Healthy Heart Tip- Eat more fish!

Fish are amazing, beautiful creatures. I’ve snorkeled in crystal-clear waters full of vibrant, exotic fish. What a treat it is to see the many varieties that swim free in the ocean—all basically the same, yet all so very different, in so many shapes, sizes, and colors. Fish are wonderful entertainment, but they also can benefit us in other ways.

Certain dark flesh fish contain high concentrations of Omega 3 fatty acids, which are fats that are very beneficial to the human body. First it was found that Omega 3 fatty acids were good for the heart and cardiovascular health. Now it is thought that Omega 3 fatty acids are helpful not only in maintaining the health of the heart, but also in brain development and overall long-term health. They have been found to help lower cholesterol levels, elevate moods, and act as anti-inflammatory agents.

All of that, right there, should be enough to send you running down to the fish market. But before you do, you should know that when it comes to Omega 3 fatty acids, not all fish are created equal. The highest concentrations are found in dark flesh cold-water fish caught in the wild rather than raised on a farm. The wild fish eat more algae, which is where they get the Omega 3 fatty acids. The fish stores fat just as you and I do; when we eat the fish, we benefit from their stored fats.

Because some fish flesh contains high levels of heavy metals, I strongly recommend that you buy fish from a health-food store,   Ask where it was caught, and if it has been tested for contaminants. And remember: fresh fish does not smell “fishy.”

 The scales should be shiny, the flesh firm. Look your fish in the eye; if it’s fresh, the eye will be clear, not cloudy. Most stores sell frozen, serving-size fish, make sure it's  "wild caught".  This may be a good choice; fish are normally frozen right after they’re caught, and frozen fish is easy to store until you’re ready to eat it.

Fish with white flesh are good sources of protein, but they don’t have high concentrations of Omega 3 fatty acids, except in their livers. Unless you’re going to eat that, go for such dark-fleshed fishes as salmon and mackerel. Two or three servings a week are a great start.

There are many ways to serve fish: you can steam, poach, broil, grill, or bake them. You can fry them, though that may not be the healthiest option. You can go ethnic and make curried fish (Thai), fish stew (French), fish in green sauce (Mexican), or fish sauce piquante (Cajun). Or pick up a Mediterranean cookbook—the region boasts unlimited choices for serving fish.

It may be difficult or unacceptable to you to eat as much fish as you need to fulfill your body’s need for Omega 3 fatty acids. There are other choices. Check the refrigerated supplements section of your health-food store for flax-seed oil, a good vegetarian source of Omega 3 fatty acids. For a non-vegetarian source you can take a fish-oil supplement. As with all supplements, quality varies. Buy the best you can afford. Currently, 1000 milligrams is thought to be an adequate adult daily intake of Omega 3 fatty acids.

 While we’re on the subject of fatty acids, Omega 6 fatty acids are another type of essential fatty acids your body needs. These are found in corn, olive, sunflower, and safflower oils, so make sure you diet includes some of these. Best choice? Olive oil drizzled on your salads or vegetable side dishes.

Healthy Skin is Beautiful Skin

Take good care of your skin. You need healthy skin for your body to function fully. You also may find that you age more slowly if you look and feel younger. I think it’s true that beauty is more than skin deep But. I also think that your attitude about your self (and looks contribute to this), can effect the rate at which you age. You may find that you age slower if you look and feel younger. What could contribute more to looking and feeling younger than skin that is healthy, radiant, and wrinkle-free?

Your skin is one of the largest organs in—or, in this case on—your body. Yes, your skin is actually an organ, just like the heart or lungs or spleen or brain. In terms of surface area, the average adult human in the US has about 3,000 square inches of skin Your skin is responsible for many functions, including protecting you from bacterial infection, maintaining your body temperature, receiving stimuli from the environment, producing vitamin D, and excreting or retaining water and salts. Your skin regenerates itself daily, constantly sloughing off old skin cells and growing new ones. Follow these suggestions to give your skin its best chance of remaining healthy.

Be kind to your skin by protecting it from exposure to sun, wind, and other elements.  Wear protective clothing when you’re going to be in weather that will be hard on your skin. Wind, cold and/or dry air, salty or chlorinated water, and blowing dust are just a few of the environmental conditions that can adversely affect the skin. Some work environments, such as a dusty shop, or a job that requires you to be exposed to paint fumes, harsh cleansers, or oils, can also be hard on the skin; wear protective gear, and drink plenty of water.

Grow healthy skin from the inside out. To do this, eat lots of foods that themselves contain water, such as fruits and vegetables. Take your vitamins every day, so your body has plenty of the building blocks it needs to replace cells as needed. Include healthy oils, such as fish and flax-seed oils, in your diet. And drink plenty of water.

One of the quickest ways to age your skin is to smoke tobacco. Don’t do it. Make sure you get enough rest, again so your body has the energy it needs to replace dead cells with new ones. Stress affects every organ in the body, including your skin. If your stress level is high, read the section on de-stressing, and drink plenty of water.

Always wash your skin in pure water, and make it warm, not hot. Buy the best-quality skin-care products you can afford. Use soaps that are kind to your skin. Choose a natural product if possible, one with no harsh chemicals, dyes, or artificial fragrances. First clean your skin. Next tone; to balance your skins PH, and moisturize; to add moisture and lock out pollutants. Do all three at least twice a day. Guys, you can do this too—a skin-care routine is good for everyone, and plenty of products on the market are designed especially for men. Never sleep in makeup, cosmetics, or dirty skin. And drink plenty of water.

Acne usually starts at puberty, triggered by the body’s increased production of hormones. If acne is prolonged or acute, it means your body chemistry is in a state of imbalance. You probably need to clean up your diet, balance your hormones, and detoxify your internal organs as well as your skin. Because of side effects and drug-resistant bacteria, antibiotics are not the answer. However, homeopathy might be (see the section on Homeopathy). An herbalist can also be of assistance to someone who suffers from acne.

Many skin problems, such as eczema and psoriasis, can indicate an underlying toxicity in the body, as well as nutritional imbalances. A qualified homeopath or herbalist can be of assistance with these types of concerns also.

If it’s true that self-image, self-esteem, and attitudes affect aging, then taking good care of the skin is not just an issue of looks, it’s a step toward slowing the aging process.

Further Reading:

The Perricone Prescription, by Nicholas Perricone, M.D.

 Beauty and Grooming, by Reinhold Benz

Age Erasing Secrets, by Kevin Ireland

Natural Facelift, by Juliette Kando

Ageless Body, Timeless Mind, by Deepak Chopra

Is your home Environment clean and chemical free?

A clean environment is essential to your good health. You might think your house is clean, but the air inside it can be very dirty without looking or smelling as if it is. The chemicals you use to clean your home can pollute your surroundings. Allergies, respiratory problems, and reduced immune function can all be induced or complicated by toxins in the environment.

Environmental illness occurs when a person’s immune system is so sensitive that they are allergic to such everyday things as the carpets in their home or the fabrics in their clothes. Early research found that such people were often sensitive to the chemicals used to produce these everyday products, not to the products themselves.

Some companies make non-chemically-produced products for the home, such as mattresses, bedspreads towels, and shower curtains. No matter what kind of products you buy, always wash any new fabric products before you use them. This removes the residues from the manufacturing processes and decreases your exposure to toxins.

You may not be as sensitive as someone who can’t ride a bus without being sickened by the bus exhaust, or other people’s perfume or cologne or cigarette smoke. However, you could be sensitive at a sub-clinical level, where the reaction is never fully manifested but still puts stress on your immune system.

If you are often sick and/or tired, you may be sensitive to your environment. Why not keep your living space as free of toxins as you possibly can, just in case you are sensitive? It couldn’t hurt.

At home, start by cleaning or replacing all air filters on your furnace and air conditioners. Have the furnace Ducts cleaned on regular basis- it's a investment, but a good one- you would be amazed at how many pounds of dust is lurking in the furnace ducts! While you’re at it, change the filters on the exhaust fans for the bathroom, clothes dryer, and stove. Make sure all fans are working properly to vent outside the home. Then mark your calendar to remind yourself to change them again in six months.

Use humidity controls. If you live in a damp climate, use a dehumidifier to discourage mold. If your home is too dry, use a humidifier to make the air more moist, and friendlier to your respiratory system. If you live in an area high in dust or pollen, keep your windows closed at high-risk times. The same goes if you live near a well-traveled road or freeway whose traffic pumps a lot of exhaust into the air.

If you use humidifiers, clean them at least once a week. Drain all the water, clean the inside with a brush, and soak the filters in a natural cleaner. Young Living Essential Oils makes several different oils that work to clean the air when added to the water in your humidifier. For instance the oil called Purification contains anti-bacterial and anti-fungal ingredients that will ride the water droplets into the air, and decrease the pollutants in your home. If you don’t humidify, you can purchase an oil distiller, choose one that does not use heat - a cold distiller uses air pressure to release the oil molecules into the air. If you decide to use essential oils, be sure that they’re pure oils, with nothing added that might affect the oils’ detoxifying efficiency. I only use Young Living Oils, I'm sure they are pure!

Don’t pollute your home with cigarette smoke—if you must smoke, take it outside. Don’t use candles or incense excessively. Be sure charcoal burners and chemical fire-starters are used well away from open windows and doors. And when you clean dusty areas of your home, such as the attic or the garage, wear a facemask.

If you live in an area where household pests are a problem, try to use natural products to discourage the visits of ants, roaches, termites, and the like. Essential oils like peppermint and lemon discourage bugs.  If you feel you must use an exterminator, ask about natural products that can be professionally applied. Most insecticides include neurotoxins: they kill bugs by poisoning their nervous systems. Repeated exposure to such chemicals in your home can’t be good.

Limit your use of toxic cleaning products. There are many natural cleaning products on the market today—use them first. If you then find that you must use your favorite chemical cleaners, use them sparingly. Pick one or two, and don’t mix them. Choose products that pump or pour rather than spray—or, better yet, ones that you wipe on and off. This way you limit chemical over-spray, and breathe in less of the stuff as you clean. Always wear rubber gloves while cleaning, and don’t clean in small, unventilated spaces. If you do use chemicals, open the windows to let the house air out during and after use

Don’t use excessive amounts of chemicals to clean your clothes. Pick natural detergents and softeners. Use chemical spot cleaners sparingly. You might even consider running clothes through your washing machine’s rinse cycle twice to be sure all the cleaners are removed.

Clean your carpets and furniture at least once every six months. A carpet-cleaning company can do both. Use a company that uses environmentally friendly cleaners. And don’t forget the drapes—they catch a lot of dust, and should be washed regularly with natural cleaners.

Use houseplants to clean the air in your home. Studies show that houseplants actually remove toxins from the air, so fill your home with leafy plants and let them go to work for you. Remember, plants must be dusted, just like anything else in your home. For them to work as little air purifiers, their leaves must be clean.

If you work in a profession where you are exposed to environmental toxins like wood dust or gas fumes, always wear your protective mask. And be kind to your neighbors—make sure your car is kept well-tuned.

last but not least, take a close look at your personal care products- what chemicals are in them? I recently visited a friend who has respiratory problems. I had to leave the house when she sprayed her hairspray and the scent engulfed the house. I could smell chemicals and asked her if she had considered that breathing that spray a time or two a day could be part of her problem. She had never considered it. Use all natural personal care products, remember anything that goes on your body gets into your body!

Kick the Cans

It’s important to your health that you eliminate as many processed foods from your diet as possible. Processed foods are those that have been stored in cans or boxes or bottles in ways that make them less healthy than the same foods would be in their natural states.

Look at the canned vegetables you buy. These foods were plucked from the earth and shipped to huge processing plants, where they were cleaned and chopped, then cooked at temperatures high enough to destroy most of the vitamins these foods once contained. Then things were added to them—things such as salt, sugar (in all its wonderful disguises), preservatives, artificial flavors, colors, and stabilizers. After all this processing, little of the foods’ natural nutrition is still available, and health-defying ingredients such as sugar, salt, and monosodium glutamate (MSG) now take center stage.

I grew up on a small farm. We canned lots of veggies from the garden. In home canning, the cooking temperatures are lower, and you don’t add much of anything artificial. Such hand-canned products are much closer to natural than the store-bought varieties. These days, however, home canning is practically a lost art. Most people don’t know how to grow or can their food, and, with improvements in transporting fresh foods, most people don’t need to know.

Fresh is your best first choice. Frozen foods are a good second choice. In freezing, the integrity of the foods’ cell walls is destroyed, which is why frozen vegetables tend to be somewhat mushy. Still, much of the nutritional value remains, so no additives are needed. With that in mind, check the labels of frozen foods—what has been added that wasn’t needed? Most frozen foods need little processing—just cut, clean, bag, and freeze.

Then read the labels on some canned foods, counting all the additives. Ask yourself if you can figure out why companies find it necessary to add sugar and salt to vegetables. If you were going to use canned products with no added sugar or MSG, how many choices would you have? What if you wanted to eliminate salt as well—now how many choices do you have? If you shop in a chain grocery store of the non–health-food variety, your choices will be very limited indeed. Make a note of what products and brand names have no added sugar, salt, or MSG. That way, when you have an emergency, need to fix something quick, or are in a hurry, you won’t have to make a trip to a health-food store. You can make a quick stop at the neighborhood grocery and still make fairly good, though somewhat limited, choices for a quick meal.

Years ago, you couldn’t find canned goods in health-food stores. You didn’t see many boxed foods either. Most of what you could buy was dry, and in big bins. If you were really serious about health foods, you even brought your own recycled bags to put the products in. How much the health-food industry has changed and grown in the past thirty years! Today there are a variety of organic canned vegetables, pasta sauces, and soups on the shelf, as well as freezers full of products. Fresh is still best, but when you need a quick meal, many organic, no-additive choices are available.

A few canned products are so convenient you can’t help but use them. We all know that beans soaked and cooked at home are fantastic, but when you don’t have that kind of time, canned beans are great. Again, use the organic, no-additives kind. There are a number of brands of natural soups on the market today; again, if you have time to cook, fresh is always best—but for a quick meal, an all-natural soup high in carbohydrates and a portion of fish or chicken makes a good, quick, relatively healthy meal.

Have you heard that saying “there are always exceptions to the rule”? It’s true. The rule is use as few canned, boxed, or bottled food products as you possibly can. The exception is when you’re pressed for time. Then go for packaged foods that are as close to their original, natural state as possible. As with all the other habits you’re changing as you read and apply this book, each time you choose the healthier shopping alternative, you’ve won a small victory. You’re that much closer to enjoying good health for your lifetime.

Buy Snacks in Small Packs

            Stroll the Candy aisle of any supermarket. It’s amazing to see how many different kinds of chocolate bars there are to choose from. Look at all the other types of sugar-filled, artificially colored junk foods we can pick from, be they gummy worms or old-fashioned caramels. Next, take a walk down the Chips aisle (imagine, a whole aisle just for chips . . .). How many types of potato chips do we really need?

It’s said that variety is the spice of life. Well, we sure have enough variety in the snack department. In fact, it’s apparent that our culture has become so fixated on junk food that we’ve forgotten how to eat. Full of fats, salt, sugar and chemicals, these snack foods can adversely affect our health if we overindulge, and most of us do.

Now take a look at the Frozen Foods section. How many of these products can you identify as junk foods in disguise? From pastries that fit in a toaster to meaty, dough-wrapped snacks, most of these frozen snacks are full of artificial stuff, and do not count as good nutritional choices.

Now think of the number of times you’ve filled up on junk food rather than real food. How many times have you opened a bag of chips or cookies or candy when you weren’t really hungry, and entertained yourself by eating the whole bag? How many times have you been in such a rush that some quick junk food served as your meal? Most of us can say that we’ve done these things often.

Take a look at what your children are eating. It’s astonishing to me how many parents closely monitor their children’s TV viewing, friends, music, social activities, and Internet use, even as they stuff their cupboards with foods that cause obesity and other health problems for those children.

Most snack foods are full of sugar—or, even worse, artificial sugar—fat, salt, artificial flavors and colors, monosodium glutamate (MSG), and a variety of additives and preservatives. None of these is good for you.

My best advice for you is to give them up. Yes, I mean give up eating junk snack foods. Don’t shop in the Candy, Cookie, Chips, or Frozen Food aisles—skip them altogether. You can’t eat it if you don’t buy it. Learn to use healthy, natural foods for snacks. Try fresh or dried fruit, yogurt, nuts, and fresh vegetables. Shop the health-food store for natural alternatives to artificial snack foods.

If you feel that you just can’t give up snack foods, learn to regulate how you use them. This process begins at the grocery store. Start by thinking about what you’re buying. What snack food would you buy if you could choose only one? What is your second choice? Do you need both? Look at the lists of ingredients—are you sure you want to eat that?

Take a close look at the contents of your shopping cart before you check out. How many snack items did you choose? Did you really plan to buy that many? Would you like to put something back on the shelf?

Next, never super-size it! Don’t buy the largest package of anything. I know that snacks seem to cost less in bigger packages, but think of the cost in treatment for heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other diet-related diseases. Eating cheap junk food now costs you many times more later, in healthcare.

If you must buy snacks, buy the tiniest package possible. Most stores carry chips and cookies in single-serving packages, all ready to put in lunch pails. Why not buy those? The cost per cookie is higher, but that’s even more of an incentive to eat less of them. Small packs stay fresh longer because they don’t sit open in the cupboard. With small packages, it’s easy to know when to stop munching: the package is empty.

If you must buy full-size packages of snacks, always look at the label to determine what a serving size is, then measure one serving into a dish. Often a serving will be something like 10 chips. Admit it—if you’re holding the bag in your hand, you’re probably going to eat more than one 10-chip serving. Candy packages also list serving sizes; be sure to read the label before you eat the whole thing.

Make a healthy choice. Decide to reduce or eliminate the junk snack foods in your diet. Remember to measure servings. Don’t use snack foods in place of a meal. Follow these suggestions and you’ll be on your way to a healthier life.