Thanks to mercola.com for this article!

Soda is on my list of the five absolute worst foods and drinks you can consume.  The video above offers a compelling illustration of why I make this claim.

In it, reporter Yunji DeNies drinks a 20-ounce glass of cola, which contains the equivalent of 16 teaspoons of sugar in the form of high fructose corn syrup (HFCS). This is nearly three times the maximum daily sugar intake recommended by the American Heart Association.

HFCS typically contains a mixture of 45 percent glucose and 55 percent fructose (although recent investigations have found that many brand-name sodas actually contain 65 percent fructose!).

Once ingested, your pancreas rapidly begins to create insulin in response to the sugar. The rise in blood sugar is quite rapid. Here’s a play-by-play of what happens in your body upon drinking a can of soda:

  • Within 20 minutes, your blood sugar spikes, and your liver responds to the resulting insulin burst by turning massive amounts of sugar into fat.
  • Within 40 minutes, caffeine absorption is complete; your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and your liver dumps more sugar into your bloodstream. As you could see in the report above, DeNies’ blood glucose level was 79 at the outset of the experiment, and after 40 minutes it had risen to 111!
  • Around 45 minutes, your body increases dopamine production, which stimulates the pleasure centers of your brain – a physically identical response to that of heroin, by the way.
  • After 60 minutes, you’ll start to have a blood sugar crash, and you may be tempted to reach for another sweet snack or beverage.

As I’ve discussed on numerous occasions, chronically elevated insulin levels (which you would definitely have if you regularly drink soda) and the subsequent insulin resistance is a foundational factor of most chronic disease, from diabetes to cancer.

Fructose Turns into Fat Far Faster than Other Sugars, and Fats

Lately, the media has finally begun reporting on the science of fructose, which clearly shows it is far worse than other sugars.

Fructose is processed in your liver, and unlike other sugars, most of it gets shuttled into fat storage. This is why fructose is a primary culprit behind obesity—far more so than other sugars. According to the news report above, drinking two bottles of soda per day can make you gain a pound of fat per week!

Aside from the weight gain, eating too much fructose is linked to increased triglyceride levels. In one study, eating fructose raised triglyceride levels by 32 percent in men! Triglycerides, the chemical form of fat found in foods and in your body, are not something you want in excess amounts.

Intense research over the past 40 years has confirmed that elevated blood levels of triglycerides, known as hypertriglyceridemia, puts you at an increased risk of heart disease.

Meanwhile, one of the most thorough scientific analyses published to date on this topic found that fructose consumption not only leads to insulin resistance but also decreases leptin signaling to your central nervous system. Leptin is responsible for controlling your appetite and fat storage, as well as telling your liver what to do with its stored glucose.

When your body can no longer “hear” leptin’s signals, weight gain, diabetes and a host of related conditions may occur. So, as you can see, fructose contributes to poor health through a number of mechanisms…

Read the entire article

Many thanks to Dr. Mark Sircus: IMVA Publications for this information

It is too early to call everyone in North America to prepare for a radiation cloud streaming down radioactive particles from the accident in Japan. According to the media and government, America is not at risk due to radioactive fallout from the recent Japanese nuclear accidents in several reactors but that could change in a heartbeat as authorities race to combat the threat of multiple nuclear reactor meltdowns. Nuclear plant operators are working frantically to try to keep temperatures down in several reactors crippled by the earthquake and tsunami, wrecking at least two by dumping sea water into them in last-ditch efforts to avoid meltdowns.

Now, just hours after writing this above paragraph we get a report in the New York Times indicating that even best case scenarios include radioactive releases of steam from the crippled plants could go on for weeks, months or even years. So prepare we must. “Pentagon officials reported Sunday that helicopters flying 60 miles from the plant picked up small amounts of radioactive particulates still being analyzed, but presumed to include Cesiumm-137 and Iodine-121 suggesting widening environmental contaminattion. More steam releases also mean that the plume headed across the Pacific could continue to grow,” printed the Times.

The incident is a reminder that preparedness should include being prepared for nuclear events with foods and medicinals in our medical cabinets that will protect us and our families as much as humanly and medically possible. Many people in Japan and elsewhere around the world that live and work close to nuclear plants will be seriously affected by nuclear accidents. When a meltdown happens the effects can be carried thousands of miles by the prevailing winds.

It is unclear how far the impact of a meltdown might reach. In the United States, local communities plan for evacuation typically within 10 miles of a nuclear plant. However, states must be ready to cope with contamination of food and water as far as 50 miles away. When it comes to risks and toxic exposure levels we can count on the government and medical officials to understate the threat. This is something consistent in their approach to all types of toxic exposures.

Besides having iodine on hand for emergencies, we can grow (and, at present, purchase) herbs and foods that prevent our bodies from storing radioactive particles. Some of these foods and herbs even remove radioactive particles from our bodies. As we are all already being affected by radiation released by numerous sources, eating these foods and doing detoxification and chelation protocols regularly is a good idea.

If you have been exposed to too many X-rays or CAT scans, if you fly too much, work with diagnostic medical equipment or are environmentally sensitive and have ingested elevated levels of radioactive contaminated food, air or water, you also want to partake of the following protocol on a regular basis.

The kidneys are usually the first organs to show chemical damage upon uranium exposure. Old military manuals suggest doses or infusions of sodium bicarbonate to help alkalinize the urine if this happens. This makes the uranyl ion less kidney-toxic and promotes excretion of the nontoxic uranium-carbonate complex. The oral administration of sodium bicarbonate diminishes the severity of the changes produced by uranium in the kidneys. So useful and strong is sodium bicarbonate that at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, researcher Don York has used baking soda to clean soil contaminated with uranium. Sodium bicarbonate binds with uranium, separating it from the dirt; so far, York has removed as much as 92 percent of the uranium from contaminated soil samples. I started writing about baking soda after discovering that the United States Army recommends the use of bicarbonate to protect the kidneys from radiation damage.

Sodium bicarbonate can safely remove paint, grease, oil and smoke residue, decreasing workers’ exposure to harsh chemicals and eliminating much of the hazardous waste associated with other cleaners. “Sodium bicarbonate is able to clean in areas where other substances pose fire hazards, because baking soda is a natural fire extinguisher,” says Kenneth Colbert, a general manager for Arm & Hammer. This is the reason it’s used by oncology centers to control chemo agent spills and it’s actually used intravenously to protect patients from the hazardous toxicity of chemotherapy.

“Uranium is one of the only metals that get significant bonding from carbonate. Just flushing a lot of bicarbonate through the system, along with whatever kidney support you are going to use, will be very helpful,” writes Dr. Chris Shade. There is no better therapy for radiation sickness then intense sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and magnesium baths with the appropriate clay added in. Even sodium thiosulfate can be added to these baths and that instantly neutralizes any chlorine in the bath water while simultaneously providing sulfur for the vital sulfur pathways.

Bicarbonate and Nuclear Fallout

If the bombs start dropping anywhere on earth, or if you live near a nuclear plant, you will want to have a large amount of sodium bicarbonate on hand. Minimum stocks should be 25 or 50 pounds. Normally I recommend someone start with using one pound of bicarbonate in a bath but that could easily be two or three pounds in an emergency situation. It is not a joke that one can get 50 pounds of the most powerful medicines on earth for 35 bucks. You will also need a lot of magnesium salts and the very best and most penetrating of them is the magnesium chloride in the form of magnesium bath flakes. Dead Sea salt is also quite fine for this application.

Dr. Sarah Mayhill, speaking about uranium oxide says, “It can be inhaled by soldiers and civilians, it sticks to the lining of the lungs, it is taken up by cells of the immune systems and gets into lymph glands, bone, brain, hormone producing glands, ovaries and testes. It stays in these organs for many decades and is only very slowly excreted in urine.” Nebulization transdermally treats the lung tissues allowing for best effect on contaminated lung tissues.

I have had the pleasure through the years to learn from some of the most intelligent doctors and scientists about heavy metal chelation and the opening of detoxification pathways. The individual who wins the Nobel Prize in the area of chelation, the scientist with the greatest genius, especially when it comes to mercury chelation, is Dr. Chris Shade. He has developed a sophisticated detoxification system based on enhancing the natural removal of metals through the intestines.

Though his specialty is mercury, detoxification and chelation of radioactive poisons use the same pathways as mercury. He has developed three products that are effective for the removal of mercury including a liposome formula that allows us to get glutathione into the system via oral administration. (For more information or ordering of Dr. Shade’s products I only have a phone: 1- 866-257-8168, talk to Karen.)

Combining his formulas with HMD (Heavy Metal Detox) from Dr. George Georgiou, another medical genius, gives us, in my opinion, the best possible medical formula to help remove radioactive contamination as long as iodine, magnesium chloride, a super food spirulina-based formula like Rejuvenate and edible clay are used as well. Rejuvenate is a powerful chlorophyll-rich formula that is easy to administer in high quantities because of its exceptionally pleasant taste. The intense levels of RNA in Rejuvenate will quickly help build up a person’s immune system and help them recover from the RNA/DNA damage caused by radiation exposure.

It is interesting to see that uranium-238 is being eliminated in the hair using the HMD protocol; to date there is no natural chelating agent known to mobilize and eliminate uranium-238 from body tissues. HMD is the only chelation product that I have seen that has actually been tested and shown to be effective for uranium toxicity.

HMD’s cilantro will move heavy metals and radioactive material out of the cells into the detoxification pathways with Dr. Chris Shade’s IMD (Intestinal Metal Detox) pulling down hard on those pathways to get the stuff out through the intestines. The internal consumption of edible clay and external clays dramatically facilitate this process. Clay baths are a very effective way of removing heavy metals from the body and increase one’s chances of survival if exposed to nuclear fallout.

Iodine

Iodine is the most obvious and important element in protecting against radiation damages. Radioactive iodine will plunge in to any and all iodine receptor cites that have no iodine in them due to iodine deficiencies.  This is a serious problem because over 90 percent of people in North America, according to Dr. David Brownstein, are iodine deficient. This leaves them incredibly vulnerable to radioactive iodine, which is one of the principle forms of radiation given off in nuclear accidents and from nuclear weapons.

In as separate article are videos of an interview I did today with Dr. Brownstein and a lot of important information about iodine supplementation as a vital defense against radiation contamination and damage.

Intravenous Cocktails

In cases of serious exposure, IV cocktails with high dosages of vitamin C, magnesium chloride or sulfate, sodium bicarbonate and very pure seawater full of all the minerals necessary for life would be ideal.
Dr. David Brownstein administers a slow IV vitamin C drip usually 25-50 gm, with minerals, and he adds 10cc oof sodium bicarbonate. The addition of bicarb to the IV’s made a huge clinical improvement. He also adds 1 cc of bicarb to all Myers cocktail IV’s, which he says is “a great addition.”

Nutrients to the Rescue

Spirulina and chlorella have been used heavily by the Russians after the Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster. And the Japanese love their miso soup and that was said to help some of their citizens survive the fallout after the Americans attacked two of their cities. This is why I recommend Rejuvenate in high doses because of its high spirulina and chlorella content and because it is like refined rocket fuel for the cells providing them with a broad range of concentrated nutrients.

Tan Koon Peng from Singapore writes: “Miso is effective for detoxifying your body of radiation. During World War II, two hospitals that were located side by side were hit with atomic radiation, in one hospital people consumed Miso and all of them survived while many people in the other hospital that did not take miso died. Miso is rich in vitamin B therefore it is suitable for vegetarians who are in shortage of vitamin B. For best results do not cook miso.”

Herbalist Brigitte Mars says, “There are a number of foods that can better help our bodies tolerate the effects of pollution. Eating lower on the food chain minimizes our chemical intake. Consuming more whole grains has a multitude of benefits. Their high fiber content binds with toxins and lessens intestinal transit time. Their vitamin B6 content nourishes the thymus gland and their vitamin E content helps the body to better utilize oxygen. The grain buckwheat is high in rutin and helps to protect against radiation and stimulates new bone marrow production. The mucilaginous fiber in seaweed helps to prevent the reabsorbing of radioactive strontium 90.

“Following the bombing of Nagasaki, a group of surviving macrobiotic doctors and their patients avoided radiation sickness by eating brown rice, miso and seaweed. They also did not get leukemia. Seaweeds also help to break down fatty deposits. High-chlorophyll foods like wheatgrass and barley grass strengthen cells, transport oxygen, help to detoxify the blood and liver as well as help to neutralize polluting elements and stimulate RNA production. Sulfur-rich vegetables like broccoli, cabbage and mustard greens combine with heavy metals and help prevent free radical damage,” says Mars.

Dr. Shade commenting on the above said, “In the last sentence Brigitte Mars, a local friend actually mentions the broccoli family.  A normal misconception is restated here – namely that the sulfur compounds in the broccoli family bind the heavy metals.  Actually the sulfur compounds trigger increased expression of your glutathione system, which results in both metal detoxification and free radical neutralization. The other group of food compounds that do this is the polyphenolic antioxidants – pine bark extract, green tea extract, grape seed extract, and my favorite Haritaki or terminalia chebula, an Ayurvedic fruit that is the basis for many medicines including the intestinal detoxifier Triphala.  This fruit is used extensively in Tibetan Medicine where it is pictured being held by the Medicine Buddha and call the “King of Herbs”.  It has potent effects on the glutathione system and on expression of other intracelluar antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase.  Haritaki is one of the superpowers in Clear Way.  Clear Way also includes other polyphenolics such as Pine Bark extract, large amounts of liver cleansing dandelion root extract, natural iodine and minerals from fucus extract (or what is known as bladderwrack, a sea vegetable), the metal chelator and super antioxidant R-Lipoic acid, nerve protectors gotu kola and bacopa monniera, and B-vitamins 1, 5, and 6.

Research on animals indicates that curcumin (an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory compound found in the curry spice turmeric) may help protect against radiation-induced damage to the skin. Other research in animals shows that the herb ginkgo biloba may help shield against organ damage resulting from radiation therapy. And aloe vera is often touted as a natural remedy for radiation-induced skin changes preventing or minimizing radiation-induced skin reactions.

Mark Sircus Ac., OMD
Director International Medical Veritas Association
http://publications.imva.info
http://blog.imva.info

YouTube Video from Fox News

Overexposure to fluoride is causing a condition called fluorosis, causing permanent damage to teeth. And what is it doing to the inside of the body?

Check this out! Blueberries faked in so many foods… Thanks to Mike Adams, The Health Ranger NaturalNew.tv

Watch the video

Pictures of blueberries are prominently displayed on the front of many food packages. Here they are on boxes of muffins, cereals and breads. But turn the packages around, and suddenly the blueberries disappear. They’re gone, replaced in the ingredients list with sugars, oils and artificial colors derived from petrochemicals.

This bag of blueberry bagels sold at Target stores is made with blueberry bits. And while actual blueberries are found further down the ingredients list, the blueberry bits themselves don’t even contain bits of blueberries. They’re made entirely from sugar, corn cereal, modified food starch, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, artificial flavor, cellulose gum, salt and artificial colors like Blue #2, Red #40, Green #3 and Blue #1.

What’s missing from that list? Well, blueberries.
Where did the blueberries go?

They certainly didn’t end up in Total Blueberry Pomegranate Cereal. This cereal, made by General Mills, contains neither blueberries nor pomegranates. They’re nowhere to be found. But the cereal is made with red #40, blue #2 and other artificial colors. And it’s even sweetened with sucralose, a chemical sweetener. And that’s in addition to the sugar, corn syrup and brown sugar syrup that’s already on the label.

A lot of products that imply they’re made with blueberries contain no blueberries at all. And many that do contain a tiny amount of blueberries cut their recipes with artificial blueberry ingredients to make it look like their products contain more blueberries than they really do.

Kellogg’s Blueberry Pop Tarts shows a picture of plump blueberries right on the front of the box. But inside the box, there’s a lot more high fructose corn syrup than actual blueberries. And the corn syrup is given a blueberry color with the addition of — guess what? — red #40, blue #1 and blue #2 chemicals.

Kellogg’s Frosted Mini Wheats also come in a Blueberry Muffin variety, with fresh blueberries prominently featured on the front of the package. But inside, there are no actual blueberries to be found. Instead, you get “blueberry flavored crunchlets” — yes, crunchlets — made from sugars, soybean oil, red #40 and blue #2.

And, if you can believe it, the side panel of this box features the “Frosted Mini Wheats Bite Size” logo, followed by the words “blueberry muffin” with pictures of blueberries, finally followed by “The Whole Truth.” Except it really isn’t the whole truth at all. It’s more like a half truth.

These marketing deceptions even continue on Kellogg’s website, where one page claims, “New Special K Blueberry Fruit Crisps are filled with blueberries and drizzled with vanilla icing.” Except they aren’t, really. What they’re really filled with is apple powder, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, fructose, sugar, artificial colors red #40 and blue #1, all enhanced with a dash of blueberry puree concentrate.

Even seemingly “healthy” blueberry products can be deceptive. Betty Crocker’s Fiber One Blueberry muffin mix enhances its small amount of actual blueberries with petrochemical colors, too: Red #40, Blue #1 and Blue #2.

At least Betty Crocker’s Blueberry Muffin Mix admits it contains no real blueberries. Well, if you read the fine print, that is. It’s ingredients reveal “Artificial blueberry flavor bits” which are made from dextrose, Corn Flour, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Sugar, Citric Acid, Artificial Flavor, and of course the obligatory Blue #1 and Red #40.

When consumers buy blueberry cereals, muffins and mixes, they’re under the impression that they’re buying real blueberries. No ordinary consumer realizes they’re actually buying blue coloring chemicals mixed with hydrogenated oils and liquid sugars. That’s why this common industry practice of faking the blueberries is so deceptive.

Why can’t food companies just be more honest about it? Nature’s Path Organic Optimum Blueberry-Cinnamon Breakfast Cereal contains — get this — both blueberries and cinnamon.

Better yet, you won’t find any red #40, blue #2 or partially-hydrogenated vegetable oils in Nature’s Path products. They even use organic blueberries and organic cinnamon.

Health Valley Low-Fat Blueberry Tarts are also made with real blueberries. You won’t find any artificial coloring chemicals in this box.

So why can’t Kellogg, Betty Crocker, General Mills and Target stores use real blueberries in their products instead of deceptively formulating them with artificial petrochemical colors that mimic the purple color of blueberries?

It’s probably because real blueberries are expensive. And artificial blueberry bits, made with sugar, partially hydrogenated oils and artificial colors, are dirt cheap. If these companies can fool consumers into thinking they’re buying real blueberries in their products, they can command a price premium that translates into increased profits.

Once again, in the food industry, deception pays off. And it pays big.

So what can YOU do to make sure you don’t get scammed by a food company trying to sell you red #40 and Blue #2 as if they were real blueberries? Read the ingredients. If you see artificial colors on the list — and they’re usually found at the very bottom of the ingredients list — just don’t buy that product.

Put it back on the shelf and choose something else that’s not deceptively marketed. And that’s how you solve “the case of the missing blueberries.”

This is Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, with Food Investigations for the non-profit Consumer Wellness Center, featured on NaturalNews.TV. If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with your friends. And watch NaturalNews.TV for a new episode each week. Take care.

FROM: NaturalNews.com
Homeopathy has been ignored and attacked so much that its economic efficacy is overlooked. This has been going on for over a century. A major reason the AMA was formed in the mid-19th century was to put homeopathy out of reach from the public, and now it intends to keep it that way. This campaign has been all too successful.

Ignorant, desperate parents of vaccine injured and autistic children as well as older vaccine injury victims keep searching in all the wrong places for treatment. Homeopathy has a track record of successfully treating the vaccine injured and other chronic ailments.

A Computer Scientist Becomes Homeopathic Activist

Amy Lansky`s young son Max was showing signs of autism at age three. Prior to that, Amy and her husband faithfully followed the allopathic gospel of loading kids up on vaccinations. After realizing her son`s condition was caused by the allopathic field she had trusted, she looked into homeopathy. Amy found a homeopath in her area of California that would take on Max`s challenging case.

Her son Max recovered, showing rapid improvement at first, then eventually becoming totally healed. Amy then pursued a mission of educating the public on the merits of homeopathy. Amy Lansky`s book, Impossible Cure: The Promise of Homeopathy, is a comprehensive educational guide to homeopathy.

Learn more: A Proven Cure for Autism, vaccine Injuries, and Chronic Disease – Homeopathy

A personal thought today. Not related to healing but from my heart. Many of you will relate, and I hope many of you have  experienced this, or enjoy it now. I hope to again.

Love beyond choice

It is a mystery. Love transforms us. Researchers, authors, poets, and philosophers have all tried to pin down the elusive ingredient. What makes one person so precious to us? Is it pheromones, is it hormones, is it neurotransmitters? Is it the energy of the heart itself that recognizes a long lost mate?

There are stages or depths of love. There is the rapturous, addictive phase of attraction- that “in love” feeling that may last a year or two. But somewhere comes the moment when you choose that person- even when faults, flaws, and weaknesses surface. You choose him, and that is the moment when you commit.

But beyond these, deeper than these, there is something more. There is a more powerful, soul-connecting kind of love. I am talking about the kind of love that can walk you through fire or deserts, or convince you that you can dig a swimming pool with a spoon for your beloved. A love that can survive heartbreak, tragedy, trauma, age, and infirmity. The love you see between two old souls walking slowly through the park on Sunday, holding hands. Through illness, through tragedy, or through despair, the light burns on in the heart.

This is the source of strength unparalleled. It can build mountains and ride the deepest waves with endless fortitude and determination. It is fed by tenderness and understanding. It is fed by compassion and kindness. It is fed by time and the pursuit of dreams. It seems a force stronger than death itself.

It is a love beyond choice.

FROM: Dailymail.co.uk

This is bizarre and thought-provoking:

Women are getting more attractive in evolutionary ‘beauty race’ The “fairer sex”–& it appears it is becoming increasingly true. Women are gradually becoming more attractive in an evolutionary ‘beauty race’, according to scientific research. Beautiful women have more children than their plainer counterparts, and a higher proportion of those children are girls, a study claims.

These daughters, once adult, also tend to be attractive and so the pattern continues.

Examples of beautiful celebrity mothers with equally beautiful daughters who are models include Jerry Hall, and her two daughters Elizabeth and Georgia Jagger, and Yasmin Le Bon and daughter Amber – who has recently modeled swimwear.

This pattern has led to women becoming steadily more beautiful over the generations, say scientists.

Read the entire article: Women are getting more attractive in evolutionary \'beauty race\'

Interesting research- there have been so many conflicting studies on caffeine, but this one suggests that a few cups of coffee a day may be protective, at least as far as heart arrhythmia is concerned.

From: xnet.kp.com

March 2, 2010

While it is not proven that coffee is protective, it is unlikely that moderate caffeine intake increases arrhythmia risk, Kaiser Permanente study finds

SAN FRANCISCO — Coffee drinkers may be less likely to be hospitalized for heart rhythm disturbances, according to a new study by the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif. The researchers, who note the findings may be surprising because patients frequently report palpitations after drinking coffee, are presenting the study at the American Heart Association’s 50th Annual Conference on Cardiovascular Disease Epidemiology and Prevention in San Francisco on March 5, 2010.

While it has been established that very large doses of caffeine, the most active ingredient in coffee, can produce rhythm disturbances, there has been limited epidemiologic research about the caffeine doses people take. Previous data from a population study in Denmark compared heavy to light coffee drinkers with respect to risk of atrial fibrillation, the most common major rhythm disturbance, and found no statistically significant difference. This research presentation is believed to be the first large, multiethnic population study to look at all major types of heart rhythm disturbance, the researchers said.

The researchers followed 130,054 men and women and found that those who reported drinking four or more cups of coffee each day had an 18 percent lower risk of hospitalization for heart rhythm disturbances. Those who reported drinking one to three cups each day had a 7 percent reduction in risk, according to Arthur Klatsky, MD, the study’s lead investigator and a senior consultant in cardiology at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif.

“Coffee drinking is related to lower risk of hospitalization for rhythm problems, but the association does not prove cause and effect, or that coffee has a protective effect,” Klasky said. Other explanations for the association might include other traits of coffee drinkers such as exercise or dietary habits. Additionally, some people with heart rhythm problems often are not hospitalized.

Read the entire article

Dear Lord,

 

In this heart of celebration

 

You call the spirit to flight

 

From the bounty of our mother earth

 

the blessings flow this night.

 

Eat and live!

 

Drink and live!  (or breathe)

 

Dance and sing, with joy we give

 

our thanks to you,   the Light.


It is hard to keep your weight down during the holidays, and hard to eat healthy as well! Here are a few tips that will help. Try to choose healthier desserts, such as fruit, or take a smaller portion of those rich ones you love! (Also remember that alcohol has calories, and sweet wines and beer are higher than white wine or vodka- try having a glass of sparkling water with lemon or lime at least every drink you accept!)

You can also make some changes to your much-loved desserts, which will keep the flavor great but cut the calories and the unhealthy items as much as possible!

1) Try low-fat or non-fat yogurt in dishes that call for full-fat milk or cream. This will cut calories and also saturated fat. Buttermilk also works.

2) Try replacing half the fat or oil called for with mashed bananas or applesauce.

3) To add protein, fiber and nutrients, replace at least half of the flour with whole wheat  flour.  Or for those sensitive to wheat, use brown rice flour instead, with guar gum or xanthum gum (amounts are on the packets of these that you can buy at your health food store- usually 1/2 a tsp to a cup of flour) to replace the gluten in wheat that makes the bread or cake or muffins hold together.

4) Try using dried blueberries, cranberries, or raisin instead of chocolate chips. Or half of the amount anyway!

These tips can help you enjoy sweet foods and desserts while still keeping a modicum of watch on all those calories – plus they make the foods healthier!

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