Is Tara Reid Too Skinny... Still?

Over the years we've seen American Pie actress Tara Reid's body in a bikini, but is she still just a tad bit too skinny to be healthy? Tara, 39 vacationed on the beaches of Mexico with a huge smile on her tanned face. Just check out some pictures from her Instagram

Tara Reid is just a big swingin' kid at 39

Oh goodness! Whale Shark fishing?

'Biggest Loser' Winner Lost Too Much Weight?

I don't know if you guys have seen this story floating around lately, but it seems to be attracting chatter among the weight loss community. 'Biggest Loser' winner Rachel Frederickson lost 155 pounds in 7 months -- from a heavy 260 to a super slim 105 all within 7 months. Did she lose too much weight with her height of 5'4"? Probably. Yes.

EXTRA TV:

Frederickson, 24, sat down with People magazine just days after the win, revealing she was on a 1,600-calorie diet and rigorous 6-hour per day work out regimen leading up to the final episode.

"Maybe I was a little too enthusiastic in my training to get to the finale," she said.

 When asked if she had an eating disorder, Rachel said, “I am very, very healthy.”

Her trainer, Dolvett Quince, admitted he was “shocked” by her appearance. "The first thing that went through my mind was, 'That's just too much,'" he told the mag.

An insider at In Touch has also revealed that Rachel used an infrared sauna, which is known for burning calories and boosting metabolism. 

“She came in almost every day for two-and-a-half weeks before the finale,” the source at Firm Body Evolution in LA told the mag. “You can burn up to 600 calories in a half-hour session, although everyone is different."

Previously, trainer Bob Harper, who did not work directly with Frederickson, said he was also shocked by her weight loss. Past winners have been supportive of Rachel, saying she probably did it for the $250,000 prize.

In my opinion, she did lose too much weight, but time will tell. If Rachel was a bit too zealous in winning the competition, she can still easily add 5-10 pounds by cutting down on all the infrared sauna appointments. If she gets up to 110+ she will be seen as more healthy at her height of 5'4". Even myself at 5'3.5" my lowest weight ever was 109lbs.

Either way, she accomplished something that many struggle with everyday, losing weight. Even that first pound might have felt like a world away but perhaps Rachel got super excited when she saw the major changes in her body. Either way, she definitely shouldn't lose any more weight, just maybe add a few pounds.

Fast Food Chains: Ban Azodicarbonamide From Bread!

So you still want to eat processed foods? Subway just announced the chemical Azodicarbonamide is being dropped from their breads after an expose by Food Babe. Now upon further investigation, the chemical is also found in other fast food chain breads, including the supermarket staple Wonder Bread. This is so disgusting because this same chemical is used in yoga mats and the bottom of our shoes!! And we are wondering why people are so sick and disease infested?!?!?! Azodicarbonamide is banned in Europe so why not in the beautiful United States of America? Americans unite, demand this cruelty to the human race to stop!

The Daily Mail:

Subway is not the only company found to have products containing a chemical used to make shoes and yoga mats. 

It has been revealed that Arby’s, Burger King, Chik-fil-A, Dunkin’Dounts, Jack in the Box, Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonald’s also use azodicarbonamide in rolls and baked goods – Subway announced this week it will drop the ingredient from its bread. 

MailOnline can further reveal that many popular store-bought baked goods, breads and toaster streudels also contain the potentially unhealthy chemical.

Eat fresh? YEAH RIGHT OK  Subway!!!!!!! Obviously eating the same chemical people use to do yoga positions on are OK to put in our mouth??!?! I won't be eating at Subway. Believe that!

Are you eating this banned ingredient?????

It's hazardous and banned around the world!!!!!! So how is it safe to eat? It's a very hazardous substance that's related to lung problems to workers exposed to it. AND WE ARE EATING IT.  You get fined and jailed in Singapore for using this!!!!! But it's legal here in the USA... yes the red white and blue!!!!

So do you eat yoga mat? 

 

What Blender Is Best For Smoothies?

So you're interested in making smoothies but you don't know what blender to buy? This can be a challenging, but with a little research we can be on our way to having Banana/strawberry/green smoothies for breakfast. Well let's take a look at some popular brands and see what these testers found.  In the above video we have the industrial strength Vitamix 5200 vs the Hamilton Beach kitchen blender. 

 

Personally I have a Hamilton Beach now (was  gift), but I want the Vitamix for the durability and power.

NutriBullet vs Vitamix Review

So how can we compare the NutriBullet against the Vitamix? In this super informative review  by John Kohler he demonstrates the pros and cons. The Nutribullet, really just a blender is priced at around $100+ with a year warranty while the Vitamix is $450+ with a 7 year warranty.

The USA made Vitamix is very powerful at 1380 watts with 37,000 rpm while the NutriBullet is only 600 watts with 10,000 rpm. Just s you know rpm is how fast it spins and is a time saver in the kitchen. In addition less blending = less oxidation. The NutriBullet has one speed while the Vitamix has variable/infinite speeds.

Here's a great Banana smoothie by Dan The Life Regenerator

Do Microwaves Destroy Nutrition?

My first taste into the world of microwave safety began back in 6th grade with my Home Economics teacher -- a quirky lady with wild hair like Ralphie's mother from  A Christmas Story.  She demonstrated in front of the class  that microwaves were perfectly save by sitting up close next to the device while running it on HIGH. She quipped:  "See... nothing happened. I'm still OK." But what really are the long term effects of microwaves? And do they really "zap" the nutrients out of our food?

 

There seems to be some debate on whether or not microwaves are harmful and if they actually diminish the nutrients in our food. According to Bob Barnett, a health journalist, if you cook your food right, the microwave is actually one of the best ways to retain the minerals and vitamins. Say what? So, if you use your microwave with a tiny amount of water to steam food, you’ll retain more nutritional value than with almost any other cooking method.

But what does registered dietician and certified food scientist Catherine Adams Hutt, RD, Ph.D, have to say about this?

“Whenever you cook food, you’ll have some loss of nutrients. The best cooking method for retaining nutrients is one that cooks quickly, exposes food to heat for the smallest amount of time and uses only a minimal amount of liquid."

For optimal success she added:  “When you cook food in a microwave, cover it tightly, creating an efficient steam environment.”
 
But be careful not to OVERCOOK because that will deplete the nutrients anyway like a zap machine.

So here's where it gets tricky. In this one study,  steamed broccoli cooked over the stove retained more of its cancer-fighting sulforaphane than broccoli microwaved. Also, another study showed that microwaved broccoli lost 97% of flavonoids, while only losing 11% steamed.

 But spinach seems to do the opposite. When boiled on the stove it lost 70% of its folic acid, but retained nearly most of its folic acid in the microwave cooked with a little water. And with bacon, cooking in the microwave created less nitrosamines -cancer-causing chemicals- than cooking in a griddle.
 
But overall as long as you use tightly covered microwave-safe containers with minimal water, you might even be able to enhance the nutritional value. For example, making the carotenoids in carrots and tomatoes more easily available to our bodies or allowing the biotin in eggs to be more digestible. And of course heat kills bad bacteria in food such as chicken. Nobody wants to eat raw chicken and get sick!

Amana Radarange microwave oven introduced in 1967

Now what does the Health Physics Society - a non-profit organization promoting radiation safety say about microwaves?

 "Microwaves are produced inside a microwave oven by an electron tube called a magnetron. The microwaves bounce back and forth within the interior until they are absorbed by food. Microwaves cause the water molecules in food to vibrate, producing heat that cooks the food-that's why foods high in water content, like fresh vegetables, can be cooked more quickly than other foods. The microwave energy is changed to heat as soon as it is absorbed by food."

 "Microwave cooking can be more energy efficient than conventional cooking because foods cook faster and the energy heats only the food, not the oven compartment. Microwave cooking does not reduce the nutritional value of foods any more than conventional cooking. In fact, foods cooked in a microwave oven may keep more of their vitamins and minerals because microwave ovens can cook more quickly and without added water."

"There is little cause for concern about excess microwaves leaking from ovens unless the door hinges, latch, or seals are damaged or if the oven was made before 1971. In FDA's experience, most ovens tested show little or no detectable microwave leakage."

Apparently, microwaves are a non-ionizing form of electromagnetic radiation with a frequency so low there isn't enough energy to damage the DNA within our cells. The computer screen you might be reading this on also is a form of non-ionizing radiation. Other examples include infrared food warming lamps, radios, and televisions.

 

 Hmmm, quite interesting indeed. In my opinion, eating as many raw fruits and vegetables is still the best bet. Everything in moderation! Also, if you are using the microwave to cook up a high fat processed meal such as a TV dinner that by itself isn't healthy. Maybe instead of blaming the microwave, we need to shape up our diets with colorful highly nutritious rainbow foods straight from Mother Nature's backyard into our bellies.



 Sources: [1]: Bob Barnett's article:  Do Microwaves Zap Nutrition? [2]:  Jane Lear's article: Everything You Know About Microwaves Is Wrong [3]: Health Physics Society's article by Kelly Classic: Microwave Ovens

Before and After Weight Loss With Juicing

Meet Emma Tolliday, a 37-year-old woman who finally achieved weight loss success with a juicing diet after over 20 years of yo-yo dieting. Emma, weighing at 294 pounds finally had enough and checked into a 7 day detox retreat. 

When Emma was 13 she began dieting after a school crush called her fat, but no fad diet ever kept the weight off permanently. Struggling with pre-diabetes and anxiety, Emma went to Spain in July 2012 with a friend to start her juice detox. Once there Tolliday made the transition from McDonalds, pizza, chocolate to juice and lost 14 pounds in that first week. In the next nine months she cut out dairy, caffeine, and sugar. She incorporated dinner meals such as steamed chicken and vegetables but stuck to the 2 juices a day habit. In total, Emma lost 126 pounds and loves her new lifestyle.

Emma revealed: "I had all this energy and felt better than I had in years. And the best bit was the juices were so filling I wasn’t hungry at all. When I lost a whole stone (14lbs) by the end of the week I knew that it actually worked. I got home and threw out all the junk food around the house and stocked my fridge full of fruit and veg. I bought a juicer and started juicing for meals."

Emma went from a size 26 to a size 12 and lost 126lbs.

Emma's Before Diet

Breakfast: banana and toast

Lunch: McDonalds veggie burger and chips

Snack: crisps

Dinner: pizza

Snack: chocolate

Emma's After Diet

Breakfast: super juice (apples, pineapple, celery, cucumber, spinach, wheatgrass)

Lunch: turbo juice (apples, pineapple, greens, broccoli, lime, carrots)

Dinner: detox juice (including apples, carrots, broccoli, spinach, beets, cucumber) OR steamed chicken and vegetables

Arnold Schwarzenegger Works At Gold's Gym

In an effort to promote fitness and health, action movie star and former bodybuilder Arnold Schwarzenegger dressed as a physical fitness instructor.  The former Governor of California put on a long dark wig and a moustache to play Howard in order to trick unsuspecting patrons at a Gold's Gym in Venice, CA. Some people recognize him, while others have no clue.

Arnold Schwarzenegger reveals the Secret to Success:   

Life's 6 Rules

 

1. Trust yourself
2. Break some rules, but not the law
3. Don't be afraid to fail
4. Ignore the naysayers
5. Work your butt off
6. Give something back

Eat Me! The 4 Principles for Health

Every day is certainly a new way to start fresh and begin a healthy eating plan. If anything it's a lifestyle change that should weave its way into becoming daily habit. Who doesn't want to feel their best and not regret what they ate? Nothing happens overnight. And in fact you didn't get to be the way you NOW are overnight, it took months and years to accumulate all the undigested foods, fats, carbs, etc that have attracted bacteria, yeast, parasites, and unwanted disease in your beautiful body.

In this Dan McDonald interview with Lou Corona, Lou goes into his story and what led him to the path of ultimate health and self-healing.. When Lou was 21 instead of living it up like your average twenty something year old. Instead he was on the edge of his death bed suffering from a tumor in the back of his bead,  severe acne, asthma, arthritis, and only went to the bathroom once every 3 weeks!!!! In six months Lou turned his life around -- 41 years later Lou is strong, healthy and more powerful then ever at the young age of 62.

Within 6 months Lou was able to reverse and make his horrible suffering go away after adopting the 4 principles:

1. Cellular Communication - every cell responds to how we think, feel, to what we do, our intentions, how we eat and drink, and what we do with our lives. THEY RESPOND CONSTANTLY - negatively or positively.  Realizing the power of communication and words and t begin to start thinking more positively with empowering thoughts and less disempowering thoughts and words. Learn to communicate better. Learn to listen. Learn to love and forgive. 
2. Cellular Environment - incorporates the elements, embracing the sun, breathing slow and deep, drinking good pure alkaline structured water, being grounded. 
3. Cellular Exercise - how do you stimulate the lymphatic system? Are you releasing/detoxing toxins/waste from the body regularly? Work that lymph system with hot/cold therapy, swimming, to stimulate and drain that lymph. People with excess weight ---> sluggish lymphatic system. Since we are so clogged up, getting that lymph moving is ideal. 
4. Cellular Nutrition/Food - how do you feed your body from the cellular perspective? We need to eat the food that we need and digest it properly. That includes being able to break it down completely. Most people are still cooking their food when they think its healthy and good for you. But every time you eat cooked food the body has to use more of its own enzymes to digest the food, even more than your body makes...... this is what causes the ENZYME DEPLETION to take effect. So in essence, people become enzyme deficient over time with cooked foods.

The goal is to master the art of digesting everything you eat.

 

So when your body becomes enzyme deficient, then you are no longer able to digest all your proteins, carbs, and fats to the micro level (micro-nutrients like amino acids, glucose, fatty acids). Unfortunately what you'll end up with is Partial Digestion................

Basically what this means is that some of your food gets digested while some does not. Anytime you have an accumulation of undigested protein/carbs/fats then end up putrefying/ferment in the body. This junk gets into the intestinal tract, blood, tissues, brain, organs, glands, etc. This accumulation attracts parasites, viruses, bacteria,yeast and causes inflammation.

Feel inspired today!

Get into the daily habit of making good food choices. It starts with that one fruit or vegetable..... apparently people that live the longest have a enzyme rich diet aka living foods.

Great Snack Idea: Oranges  

I been buying 4lb bags of Sunkist organic oranges and eating a few a day. It is great for killing tummy fat!

Eat organic! Try to buy as much organic fruits and vegetables as possible. Less harmful pesticides and toxins to worry about. Also, organic foods tend to taste better in general.

What are Alkaline foods? 

Foods that are alkaline are able to raise the the amount of oxygen that your blood takes in such as dark green leafy veggies, fruit such as watermelon, young coconut, herbs, spices, wheat grass, sprouts, etc. .Other foods derived from animals and processed foods are acidic, the opposite of alkaline.(Source)

Alkaline Foods : beet greens, pumpkin, spirulina, dandelions, sea vegetables, broccoli, watercress, alfalfa, radishes, celery, mustard greens, cabbage, collage greens, tomatoes, cucumber, chlorella, kohirabi, sprouts, wheat grass, spinach, dulce, carrot, lettuce, cauliflower, peppers, garlic, barley grass, kale, and more!

 

Herbs For Healthy and Happy Organs:

These health infographics are a great way to stay motivated. 

Power & Strength with Gorilla Milk

Are you looking to either achieve weight loss or weight gain while enjoying abundant energy,  strength and power? Either way no matter what  body type , we all need to absorb essential nutrients.

The answer is here.

For energy, muscle power, and strength drink Gorilla Milk! 

In this instructional video, "Enzyme Man" Lou Corona and Mineral Man  Dan McDonald team up to make Gorilla Milk. A powerful drink made with sprouted almond/coconut milk  and the accompanying green juice.

The Coconut/Almond milk portion:

• 1 cup almonds
• 1 cup coconut meat
• 3 cups coconut water (or with purified water)
• dashes of himalayan salt
• dashes of cinnamon
•  

The Green Juice Portion:

• 1 bunch of cilantro
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 1 bunch celery
• 1 bunch black kale (or other kales)
• 1 apple
• 1 cucumber

Lou Corona and Dan in The Supermarket Video

Wow. Can you see the glow radiating from Lou Corona's skin at the young age of 62? Raw living food smaster Lou and YouTube star Dan McDonald scan the produce section of Mother's Market

Reiki Me (Miley Cyrus - Wrecking Ball Parody)

Ahh! Megan Elizabeth did such a great job on this Miley Cyrus parody of Wrecking Ball! really!! Megan and her reiki boy make magic in this Reiki Me music video! We just featured Megan making s zucchini pad thai.

  

This is better than the original song! More postive.

Bringing Sexy Back To Fruits & Veggies

I always need constant motivation and with Dan McDonald's juicing videos, I get inspired to make better food choices more consistently. For example, if you buy a bunch of bananas at the market and then end up letting them sit on the kitchen table to rot, while you munch on canned foods from the pantry -- you need to step it up and eat the living foods readily available to you on a daily basis.

Making that small adjustment today will lead you to the path of true health and happiness.

 

Be thankful. Be grateful.

(Dan the Man - The Life Regenerator)

Another excellent how to juice video:  Real V8 Juice - Living For Health Style

100% Carrot - Protein Vanilla Chai Tea

I just poured myself a nice big glass of 100% carrot juice by Bolthouse Farms. At the moment, buying these supermarket juices is steering me into the daily home juicing habit. According to the 32 fl. oz (1 qt) bottle there's 24 1/2 carrots equating to 8 servings of vegetables per bottle. The ingredients is simply listed as carrot juice.

 

 

Bolthhouse Farms 100% Carrot 

Calories per 8 oz serving: 70

• total fat  0g
• sodium 170 mg
• potassium 540mg
• total carbohydrate 14g
• dietary fiber 1g
• sugars 13g
• protein 1g

Carrot Juice: Vitamin A for eyes and skin & Potassium for proper cell function

I really also like their Vanilla Chai Tea protein tea & soy drink -- 9 grams of protein per 8 fl. oz serving.  It contains  30 per cent daily value of calcium, vitamin C, iron, Vitamin B6, vitamin B12, zinc, and magnesium What I have been doing to my hot teas lately is putting a little bit of this vanilla protein chai tea in with a large cup of spiced chai tea. It's an awesome way to keep your sugar down and great for a boost in energy with the power of tea!

 

Bolthhouse Farms Vanilla Chai Tea 

Calories per 8 oz serving: 180

• total fat  4g
• sodium 70 mg
• potassium 15mg
• total carbohydrate 27g
• dietary fiber 1g
• sugars 26g
• protein 9g

Juice / Protein Drink Line Up

I will make future posts on Amazing Mango, Green Goodness, Chocolate Protein Plus and Sambazon Acai..

I Love Avocados

Lately, I been eating more avocados than usual. The benefits are too amazing to ignore. I have been putting a half to a whole avocado into my daily salad. And I have to say -- I love the taste of it in my spring mix/spinach salad along with marinated mushrooms, basil, cilantro,  tomatoes, and olives (as pictured).

 

According to wikipedia, avocado is a tree native to Central America and Mexico, classified in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. Avocado aka alligator pear also refers to the fruit, botanically a large berry that contains a single seed. This amazing fruit/berry is packed with healthy monounsaturated fat and vitamin E. This delicious fruit is packed with blood pressure reducing nutrients magnesium and potassium among almost 20 nutrients total. Also, forget the mayo and butter as a spread -- Avocado is nature's butter! Make that choice to incorporate avocado into your daily diet and reap the benefit's like nobody's business.

In a recent study conducted by the Hass Avocado Board, researchers discovered that study participants who added 1/2 of a fresh avocado to their lunch reported a significantly decreased desire to eat by 40% over a three hour period and 20% five hours later -- compared to a regular lunch meal without avocado. Not only this, the group also reported an elevated feeling of hunger satisfaction by 26% during the three hours following the meal.

What do I really love about Avocados ..... you can make Guacamole !!!!!

I always make sure to squeeze lemon or lime juice on my avocado once I cut it open to prevent the beautiful yellow/green insides from turning a yucky oxidized brown... and to keep it looking  and tasting fresh.

Other nutrients in avocados include: fiber, folate, vitamin B-6, vitamin C, vitamin K, and lutein.

Nutrients/Vitamins of a 1/5 Medium Avocado

(via CaliforniaAvocado.com)

How To Tell If An Avocado Is Rotten 
 

Never Buy Anther Rotten Avocado Tips (LINK)

Vegan Recipe - Zucchini Pad Thai With Citrus Ginger Dressing

In this vegan recipe video, Megan Elizabeth shows us how to make zucchini pad thai with citrus ginger dressing. OMG! Delish. Megan recommends the Paderno World Cuisine tri-blade plastic spiral vegetable slicer to make those pasta like zucchini sprirals. So what are the ingredients? Don't worry... they are very simple.... we have the beautiful Megan Elizabeth to the quick rescue!!!!

Megan Elizabeth: This recipe is fancy, fun and delicious! I've experimented and created the perfect dressing of fresh herbs and citrus to top tender zucchini noodles and carrots. HEALTHY raw food does not have to lack in flavor. (YouTube recipe link)

Ingredients (then go here for HOW TO MAKE THIS video)

Dressing:
1/2 cup of fresh OJ
1/3 cup fresh coconut meat
1/2 cup cilantro
1/3 cup chopped scallions
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 Tbsp raw tahini
2-3 leaves of fresh sage
1 quarter sized slice of ginger

Noodles:
4 cup spiral zucchini
1/2 cup spiraled or shredded carrot
1/3 red pepper sliced very thin

Place on a bed of green and garnish with sprouts (Source)

 Zucchini Pad Thai Recipe Video Instructions with Megan!

 

Supermarket Scores

Good day everyone. I hope the sun is shining your way providing a joyous daily dose of vitamin D. Let's get ourselves to the highest level of spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical regeneration. Shine today! 

Now, on to the living foods.

They say health starts with what you buy in the supermarket. What does your grocery shopping cart look like? Do you have too many processed foods clogging your arteries and not enough fresh veggies and fruits?

 I barely  leave the produce section avoiding most of the shelved aisles. The produce guy at my local grocery store knows it too! He let me know a new order of organic oranges and grapes were en route!  Because I too am learning, I still make mistakes. I buy as much organic as I can. In my latest food score run I bought:

• organic avocados
• organic bananas
• organic mushrooms
• organic tomatoes
• organic spinach/spring mix 
• organic oranges
• organic lemons
• organic basil 

Now, I just started buying Bolthouse Farms assorted juices and protein drinks to make sure I'm getting in enough vitamins, minerals, and especially vitamin B12.  Their Vanilla Chai Tea tastes great and I think it beats cereal and milk! I do have a juicer, but it's been hard getting on that kick.

 I also want to limit fruit juice since there isn't much fiber so I balance it out with whole raw foods, like eating an orange for the fiber as well. It fills you up and doesn't leave your belly full of sugar. I also tried their other juices and placed them all in a section of my fridge. I call it "juice bar" and mix the juices up in a large cup(with a neon straw) or thermos. Although the juices are not organic, they are GMO free and I also sometimes pick up the organic Sambazon Acai juices for that rainforest antioxidant berry kick! I love those acai juices so much!!

Unfortunately I am unable to buy organic all the time and I still eat cooked foods but my goal is to eat as much RAW food as possible. When I can do is eat in moderation and incorporate better eating habits daily. I also love getting marinated mushrooms, capers, and olives at the olive bar in my market. I do this so I don't add salad dressing and it helps me eat all the greens during my lunch or dinner meal.

People wake up! Let's eat healthy. Demand organic. More Fruits and Vegetables.

U.S.A Fails To MakeTop 20 Healthiest In The World List (article link)

Regenerate Your Life Today

If you haven't heard of Dan McDonald aka liferegenerator on YouTube, get comfortable with a smoothie, juice or salad and enter the world of self-healing NOW. (Click here to go to his channel)

In this video posted 4 years ago Dan made a delicious healthy juice out of fresh vegetables and fruits -- shirtless and outside his RV in the beauty and abundance of nature.  Dan juiced celery, pears, cucumber, cilantro, and coconut to make a LIVING GREEN DRINK. YES!!! Fruits and vegetables are fun!!! And the oxygen boosts the blood and gives color to the skin... natural makeup from within people!!! If you're a man or woman -- doesn't matter -- we all want to look/feel our best and radiaite a glow from within. This is the ticket!!!!

Make Me Beautiful with Fruits and Vegetables

This is the man that inspired me to start juicing. (Dan McDonald)

Now a few years later Dan the Man continues to spread the message of eating fresh fruits & vegetables with juicing, salads, and  raw meals.en route for the ultimate happy/healthy life.

And now in mid January 2014 the Life Regenerator is still at it! Fruits are still fun!!!!