Happy Easter..eat some chocolate!

It’s Easter time! What better way to celebrate than to spend time with family and friends, give thanks for what Easter really means, and eat some chocolate.

Chocolate is one of the world’s most favourite foods and recent research is showing that eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate can be good for us. Because it is made from plants, chocolate contains many of the health benefits of dark vegetables. These benefits are from the flavonoids, which act as polyphenol antioxidants, protecting our body from aging caused by free radicals.

Research has demonstrated that the quality and quantity of antioxidants in chocolate is relatively high when compared to other high-antioxidant foods and dark chocolate contains about eight times the polyphenol antioxidants found in strawberries. Having 65 percent or higher cocoa content, dark chocolate contains a large number of antioxidants, and has far more antioxidants than white or milk chocolate.

The earliest record of chocolate was several thousand years ago in the South American rain forests, where this ideal climate provides all the necessary ingredients for cultivation of the Cacao Tree. Worshipped by the Mayan civilisation the Cacao Tree was believed to be of divine origin, hence it’s generic Latin name meaning ‘Food of the Gods’. The Mayan word Cacao was corrupted into ‘Cocoa’ by Europeans. The Aztecs, who came after the Mayan’s, also prized the beans and used them as currency. In 1528, Cortez brought chocolate to Europe. The first chocolate factories soon opened in Spain. and by the early 17th century chocolate powder, from which the drink was made, was being exported to other parts of Europe

The Cocoa beverage made from the powder became popular, first in Italy then France, the Netherlands, Germany and finally, in about 1520 it arrived in England with the first Chocolate House opening in London in 1657, with many others to follow. In the early 1700’s English colonists carried chocolate with them to England’s colonies in North America, which later became Canada and the United States, and are now the worlds largest consumers of chocolate.

Eating 40 to 50 grams a day of plain dark chocolate with a minimum cocoa content of 70% or more, can be beneficial to your health. Look for pure dark chocolate or dark chocolate with nuts, orange peel or other flavourings. Avoid anything with caramel, nougat or other fillings, which are just adding sugar and fat that can erase many of the benefits you get from eating the chocolate.

With all the known health benefits chocolate can provide for us it makes sense to include a small amount in our diet. Happy Easter …..eat some chocolate!

The good, the bad, and the brittle

Our bones. They keep us upright, they keep us tall. They help us walk, and they keep us strong. Without them, we’d be a blob and flop around like jelly. They give us shape and support, and help to protect our heart, lungs, brain and other organs. They team up with our muscles, and if we don’t take care of our bones they become weak, brittle and even break.

Along with cartilage the adult human skeletal system is typically compromised of 206 bones, and their strength is essential to whole body health and wellness. Considering that about 99% of our body’s calcium is stored in our bones and teeth, it makes good sense to keep our supply topped up daily. If our daily diet is low in calcium, bone is literally broken down to keep our blood calcium level normal--because calcium plays other critical roles in supporting our bodies’ vital functions such as maintaining our heartbeat and controlling our blood pressure.

Our body continually removes and replaces small amounts of calcium from our bones. If the body removes more calcium than it replaces, our bones will become weaker and have a greater chance of breaking. Because bones have their own “calcium bank account” it’s important we keep this account balanced. If too much calcium is “withdrawn” and not enough is “deposited” we run the risk of creating a calcium deficiency, which can lead to an increased risk of fractures, osteoporosis and other ailments.

There are many ways to get calcium in our daily diet and ensuring we’re getting enough, through diet and supplementation, is crucial in maintaining strong, healthy bones. Our diet should include the primary food sources of calcium—dark green leafy vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, kale and cabbage. Sardines, eggs, tofu and low-fat dairy products are also rich in calcium, which help support a healthy skeletal frame.

It’s also important we get regular exercise and sufficient sleep. Because bones are living tissue, weight-bearing physical activity causes new bone tissue to form, which makes bones stronger. Not only is this type of physical activity good for our bones, it also makes our muscles stronger. By pushing and tugging against each other, and gravity, both our bones and muscles benefit. Some examples of weight-bearing physical activities include: walking, running, dancing, aquafit, rebounding, stair climbing, hiking and weight lifting.

Considering calcium is the most abundant mineral in the human body we tend to think it’s only purpose is keeping our bones and teeth healthy. However, this mineral is also needed for the proper function of our heart, muscles and nerves. Recent studies are linking high-calcium diets to weight loss and are suggesting that a diet rich in calcium may even help lower and maintain blood pressure levels.

Recognizing the importance of calcium to our health, The AIM Companies™ formulated CalciAIM™ which provides highly absorbable calcium and other supporting nutrients which are crucial for proper skeletal function and overall wellness.

Carefully formulated to determine the most beneficial types of calcium, the most effective method of delivery, and a combination of nutrients to help achieve superior whole-body health, CalciAIM™ (along with a healthy diet and exercise) can help us have and maintain strong healthy bones. A combination of 3 types of calcium, magnesium, L-lysine, vitamins C & D, zinc, and copper, this unique powder drink mix delivery system provides excellent calcium absorption levels helping in the development and maintenance of our bones,cartilage, teeth and gums.

The good, the bad, and the brittle…what type of bones would you like?

If you’d like more information about CalciAIM™ please visit the AIM website at http://awealthofhealth.myaimstore.com where you can read more, download a data sheet or watch a video.

Healthy Choices Shouldn’t Be Difficult

Every time I hear the news it seems that one thing or another has been found to be either good or bad for us. One week the “experts” are telling us to cut back on or eliminate a particular food or drink as it can cause disease or health conditions (at least it did in lab animals), and the next week other “experts” are claiming that same food or drink is actually good for us. It can get downright confusing!

Because we need food to nourish our body and give us energy it’s important to have some sort of guideline and understanding as to which food and drink are good for us and which are not so good. Having a healthy diet is also important in reducing our risk of many of today’s chronic ailments.

Making healthy food choices is essential for maintaining good health and well-being, and an easy way to start is with Canada’s Food Guide (or the USDA MyPyriamid program for our friends to the south). Although I don’t agree with everything Health Canada dictates, I do believe the food guide is actually a good tool to use to see if we’re getting the right types and amounts of the foods we need. You can visit the Canada Food Guide website at:
http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/food-guide-aliment/index_e.html

Choosing foods that are high in fibre and low in fat can help to keep us healthy and fit. Lots of fresh veggies and fruit are a must in today’s diet and the fresher and organic we can get is best. The local farmers markets are starting up at this time of year so it’s a great way to shop for all your fresh food needs.

Frozen dinners, processed and pre-packaged foods are usually laden with chemicals, fats, excess salt and sugar. If possible, they should be avoided. However, due to our hectic schedules we do on occasion have to break down and have one as a meal. Because of the dioxins and other chemicals being discovered in the plastic used for packaged microwave food, it’s a good idea to avoid microwaving. Instead, cook the food in the oven (or toaster oven if you have one) and toss together a salad for added nutrition and fibre. Baby spinach and mesclun come conveniently pre-washed in bags. It’s an easy way to get some greens and by adding green peppers, celery, onions and tomatoes it really rounds out the nutrition.

It’s also a good idea to read labels to find out what is in the food we eat. If you would like to know what a lot of the chemicals and additives are, there is a multitude of websites and books available that explain what we are eating. You can Google ‘food additives’ for a huge directory on the essential information about what is really in the food we eat, which additives we should avoid, and which are downright unsafe. There are a lot of books on the subject as well. Check with your local library or at Amazon.

Another way to make an informed choice is to read the Nutrition Facts on the label. The Nutrition Facts table can help you make healthy choices for you and your family. The information is based on a specific amount of food, which you can compare to the amount you eat. It also shows the % Daily Value to see if a food has a little or alot of a specific nutrient. The table also shows how much fat, saturated fat, trans fat, sugar and sodium the product contains. Please keep in mind when reading these tables that the serving size may be significantly low. In other words, 50 ml or 1 teaspoon is not a lot of food but may contain high amounts of fats, sodium and/or sugar. You can read more about labelling practises in Canada by visiting: http://healthycanadians.ca/nutrition

It’s also important to maintain healthy habits. Keeping active, exercising and not smoking is healthy for your weight, heart and lungs and will keep you feeling young and energized. Adding extra supplements can also have a tremendous effect on your health and AIM has all the right ones to choose from.

Life is supposed to be a journey, not a destination, and by making the right choices we can have a really great ride. By spending a little time reading and educating ourselves, healthy choices shouldn’t be difficult.

If you’d like to learn about the AIM products, watch a video or download a datasheet visit My AIM Store website at http://awealthofhealth.myaimstore.com

No Recession In Network Marketing?

Every day we are hearing about job loses, business closings, downsizings, bankruptcies and foreclosers. Not to mention the increasing costs of just about everything it takes to survive these days. Rising gas prices, utility costs, food and shelter just to name a few. I like to point out that price increases have a ripple effect. The first guy has to increase his prices, then so does the next, and the next and the next. Funny thing is though, when the economic “storm” is over, the price of everything never seems to come back down. Funny how that works, isn’t it? But there is a way to help supplement your income to help pay for all the increased costs, and that way is through Network Marketing.

During tougher economic times, there is always a renewed awareness of the need to make more money. People are looking for new financial opportunities. An opportunity where they can start a business that doesn’t require a lot of capital, one that allows them to work at their own pace and offers rewards that can grow rapidly.

You may wonder that in these economic times people are not in the market for a new product, much less invest money in starting a business. They may think they need to keep thousands of dollars of merchandise on hand and go door-to-door, store-to-store, floor-to-floor ‘til there ain’t no more to sell, sell, sell. This is not the case anymore.

The Network Marketing industry is changing and there are newer, exciting and more effective methods available to build your business. It’s an exciting industry offering unlimited opportunities, and as sole owner of your company, you hold the key to the success level you choose. The harder you work, the greater the rewards. There is no such thing as “get rich quick”, and if you find a company that says you will……run! They are not the type of company you want to do business with. You want to be involved with a company who has a solid background and a proven track record. A company that offers a superior product line and a generous compensation plan.

Many people are opening up to new opportunities that will generate extra streams of income for them and their families and Network Marketing can help. You can work part-time and at your own pace, and you don’t need to give up your current job to become a success in the business. If you’re worried about your job security and financial future, Network Marketing can help take the stress of those uncertainties away. Now is the time to protect yourself from an uncertain future. Now is the time for Network Marketing.

No recession in Network Marketing? You bet there isn’t!

For more information on the AIM Income Opportunity and the Compensation Plan please visit My AIM Store website at http://awealthofhealth.myaimstore.com

As an aside, according to the March-April 2009 issue of Living Well, “for over 27 years AIM has been sending out thousands of commission cheques to AIM Members as compensation for their accomplishments. The commission figure is more than $562 million and climbing each month.”

Back To The Basics

During these tougher economic times, many of us are faced with decisions of what, and how, we need to cut back on in order to help pay for the rising costs of necessities such as food, clothing and shelter.

Talk shows such as Oprah, Dr. Phil and a host of others, are frequently discussing this current “economic crisis”, bringing in experts and other guests to help show us how to pay down our debt load, create a budget, and save money. Many of them have very helpful suggestions and tips, and just so long as we are all able to get our “egos” out of the way, many of us will weather this storm and come out shining. We may also discover we can live very well just getting back to some basics and common sense thinking. By changing a few habits and limiting spending on non-essential items, many of us will overcome these recent hurdles that have been placed in front of us.

One way for us to save money is by becoming more aware of our diet and what we eat. Due to the hectic lifestyles we have developed over the years, we have become too reliant on quick and easy packaged and processed foods. Just “pop them in the microwave” we’re told for a “quick and delicious” meal. Looks good and sounds great, right? Wrong. Not only are these quick foods expensive but they also lack a lot of the essential nutrients we need to maintain good health and wellness. And eating out at fast food restaurants regularly can not only put a huge load on our pocket book, but also a huge load on our health due to the absence of necessary nutrients we need to sustain life.

We can however eat very healthy without breaking the bank, by taking a few simple steps and getting back to some basics. By planning our meals ahead of time, sticking to our shopping list, brown bagging it for lunch (try a healthy sandwich on wholegrain bread and a few extra veggies), and having our family get involved at mealtime, we not only save money and get healthy but also encourage valuable family time together.

Perhaps it’s time to reconsider our approach to eating and get back to basics by looking at the nutritional benefits food provides. Our ancestors received their nutrition from whole food sources grown in chemical and pesticide free soil. Their vegetables, fruits, and grains were grown in nutrient rich soil containing minerals and enzymes. Although it’s a little more difficult today to find foods that are as nutrient dense as they used to be, it is still vitally important to get a complete balance of healthy foods the way nature intended, and one way is to supplement our diet with live whole-food nutritional products.

For over a quarter century, AIM has produced superior whole-food powder concentrates and nutrient-based health supplements to support a healthy lifestyle. An all-natural green barley juice concentrate, AIM BarleyLife® provides the nutrition we need to build a strong foundation for good health, vitality and wellness. While helping to provide the daily nutrition we need for good health, adding AIM BarleyLife® to our diet can be very cost effective and inexpensive. And that is, most definitely, one way for us to get back to the basics.

If you’d like more information about AIM BarleyLife® please visit My AIM Store website at http://awealthofhealth.myaimstore.com where you can read more, download a data sheet or watch a video.

What's Up Doc?

It is well known that carrots are a healthy food. We enjoy them in a variety of ways. They are often cut up and boiled or steamed, and are usually used in soups and stews. They also make a terrific snack for dipping. Their sweet taste and crunchy texture are a favourite among children and adults alike.

Although characteristically bright orange in colour, the carrot has a darker history then we may know. Dating back about 5000 years, the carrot’s wild ancestor was a tough fleshed, pungent root plant. They were once small, very thin, purple, red and even black taproots with an unpleasant bitterness to them. It is believed that the ancients used the root for medicinal purposes rather than eating them and some even discarded the root in favour of using the leaves and flowers for cooking.

It wasn’t until the 1500’s when Dutch agriculturalists used a mutant yellow carrot seed from North Africa to develop a carrot in the colour of the House of Orange, the Dutch Royal Family. They began experiments on improving the pale yellow varieties by cross breeding them with red varieties. These varieties contain beta-carotene, which produce the orange coloured roots. This is the wonderful sweet carrot we have come to know today.

Baby carrots appeared in the marketplace in the late 1980’s. There are two types of baby carrots. The “true” baby carrot, which are grown to the “baby stage”, and the “manufactured” baby carrots, which are the ones we see the most of at the grocery store. “Manufactured” baby carrots were invented by a California farmer by the name of Mike Yurosek as a way of making use of carrots that were too knobbly or twisted for sale as full-sized carrots. Unhappy at having to discard tonnes of carrots daily due to their imperfections, Yurosek looked for a way to reclaim what would otherwise be a waste product. By using an industrial green been cutter and an industrial potato peeler, he created the baby carrot.

Carrots are an excellent source of antioxidant compounds, which help protect against cancer and cardiovascular disease. They contain important nutrients such as alpha- and beta-carotene, vitamins B and C, plus calcium, iron and potassium.

Beta-carotene is one of about 600 similar compounds called carotenoids, which are present in many fruits and vegetables. Of all the carotenoids, beta-carotene is known for its efficient conversion to vitamin A. Plant sources that are rich in beta-carotene include potatoes, spinach, mango, cantaloupe, kale, and tomatoes, but the highest source of beta-carotene may be found in raw carrots, steamed carrots, and carrot juice.

The body changes beta-carotene found in these foods into vitamin A, which is important in strengthening the immune system and promoting healthy cell growth. Vitamin A also plays an important role in vision by helping to maintain the mucosal linings of the eyes, and is required for the transduction of light into nerve signals in the retina.

Carrot juice has also become very popular as a health drink either on its own or blended with fruits and other vegetables. Fresh fruit and vegetable juices are rich in enzymes that spark the hundreds of thousands of chemical reactions that occur throughout the body. Enzymes are essential for the digestion and absorption of food, for conversion of foodstuffs into body tissue, and for the production of energy at the cellular level.

AIM Just Carrots® is made from 100 percent natural carrot juice crystals with only the fiber removed. The powder is concentrated 25 times, which means that 25 pounds of raw carrots are used to make one pound of AIM Just Carrots® powder. The caplets are formed from the powder.

With its natural form of beta-carotene, AIM Just Carrots® is 100% natural with no added sugar that provides the nutrition we need to develop a strong foundation for good health.

To learn more about the benefits of juicing (without the inconvenience) using AIM Just Carrots® please visit My AIM Store website at http://awealthofhealth.myaimstore.com and click on the products link.

By providing our bodies with the nutrition it needs, through proper diet and supplementation, and supporting a healthy lifestyle, we can avoid having to say…What’s Up Doc?

The Rewards Of Network Marketing

Network Marketing has helped people of all genders, professions, experience, financial status and education achieve financial independence and build a lucrative business.

As a means of product distribution, network marketing has been around for a very long time. The late 1800’s saw many new companies employing door-to-door salesmen to distribute anything from books to bibles to remedies. Familiar names like Watkins were selling liniment in the 1860’s and the California Perfume Company (or Avon as we know it today) was founded in the late 1800’s.

In the early 1900’s, the Fuller Brush Company made its debut along with the Electrolux vacuum cleaner and Britannica encyclopedias. By the 1940’s a company called California Vitamins found they could increase their sales by having more sales representative sell a small amount of product each rather than the traditional method of having a few sales representative sell a lot of product. They also discovered their increasing customer base was made up of family and friends of their existing sales representatives. Later changing their name to Nutrilite Food Supplement Corporation, they created new sales representatives from their customer base and a commission system was developed. By rewarding both teams and individuals for their sales efforts, network marketing was born. In the late 1950’s, and based on the same network marketing concept, two inspiring entrepreneurs founded Amway (short for “the American Way”). Fifty years later this well established network marketing company is still going strong.

Also known as MuIti-Level Marketing or MLM, it is estimated there are more than 50 million people worldwide involved in network marketing, generating almost 100 billion in annual wholesale revenue. Recognized as one of the fastest growing industries in the world today, more and more companies are choosing to capitalize on this growing trend and sell their products directly to the consumer.

Network marketing provides people the opportunity to build a network of distributors, providing everyone the equal opportunity to help others and make money in the process. It is a marketing system that allows anyone to start from the bottom and move to the top by building their own business. And one of the greatest advantages of MLM’s is that it gives you the opportunity to enjoy making new friends and helping others while receiving a residual income.

Network marketing can be a very productive business providing you with a very fulfilling lifestyle. Billionaire John Paul Getty is quoted as saying, “I would rather have 1% of the efforts of a hundred people rather than 100% of my own effort.”

A good MLM program is the best business to get involved with and your own efforts are what make it happen. With minimal investment and an exceptional compensation plan, network marketing offers anyone the opportunity to build a successful business while helping others to do the same.

People helping people. That’s what it’s all about, and truly the real rewards of network marketing!

For more information on the AIM Income Opportunity and the Compensation Plan please visit My AIM Store website at http://awealthofhealth.myaimstore.com