In modern-day culture, being healthy is commonly associated with dieting. This is somewhat ironic since most diets leave us starved emotionally or physically. How did we come to believe that struggle and deprivation equal vitality and health?
Delving into the history of dieting, we can discover why diets have not worked well for us and how we continue to get caught up in their cycle.
At the beginning of the 20th century, with the cultural increase in weight gain, our solution was a low-calorie/ low-fat diet. The assumption was that cutting out all fats would resolve our weight issues. Thankfully, the body's natural intelligence prevented us from starving ourselves to death and we began to experience strong cravings for fat and sugar. Deprived of fuel for energy we craved sugar. The craving for fat was the body's natural attempt to stabilize the erratic blood sugar levels that were being created by a fat-free diet. Furthermore, fat cravings intensified due to the lacking feeling of comfort and fullness that only fat would satisfy.
A severely limited calorie intake led to bingeing on fats and sugars. Contrary to what we believe, cravings and binges are not an indication of being flawed or weak. Binges are extreme responses to measures of restriction at levels that are unsustainable by a healthy human body.
Finding ourselves back in the cycle of fats and sugars, we turned to the high protein diet. This "worked" for a while, but since the body needs carbohydrates to stay balanced, we once again found ourselves bingeing on the carbs.
As a solution, the high carb diet was created. What seemed a well balanced idea, ended up sky-rocketing our cholesterol levels. The result: the low cholesterol diet was born, bringing back the low-fat diet. And so the cycle continues. Years later these diets have returned modified through modern food supply. Although historically unsuccessful, each of them continues to be heralded as the new greatest diet.

The Dirty Dozen

The newest list of 'Dirty Dozen' has been released and it's just as bad (if not worse) than I remembered from last year. This is the classic example of why we need organic foods that are cheaper and more readily available . . . beauase WHY would we ever eat these? The link to the complete article is listed below.
Cut and paste it . . .

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/daily_green_news/332/the-new-dirty-dozen-12-foods-to-eat-organic-and-avoid-pesticide-residue.html

Grocery Store Bread

I've been listening to David Wolfe in my Integrative Nutrition class and it's making an impression. Basically my head is swinging on a pendulum of fact-oids. I have no intention of become a raw-food-y BUT I will use several of his suggestions for SuperFoods.
Fact I already suspected(this puts the bread found in the supermarket in perspective): Refined wheat flour loses 83% of phenolics 79% flavonoids, 78% zeaxanthin, 51% leutin. All are plant compounds w/ health benefits.

This post is from a FB friend . . .

I love salads and I love Mexican food. This salad seems to combine both marvelously. I made this salad this week and plan to make it again next week it was so delicious.
The salad is packed with good protein and fiber from the black beans and the whole grain goodness from the brown rice. Add in the mango, which is a virtual vitamin powerhouse with vitamins C, E and A as well as high levels of calcium and magnesium. I did tweak the recipe a bit and added crumbled goat feta at the end.
This is a win win recipe and will taste light and fresh during this spring season.
Enjoy!


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups chopped peeled ripe mango
1 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cups cooked brown rice
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons roasted tomatillo or fresh salsa
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons extravirgin olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (15-ounce) can organic no-salt-added black beans, rinsed and drained
Optional: Crumbled goat feta
Preparation
1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Toss gently to mix.

Go suck a lemon! Try adding lemon slices to your water. It provides you with good source of vitamin C, stimulates digestion, and helps to clean the liver. It also tastes delicious!
I finished my last Crystal Light packet last night . . . and I've clearly let myself get dihydrated today. My mouth is dry and I feel a little woozey. I did force myself to drink cold-brewed Green Tea but frankly I was sooooooooo very addicted to Crystal Light that this 'cold-turkey' of such a fake sugar drink is going to take quite a bit of effort.

Food focus: Greens

Leafy greens are some of the easiest and most beneficial vegetables to incorporate into our daily routine. Densely packed with energy and nutrients, they grow upwards to the sky, absorbing the sun's light while producing oxygen. Members of this royal green family include kale, collard greens, swiss chard, mustard greens, arugula, dandelion greens, broccoli rabe, watercress, beet greens, bok choy, napa cabbage, green cabbage, spinach and broccoli.

The benefits of dark leafy greens: They are very high in calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, phosphorous and zinc, and are a powerhouse for vitamins A, C, E and K. They are crammed full of fiber, folic acid, chlorophyll, and many other micronutrients and phytochemicals.

Their color is associated with spring, which is a time of renewal and refreshing, vital energy. In traditional Asian medicine, the color green is related to the liver, emotional stability and creativity. Greens aid in purifying the blood, strengthening the immune system, improving liver, gall bladder and kidney function, fighting depression, clearing congestion, improving circulation and keeping your skin clear and blemish free.

Leafy greens are the vegetables most missing from the American diet, and many of us never learned how to prepare them. Start with this very simple recipe. Then each time you go to the market, pick up a new green to try. Soon you'll find your favorite greens and wonder how you ever lived without them.

White Bread

The funniest thing happened to me the other day . . . as I was making breakfast for myself and my significant other he said to me, when I asked him if he wanted breakfast, "No, No . . . ummmmm, not unless you have a bagel or WHITE bread."
A couple of things occurred to me (once I stopped laughing) first, that I was manipulating his diet to accommodate mine and second, that everyone has a bio-individuality that I have to be absolutely aware of when I recommend slight (or dramatic) diet adjustments.
Oh, another little irony was that I found ANOTHER stash Crystal Light in one of my coolers . . . I haven't used it since Massage Therapy school so the stash of five packets have joined the very last packages that feed my addiction to Crystal Light!