How to fix your metabolism

What is metabolism? If you said it’s how fast you burn calories, you’re partially right. Your metabolic rate does determine the number of calories your body burns. But your metabolism governs more than just your metabolic rate. It also keeps everything in balance – like your blood sugar, cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure. 

When metabolism goes wrong

In ideal circumstances, your metabolism works like a well-oiled machine. You eat energy in the form of food. The body breaks the food down into sugar. The sugar is transported out of the blood and into the cells by the hormone insulin. Simple.

But most of us don’t lead ideal lives. We tend to eat diets high in simple carbohydrates (like bread, rice, and pastries), which cause a rapid spike in blood sugar levels. In response, the pancreas secretes loads of insulin. That’s okay occasionally, but when we consistently eat simple carbs, so much insulin is flooded into the system that we can eventually become resistant to it. In fact, one in five Americans suffers from insulin resistance, a precursor to diabetes and metabolic syndrome – both of which increase your risk of heart attack and stroke. That’s why it’s important to learn how to lower blood sugar.

Balance your blood sugar

There are a number of things you can do to support normal blood sugar levels. Exercising regularly and eating a healthy diet top the list. But superfood nutrition can also help. A daily shake loaded with vitamins and minerals that the body craves while reducing craving for sugary snacks will do wonders for balancing your sugar.

When you balance your blood sugar, you’re investing in your long-term health. But you also get short-term benefits, like higher energy levels and an easier time losing weight.

Love your heart

If you’re resistant to insulin, chances are it’s putting a strain on your heart. That’s why any program aimed at supporting optimal metabolism will also address cardiovascular health. 

Give yourself a good foundation

Your body can survive even the most nutritionally deficient diet. But for your metabolism to really thrive, it needs a multitude of vitamins and minerals – in just the right quantities.

For an eating and exercise plan aimed at supporting a healthy metabolism, click here!

Ahhhh... The Power of the Goji Berry

Modernization is wonderful, but there are also other factors in the modern life we live in that may subject our bodies to harm.  Understanding what can harm us and what will help us will be our best defense.

Free radicals, our body’s natural enemy, subject our body to more than 10,000 hits during a normal day.  If our body is not able to combat the harmful effect of free radicals, then it may give us disease and prematurely age our body including our skin.

The pristine valleys of Tibet and Mongolia have a solution to this problem.

What do you think is their secret?

Introducing goji juice, made from goji berries grown in the remote and unpolluted hills and valleys of Tibet and Mongolia.  Experts who want to save the people who live in this modern society studied what must be wonderful about these Himalayan diets and why they live so long and free from diseases. Their studies prove that their diet perpetually includes goji berries.

Further studies on goji berries prove that they are nutritious and contain vital nutrients necessary to combat free radicals.

Goji juice contains potent vitamins and minerals like no other berry.

Goji juice also contains 18 amino acids, 8 of which are essential for our bodies, but having all 18 adds to the beneficial characteristic of this wonderful red juice.

Based on studies by numerous health professionals including Dr. Earl Mindell, the author of The Vitamin Bible, goji juice made from goji berries can give your body all the nutrients it needs to help keep a healthy and happy life.

Goji juice, aside from the 18 amino acids also has 21 trace minerals, vitamins B1, B2, B6 and Vitamin E.  All of these can help you live a healthy and active life.

Some of the beneficial effects of drinking goji juice are:

Energy and Strength – goji juice is considered as an adaptogen.  It increases exercise tolerance, stamina and endurance.  Goji juice may also enhance the recovery of ill patients.

Cholesterol level balance – goji juice contains beta-sitosterol may also help manage cholesterol.  It will also help avoid cholesterol deposit in the blood vessels, which supports a healthy heart.

Normal Kidney Function – your kidney is a vital organ that may possibly control the brain and other organs in the body.  It is essential for better health that you keep your body functioning optimally.  Goji juice is believed to be helpful in keeping this essential organ functioning properly.

Supports General Health – as mentioned earlier, free radicals harm our body in many ways. Thus, eliminating this natural enemy will help keep our body strong and healthy.  Goji juice is a potent antioxidant that may keep random illnesses at bay.

Other beneficial factors which may come from goji juice are enhanced sexual function, blood sugar level balance and supports good vision.

This is because goji juice contains more beta-carotene even compared to a carrot.  The vitamin C contents of goji juice, which is 500 times more in weight than orange, will help keep the immune system functioning properly to avoid illness.

These are only a few of the helpful and beneficial functions of goji juice and because goji juice is safe even for children.

If drinking this sweet and tasty juice excites you, you can also enjoy goji berries with your food.  You can eat them fresh or dried goji berries are also available.  Get creative and use your imagination and explore how you can enjoy these wonderful and amazing berries.

How to bring more fruit and veggies in your diet

The new food guidelines issued by the United States government recommend that all Americans eat between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. When you first hear that number, it may seem like a lot, but it is much easier than you think to fit that many servings of fruits and vegetables into your daily diet. For one thing, the shelves of the grocery stores are fairly bursting with fresh fruits and vegetables. In addition, vegetables and fruits are some of the least expensive, most nutrient rich, foods in the supermarket. With all these fruits and vegetables to choose from, it is very easy to make these nutritious, delicious foods part of your daily meals and snacks.

When you consider how much a serving really is, it is actually quite easy to get five to nine servings of fruit and vegetables per day. For instance, the recommended daily amount equates to a quite reasonable two cups of fruit and two and a half cups of vegetables every day. When you consider how many fruits and vegetables are available, and how low the prices usually are, it is easy to see how to reach this daily goal.

One great way to get the nutrients you need from fruits and vegetables every day is to take full advantage of the variety of these foods available. Eating the same thing every day quickly becomes boring, so why not pick a variety of fruits and vegetables, in every color of the rainbow and in every conceivable shape, size and texture, to give yourself a varied diet every day.

When shopping for fruits and vegetables, it is important to choose a variety of different colors. This is for more than purely artistic reasons. The variety of color in fruit and vegetables represent different types of nutrients, and choosing a variety of colors will help ensure you get all the vitamins and minerals you need each and every day.

Finding new recipes is another great way to ensure you get those five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Everyone likes to try out new recipes, and these new recipes may just provide the impetus you need to eat all those fruits and veggies.

New recipes can also provide you the opportunity to try out some fruits and vegetables you have never tried before. For instance, everyone has eaten oranges, but have you tried kiwi fruit or mangoes? How about spinach or kale? Trying new things is a great way to find new favorites while getting the best nutrition available.

Many people mistakenly think that they do not need to eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables every day if they just take a vitamin supplement. Nothing could be further from the truth. That is because fruits and vegetables contain far more than the micronutrients identified by science and synthesized in vitamin pills. While these micronutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin A and vitamin E are important to good health, so too are the hundreds of other elements that are contained in healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. These elements are not available in any pill, they must be ingested through a healthy, balanced diet that contains plenty of fruits and vegetables.

In addition, fruits and vegetables are much less costly than vitamin pills. Fruits and vegetables are very inexpensive, especially when purchased in season and grown locally. In the long run, getting the nutrition you need from the food you eat is much less expensive, and much better for you, than popping those vitamin pills every day. 

Having said that, if you find yourself having trouble getting up to 9 servings of fruit and vegetables each day, consider supplementing with a meal replacement smoothie that fills potential nutritional gaps in your diet. I personally enjoy one that contains much of the recommended vitamins and minerals plus prebiotics and probiotics that support a healthy gut, and rarely found superfoods that optimize bodily function including increasing energy, curbs cravings and improves regularity.

So, try your best to get your five to nine servings of fruit and vegetables every day. It may seem like a lot, but you can meet this goal simply by including fruits and vegetables as snacks, as garnishes, as side dishes and as meals or in the alternative, supplement with a high-quality meal replacement smoothie.

7 Reasons Why You Should Be Using Coconut Oil

It is a common misconception that coconut oil is bad for you. People all over the world are experiencing the benefits of using coconut oil. It is actually one of the healthiest oils you can consume. 

Here are the top seven reasons why you should use coconut oil as an alternative to other common cooking oils.

1. Coconut oil doesn't turn to fat in your body.

Unlike many other common oils, like soy (vegetable) and corn, coconut oil won't make you fat. Coconut oil contains medium-chain triglycerides (MCT), which are an easy fuel for the body to burn, without turning to fat. Most other cooking oils and fats contain long-chain triglycerides (LCT). LCT's are usually stored as fat. Since coconut oil is a MCT, it is more easily absorbed and converted to energy quicker.

People in the tropics have relied on coconuts as a traditional staple in their diet for centuries. They consume large amounts of coconut oil every day. Instead of getting fatter, it helps them stay healthy, lean and trim. When they switch from coconut oil to our modern oils, they develop obesity and the health problems that our modern society faces.

Some other people who have known this truth for a long time are people who are in the animal feed business. When livestock are fed vegetable oils, they put on weight and produce more fatty meat. When they are fed coconut oil, they become very lean.

2. Coconut oil increases your metabolism. 

Not only does coconut oil convert to energy quicker in your body, it increases your metabolism, which promotes weight loss. Because it boosts your metabolism, it helps your body burn fat more effectively.

Coconut oil may triple your calorie burn. Since coconut oil is a MCT, it is converted to energy so quickly that it creates a lot of heat. In a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, MCT's burn three times more calories for six hours after a meal than LCT's.

The February 15, 2005 issue of Woman's World magazine stated that coconut oil is the "underground high-metabolism secret."

This is great news for people who have thyroid problems, since coconut oil improves sluggish thyroids by stimulating the production of extra thyroid hormones. Most other common oils, like vegetable (soy) and corn have been shown to inhibit thyroid function.

3. Coconut oil has omega 3 fatty acids. 

Most cooking oils contain omega 6 fatty acids, something we get way too much of in the United States. Our omega 6 to omega 3 ratio should be 1:1 but it is more like 50:1. We need to drastically cut back our omega 6 oils and consume much more omega 3 oils to be healthy. And coconut oil is filled with these healthy omega 3 fatty acids.

4. Coconut oil gives you energy. 

Because of the healthy omega 3 fatty acids and the fact that it increases the metabolism, most people that switch to coconut oil feel a burst of added energy in their daily life. 

This is because coconut oil is nature’s richest source of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT's), which increase metabolic rates and lead to weight loss. MCT's promote thermogenesis, which increases the body's metabolism, producing energy. 

This is because coconut oil is nature’s richest source of medium-chain triglycerides (MCT's), which increase metabolic rates and lead to weight loss. MCT's promote thermogenesis, which increases the body's metabolism, producing energy. Many people with chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia have found that adding coconut and coconut oil to their diet was helpful to them.

5. One of the best things you can use on your skin and hair is coconut oil. 

Coconut oil is one of the best things you can apply directly on your skin and hair. It gives temporary relief to skin problems like rashes. It aids in healing and restoring skin to a younger appearance. It has also been known to help with people who suffer from yeast infections in the skin, as well as many other skin problems.

Not only does it soften and smooth your skin, coconut oil has antioxidant properties that protect the skin from free radical damage. Coconut oil makes excellent massage oil too. 

6. Coconut oil has healthy benefits that most other oils do not.

Evidence is mounting that coconut oil has anti-fungal, antibacterial and antiviral effects when both consumed and used topically on the skin. 

Most oils oxidize and turn rancid very quickly causing free radical damage in our bodies. Coconut oil is not easily oxidized and does not cause harmful free radical damage like polyunsaturated vegetable oils. Free radical damage is thought to be responsible for many ailments in our body from arthritis to increased susceptibility to cancers.

Coconut oil also helps our bodies absorb other nutrients more effectively, such as Vitamin E.

7. Coconut oil is one of the best oils you can use for cooking. 

It has a higher smoke point than olive oil, which means it can take higher temperatures better. There are several healthy omega 3 oils we can choose to consume, such as flax and olive oil, but they don't do well under the high heat we use for cooking. Coconut oil can be used in higher cooking temperatures.

It is harder for coconut oil to go rancid, unlike other cooking oils, which are usually rancid long before you even bring them home. Rancid oils cause free radical damage in the body, which is a leading cause of cancer. Coconut oil is stable for over a year at room temperature. 

Because of the misinformation we have been given for years, we have lost out on the benefits that coconut oil has given the people of the tropics for centuries. But now it has been rediscovered! Coconut oil is so effective, it won't be long before we see coconut oil supplements promoted, but you can get the jump on the popular crowd and start consuming and cooking with coconut oil today!