I've been having a little trouble...

...with sugar cravings lately.

Most of the time I'm eating healthy snacks - fruit, veggies, crackers, organic ice cream - but lately (as in since Thanksgiving or maybe Halloween) I've been craving the hard stuff. Sour Straws, Oreos, Chocolates, PBMnM's, Cookies & Cream chocolate bars, ice cream, cool-aide type drinks, just SUGAR. Which is weird because at Thanksgiving I gave myself the go ahead to eat whatever the heck I wanted - I had pop (I never have pop), candy, desserts, etc. And because of it I felt immensely sick and I'm surprised I didn't get a sugar headache. As I think about it I realize that it really started around Halloween. We had lots of sugar/candy around because of trick or treaters and I started bringing a small amount to school each day. Now I absolutely crave sugar around 2 o'clock pm. And if it doesn't get filled I just have to give in bigger later.

When in reality I just need some natural sugar (grapes, banana, strawberries, orange, apple) to get me through the slough time when I really want to lay down in the hallway and take a nap. Not to mention eating some good, healthy, and whole grain/veggie meals every two hours to keep my mood and energy up.

This article gives some good ideas to curb that sugar craving.

• Chew gum. Sugar free gum.
• Walk away. Literally go for a walk.
• Meditate.
• Try to eliminate other sugars from your life.

We Are A Technology Generation

But is that hindering us from being something greater?

In this article in TIME magazine, Doctors are warning against data smog, which is making us more depressed as a people. This data fog is a overabundance of useless information. Its everywhere and its bringing us down. While we have more information, most of it is useless to us and we spend so much time with it. Its associated with poor sleep, stress, and depression.

I have a personal connection to this because well, I gave up all technology over Thanksgiving break. I turned off my phone, I gave my computer to a friend to strip it because it was acting up, and I just didn't use any wireless/technology and didn't even have my phone to text, etc. It was surprising how FREEING it was. No one could contact me. When I turned my phone back on when arriving home, no one had had anything important to say anyway. I just basked the weekend away reading and just lazily dreaming and resting. Not doing anything but just enjoying the sounds and smells of Thanksgiving. It was glorious. I found myself a lot happier, a lot more in-tune to what people were feeling and saying around me, and more in-tune to myself and what my body and mind needed.

The Doctor in the article states his limiting of technology in this way "freed me to pursue more restorative activities, especially spending time in natural settings. My mind is clearer, my attention span longer, and my real (as opposed to virtual) friendships closer."


Suggestions:

• Take time off from technology and use your brain to curb your boredom. Read a book, play a board game, write in your journal, clean your house, make some delicious food, the list goes on.
• Take a long enough break from technology that you can feel the full effects and not get drawn back into it. Its like an addiction. Get to the point where you can be without it or with it and it doesn't REALLY matter to you.
• Limit the amount of technology you get on a regular basis. 
• Limit the TYPE of technology/info you get. Make it so that you only get exactly what you want and that it is mostly useful information. Otherwise, its just bringing you down.

Top 6 Blogs

I thought I'd give a plug out for my top favorite blogs from my class.......and because I have to. :)

These are in no particular order and feel free to go wandering through their archives and see what they have to say.

• http://briannastruthaboutbeauty.wordpress.com/
• http://heatheresplin.wordpress.com/
• http://symbolicslyness.wordpress.com/
• http://marketinginthemedia.wordpress.com/
• http://thefyre.wordpress.com/
• http://photographyfraud.wordpress.com/

There are two I am not really interested in so I don't really read .... but I think they're great blogs.

• http://vaultutahcampaign.wordpress.com/
• http://thebookpublishinginsider.com/

P.S. I'm sorry sports bloggers, I tried, really I did, but your blogs are just so damn boring to me. I just can't bring myself to read another one. I have no interest in sports whatsoever. I love playing sports and I sometimes can enjoy watching sports, but a WHOLE BLOG about sports? I just can't handle. 

A Little Laugh Goes A Long Way

Ever wonder what would happen if someone really did find the fountain of youth? Well, what if I told you it had already been found? What would you do about it? I'm going to tell you and you will probably think its cool and never really take it to heart, just like every other good thing for your body. You have no motivation. what. so. ever.

Laughing.

Laughing is the fountain of youth. It gives you a mental boost, facilitates physiological changes in our bodies, helps keep your heart healthy, keeps you under less stress, makes you feel good, gives you power, lets you cope, gives you better communication and connectedness, relieves tension and aggression, helps you learn better and retain that knowledge, and adds years to your life (Organic Soul Blog - Laughter).

Honestly how this article talks about how stress gives you a heart attack I should be getting one any day now. I am a stress-a-holic. Anything and everything I stress about. I really just need to back off and relax. Look at all these health benefits of LAUGHTER! For heavens sake, laughter is SO easy to procure. So whether its clicking on some youtube videos, staying up late to make everything funny, or just laughing at yourself when you do something stupid take time to laugh everyday and YOU will be feeling better in no time, not to mention adding years to your life, and hey, if you're laughing those years will be good.

The Cafeteria

I did not have time to go shopping awhile back so I could not bring lunch with me to school. So I decided to go to the School Cafeteria. It is fantastic - ok, not fantastic as in deliciously amazing best food I've ever eaten, but - more fantastic in the way it cost me $3.80 for a large salad of my choosing. It filled me completely up. I was very impressed. They also have hot food, already packaged food, etc. and it is so much cheaper than the fast food restaurants downstairs (and probably healthier). Go check it out. Save some money. Fill your belly. Be nutritious.


UVU is doing a Holiday Health Challenge. Its too late to join (it was free, Nov 15), but you can do one yourself! Go weigh yourself right now and weigh yourself again January 10. You win if you stay within two pounds of what you are right now.

There is a guest lecture series here at UVU on the topics of alcohol, tobacco, stress, eating disorders, lifestyle change, planning health, nutrition, and plastic surgery.

I'm HOPING that the Zumba and Yoga classes will stay at the same time for next semester because THEN, FINALLY I can attend them!

Also, take advantage of the FREE health risk appraisal - go sign up HERE.

Exercise - Your Best Friend

This is a recent article written on a health blog about exercise. He does a great job of writing and attributing. We all know how to be healthy, eat less, eat healthier, and move more. Yet what we miss is the motivation to DO. However, just moving more than usual or doing Tai Chi can be a great form of exercise that will help you maintain a better BMI and lessen health diseases. Exercising doesn't have to be intense and expensive. You can do anything active and it will give you better health. Jump rope, jogging, exercise videos, walking, yoga, walking up/down steps, you can literally make any exercise out of any day to day activity.

Exercise improves asthma. What I really thought was interesting is that the famous 'carbo load' may actually create soreness after exercise. There is no need to carbo load before or after exercising. Whey protein on the other hand, may improve exercise tolerance for people with COPD.

Additives Causing Your Chronic Pain?

If you're like me you'll realize how HARD it is to find the cause of chronic pain. I suffer from migraines and I find it difficult to find relief as well as stop them from happening so frequently. One can hardly ever find the real cause of migraines. There are some major additives that you can avoid that can help you combat chronic pain and provide overall health. Taken from here.

1. Artificial Sweeteners: Aspertame, NutraSweet, Splenda. Found: in diet drinks and packets on restaurant tables. Adds to migraines. Cut them out completely.
2. Sugar: just plain sugar. Found: everywhere. Adds to muscle spasms. Cut down on intake.
3. High-Fructose Corn Syrup: similar to sugar. Found: everywhere. Adds to abdominal pain and digestive disorders. Cut down on intake.
4. Salt: that stuff on the table. Found: every table and every processed food of America. Adds to water retention which leads to bad joint and nerve function. Cut down on intake.
5. MSG: monosodium glutamate, glutamic acid, yeast extract, hydrolyzed protein, sodium caseinate, and autolyzed yeast. Found: chinese food and processed food. Adds to nerve damage and enhances pain. Cut out completely.
6. Preservatives:bonzoates, monglycerides, diglycerides, nitrates, nitrites, and sulfites. Found: commercially baked goods and anything that last a long time (processed food).

Eat the freshest and most natural food you can and you will get the best micronutrients and be the healthiest.

UVU Wellness Quest

Stress Relief in Four Weeks - Week 3: Progressive Relaxation Exercise

You tighten naturally when you have stress which may lead to more stress. (This totally happens when I get migraines, more stress=more tightness=more pain=more stress=etc.) Relaxation can help stop the cycle.

1. Lie down.
2. Close your eyes and take a deep breath in through your nose and out through your mouth. Relax all muscles in body.
3. Start in your toes and tense all the muscles in your feet as hard as you can. Curl your toes up against your shoes. Tense your calf muscles and squeeze for 5-10 seconds. Slowly release and loosen the muscles of your feet and calves. Concentrate on relaxing.
4. Move the tension up your legs and do the same thing progressively up your body until you reach your head. Always remember to release the tighten slowly and focus on relaxing the muscles.
5. You hold your most stress in your head, neck, and face so be careful with this area and do over several times.

Release all the negative energy and thoughts from your body. Take a few deep breaths and then slowly open your eyes and at your leisure get up.

Resource: The Center for Mindfulness

The Gerson Miracle

I've been wanting to watch this documentary ever since I saw Food Matters. His daughter is in that documentary This documentary states that Dr. Gerson, a German Jew during the second world war. He watched in growing potatoes how fertilizers made 

He suffered from migraine headaches. After experiments of eating raw fruit and veggies plus plain cooked veggies his migraines went away, his skin TB also went away. He got his doctorate and started the diet as his clinic. He wrote The Cancer Theory which demonstrated all the forms of cancer could be cured with his care with 50 years of life after 'the cure'. He was helping over 1500 patients when he died. These were patients whose doctors had given up on them and told them they only had months to live.

Chances of Getting Cancer in Developed Nations
1/16 - 1940
1/2 - 2000

Abnormal cells that steal vital nutrients to make itself bigger and eventually kill the host (you).

Deficiency and Toxicity are the two reasons for cancer.

ABC announced 1946 declared that the cure for cancer had been found. He was fired and the anti-cancer bill was killed.

He opened the Gerson Institute in San Diego, California. The hospital opened by Gerson in Tijijuana, Mexico 27 years ago - it is placed in Mexico because the only legal medical treatment of cancer in the US is cheomotherapy, surgery, or radiation. There were a lot of survivors that testified in the documentary about their miraculous survival and cure.

Juicing is one of the ways Dr Gerson realized that bodies that were starved of nutrients could readily help a body recover and be cured. More nutrients are more readily available to the body and you get a lot more. They drink 20lbs of fruit juiced a day, about 13 cups. They also eat raw fruits and veggies throughout the day. And to detox - organic coffee, inserted rectally.

I think it is interesting that this documentary is filmed very roughly by, it seems, inexperienced or possibly just very old technologists. It's obviously very biased towards the Gerson Therapy since it is made by the Gerson therapy. I especially like the part about how toxins are everywhere. The narrator takes you through a day stating that every single thing causes you to come in contact or be poisoned. And that the only way to combat this is to strictly adhere to the Gerson Diet.

While I believe that there are toxins in everything we eat and touch. I also believe there are slim chances that we can change much of our lives such as cell phones, cars, electricity, water, carpet, clothes, etc. However, I also believe taking charge of what goes in will have enormous positive effects.

I would like to know HOW MUCH IT COSTS. :)

There is a lot more in this documentary than I can touch on here. Go watch it. It's on Netflix.

Honestly, eating healthy is a no brainer to stay or get healthy. Why would you not want to live long and healthily, you know - without pain or chronic illness and have lots of energy?

Doctors

Ever find going to the doctor seems completely pointless? Why?

• they don't listen
• they just give you medicine (without telling you exactly what it does to your body)
• its awkward
• $$$$$$$

We need to learn how to interact with our medical professionals. Bring a notebook to your doctors visit that journals your pain and symptoms. Do your research on what you think you might have and what types of medication are given for it and what those medications do. Be specific when you ask questions and take your time to think of them. Make use of telephone calls to the office nurse who can give you feedback on certain things so you do not have to go in when you do think of questions. When it comes to medication see if there is something else you could do or try before you start taking medication. Make sure your doctor describes all the side effects of any medications they prescribe and make sure they help you understand what it does to your body. Keep your own good medical records and only go to the doctor when you need to and you can afford it. Take advantage of readily available information on diseases and symptoms and take care of yourself. 

Article on working with doctors.
Some emotional wellness help.

Tiny Tip

Relive your best memories. Ones were you were truly deeply happy. It releases dopamine (pleasure), makes you feel happier, and helps relieve bad memories.

Do you know if you're hungry?

Besides having at least two spelling errors this article was very helpful identifying types of hunger. Do you know them?

Physical Hunger

Emotional Hunger

Physical hunger is just that, your body needs nutrients and you should give them to your body. The second is a bit more complex. Emotional hunger is when you eat when you are neither full nor satisfied or satisfied already. In this type of hunger you eat because of feelings whether they be boredom, anger, fear, sad, etc. There is a good scale to help you eat better and identify when to eat. BEFORE you eat decide what number you're at on a scale of 1-10.

1 - You are very hungry.
5 - You are neither full nor hungry.
10 - You are full.

Basic rules are eat when you're at a 2-3 (eating at 1 can cause overeating), eat until you reach about a 7 (you will still be able to go on a walk but feel full) and if you find yourself eating at 5-6 start a journal and figure out what causes you to emotionally eat.

UVU Health Quest

Stress Relief in Four Weeks - Week 3: Assertiveness Assessment

First order of business to understand what style you use in interpersonal communication. Which one do you use most of the time? I use the passive style. I indirectly express my opinions and wants if at all. Others styles are aggressive style which you give your opinions and wants at the expense of others and assertive style where you give your opinions without violating anyone else.

Second order is to identify where you want to be more assertive (assuming that is where you want to be...since its the 'ideal'). Are you assertive when you ask for help? state a differing opinion? receive or express positive or negative feelings? say no? Who are you assertive with? Parents? Co-workers? Classmates? Strangers? Spouse? Employer? Children? I am pretty much non-assertive, aka I am not assertive with anyone and with any situation. Except when I am speaking about my positive or negative feelings with my husband. I think he's the only one I feel comfortable enough with.

Body language is third. What type of assertive body language do you use most of the time? I don't use any of them. Although I would like to.
a) Maintain eye contact
b) Maintain posture
c) Speak clearly, audibly, and firmly

Fourth is effective communication and listening skills. What do you do most of the time? Are you preparing for what you're going to say? Do you ask for clarification? Do you acknowledge to other other person your respect? Do you compromise? I don't think I do any of this most of the time, although I try to clarify and focus on listening to responding. I think it would be a good idea to let people know that I respect their opinions.

Five: avoid manipulation. What do you do most of the time? Use a broken record? Defuse a sticky situation? Delay yourself until you are calm? Acknowledge criticism you agree with? I don't think I use a broken record and I believe I do a really good job of not responding when I'm heated. I am not sure how well I do at defusing others anger or acknowledging criticism.

I have the hardest time with this sixth one. Learning how to say no. I hardly ever....ok never, say no. I always agree and try to be the most helpful person ever. Sometimes this gets me in big trouble - aka: stress to the max. I already stress easy but to avoid confrontation (even if none were going to come) I agree to everything. I just can't seem to say no. Do you tell people exactly why you're saying no? or do you let them down gently?

Coming in as last is putting assertiveness into action. Take your number one problem and answer the questions.
Who is involved?
When does it take place?
What bothers you?
How do you deal with it?

Resources: Center For Disease Control, Mayo Clinic, Center for Mindfulness.

Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead

A Documentary.

It is a little bit different than the other documentaries I've watched. However, I thought it was more entertaining and very well done. It shows the experience of one Australian man who realized that he was fat, sick, and nearly dead. He needed to do something about it. He goes on a 60 day juice fast. During this time he travels to American and goes across the United States and tells his story to all those he can find. What he wants to do is cure himself, you know, like the way our body usually does. The first few days were really hard for him emotionally, but he got through it. From my experience of fasting, it is always the first few days to the first week that are the absolute hardest to get through.

This juice that he drinks for this 60 day fast is juice from a juicer. Juice direct from fruits and veggies. On day 31 he had lost almost 50 pounds. Micronutrient foods are fruits, veggies, beans and macronutrients are everything else. He meets a lady on the road that decides to do a two week fast and she does it. It helps her lose her migraines, clears her skin and body, and helps her feel a lot better. When he gets home to Australia he gets a call from a man he gave his information to in Arizona who needs help. They both have the same disease. He comes back to America and helps this man do a 10 day fast. He continues to a 30 day fast and loses 200 pounds in a few months after reverting to a diet high in micronutrients.

All across the country he interviews people about their habits, how they think about his fast and fruits and veggies, and how willing they were to change their diets to make themselves feel better. Most people knew why they were overweight and sick. Most people knew how to lose weight and get well. Most people were unwilling to make the life change. Why? Well they said it was because they had little self-control and said they were weak. I don't think they really believe that. I think they do not even want to try. They know but they don't care enough. Most people thought he was crazy. However, is it not crazy to take over 15 prescription drugs a day, overweight, and have your life expectancy for only a few years is not THAT crazy?

We have the ability to make life extremely healthy and live longer yet we have the highest rate of obesity and disease? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

In the end the results of his fast were 1)no medication, 2)healthy weight, 3)clear thought processes, and 4)felt amazing.

I really want to try this juice fast. I think once I have the money to buy a juicer and the holidays are over: I want to do it. I think its worth it to try it, feel better, and possibly get off of medication and not have migraines. You can do it too. Here are some recipes or here.

Milk. That creamy goodness.

I watched an NBC todays delivery of milk today and I am grateful for the alternatives. After watching Forks Over Knives I realized that I wanted to drop the dairy and meat from my diet almost completely. Something I really love is milk. However, I am willing to give it up completely. To replace it I need to find something else to provide calcium and that white cold drink sensation.

Almond Milk:
I've tried this one. I really like it. I like the nutty flavor.
Less calories, less fiber, less protein, high sodium however you get calcium, vit a, vit d, vit e
Nutty flavor. Creamy.
Use in cereal, oatmeal, coffee, anything

Hemp Milk:
My husband thought this one was really weird. I've never tried it. It just sounds weird to drink.
Less protein, no thc, however you get more omega-3's, brain health food
Mashed potatoes, cooking

Coconut Milk:
I have used this one but I have not just drank it.
Least amount of sodium, more saturated fat (but good heart healthy)
Creamy, coconuty.
Baking, etc.

Rice Milk:
I hate this one. It is really thin. Yuck.
More carbs, sodium and potassium, less protein, less fiber,
Sweet. Watery.
If you must use this one use it in cooking or something.

Soy Milk:
I like this one, but you need to find the kind (brand) that you like.
Most amount of protein (no more than 24g)
Beanier, Thicker
Drink, cereal, cooking, everything.