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The Chinese love to eat food that sound like or give the impression of different things.  There is one favorite that I always look forward to, the delicious satsuma orange (also known as a Mekan in Japanese).  This easy to peel citrus has few seeds if any at all and is sweet.  It brings about the idea of prosperity and good fortune both because it is sweet and because of its golden color.  When I lived in Japan I learned about a pre-schooler’s entrance exam involving Mikans.  Getting into the right school is important and competition is fierce.  The test was (which I am proud to share my son passed with flying colors) to peel a Mikan in three equal pieces leaving the skin in tact around the fruit, like a present.  What a lovely thought to enjoy the Mikan like a gift.  Enjoy your year, may it be sweet and prosperous.

Many of us suffer from cravings of all kinds whether its, chocolate, fast food, sweets, salty foods, soda pop, alcohol or other substances.   Cravings don’t have to be bad for us, but often times we know that the foods we crave are foods we shouldn’t be eating very much of and we know that eating these foods undermine our health.  What we have found is that people who enjoy a balanced nutritious diet don’t crave foods that are bad for their health.

Even the most health conscious may sucomb to food cravings when they are stressed.  One patient said to me that the more stressed he was the more he craved junk food.  Women whose hormones have shifted during pregnancy (and during their month cycles or during menopause) have experienced another stress that causes them to crave certain foods.

So for those of us who do have cravings, how do we combat them when they come up?  Research has shown cravings may be treated with amino acids.  Especially the precursors to the neurotransmitters serotonin, glutamine and dopamine.  Of these, glutamine; a naturally occurring amino acid, may be taken on the onset of a craving or daily to prevent cravings.

Another way to address cravings is to plan meals in advance.  Doing so keeps you from those moments when you are hungry and may reach for unhealthy choices.  Some foods like potatoes stimulate our appetite, causing us to eat more than we should.

Drink more water.  Often times we will mistake thirst for hunger and eat when all we need is water.  Try this.  The next time you have a food craving, drink some water first. If you are still hungry after drinking a glass of water, choose one of your prepared healthy (protein rich) snacks.

If after doing all of the suggestions above, you find you are still struggling with cravings (or digestive concerns) consider a nutritional cleanse to clear your body of toxins.  We offer a programs that support your nutritional purification goals.  Click here to find out more about those programs.

As always we welcome your thoughts, suggestions and comments.  Our goal is to provide you with everything you need to lead a more healthful, satisfying life, if we can do better or if you would like to see more of a particular type of program, please let us know.

One of the many benefits of being a health care provider is the access I have  to amazing products.  Did you know that some companies only work with health practitioners?  That’s right, in addition to that, the products are superior to products found in stores.  The reason for this is that over the counter products have to be safe for most people so the active ingredients are somewhat diluted.   Products sold through health care providers contain more concentrated active ingredients for two reasons.   The first is that health care practitioners won’t tolerate products that don’t get results for their clients (their very business depends on getting results) and second, manufacturers may create more quality products because they know that the end user will be under the care of a clinician who will help them should they encounter any affects of taking their product.  Designs for Health and other Suppliers I use have qualified staff that are available to discuss the products.  The product page Designs for Health made for me contains details about products that you as my clients may now refer to, to help you understand what you need to about the products you are taking.

Here is an example of a product I use in some of the detoxification programs I offer. (I have a new detox program that I will be sharing soon so look for that) Detox Antiox Scientific research continues to bring to light incredible discoveries in nutracuticle medicine.  We know we live in a toxic world, everything we can do to support our natural metabolic process the better and the longer our life will be.   I invite you to have a look at the products we have selected for you from Designs for Health.  Feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.  We’re here to help you live an optimal life on your terms.  Come explore what is available, click here.

We use Designs for Health scientifically proven products in our programs.  We asked Designs for Health to create a shopping cart just for our clients.  They are working on it and we should have it up soon.

According to Dr David Servan-Schreiber in his book anti-cancer, the three principal factors that act against the development of cancer are  -

• Better functioning immune system

• Reduction of inflammation

• Better regulation of blood sugar levels

Runners don’t quit, in fact athletes stick to it too.  There is actually a chemical response to fitness that our bodies use to allow us to set goals and be task oriented.

Nori is used to wrap sushi. It is one of the rare vegetables that contain long chain omega- 3 fatty acids.  Omega 3- fatty acids fight inflammation and are necessary for proper neuron function.

Start using tumeric in your cooking (add black pepper and dissolve in olive oil) it is one of the most powerful natural anti-inflammatories.

Air out dry cleaned garments for several hours before wearing them, or use wet cleaning, or other green methods.

To determine the right amount of water for your particular size take your weight divided by 2 the answer in ounces is what you should consume in water every day.  So for example  if you weigh 230 pounds that number divided by 2 equals 115, so you should consume 115 ounces.  If you weight 120 pounds you should consume 60 ounces.   Think of a glass as 8 ounces.  You can see by this example that the suggestion of 8 glasses a day is for a smaller framed person.  Be sure you are consuming enough water to ensure that your system is hydrated and toxins are more easily flushed.