Throw me a Lifeline!!

Check out February's Oprah Magazine!
If only for the great interview with Tina Fey. LOVE HER!!! I also loved the article written by the great life coach Martha Beck about our 'Bete Noire' or 'black beast' residing in most of us. (me fo sho) Some examples of this would be depression, chronic pain, or a hot temper. She explains the usefulness of a Lifeline graph to show us the relationships between events or stages of our lives and reoccurring physical symptom or emotional imbalance. When we are off-track from our life's purpose is usually when we are at or near the intensity of a ten as opposed to being a symptom-free zero. This is a useful tool that I wanted to pass along.

Speaking of February, your next N.Y.R. is coming soon! Have those cupboards cleaned out yet? You should start noticing a difference in how you feel after ridding your body of destructive chemicals, additives and preservatives. You may even feel yucky like I did. The toxins stored in fat tissue could give way into your blood stream when you eat healthier and avoid the bad stuff. This toxin release can cause temporary fatigue and if you are like me you get a bad cold. This isn't unusual and when it's over you know that you have cleaned up your system and vibrant health is on it's way. Nurture yourself for now and stay with the program. Great Job Trooper!

January's N.Y.R. - Rid Your Kitchen Of Non-foods

Reading labels is muy importante!
Most of the food people purchase is a non-food. This is a food that costs more in nutritional value to digest, absorb and eliminate than it delivers. In other words, processed foods. By reading food labels, you'll discover how many ingredients (those gigantic & strange words) you can't pronounce and don't know. The FDA currently lists 2,800 food additives and about 3,000 chemicals that are deliberately added to our food supply each year!

The FDA is not your friend
The FDA doesn't require any food additive 'Generally Regarded As Safe' (GRAS) to be listed on the label. All you see is "artificial flavor". The FDA allows food & food additive manufacturers to notify them of the GRAS status and provide their own evidence to support their claim. Basically we are being treated as guinea pigs. How could your doctor be expected to determine what it is that caused you to suffer an adverse reaction to a food you ate with all these GRAS food additives missing from food labels? Many food manufacturers use the word 'Natural' to get you to buy their products. Well, insects and mercury are 'Natural' and are just some of the natural items that end up in your food.

What you must do
Commit to spending an evening or afternoon going through your pantry, cabinets and refrigerator and checking labels. If the label has a long list of ingredients you can't pronounce, set it out on the counter. The next step is to separate the perishables from non-perishables. Put the non-perishables in bags or boxes and when you have time, take them to your local food bank or favorite charity. If they take the perishables, great, otherwise throw them away.

Sinister ingredients to BE AWARE of
Particularly harmful ingredients that you should know about are:

Trans fatty acids, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils - structurally TFA's are closer to plastic than fat. Consumption of these fats have been linked to heart disease and elevated cholesterol levels, sexual dysfunction, and paralysis of the immune system.

Aspertame - (also known as 'Nutra-Sweet' or 'Equal') This is an artificial sweetener found in diet sodas and drinks. It has resulted in more complaints to the FDA due to side effects than any food additive ever approved in FDA history. Artificial sweeteners have also been found by researchers to be a neurotoxin that can damage the brain and nervous system. Watch out for it in chewing gum and mints as well.

Sucralose found in 'Splenda' and many food products including OTC Meds like rolaids and in listerine mouthwash, is a known carcinogen. Sucralose is synthesized by a five-step process that involves hydrogen chloride and other deadly chemicals. (Smart to steer clear of ingredients ending in -ose as it is another name for sugar that manufacturers likely hope will go unnoticed)

MSG - Monosodium Glutamate is a neurotoxic substance that causes many adverse reactions like dizziness, diarrhea and anaphylactic shock. Long-term - Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

Nitrates - These are usually found in processed meats like sausage, lunch meats and bacon. They are potent carcinogens that have been liked to cancer of the esophagus, stomach, large intestine, bladder and lungs.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup - A highly over used sweetener (1,000 percent increase in consumption between 1970 and 1990) that has been implicated in a rise of type 2 diabetes, obesity and other health problems. A new study suggests that a diet high in high-fructose corn syrup may lead the body to develop a resistance to a protein called leptin which helps control appetite.

Congratulations! Completing this month's N.Y.R is monumental. Now remember to read labels when you shop from now on. Keeping all these non-foods out of your life will give your body more energy to repair and rebuild so you can start feeling your very best!

New Year's Revolution

You say you want a revolution?
What could that mean? How about a sudden, complete, or radical change in your life? A procedure or course back to a starting point in your life? The orbiting of your heavenly body around another? (humm..who might that other body be?) To roll back a cycle of events in time perhaps? Yeah, those all qualify as revolutions all right. The first definition of revolution is likely what you are ready for right? We all want to change our world.

Most of us don't stick to our New Year's Resolutions.
Resolution is not a strong enough word for us anymore. What we could use is a uniformed soldier (or picture Jack Nickelson as he makes a living being intimidating) shouting out our orders. We see the urgency to follow the commander...my god it's life or death here...and we get results and a true revolutionary change occurs. It's this 'urgency to act' and 'life or death thought' that is missing and keeping us from creating the change we desire in our lives. My offering to you is this missing ingredient (a jalapeno ought da do it). I want for you, which has worked for me, to be motivated to create positive lasting change.

Ten Hut!
Your orders are to implement each new monthly 'revolution' that I give you. Each one promises to create a positive change that will increase your physical, mental and spiritual health. If you don't have your health, you really don't have anything right? You know it's a fact as do I. By December 2009, you will be looking forward to the next year's revolutions having enjoyed increased health/vitality and valuable insight after one year's time.

About Face!
On with a fresh new year and the promise of a new way of living that will impact your life in numerous ways. When you receive and follow through with these New Years revolutions, a huge transformation will result in your life by years end. You'll feel that sense of urgency and a sudden, complete change is made and adhered to. On and On until you are so much more AWARE in your life that you can't wait to share what you know with others. I must caution you that touting your positive life-altering changes will likely be met with resistance. Don't be negatively influenced by this. Just focusing on you can create a ripple-effect on it's own.

Keep in mind
There is tremendous power in the act of making a positive, lasting change. This positively affects the lives of all those orbiting around this permanent shift. These affected lives revolving around you are transformed and a wave of revolutionary change is underway. You and the world of those around you are changed....for the better....and you know it's gonna be alright.