The Truth About Artificial Sweeteners-What You Should Know and Why They Cause Weight Gain

I have a confession.  I have been, until recently, an artificial sweetener user.  I knew they were not healthy, but was struggling to find a natural one that was tasty.  Okay, lets start with the most common offender:  Aspartame.  There is a lot of information on this product, and not one bit makes me comfortable about consuming it. On the dramatic spectrum there are claims that this toxin causes brain damage and many horrific cancers, and at the same time I had an intelligent chemistry professor that claimed the amount consumed in a soda is no different than consuming orange juice (when it's all broken down to simple compounds).  But what else do we hear now about almost everything other than "that causes cancer".  We all have cancerous areas right now, scary right?  No.  All it means is we have cells growing uncontrolled.  This occurs naturally and our body normally catches the abnormality and all is well.  Back to sweeteners.  The bottom line is they are what they claim to be, "artificial".  Your body was not made to digest anything artificial, it doesn't know how to process or store it.  If you're looking for weight loss and think diet drinks (or foods) will help, you're beyond wrong.  I was (wrong), and hope to inform you on how these fake sugars actually keep the extra weight on.  Aspartame spikes LEPTIN and INSULIN release.  Leptin controls hunger, click here to read more. A more familiar and good analogy would be that Leptin is to weight gain as Insulin is to diabetes.  When Leptin release spikes after intake of fake sugar, your body builds a baseline for the hormone.  When that baseline is reached hunger follows.  When someone who is insulin resistant consumes a certain amount of sugar the baseline is so off that it can't "fight" the intake.  Which causes the body to force glucose into the bloodstream. This is why a simple prick of the finger can detect glucose levels in the tiny blood vessels.  Now back to Leptin. "The presence of excessive leptin has been linked to obesity" Same thing.  If your Leptin levels are spiked due to aspartame, your body will get numb to the hormone. Causing the same baseline hit as insulin.  Are there foods to help Leptin levels?  Kind of. The above link states " According to Byron Richards, having protein for breakfast is one step you can take to begin to restore leptin sensitivity. Richards also recommends fiber-rich foods and leafy greens. World's Healthiest Foods also recommends fish as a food that helps to regulate leptin levels in the body."  Our world is full of "do's and don'ts.  This is a don't.  Don't make it complicated (although I did a great job above), just eat whole, one word foods.  Your body knows how to uptake the wonderful nutrients our earth has delivered to us.

   I have switched to using Stevia (a composite herb native to South America (Genus Stevia, especially S. rebaudiana, native to Paraguay) whose leaves are the source of a noncaloric sweetener, and am IN LOVE with it! A few drops of any flavor you like and seltzer water=a tasty, natural soda!

Gardening: Mind, Body, Wallet

I was going to start by saying something along the lines of "it's that time of year", "fresh summer produce" or "put your yard to work", etc...Then realized gardening is not just about produce, a time of year or something only people with a yard can do.  It can be done year round, the "work" is actually HIGHLY beneficial, and you don't need a yard to enjoy a garden.  I grew up snacking out of my family's garden. Sitting in the sun munching on fresh strawberries and cherry tomatoes sticks out in my head.  Sad to say, when I headed off to college, gardens were the last thing on my mind.  Not knowing it's one thing that could have been great for my mind, body and very small college sized wallet!  I now keep four raised beds full during season, and some herbs year round.  Lets start with the mind.  Ever heard of Horticultural Therapy, or HT?  It is a formal practice that uses plants, horticultural activities, and the garden landscape to promote well-being for its participants. Now of course this is an actual therapy used by psychologists, but the same benefits can be gained by home gardening.  Kind of like meditating/stretching at home instead of going to the gym for yoga. It has been proven to reduce stress, anxiety and depression to name very few.  It's actually even been linked to benefiting those suffering from dementia and Alzheimer's Disease.  Now on to the body.  The benefits are many, and affect the inside and outside of our bodies we try so hard to take care of.  Obviously gardening is physical work and so calories are burned.  It also helps with finger dexterity and general flexibility.  Not to mention the Vitamin D uptake when caring for your full sun gardens. Consuming food from your garden is literally exactly what our bodies need:  WHOLE FOODS.  Before there was a McDonald's or Taco Bell on every corner, people GREW their own food!  Shocking, I know.  It is sustainable living at it's finest.  Not to mention the amazing feeling of knowing YOU grew this juicy tomato, strawberry, or cucumber etc. You have control of what you use to grow and what not to use (pesticides, no thanks!).  Now for the wallet.

The nonprofit National Gardening Association just produced a study -- sponsored by ScottsMiracle-Gro Co. -- that found the average family with a vegetable garden spends just $70 a year on it and grows an estimated $600 worth of vegetables.  Not to mention the good you'll be doing for the environment by lessening the effects of industrial farms.  Now go get those hand in some dirt! 

 

           

Lemon Shortage, ahhh!!!

I LOVE lemons.  In my detox tea, smoothies, guacamole, and to season fish to name a few.  I love the health benefits such as flushing toxins, aiding digestion, reducing joint pain (as it dissolves uric acid), strengthening liver function, natural immune defense, and a great source of Vit. C, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium.  I had recently noticed grocery stores being out of lemons and when asked why they had no answer.  So I did what we all do and "googled" it.  Come to find out there is a GLOBAL shortage of lemons due to drought.  The link below states:

  "By the end of July lemons will have almost completely run out,"

 I panicked, and even looked into purchasing a lemon tree to grow indoors (might still get one).  I did some research and they will be scarce until September. Click here to get the details.  Hang in there my lemon loving readers, we only have about four months of lemon searching!  Until then, I recommend purchasing what you can find and refrigerate them until use.

Bottled vs Tap Water

This is an ongoing and can be confusing subject.  I personally drink tap unless I'm in a pinch and need to purchase a bottle.  I use a Brita water filter most of the time, but find myself also drinking Utah H2O-unfiltered by myself.  However, this tap water is regulated and filtered by the US EPA.  All public water is regulated by this agency.  " Water suppliers use a variety of treatment processes to remove contaminants from drinking water. These individual processes can be arranged in a “treatment train” (a series of processes applied in a sequence). The most commonly used processes include coagulation (flocculation and sedimentation), filtration, and disinfection. Some water systems also use ion exchange and adsorption."-Click here for more info.  So as some may not think, our tap water is still strictly monitored for contaminants.

I found some good info on the impact of using bottled water here.  These two bullets on the site really alarmed me:  

• Making bottles to meet America’s demand for bottled water uses more than 17 million barrels of oil annually, enough to fuel 1.3 million cars for a year1. And that’s not even including the oil used for transportation.

• The energy we waste using bottled water would be enough to power 190,000 homes2.

I highly recommend using a BPA free reusable water bottle.  Make sure to clean them often as they can easily turn into a perfect environment for bacteria growth (warm and moist).  Save your wallet and the environment by simply doing this. Keep calm and drink up!

Easy Ways to Go Green

Going green doesn't need to be a drastic change.  Some might feel overwhelmed or the need to "go all the way".  There are many small, simple changes you can make in your daily life to help this planet we should cherish and protect.  I wanted to share the link I found that has some great basic ways to go green, ENJOY!
http://www.50waystohelp.com/

One Way to Save MAJOR Energy

  STOP WASHING YOUR CLOTHES IN HOT WATER!

I know this will be a hard transition for some, well, lets be real, for many...  Check out this link for more info The site begins by stating:

"Heating water to do laundry is one of the largest users of energy in a typical home. So, switch to washing in cold water – it gets clothes just as clean as hot water, while using less energy and money."  

I have noticed a difference in my clothing since I made this green change.  The colors stay brighter and stains actually are removed more easily.  I also try to air dry as much laundry as I can.  If you choose to make this change you might want to look into buying cold water detergent, which is about the same price as regular.  My challenge to you is to do a 30 day trial and see what the difference is in your energy bill (and the quality of your clothing).  I would love to hear any feedback on your personal results, happy green
washing!

Raising Free Range Chickens

Committing to owning chickens was something I was hesitant to do, but has turned out to be one of the most rewarding and enjoyable things that I do.  Unlike most people think, they each have unique personalities and quirks.  They are very easy (and cheap) to take care of.  I have one full grown chicken we purchased last spring and two new chicks (Hun and Skirt) we got a couple of months ago.  Fox, our one year old, lays one egg a day.  They are the most perfect bright white eggs.  They taste 100% better than store bought.  The yolks are a beautiful bright yellow and the whites are thicker than store bought.  You can just tell they are coming from a very healthy animal.  Our new chicks will be laying brown and pastel green/blue eggs!  They are free range, temporarily caged (4x4 areas) because the older chicken may hurt the chicks.  I highly recommend doing this if you have the space.  Make sure to check the laws in your area about owning chickens.  Please feel free to ask any questions!  Check out this link for the AMAZING benefits of free range eggs.   http://www.motherearthnews.com/natural-health/free-range-eggs-zmaz09fmzraw.aspx It begins by stating "Tests show free-range eggs have more vitamin A and more omega-3 fatty acids than factory farm eggs. Now it turns out they have more vitamin D as well — three to six times as much!