I find it amazing that most everything we need to maintain a healthy body can be found growing in the ground, on a bush or from a tree. Unfortunately, we have moved so far away from eating foods found in nature (this includes foods from animals) and our health has plummeted. It seems we would have seen the light by now that eating processed and chemically made and chemically covered food (dead foods) cause death to happen in our body. Death in our cells, our hormones and our vital systems.

{image credit}

Did you know that our body is made up of energy and frequencies? And I’m not talking weird, meta-physical ‘energy’ – I’m talking about real energy. Every living thing has energy contained within it. They can measure something called ‘vibrational frequency’ in our cells using hertz (or Hz). It’s cools when you think about it. A truly healthy body will have a frequency in the range of 62-732MHz. Now, food also can have a vibrational frequency as well – and this makes sense because they feed our cells and body. Good, fresh, clean, organic foods measure about 20-27 MHz or higher. Dried foods chime in around 15-22 MHz and processed foods measure at a flat number of…. 0 MHz. Imagine that.

So, this shows us that if you are eating foods that measure no energy – they will supply your body with no energy. They bring your numbers down to where they are if that’s all you’re putting in your body. When you see someone who is sick – in any way – you can count on that their body is low in this area. It has been scientifically proven that death cannot live or survive when a body’s frequency is high. I think that’s amazing. Death cannot stand a chance in the midst of life.

Do you grasp what this means? Eating dead foods brings death to your cells and ultimately your body.

I wanted to show you a couple photos of foods taken using the Kirlian Photography Method. It can see the ‘energy’ surrounding foods. Notice how cooked foods don’t have as much oomph as raw foods?

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What kind of food are you eating? Dead or living? What does this say about your state of health?

Other sites to visit on this subject:
High Vibrational Foods
Vibrational Frequency List 

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]]> http://www.livingstrongwellness.com/blog/2013/05/15/good-vibrations/feed/ 0 http://www.livingstrongwellness.com/blog/2013/05/13/whats-better-local-or-organic/ http://www.livingstrongwellness.com/blog/2013/05/13/whats-better-local-or-organic/#comments Mon, 13 May 2013 15:57:20 +0000 knewsom http://www.livingstrongwellness.com/?p=3728 (image credit)

Eat locally. Eat organic. Which is best if you have the option?

Many people don’t even have an option, so this may not apply to some people, but what if you do?

I’ve always heard that it’s best to choose local produce to support local farms. Then we need to choose organic because it’s healthier. I agree with both.

But, what if choosing local doesn’t mean you’re eating organic?

This is where I veer off the path most people take and go in my own direction. You will find that my opinion on this subject differs greatly from many health experts.

So, what do I do when it comes to buying produce? Do I go to our local farmer’s market and pick up food from our local famers? Not if they are growing their crops using pesticides, nutrient deficient soil and gmo-seeds. If they are organic, don’t use toxic chemicals and are non-gmo – then I’ll support them 100%. If their crops are just as toxic as the conventional produce you find in the grocery store, then I’ll pass them by every time. Yes, even if they are local.

(image credit)

Many people tout on the carbon footprint of shipping foods across the states and how we need to help lessen that impact – and I agree with them to a degree. But when it comes to supporting local farmers who are growing toxic crops or feeding my family foods that are safe and will not harm them – I’ll choose my family and their well-being FIRST before I choose to support a local farmer.

Harsh, isn’t it? I don’t think so. If local farmers want the support of the community – then they need to provide a high quality, healthy and safe food product. We go to our farmer’s market almost every weekend in the summer and out of the 15+ farms represented – only ONE is certified organic. The others are very open that they use pesticides on their crops, none of them rest their soil (which leads to nutrient deficient soil and food) and basically they operate just like any other conventional crop producer. There is no way I’m going to support that or feed that food to my family all in the name of supporting local farmers or decreasing the carbon footprint. I won’t financially support and encourage farmers to continue to grow unhealthy and unsafe food. If the demand is out there for the right way of farming and healthy food – farmers will have to start listening if they want to continue in business. Don’t support what you don’t believe in.

I realize this isn’t a simple thing for some since they don’t have organic or local options. In these situations you get what you can get and always go for the best you can – since that’s all you can do. Another option is to plant a garden with many of the produce items you get at the store. Lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, herbs – these are all easy to grow yourself and will taste 100 times better than anything you can buy at the store. You’ll also save money going this route.

(image credit)

My mission is to feed my family the best I can. If this means I have to choose the one organic farmer at the market – or during the winter months, go to Vitamin Cottage and buy organic produce in which some were shipped in from California or Mexico – then I will. I live in Colorado which means there can be 6-8 months out of the year where you are not growing anything. Nothing. There’s no way to eat local during these times, so if we want to eat produce, we usually are buying organic produce that has been shipped in. I’m okay with that and don’t feel guilty about it.

Now, this is just my opinion and I realize this may differ from yours, but I think when it boils down to it – my main reason is that my family is more important than a farming business. Do I want people to be successful? Yes? Do I want my family to live sickly lives due to my poor choices? No! When I start putting other people before my own family – what kind of person does that make me? Not a very good one – in my opinion.

So – decide for yourself which is better – but always look at the product you are putting into your body. This is the only body you will ever get and you should treat it the best you can.

(image credit)

FOR ME

Best choice: local and organic

Second best choice: organic, shipped in

Third choice: local/conventional only if it’s the only thing I can get

* If local is done organically and sustainably – then choose local and support farmers markets when in season.

* If local farms practice conventional methods of growing and harvesting, then I’d go for organic and stop supporting this way of growing crops.

* When we don’t support the bad with our money, they are forced to change. This can be used for good!

* I’m not always more concerned with the carbon footprint of something than I am with the health of my family and the affect that something will have on our bodies.

What do you think is best for you and your family?

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]]> http://www.livingstrongwellness.com/blog/2013/05/13/whats-better-local-or-organic/feed/ 0 http://www.livingstrongwellness.com/blog/2013/05/10/the-sweet-on-blueberries/ http://www.livingstrongwellness.com/blog/2013/05/10/the-sweet-on-blueberries/#comments Fri, 10 May 2013 14:40:01 +0000 knewsom http://www.livingstrongwellness.com/?p=3716 Want to add some extra goodness to your day? Start consuming more blueberries – an amazing superfood (at least in my book)!

Eating 1-2 servings a day of fruit is extremely beneficial for everyone (unless you have issues with low blood sugar or diabetes, then stick to 1/2 – 1 serving a day). Choosing healthy carbs, like blueberries, are low in sugar, will give you good energy and will provide you with an array of amazing nutrients.

- antioxidants

- fiber (also known as roughage)

- vitamin C

- vitamin E

- vitamin A

- selenium

- zinc

- phosphorus

- anthocyanin

- sodium

- copper

- potassium

- magnesium

- manganese

Blueberries are a monosaccharide, which means they are a single molecule carbohydrate that is easily absorbed through the lining of the small intestine, which also means it doesn’t need to be broken down first. This not only is easier on your digestive system, but it also gives you instant energy.

Add these to your smoothies, on top of your yogurt or hot cereal, served with organic heavy cream from grass-fed cows or include when you juice.

Go ahead. Add some superfoods into your life! Your body will thank you for treating it with these amazing little bites of power packed nutrients.

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There are some alarming statistics out there for the American population! My goal is to make sure myself nor my family become a part of these numbers. I hope that you would see yourself as important and valuable enough to not be in these numbers either. If you are, with determination, diligence and consistency – I believe you can change those facts! Look below and see how the American people are faring with their health. In all honesty – it’s not looking good!

As of 2010:

- approximately 97 million (75%) Americans are overweight (obesity is most commonly a condition of hormonal imbalance), 2 million Americans are in the clinically obese category

- approximately 62 million Americans have cardiovascular disease

- heart disease is the #1 cause of mortality for Americans, cancer is the 2^nd (despite tremendous medical advances in treating both diseases over the last couple decades)

- more than 25 million Americans are diabetic and nearly 60 million Americans are pre-diabetic

- the diagnosis rate for diabetes has shot up 100% in the last 10 years

- around 72 million people 20 years or older have HBP (HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE)

- osteoporosis is on the rise and isn’t stopping

- arthritis, depression and infertility are also skyrocketing in America, compared to generations past

- 1 in 4 Americans have metabolic syndrome*

- 1 in 10 (25 million) Americans have an underactive thyroid gland

- 1 in 13 American women have severe pre-menstrual syndrome (which doesn’t just involve crankiness, it’s a serious health issue)

- 1 in 10 American women have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome a condition of insulin resistance paired together with high testosterone levels which commonly results in infertility)

- 13 million American men have a low testosterone level

- women’s progesterone and testosterone levels peak in their 20′s and then decline the rest of their lives, this has accelerated in the past couple decades

- human growth hormone secretion declines by about 75% after age 35 (and this can affect so many areas of our life including weight, skin, hair, energy and more), this has accelerated in the past couple decades

- in 1971 the obesity rate was 14.5% and in 2005 it was 30.9% with 15% of children being obese

- the standard coffin is 24″ wide and now they have “double oversized” coffin at 38″ wide

- the average American consumes 150 pounds of sugar and sweeteners (such as HFCS) each year, which is a 20% increase from the 1970′s

*what is metabolic syndrome? It is the presence of 3 or more of a group of factors such as HBP, abdominal obesity, high triglyceride levels, low HDL levels, high fasting levels of blood sugar, etc.) that are linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and/or type II diabetes (aka insulin resistance syndrome)

resources: studies from NIH (National Institute of Health), CDCP (Centers fro Disease Control and Prevention), AHA (American Heart Association)

My desire is to help people defy the status quo when it comes to health and wellness! First you have to believe you are worth it – that your life has a purpose, then you have to be willing to step out and do something about it. Doing this would be one of the best decisions you could make regarding your health! Choose to be in the minority when it comes to the statistics below. Stand out from the crowd. Be different. Be healthy!

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Diet. Trend. Fad. Shakes. Pills. Meal replacement bars. Counting calories. Weighing food. Counting carbs. Figuring fat grams. Low-sodium. Low-fat. Fat-free.

These are all familiar terms we hear and see everyday of our lives when it comes to food and eating. It’s also become an invisible prison cell for many. It is because of this that I began my journey to teach people how to live in the reality of “Health Made Easy.”

I do not believe that something as vital and necessary as eating should be an all consuming factor every minute of everyday. It’s a time waster, a stress factor, a money eater, not to mention confusing, overwhelming and many times, frustrating. At least when you’re perspective is coming from the wrong angle. Our modern society has made eating so complicated, many people don’t even try anymore to ‘eat healthy’. I don’t blame them.

Health food stores, for the most part, are filled with a lot of ‘healthy’ processed foods. In reality, these foods are still processed and hard for your body to recognize. You have organic and non-organic produce and meats. Grass-fed or grain-fed beef. Wild caught and farm raised fish. GMO and non-gmo foods. Why do there have to be so many options? I always think that my grandparents had it easy. Everything was organic. They ate meat from cattle who ate grass and roamed, eggs from chickens that walked around, ate insects and pecked at the ground. They’d pick their fruit off the trees, their berries off the bush and root veggies from their garden. Their milk was raw and eating sugary treats was a special occasion. When you think about it – there was no thought process in any of that. Labor, maybe, but nothing to work out or comprehend. It was a part of their everyday routine. Like breathing, sitting or walking.

So, saying all that, if there is one thing I can say to everyone about eating and living healthy, it would be this: Don’t make it so hard. Stick to the basics. Fresh, living, organic, chemical free, whole – real.

I realize that if you are switching over from the Standard American Diet (SAD diet) into eating whole foods that are living, fresh and nourishing – there may be a lot of info coming at you. This is a season where you are being educated in this area and it may seem like a lot, but stay with it. I think the learning part is so vital and valuable, it will be what keeps you from going back. If you don’t understand why you should eat certain foods and avoid others – then you won’t stick with any routine you set out to give you or your family. When you are educated about how conventional beef will throw hormones out of balance in a big way due to all the hormones and chemicals injected into these cattle – then it’s easier to spend the extra money on grass-fed beef. When you understand that skim and fat-free milk spikes insulin levels, is void of vital healthy fats needed for hormone production and function and it’s molecular structure has been changed in pasteurization and homogenization so much that your body has a hard time digesting it – you probably won’t be in such a hurry to feed it to your kids.

Education is powerful and will be the launching pad to your success.

I will tell you this, though, once you know more about the ‘why’ of everything, eating healthy is….simple.

You eliminate so many ‘bad foods’ from your day to day eating, that shopping becomes simple. Fresh fruit, vegetables, cultured dairy (think yogurt and kefir), real butter, clean meat (grass-fed and pasture raised), whole grains (best if soured, soaked or sprouted), pasture-raised eggs, healthy nuts and healthy oils. Your body gets accustomed to these items (sometimes it may take a while if this is new to you), so you won’t be craving bright orange Cheetos, fluorescent blue beverages or Oreo cookies. Once your taste buds are used to eating real food – the other ‘food products’ will not be palatable anymore. Trust me – I used to live off of that kind of food and now it has no appeal to me.

Once you stop eating all the prepackaged and processed foods – you won’t need to watch your sodium levels. You’ll get to season your foods without worrying about salt overload. You won’t have to check for food dyes or synthetic chemicals (yes, you can even find these in the health food store products sitting on the shelves). You can make a batch of home made chocolate chip cookies without feeling like you’re overloading on sugar (try my favorite recipe – you’ll never make another chocolate chip cookie, I promise).

BUT the important thing is that you don’t drive yourself nuts with this. If you go to someone’s home and they are grilling some hamburgers, don’t freak out because it’s most likely conventional, feedlot beef. Be thankful and appreciative, eat and enjoy your meal. If you are at a wedding – you don’t need to pass on the amazing wedding cake (unless of course you are allergic to something), just because it’s made with white flour. Enjoy the cake and enjoy the celebration. I have learned over the years that in these times when we are not in control of what we eat, we don’t have to flip out, be rude and look like food snobs. I feed my family an amazingly healthy array of foods on a day to day basis – so having a cookie at grandma’s house doesn’t bother me. In fact, I may have two.

I went through a time where I was so concerned with the food I ate, I wouldn’t eat anywhere and I had a hard time eating at other people’s homes. This was wrong and terrible. It can be offensive to others and it also takes the enjoyment out of life’s many celebrations and memorable times. I put an end to that quickly. Many people call it the 80/20 rule – although I’m not a huge fan of stuff like that. As long as you eat good 80% of the time, you can eat bad 20% of the time. I don’t necessarily like looking at eating bad as a reward, but I know what they are saying. Of course, always listen to your body. If certain foods make you sick, cause discomfort or pain or bad reactions – then stay away from them! The point is, if you eat good the majority of the time, give yourself those allowances when your hands may be tied, when you’re traveling or when it’s a once in a lifetime celebration.

My challenge to you – eat healthy. Period. Make your day to day as healthy as you can, so when you go out to dinner with a group of friends, eating that enchilada dinner won’t send you over the deep end. Stop weighing your food and counting calories. Besides when you are eating real food, you won’t need to do that. You won’t have a problem with eating too many avocados. Your body will tell you, probably after the first one, “Okay, that’s enough.” When you’re eating wheat farina or oatmeal made with full-fat milk and some real butter – you won’t go back for five more bowls. Eating will become simple again. Just part of your day – as it should be. In doing this, you can begin to enjoy everyday of your life without being so consumed with eating – and eating healthy at that!

I truly believe in my company’s motto: Health Made Easy! Just take a look at many of the recipes posted on here. Simple, good ingredients, but most importantly, good food! Enjoy life. Enjoy your food. Stop thinking of eating healthy as a ‘diet’ and begin looking at it as a ‘lifestyle’. The mental aspect of that alone will change so many things for you and bring stress levels down! That’s wonderful for you health. I’m passionate about teaching people this way of living. I hope you will become passionate about living this way.

Now, I’m going to eat some lunch – eggs with cheese and avocado-then I’m going to have some dessert with my son. Some leftover birthday cake from Whole Foods that is so filled with chocolate, mousse and ganache it should be illegal. And I’m going to enjoy every bite!

*This is a great article for those who may have put themselves into bondage with eating healthy. Share this article with your friends on facebook, twitter or via email. It really can set someone free in this area!

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We are in a generation that doesn’t sleep much. We have too much to do and no time to bother with sleep and rest.

And, man, does it ever show!

We are sick and worn down, we walk around in a brain fog, our energy levels have plummeted, we gain weight consistently, we’re grumpy and cranky, we’re addicted to caffeine to wake us up, give us energy and to keep us alert.

Does this all have to do with sleeping? Of course not, but it sure does have a lot to do with it.

I challenge you to start sleeping more. Not being lazy more, but sleeping more. Go to bed at a decent time so you can get between 7-9 hours of sleep each night. It’s also best to get to bed before you see 12:00 on that digital clock. Research shows that every hour we are awake after midnight, it takes us 2 hours to make up for it. This is a never ending, snowball cycle of depleting our body from vital rest and relaxation. Our body needs this time to work, repair and renew. Want to look younger? Sleep more. Want to lose weight? Sleep more. Want to have more energy? Sleep more. Yes, getting restful, deep sleep can help all these areas, because your hormones can begin to function and work properly. When our hormones are in balance and in harmony with each other, amazing things happen with our health!

Turn off the television. Get off the computer. Set the smart phone aside. Turn off the bright lights and get those softer table lamps on, allowing melatonin to kick in, causing your body to get tired. Lay your head on the pillow and get some sleep!

Happy Friday! Happy Weekend. Happy Sleeping.

{Please note that I understand that there are many people who have a hard time sleeping, who take sleep aids and who would find the advice above offensive. I’m not minimizing any of those issues and I understand it’s not as easy as it sounds above, but I do believe that we can all get to this point of restful sleep once again. It may take time, but for someone who is consistent and determined, it is possible. I have first hand experience of not sleeping more than two hours at a time at night for over 6 years. I had to be persistent and sometimes it felt like things weren’t going to change – but those days are long gone! I believe you can have success too!}

*{zzzzz photo} – image credit

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After trying several different brands from the stores, I finally decided to create my own. After a few tries, this is the formula that I liked best. This body oil is truly amazing and beneficial for your skin. It absorbs quickly (although not as quick as mineral oil and alcohol like most store brands) and it leaves my skin feeling smooth and moisturized. I never need to reapply any lotion throughout the day when I use this after a bath or shower.

If left unscented, it’s perfect. If scented with essential oils, it’s perfect.

This body oil lasts a long time since there is no water added to increase the rate of rancidity. I keep mine in the shower and use the whole thing before it ever even thinks of getting old. I even use this on my kids sometimes, although I do have a different formula for infants/toddlers/children that is a little lighter since their skin doesn’t need as much moisture as ours does!

So, stop spending all your money on store brands that are full of chemicals and artificial ingredients, fragrances, dyes and all that other stuff your body does not need! Make your own. Give them as gifts. You’ll never go back to store bought body oil again.

Baby Soft Body Oil for Adults
makes 8 ounces

What You Need:

- 2 ounces grapeseed oil

- 2 ounces almond oil

- 2 ounces apricot oil

- 1 ounce jojoba oil

- 1 teaspoon cold-pressed castor oil

- 1 teaspoon vegetable glycerin

- essential oil (optional)

What You Do:

1. Place a small funnel in an 8 ounce jar.

2. Pour oils and glycerin into jar.

3. Add essential oils if using.

4. To use – massage into skin in circular motions. A little goes a long way.

5. Body oils are best when used after a bath or shower when the skin is warm and damp. The oil will absorb easier this way.

6. Shake well before using.

You don’t need to spend all your money on commercial products to keep your skin looking and feeling great. It can be done in the comfort of your own home for a fraction of the cost. Since the summer months are coming, what a great time to make some. Your skin will thank you.

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