Vitamin D Is Important To Your Health

Vitamin D is essential for the proper formation of the skeleton. It is vital for bone growth and renewal as it helps our bodies absorb and retain calcium and phosphorus. Vitamin D is also required for nerve and muscle activity and can help combat chronic inflammation. Research is also determining that vitamin D may help keep cancer cells from growing and dividing.

If we have too little of this valuable nutrient, our bones are not able to mineralize properly. This can lead to a condition called rickets in children, which is characterized by bowed legs, knock-knees, swollen joints, and malformed skeletons. In adults, vitamin D deficiency leads to osteomalacia, a condition in which there is inadequate mineralization of the bone. Deficiency may also result in osteoporosis due to decreased calcum abosrption, and vitamin D deficiency has also been associated with muscle weakness.

The Right Place At The Right Time

Are you beginning to notice the disappearance of many natural health products from the shelves of your local health food store? Even the health food sections of the larger grocery stores and big box stores are shrinking. And it looks as though this decline in natural health products will continue for some time yet.

On January 1, 2004 the Natural Health Products Regulations came into effect and apply to all natural health products (NHPs). According to Health Canada, the Natural Health Products Regulations will help give Canadians access to a wide range of natural health products that are safe, effective and of high quality. Products defined in the Regulations as natural health products include vitamins, minerals, herbal remedies, probiotics, homeopathic medicines, traditional medicines (such as Traditional Chinese Medicines), amino acids and essential fatty acids. Many everyday consumer products such as certain toothpastes, mouthwashes, shampoos, antiperspirants, and facial products are classified as natural health products in Canada due to their medicinal ingredients and intended uses.

Chlorophyll - Nature’s Gift of Life

Derived from the Greek words chloros meaning ‘green’, and phyllon meaning ‘leaf’, chlorophyll is responsible for the green pigmentation found in almost all plants, algae, and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). It’s the substance that gives plants their green colour. Chlorophyll is vital for photosynthesis, which allows plants to obtain energy from the sun, and to manufacture essential compounds for growth and reproduction. In fact, without sunshine, no life is possible, and no life is possible without chlorophyll either. Chlorophyll to plants is like blood to humans.

It’s interesting to note that the molecule of chlorophyll is similar to that of the heme molecule in human blood. According to Dr. Robert O. Young, Ph. D., “numerous studies from decades before showed that liquid chlorophyll was virtually identical to human blood in its molecular structure.”

BarleyLife Is The Ideal Fast Food

According to Wikipedia.org: “Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly…typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a packaged form for take-out/take-away.”

Fast food dates back long before the twenty first century however.  In the cities of ancient Rome for instance, street vendors had stands that sold bread soaked in wine as a quick snack in the mornings, and cooked vegetables and stews were sold in simple eating establisments later in the day. Many people living in urban areas during these times had no means to prepare or cook their own food, so they relied on these vendors for their meals. During the Middle Ages, large towns and major urban areas such as London and Paris had many vendors that sold dishes such as pies, pastries, flans, waffles, pancakes and cooked meats. Like the early cities of Rome, many of these vendors catered to people who did not have the means to cook their own food or could not afford housing with kitchen facilities. Thus, they relied on fast food.

Cascara Sagrada – a moving experience

If you’ve ever suffered from constipation, you know how miserable and uncomfortable this condition can be. Most often we become constipated because of poor diet. Eating too many processed foods high in sugar and fat, and not eating enough vegetables, fruits, and fibre can wreak havoc on our digestive system, and for lack of a better term, plug us up. Constipation can also be caused by other factors such as sedentary lifestyle, chronic illness, the use of iron supplements, and prescription drugs.

There are two main types of constipation.  Acute constipation and chronic constipation. Acute constipation is usually short-term and involves bloating, discomfort, and an inability to evacuate the bowels. Acute constipation is most often caused by a lack of fibre and water in the diet, and a lack of exercise. Chronic constipation is much more serious. It involves the inability to readily evacuate the bowels over longer periods of time – months or years – and can lead to more serious health issues. 

Hooked On Hype

This August my husband Wayne and myself will have been Members of The AIM Companies™ for twenty-four years. No small feat in this day and age with the multitude of products, services and network marketing companies in the marketplace. When we first joined up with AIM, they had only one product, and the whole concept of sharing this product with others and to have the opportunity to make money doing so, was entirely new to us.

Over the years, AIM has expanded their product line to include additional whole food concentrates and nutritional supplements, and they also carry a few personal care products now. We haven’t made a fortune with AIM, but we have managed to build a respectable sized downline, earn enough money every month to pay for the products we take, pay for advertising, and tuck a little away. We couldn’t have asked to be affiliated with a better company.

To Meat or Not To Meat…That Is The Question

“Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” Albert Einstein couldn’t have said this any better. The only problem…we’re not listening to his advice.

This probably isn’t a good time of the year to write an article about the effects of eating animal products, but I can’t help notice all the stores fridges and freezers stuffed full of fresh and frozen meats all ready and waiting to make their way to the dinner table. Heck, I practically can’t walk into the grocery store without being asked if I’d like to try the latest burger or slider or some other type of flesh food they’d like to sell me on. It just makes me shudder to think of what we’re doing to not only our health, but also the planet with all this meat mankind is now consuming.

The Benefits Of Barley Grass

One of the greenest grasses of the grass family, barley grass is considered the only vegetation on earth that can supply sole nutritional sustenance from birth to old age.

Ancient Asian and Middle Eastern cultures reputedly included young barley grass in their diets and medicine, and archeologists have determined barley grass cultivation dates back as early as 7000 BC. It is one of the most important plants in human history, and of all the grasses, barley grass has probably been researched more than any other.

Considered by many to be the most nutritional of the green grasses, barley grass is an abundant source of vitamins, minerals, protein and amino acids, antioxidants, enzymes, chlorophyll, and phytochemicals. Our body uses these nutrients to build and repair itself, create energy, strengthen and detoxify at a cellular level, balance the pH of body fluids and deal with stressors. Green barley grass has strong antioxidant and detoxifying properties, and has the ability to counteract inflammation and boost the immune system. Because of it’s profound alkalizing effect, barley grass juice can help fight off disease. Simply put, green barley grass is an ideal food to enhance nutritional intake.

Keep It Simple With BarleyLife

If you are interested in promoting your AIM business, but find it a little overwhelming or intimidating with all the products AIM has to offer, then this article is for you. Rather than talk about the benefits of BarleyLIfe in this article, we wanted to share with you how to effectively promote only one product in your AIM business – BarleyLife.

On April 30th we had an exhibitor booth at the Erin Home & Lifestyle Show (our local home show) in which we only showcased AIM BarleyLife® (original powder). Our intention was to ‘get back to the basics’ and promote only one product (which is also our favorite product). When we first joined AIM in 1987 all we had was one green barley product and we had much success in our AIM business promoting that one product. So we thought, if it worked before, it will work again. And it sure does.

Don’t Worry, Be Happy

Why do we worry and stress ourselves out so much? Well, in a nutshell we live in stressful times. The economy is stagnant, house prices are declining, the price of food, clothing, utilities, and fuel are rising quicker than a loaf of bread, and there’s the constant threat of losing one’s job and not being able to find another one. We fret about what we have or don’t have, how we look, our weight, our clothes, our hairstyles, the mortgage or rent payment, and the bills. We’re constantly rushing around, and never seem to stop and ‘smell the roses’. Wow, it’s no wonder we’re stressed out!

We worry about the past, the present, and the future—and what’s the point. We can’t change the past. What’s done is done, and the present and future are what we make of them. We can choose to look and react negatively at things, or decide to look and react positively at things, creating a happier today and tomorrow. The choice is ours.

A Wake Up Call For Wellness

With yet another election campaign in full swing, our political leaders are once again making promise after promise of what they will do for Canadians, how much money they will save, and how much money they will spend. I know, promises, promises…we’ve heard this all before. What’s caught my attention this time are the promises they’re making yet again to pump millions and millions of more taxpayers dollars into healthcare. Does this really make any sense? Is healthcare what’s really needed, or should our focus be on prevention and wellness?

Doctors, hospitals, and the pharmaceutical industry seem to have formed the basis of healthcare and the health industry. However, it is a well known fact that pharmaceutical drugs, whether prescription or over-the-counter, are making people sick and killing them each and every day. Shouldn’t the health industry really be called the illness industry? The billions of dollars spent each and every year on healthcare seems to focus strictly on treating the symptoms of illness, rather than prevent illness and help people live a healthier life.

You Are What You Eat

We’ve all heard the phrase “you are what you eat”. It’s a popular phrase in that it does hold some truth to it. The foods we eat contain a wide variety of essential and nonessential nutrients, as well as other substances that can affect our body functions.

There are six classes of nutrients known to be essential for human beings. They are carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and water. Our body needs all of these nutrients to maintain healthy functioning. Without sufficient or balanced intake of any of these vital nutrients, disease can develop.

Our body is constantly changing. We are not the same person we were a month ago. Although we may look the same and don’t notice any change, the substances that make up the tissues and organs of our body are continually changing. We tend to think of tissues such as bones, the heart and blood vessels, and nerves as being solid and permanent, but they are in fact in a constant state of renewal. How incredible is it that all of the cells of the skin are replaced every month, or the cells lining the intestinal tract are replacing themselves every 1 to 3 days. How about taste cells rejuvenating every 7 days, and red blood cells turning over every 120 days. Wow, isn’t the body remarkable! 

Feel Revitalized Everyday

With the arrival of spring, it’s so nice to be able to open up the windows again and let the warm fresh air fill our home. How rejuvenating it is to begin spring-cleaning both inside and outside of our home and once again experience the many joys springtime has to offer. There are also many great articles and advertisements about the importance of detoxification and spring-cleaning our body.

Well, I was originally going to join with the ranks and write an article about the importance of spring-cleaning our body, when it occurred to me that we should actually be supporting our elimination system on a daily basis through diet, exercise, and a healthy lifestyle. Not just every spring.

Have A Heart

February is Heart Month, so you’re probably hearing a great deal about what to do to keep your heart healthy. Eat this and not that, exercise more, get more sleep and reduce your stress level. This amazing organ works hard to keep us alive, so let’s take a brief look at what the heart and the rest of the cardiovascular system does for us, and what we can do to keep it running smoothly.

The cardiovascular system consists of the heart, blood vessels, and blood. It nourishes each body cell by transporting nutrients throughout the body. In fact, “cardio” refers to the heart, and “vascular” refers to the blood vessels.

The heart’s function is to pump oxygen-rich blood throughout the blood vessels to every living cell in the body. The human heart is divided into four chambers - two on the right (right atrium and right ventricle) and two on the left (left atrium and left ventricle). Each chamber has a different function and each chamber of the heart has valves that close when the chambers push blood out. The sound of a valve closing is the sound of a “heartbeat”. Over a person’s entire lifespan, the heart must continuously beat by repeated, rhythmic contractions. If the heart stops beating, the body cannot function and will result in death. About the size of a person’s fist and weighing less than one pound, the heart is located between the lungs, slightly to the left side in the center of the chest. Depending on what you read, a healthy human heart beats on average 72 beats per minute, functions as a double muscular pump, pumps almost 2,000 gallons (approx. 7,500 liters) of blood every day, and during an average lifespan of 70 years, the human heart will beat more than two and a half billion times and will have pumped enough blood to fill over 100 full-sized swimming pools!

Nutritional Supplements Are Important For Optimal Health

It’s estimated we are receiving only 40 percent of the nutritional value of food nowadays. Some reports suggest this is untrue while many reports go even farther by saying this figure is actually lower. In any case, unless you are fortunate enough to have a garden close by with organic fresh food you can harvest and eat on a daily basis, I believe the food available in the supermarket does indeed lack in nutrition.

Many fresh foods travel great distances and many foods are processed to increase shelf life. To obtain the highest possible yield, producers are forced to rely on chemical fertilizers and pesticides for their crops, while other producers use growth hormones, antibiotics, and inhumane confinement for animal production. (By the way, from what I understand about antibiotics given to animals destined for the dinner table…they are not necessary if the animals are kept in clean, un-crowded environments where they are able to stretch their legs and get fresh air and sunshine daily. Another reason to shop organic.)

The Real Secrets To Long-Term Weight Control

Now that the holiday season is over, many people may be noticing their clothes have gotten a little tighter around the waist and perhaps gained a few extra pounds from over-indulging. Some will have made New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and some will have made the resolution to get more exercise. These are both great resolutions and easy to keep, as long as they are included as part of an on-going health routine.

We are constantly inundated with all the ads on television, radio, and in magazines and newspapers, about how ‘this plan’ or ‘this product’ or ‘this new exercise routine’ is the ideal way to lose weight. And what about all the reality shows of heavy people parading themselves in front of the cameras hoping this will be the way to loose those extra pounds. Let’s face it. North Americans are preoccupied with their weight. Even though tens of billions of dollars are spent on weight loss products and services annually, North Americans are gaining weight faster than they’re losing it, and the incidence of obesity is on the rise.

Have Yourself A Merry Green Chistmas

The human body is very complex, therefore it’s important to nourish it with the proper nutrition it needs to perform optimally and maintain good health. To quote Dr. H. E. Kirschner, MD, “There is absolutely no substitute for greens in the diet! If you refuse to eat these ‘sunlight energy’ foods you are depriving yourself, to a large degree, of the very essence of Life.”

Green leafy and cruciferous vegetables are packed with a powerhouse of nutrition for whole body health. They are rich in vitamins (including vitamins C, E, K and many of the B vitamins), minerals (iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium), protein, unsaturated fats, phytonutrients (including beta-carotene, lutein and zeaxanthin, which protect our cells from damage), chlorophyll and antioxidants. Consuming green leafy and cruciferous vegetables can help build our immune system and can dramatically prevent disease such as cancer and heart disease. Some of the more popular leafy green and cruciferous vegetables include: broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kohlrabi, turnip, rutabaga, kale, radishes, watercress, spinach, parsley, collards, and sprouts such as alfalfa sprouts. Calorie for calorie, they are one of the best sources of nutrition available.