Author: Elva Edwards

Spring is in the air!! It’s time to enjoy some outside activity. Just being outside improves mood. That is because nature gives off negative ions and they make us feel good. Remember how you feel by the ocean? That is the effect of negative ions. Taking a hike or even a walk invigorates you! Some of that effect comes from walking causing the blood to move and oxygenate all parts of the body, and part of the effect is from the negative ions. And, at least lately, at the same time we can get some vitamin D from the sun. Enjoy your time outdoors knowing that you are really doing your body and your mood a favor! Spending some time outdoors is a good way of loving yourself! There is nothing more healing than loving yourself!

The Framingham study is one of the most well know long term studies in nutrition and how food affects us.  They found that people who ate the most saturated fat, the most cholesterol and the most calories weighed the least, were more physically active and had the lowest serum cholesterol levels. Is that what medicine has taught you? If you look back at the photos of times before 1950, everyone was slim. No one was taking cholesterol-lowering medications. Very few people had diabetes. You have to ask, are we going in the right direction?

Last week, the link I provided didn’t work well.  If you didn’t see my video, go to youtube.com and search for my video. Have a great week!

 

Many people recognize that their physical complaints have an emotional component to them. Everyone has emotions and they affect us on all levels. How could it be otherwise? If you don’t know what I am talking about, what is blushing? It is a physiological response to emotion. What is having butterflies in your stomach before giving a speech? It is a physiological response to your emotions. If you have been traumatized as a child, it is likely you are run by unknown forces, unknown emotions. That was my experience.   I am creating a web-based program to support people who lost a parent as a child. See my video below, and share it with those in your life who might be interested. Remember, Good Health is Priceless….and that includes emotional health!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MBUoVzBFqc

 

Last week I talked about Campbell’s removing GMO’s.  I’m sure people are high-fiving over the win!  Or is it a win?  Sometimes we will be suckered by a nice gesture when in fact the other ingredients in their goods might be hazardous to your health.  If you actually write letters to food makers, make sure you look at all of the ingredients.  They might, for good publicity, take GMO’s out of a product, but does it have MSG?  Or the equally bad aspartame?  And what about the food colorings that are known to be involved with ADHD?  Frankly, for me, I prefer food from the farmer to the table.  Don’t do any processing to the food before I have it in my kitchen.  I call this “clean food.”  It is clean because if anything is added to the food, I will add it and know exactly what it is.  That is important to me.  Let’s eat real food!!  It beats processed food not only in taste, but in health benefits too!

 

Campbell Soup has agreed to labeling GMO’s in their products and will not raise prices to do so.  Thank you Campbell Soup!!   Let’s start a “thank you note campaign” for them because the big complaint has been  that labeling would make their products more expensive.  They make the products and label them as to GMO’s to sell in Europe so the companies already have the labeling.  My  vision is that this will will start a movement that instead of by law, the companies themselves will decide to gift the populace with the knowledge of what we are eating!!  Hopefully Campbell’s will get good press for this which will cause a domino effect!  Everyone likes good press, right?  Thank you Campbell’s!

Notice what kind of oil your chips are cooked in, even those from the health food store!  It may take a multitude of letters to the manufacturers to get them to change.  The vegetable oils, safflower and canola and soybean, became popular when I was young along with margarine.  I remember my Grandpa saying, “we won’t eat any of that margarine in this house.”  And we didn’t.  Margarine is only one bond away from being a plastic!  So choose your oils wisely!  They were completely wrong when they said fat is bad for you.  Old programming is hard to change, but oils are good for you, just not vegetable oils.  Eat avocados, pecans, walnuts, pistachios, olive oil and coconut oil.  And if you are trying to lose weight, please don’t avoid oil as it helps balance blood sugar.  Now, go eat an avocado for dinner!!

We are all toxic but some people are more toxic than others. If we have bacteria, virus, parasite or fungus in our bodies, they have their own waste products. Our body is their “hotel.” And we are the maid. That is why it is important to stay clean (get rid of the organisms) on the inside of your body.  Other easy detoxification measures are: add a slice of lemon to your water, take a walk, jump on a mini-trampoline, sweat, and drink plenty of water.  And don’t forget to smile!

The organ that is most often needing support is the liver.  It has over 500 functions.  It is the real worker in the body helping us detoxify.  Eating non-processed foods will help support the liver.  One vegetable that is particularly helpful is the beet.  It would be great to have beets once a week.  I prefer the fresh beets to the canned.   I slice them and put them in my steamer and when done, sprinkle them with a good quality salt.  Yum Yum.  I also love them grated in a salad.  Enjoy the red beets and know that your liver will thank you!!

If you want to make an impact on your children’s lives, teach them to cook. I’ve been surprised at how many people do not cook. They order take out or eat out. Only when you prepare your own food do you know what is in it. The extra salt, fat and sugar provided in take out and restaurants will not serve your health. Let’s get back to basics with cooking. Let your children help you cook, prepare vegetables and serve dinner. It doesn’t need to be fancy.  Simple food is the best food.  Family dinner is the time to share the love. Make mealtime healthy for the body and soul by sharing good food and good stories of your day!  It will make your heart smile!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!! Welcome to 2016! May we be Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise!

We are deep into winter in Colorado and that means dry skin. Be careful in your choice of skin products because they go into your body. I have a bottle of olive oil in my shower. After I shower with soap, I step away from the water and put a little olive oil in my hand and rub it all over my body. Then I step back into the water and let any extra oil be rinsed off. It feels great. CAUTION: be careful not to slip if you drop any oil on the floor of the shower.