In Honor of the King of Pop, Micheal Jackson, I’ve asked people to send a photo or video of what makes you ALIVE. Just post a photo of you or video with Ï’m ALIVE, and we’ll post your photo here. Check out one of our submissions.
I’M ALIVE CONTEST !!! Read More »
If you want to improve your mood, lower feelings of stress, reduce cravings and addictions then one of the best ways to see these benefits is to improve your diet.
Food cravings are common. It’s estimated that 97% of women and 68% of men battle with food cravings, especially for foods high in sugar, fat, or carbohydrates.
These cravings are usually a reaction to stress, anxiety, or depression and generally have little to do with actual hunger. The good news is that you can actually better control your moods, cravings, and be happier by eating certain foods.
One of the key factors when it comes to boosting your mood with food is consuming foods that support Neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are your brains “messengers” and control mood, energy levels, appetite, and several other functions in the body. AND they’re significantly influenced by what we eat or don’t eat.
For example, the amino acid histidine is the building block for the neurotransmitter histamine which controls appetite and how your body burns calories. Inadequate amounts of histidine can lead to your body not knowing when it is full and when to stop eating. Foods that can naturally boost histidine levels are kale, collard greens, spinach, bananas, and wild caught fish and organic meat.
Do you tend to reach for a cookie or cake when feeling sad and never a lean chicken breast or celery? Why is it that the combination of fat and sugar seem to provide relief from negative emotions? It has been scientifically proven that high carbohydrate foods trigger a release of serotonin, a natural opioid, which acts in the brain similarly to the drug opium.
Therefore, consuming a high carbohydrate food actually does release a chemical that improves mood. People that are unable to control their carbohydrate cravings have actually been shown to have lower serotonin levels. The problem is, long term consumption of foods high in sugar lead to weight gain, candida, and low energy, all of which can lead to symptoms of depression.
So how can you improve your serotonin without sugar and unhealthy fat? There are 2 keys to improving mood and beating food cravings with nutrition and they are consuming: Vitamin B12 and EPA Fats.
Vitamin B12 and B-Complex
Vitamin B12 is vitally important to support your neurological system, for energy, and “good mood” hormones. If you want to get more Vitamin B12 consume RAW Dairy products like raw cheese, amasai, goat’s milk kefir and you can get B12 from wild caught salmon, eggs, grass-fed beef, organic poultry, or if you are a vegan make sure to supplement with RAW-B12.
To increase your intake of other B-vitamins such as folate, consume spinach, sunflower seeds, and dried herbs. B-vitamins also help produce serotonin without the sugar toxicity and excess calories. Turkey, which is high in tryptophan, can also be used to produce serotonin. Other foods high in tryptophan include pineapple and eggs.
Omega-3 Fats
A systematic review published in 2004 of all the research conducted on omega-3s and depression showed that low intake of omega-3 fats is associated with greater rates of depressed mood. A study in the Archives of General Psychiatry showed that supplementation with EPA, an omega-3 fat, helped reduce symptoms of depression by 50%. This isn’t surprising since our brains and nervous systems are mostly made up of fat, 20% of which are omega-3s. Omega-3s work to reduce overall inflammation, which may help improve brain function overall. Aim for at least 2 servings of wild-caught fish per week and take a daily omega-3 supplement to get the most mood boosting benefit.
Key Points:
References – Somer, E. (1999). Food and Mood. New York, NY: Holt Paperbacks.
How to Fight Depression and Anxiety Read More »
4 Secrets to Naturally Increase Testosterone |
Most scientists and doctors agree that”free testosterone” is the only form of the hormone that matters because it’s free to move around the body and repair tissue. Vitamin D helps “free” the testosterone in your body that’s bound to proteins. The problem: we don’t consume enough vitamin D. Consume 3,000 IU upon rising and before bed.
Your testosterone levels are highest between 4am-6am in the morning. Taking a cold shower at night before bed will help you sleep, but also help you naturally enhance your testosterone levels. Do the same upon rising to wake up but get your T levels boosted. Have the shower last for 10 minutes both in the morning and at night. And keep it as cold as possible.
Plastics contain chemical estrogens that raise your body’s estrogen levels, which then lower your testosterone levels. Avoid carrying your water in plastic bottles and your food in plastic containers.
This isn’t talked about very often, but stress is one of the greatest inhibitors of testosterone because it results in the release of cortisol in your body. One of the way to measure testosterone is in relation to cortisol. If your cortisol is high, your testosterone can’t be. It’s important to de-stress once a month. Get out in nature, get off the computer, and unplug.
4 Secrets to Naturally Increase Testosterone Read More »
Psalms 59
9. Because of his strength I will watch for You,
For God is my stronghold.
As we push forward in our exercise goals, once in awhile you come across the one who I call the “hater”. The hater is the one who can see your making great gains in losing the weight or getting stronger and toner, looking better and feeling better, and then “BAM” they offer you a piece of cake, or dessert and after you say NO continue to taunt you and see if you will crack under peer pressure. And if you do crack under pressure, their face has such a joy of accomplishment for knocking you off your program.
Example 2: Putting on those skinny jeans or (muscle shirt) you have been working out to get into, and going out to meet them and instead of complimenting you on your accomplishment, the rest of the night it is a battle as to see who is the hottest person out there to get the attention.
Most of them will have an attitude, and people start paying attention to you, they’ll be the first to put your business in the street of what you USED to look like BEFORE you paid attention to your health… HATERS.
When you come across this person, DO NOT RUN, NO NO NO. Simply walk to your stuff, or pay your portion of the tab, Stand up, and place your hand next to your ear, cup it like you’ve won a beauty pageant, and wave. YES WAVE.
Wave at the past, as you continue to move forward. FORWARDS EVER BACKWARDS NEVER. Look at yourself, you feel better, look better, and in a greater health position then before.
WAVE, because they have shown you there lack of understanding accomplishment. WAVE as you go out the door, or move over to another group of friends and keep the party going. HATERS can only do two things for you 1) motivate you to keep moving forward toward your goal, or 2) dedicate even stronger to the goal you have at hand.
So WAVE AT YOUR HATERS, and keep moving forward in the “NEW YOU.”
Wave At Your Haters Read More »
Save your blood, sweat, and tears. Corporate go-getters often flame out before going anywhere, but experts say sensible slackers can waltz to the top. Here’s how to ditch the worker-bee rules and adopt a stress-free, healthy, and productive lifestyle.
New Rule: Losers Quit; Winners Cut Their Losses
Perseverance isn’t helpful if you’re digging a hole. Canadian researchers found that even when inventors are advised to give up on a hopeless project, 29 percent continue to invest money, and 51 percent continue to invest time. Seldman says to continuously reevaluate your projects to see if they’re worth the effort—or if the end goal is even possible. “Understand sunk costs,” he says. “Don’t get caught up in the investment you’ve already paid.”
New Rule: Play Hard to Get
Sure, e-mail is efficient, but researchers at the University of California at Irvine found that people take an average of 25 minutes to get back to business after a distraction. Total damage: Up to 2.1 wasted hours a day, another study found. “Be disciplined. Allow chunks of time uninterrupted by e-mail,” says Donald E. Wetmore, J.D., M.B.A., author of The Productivity Handbook. Attend to the inbox during low-energy points, saving high-energy times for more important jobs. If the boss really needs you, he’ll call.
New Rule: Multitasking Stalls Your System
Even though brain activity rises when you focus on multiple tasks, your performance suffers, according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon. “Avoiding distractions isn’t always possible, so you need to learn how to rapidly refocus,” says David Allen, the author of Getting Things Done and Making It All Work. Develop a system to jog your memory, such as jotting down new tasks (“Call Fred”), putting them aside, and staying focused on your current work.
New Rule: Be Perfect Only When It Matters
Perfectionists who obsess over little details can sometimes miss the things that count the most. For example, 37 percent of workers blamed such exacting tendencies for missed deadlines, according to one study presented in 2003. So be smarter. Seldman recommends identifying tasks you can do without fine-tuning, and spending most of your time on everything else. When you realize your less-than-perfect work is just fine, your agony will abate.
New Rule: Underpromise, Overdeliver
“You have only one time when you can manage expectations, and that’s in the beginning,” says Marty Seldman, Ph.D., coauthor of Executive Stamina. So set yourself up for success. If you can do a job in 3 days, say you’ll do it in 5—and then take time to add special finishing touches before turning it in “early.” It’s an easy way to impress: University of Florida researchers found that people are much happier about unexpected positive results than they are about predictable ones.
5 Ways to Boost Productivity and Beat Stress Read More »
