Sunday, February 28, 2010

Don't believe the hype about High-Fructose Corn Syrup

I've been seeing the new ad campaign lately where someone says, "You don't want to feed your kids that product. It has high fructose corn syrup."

Then the other person says, "So - what's wrong with that?"

First person says, "Ummm.... I guess nothing."   WRONG answer. 

In case you want to be armed with a response next time you need to make a decision about a food choice, here is some of the TRUTH about High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) Be informed - do your own research. There is a lot of information on the internet about the dangers of HFCS.

Why HFCS Is Worse for You Than Sugar

High-fructose corn syrup is not the same as the corn syrup you buy to make pies. Whereas regular corn syrup is all glucose, HFCS is composed of half glucose and half fructose.

Says George A. Bray, former director of Louisiana State University's Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, "Fructose is absorbed differently [than other sugars]. It doesn't register in the body metabolically the same way that glucose does." [Glucose is created in our bodies when we digest carbohydrates.]

When glucose is consumed, a set of reactions occur in the body allowing it to be used as energy, and production of leptin, a hormone that helps control appetite and fat storage, is increased. Meanwhile, ghrelin, a stomach hormone which is thought to help hunger go away, is reduced with HFCS.

So what does that mean?  You still feel hungry.  You want to eat / drink more. 
The food manufacturers are very happy!! 

Many experts have suggested that HFCS, particularly those in soft drinks, are at least partly responsible for the obesity epidemic in America.

    Drink a Lot of Sweet Drinks? Your Weight May be at Risk but So Much More!

When HFCS is ingested, it travels straight to the liver which turns the sugary liquid into fat, and unlike other carbohydrates HFCS does not cause the pancreas to produce insulin; which acts as a hunger quenching signal to the brain. So we get stuck in a vicious cycle, eating food that gets immediately stored as fat and never feeling full. 


Fructose is not from fruit. It's a commercial, refined sugar.

In fact, a trail of medical studies dating back a quarter of a century doesn't paint a terribly sweet picture for fructose. High fructose consumption has been fingered as a causative factor in heart disease. It raises blood levels of cholesterol and another type of fat, triglyceride. It makes blood cells more prone to clotting, and it may also accelerate the aging process.

In medicine, the first alarms about the link between sugar consumption and heart disease were sounded in the late 1960's by John Yudkin, M.D., Ph.D., professor emeritus at Queen Elizabeth College, London, and an expert in the health effects of sugar. At the time, he was chairman of the department of nutrition at Queen Elizabeth College, London. Disturbed by inconsistencies in the evidence linking animal fats to heart disease, Yudkin began searching for another dietary factor.

An expert in carbohydrate metabolism, he initially focused on sucrose consumption [table sugar]. In laboratory and human tests, he found that sucrose increased blood levels of cholesterol, triglyceride, uric acid, insulin, and cortisol - all associated with an increased risk of heart disease. Sucrose also raised blood pressure and increased the fragility of blood platelet cells, making them more prone to clotting.

As dramatic as those findings were, the real surprise came when Yudkin substituted fructose for sucrose in his experiments. "The effects of eating sucrose in the quantities we eat are magnified with fructose. Fructose is the dangerous part," he said. In contrast, glucose did little more than cause cavities.

    Along with helping Americans pack on more pounds, HFCS has been linked to other health problems, including:

  • Increased levels of triglycerides, which is linked to an increased risk of heart disease. A study by the University of Minnesota found that fructose "produced significantly higher [blood] levels" of triglycerides in men than did glucose.
  • Accelerated bone loss. A study by the USDA, published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition, found that fructose may alter the body's balance of magnesium, leading to increased bone loss.
   
A review of multiple studies by Havel and colleagues, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, found that, in animals, consuming large amounts of HFCS:
    o Induced insulin resistance
    o Impaired glucose tolerance
    o Produced high levels of insulin
    o Boosted a dangerous fat in the blood
    o Caused high blood pressure

    If You Want to Give Up HFCS ...

The first thing to do is to give up all soft drinks and other sweetened beverages that contain it. Then start checking labels meticulously. Even products that aren't thought of as "sweet' often contain it (like croutons and flavored almond slices for salads).

Fortunately, as more and more consumers opt to stay away from HFCS, there are product alternatives out there. Organic pasta sauce and ketchup, for instance, are much less likely to contain HFCS than regular varieties. Look for them at your favorite health food store or even in the "natural" section of your local grocery store.

Anti-aging Miracle

Well - if you've been following my journey on the liver-cleanse diet, you know that it hasn't been as tough as I thought it would be. There are so many wonderful foods that you can eat on this diet.
What you may not know is how it will visibly affect you in a very short time.

I've noticed a difference in the way I look and people who haven't seen me in a month or two really notice a difference. But today I found some extraordinary evidence of what this way of eating can do for your looks.

Watch this video from the Oprah show and I think you will be amazed. If you were hesitant to get started on the track to better health, this might just be the push you need to make a change.

I'd love to know what you think. If you want help or ideas please call me 608-245-9308 or email at MarysLifeForce@gmail.com.

Be happy and healthy ~
Mary

http://www.NoMorePills.us

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Treat Yourself Well

Day 19 on the Liver Cleanse Diet and still going strong. The scale says I dropped 15 lbs so far. I've found that moving several times a day really makes a difference. DUH! Notice I didn't say exercising. Just move. Dance, do flips, hoola hoop, run up and down the stairs, lift and swing cans of soup, have a tickle war with the kids, wrestle with the dog or your husband. : )  Just move a little every few hours and see what happens.

The other key is to 'treat yourself'.  Make something that you usually reserve for company like homemade guacamole on salty rice crackers or fresh hummus on veggies. So what if avacados are $1 each. You used to spend three times that on a carmel latte. So buy quality, rich, yummy things at the grocery store and keep your fridge and pantry stocked. Then when you are feeling a little deprived, you can fix yourself a treat and be proud of the way you are staying on your healthy course.

Let me know how you are doing. You can post here or email me at MarysLifeForce@gmail.com.

http://www.NoMorePill.us,  http://marycrawford.firstclassteam.com

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Chewing Gum Fools Your Body

Well this is interesting -

"Chewing gum interferes with the coordinated digestive tract reflexes ...
Every time you put a stick of gum in your mouth and start to chomp, your brain thinks you're eating food. So it sends signals to your stomach, pancreas, and other digestive organs to get them ready for the digestive process.

Your pancreas is fooled into manufacturing a batch of the digestive enzymes your brain thinks you'll need.If you keep this pattern going month after month, your pancreas gets exhausted from the repeated over-production. Then it won't be able to produce the digestive enzymes you need when you actually require them." Check out Dr. Mercola's site for more info.

One thing you can do if you don't want to start popping pills is to EAT RAW FOOD. Raw food is full of naturally occurring digestive enzymes in a usable form - the way nature intended.

That's one of the reasons I love Body Balance. It's made up completely of RAW, ORGANIC FOOD of the highest quality. It is cold processed (juiced) in an on-demand basis so the product you get at your front door is very fresh and full of live enzymes.

No wonder we see such great results. Cindy told me last week that since her family has started taking Body Balance, they haven't had one cold or flu all winter. Jackie says her energy is through the roof.
Fran's migraines stopped completely after just one week on Body Balance. Unbelievable? Not really.
Our bodies are amazing. When we feed them right, they can heal themselves.

Are you ready to start feeding your body the way nature intended?

Life Force is offering FREE SHIPPING for the month of FEB on all first time order of 4 bottles or more. PLUS - I can get you a FREE OSTEOPROCARE this month too. OsteoProCare is our Liquid Calcium / Mineral / Vit D supplement that also has a long history of healing and pain-relief.

To read more stories go to www.liquidstories.com or to watch video stories go here.

Start enjoying vibrant, energetic health right away. Contact me for more info.

millionsmore@gmail.com,  http://www.NoMorePills.us, http://marycrawford.firstclassteam.com

Monday, February 1, 2010

What's for Lunch?

Today is day 10 on the Liver Cleanse diet and I'm still hanging in there - actually doing pretty well. : )
Definitely have more energy and have lost some weight too. Yeah!

Last post was about breakfast so I thought I share lunch ideas with you today.
Since this diet is gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free and also includes 'food combining', you do have to think about the whole day when you get up in the morning.  I am limited to one serving of grains a day so that means two meals can have protein since I don't have grains and protein in the same meal.

So lunch - there really are a lot of choices. Any combination of vegetables (either raw or cooked) with chicken or fish for a protein meal, or with brown rice or millet or quinoa for a grain meal.

Salads are often my choice since I'm usually short on time. I get a big bowl full of greens and toss in chopped green onions, tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and any other veggie that looks good. Then I add tuna or leftover chicken and top with a dressing of cider vinegar, olive or flax oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Some toasted sunflower seeds are good on top.

Stir-fry is my other favorite option. This is usually a veggie dish with mushrooms, bok choy, celery, carrots, zucchini, etc. stir fried in a little olive or coconut oil. Add garlic, ginger, salt and hot sauce. Then add a little water and some almond milk or crushed almonds to thicken the sauce. Sometimes I'll make a curry with tumeric, coriander, cumin, cilantro, and garlic. A little coconut cream is good with this.

Soup needs to be homemade, but with a can of tomatoes or chicken broth and leftover veggies and brown rice or beans, you can make a good soup pretty quickly. Experiment with spices and seasonings. Make small amounts so you don't get bored eating it for a week. If it's a veggie soup, you can have gluten-free crackers or rice cakes with it.

The possibilities really are limited only by your imagination. Have fun with it and enjoy the new you.


Mary
http://www.nomorepill.us, millionsmore@gmail.com, http://marycrawford.firstclassteam.com