What’s truly magnificent about sprouts is that, unlike most vegetables that start to lose nutritional value once harvested, sprouts keep theirs until eaten. If what you are after is a nutrient-dense diet, you really should include sprouts as part of your daily consumption of vegetables.

Sprouts are loaded with nutrients. They are a wonderful food that doesn’t get the attention they deserve. Not only are they a super food, but they are chlorophyll rich, packed full of vitamins, minerals, proteins and amino acids. Most common sprouts to the American diet are bean, green-leaf and alfalfa.

Others, like broccoli sprouts, in particular, have 50 times as much sulforaphane antioxidants (good for the liver) than broccoli alone, and wheat grass is touted for being a great blood purifier and liver de-toxier*. Broccoli sprouts are also being studied for their potential cancer-fighting properties.

Sprouts are an easy vegetable to incorporate into meals. Think of them as the cherry on top of your salad or sprinkle a few on top of an entrée!

Consider growing sprouts yourself year-round. They are fun and easy to grow and very economical. Go here to learn more!

Tip: some menopausal women have reported that a daily dose of sprouts has brought them relief from hot flashes. One cup of sprouts is considered a “free food” on our nutrition program Step 2.

Source: click here

You don’t need an expensive program to get it done either. What most people forget is that your body has built in mechanisms to detoxify itself naturally. You just need to follow a few criteria to help the process take shape and be most effective. Try it for two weeks.

Here’s how: First off, eat foods high in water volume, like grapefruits, celery (make sure the celery is organic as high levels of pesticides have been discovered this vegetable), iceberg lettuce, cabbage, melons and tomatoes. Along with this, vegetable soup should be eaten at least once everyday. Look for one that is extremely low in sodium (better yet, make it yourself) and add a handful of fresh veggies every time you serve it up. Vegetable soup is great for detox.

Include vegetables like: tomatoes, broccoli (great for the liver), bok choy, kale, cabbage, onion, peppers (all colors) and turmeric as well (it stimulates production of bile).

Avoid prepackaged foods and salt. Sodium causes your body to retain water. During a detox, you want the opposite effect. Drink plenty of water with fresh lemon. This will help flush your system out. Ten to 16 glasses of water per day, minimum.

Replace coffee with green tea and drink everyday.

Eat grains like quinoa. It’s best to eat quinoa raw for better results. Sprinkle it over a salad instead of firing up the stove. Buckwheat is another grain to incorporate. Quick tip: blend buckwheat seeds with one apple or pear, put the mixture in a bowl with sprouted nut milk, and you have yourself a raw, enzyme-rich porridge.*

Brown rice, split yellow and green peas and lentils are also good to include for their detoxifying properties.

Other than that, remember to eat sensibly throughout the day and don’t forget protein, especially in the morning. Try poached eggs over quinoa.

*source: http://www.naturalnews.com/025769_wheat_food_buckwheat.html#ixzz1iUyoI1xz)

Prebiotics. That’s right, pre-biotics not pro-biotics. Health-conscious Americans today are pretty familiar with the beneficial properties of probiotics, live cultures introduced into the digestive tract usually via yogurt or milk-based products. They are often described as nature’s “good” bacteria and assist in regulating digestion.

What about the lesser hyped, prebiotics? While they are not bacteria at all, these non-digestible foods perform a critical role in supporting the health of the good bacteria that resides in your gut. Unlike probiotics, prebiotics are actually a special kind of dietary fiber that is not affected by heat or stomach acids.

Apple cider vinegar, water and fiber are good sources of prebiotics. Specific foods include Jerusalem artichoke, Dandelion greens, garlic, leeks, onions, soybeans, whole grains, bananas and raw oats (the first four foods rank highest in prebiotic content).

If you take probiotics already and want to fully support a healthy digestive tract, then it is smart to incorporate several of these foods into your diet, as well as making sure you are fully hydrating yourself with water. By doing so, you can be assured that the “good” bacteria in your colon has the best possible environment with which to thrive.

If losing weight is the goal, studies now suggest that a diet rich in calcium and Vitamin D can help increase your chances of being successful. Here’s why . . . Vitamin D and calcium are believed to help block the body’s ability to turn calories into fat.

Don’t think just because you’ve changed your diet to include more healthy choices that you are getting enough of these nutrients.

Americans, especially, aren’t getting enough calcium. At least that’s what some researchers are saying. A study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in May found that Americans aren’t meeting recommended levels for calcium intake.

Awareness is key. A person losing weight should make sure he or she takes the proper supplements as well as preparing meals with ingredients that include calcium and Vitamin D3.

Foods rich in Vitamin D include:

Salmon/ Mushrooms/ Broccoli/ Tuna fish/ Eggs/ Milk/ Sardines/ Shrimp

Foods rich in calcium include:

Cheese/ Greek Yogurt/ Sardines/ Dark leafy greens like spinach, kale, turnips, and collard greens/ Soybeans

Winter is fast approaching, which means for us Mainers we need to consider taking a Vitamin D supplement. Our sun exposure in the Northeast is less than what it should be in winter months. This can have a negative impact on our overall health because sunlight provides us with an ample supply of Vitamin D (sunlight converts Vitamin D to D3, which is the active form of Vitamin D). Some researchers say Vitamin D is the most important vitamin for disease prevention.

Living so far north means our atmosphere filters out much of the needed UV-B rays that are good for the body. If you’re not getting 15 minutes of sun exposure (face and arms) everyday, then a supplement may be indicated.

Take a minimum of 600IU to 800IU of Vitamin D per day (Institute of Medicine recommendation); but studies have shown that even people who took 4,000IU per day showed no harmful side effects.

Foods high in Vitamin D include salmon, herring, sardines, cod liver oil, eggs and milk.

While I’m not here to tell you that breathing exercises alone will result in weight loss, I can tell you that taking time out of your day to engage in deep breathing can in fact help increase your metabolism, which is one sure fire way to burn more calories.

This happens because metabolism requires oxygen. Breathing oxygenates every cell in the body. It would make sense then to give our bodies an added boost.

There is also something to be said about the mind-body connection and deep breathing. Deep breathing helps focus and calm the mind. It releases endorphins and has been shown to reduce stress.

One simple practice is to do 10 cycles of deep breathing, relaxed and natural (do not force it), once or twice a day. Fill the lungs, hold for two seconds, then release. Do this when you get up in the morning and before bed.

We hear it all the time, “Eat foods rich in antioxidants.” We know they’re good for us. Most people can name at least one antioxidant-rich food, like blueberries, that rank high on the list. But what is it really about antioxidants that makes them so important for a healthy life?

It has to do with oxidation. Much like how metal rusts and becomes weak when exposed to oxygen, the same thing happens in our bodies when we metabolize food or when we are exposed to X-rays, ozone, air pollutants or industrial chemicals. Unstable molecules, called free radicals, are what’s left to wreak havoc on the body, and this ultimately can lead to disease.

Cell turnover (or cell death) is a natural process. A buildup of free radicals, however, affect a cell’s ability to function properly.

Fruits and vegetables high in antioxidants reduce oxidation and protect cells from being damaged by free radicals. Antioxidant-rich foods keep cells alive and healthy, plain and simple. This is why your diet should include them.

An easy way to remember what fruits and vegetables are high in antioxidants is by color. More color typically means more antioxidants. Dried fruits, pecans and artichoke hearts also rank high.

By Dr. Rodney Voisine

From the perspective of weight management, the problem with too much sugar is that it prevents the body from burning stored fat. This is a big no-no if you’re trying to lose weight.

I find that sugar substitutes offer a nice alternative. Stevia, for example, is the one I use because, unlike others which are full of chemicals, stevia is derived from an herb. I actually grow it at Old Ocean House Farms. It does not raise blood sugar levels either (which is good for the nearly 73 million Americans at risk for diabetes) and it contains no calories.

Stevia is considered safe, and the Japanese have used it for years, long before it was introduced here in the United States.

EFAs—Indispensable and Beneficial

The Important Role of Essential Fatty Acids

The fatty acids that are necessary for health and that cannot be made by the body are called essential fatty acids. EFAs help manage critical body functions such as cardiovascular, brain and nervous system functions, fat metabolism, skin health and joint flexibility. There are two families of EFAs: Omega-3s and Omega-6s.

Essential fatty acids should account for 20–30% percent of your total caloric intake. The proper ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 is between 1:1 and 4:1 whereas a typical American gets between 11:1 and 30:1. The simplest way to lower your intake of Omega-6 fats is to cut down on fast food and processed or manufactured food.

Omega-3 essential fatty acids are predominately found in fresh deepwater fish and some plant sources. There are three types of Omega-3 fatty acids: alpha-linoleic acid found mostly in plant sources such as flaxseed and walnut oils, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). EPA and DHA are found predominantly in cold water fish and play a vital role in many metabolic processes. The body uses EPA and DHA more efficiently, as alpha-linoleic acid must first be converted to EPA and DHA.

Omega-3 fatty acids lower plasma triglyceride levels, particularly in people with hypertriglyceridemia, by inhibiting the synthesis of a lipoprotein, cholesterol and triglycerides in the liver. Serum triglyceride concentrations may be reduced by 25–30 percent in people who take 4g per day of Omega-3 supplements. Lower amounts of 500mg–1250mg a day may benefit people with a history of heart diesase, high blood pressure, rheaumatoid arthritis and those prone to depression.

For Omega-6 fatty acids, turn to raw nuts, seeds, legumes, and unsaturated vegetable oils, such as primrose oil, sesame oil, and soybean oil. There is one type of Omega-6 that may actually reduce inflammation: gamma-linoleic acid (GLA), found in black currant, borage and evening primrose oils.

Not all Omega-3 fish oil is processed the same. Check the label on your Omega-3 supplement, look at their web site and see if a third party tests and validates the ingredient components listed on the label. For more information, check out the quality control program at www.ifosprogram.com/consumer report. The International Fish Oil Standards program is an independent lab which tests and reports on each batch of our Omega-3 supplements.