Her Family Stopped Eating Sugar for A Year

By: Eve O. Schaub | Once upon a time, I was healthy; at least I thought I was.

Sure, I lacked enough energy to get me through the day, but with all the commercials on TV touting energy drinks for America’s tired masses, I always assumed I wasn’t the only one suffering. And sure, everyone in my family dreaded the coming cold and flu season, but again, I thought come January everyone develops some degree of germophobia.

At least, that’s what I thought until I heard some disturbing new information about the effects of sugar. According to several experts, sugar is the thing that is making so many Americans fat and sick. The more I thought about it the more this made sense to me — a lot of sense. One in seven Americans has metabolic syndrome. One in three Americans is obese. The rate of diabetes is skyrocketing and cardiovascular disease is America’s number one killer.

According to this theory, all of these maladies and more can be traced back to one large toxic presence in our diet… sugar.

A BRIGHT IDEA

I took all of this newfound knowledge and formulated an idea. I wanted to see how hard it would be to have our family — me, my husband, and our two children (ages 6 and 11) — spend an entire year eating foods that contained no added sugar. We’d cut out anything with an added sweetener, be it table sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, agave or fruit juice. We also excluded anything made with fake sugar or sugar alcohols. Unless the sweetness was attached to its original source (e.g., a piece of fruit), we didn’t eat it.

Once we started looking we found sugar in the most amazing places: tortillas, sausages, chicken broth, salad dressing, cold cuts, crackers, mayonnaise, bacon, bread, and even baby food. Why add all of this sugar? To make these items more palatable, add shelf life, and make packaged food production ever cheaper.

Call me crazy, but avoiding added sugar for a year struck me as a grand adventure. I was curious as to what would happen. I wanted to know how hard it would be, what interesting things could happen, how my cooking and shopping would change. After continuing my research, I was convinced removing sugar would make us all healthier. What I didn’t expect was how not eating sugar would make me feel better in a very real and tangible way.'

A SUGAR-FREE YEAR LATER

It was subtle, but noticeable; the longer I went on eating without added sugar, the better and more energetic I felt. If I doubted the connection, something happened next which would prove it to me: my husband’s birthday.

During our year of no sugar, one of the rules was that, as a family, we could have one actual sugar-containing dessert per month; if it was your birthday, you got to choose the dessert. By the time September rolled around we noticed our palates starting to change, and slowly, we began enjoying our monthly “treat” less and less.

But when we ate the decadent multi-layered banana cream pie my husband had requested for his birthday celebration, I knew something new was happening. Not only did I not enjoy my slice of pie, I couldn’t even finish it. It tasted sickly sweet to my now sensitive palate. It actually made my teeth hurt. My head began to pound and my heart began to race; I felt awful.

It took a good hour lying on the couch holding my head before I began to recover. “Geez,” I thought,“has sugar always made me feel bad, but because it was everywhere, I just never noticed it before?”

After our year of no sugar ended, I went back and counted the absences my kids had in school and compared them to those of previous years. The difference was dramatic. My older daughter, Greta, went from missing 15 days the year before to missing only two.

Now that our year of no sugar is over, we’ll occasionally indulge, but the way we eat it is very different. We appreciate sugar in drastically smaller amounts, avoid it in everyday foods (that it shouldn’t be in in the first place), and save dessert for truly special occasions. My body seems to be thanking me for it. I don’t worry about running out of energy. And when flu season comes around I somehow no longer feel the urge to go and hide with my children under the bed. But if we do come down with something, our bodies are better equipped to fight it. We get sick less and get well faster. Much to my surprise, after our no-sugar life, we all feel healthier and stronger. And that is nothing to sneeze at.

Source:

http://themindunleashed.org/2014/07/family-stopped-eating-sugar-year-happened.html

A Note from the Universe

Whenever your perspective on something creates emotional pain, , it's always because your perspective is still so narrow that you've yet to see all the good it will make possible. 

Because it will

Always, 
    The Universe

♥

We don't choose who we Love,

Love makes that choice for us

 ♥

10 anledningar till att dricka citron vatten på morgonen

   1. Ökar ditt immunförsvar: Citroner innehåller mycket C-vitamin, vilket är bra för att bekämpa förkylningar. Citron har även mycket kalium, som stimulerar hjärnan och nervfunktion. Kalium hjälper också till att kontrollera blodtrycket

 2. Balanserar pH värdet. Dricker man citronvatten varje dag kommer det att minska kroppens totala syra. Citron är ett av de mest alkaliska livsmedeln.

3. Hjälper till med viktminskning: Citroner innehåller mycket pektin, som hjälper till att bekämpa hunger. Det har också visat att människor som upprätthåller en mer basisk kost gå ner i vikt snabbare.

4. Underlättar matsmältningen: Citronsaft hjälper till att rensa ur och uppmuntrar levern att producera galla som är en syra som krävs för matsmältningen. Effektiv matsmältning minskar halsbränna och förstoppning.

5. Är ett diuretikum: Citroner öka graden av urinering i kroppen, vilket bidrar rena kroppen. Gifter lämnar därför kroppen i en snabbare takt som hjälper till att hålla urinvägarna friska.

6. Rensar huden: Den C-vitamin-komponenten bidrar till att minska rynkor och blemmor. Citronvatten rensar gifter från blodet, som hjälper till att hålla huden klar också. Det kan faktiskt appliceras direkt på ärr för att minska deras utseende.

7. Fräschare andedräkt: Inte bara detta, men det kan hjälpa till att lindra tand smärta och tandköttsinflammation. Citronsyran kan urholka tandemaljen, så du bör kontrollera detta.

8. Lindrar andningsproblem: Varmt citron vatten hjälper att bli av infektioner i luftvägarna och stoppa hosta. Det fungerar som hjälp för personer med astma och allergier också.

9. Håller du zen: C-vitamin är en av de första sakerna utarmat när du utsätter din kropp och själ till stress. Som tidigare nämnts, citroner är proppfulla av vitamin C.

10. Hjälper till att avsluta kaffetovana: Efter att ha tagit ett glas varmt citron vatten, känner de flesta mindre sug efter kaffe på morgonen.

Varför måste det vara varmt vatten inte kallt? Kallt vatten ger troligen en chock eller stressfaktor till kroppen. Det tar energi för kroppen att bearbeta kallt vatten.

Receptet är egentligen enkel t- en kopp ljummet/kroppsvarmt vatten (inte varmt) och saften från hälften av en citron.

Källa:

http://evarenner.blogspot.se/2012/12/10-anledningar-till-att-dricka-citron.html

 And in English:

10 Reasons Why You Should Drink Warm Lemon Water in the Morning

Instead of getting a cup of coffee, why not replace it with a warm water lemon drink!? Below are the good factors to consider.

1. Boosts your immune system: Lemons are high in vitamin C, which is great for fighting colds. They’re high in potassium, which stimulates brain and nerve function. Potassium also helps control blood pressur...

2. Balances pH: Drink lemon water everyday and you’ll reduce your body’s overall acidity. Lemon is one of the most alkaline foods around. Yes, lemon has citric acid but it does not create acidity in the body once metabolized.

3. Helps with weight loss: Lemons are high in pectin fiber, which helps fight hunger cravings. It also has been shown that people who maintain a more alkaline diet lose weight faster.

4. Aids digestion: Lemon juice helps flush out unwanted materials. It encourages the liver to produce bile which is an acid that required for digestion. Efficient digestion reduces heartburn and constipation.

5. Is a diuretic: Lemons increase the rate of urination in the body, which helps purify it. Toxins are, therefore, released at a faster rate which helps keep your urinary tract healthy.

6. Clears skin: The vitamin C component helps decrease wrinkles and blemishes. Lemon water purges toxins from the blood which helps keep skin clear as well. It can actually be applied directly to scars to help reduce their appearance.

7. Freshens breath: Not only this, but it can help relieve tooth pain and gingivitis. The citric acid can erode tooth enamel, so you should monitor this.

8. Relieves respiratory problems: Warm lemon water helps get rid of chest infections and halt those pesky coughs. It’s thought to be helpful to people with asthma and allergies too.

9. Keeps you zen: Vitamin C is one of the first things depleted when you subject your mind and body to stress. As mentioned previously, lemons are chock full of vitamin C.

10. Helps kick the coffee habit: After taking a glass of warm lemon water, most people suggests of less craving for coffee in the morning.

Why it has to be warm water not cold? Cold water likely provides a shock or stress factor to the body. It takes energy for your body to process cold water.

The recipe is really simple - a cup of warm water (not hot) and the juice from half of a lemon

After reading this, you’ll never look at a banana in the same way again!

Bananas contain three natural sugars – sucrose, fructose and glucose as well as fiber. We know that bananas give us an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy. Although, energy alone isn’t the only way that bananas can help us keep fit and healthy. It has been proven to help overcome and even prevent a number of illnesses and issues, helping it become the number one fruit with the world’s leading athletes – after reading this we should be saying ‘a banana a day keeps the Doctor away’

Read on to learn how the humble banana can help in our every day lives and improve our physical and mental health: 

DEPRESSION: Following recent research by MIND (a well respected mental health charity) carried out on a group of people suffering from depression, they reported that the people surveyed said they felt much better after simply eating a banana. Bananas contain tryptophan, which is a type of protein that the body is converted into serotonin known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier. This backs up research which has previously claimed that an inbalance of serotonin in the body can lead to depression, and in fact serotonin is often called the ‘happy hormone’.

CONSTIPATION: Being high in fiber, bananas can help restore normal bowel function when eaten regularly, eliminating the need to resort to laxatives.

BLOOD PRESSURE: Unusually, the high potassium levels found in bananas are matched by a low salt level which makes it a powerful natural tool in the treatment of high blood pressure. Infact the US Food and Drug Administation recently permitted the banana industry as a whole to be able to make official claims regarding bananas ability to reduce the risk of high blood pressure and also in lowering the risk of strokes.

HANGOVERS: One of the quickest, easiest and healthiest ways of curing a dreaded hangover is to make a banana milkshake or smoothie, using local organic honey to sweeten. The banana has a calming action on the stomach and, together with the help of honey, rebuilds your depleted blood sugar levels, and the milk will soothe and re-hydrate your system.

ULCERS: Bananas are increasingly used as the dietary food of choice against several intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It also helps to neutralize high levels of acidity and reduces any irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

HEARTBURN: Bananas have been found to have a natural antacid effect in the body. Next time you suffer a bout of heartburn, try eating a banana for quick, natural and soothing relief.

PMS: Ladies ditch the pills – simply eat a banana. The high levels of vitamin B6 regulates your blood glucose levels, vital in affecting your mood.

NERVES: Bananas are high in several essential B vitamins that are known to help calm the nervous system. Studies at the Austrian Institute of Psychology found pressure at work can lead to us gorging on comfort food like chocolate and chips. They studied 5,000 hospital patients, and the researchers found the most obese patients were far more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. They report concluded that “to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady”. So we really should be taking a banana to work.

ANEMIA: Bananas are high in iron, vital for the stimulation of the hemoglobin production in the blood and is a natural tool in the treatment of anemia.

MOSQUITO BITES: Use banana skins as an alternative to insect bit cream when treating those pesky mosquito bites – simply rub the affected area with the inside of the banana skin. It is widely reported as a natural way of reducing local swelling and irritation.

TEMPERATURE CONTROL: Other cultures often use bananas as a ‘cooling’ fruit, lowering both the physical and emotional temperature of pregnant women. In Thailand , for example, expectant women eat bananas regularly to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

MORNING SICKNESS: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep to blood sugar levels up and significantly reduce the symptoms of morning sickness.

BRAIN POWER: A recent study in 2013 in a school in Twickenham, England involved more than 200 students, who were sitting exams, eating bananas for breakfast, at mid-morning breaktime and for lunch. It was found that they were helped significantly with their concentration and energy levels, matching research previously highlighting that high levels of potassium can assist learning by making pupils more alert .

So, a banana can be a natural remedy for many conditions. When compared to an apple, it has FOUR TIMES the protein, TWICE the carbohydrate, THREE TIMES the phosphorus, FIVE TIMES the vitamin A and iron, and TWICE the other vitamins and minerals. It is super rich in potassium and is recognized by health experts and professionals as being one of the best value foods around.

Source : http://www.karenstan.net

When the right one comes along ♥

Har precis upptäckt den underbara serien "Nashville" med otroligt mycket bra och härlig musik!!
En av mina favoriter så här långt är denna låt från första säsongen.

För att kolla på serien klicka HÄR så kommer du dit! :)
Fullkomligt älskar den!!!

Efter 30 år i Big Pharma fick han nog – berättar allt om bedrägerierna

”Om någon av er har idén att läkemedelsindustrin är mån om er hälsa – glöm det. Det är bara pengar de är intresserade av”, säger John Virapen efter att ha arbetat för Big Pharma i 30 år.

Sveriges Radio: En av dem som hävdar att man inte kan lita på den industrin är John Virapen, fd. vd för ett stort internationellt läkemedelsföretag. För några år sedan kom han ut med en bok, ”Piller och Profiter”, där han kritiserar läkemedelsindustrin för att bl.a. ta emot mutor. Vi träffade honom när han var på besök i Uppsala.

John Virapen håller föredrag runt världen och berättar om läkemedelsindustrins ohederliga metoder. Bland annat berättar han att branschen undanhåller sanning om biverkningar och ohälsosamma tillverkningsmetoder samt använder sig av mutor för att registrera nya läkemedel

http://sverigesradio.se/sida/play.aspx?ljud=3071598

:)