What is GE Alfalfa? It is geneticially engineered Alfalfa. Translation is chemically grown Alfalfa.
Many people put price before quality. What has happened is that many organic farmers are becoming extinct. The reason being is that they their crops are being grown the way they use to back in the pioneer days. Naturally. Part of which is crop rotation, limited or no pesticides and herbicides (which is a word that is misused as they are chemicals and, basically, not good for humans or animals).
Organic contamination is devastating for organic farmers, especially organic dairy farmers, most of whom use organic alfalfa for feed. The presence of even the smallest amount of GE material can cause a farm to lose its organic certification. To read the whole story, click here.
Tell the USDA you can about GE contamination. Keep Monsanto's genes out of our food!
What we do today, affects our children's future. Be a part of the change!!
Monday, March 1, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
Zero Calories
Dr. Stephen Chaney once again brings up excellent facts on why people can't loose weight.
"Are "zero calorie" foods making you fat?"
That question might seem like a no-brainer. Eating calorie-free foods rather than foods that contain calories has to be helpful in keeping your weight under control. Right? Let's look at calorie free soft drinks.
Between the years 1987 and 2000 the number of people drinking calorie free soft drinks in this country increased from 70 million to 160 million.
During that same period of time:
- the percentage of adults who were overweight increased from 52% to 66%.
- the percentage of adults who were obese (obese is defined as a BMI greater than 30) increased from 20% to 32%
- the percentage of children who were obese increased from 10% to 17%.
The answer is that we are using these calorie-free soft drinks to wash down Big Macs plus fries, Mrs. Fields' super-size brownies and Starbucks' chocolate chip muffins.
The theory is that the high sweetness of both diet and regular soft drinks causes the brain to release chemicals that make us crave other sweet foods - so we eat more.
Before I knew how harmful aspartame is, I was just like that. Big Mac and Diet Coke.
There is some evidence that they may even be making your weight control problems worse by encouraging you to eat high calorie foods to go along with them. Also, aspartame has been linked to neurological problems.
So the next time you reach for that "zero calorie" soft drink or the packets of "zero calorie" sweeteners to add to your coffee or tea, just be aware that there is no evidence that they are useful in helping you control your weight.
Now this is the short version of what Dr. Chaney has to say on Zero Calories. Want the whole story? Contact Mary Beth at marybeth1957@sbcglobal.net
"Are "zero calorie" foods making you fat?"
That question might seem like a no-brainer. Eating calorie-free foods rather than foods that contain calories has to be helpful in keeping your weight under control. Right? Let's look at calorie free soft drinks.
Between the years 1987 and 2000 the number of people drinking calorie free soft drinks in this country increased from 70 million to 160 million.
During that same period of time:
- the percentage of adults who were overweight increased from 52% to 66%.
- the percentage of adults who were obese (obese is defined as a BMI greater than 30) increased from 20% to 32%
- the percentage of children who were obese increased from 10% to 17%.
The answer is that we are using these calorie-free soft drinks to wash down Big Macs plus fries, Mrs. Fields' super-size brownies and Starbucks' chocolate chip muffins.
The theory is that the high sweetness of both diet and regular soft drinks causes the brain to release chemicals that make us crave other sweet foods - so we eat more.
Before I knew how harmful aspartame is, I was just like that. Big Mac and Diet Coke.
There is some evidence that they may even be making your weight control problems worse by encouraging you to eat high calorie foods to go along with them. Also, aspartame has been linked to neurological problems.
So the next time you reach for that "zero calorie" soft drink or the packets of "zero calorie" sweeteners to add to your coffee or tea, just be aware that there is no evidence that they are useful in helping you control your weight.
Now this is the short version of what Dr. Chaney has to say on Zero Calories. Want the whole story? Contact Mary Beth at marybeth1957@sbcglobal.net
Friday, January 29, 2010
Muscle Mass
Have you ever heard that loosing inches is more important than loosing pounds? Why? Muscle weighs more than fat. Really it does! Most diets a person looses pounds of fat as well as muscle mass.
According to Dr. Chaney, you lose about 5 pounds of muscle for every 12 pounds of weight loss.
Lean muscle is important as it speeds up the metabolism naturally. One pound of muscle burns 50 calories a day so that 5 pounds you just lost means it cost you 250 calories a day.
If you continue to loose weight at that same rate, you will need to reduce your calories by about 250-500 calories per day. Yikes! Let's say that you lose 12 or 24 pounds (corresponding to 5-10 pounds of muscle or 250 to 500 calories per day) and go off of your diet because you got discouraged by the plateau.
When you regain your weight it comes back mostly as fat, not as muscle. You need to again reduce your calorie intake 250-500 calories a day. Are you following me? Then you regain more weight back then where you were at in the beginning. Now you understand the cause of the dreaded weight loss yo-yo!
Adding exercise can't do it all. What you eat is important as well. This is where leucine comes in. What is leucine? Leucine is an essential amino acid. Leucine has been used by bodybuilders for years to increase muscle mass when they are working out. It has just been in the last few years that evidence started to accumulate that leucine can also help preserve muscle mass when people are losing weight. This research was spearheaded by Dr. D.K. Layman and colleagues at the University of Illinois.
How can you get leucine in your diet without a prescription or chemicals? Cinch. Cinch is a weight management program. Click here and find out more about Cinch.
Look next week for more information on lean muscle mass. We can help you to achieve your New Year's Resolution.
According to Dr. Chaney, you lose about 5 pounds of muscle for every 12 pounds of weight loss.
Lean muscle is important as it speeds up the metabolism naturally. One pound of muscle burns 50 calories a day so that 5 pounds you just lost means it cost you 250 calories a day.
If you continue to loose weight at that same rate, you will need to reduce your calories by about 250-500 calories per day. Yikes! Let's say that you lose 12 or 24 pounds (corresponding to 5-10 pounds of muscle or 250 to 500 calories per day) and go off of your diet because you got discouraged by the plateau.
When you regain your weight it comes back mostly as fat, not as muscle. You need to again reduce your calorie intake 250-500 calories a day. Are you following me? Then you regain more weight back then where you were at in the beginning. Now you understand the cause of the dreaded weight loss yo-yo!
Adding exercise can't do it all. What you eat is important as well. This is where leucine comes in. What is leucine? Leucine is an essential amino acid. Leucine has been used by bodybuilders for years to increase muscle mass when they are working out. It has just been in the last few years that evidence started to accumulate that leucine can also help preserve muscle mass when people are losing weight. This research was spearheaded by Dr. D.K. Layman and colleagues at the University of Illinois.
How can you get leucine in your diet without a prescription or chemicals? Cinch. Cinch is a weight management program. Click here and find out more about Cinch.
Look next week for more information on lean muscle mass. We can help you to achieve your New Year's Resolution.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Calories Rule Part 3
Don't forget the other part of the calorie equation.
That's right, exercise. While you burn some calories every time you exercise, the real value of exercise is that it increases lean muscle mass and lean muscle mass burns more calories than fat.
Again, if you consult the National Weight Control Registry, you will find that virtually everyone who has been successful at keeping the weight off exercises on an almost daily basis.
Don't start if you can't finish.
Once again, the National Weight Control Registry puts that in perfect perspective.
Almost everyone who was successful at keeping the weight off long term had stopped thinking of it as a diet. It was just a way of life.
It was how they ate. It was the exercise that they liked to do on a daily basis. It no longer required any conscious effort. It no longer required any will power.
This is perhaps the most important weight control principle of all.
When you make your resolutions this New Year, don't make a resolution to change your weight. Make a resolution to change your life!
A BIG thank you to Dr. Stephen Chaney who provided this information.
If you or anyone you know, is looking for a reliable source to personally help them with weight management, lifestyle changes, and feeling wonderful call me at 810-813-3308.
To your health.
Mary Beth
That's right, exercise. While you burn some calories every time you exercise, the real value of exercise is that it increases lean muscle mass and lean muscle mass burns more calories than fat.
Again, if you consult the National Weight Control Registry, you will find that virtually everyone who has been successful at keeping the weight off exercises on an almost daily basis.
Don't start if you can't finish.
Once again, the National Weight Control Registry puts that in perfect perspective.
Almost everyone who was successful at keeping the weight off long term had stopped thinking of it as a diet. It was just a way of life.
It was how they ate. It was the exercise that they liked to do on a daily basis. It no longer required any conscious effort. It no longer required any will power.
This is perhaps the most important weight control principle of all.
When you make your resolutions this New Year, don't make a resolution to change your weight. Make a resolution to change your life!
A BIG thank you to Dr. Stephen Chaney who provided this information.
If you or anyone you know, is looking for a reliable source to personally help them with weight management, lifestyle changes, and feeling wonderful call me at 810-813-3308.
To your health.
Mary Beth
Monday, January 4, 2010
Calories Rule continued
According to Dr. Stephen Chaney, "Your body type or blood type has absolutely nothing to do with which diet is going to work best for you."
Changes in your diet will be necessary. You will want to drop some foods from your diet and include some foods and drinks that are new to you. Think about what you are eating and make conscious choices about which foods are helping you fulfill your goals of losing weight and which are not.
The diet should be one that is healthy in the long run.
Particularly the popular high fat, low carbohydrate diets. It is clear that diets high in fat, particularly saturated and trans fats, are associated with increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and inflammatory diseases. Plus high fat diets just don't work well for long term weight control. Fat has more calories than carbohydrates.
If it is hard to believe what Dr. Chaney has reported, you may consult the National Weight Control Registry. This was established in 1994 and has tracked the weight loss strategies of over 5000 peple who have been successful at keeping their weight off long term.
While those people lost weight using every diet in the books, the vast majority of them that were successful at keeping their weight off long term, followed a low calorie, low-fat diet to maintain their weight loss.
Part three is next week and how you can achieve your goal weight and, more importanly, maintain that weight
Changes in your diet will be necessary. You will want to drop some foods from your diet and include some foods and drinks that are new to you. Think about what you are eating and make conscious choices about which foods are helping you fulfill your goals of losing weight and which are not.
The diet should be one that is healthy in the long run.
Particularly the popular high fat, low carbohydrate diets. It is clear that diets high in fat, particularly saturated and trans fats, are associated with increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and inflammatory diseases. Plus high fat diets just don't work well for long term weight control. Fat has more calories than carbohydrates.
If it is hard to believe what Dr. Chaney has reported, you may consult the National Weight Control Registry. This was established in 1994 and has tracked the weight loss strategies of over 5000 peple who have been successful at keeping their weight off long term.
While those people lost weight using every diet in the books, the vast majority of them that were successful at keeping their weight off long term, followed a low calorie, low-fat diet to maintain their weight loss.
Part three is next week and how you can achieve your goal weight and, more importanly, maintain that weight
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Calories Rule
Making that New Year's Resolution? Is loosing weight at the top of your list?
The good news is that you will have lots of choices for losing that weight.
The bad news is that most of those choices are bogus!
You see each diet book and Internet marketer will have a "magic formula".
Sometimes it will be a "magic" diet composition - low fat diets, low carb diets, high protein diets - or don't eat protein and carbohydrates together.
Despite all of the hype that you will hear, weight loss is solely dependent on the difference between calories in and calories out.
There is no "magic diet formula", no "magic diet composition" and no "magic diet food". Calories rule!
The diet doesn't have to be weird to be successful. In fact the diet is most likely to succeed if it includes foods that are familiar to you. However, if you're a "meat and potatoes" person, a vegetarian diet is not likely to be successful for you. Plus we are all different. Some of us will lose weight successfully on one diet. Other people will be more successful on a different diet. That means the diet that worked so well for your friend may not work at all for you.
Intrigued? Find out more next week.
"Whatever we are waiting for - peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance - it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart."
- Sarah Ban Breathnach
The good news is that you will have lots of choices for losing that weight.
The bad news is that most of those choices are bogus!
You see each diet book and Internet marketer will have a "magic formula".
Sometimes it will be a "magic" diet composition - low fat diets, low carb diets, high protein diets - or don't eat protein and carbohydrates together.
Despite all of the hype that you will hear, weight loss is solely dependent on the difference between calories in and calories out.
There is no "magic diet formula", no "magic diet composition" and no "magic diet food". Calories rule!
The diet doesn't have to be weird to be successful. In fact the diet is most likely to succeed if it includes foods that are familiar to you. However, if you're a "meat and potatoes" person, a vegetarian diet is not likely to be successful for you. Plus we are all different. Some of us will lose weight successfully on one diet. Other people will be more successful on a different diet. That means the diet that worked so well for your friend may not work at all for you.
Intrigued? Find out more next week.
"Whatever we are waiting for - peace of mind, contentment, grace, the inner awareness of simple abundance - it will surely come to us, but only when we are ready to receive it with an open and grateful heart."
- Sarah Ban Breathnach
Monday, December 7, 2009
Colon Cancer
At my physical, I received from my doctor the paperwork to schedule my first colonoscopy. I asked my doctor, why is 50 the benchmark for a colonoscopy? He explained that if there is no colon cancer history in the family, that it is consider middle age and young enough to prevent colon cancer. If there are polyps, then the surgeon removes the polyps, and reduces the chances of the polyps developing into cancer cells.
I'm not looking forward to it, but feel positive as I do so many things to prevent colon cancer.
What are those "things"?
Prevention is the cure!
I'm not looking forward to it, but feel positive as I do so many things to prevent colon cancer.
What are those "things"?
- Eat healthy 80% of the time. Eating protein, fiber, water (half my weight in ounces)
- Knowing that eating chocolate, white sugar, white flour and alcohol fuels stress
- Exercise
- Use whole food supplements, including a probiotic (which gets the good bacteria into the colon)
- AND a unque immune booster which helps to produce Interferon, naturally
Prevention is the cure!
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