, it will be less calories, BUT, the hundreds of calories this person will be consuming will be of little nutritional value, and most likely loaded with saturated fats and cholesterol.  This is not healthy eating.  I've learned that I should not feel badly by "challenging" people.  Just because it's the "norm" to get takeout a few times a week or microwave some kind of frozen concoction doesn't mean health professionals should encourage this.  

The American public deserves to hear the TRUTH...but, the food industries, (fast-food, meat and dairy), will do everything in their power to keep us eating all their products.  They will continue to come up with all kinds of brilliant marketing campaigns ensuring the money continuously flows into their pockets without any concern for what their foods are doing to our health.  If people will buy it, they will continue to make it....it is as simple as that.  However, people that choose to eat this way are missing out on true HEALTH.  

I have been eating a Whole Food Plant Based diet now for going four years, (it will be 5 years in January).  As many people know, I work in a physician's office where we treat SEVERAL SICK people everyday...not only people with heart disease, diabetes, cancers, arthritis, etc., but people who come in with colds, bronchitis, pneumonia, flu, etc.  I can tell you with complete honesty that I have not been sick in 4 years....not even so much as the sniffles!  Now, I'm not saying that it's IMPOSSIBLE for me to catch a cold or anything else...what I'm saying is, since I've been living this lifestyle, I have had excellent health.  As a matter of fact, the flu went through my household last year...I was the ONLY person that was completely unaffected by it!  Remember, I come in contact with sick people EVERYDAY...this is not coincidental.  

Anyone can follow a WFPB diet....it is not "hard", it's just a different way of eating.  When you begin eating loads of vegetables, fruits, beans, and whole-grains, and eliminate all the processed foods and animal products, your taste buds will CHANGE!!!  The "cravings" for the artificial foods, meat and dairy will disappear....I promise.  It will NOT happen overnight, after all, most people have been eating this way their whole lives, but IT WILL HAPPEN.  

In order to achieve EXCELLENT HEALTH, (which is achievable for anyone that wants it), most people have to make "drastic" changes to their current diets.  I say "drastic" because it really does mean NOT EATING artificial, processed foods, or animal products.  In my mind this really isn't "drastic", but to many people it is.  Drastic to me is having my chest split open by a surgeon in order to perform bypass surgery on my heart...now that's DRASTIC.

Here's a recipe I am going to try this weekend:

IRISH WHITE BEAN STEW
1 large onion, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 head of cabbage, chopped
4 carrots, sliced
1-1 1/2 pounds of potatoes, diced
1/3 cup of barley
1 bay leaf
1 t thyme
1/2 t caraway seeds
1/2 t rosemary, crushed
1/2 t black pepper
6-8 cups of vegetable broth
3 cups of Great Northern Beans
1  14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 T chopped parsley
salt to taste

1. Place vegetables, seasonings, barley and broth in a large stockpot.
2. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes.
3. Add remaining ingredients, check seasonings and add more herbs if necessary.  Simmer uncovered for at least 15 minutes.

It is extremely unfortunate that our physicians are not educated in how powerful a diet can be....more powerful than any pill available on the market.  Our body has been designed to protect us from all kinds of diseases and will provide us with "damage control"...it will heal itself when give the necessary "tools".  The tools I am talking about is food.

Let's talk about heart disease, the Number 1 Killer in America.  The typical dietary advice from the American Heart Association's guidelines is a DANGEROUS DIET.  It really is not likely to protect you from having a heart attack and does not allow heart disease to reverse itself.  Remember, MODERATION KILLS.  The fact is that this kind of dietary advice still allows heart disease to progress in the overwhelming majority of patients...just take a look around. 

The American Heart Association recommends that cholesterol intake be less than 300 mg a day.  Your body makes all the cholesterol it needs...the total amount of cholesterol that one should be eating a day is ZERO!  Again, our body knows what it needs....cholesterol is manufactured in our liver....we do not REQUIRE anymore.  As a matter of fact, Dr. Joel Fuhrman tells us he doesn't allow more than 300 mg of cholesterol per WEEK in his patient's diet.  There have been more than a dozen studies demonstrating that the majority of patients with coronary artery disease who follow the American Heart Association's guidelines have their conditions worsen.  And we wonder why heart disease is still the Number 1 Killer. No study has ever shown that the patient who follows an American Heart Association diet can reverse or stop the worsening of coronary artery disease.

However, numerous studies have documented that heart disease is reversible for the majority of patients following a Whole Food Plant Based diet.  Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Joel  Fuhrman, and Dr. John McDougall have treated thousands of patients with a Whole Food Plant based diet with astounding results!  

Medical literature continues to refer to the diet recommended by the National Cholesterol Education Program as "low-fat". By worldwide standards it should be called a high-fat diet, but what's more important is, it should be called a low-nutrient density diet---a diet with dangerously low levels of plant nutrients.  No matter how poorly they eat most patients believe that they are eating a healthy diet.  They believe that eating chicken and fish is somehow healthy merely because they are not eating red meat.  Chicken and fish is just as "heart dangerous" as red meat....switching from red meat to "white" meat does NOT LOWER CHOLESTEROL!  If you are eating something with a face and a mother, you are eating their cholesterol too.

By following a Whole Food Plant Based diet, we will get so many heart protective factors such as FIBER, antioxidants, folate, and several phytochemicals (nutrients found only in plant foods that give our cells ammunition).  When eating animal products, we get ZERO amount of fiber, ZERO amount of phytochemicals and a boatload of saturated fat and cholesterol.  

It's time to take responsibility for our health.  Only we have control over what food goes into our mouth....and the food that goes into our mouth is what will either CREATE HEALTH or CAUSE DISEASE!

Let's talk about exercise.  Many people think they can eat whatever they want and just "exercise it off".  If only that were true.  A truly healthy lifestyle consists of 80% diet and 20% exercise.  The food we put in our mouth has the biggest impact on our health.  Now, don't get me wrong, exercise is number 2 on the list.  

Exercise will give us so many benefits:

• Corrects bad health habits by stabilizing blood sugar levels
  
• Improves immune function and lymph flow
• Gets oxygen to all parts of the body(cancer hates oxygen)
• Strengthens bones
• Helps us deal with stress
• Increases quality and quantity of sleep
• Speeds the passage of carcinogens and toxins from the body
• Keeps your brain fit
• Prevents wide ranges of diseases
• Improves appearance

It's important to choose something you will enjoy doing.  Now, you may not "enjoy" it in the beginning stages, but IF you do it CONSISTENTLY (this is key), your body will actually CRAVE exercise.  I personally decided to start running...three years ago the Freihofer's Run for Women offered a training program called From Couch to 5K which I joined.  I never ran in my life...however, I participated in this program, and I'm not in my 20's or my 30's.  At first, I thought, this is not for me....it's hard to breathe, how will I ever run 3 miles continually?  

Well, that was 3 years ago and 3 Freihofer races later, and I am here to tell you I improved with each race.  But, I still could not say I LOVE RUNNING because up until a few months ago, I didn't even really like it!  However, this past summer I ran consistently, (5-6 times a week vs. 2-3 times a week) and what a DIFFERENCE this made!! I am so much better than I was, I can honestly say I love to run now....who would have thought??  As a matter of fact, one of my friends and I signed up for the Troy Turkey Trot...and we will be running the 10K!!  That's BIG for me.  We run three times a week as a group, and on the other days, I still run....like anything else, the more you do something, the better you get at it.

Now, you don't have to run to reap the benefits.  Walking is the easiest and cheapest exercise anyone can do.  Not only can anyone do it, but it will get you outside breathing fresh air!  If you choose walking, you want to walk briskly...get your heart rate up and sweat a little bit.  When you raise your heart rate, oxygen will be delivered to all parts of your body...remember cancer hates oxygen..it cannot thrive in an oxygen-rich environment.  

After doing all this hard work, think before your eat....if you have:

• 1 glazed doughnut (242 calories)=88 minutes of crunches
• Cheeseburger and fries (691 calories)=141 minutes on an elliptical
• Small fried chicken breast (444 calories)=65 minutes on a bike
• Slice of cheesecake (710 calories)=143 minutes of brisk walking
• Milkshake (780 calories)=72 minutes of jump rope
• 2 slices of pepperoni pizza (626 calories)=159 minutes of stair climbing
• Chicken burrito (1,175 calories)=122 minutes of running
• Chips and queso (740 calories)=130 minutes of swimming
• 16 ounce frappuccino (500 calories)=170 minutes of pilates
• 21 ounce soda (200 calories)-54 minutes of lunges

These statistics came from Women's Health based on a 130 pound female.  

No thank you!  It only takes minutes to eat this stuff and look how long it would take to try and "exercise" it off.  And, of course, after all this exercising, it will only bring you back to where you started before you ate all those calories! However, the cholesterol and saturated fat you would be consuming with most of these foods is not going anywhere but in your arteries.  The only way to prevent cholesterol from getting in your arteries is not to eat it in the first place.

Yes, I believe exercise is essential for a healthy lifestyle.  You should try and get AT LEAST 30 minutes of some kind of exercise each day (raising your heart rate).  Make it a priority...you can find 30 minutes a day to get out and walk.  Do whatever works for you....sometimes I have to get out and run at 6 am in order to fit it in my schedule...other times I have to bring a change of clothes to work with me and at 5:00 I run out the back door and get my 3 miles in.  You have to make it a priority or it just won't get done.

Believe me, the 30 minutes you set aside for exercise will be the BEST 30 minutes of your day!

Did you know our entire body chemistry changes according the the type of food we eat?  Of course, this means whatever we eat will have certain consequences with regards to our health.  Because of our change in diet during the last century, American bodies have become very acidic and virtually all degenerative diseases, from cancers to cavities in our teeth, are associated with excess acidity in our bodies.  

Just talk to people....most of them will tell you they are on some kind of medication for acid reflux, heart burn or GERD....it's all the same thing.  But, what most people don't realize is, if they eat the "right" foods, they would not need that medication to keep "heartburn" at bay.  

There are three ways to make your body less acidic:

1. Eat more plant foods because plant foods are alkaline (opposite of acidic), and have a higher percentage of water than other foods.  
2. Drink more water---not water containing anything else, just plain, simple water.  
3. Eliminate foods from your diet that make your body acidic---number one food--animal products.  

The major acid-forming foods in our diet are animal products--but the other major contributors are soda, sugar, salt, caffeine and alcohol.  Americans tend to consume too much of all these products.  In the case of sodium (salt), we don't get most of it from table salt, but from packaged and processed foods.  In fact, dairy products and processed meat, (bacon, sausage, pepperoni, deli meats), are the BIGGEST sources of sodium in the American diet!

Having an acidic body is dangerous for a number of reasons.  First, high acid levels make our bodies more cancer friendly by reducing the delivery of oxygen to cells.  Remember, cancer cells cannot survive in a highly oxygenated environment and just do not do well in a healthy, alkaline environment.  Second, a highly acidic environment disrupts the function of enzymes and the digestion of food.  Undigested food gets passed into the colon and sits there, rotting, and this leads to toxic buildups along with a number of health problems.  Thirdly, when blood becomes too acidic, our bodies pull calcium from our bones and teeth to neutralize the acid and this causes bone loss which leads to osteoporosis.  This also causes our body to pull water from cells to neutralize high acid levels and this leads to cell dehydration, which is the number one cause of premature aging. 

When we have all this acid, we just pop a pill to treat the SYMPTOM....we are doing NOTHING to stop the cause.  If you want to eliminate the problem, and you CAN, you'll have to STOP eating the acidic foods.  By continually eating foods that cause all this acid, we put our bodies in a state of constantly having to neutralize this acid by using the calcium stored up in our bones.  Animal proteins are one of the most acid-forming foods in existence, and because Americans eat so much of it, our heart disease, cancer and osteoporosis rates, (along with all other degenerative diseases) are sky high.  Cow's milk has over three times more protein than human mother's milk....cow's milk is designed for a calf that will weigh over 300 pounds within a year of its birth.  

When we consume dairy products, the calcium simply passes through our body and ends up in the toilet--and our blood is even more acidic because of the protein.  Low-fat dairy products are HIGHEST in protein, so you may lower your fat intake, but you will RAISE your blood acid level and this will contribute to bone loss.  Skim milk, for example, contains almost TWICE the amount of protein as whole milk.  And, because of the high sodium content of dairy products, they provide a double-boost to your acid levels. Please don't forget, the protein in dairy is called casein.....casein FEEDS cancer cells.  

The "health authorities" will tell us that women should get between 1000-1500 mg of calcium per day, while men should get 1000 mg of calcium per day.  What would these "authorities" say to men and women throughout the world who get only 200 mg a day--and have bones much STRONGER than Americans?  In fact, 70-year-old women in Third World countries who have nursed multiple babies have bones stronger than most 40-year-old women in this country.  And where do they get their calcium from??  They get it NOT from dairy, but from PLANT FOODS!  

Osteoporosis is NOT genetic--you do NOT have to suffer from it if you eat the "right" foods and get some exercise.  When people say it runs in the family, that only means the family has led a sedentary lifestyle and their diet consisted of lots of animal products!  

We need to  STOP eating all the foods that are making us overweight and sick, and start eating all the foods that will prevent diseases from starting.  The foods that will not only prevent disease from starting but will give us back our health are:

• Vegetables--every color of the rainbow
• Fruits
• Beans--chickpeas, black beans, white beans, kidney beans, lentils, peas, etc.
• Whole-grains

Don't know where to start....it's NEVER too late....contact me....I would love to help you get on the road to recovery!!