Archive for February, 2010
Our Sugar Addiction: Eye-Opening Videos & Articles!
You may see them on your way to work. They could be behind you in line at the grocery store. They could be your neighbors, your friends, or your family members. You may even be one of them. Sugar addicts are everywhere.
Most of us are unaware of the addictive nature of sugar and how it affects the brain. But, the trademarks of addiction, such as craving and withdrawal, are certainly present. It may be a familiar story to you: You start your day feeling energetic and optimistic; but, by mid-afternoon or early evening you feel tired, cranky, or even depressed. Accompanying these negative feelings is a craving for chocolate, cookies, soda…anything sweet; and often the craving is too strong to ignore.
This is a classic obstruction to any nutritional or weight loss plan, and its chains of oppression are found in the brain. Your brain is designed to release certain chemicals that make you feel good, like dopamine and serotonin. Ingesting sugar causes your brain to release these chemicals in a reaction similar to other addictive drugs. You get that short-lived ‘sugar-high’ and then the accompanying crash. The more sugar you have on a daily basis, the less your brain releases these chemicals on its own, hence the cravings.
The addictive power of sugar leads to many health issues. Side effects are obesity, diabetes, heart disease, poor dental health, and disturbances in brain function. In fact, the sugar found in just having one soda per day makes adults 27% more likely, and children 60% more likely, to be overweight. It’s no wonder that the advice of physicians, nutritionists, dentists, and personal trainers as to one of the best things you can do for your health is to give up refined sugar.
But, unfortunately, the odds are stacked against you not only due to the addictive nature of this toxic substance, but because the advertising machine is overwhelming. According to leading expert Dr. Mercola:
“It wasn’t until earlier this year that I realized the food industry actually outspends the drug industry in seeking to brainwash you, and manipulate the truth so you will increase their profits, usually at the expense of your long-term health.
The fact is that the food industry spends about $40 billion a year on advertising, brainwashing you to believe that junk food is somehow good for you and your kids. And the beverage industry is part of that pack.”
Here are a few links to some powerful videos outlining the many dangers in consuming this highly addictive substance.
Soft Drinks Linked to Pancreatic Cancer Risk: Click Here
Chinese men and women living in Singapore who drank two or more soft drinks per week were 87 percent more likely to develop pancreatic cancer after the researchers adjusted for factors such as smoking, according to the report published Feb. 8 in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
ABC News on the damaging effect of sugar. Get Rid of Your Sweet Tooth: Click Here
Tips for beating your addiction to sugar.
Soda makes you fat: Click Here
Adults who drink at least one soda or sugar-sweetened energy drink a day are 27 percent more likely to be overweight or obese. For children, the risk of obesity soars 60 percent with each daily serving of soda or sugary beverage.
It’s time fruit juice loses its wholesome image, some experts say: Click Here
Compared with soda, juice carries more calories and as much sugar. There’s also evidence that high consumption increases the risk of obesity, especially among kids.
Are Sports Drinks Junk Food? Click Here
Public health advocates are pushing for a ban on the sale of sports drinks and flavored waters in schools, warning that drinks such as Gatorade and Powerade contain as much as two-thirds the sugar of sodas, and more than three times the sodium.
The Special Dangers of Sugar to Women Over 40. Click Here Now
Incredibly critical revelations about the special dangers of sugar to women over 40. If you are a woman over 40, or have a mom who is, THIS IS A MUST SEE. (please share the video with all your friends).
How Much Sugar is Really in that beverage you’re drinking? Click Here Now
A label can tell you there are 39 grams of sugar in your soda, but what does that much sugar look like?
At Yoli, we believe that the answer to this insidious problem that affects us all is to offer a completely natural beverage complete devoid of all sugar. You can do your own comparison of Yoli products to the many fruit juices and sports drinks promoted as ‘healthy.’ Just checking out the ingredients label for sugar content should serve as a buyer’s beware for the other products on the market.
Yoli products give you the all-natural sweetness you crave without the harmful effects of sugar and artificial sweeteners. Yoli can help you break free of that sugar addiction once and for all. And, the only side effects of Yoli are looking and feeling better than ever before.
Yoli is the answer. No sugar or artificial sweeteners. No harmful preservatives. No chemical fillers. No pasteurization (which kills the nutrients). No artificial anything. All of the good and none of the bad. Click here for more info!
(Repost from Yoli’s Blog)
The “Wild Self” Quest….find out what you really want in life!
Life moves at a frenetic pace living in a big city and often we forget to check in beyond the task list to the deeper level of ourselves. Even if we take care of our health and well-being, sometimes these too become another check on the massively growing list. One thing that I have learned is that we will never get it all done. So in knowing that we are joyously incomplete, it’s important to get out of our habitual routine and shake it up a bit. So we need to ask ourselves, “Who is beneath the mound of paperwork and what do we want?”. We need to remember that it’s healthy to shed things that aren’t working and create space for change, movement and growth.
Last month in attending the Yoga Journal conference, I was blessed to have created an opening in my life through an amazing meditation course I attended. I was really flying high on my connection with Source and my needs and desires were resonating at a high frequency. My main thoughts were, “How am I going to get what I want?” and “What does this next phase look like?”. So it’s no coincidence that I met the amazing Dr. Gino Dante Borges at the bottom of the staircase ready to guide me through these deep bubbling questions I had set in motion.
Our eyes met in that lovely way that people’s do when you know your energies are supposed to match up for some creation. We exchanged a few words and he told me that he takes “Seekers” on outdoor quests to discover their “Wild-Self” by reconnecting to nature. It didn’t take me more than 1 second to hand him my card, ask for his information, check out his website and set up an appointment to go on my own “Wild-Self” Quest.
I love Nature. I love the outdoors. I had forgotten at some level that taking walks and hikes and strolls outside were what I used to do to clear my head and connect and bond with myself, nature and spirit. Although I am a practicing Yogi and teacher, I still at some level was beginning to make my practice a routine, a job and a daily task list. Forgetting sometimes why I began this practice in the first place.
The answer to the primal question “What is our purpose?” lies within us, but we need to be open to see and hear it. Being in nature allows you to see the expansiveness of life and the collective Consciousness. You realize that each of us is a very small element in a huge pulsing energetic life force, but that every living being from worm to human plays a very integral role.
Dr. Gino is brilliant at providing a platform by which we can connect to Nature rather quickly through the use of our senses of touch, smell and sound to become fully present in the Now. No talking allowed! It’s about clearing the mind and moving in meditation and connecting with your heart center. After you become present, you connect with Dr. Gino through insightful questioning, symbolic expression and language reprogramming.
Dr. Gino enabled me to identify societal pressures, my fears and what was real and unreal. He allowed me the space to hear my intuition more clearly and connect with my Wild-Self. I became aware of what really mattered to me Now and what was holding me back. As depicted above, when asked to symbolically translate what transition looked like for me, I grabbed a bunch of jagged leaves. It’s no wonder why I hadn’t transitioned when it looked like barbed-wire to me.
I was able to identify my next steps and take a huge lunge beyond my comfort zone to make some really big decisions in my life that had been circling my head for over 2 years. That was just it! They were circling in my head.
I think for me, it was important to realize that there are guides placed on this planet like Dr. Gino all around us to help us through transition. We just need to be open to the possibility and to realize that sometimes we need help in unearthing what lies within.
I realized also that it was healthy for me to go outside of my friend and family circle for help. We all know that those closest to us always want the best for us, but they may have their own biased opinions and those opinions may keep you where you are because they are afraid of losing you or fear change as well.
I found that my Ego has been in the driver’s seat and my desires have become buried beneath task lists, fears, finances and societal pressures. I realized that true Freedom is about listening to other realms inform us about who we are, why were are here and what we are supposed to do in this life. It’s about creating your life, moving with its ebbs and flows, maintaining ease, and being present for what comes up so we can live powerfully in the Now.
I am forever grateful to have had the experience of the Wild-Self quests with Dr. Gino and hope to spread the love of his work to many more people on this planet.
Dr. Gino Dante’s blog about my Wild Self Quest
Double Your Pleasure – Partner Dance & Yoga!
February is Love Month!
*****Special Discounts for Couples Through February 28th!****
Grab a friend or your significant other….it doesn’t matter, it’s all about sharing love, music, fun and positive energy! Share your love and spirit.
Breath, movement, and touch is a powerful way to connect with another being, especially in a beautiful space with great music!
Dance and yoga master instructors Val Cunningham and Nicole Doherty are joining forces to offer a unique opportunity to work with your partner one-on-one.
At the Dance Loft, begin with Nicole’s 45 min energizing Partner Yoga class to warm up the muscles, free the mind and align your body in preparation for Val’s 45 min fun and exhilarating dance class in partner movement.
“It is through our intimate relationships with others that we come to know and love ourselves.”
Email Us:
nic@nicolepresents.com
http://wellness.nicolepresents.com
Val@valcunningham.com
http://valcunningham.com
Partner Yoga: A Valentine’s Day treat that’s double the fun!
Valentine’s Day is an opportunity to celebrate love. Not just love for your partner, but your friends, family, your Self and love for all beings everywhere. It’s an opportunity to connect to the Universal consciousness of Love!
Although Yoga is often practiced to draw one inward toward Self discovery, there are many opportunities to get deeper into your Yoga practice through adjustments by another person and Partner Yoga. When practicing with another person, you can get further into a connection with Self while also deepening your connection on an emotional level through the exchange of energy and breath.
You may find that with a partner you are able to sink deeper, stretch further or work an area that you are unable to reach on your own. It’s wonderful to feel the support of another, to share the communal breath and to gaze into a partner’s eyes while opening your heart to the Universe.
So share your love of Yoga…its double the fun! For more info on Partner Yoga, visit FitSugar.com.
High fructose corn syrup – mercury dangers & links to obesity
We’ve all heard the warning that soda is bad for you, but most people don’t know what exactly is bad about it. For starters, sodas contain a very high level of sugar. Drinking one can of soda is like eating 13 tablespoons of sugar – and not just regular sugarcane sugar, but high fructose corn syrup (a common sweetener made from corn used in many processed foods). Just because its made from corn, doesn’t mean its healthy as you will find in most studies.
The association between high-fructose corn syrup and obesity may reflect that we consume so much of it. Nearly all sugars add empty calories to our diets. And because high fructose corn syrup is the main sweetener in most soft drinks and a common one in other foods (including breakfast cereals, salad dressings, cheese spreads, yogurts, jams, and peanut butter, among others), many people may just consume more of it then other sugars.
A new study of rats by researchers from the University of Florida suggests that a diet high in fructose may lead the body to develop a resistance to a protein called leptin, which helps control appetite. According to the Washington Post’s recent article, studies have also found mercury in a third of the samples tested. “Mercury is toxic in all its forms. Given how much high-fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the [U.S. Food and Drug Administration] to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply,” the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy’s Dr. David Wallinga, a co-author of both studies, said in a prepared statement.
We do know that Americans can stand to cut back on sugar. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the average American should consume no more than about 40 grams of added sugars a day–added sugars don’t include those that occur naturally in fruit and other foods. Just one can of soda is close to this amount. The average American consumed more than three times that in 2000. People who want to limit their overall sugar intake would be wise to cut down on products that have added sugars, including high-fructose corn syrup, listed among the first several ingredients.
There is a ton of information out there about this and the dangers of HFCS. Start checking your labels and see what you are putting in your body!
Consumer Report Article
Washington Post Article
Empowered Doctor
