I wasn’t planning on blogging today – in fact I have a stack of to-do’s in my in-box that are staring me down right now as I type. But when something comes to my attention – a subject that I am truly passionate about – I feel the need to drop everything and share it with as many people who will listen. When I opened my email this morning I had a newsletter from Dr Mercola (one of my favorite people in the world) and the title of his article was:

Why This Toxic Sweetener is FAR Worse than High Fructose Corn Syrup…

Ok, I have been preaching this for YEARS… I won’t touch the stuff and I try my hardest to keep it out of my kids’ bodies as well.

Please share this will all of the people you love – this information is fact not fluff.

Its really easy – just click one of the share buttons below the article.

It pains me to see my own father consuming 8-10 Diet Cokes A DAY. He is literally poisoning himself but ignores my warnings despite health issues such as debilitating migraines. Maybe hearing it from a chemical neurologist would help…IT IS POISON. Human bodies break down aspartame into formaldehyde! One of the most damaging substances that people are consuming to date.

Most nail polish companies have removed formaldehyde from the nail polish formula just in case you put your fingers in your mouth! But people are ingesting it in gallons every day with “sugar free” sodas and food. They should label it -”no sugar – just poison”.

It gets worse – the formaldehyde that your body absorbs never leaves! So it just keeps building and building and building inside your cells. If you have been drinking diet sodas for years, then there is a VERY GOOD chance that any medical issues you are having are directly related to the toxicity level in your body.

Are you over weight?

Do you get migraines?

Has your vision been declining?

Are you moody and irritable?

These are all direct results of consuming aspartame. Really, I’m not making this stuff up. The scientific data showed these results on test animals. For 16 years, no scientist would approve it. The only way that this chemical was approved by the FDA is because NutriSweet made faulty tests, threw-out the damaging results from independent studies, hired a crooked politician to get it approved AND categorized aspartame not as a ‘drug” which means, no negative repercussions have to be reported to the FDA.

Wonder why so many kids have autism or there are so many people on anti-depressants? Well, this poison will cross through the placenta and through the blood/brain barrier interrupting the balance of chemicals in the brain. There is 100% proven evidence pointing to brain cancer, brain tumors, mood disorders, dementia and loss of memory that are all caused by aspartame.

Only when Ronald Reagan appointed a new FDA commissioner it was approved under very manipulative measures and faulty scientific research. Here’s a hint that something was fishy…after the guy approved it, he quit and took a job for $1000/day in NutriSweet’s PR department. (300K salary in the early 80′s would be approximately  one million/year in today’s job market.)

If you don’t believe me, do you own research… I’ll point you in the right direction:

Click the link below and it will lead you unending research and confirmation on the dangers of this product. It should have never been approved in the first place….. REALLY, I don’t know how these people can sleep at night!

Dr. Mercola:

Some People are Naturally More Prone to Formaldehyde Poisoning

An interesting tidbit that can help explain why some people experience ill effects from aspartame quite rapidly, whereas others can ingest aspartame for some time without noticing any ill effects, is that you may have more or less of a particular enzyme that breaks down alcohols that could otherwise be toxic.

Woodrow C. Monte, PhD, a retired professor of food science, explains this in his 2009 article Methanol: A chemical Trojan Horse as the root of the Inscrutable U^[i].

Aspartame contains about 10 percent methanol by weight, also known as wood alcohol, which is broken down into formaldehyde, and then formic acid, in your body. The only human enzyme capable of metabolizing methanol to formaldehyde is an enzyme called Class I alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH I).

Formaldehyde, in turn, damages your body by “attacking proteins and embalming them” – a simple layman’s description of what happens, courtesy of PBD.org.

According to PBD.org, “small amounts of methanol can cause blindness, as the sensitive proteins in the retina are attacked…” And visual disturbance, including retinal detachment, is one of the reported side effects of aspartame consumption.

Now, Dr. Monte offers a clue as to why methanol may harm some more than others:

“Variability in sensitivity to exogenous methanol consumption may be accounted for in part by the presence of aldehyde dehydrogenase sufficient to reduce the toxic effect of formaldehyde production in tissue through its conversion to the much less toxic formic acid.”

In a nutshell, this is one of the ways in which your individual constitution may render you more or less vulnerable to the detrimental effects of aspartame.

That said, I am convinced that most of those who claim to be able to consume aspartame on a regular basis without ill effect, are still likely accruing damage in their bodies that will ultimately affect their long-term health.

It’s worth keeping in mind that most toxins that are harmful to your health are not going to harm you instantly. The reality is that few health hazards do. As with many other toxins and harmful chemicals, aspartame may be acutely toxic to some, while others can consume it without experiencing any immediate side effects.

However, there’s no guarantee it won’t lead to health problems later on, and it’s certainly not evidence of aspartame’s safety for the population at large – especially when you take into account the tens of thousands of people who HAVE experienced both acute and long-term side effects.

Please remember that just like other artificial sweeteners, there are no long-term safety studies in humans that support its use as they were never required by the FDA.

In addition, as I’ll discuss below, if you consume aspartame while pregnant, you may unwittingly expose your unborn child to completely unnecessary health risks, even if you feel that aspartame is not affecting you in a negative way.  Click here for more…

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A good beginning step when you want to start eating more healthily is to rid you home of all foods that do not into healthy categories. Keep junk foods and beverages out of your house so that you will not be tempted to snack during the day. If you’re worried about getting hungry, keep healthy snacks like carrot sticks, yogurt, fresh fruit, or whole-wheat crackers on hand. If you find that you just cannot bear to toss out the sweets, try keeping something tiny on hand, like chocolate chips. Eating a few of these won’t ruin your diet but also will give you that little sugary fix you rave.

Another great step to healthy eating when you are first starting the process is to take a few moments to learn about what foods are the healthiest for you and how they work in the body. Most people understand that fruits, vegetables, and low-fat meats and some dairy products are good for you, but few people understand why. The key is learning about nutrients. When you understand how specific nutrients work in the body, you will be more likely to make these healthy choices for your body. Knowledge really is power!

When cleansing yourself to prepare for a new healthy diet, you should also take into consideration your schedule for meals. If you often eat in a rushed hurry at odd times of day, you probably are not getting the best foods possible. Plan ahead! Instead of grabbing a fast food lunch on the go, take a bagged lunch to work, complete with a healthy wrap and some fresh vegetables. Plan ahead for healthy meals in the evening as well by cooking ahead if you are not currently getting healthy dinners and have little time to cook when you get home every night.

Start with baby steps. Even if you only replace one soda a day with a glass of water, you are really improve your calorie intake. If you eat fast food every day for lunch, try replacing that even half of the time. When you start by taking small steps, it does not seem like you are cutting out all of the foods you love and you can take your time to learn about healthy foods which you can love equally as well.

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Now, you may want to know what kind of green veggies to include in your green smoothie. Let me tell you at this point that any kind of leafy green vegetables will do. Moreover, it is highly recommended that you rotate the green vegetables you use in the smoothies. Starting out with spinach is a good option. This is because spinach has hardly any taste and is virtually undetectable in the smoothie. So for all those of you who cringe at the thought of eating green, this is the veggie for you!

All you have to do after you have gathered your fruit and leafy green vegetables is put them in your blender, add enough water to get the
consistency you desire, and then blend away. After you are done preparing your smoothie, taste a spoonful of the mixture and try to figure out whether you want it more sweet, more watery with a lower percentage of greens, or if you want to make it more energizing with a higher quantity of greens.

If you want it sweeter, all you have to do is add more ripe fruit. If you want the mixture to be watery, all you have to do is add a bit of good old H2O. If, however, you want it to be a more energizing mixture, you will need to add both water and green vegetables to it. Make the necessary modifications according to your taste and, just like that, your perfect raw green smoothie is ready to serve!

Ask me about the vegan vanilla protein powder I love to mix with ANYTHING! No Soy either…. I know I know – that’s hard to find!

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Also, children are more likely to have poor eating habits and to not care about living healthy, which is also going to cause them problems in the long run. The other thing is that as children grown and develop, their muscles are developing along with their hearts and lungs.

Parents MUST enforce rules about healthy eating for their children. You have to make sure that your entire family is eating well, and that children are eating healthy foods. I always have my kids’ pediatrician talk to them about how important it is to eat healthy. That way its not just coming from “mom”. Turn off the television or the computer at dinner time – that starts bad habits of eating while watching tv!

I find that once the tv goes off, and we sit down to eat (not fancy, sometimes around the coffee table) the evening goes smooth because I encourage them to show me what they did at school or suggest we play a game. Even though that is not “exercise” it is breaking the habit of becoming a couch potato!

The biggest way that you can encourage your children to get the right kind of exercise is if you have family exercise times. In fact, you can incorporate some electronic games to satisfy both parties! When my kids were little we used to play Hullabaloo and jump around from pad to pad then do silly dances and jumps. We had fun and got our bodies moving! Now that they are older, they love the dance video games and think it is so hilarious to watch their mom play too.

When the weather permits, finding something fun to do outside with your kids will create happy childhood memories. I play catch, shoot baskets, hula hoop, go for walks, etc. We love the time spent outside!  If you are exercising and moving around (not couch potatoes) as a family, you are giving your kids the best possible chance to be even healthier, and set an example that you don’t need a tv or computer to be entertained.

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Natural is a turn associated with a number of fruit and vegetable product. Typically, this is simple a marketing ploy to convince you to buy the product. After all, all fruits and vegetables are natural, right? Unless it’s a new kind of food that has been developed and processed, the product is natural. What you really probably want is organic. Organic foods are grown without chemical pesticides and fertilizers. There are two main benefits to organic foods. First, you are helping the environment because those chemicals are not being introduced into nature. Secondly, you are avoiding ingesting chemicals and are therefore healthy more healthy foods. However, organic products are usually more expensive. If you’re on a budget, skip over organic fruits and vegetables that you can peel, like oranges and bananas. After all, once you’ve discarded the peel, you’ve also discarded the chemicals. Instead, opt for organic items like apples, where you eat the peel. No matter what you buy, however, make sure that you rinse off the food when you get home.

Another tricky label you will see is “no hormones.” This is usually in regards to milk or meat products and is false, since all animals naturally produce hormones. Hormones are what helps an animal (even a human) regulate body organs, have young, and otherwise function. All meat products have hormones. What the labels really mean is that no hormones were unnaturally given to the animal, which is sometimes done to increase milk production.

Lastly, a label on eggs and meat can indicate if the animal was caged or penned. This does not make a difference in the quality or nutritional value of the meat, but is simply a matter of animal rights. These products may be a bit more expensive, but if you want to make humane decisions, that is the way to go. Reading the label and making healthy choices can sometimes be difficult, but learning how to do so can help you make the best choices for you diet.

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We all think eating fruit means just buying fruit, cutting it up and popping it into our mouths. It’s not that easy. It’s important to know how and when to eat fruit.

What’s the correct way to eat fruit?

IT MEANS NOT EATING FRUIT AFTER A MEAL!  FRUIT SHOULD BE EATEN ON AN EMPTY STOMACH.

Eating fruit like that plays a major role in detoxifying your system, supplying you with a great deal of energy for weight loss and other life activities.

FRUIT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT FOOD.
Let’s say you eat two slices of bread, then a slice of fruit. The slice of fruit is ready to go straight through the stomach into the intestines, but it’s prevented from doing so.

In the meantime, the whole meal rots and ferments, and turns to acid. The minute the fruit comes into contact with the food in the stomach, and digestive juices, the entire mass of food begins to spoil.

Eat your fruit on an empty stomach, or before your meal! You’ve heard people complain: Every time I eat watermelon I burp, when I eat durian my stomach bloats, when I eat a banana I feel like running to the toilet, etc. This will not happen if you eat the fruit on an empty stomach. Fruit mixes with the putrefying other food and produces gas. Hence, you bloat!

There’s no such thing as some fruits, like orange and lemon are acidic, because all fruit becomes alkaline in our body, according to Dr. Herbert Shelton who did research on this matter. If you have mastered the correct way of eating fruit, you have the Secret of Beauty, Longevity, Health, Energy, Happiness and normal weight.
When you need to drink fruit juice drink only fresh fruit juice, NOT the concentrated juice from the cans. Don’t drink juice that has been heated. Don’t eat cooked fruit; you don’t get the nutrients at all. You get only the taste. Cooking destroys all of the vitamins.

Eating a whole fruit is better than drinking the juice. If you should drink the juice, drink it mouthful by mouthful slowly, because you must let it mix with your saliva before swallowing it. You can go on a 3-day fruit-fast to cleanse your body. Eat fruit and drink fruit juice for just 3 days, and you will be surprised when your friends say how radiant you look!

KIWI: Tiny but mighty, and a good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin E and fibre. Its vitamin C content is twice that of an orange!

AN APPLE a day keeps the doctor away? Although an apple has a low vitamin C content, it has antioxidants and flavonoids which enhances the activity of vitamin C, thereby helping to lower the risk of colon cancer, heart attack and stroke.

STRAWBERRY: Protective Fruit. Strawberries have the highest total antioxidant power among major fruits and protect the body from cancer-causing, blood vessel-clogging free radicals.

EATING 2 – 4 ORANGES a day may help keep colds away, lower cholesterol, prevent and dissolve kidney stones, and reduce the risk of colon cancer.

WATERMELON: Coolest thirst quencher. Composed of  92% water, it is also packed with a giant dose of glutathione, which helps boost our immune system. Also a key source of lycopene, the cancer-fighting oxidant. Also found in watermelon: Vitamin C and Potassium.

GUAVA & PAPAYA: Top awards for vitamin C. They are the clear winners for their high vitamin C content. Guava is also rich in fiber, which helps prevent constipation. Papaya is rich in carotene, good for your eyes.

Drinking Cold water after a meal = Cancer!
Can you believe this? For those who like to drink cold water, this applies to you. It’s nice to have a cold drink after a meal, however, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you’ve just consumed, which slows digestion. Once this ‘sludge’ reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine. Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

A serious note about heart attacks.
HEART ATTACK PROCEDURE
Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting. Be aware of intense pain in the jaw. You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack. Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms. Sixty percent of people who have a heart attack while they’re asleep do not wake up. Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Be careful, and be aware. The more we know, the better our chance to survive.

A cardiologist said if everyone who gets this mail sends it to 10 people, you can be sure that we’ll save at least one life.
It  can even be your life!  You can share this by clicking the links below!

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Gaping loopholes in public-health laws give cosmetics companies the license to use almost any ingredient they want in their products, whether it’s sunscreen or baby shampoo, without any restrictions or requirements for safety testing.

In fact, nearly 90 percent of the 10,500 personal-care-product ingredients known to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have not been evaluated for safety by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review, the FDA, or any other publicly accountable institution.

Considering every man, woman, and child slathers, sprays, or rubs on nearly 10 different cosmetics and personal-care products on any given day, the safety of the basic ingredients in these products-and their impact on our health and the environment-is a pressing issue with much at stake. For ingredients that don’t belong in your shopping cart, let alone on your skin, read on for the EWG’s top purchase no-nos.

1. Placenta: Um…eww? While extracts from human and cow placenta can give you glowing skin and lustrous locks, these same extracts in cosmetics also pack a raft of hormones that may be enough to result in breast growth in toddlers, according to a few recent case studies, says EWG researchers.

2. Mercury: Even at low levels, mercury can damage brain function, so why, in these so-called enlightened times, are they still used in cosmetics? The EWG found mercury in Paula Dorf mascara, listed as the mercury preservative “thimerosal.” Watch out for mercury in eye drops, as well.

3. Lead: We’ve written at length about the hazards of lead poisoning and how it can harm a child’s developing brain. It’s hard to believe, but this neurotoxin is in Grecian Formula 16 and other black hair dyes for men. It won’t just stay close to your follicles, either; studies have found lead residues on door knobs and cabinets.

4. Fragrance: Fragrances fall into a colossal loophole in federal law that doesn’t require companies to list on product labels any of the potentially hundreds of chemicals in a single product’s fragrance mixture, says the EWG. Because fragrances can contain neurotoxins and are among the top five allergens ever, the EWG recommends we go the fragrance-free route.

5. Hydroquinone skin lightener: Because hydroquionine can cause a skin disease called ochronosis-which creates disfiguring and irreversible blue-black lesions-even the FDA warns us to avoid this skin-bleaching chemical, which certainly tells you something.

6. Nanoparticles: As yet untested, these tiny little inventions are found in cosmetics in forms ranging from tiny wire cages (called “buckeyballs”) to minuscule bits of metals used as sunscreens. The kicker? Companies don’t have to declare them on ingredients lists.

7. Pthalates: These plasticizer chemicals are downright cruel to male sex organs, causing sperm damage, feminization of baby boys, or infertility. If you have a bun in your oven, avoid dibutyl phthalate in nail polish. These vile toxins can also hide under “fragrance” on your product’s label, which is another case for choosing fragrance-free items.

8. Petroleum by-products: Used to make emollients for face cream, petroleum byproducts-made by the same factories that make gas for your car-also contain cancer-containing impurities. Ingredients include carcinogens in baby shampoo called 1,4-dioxane and coal tar in scalp-treatment shampoos.

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Vitamin K is an extremely important vitamin in the body. It mainly plays a role in blood clotting, so without enough vitamin K, you could have problems if you are injured. If you are suffering for vitamin K deficiency, your blood simple will not clot. Some scientists and researchers also think that vitamin K is important for maintaining your bone health, especially as you age. Therefore, if you are not getting enough vitamin K in your body from food sources, which is the best way to achieve normal vitamin K levels, you should talk to your doctor about the vitamin K supplements that are available for your use.

There are thirteen different vitamins that your body needs to survive. Of these thirteen, four are fat-soluble and the rest are water-soluble. If the vitamin is water-soluble, it dissolves quickly and exits the body. Therefore, water-soluble vitamins must be consumed daily in order to keep your levels normal. However, if a vitamin is fat-soluble, it does not exit the body but is instead stored in your fat to be used at a later time. Vitamin K is a fat-soluble vitamin, so it is not crucial for you to eat it every day. However, it is important for you to keep a careful eye on your levels of vitamin K in the body in order to make sure that you are not becoming vitamin K deficient. If this occurs, vitamin supplement may be necessary.

Vitamin K is found in a variety of foods. It is also produced in the body by the bacteria found in the lining of your gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, your body helps regulate its own vitamin K levels. As for foods that contain vitamin K, you will more than likely eat enough if your simple eat a healthy, balanced diet. Some foods that are especially high in vitamin K include vegetables like cabbage, spinach and other leafy greens, soybeans, and cauliflower.

If you do not get enough vitamin K in your diet, it is important to talk to your doctor about taking supplements. If you o not, you will start to see that you are prone to bruising and bleeding. Extreme vitamin K deficiency is very rare, but when it does occur it is usually due to a body’s problem in the intestinal tract. Instead of absorbing vitamin K like normal, the body simply does not. In this case, vitamin supplement are necessary. However, because this is a fat-soluble vitamin, you should take vitamin supplements for vitamin K under medical supervision.

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The most important thing for you to keep in mind when it comes to making sure that your child has a healthy diet is to ensure that they are getting the proper amounts of the right kinds of vitamins and minerals. If this isn’t happening because of what they are eating, you either need to change what they are eating, or make sure that they are getting the vitamins in another way. Vitamin supplements can be purchased in kid-friendly shapes and flavors, so it shouldn’t be a problem to have your child take them.

There are several vitamins and minerals that are going to be important for your child to have enough of. These include, especially, iron, which is needed in children to prevent anemia. This usually happens if children aren’t given enough extra iron after they are six months old, which happens often if a baby drinks cow or goat milk instead of formula. Young and adolescent girls are also at a risk of having an iron deficiency.

Another important thing that children need is calcium. This is something that is completely necessary for healthy bones and teeth. If children are drinking milk and eating dairy products, they are probably getting enough calcium, but if they aren’t, you might need to supplement this in their diets.

It is also important that children are getting fluoride. This helps to build healthy teeth. However, it is important that they only get enough fluoride, and not too much, so don’t add to their intake unless your dentist or doctor thinks that you should.

If you don’t think that your child is getting enough vitamins or minerals, you should consult with your doctor to make sure that you can find a good balance and a good children’s multivitamin for them to be taking.

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You can know that losing weight is often a very personal option. However, if you are more than 20 pounds overweight, losing the pounds is important for your health. Look at the recommended weight for someone of your size as a start. However, because everyone’s bodies are different, because of fat and muscle ratio to body weight, you should really see your doctor if you feel like you need to lose weight. A doctor can confirm this or put your mind to rest by telling you that your weight is normal. This is the best way to make sure that you are being healthy.

There are also times, however, when you definitely do not need to lose weight. First, if you aren’t as thin as your favorite actor or model, that doesn’t mean you need to lose weight. Often, models and actresses are airbrushed in photos to look more toned and they have personal trainers that work with them for hours every day in order to help them stay in shape. If your body weight is normal, you do not need to lose weight, even if you are a pants size bigger than your ideal celebrity.

Your also don’t need to lose weight just because you gain it. People gain weight for a number of reasons, and this is especially common during puberty and for the few years after. If you gain weight check out the rest of your body—are you going through a growth spurt in height as well? Also, don’t worry about gaining weight when you are lifting at the gym. As you tone your muscles, you will look better, but because muscles are heavier than fat, you may actually gain weight.

Lastly, you don’t need to lose weight simply because someone else makes a rude comment about your looks. People are cruel, but everyone has a different body make up. If you are happy with your weight and it is within the normal range for someone of your age and height, than chances are that the rude comment is stemming from other issues, not because you actually do need to lose weight. Be happy with yourself and eat a healthy diet and you shouldn’t need to worry about losing weight.

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