Walk With Intention To Rev Your Metabolism!

Walking to shed pounds is not about ambling or taking a stroll, although even a fifteen minute stroll is better than nothing if there is something in your lifestyle that is preventing you from getting the exercise you need on a daily basis.

Walking to lose weight is most successful if you can try walking with a bit of purpose. Make sure yoyo achieve a rolling gait and a steady pace.  You can walk slowly but make sure you are taking deep breaths. A good pace to walk at is one that is fast, but not so fast that you cannot hold a conversation with the person next to you.

Walking Is Inexpensive

One of the greatest fallacies about weight loss in general is that you need to join a gym, get a trainer or buy some expensive equipment in order to accomplish your goals. Although having gimmicks and glamorous place to go to work out can give you a bit of a boost in terms of enthusiasm for exercise, it is actually not necessary.  The best way to lose a great deal of weight in a very natural way is to simply walk at an “almost brisk” pace for one hour every day.  The idea is to get your heart rate going, without making you so uncomfortable that you have to sit down and take a break.

Take heart if you feel that you can never be a fast-paced walker. It is possible to lose weight by walking very slowly, it will just take you a lot longer to lose it.

Walking is Possible for Most

Computer Simulation of a Human Walking

Taking a walk is possible for most people. If you have a mechanical problem or problems with your feet then it is important for you to see a chiropractor or podiatrist who can help correct the imbalance that is causing you to have limited walking ability.

Sometimes, the issue is the shoes that you are wearing.  Make sure that you are wearing footwear meant for walking and not for other purposes.  If you must make an investment in your future health, invest in a good pair of walking shoes.

The secret is -- the more you walk the more lean muscle you will develop. Lean muscle burns more calories as you use it. This means that you burn more calories because you have more muscular mass in general.

A Healthy & Active Way to Lose Weight

You can lose a lot of weight just y taking a walk every day. To lose one pound a week you must burn off 3,500 calories. A good goal to strive for is to expend 500 calories a day just by walking five days a week. For most people this means walking a half-hour to an hour every day.

Not only is walking good for shedding pounds but it can rev up your metabolism and have you burning fat even while you are resting. Other benefits include the prevention of diabetes, stroke, heart disease and breast cancer.

For more information about the Healthy & Active Program please visit our website at www.healthy-active.com. You may also call us in Toronto at (41) 440-2217 and ask for Adrienne Wright Bulow or Dr. Michael Rahman or email us at adrienne@healthy-active.com.

Alkaline Diet Theory – A Brief History

Before it was called the alkaline diet, the alkaline-based diet that is now current part of the Happy & Active lifestyle program was known as the Ash Diet or the alkaline/acid diet. The reason it was called the Ash Diet is because alkaline foods contain minerals: mainly calcium, iron, magnesium, zinc and copper. In biochemistry these elements are incombustible, which means they catabolize differently when they processed by the body.  When digested, they create ash in water, which in turn creates an alkaline state in the body.

Robert 0. Young’s Theory About Alkaline Foods

One of the most well-known contemporary proponents of the Alkaline was Dr. O. Robert Young, who created many of the Western alkaline/acid food charts still in use today. Since the early seventies, Dr. Young written a series of groundbreaking books on the subject with the most famous being The pH Miracle (2002).

Robert O. Young

His claim was that health depends primarily on proper balance between an alkaline and acid environment in the human body. According to this theory, when the blood becomes too acidic, the body does whatever it has to do to regulate the acid-alkaline balance. This can result in all kinds of symptoms including food cravings, digestive symptoms, weight gain, yeast overgrowth, fatigue, raised cholesterol, raised insulin resistance and more.

Young claims that this one sickness and one disease is acidosis, the over-acidification of the blood and then tissues due to an inverted way of living, eating, and thinking. The "one treatment" is to maintain the healthy design of the body through an alkaline lifestyle and diet.

The Alkaline Diet

The original Robert Young diet recommends eating fish, vegetable and some grains. This groundbreaking theorist also recommended abstaining from "acidic" foods — such as red meat, shellfish, eggs, dairy sugar, refined foods, artificial sweeteners, coffee, alcohol, chocolate, and sodas, However, long before Young and his series of miracle pH books came into the picture there was a wide spread recognition that alkaline foods and liquids restored health to the body in the spa communities throughout the world.

For example, many of the mineral springs and mineral waters in Europe were recognized to be alkaline in character and therefore healthy for the body.

Of course, Robert O. Young originally got his information from a much earlier work.  Young’s work was based on one of the first books on the subject. It was penned by an alternative health advocate named George S. Weger who wrote a book called The Genesis and Control of Disease which identified acidosis as the cause of a many conditions including fatigue, infections and “mental disharmony and sleeplessness.”  It was penned in 1840 and talked about acidic states in the blood. Revised editions of this book also were printed in the 1930s.

Alkalinizing Using Fasting

One of the most famous books about achieving body alkalinity through fasting was written a century later. The Master Cleanse included instructions for Three Day Cleanses, 21 Day Detoxification Cleanses and ones that last as long as three months. This book was written in 1940, by Stanley Burroughs and is considered to be a foundation text about how to use fasting to detoxify and alkalinize the body. The book made a comeback and was massively reprinted in the seventies.

Burroughs purported that consuming no food at all and drinking a concoction made from lemons, maple syrup, cayenne pepper and purified water for a period of days (as long as you can stand) is the key to getting rid of acid wastes in the body and restoring them to a healthier alkaline state that does not support disease.  

For more information about the Healthy & Active Program please visit our website at www.healthy-active.com. You may also call us in Toronto at (41) 440-2217 and ask for Adrienne Wright Bulow or Dr. Micheal Rahman or email us at adrienne@healthy-active.com.

Take Control of Your Life By Eating Alkaline Food

You have probably heard the saying that if you don’t have your health, then you don’t have anything in life.  Embarking on a Health & Active program is all about regaining your health in total so that you are back in the “driver seat” when it comes to how well you feel on a daily basis.   

How well we feel on a daily basis depends on what kind of fuel we put in our body.  In many ways, we become what we eat.

Another metaphor that applies here is exercise.  Running your body without exercise is like running a car without a tune-up. Sooner or later your health just breaks down.

Feeling Unwell is a Call to “Go Alkaline”

Whenever your body sends you a symptom, such as weight gain, fatigue and high blood pressure, it is a sign that all is not well and that is time to make some lifestyle changes. It is a biochemical “flag” that is waving wildly to warn you that it is time to change your diet and eat alkaline to prevent your body’s pH from becoming so acidic that your cells begin to suffer from free radical damage. 

An acidic blood pH level causes most disease. This is corrected by eating foods that are considered to be alkaline.  Do not take this idea literally. Just because something is sour, does not mean it is acidic.  This way of looking at food is about biochemistry.  Some foods are simply more alkaline than others and when you embark on a Healthy & Active Program you will begin to learn which foods are acidic and which are alkaline.

For instance, smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol and colas, and eating refined sugars and starches and lots of fatty red meat creates an acidic amino acid profile in your blood. Eating raw, vegan and fresh as much as is possible for you helps to create an alkaline condition in your body that is repellent to free radical damage to your cells. Disease cannot find a foothold in a body that is mostly alkaline.

Healthy & Active Living Prevents Acidosis

Healthy and active living means getting enough exercise and eating alkaline foods so that you can prevent your body from going into a state of acidosis.  Once the body enters acidosis, you begin to experience issues such as phlegm, inflammation, lowered immunity and joint pain. If a state of acidosis is left to fester than you are at risk of cellular degeneration, premature aging and disease.

Acidosis is a problem that is easily solved because preventing it is all about diligence and making the right choices when it comes to your diet. Many people experience relief from symptoms almost immediately when they switch their diet to alkaline foods. Some people go through what is called a “healing crisis” caused by the body throwing off the poisons and toxins it was storing in the liver, blood and the fat as the result of being in a state of acidosis.

For many individuals all that this entails is cutting sugar, junk food and refined foods and trading them in for fresh raw foods, juices, smoothies, salads and homemade meals.

The good news is that you do not have to embark on this type of program without guidance.  For more information about the Healthy & Active Program please visit our website at www.healthy-active.com. You may also call us in Toronto at (41) 440-2217 and ask for Adrienne Wright Bulow or Dr. Michael Rahman or email us at adrienne@healthy-active.com.

Too Much Salt Equals Bloat and Weight Gain!

If you are experiencing bloating, puffiness and high blood pressure then it might be time for you to reduce your salt intake. This is difficult for some people, who crave salty snacks so badly that you could describe them as having a “salt tooth.”  Salt can be as bad as sugar when it comes to preventing you from shedding the pounds.  That is because if you consume too much salt your cells with overdose on sodium. Foods high in sodium have a way of expanding fat cells and making them impervious to the release of fat or water content.

Balancing the Body’s Electrolytes

Consuming too much sodium can have a terrible effect on your body’s electrolytes. The two most significant electrolytes that our bodies use are sodium and potassium. They “spark” off of each other to create energy and if we have too much of one element or then we short-circuit our systems and feel lousy. It is easy to consume too much sodium on a daily basis and a lot harder to overdose on potassium. The body become acid and without sufficient potassium levels, it becomes harder for the body to pump fluids through the tissues.

Symptoms of Sodium Overload

One of the main symptoms of sodium overload is belly bloating along with fatigue and a general feeling of malaise. In serious cases, you might also experience ringing in the ears.

Most people become puffy looking. Their hands and fingers swell and there may be enhanced bags under the eyes. This is because the when water cannot be moved easily through out tissues, it builds up just below the skin causing all kinds of swelling. This condition can become so severe over time that women cannot pull their wedding rings off or fit into their jeans or their shoes.

Yet another symptom of a sodium/potassium imbalance is “feeling hot” all of the time. That is because too much salt in the body might actually cause a real rise in body temperature.

Hidden Sources of Sodium in Our Diets

Sodium hides in many different forms and is often present in high amounts in the following foods

• Anchovies
• Artificial creamers in liquid and powdered form
• Asian food including Chinese, Thai and Korean
• Breads
• Cheeses, especially blue cheese, cheddar, feta, Parmesan and cottage cheese
• Commercial breakfast cereals and instant hot breakfast cereals
• Canned Fish like tuna, salmon, kippers or sardineCanned soups and chillies
• Cola
• Fish sauce
• Frozen diet entrees                                      
• Hot sauces
• Olives
• Powdered drink mixes
• Pickles of any kind!
• Ramen noodles
• Soya Sauce

Needless to say is that all junk foods tend to have high sodium contents and so do many low-fat foods.  In low-fat foods sodium is added to compensate for the absence of sugar and fats.

The best way to avoid salt is to carefully read ingredient labels before you buy a product to make sure that it is not a hidden source of salt.

For more information about the Healthy & Active Program please visit our website at www.healthy-active.com. You may also call us in Toronto at (41)440-2217 and ask for Adrienne Wright Bulow or Dr. Micheal Rahman or email us at adrienne@healthy-active.com.

Giving Up Alcohol While on A Happy & Healthy Diet Program

For some people, a more challenging aspect of embarking on the Happy & Healthy program is the most difficult aspect. That is because so much of our North American, and indeed, European culture is based on the habit of “having a drink” to reward ourselves for a hard day’s work. Drinking alcohol is also used to loosen us up before we socialize or as a way of losing our inhibitions a little bit to get us in the mood to be more romantic.

Detox Is an Opportunity to Deal With Issues

If you are a steady drinker you could possibly experience a bit of the stress and anxiety that you may not of otherwise felt as long as you were self-medicating that state with a bit of alcohol. Detox and lifestyle changes often provoke us to look at the deeper issues that may have been triggering us to indulge in bad habits or daily routines that may not be so healthy for us.

If old traumas are weighing heavily on your mind and causing you to feel like you are vulnerable or in psychological pain then it might be time to seek out a support or fellowship group or see a professional who can counsel you through this.  Some people experience many different emotions when changing their lifestyle because they were numb to them before.  It may take some time for you to adjust to a more sober life because for some people it can mean facing their demons head on.

Counselling and getting involved in support groups can be an important part of your recovery from living an unhappy and healthy lifestyles, just simply because talking about your need to do something that is self-destructive in a safe group can assist with encouraging a comprehensive flow of healing energy through many levels of your life.  You will be freeing yourself from an oppressive factor that affects your health and relationships and also save a great deal of money that could be put towards healing modalities, rather than harming your health further.

Meditation and Exercise Can Help

Many people going through dietary changes feel a bit depressed and that is because their routines are very much disrupted by some of the sacrifices that need to be made in order to regain your health.  Alcohol is right up there, with sugar and cigarettes, when it comes to being difficult substances to quit.  That is because these substances serve to raise your endorphin levels (chemicals that make you feel good) in your brain.

Two of the surest ways to raise those endorphin levels without resorting to having a drink are meditation and alcohol as both activities have been shown to raise endorphins in the brain naturally.  Both exercise and meditation can also help you tap into your inner reserve of serenity so that you feel okay with the world and yourself on every level.

For more information about how the personal consumption of alcohol is impacted by the Healthy & Active Program please visit our website at www.healthy-active.com. You may also call us in Toronto at (41) 440-2217 and ask for Adrienne Wright Bulow or Dr. Micheal Rahman or email us at adrienne@healthy-active.com.

Six Raw Superfoods That are Good for the Brain

Super foods are considered to be superior to ordinary foods because of their high nutritional content and low fat content. These five super foods have numerous phytonutrients and special compounds that nourish the brain.

1. Walnuts

Walnuts are full of heart-healthy and anti-inflammatory components and provide an excellent source of alpha linoleic acid.  This acid helps promote blood flow, which in turn helps promote the expedient delivery of oxygen to the brain. This sustains brain function, including cognitive function.

Walnuts can be enjoyed as a snack, in breads or even ground up and added to smoothies.  Walnut oil can be used as a salad dressing.

2. Wheat Germ

Wheat germ is a rich vegetarian source of choline that helps the brain produce acetylcholine. This is a neurotransmitter that boosts memory.  Wheat germ also has B vitamins and plenty of fibre, which is good for balancing blood sugar.

Wheat germ can be added raw to cereals and sprinkled on salad. You can also whirl it into a smoothie in a blender.

3.   Goji Berries

The high antioxidant content in Goji berries supports brain function. Compounds in Goji berries fight narrowing of the arteries and supply the body with generous amounts of choline, which is an essential nutrient that combats Alzheimer’s disease.

No special preparation is needed to eat either the dried or the raw form of the berry.  The reason they are sold mostly dried is because the raw berry is very delicate and sometimes does not survive shipping.

The raw berries may be sold on branches or with stems to preserve their freshness in which case it is suggested you separate the fruit from the stem before consuming.

4. Soursop

Soursop is a large green fruit with a creamy, fleshy white interior. It is a native of Central and South America and tastes like a hybrid of banana, strawberry, orange and pineapple.

Soursop is a powerhouse of nutrition. It is full of B vitamins, vitamin C, Calcium, Iron, protein and healthy fats and carbohydrates. It has all the fuel that your brain needs to run smoothly.

Soursop promotes a general feeling of well-being by boosting your energy and improving your outlook on life. The fruit is also, anti-bacterial, antifungal. It is a known anti-depressant and also has sedative properties that can help put you to sleep.

This is an exotic super fruit that is mostly found in Asian markets. It is eaten sliced in chunks.  Do not eat the seeds. It mixes quite well in a smoothie, especially if you make it an icy one.

5. Blackberries

Blackberries contain proanthocyanins that once ingested, gather in the striatum part of the brain that governs spatial memory.  They also contain ellagatannis that once ingested, rest in the hippocampus, which is the brain’s memory control center.  The generous amounts of C, E and beta-carotene also help disarm cell-damaging free radicals that might circulating in the system.

Blackberries are best eaten raw. Eat a cup a day to receive the most benefits.

6.   Cherries

Cherries contain C0x2 inhibitors, which is exactly what you also find in many powerful pain-killing medications such as Vioxx and Celebrex. They also contain polyphenols that also clarify the blood so that it is not choked with cholesterol or toxins.

Cherries are best eaten raw. Eat a cup of cherries a day for best results.

For more information about the Healthy & Active Program please visit our website at www.healthy-active.com. You may also call us in Toronto at (41)440-2217 and ask for Adrienne Wright Bulow or Dr. Micheal Rahman or email us at adrienne@healthy-active.com.