The First Convenience Food You Should Stop Eating: Microwave Popcorn

To be and feel healthier, this is one of those convenience foods you should stop eating today:

  In order to support your new healthier lifestyle, you will need to make smarter and more informed food choices. We are all being hit every day with catchy words and phrases like "all natural" and "low fat" and similar triggers designed by food manufacturers to trick you into thinking that their wares are healthy for you.

 Sadly, there is an entire multi-billion dollar industry based on deceiving consumers with catchy and misleading terms like those worn out examples above.

 For example, the term "All Natural" pretty much applies to any food stuff or compound derived from Nature. The hair from a pig's anus is all natural, so are insect parts and rat droppings...but I don't want it in my child's food.

 By the same token; When you hear the terms "low fat" and "sugar free" you should be thinking "chemical soup".

 Some go so far as to create and manage a campaign of propaganda designed to promote their foods as a healthier option, regardless of the truth and countless studies that have disproved those claims.

 A good example of this deception is also the first food you should stop buying and eating: Microwave Popcorn.

 With millions to spend on marketing, the microwave popcorn industry has done a great job of selling you the sizzle and burying the fact that the steak is toxic. From the bag to the corn itself, there is so much poison in each serving that your best bet is to either start popping your own organic kernels, or just lay off the stuff altogether.

Nearly all varieties of microwave popcorn line their bags with perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). This chemical is the same toxic compound found in teflon pots and pans, and it can stay in the human body for long periods of time. When heated this chemical has been linked to infertility, cancer and other diseases in lab animals and it is listed as a carcinogen by the EPA.  Another study has found an acid that can be extracted from the chemical causes cancer in animals and is “likely to cause cancer in humans.”

 While there are no current sources of GMO kernels, there are plenty of GMO ingredients anyway in the form of oils and emulsifiers. Because the major brands do not use organic kernels, you can bet the farm that they contain pesticides.

 Popsecret and Jollytime still use trans fat, one of the most deadly fats available that is associated with 20,000 heart attacks a year and over 7,000 deaths according to the CDC. 

 Proply Gallate, TBHQ (When they need to hide an ingredient's name with initials you should see red flags flying), and that universal catch-all "artificial flavoring" round out the myriad of reasons why you should start making your own popcorn.

 By the way: TBHQ stands for “Tertiary Butylhydroquinone”,   is a chemical made from the  toxic gas Butane and eating only 1 gram of this toxic preservative has been shown to cause all sorts of issues, from ADHD in children, to asthma, allergies and dermatitis to dizziness and even has caused stomach cancer in lab tests.

 As if you needed more: Another serious health danger lies in that fake butter flavoring. 

 Specifically in an FDA-approved chemical known as Diacetyl. There's even a debilitating respiratory disease known as "Popcorn Worker's Lung" (medical term: Bronchiolitis obliterans) that is suffered by the employees of the popcorn factory, caused by extended inhalation of the chemical's fumes.

  Want to make your own?  Easy and Fast!

 http://www.food.com/recipe/homemade-microwave-popcorn-71499

  2015  HealthySelfCures.com   JB "Pop" Stran  All Copyrights apply. No reprint without full link intact.

Use This Simple Meditation Secret and Never Have Trouble Falling Asleep Again

 This easy meditation trick from the Sixties has just been confirmed to end those sleepless nights

  From staring at small screens to late snacking or just plain unreleased stresses, there are plenty of reasons why so many people have a hard time falling asleep at night. Tossing and turning, or just staring at the ceiling and cursing the brain for refusing to quiet down long enough for slumber to take hold, needing to get that deserved sleep for the next day and being denied rest is horrible at best, and in some cases just plain dangerous.  

 Whether you are a decades-long practitioner like myself, or have never tried any form of meditation, there is a simple and very easy method of beating insomnia that works so well that many people are reporting falling asleep in One Minute or less. Real REM sleep, in a minute or less, naturally, and without drugs of any kind.

 Commonly referred to as the 4-7-8 method, the secret to falling asleep fast is nothing more than controlled breathing that forces your mind to calm itself and allow sleep to take over. Used by gurus to create a calming state that can replenish the body and the mind equal to a full night's sleep, with only a ten minute meditative state, the short version of the 4-7-8 can be used by anyone to fall asleep easily.

 Easy as ABC, you breathe in through your nose for four seconds, hold it for seven seconds, and exhale through your mouth for eight seconds.  Simple enough, right?  Now just lather, rinse and repeat.
  Count off in your head as you breathe, "yullymin 1, yullymin 2, yullymin 3, yullymin 4." or whatever term you are comfortable with. Your mantra should be a simple yet generic phrase that won't start your mind wandering and distract from the task at hand, ie: falling asleep.  "Big boobs 1, cheesesteak 2..." are the types of words that create a distracting image and simply won't work.  Of course I'm kidding, but the point is this: Your total focus must remain on your breathing and nothing else.

 This method is also great for other times of stress and mental distraction, and can be valuable for a myriad of situations.  My first exposure to this life-tool was in the military through an advanced combat training class, intended as a means to help remain clear and focused in moments of extreme stress. It works so well that I have carried it with me for nearly 40 years, and have always been the cooler head when things get hot. 

 When you are stressed, your endocrine system releases adrenalin through the adrenal glands. This boosts your heart rate and can make you feel unsteady and jittery, and in some cases you may even feel sick. This is usually followed by shallow and rapid breathing.

 Using the 4-7-8 method will counteract the effects of the adrenalin, which forces your heart rate to slow down. She simply doesn't have a choice in the matter. This is you taking back control, and it feels wonderful to be back in the driver's seat.

 As a beginner you may feel a bit uncomfortable with this, but as you learn to calm your mind by focusing on nothing but breathing it will get easier. 

 But you don't have to take my word for it.  The 4-7-8 method of stress relief was recently confirmed by the Harvard-educated wellness practitioner Dr. Andrew Weil as the ideal method of overcoming stress that is simple enough for anyone to use on a daily basis.

 Give it a try tonight, and remember to drop back here and tell us how it worked for you.

 2015 HealthySelfCures.com   JB "Pop" Stran  All Copyrights apply. No reprint without full link intact.

Three Simple Powerful Changes To Start Your New Healthier Life

Make These 3 Simple Changes To Be Healthier Now

  We all want to feel better, have a bit more energy, and live a little longer than most.

 Even if we can't keep up with the little ones, at least we won't look so hopelessly out of breath when we try.

 Fortunately, there are a few easy changes to your daily habits that can help.

I'm not saying it will be easy for everyone, but I am saying that it will be worth it.

Change #1:  MOVE.

  Research and statistics are proving beyond any further traces of doubt that our sedentary lifestyles are killing us, in record numbers.
 Lack of adequate exercise is causing too many Americans to fall into a poisonous cycle of inactivity. 

 After a day's work, we fall into a semi-conscious state on the sofa and grab the remote for a full evening of mind-numbing nothingness, with nothing to show for it but a few minutes of chat the next day.

 For others, this is the time for beer in the easy chair. Lots of beer, and lots of easy chair.

An easy meal and more sitting before falling into bed to start the cycle over again the next day is about the sum of the average American "walking comatose" adult, and no spare energy is the primary result.

 Here's my first secret:  Your extra energy is waiting  just outside your comfort zone.

 Take a walk.  Research has proven that a twenty minute walk in nature has the same effect on the brain as a single dosage of any popular mood-leveling prescription drug.

 When you feel good, you will want more of that. Walk 3 times next week.

Take your mate for a nature hike near water next weekend. Start a garden. Really get your hands in that soil (this also has a calming effect on the brain). Dust off that old bike. Whatever floats your boat.

 The key is to MOVE. And to keep moving.

Change #2: Garbage In, Garbage Out.

  You Are What You Eat.  No statement is more true today, especially since the transition from family farms to corporate food processing plants has turned your local grocery store into a chemical retailer.

  We were sold the idea that it is far easier to add water to a box of dry stuff, or ground beef to a pack of chemicals, than to cut and prepare the vegetables and herbs for a fresher meal. And do we ask a lot of questions about the contents of that box? Nope. Why would we? They wouldn't hurt us, would they?

 You are told to trust them, and you comply. 

 Just eat it. Don't ask a lot of questions. It's cheap, so just be happy with that, and don't ask why each generation of kids becomes less tolerant of whole foods than the last. 

 Peanut allergies. Wheat (gluten) allergies. Allergies to healthy foods that would mean a death sentence in some countries, where a child who is allergic to food is little more than a myth.

  Don't ask why the instance of child obesity has multiplied itself by 1200% over the last four generations, or why instances of autism in children have exploded over the last 20 years.

Remember that first secret?  Step outside your comfort zone at the grocer, too.

 Try a new food each week. Heard of zucchini pasta? Spiral cut the vegetable into a far more nutritious meal that your body will thank you for.

 Look for Coconut oil.   Smear it on your bagel in the morning, or just drop a spoonful into your sauces for a secret healthy kick. Get back in the habit of browsing the fresh vegetables when you shop, and start trying a new type each week. Surely there are a few you have never tasted, so what are you waiting for?

  Healthy eating habits will likely become a family tradition. Set a good example.

This leads us naturally into the third change you will need to make in order to begin your new life of looking and feeling healthier. Last, but surely not least...

Change #3: Wake Up.

  You have no doubt noticed that the recurring theme of the first two changes has been changes.

Shake things up. Break the grind and climb out of the rut that is wearing you down and sapping your vital energy.  Remember when you could play ball all day long? Riding your bike from breakfast until your mom called you home for dinner?  

 I'm not promising that you will be twelve years old again, but it is not out of the question to at least feel that twenty years of abuse and neglect have been undone by just a few simple changes of habit.

 It's really not your fault: There's so much good stuff to watch on tv; Your boss is draining you daily and you consider yourself lucky just to get a meal on the table before you collapse on the couch; Tonight's game is far too important to miss; You deserve to rest your feet after the day that you put in...

 All excuses aside, wouldn't you really want more from your life than to simply work and grow fat until you die (early) with your face in a plate of that GMO Mac & Cheese that pushed you into the grave?

  This third change is a bit deeper, but just as important (if not more so) as the first two, because without this change, the others won't stand a chance in the long term.

 Your new healthy feeling will have to start with a new healthier mindset.

Don't laugh. Anyone can swap out bacon for turkey strips for a week, but most will slide right back to their old unhealthy habits when they don't see immediate results.

 This is because they are waiting and secretly hoping for failure. That would be the perfect excuse to bounce back to the old ways like crawling into their favorite pajamas.

  Once you can understand how you got where you are, and are committed for the long haul, you are better equipped to anticipate a relapse and nip it in the bud.

 Baby steps are a fine manner of progress, because the most important thing in this system of change is to keep moving forward. Keep pulling for that healthier you that you know is still trapped inside those few extra pounds and being drowned by the habits of convenience.

 Motivate yourself to turn off the television a couple of hours earlier than usual and read a book. On the back porch. On the treadmill. How about an audiobook while you power-walk the neighborhood?

 After a light dinner (for some people, smaller portions are a good start), spend an hour trimming the bushes as you listen to the birds singing. 

 Keep the basic keys in mind:

•   Cut the junk food. Try new natural recipes.
• Get vertical more often. Move.
•  Decide that now is the time.
• Clean your mind, so that as you clean your body it will have a better chance of staying that way.
• Exercise, in any form, is always better than being dormant.

 Of course, your new healthier lifestyle will need to evolve as you get stronger and more active, so stay tuned to Pop's blog (Hit the Subscribe link Now!) for more advanced ways to keep growing into your reverse-aging body and reclaiming your youthful energy.

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