The next Food You Should Stop Eating: Margarine

To be and feel healthier, there are a few convenience foods you should stop eating today:

  In order to support your 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, regardless of facts to the contrary.

 Sadly, there is an entire industry based on deceiving consumers with catchy and misleading terms like those worn out examples above.  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, despite countless studies* that have disproved those claims.
* Another favorite tool of the Food Marketing industry is "fixed results' lab studies wherein the manufacturer sponsors a study with predetermined results stating that their product is healthy.

 Another example of this deception is also the next food you should stop buying and eating: Margarine.

 Originally crafted in 1869 from beef tallow and skimmed milk, margarine was intended as a butter substitute for the soldiers and lower classes of France by Napoleon III. Two years later the process here in the US was converted to animal fats and vegetable oils, mainly cottonseed oil.

 The other big difference in the US was the original design. While the French wanted to express yet another form of separation between the classes, the Americans of 1871 simply wanted to find a cheaper feed for their pigs that would also help to fatten them up.

 To meet this need: Margarine was born.  

When we look back over the last 40 years in an attempt to determine where the roots of our current obesity epidemic began, one of the primary turning points was the heavy marketing of margarine as the "healthier alternative" to butter.

 The motivation was simple and fairly obvious. While dairy farms are messy and unpredictable, a chemical plant can be controlled and far more profitable. Profits that don't need to be shared with a farmer.

 Margarine today is in fact one chemical reaction away from being plastic.

  Rancid oils such as cottonseed (Cotton is one of the most heavily sprayed crops) and Canola ([Rapeseed] considered a healthier oil, despite being banned from infant formulas because it causes vitamin deficiencies) are leeched from seeds with the toxic cancer causing solvent Hexane.

 The oils used in making margarine are the Big Four GMO crops: Soy, Corn, Canola, Cotton.

 The raw oils are steam cleaned, thus destroying all vitamins and antioxidants. Not all the pesticides, but any trace of healthy benefit. They are then mixed with finely ground and highly toxic nickle, as a catalyst for the hydrogenation process.

 Emulsifiers (soaps) and another steam cleaning, along with bleach and deodorizers are all a typical and necessary part of the process of turning undesirable GMO seeds into a tub of chemical sludge that can be sold to the unsuspecting public under the "Healthier Option" label.

 The bottom line is this: A good organic butter is going to be far healthier than any commercial margarine on the market today. Fresh jellies and jams are an even better choice.

 2015  HealthySelfCures.com    

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.

Evolution of Medical Theory: Coconut Oil and Saturated Fats

The Jury is Out: Forget everything you were told about Saturated Fats

  You may have heard that the AMA is beginning a complete reversal of the traditional practice of arbitrarily removing juvenile tonsils as a solution to persistent throat infections.
 This is due to the fact that doctors are finally ready to admit that the medical community of the last few generations didn't fully understand the actual, and as it turns out quite vital function of this organ.

 Similarly, many doctors and nutritionists of the 20th century were claiming that anyone who expects to live a longer, healthier lifestyle must eliminate all saturated fats from their diet at once. This tune has begun to change recently, based primarily on further research and some new evidence.

 Similar to the completely unjustified generalizations that were laid upon many gentle family pets of the Pitbull breed, all forms of saturated fats have been demonized in the public eye based on the discovery that a few certain fats were unhealthy.
 These researchers failed to mention (or notice at the time) that there are just as many forms of saturated fats that are not only healthy, but in some cases vital to your overall nutritional health.

  Like most rumors, this one about fats was based in truth, and then exaggerated to sound like you were getting the whole story. So, here's the rest of the story...
  It is true that many saturated fats, such as those found in meat and cheese for example, are mostly made up of Long Chain Triglycerides (LCTs), which need to be broken down in the intestines before your body can use them for fuel. In other words, you are forced to store these fat cells in your body while waiting for this lengthy process to complete itself.

 Conversely, a previously maligned source of healthy fats that is being spotlighted lately is Coconut Oil, which is comprised primarily of Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs). These fats are metabolized quickly and rarely stored in the body as fat cells.
 The MCTs are a source of many helpful health benefits, including actually losing weight instead of gaining, just the opposite of the earlier fears.

 Fortunately, we are now beginning to understand that the saturated fats found in coconut oil, contrary to popular belief, are actually very beneficial to your nutrition.
 This is due in part to the discovery that the Tokelauan and Kitavan peoples of the South Pacific, who consume large quantities of coconut oil, are among the healthiest peoples on Earth.
 This evidence has sparked a renewed interest among nutritionists in the benefits of coconut oil.

 A Brazilian study found that women who consumed 30 milliliters of coconut oil daily for 12 weeks saw a reduction in their waist circumference and Body Mass Index, compared to a similar group who consumed equal amounts of soybean oil, which contains LCTs, and did not see similar benefits.
The results of this study were published in Lipids in 2009.

 Add in such bonuses as anti-viral properties, antifungal, and the fact that the MCTs can deter and even reverse the effects of Alzheimers Disease, and you can see why coconut oil is seen by health conscious consumers as the new natural must-have item today.

 Oh, and did i mention that it's actually very tasty?
While I've never been a big fan of coconut, in the form of a spread similar to butter, coconut oil is one of the exceptions to the old saying that anything good for you must taste bad.

 You should consider adding a spoonful of coconut oil to your daily diet immediately, in any way that you can.  A few friends are mixing it into their favorite recipes in place of margarine, and others simply eat it plain as a booster to their daily vitamin regime.

    § Copyright HealthySelfCures.com   §  JB Stran