Easily Boost and Enjoy your Water Intake

We all know that we need to be drinking at least 64 oz of water everyday – but sometimes it can be hard to get it down (especially when Diet Coke or Juice seems more appealing taste wise!)

So how can you easily boost your water intake every day and ENJOY it?

By making your water taste GREAT…..Cranberry Water! A cooling, slightly sweet/tart and thirst quenching drink, Cranberry Water has high levels of antioxidants and numerous health benefits. Cranberry Water is also very low calorie and low-glycemic as the Cranberry juice you will be using is unsweetened and you’ll use Stevia to sweeten your drink.

Cranberries are considered a “functional food”, meaning they provide natural health benefits far beyond basic nutrition. Drink 64 oz of this every day and you will feel GREAT – and best of all, you won’t feel like you are forcing yourself to drink water.

What are Cranberries good for?

Detoxifier – helps keep the liver’s detoxification pathways open

Digestive Aid and helps remove fat deposits remaining in your lymphatic system. MAY even help Cellulite ☺ Reason enough to drink 64 oz per day!

Cholesterol Zapper – Cranberries contain flavonoids and polyphenolic compounds – which help prevent the oxidation of LDL cholesterol – the “BAD” cholesterol.

Natural defense against atherosclerosis and heart disease

Help prevent bladder infections by stopping the bacteria, E. Coli from sticking to the lining of the bladder.

Minimize bad breath by preventing bacteria from gathering on the surface of your teeth

What do you need to make Cranberry Water? (Purchase from Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Sunflower or other organic food store).

Water Bottle. I like our Live Well Camelbak 24oz Water Bottles as I drink TONS more water using them b/c of the “adult sippy cup” feel to it. No top to unscrew, doesn’t leak if knocked over, dishwater safe, great for the gym, car etc. I have 3 – one in my office, one in my car and one in my kitchen so that I’m always drinking – water that is!

Filtered Water – filter your own, buy spring water or try to use brands that use reverse osmosis and carbon filtration.

Pure, UNSWEETENED Cranberry Juice. (I.e. Mountain Sun from Whole Foods.)

Liquid Stevia (i.e. Sweet Leaf from Whole Foods). Stevia is a natural sweetener made from herbs and contains no calories or carbs and does not spike your blood sugar. Liquid Stevia has no bitter after taste. Also, NuStevia by NuNaturals has a Packet version that is non-bitter as well.

How do you make Cranberry Water? (32 oz)

Fill your Water Bottle with 28 oz of filtered, cold water

Add 8-10 drops of Stevia, depending how sweet or tart you like your drink

Add 4 oz of Unsweetened Cranberry Juice (Only 30 calories)

And voila! You have a GREAT drink that will taste like a treat all day ☺ Drink up to 64 ounces per day (8 oz of unsweetened Cranberry Juice).

Options: Add 4 oz of freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice instead of Cranberry Juice. They too have additional Health Benefits, are low calorie, low-glycemic and taste great!

Be Happy, Be Healthy

Dagmar Meachem
Transform Health

*Cold Day Variation of how to get your daily water intake in an enjoyable way: Buy 5-6 herbal teas and sip 5-6 cups every day. I constantly drink herbal tea to keep warm and keep my water intake up during the cold months. Green tea, Coconut White tea, Peppermint, Spearmint, Bengal Spice, Cinnamon and Gingerbread are all some of my favorite natural, non sugar hot teas. Visit your natural food store and go wild in the tea section ☺

5 Great Ways to De-Stress

Stress is related to 99% of all illnesses.  “In addition to the trademark tight shoulders, irritability and clenched jaw, day-in and day-out stress wreaks havoc on our eating habits, wears down our immune systems, leading to colds and disease, and even turns hormones and nerve chemicals topsy-turvy, contributing to weight gain, memory loss and depression” – Food & Mood by Elizabeth Somers.
 
How does this all happen in your body when you are stressed? 
 
When you are anxious or stressed, the body produces adrenalin (your fight or flight hormone) which stresses the adrenal glands and compromises the liver & brain.  Cortisol (the yucky stress & fat storage hormone that encourages the body to accumulate fat, especially around the middle) is also released – which causes a drop in serotonin (the happy chemical) in the brain.

This leads to depression, irritability, heightened insulin levels, & around-the-clock craving for sweets and fatty foods.  Chronic stress also unleashes a barrage of free radicals that damage your body & brain cells – killing brain cells by the millions.  You literally “stew” in your own soup of hormones.
 
What can you do to daily De-Stress?
 
Write down 3 things right now that make YOU feel peaceful – and do them at least 10 minutes per day or whenever you feel stressed.  Practice letting adrenalin and cortisol subside – not grow in your body – it will help your health immensely! 
 
Here are 5 of my favorite ways to de-stress:
 
1. Be a Corpse.  Lie down on the floor.  The “corpse” pose is one of the BEST ways to de-stress the body and mind.  (If you want a laugh and are brave, lie down beneath your cubicle at work – who knows, you might encourage someone else to de-stress.)  By lying on the ground – your body can actually “let go” and release physical tension – which allows stress to literally melt out of your body.  When the body relaxes, the mind follows.
 
2. Let Oxygen Help.  This is actually my favorite form of meditation - breathing for 10-15 min in the morning.  However, you can do for just 1-2 minutes when you’re stressed…simply close your eyes and BREATHE – in and out…it’s so simple and it so works.

Oxygen helps the whole body de-stress and slows down/halts the production of adrenalin and cortisol – also why exercise works so well.  You can’t always go for a jog when stressed, but you can take deep breaths anywhere, anytime   Close your eyes and breathe and let your whole body relax.  Visualize the adrenaline and cortisol fading away….
 
3. Connect to Good Energy.  Sit outside in nature, touch a tree or a flower, look at something beautiful on your desk at work.  Connecting with nature or beauty gives you energy when you most need it.  Hugging a pet or someone you love does the same thing.

4. Take a Break.  Listen to soothing or happy music or read a book/magazine for 10 minutes.  Take a BREAK for your body and mind – transport your body to a peaceful place for 10 min and allow the hormones to subside.  Get a cup of tea and just relax for 10 min.
 
5. Stop and THINK/FEEL.  Ask yourself good questions.  “Why do I feel stressed”?  (Close your eyes and breathe for 1 min before doing this – it helps the whole process).  Is it really that bad and what can I do about it right now to make me feel better NOW. What’s the worst thing that can happen and is it really that bad? Have I felt this way before and did it work out in the end? How could I feel good about the situation?  Can I choose different thoughts?

If it is something you HAVE to do, realize that you have a choice to be relaxed while you do it (and happy), or stressed and contributing to bad health (which is probably worse than whatever you are stressed out about.

Bonus Tip!

Eat & Drink to support balance in the body and brain.  Drink lots of water and make sure that you’re eating 5 small meals/snacks per day that are low glycemic.  Keeping your blood sugar stable throughout the day helps stress immensely.  Don’t drink coffee – it only heightens agitation and stress levels, as does sugar and high glycemic foods. Choose calming herbal teas, water with lemon/lime etc.

Wishing you health and happiness,

Dagmar Meachem

Transform Health

Source: Live Well International

Magnesium Deficiency May Be Linked to Restless Leg Syndrome

Dr Ray Strand
www.raystrand.com 

I have had great success in my practice dealing with patients who have restless legs syndrome by supplementing higher doses of magnesium. I have found that it takes a minimum of 6 months to build up my patients magnesium level enough to note if they are going to have a positive response or not. Now in a study from the Romanian Journal of Nueurology and Pshychiatry showed that patients with magnesium deficiency not only had an increase risk of restless leg syndrome, but also, had frequent periods of nocturnal awakening along with decreased periods of deeper sleep.

Follow-up research done in North Dakota showed that supplementing patients with low magnesium levels significantly improved their sleep patterns. If you have poor sleep patterns, you should try taking most of your magnesium supplementation just before bedtime. You may note a quicker response and better sleep.

Milk Thistle is Protective During Chemo Treatments

Dr Ray Strand
www.raystrand.com 

A study published on the online journal of Cancer reveals that the herb milk thistle, which contains the liver protective compound silibinin, reduces the inflammation of the liver in children receiving chemo therapy for acute leukemia. Milk thistle has been shown to be a great nutrient in decreasing inflammation in the liver in a variety of illness like hepatitis; however, now we are seeing protective benefits in patients who are receiving chemotherapeutic drugs. The results of this study are promising because there are no drugs or substitutes for treating liver toxicity.

Higher Vitamin D Levels Imporve Lynphoma Survival

Dr Ray Strand
www.raystrand.com 

A presentation at the 2009 meeting of trhe American Society of Hematology revealed findings from researchers from Mayo Clinic showing an association of longer survival in lymphoma patients who had higher levels of vitamin D. They looked at over 300 patients who were receiving traditional treatment for lymphoma and found that over half of the patients had vitamin D levels below 25 ng/ml. When these patients were compared to those with normal vitamin D levels, they had a 1.5 times greater chance of progression of their cancers and twice the rate of dying from their cancer.

Vitamin D deficiency has become a serious nutritional problem throughout the world. Here is just another example that we do better when our vitamin D levels are higher. In fact, the more we are learning about the health benefits of vitamin D it is becoming apparent that we need to get our vitamin D levels above 60 ng/ml, rather than above the 30 ng/ml most researchers are using as normal.

 

 

 

 

 

Soy Food Intake and Breast Cancer Survival

Dr Ray Strand
www.raystrand.com 

There was a major study released in the December 9, 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) that studied the intake of soy protein in patients who had breast cancer. This study looked at over 5,000 patients with breast cancer and found that those individuals who had the highest intake of soy protein and isoflavones they contain had the longest survival and lowest risk of cancer recurrence. This study has defined the use of soy foods that are rich in isoflavones, a major group of phytoestrogens, should be encouraged.

Phytoestogens have an estrogen-like effect and there has always been a concern in consuming these foods when you had breast cancer. There have been several studies that have shown that these foods can decrease the risk of breast cancer; however, now this study has shown that even if you have cancer and are taking drugs like tamoxifen, that you should actually be encouraged to consume soy protein containing isoflavones.

Long-Term Exercise Positively Improves Aging

Dr Ray Strand
www.raystrand.com

In the journal Circulation, Ulrich Laufs, MD and his colleagues reported an association of long-term intense exercise with the reduction in shortening of telomeres that occurs with aging.  When he compared young and middle aged athletes who had consistent, intense exercise with the normal population there was a significant difference in their cellular aging.  In fact, he noted that physical exercise could actually prevent aging of the cardiovascular system.  He concluded that this was direct evidence of an anti-aging effect of consistent, long-term exercise.  However, I would add that it is critical that anyone who pursues a more aggressive exercise program must consume high quality nutritional supplements to protect against the increase free radical production that intense exercise can cause.