Archive for January 2008
Location and Lifestyle
During the past month I have been doing a little bit of traveling. Over New Year’s I went to Las Vegas, the other weekend I headed out to Phoenix for a day, and two days ago I drove up the California coast to Santa Barbara. Going around to these various places, you can see the large differences in how people live. Growing up and living my life in San Diego, I have been mainly influenced with the hot health topics and lifestyles that are here in town. As many believe, San Diego and the rest of California have, for the most part, very health conscious people. There are a countless amount of gyms located in every nook and cranny in San Diego, ranging from your basic weights and treadmills to exotic self-defense and boxing gyms. The weather is almost always beautiful out here, allowing for many days of unlimited outdoor exercising and adventures. When I travel outside of San Diego, I instantly notice the changes in people’s lifestyles compared to the location and environment they live in. Many of us don’t realize that where we live directly influences how we live our life.
Travelling to Phoenix
Who would have known that this large of a city could sprout up in the middle of the desert? From the few times that I’ve visited Phoenix, I’ve noticed that there is a great diversity of people that mingle together, just as in any other city. With all of these people around each other, it still seems like there is surprisingly not much to do. The main happenings I noticed were checking out one of the many malls scattered about, play a round of golf, or trying to and get tickets to the upcoming Super Bowl out there. Other than that, the largest thing I noticed were the billboards lining the freeways. Just driving the stretch of Interstate 10, through the heart of Phoenix, I counted five billboards showing the consequences of using meth. These were disgusting images of people that have seemingly ruined their lives with a very addictive and devastating drug. Wondering why there was an overwhelming amount of these advertisements, I asked my friend that lived out there, “What’s going on?!” He informed me that Phoenix is the methamphetamine capitol of America.
My friend is one of the healthiest people I know, and he said he completely struggled when he briefly lived in Phoenix. Because of the normal, hotter than average temperatures and monsoonal weather patterns, running became very difficult for him. He did end up joining a gym to solve many of these woes, but was still depressed that he could not complete his typical daily workouts outside. Another problem that he faced was his free time after work and exercise. He said that many of the people his age (around 24 years old) did nothing but drink at the bars and then do drugs after the bars had closed. He was not able to find a single person that was as health-conscious as he is. This put both a strain on his health and social life as a whole.
Pick Where You Live Carefully
As simple as it may sound, picking where you live will definitely change the life that you’ll lead. Analyze the hobbies that you enjoy and the life that you’ll want for the future. If you see that all of these qualities could be met by living in a particular location, then by all means, choose it! Simply choosing a location because of a job offer can seriously hinder someone’s trek to a happy life. Decide what is most important in your life and proceed from there. Of course, you’ll never actually know the consequences until you experience it yourself. To battle this, ask people that have already lived in these possible future locations. If it is job related, ask some employees that already live there. Also, use the internet and compare which cities fair the best for your particular personality.
MSN’s Health and Fitness site lists the 10 healthiest cities in America, from their own research. Explore this and learn a little about these locations, especially if they are some of your prospective living locations for the future.
Top 10: America’s Healthiest Cities
- San Jose, CA
- Washington, DC
- San Francisco, CA
- Seattle, WA
- Salt Lake City, UT
- Oakland, CA
- Sacramento, CA
- Orange County, CA
- Denver, CO
- Austin, TX
Photo Credit: Nicholas T
Stevia: The Best Sweetener, Ever!
What the heck is stevia, and why is it so good?! Many of have never heard of it, or at most possibly passed it while in the supplement section of a natrual foods store. Whatever the case, stevia is the next and upcoming large sugar-alternative. It’s a sweetner that Japan has been using in abundance since the early ’70s. They have been using it in products such as Coca-Cola, added in other food products, and have had it set out for table-use at resturants around the country.
So, what is stevia?
Stevia is a scrub that is found in abundance in the subtropical regions of Central America and South America. Some other names that stevia goes by is sweetleaf and sugarleaf. As the name says, the leaves are where all the flavor is found. After previous generations have found the great sweetening qualities of these stevia leaves (about 300 times the sweetness of sugar), it has been used since. Extracts are taken from these leaves and then produced into one of its many forms: liquid concentrates, crystal form, dried and also fresh stevia leaves.
Technically, stevia is a supplement
As of now, stevia is a natural herb that has not been approved by the FDA. Because of this, stevia is sold at stores as a supplement, not a food sweetener. As a supplement and a sugar alternative, stevia is used by people with Diabetes, obesity, and high-blood pressure because of its very low carbohydrate content, being calorie-free, and its ability to actually increase glucose tolerance. Since stevia has not been approved by the FDA, it cannot be sold in food products as a “sweetener”. Since the FDA has labeled stevia as a supplement, if a company were to produce a stevia sweetened drink, it would be have to be labeled as a supplement drink. Because of this, large health grocers such as Whole Foods and Wild Oats hurt because they cannot offer these alternative sweetened drinks in some of its products. Companies are now working to create a slightly altered version of stevia so it can become FDA approved. We’ll just have to wait it out and see when that time comes. In the mean time, go purchase the packets or its other forms and use it as a sweetener for your own creations!
Experimenting with stevia
The key thing that you need to remember with stevia is that it is about 300 times the sweetness of sugar. Don’t forget how much more that really is! When experimenting with stevia during cooking, always be sure to add small amounts at a time and taste-test everything before moving any further with a recipe. It may seem like a pain to try and learn exactly how much stevia equates to that of sugar, but the benefits of having a calorie-free, all-natural sweetener completely outweighs your long efforts. When using stevia in place of previous sugar-included recipes, try and stick with those that include fruits and dairy products. Generally, stevia mixes really well with these food groups because of its texture. Some simple recipes to start off with are baking a batch of chocolate cookies, making lemonade, creating a variety of types of salsa, soups, and so many others.
Give this simple hot cocoa recipe a shot for starters…
(Makes 4-5 servings)
Ingredients:
- 3 tbsp of cocoa
- 4-5 cups of soymilk or milk
- 1/2 tsp powdered stevia extract
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp honey or maple syrup
Mix the stevia extract and cocoa together in a medium-sized pot. Add 1/2 cup of your choice of milk to make a paste. Work to thin out the paste by adding another 1/2 cup of the milk. While bringing it to a low boil, add either the honey or maple syrup. Boil all of the ingredients for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the rest of the milk to your desire of thickness and richness. Add the vanilla and heat the ingredients thoroughly. Be sure to not scorch the cocoa on the bottom of the pan.
Pour, serve, and enjoy!
Photo credit: daxiang
Are You Sick Or Feel One Coming On, Use Echinacea!
Two weeks ago I had a couple of great appointments with the chiropractor and acupuncturist to help straighten my body out. I’ve written some previous posts about the reasons why I visit these experts and how they could benefit many of you. Check out the links a couple of sentences back. Luckily, during these visits was also the time that I began to come down with a rather annoying throat and lung cold. I know it sounds weird that I said luckily, but the acupuncturist actually was able to perform treatments and offer great recommendations to herbs during this time I was getting sick. As I was there, she focused much of the treatment towards my sickness rather than my previous neck problem, which has gotten much better than it was before. The greatest recommendation that the acupuncturist gave me, though, was to purchase and use anechinacea throat spray to help quicken my recovery time. I have heard the echinacea name thrown around by people before but have never actually tried it. When I began using it and realizing that it made me feel almost completely healthy when I sprayed my throat, I became very interested to learn more. Here’s what I found out…
The problems that echinacea could help
- Sore throats
- Coughs and other types of flu’s
- Congestion
- Many minor infections
- Even various skin infections (external, of course)
- Preventative measures during flu season
What echinacea actually does
The echinacea flower has long been used (since early Native American times) for both flu preventions and remedies. As a prevention, echinacea can be taken in one of its many forms during flu season or any other time you think a flu feels like it’s coming your way. During this time, echinacea fights off possible influenza infections and other colds by increasing the body’s natural production of interferon. When a flu does fully hit you and you’re trying to fight it off, echinacea works with a slightly different purpose. When used, it helps to increase the immune system’s ability to stimulate white blood cells, which fight off germs and other diseases. Using this type of method will definitely lengthen the time between flu’s throughout the year and also speed the process of recovery when a cold or flu is in full force.
The various forms of echinacea
- Echinacea/Goldenseal throat spray. This was my personal favorite during my last cold. It offered a direct contact to the sore area and instantly felt much healthier. The largest advantage to using an echinacea spray was that it didn’t leave a numbed feeling like chloraseptic sprays do. Highly recommended for sore throats.
- Echinacea teas. There are various types out there, so check out the labels next time you head to the grocery store. Matt, from our brother-blog, used this form when he was last sick, around the same time. This offers another direct method to feel better, much quicker. I would say this method would be better for colds that are more head and stomach-based.
- Liquid extracts. This is a method that my girlfriend originally tried, and then since moved over to my favorite, the throat spray.
This is a very good form as well because it could be dropped and mixed into water or any other types of drinks. This liquid form, along with the others are great ways to help alleviate pains when you have already become sick. It seems that the liquid-based forms are normally quicker absorbed into the system for quicker relief. - Capsule form. This offers the same benefits as the previous forms. It might not be as quickly absorbed in the system, but it is still a great method to use when you feel a sickness feeling coming or have any other type of infection. Another great advantage is if you cannot handle echinacea’s taste, this capsule form will take that problem away.
Photo credit: zanastardust
The Power of Magnets and Your Body
Hey all. I know it’s about a week late, but I hope everyone had great holidays and an awesome New Year. I decided to take a break during this time to do a bunch of things. It’s been a holiday vacation full of great people, food, relaxation, traveling around, and finally being able to get some things done. The only downer during all of these good times is the cold that I have been battling for the past week. I haven’t had one in over a year and a half, so it was a rude awakening to what I have been missing out on!
For Christmas, I was given something really interesting and unique. Since I come from a family full of golfing addicts, I am constantly surrounded with brand new gadgets and other items that help improve their game. This particular item I was given is called the Trion :Z ionic/magnetic bracelet. It is a simple looking elastic-style bracelet that sits snug around the wrist and acts to improve the balance of the body’s electricity by using magnets. I thought this was a really interesting concept, so I did a little research about it. Check out what I found out and why it might be something for you to look into…
Why to consider wearing an ionic/magnetic bracelet.
Believe it or not, our personalities and ways we live day in and day out are largely influenced by ions. There are positive and negative ions that surround us daily, both having very different effects on our bodies.
Negative ions are generally naturally occurring and are produced by plants, rivers, and the other elements of the great outdoors. These ions influence us to have a generally more relaxed and at ease feeling. No wonder so many of us love to escape to the mountains to camp in the wilderness just to escape the crazy modern life.
Positive ions are the complete opposite. These are ions that are largely produced by the various electronics that surround us each day. Elements ranging from computers, cell phones, factory machinery, televisions, and more add positive ions to our systems. Unfortunately, the positive ion name is deceiving . With the influence of these positive ions onto the system, we feel much more fatigued, stressed out, lose sleep, and have a generally much more difficult time functioning during the day. As we are surrounded by all of these modern elements, our bodies absorb the positive ions and begin to show more influence than the negative ones.
With these two very opposite electric pulls influencing our systems, these new ionic/magnetic bracelets help to balance the two and bring back a much better feeling to the body.
These things might really work!
Finding the balance of electricity in the body and aiding physical and mental functions with the use of magnets have been done since ancient times. Just as with treatments such as acupuncture, magnets help level the chi that the body uses to function to its full capacity. These magnets bring on a healthy and natural way to help alleviate problems that would otherwise be countered with the use of medicines. With these bracelets, the body is brought much closer to its ability to work with as much natural energy as possible.
There are various ionic/magnetic bracelets out there…
I have given my new Trion:Z bracelet a shot because: A. It has a unique design that fully and snugly wraps around with negative ions throughout to help balance the body’s electricity. B. It is much cheaper than the metal and gold ones you see many people wear. And C. It was given to me as a great gift. Check out Trion:Z’s site for more info on their product.
There are the original ionic bracelets, such as the Q-Ray, that offer very similar results. The magnets in these bracelets function a bit differently, but these ones look a little more stylish and supposedly offer a very comfortable fit.
Each of these products are great and natural methods to bring upon energy and balance within your body. For about $30 or less, pick up one of your own and experience it for yourself.
