Fake Sugars & Other Nasty Items

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Avoid aspartame, MSG, HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) & heavily processed diet and fat free products.

I first became intrigued with this topic when my father began suffering from blurred and double vision after switching from regular soda to diet soda. After multiple visits to multiple doctors an opthamologist suggested that the aspartame in the soda he was drinking was the cause and advised him to stop drinking it immediately. He did and his vision improved.

Aspartame, an artificial sweetener commercially known as Nutrasweet, and Equal among other names is an excitotoxin. These substances excite brain cells or neurons to the point of exhaustion and death. It’s been known to produce blindness and cellular destruction in the brain and spinal cord, particularly the optic nerves. Aspartic acid produces cellular excitation. It is an excitotoxin that causes cell death in the brain and significantly affects neural developments in infants, resulting in behavioral changes and even hyperactivity in children. Aspartame is found in over 6,000 products There has been more reports for aspartame reactions to the FDA than all other food additives put together. It is interesting to note that diet soda contributes to weight gain and obesity which is the complete opposite effect that consumers of these diets drinks are looks to obtain. Other effects include destruction of the kidneys, head aches, seizures and cancer. This artificial sweetener openly sold in the market has caused many recorded health issues and was never tested in humans prior to its approval and currently is still legal to sell despite the FDA’s commitment to protect consumers.

Many people have experienced negative side effects from ingesting Monosodium Glutamate (MSG). Side effects may include paralysis, inability to breathe, tingling, and swelling. Negative reactions can be so severe that MSG consumption could be deadly for some people. For this reason, socially responsible restaurants and food manufacturers no longer use MSG as a flavor enhancer, and have switched to natural seasonings instead. Unfortunately, some restaurants and food manufacturers still use MSG. The transport of MSG is controlled by the Bioterrorism Act of 2002.

The number one source of calories in the US is high fructose corn syrup. HFCS increases your triglyceride levels and your LDL (bad) cholesterol. Part of what makes HFCS such an unhealthy product is that it is metabolized to fat in your body far more rapidly than any other sugar, and, because most fructose is consumed in liquid form, its negative metabolic effects are significantly magnified. HFCS has also been linked to: diabetes, obesity and metabolic syndrome. If you want to get in-control of your weight, cut HFCS from your diet.
Keep an eye out for the following E numbers and avoid them like the plague! Aspartame (E951) & MSG (E621). High Fructose Corn Syrup does not have an ‘e’ number so watch out for it by name. When you’re shopping make sure to read labels and become and informed consumer.
Implementation: Be a label reader. Cut out foods that have aspartame, HFCS and MSG in them.

Affirmation: I trust my body and know that it will naturally adjust to an ideal weight for me. Food is nourishment and I realize this. I make good and healthy eating choices based on my nourishment needs. I move regularly and enjoy every moment of it. I am healthy.

Dominate Social Media

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We live in the information age and things move quickly. With the evolution of social media, we have the ability to reach people like never before. The key to dominate social media is to be consistent because people do business with those they know, like and trust. We have but a split second to capture a potential customer’s attention. Here are some tips I have learned along the way to make navigating Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest a little easier. dominate social media

Each platform gives you the opportunity to share your ‘why’ in the form of a brief bio. This is your chance to connect with your audience. Be sure to include who you are, what you do and how it brings value for the other person. Keep your bio short and to the point. Your bio should include a link back to your personal website for more info. Make sure your website lists all of your social media handles so people can easily find you. dominate social media

Social media outlets are the most influential platforms of the century. Having a profile is not enough. Building rapport with other organizations and honing strategic partnerships can explode your business. dominate social media

Dominate Social Media

Target your market. It is important to know your ideal customer and trust me its not everyone. Are you looking to capture organizations, a particular age demographic or a niche market? Targeting your market does not mean excluding people that do not fit your criteria from buying from you. It is a guide to allow you to focus on the people that are mostly likely to buy your product and share it with others, building your customer base. dominate social media

Social networks like Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest have changed the game for search engines. They have introduced additional social search signals that can be used for ranking content to your target audience. Social search refers to search engines using signals such as the number of social media shares of a link to determine how that link ranks for a given keyword.

There demographic of Facebook‘s 1.28 billion monthly users is vast. If you want to reach 15-34 year olds they are most active on Facebook from 9-10pm so post during those times. Keep posts short, 27% more sharing happens when a post is three lines or less. We want people to repost our info to friends so keep on point. One liners typically get the best response rates. People want to be engaged so ask questions that create conversation. If you post outside normal business hours which are considered from 9-4 there is a 20% increase in engagement. Fridays are the highest traffic days on Facebook, so it’s a great day to post. Comment on other pages where your target audience is already having conversations, lay the ground work and build rapport. If you host live events, post lots of photos and encourage your friends/followers to tag themselves. When they tag themselves, they will voluntarily be sharing your content with their friends causing a ripple affect. A great way to increase traffic to your page is by offering a special or exclusive offer; the sky is the limit on this. Ads are becoming more widely used on this platform. Slowly, Facebook will increase advertising including: full-motion video ads and image ads on its Instagram photo-sharing service. dominate social media

Twitter is great as you get up to the minute info; it could be called the ‘real time social networking’ site. A key to Twitter is to tweet in intervals. All tweets have to to be 140 charters or less. Engaging others through replying to their tweets builds your community. While it is great to follow lots of people and hone valuable information on Twitter, you must also grow your own base of followers. This is known as your Twitter reach. To make your tweets as visible as possible, avoid putting @USERNAME in the very beginning of your tweets. Adding the @USERNAME to the very beginning will make your tweet viewable only in the Twitter streams of people who follow you and the user to whom you’re tweeting. Hashtags are widely used on Twitter as well. A ‘#tag’ makes searching key words easy. You can dominate a hashtag so that when people search a key word your brand is the first to be featured. Selecting a hashtag for your own event will be beneficial in a couple of ways: During the event, people often use the hashtag while live-tweeting, i.e. tweeting what they see/hear in real-time. The hashtag will tag and aggregate the event’s tweets, building an online conversation around the event. Make your tweets useful resources so people need you. You are what you tweet. People will want to follow you if they think they will get value from your tweets. Avoid making your Twitter account a purely promotional tool. The goal is to get people to your personal page and viewing your products. Make a decision on how much time you want to devote to this platform as it can be a time-sucking activity.

Twitter is redesigning its profile and soon it will look like a merger of Facebook and Pinterest. Twitter has announced it will be gradually making changes to the timeline, mobile updates and they will have bigger photos. There are also rumors of the imminent death of @-replies and hashtags. Users will be able to pin or highlight key pieces of information to the profile of your newsfeed. We will now be able to add multiple photos to the platform and tag up to 10 people in these photos.

I didn’t know this until recently: Pinterest is the 4th largest traffic driver worldwide. People spend more money on Pinterst then any of the other social media sites. On average people will spend $68 on Twitter, $80 on Facebook and $179 on Pinterest. People use Pinterest to shop and buy online. The difference is that 70% of people on this platform are looking for brands and products. Many think it’s about moms (the average Pinterest user is 35-50) at home finding projects to do, but having a presence on Pinterest can effectively spread the word about your business. In fact, 80% of the content on Pinterest is repinned, which means your message could go viral quickly. The key with Pinterest is to create content unique to the Pinterest platform which will increase brand visibility and get more sales. Info-graphics, checklists, tutorials, teaser text-which drives traffic back to your site and videos are the most shared on Pinterest. Early morning or late at night is the best time to post to your page. The most people are on Pinterest Saturday mornings. dominate social media

I understand this can be a lot to digest and you may be thinking, who has time for all this? If you are doing all of these, an easy way to manage all of your sites in one place is through HooteSuite. They offer a free program to maximize your presence on social media and cut the time you spend daily on each site. It is better to do one thing really well then to do three things in a mediocre fashion. If taking on multiple social media sites feels daunting, start with one and master it; you can always expand your reach. You can see now how important it is to know your customer, what they need and where you can find them to connect. Now let’s share something we learned here with a friend on one of these social media platforms! dominate social media

Resources: dominate social media
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest

dominate social media

Addicted to soda

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We have all heard how bad soda pop is for us. In particular diet soda is horrible due to the fake sweeteners like aspartame used to sweeten the drink. If you have not received the memo consider this that memo. When you take caffeine out of your daily routine for a couple of weeks your energy level will become more consistent, and you tend to sleep better. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It will dissolve a nail in about four days. Phosphoric acid also leaches calcium from bones and is a major contributor to the rising increase of osteoporosis. To carry Coca-Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial trucks must display a hazardous material sign reserved for highly corrosive materials. This does not even touch on the amount of sugar in a 12 oz can of coke which is about 16 cubes of sugar per can!

A great alternative is to try carbonated water with a spritz of lemon (which will help on the journey to an alkaline state). Another great beverage is coconut water. A serving of coconut water has more potassium then two banana’s, is full of electrolytes which will help your muscles recover after work outs and it hydrates you faster then water.

Implementation:
If your currently drinking soda pop ween off of it.

Affirmation: My mind is powerful. It is an amazing tool that I can use to better my body, my spirit, and my life. Each day, I use this powerful tool wisely.

Cleaning with Coke:
• In many states the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the trunk to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.
• The distributors of Coke have been using it to clean the engines of the trucks for about 20 years!
• You can put a T-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.
• To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl and let the ‘real thing’ sit for one hour, then flush clean. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.
• To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: Rub the bumper with a rumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca- Cola.
• To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion. Apply a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.
• To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of Coke into the load of greasy clothes, add detergent, and run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.

A key to wellness that is often missed

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We are the most over fed and under nourished country in the world. Supplementation is recommended by the Journal of American Medical Association due to the decline in nutritional value of our food. Vitamins fall into two categories: fat soluble and water soluble. The fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K dissolve in fat and can be stored in your body. The water- soluble vitamins C and the B-complex vitamins (such as vitamins B6, B12, niacin, riboflavin, and folate) need to dissolve in water before your body can absorb them so they are not stored by the body. Vitamins and minerals boost the immune system, support normal growth and development, and help cells and organs do their jobs. Essentials like omega-3 and vitamin D are making appearances more often in the news as many are suffering aliments from deficiencies in their diets. Omega-3 fatty acids have been well researched for their health benefits, largely focused on brain and heart health as well as protecting against cancer, diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease. The body is unable to manufacture its own Omega-3 fat supply, so it is necessary to obtain sufficient intake from foods such as oily fish, nuts and seeds or through supplementation. Vitamin D may help defend against heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and osteoporosis. If you are looking for a great source of omega-3 with vitamin D3 let us know and we will point you in the right direction. Researchers publishing in the Canadian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology (CJPP) have found that a diet enhanced with vitamin and mineral supplementation can lower the risk of developing precancerous colon cancer lesions by up to 84%. Colon cancer is the second most common form of the disease affecting men and women in the US, with nearly 150,000 new diagnoses each year.

How would one find a good supplement with all the options out there? There are over 3,000 vitamin and mineral supplements on the market. There are five manufactures in the industry that make and bottle all of those products. 95% of these products are synthetic meaning they are made of coal tar and rocks. Now our bodies can not digest rocks and our bodies were not designed to process toxins like coal tar and petroleum. There is a very simple experiment you can do at home to test a vitamin. Pull out the supplement you are currently taking, if you are not taking a supplement ask a friend to have a couple of their’s for a science experiment. Make sure you have two of each vitamin. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place one vitamin on a piece of tin foil and set the other aside. Bake the vitamin for 15 minutes. When you remove the vitamin from the oven you will notice one of two things. Either the vitamin will have browned much like a turkey does looking relatively similar to the uncooked vitamin or it with be oozing out tar and making the kitchen a little stinky. Now which would you prefer to take? A plant based supplement or one made of coal tar….humm. If you bake a prenatal vitamin you’ll be shocked at what oozes out and this poison goes right to the baby! We have partnered with the World Health Organization (WHO) to make some positive changes to the industry. Here is a great video with a overview on this topic, it is about 5 minutes long.

This is an great article on how to spot a vitamin D deficiency.

Action Step: Try baking your vitamins in the oven as outlined above. Email us your address if you would like to test this vitamin against a plant based whole food supplement. We will send you some samples of a great supplement you may want to consider switching to. Here are some vitamins we have baked.

Affirmation: I can accomplish anything I set my mind to and I set my mind to becoming physically and mentally fit. I am physically fit and I am mentally fit.

Easy Homemade Cleaners

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A place where many harmful toxins are found in our homes is in cleaners, soaps and even our laundry detergent (when you wear your clothes and sleep in your bed these chemicals can transfer from the fabric and be absorbed by your skin. If your skin consistently breaks out this could be a reason why). These items are loaded with synthetic chemicals shown to pollute indoor air and harm our health. There are some great cleaners like 7th Generation which can be found at stores like Whole Foods which you can switch to as well. Here are some simple cleaners you can whip up at home. easy homemade cleaners

Easy Homemade Cleaners easy homemade cleaners

Simple Vegetable Cleaner easy homemade cleaners
Cleaning your fruits and vegetables is a must with all the harmful chemical pesticides that are sprayed on our foods these days. Here is a simple and inexpensive way to clean your food before cooking it. easy homemade cleaners

You will need: 1 lemon, 2 tablespoons white vinegar, 1 cup water, 1 spray bottle

Juice the lemon and pour it into the spray bottle with the vinegar and water. Mix well by shaking the bottle, make sure the cap is on tight. Spray your fruits or vegetables and let them sit for a minute. Rinse under cool water while rubbing the skin of the fruit. The added friction ensures the break up of the chemicals. easy homemade cleaners

 

Simple All Purpose Cleaner
Fill a one quart jar with orange peels. Add white vinegar to cover the orange peels. Let the mixture sit for a week to 10 days. Strain the liquid into a spray bottle. Use on counter tops, tables or anything that needs to be cleaned. Cats are not fond of the essential oils found in oranges so spraying counters will keep your feline friends off your work area. easy homemade cleaners

 

Laundry Soap easy homemade cleaners
1 box of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1 box of 20 Mule Team Borax
10 Pack of 4.5 oz bars of Dr. Bonners soap bars

All of these items are found in the laundry isle at your local grocery store. Finely grate the soap bars. In a large container add all 3 ingredients and mix thoroughly. 1 tablespoon = 1 large load of laundry. This makes laundry less expensive to do and will last you months. easy homemade cleaners

Antioxidants Keep Us Young!

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Toxins bombard us everyday, from every direction. Let’s control the number of toxins we come in contact with by eliminating free radicals at home. The body protects itself as we consume antioxidants. These antioxidants prevent free radicals from making our body prematurely age, none of us want that! When free radicals are stored in our bodies our immune systems become compromised which can lead to sickness and disease. Antioxidants do what, they oxidize or lose their capacity to effectively protect our bodies when introduced to oxygen. Now if we are consuming antioxidants via a “super juice” think about this for a moment; H2O in fact has oxygen in it. When antioxidants are bottled and water is added to the mixture so that you get more in the bottle the potency of antioxidants you are getting after pasteurization is about non existent (the top 5 juice companies all use the same manufacture, the average cost is a $1 a bottle and it is sold for $50 on average. You are probably not getting your money’s worth). We receive more antioxidants from Welch’s Grape juice then from these expensive so called super juices. There is a way to test the potency of an antioxidant which is called an ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity) test and more specifically blood serum ORAC testing. I have found the best source of antioxidants is via fresh fruits/ veggies and a product called AO. AO can be taken in capsule form or it is found in NutriVerus so we can easily consume the antioxidants our bodies need each day.

Action Step: Begin eating more raw fruits and vegetables to boost your antioxidant levels and ward off free radicals. Invest in a good antioxidant supplement.