Agave or Yacon?

Agave seems to becoming a main stream sugar source as it is showing up on the shelves of most health food stores including Whole Foods. Now we are hearing more and more about Yacon Syrup. In my raw food prep classes I have been getting a lot of questions about what exactly is agave and yacon and which is better? So briefly I will define each, then give basic information regarding each sugar. Then as I always say, you deduct the information for yourself and make the best decision for you and your family as to what "sweetener" is works for you.

As a side note, I prefer to use stevia extract, raw honey, dates and yacon syrup for my personal use. However, if I am preparing foods for others I will use half yacon and stevia and may complete the recipe with raw honey or agave. Each have their unique taste. Yacon is generally the safe glycemic choice, raw honey is VERY healing, agave is simply a sweetener, stevia an innocent herb and a date...well perfectly terrific as is!

Before we move on with the "details" a reminder to choose RAW sources as in the heating of processed versions much of the vitamins, minerals, enzymes and phytonutrients are destroyed. NOTE: Yacon and Agave are heated in processing so some raw foodist will argue they are truly not RAW and are "processed" unlike dates and raw honey!

I hope the following gathered research is helpful for you. We should always question processed and concentrated foods that are not found in nature, even if “raw”.

Here is your information.

YACON syrup is derived from the yacon plant, a tuber found in the Andean region of South America. The roots contain potassium and the antioxidant vitamins A, C and E.

Though packed with sweetness, the sugar in yacon is mainly in the form of fructooligosaccharides (FOS), which cannot be absorbed by the body. This means yacon is both naturally low-calorie and low in mono and disaccharides (less than 1 gram per serving of the sugars that rapidly elevate blood sugar levels). Yacon root syrup has little influence on the glucose tolerance curve and is dramatically less glycemic than honey, agave, or maple syrup.

Yacon syrup has the following properties and benefits:

Regulates friendly intestinal flora, especially improves the growth of bifidobacterium
Reduces constipation
Helps to reduce the risk of developing colon cancer
Improves calcium and magnesium absorption, helping to strengthen the bones
Improves vitamin absorption
Helps manage cholesterol, triglycerides, and fat metabolism in general
Boosts the immune system in a similar way to aloe vera
Contain glyconutrients
Ideal for low-calorie and weight-loss diets
Ideal for low-sugar diets
Ideal for cancer-fighting diets
Non-cariogenic (does not cause cavities)
Contains superfood-level antioxidants
Standardized to 30% FOS (fructo-oligosaccharides)
Rich in antioxidants
Helps reduce symptoms of blood sugar disorders (hypoglycemia, diabetes type 2, etc.)

AGAVE is best recognized as the plant from which tequila is made, it has also been used for thousands of years as an ingredient in food. Agave nectar (sometimes called agave syrup) is most often produced from the Blue Agaves that thrive in the volcanic soils of Southern Mexico. Agaves are large, spikey plants that resemble cactus or yuccas in both form and habitat, but they are actually succulents similar to the familiar Aloe Vera.

To make the agave nectar, sap is extracted from the pina, filtered, and heated at a low temperature, which breaks down the carbohydrates into sugars. Lighter and darker varieties of agave nectar are made from the same plants. Because of the low temperatures used in processing many varieties (under 118°F) raw foods enthusiasts generally regard agave nectar as a raw food. The lighter syrups undergo less heating and a more thorough filtration to produce a more mildly flavored product that is neutral enough to be used in many culinary applications. The darker syrups are filtered less, and the solids left in the syrup make for a stronger nectar with a flavor sometimes compared to maple syrup.

Here is the "question" people are raising about agave: Agave Syrup is advertised as “low glycemic” and marketed towards diabetics. It is true, that agave itself is low glycemic. We have to consider why agave syrup is “low glycemic.” It is due to the unusually high concentration of fructose (90%) compared to the small amount of glucose (10%). Nowhere in nature does this ratio of fructose to glucose occur naturally. Long-time raw foodist and Medical Doctor, Dr. Gabriel Cousens, M.D. says that agave nectar raises blood sugar just like any other sugar. Dr. Cousens wrote a book, "There Is a Cure for Diabetes".

Other “concentrated sweeteners” that are often seen in raw food recipes include:

1) Maple Syrup which is not raw and heat processed. If it is not organic, it may also contain formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals.
2) Sucanat or evaporated cane juice is pure dried sugar cane juice. Unfortunately this is processed at a temperature above 118 degrees and therefore can’t be considered raw.
3) Yacon Syrup is once again, a concentrated sweetener processed at a temperature of up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit.

MILK..Does it really do the body good?

I get so many questions regarding Milk and what to do about calcium if we choose to not consume dairy. Below is an article from Dr Mercola for you to review and draw your own conclusions. I grew up around a HUGE family of dairy farmers so you can imagine how my questioning dairy was met with huge opposition.

After my cancer experience and cleaning up my diet to one that works for me of a whole foods plant based, dairy/soy free, and enzyme raw rich foods, I have learned marketing is EVERYTHING! Fact is cancer thrives on mucous. All milk contains casein which is the number one ingredient in glue. Human breast milk is very low in casein for the needs of a human baby. A baby cow weighs about 100 pounds and drinks the milk from its mama to grow quickly to 800 to 1300 pounds. The casein in cows milk obviously is great big huge! Something to think about. If you are minding your health perhaps give the article a wee bit of time.

We eat food for the minerals…calcium is a mineral. Even the bible says we are dust of the earth. Take a look at this website and consider Blue Ocean Minerals….it is food….no contraindications….just benefits…I even put drops in my doggies water! http://www.spiritrepair.com/ or http://www.blueoceanminerals.com/

SOY? Well almost all soy/tofu these days in genetically modified and generates non beneficial elevated estrogen levels. For daily milk alternative, consider almond or rice milk. Yogurt? You can now find dairy/soy free coconut milk yogurt at whole foods.

Remember, a cow eats GRASS (greens) to make milk. GREENS are a powerful nutrient packed source of all minerals and calcium.

Here is your article:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/07/18/The-Milk-Myth-What-Your-Body-Really-Needs.aspx

Recpies For Natural Cleaning Products

After cleaning my house this weekend, after 3 hours I quickly began to notice I wasn't feeling the greatest and I just wanted to step outside and take long deep breaths to clear my head and lungs. I was even using environmentally "safe" products, wore gloves and minded my breath so I did not fill my lungs with the fumes. After I completed my work, I took a good walk outside for an hour, did some deep breathing, and began to feel better.

Then yesterday in a conversation with my Mom, her friend Janet and my sister Vicky, we stumbled upon the topic of cleaning products and health issues. Janet had spent over 10 years cleaning for a nursing home using heavy duty commercial cleaning products. We laughed as she said if you spilled it on your finger, it may just fry it off! However, what was a wee bit alarming was how one by one she began to see her colleagues fall prey to degenerative diseases while Janet herself is now suffering from fibromiligia. Our liver and kidneys can filter and clean our blood, but dose them with heavy toxic agents over a long period of time and they too get tired. Do you think there is a link to the consistent exposure to heavy duty toxic fumes? My answer is a firm YES!

As a result of the conversation, my sister shared with me in the following link some recipes from Clean Air Counts— http://www.cleanaircounts.org/, a nonprofit program sponsored by the City of Chicago and the EPA. Thanks Vic!

Also, in a handout from the organization last year, they offered some additional tips that you might find helpful and interesting too.

Reducing Smell of Vinegar (used in many of the attached recipes)
- Use apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar
- Add lemon juice or tea tree oil (which smells like mint)

Mold Inhibitor:
- Make a thick paste of Borax and water. Smear it on the moldy area.
- Let it dry overnight or longer. Sweep up the powder and rinse off the rest

Getting Rid of Poison Ivy
- Spray straight distilled vinegar on it.

Products you can buy in the store that have little or no VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
- Soft Scrub (WITHOUT bleach)
- Seventh Generation
- Murphy’s Oil Soap
- Earth Friendly Products
- Method (Target carries their products)
- Bon Ami
- Bio Keen

Read Labels and Avoid Products Made With:
- VOC-based solvents
- Benzene
- Toluene
- Xylene
- Trichloroethane
- Petroleum Distillates and Surfactants such as Nonylphenol Ethoxylate, Phenolic Compounds, Glycol Ethers (Ethylene Glycol & Butoxy Ethanol)
- Isopropyl Alcohol (although not as toxic)
- Chlorine Bleach or Sodium Hypochlorite: preferable substitute is sodium percarbonate
- Phosphates: no more than 0.5%
- EDTA and NTA: acids used to soften water and increase cleaning power

The Power of Love & Gratitude

Here is a compilation of thoughts from the "Hidden Messages in Water" Masaru Emoto. I recommend you take a look at this book and view the photos of crystals formed in water when exposed to words of love and then words of negativity. Everything in the world vibrates and we are composed of 70 percent water. The simple act of placing a "love and gratitude" label on your drinking container, or saying the words "love and gratitude" out loud or as a silent intention as you drink, or even eat your food, changes the make up and vibration of your nourishment and serves as an instrument of healing. The proof is in Emoto's book and photographs. Check it our for yourself and spread the idea far and wide.

"The most beautiful and delicate crystal that I had seen was formed by water being exposed to the words, "love and gratitude". It was as if the water had rejoiced and celebrated by creating a flower in bloom. It was so beautiful that it actually changed my life from that moment on. Water had taught me the delicacy of the human soul, and the impact that "love and gratitude" can have on the world. We all know that words have an enormous influence on the way we think and feel. Words are an expression of the soul.

The earth is searching. It wants to be beautiful. It wants to be the most beautiful it can be. We define the human being as water. I am quite certain that the water in the people who look at the photographs of crystals undergoes some form of change. I have found the most beautiful crystal of all. The one created by "love and gratitude" This is supposedly what all the world's religions are founded on. Water reaches from every individual cell to encompass the entire cosmos. The individual and society make up one enormous ocean. By adding our individual drops to this ocean, we participate in the formation of society."

Beautiful right? So if you would like to participate in a positive way to the shift of love in our world, begin with yourself. Your one drop of love in the waters of the collective consciousness will have a ripple effect.

In Love and Gratitude, Susie Sondag

Why Should You Care About Pesticides?

If you don't eat organically, or do not see a real reason "why" it is so important, let me present it to you this way. Think of the power of a tiny pill compared to your body weight and the impact that has on your physiology. I hate to use this example but let's use the birth control pill for an example. Tiny right? And the power in that pill to manipulate your hormones and female organs is pretty incredible.

Now the amount of pesticides used to keep the bugs under control is enough to wipe out the tiny micro organisms. So small it will not impact a humans, so they say. However, consuming conventional or non organic foods that are full of pesticides daily will build up in your body and take residence in your tissues and result in toxemia and a weakened immune system. A

The growing consensus among scientists is that small doses of pesticides and other chemicals can cause lasting damage to human health, especially during fetal development an early childhood. Scientist now know enough about the long-term consequences of ingesting these powerful chemicals to advise that we minimize our consumption of pesticides.

Here is a list of what they call the "Dirty Dozen" from the Environmental Working Group. Be sure to buy these organic at the very least. Check out http://www.foodnews.org/ for more information.

1. Peach
2. Apple
3. Bell Peppers
4. Celery
5. Nectarine
6. Strawberries
7. Cherries
8. Kale
9. Lettuce
10. Grapes
11. Carrot
12. Pear

The Dissolved Mystery

I am reading an old classic by Professor Arnold Ehret "The Mucusless Diet Healing System" a scientific method of eating your way to health published in 1953. It is a book I recommed every lay person to read regardless of the "diet dogma" you subscribe to. Professor Ehret comments, in the course of forty years you consume 42,000 meals. Is it not possible that they may have some effect on the human organism? Diet is the basis of blood formation and the quality of blood is the river of life for your cells. Professor Ehret taught through his common sense reasoning the importance of diet in the cause of disease, its prevention and treatment in a standard far higher than believed today in traditional health medical science.

Ask yourself, what is the quality of goods you are putting in your stomach that filters into your blood to bath your cells. Do you read the labels of the food you eat or what you feed your children. If you cannot pronounce it do you think your cells want it? How are the food colorings, preservatives, chemicals, artificial flavorings, etc serving your body? Where do they go? Why use your body as a filter and inevitably store it in the tissues and fat in your body. Such inorganic waste does not serve you and its accumulation can be dangerous. We get into auto pilot when grocery shopping grabbing the boxes and packages of processed food stuff because it is quick and easy and believe it must be safe or it would not be on the shelf.

The reality is we have an outstanding epidemic of disease in our world today. Sure people are living longer, and we have early detection to diagnoses disease. However, our medical society treats symptomatically versus addressing the root cause of the imbalance in the body. I am not against western medicine when it can cure. We need our emergency rooms and I have gratitude for our medical community. However, Mother Nature in all her simplicity and majesty can bring the body back to balance when you fuel our body with her organic whole and unprocessed foods. It may not be as quick as a pill, it takes time, but it does work.

Through personal experience, I went through chemo, radiation and heavy drug therapy. At the time it felt like the right path for me. I would choose differently now knowing what I know. Post treatments, I detoxed my body and truly felt awful for several years after removing the drug residue and "ick" out of my body. It was a roller coaster ride and much ofthe time I felt worse then how I felt going through treatments. However, I stuck to it and today experience a sense of vitality and energy beyond what I felt in college.

When people choose to shift their diet to one of whole organic foods free from heavy meat and dairy, they feel great for some time. Then the body hits a layer of mucus and waste and releases it into the blood stream to usher it out of the body and we feel AWFUL. Many at this point draw the conclusion that their new "diet" is not working because they feel worse. This is unfortunate because the new "diet" or way of eating is loosening up the old stored waste in the body which is what we want, it just isn't a good time while it is on its way out and we may feel like we have the flu with headaches and respiratory issues. When you go back to your standard diet or take a pill, you suddenly feel better again only because you have halted the internal cleansing. If you stick it out, you will feel better soon. Remember you have spent a lifetime of eating unbeneficial foods, so it will take sometime to work it out. You don't house clean or clean once a year, it is an ongoing job.

I would like to wrap this "food for thought" message with a segment from the Mucusless Diet System subtitled "A Dissolved Mystery" to encourage all those out there that are moving towards a clean diet and are not feeling the greatest at the moment.

"The reason doctors in general, as well as the layman, do not believe in a mucusless diet, is simply this: Whoever experiments without experience with this diet of healing, whether sick or well, loses his faith immediately, as soon as he has a crisis, becomes what he believes to be "seriously ill", that is to say, a day(s) on which a great amount of dissolved waste, debris, mucus and other poisons are taken back into the circulation, a period of great elimination. This produces at the same time a strong, almost irresistible craving for wrong foods and , strange as this may seem, the patient most strongly craves for the wrong food, which was once his favorite. This is explained by the fact that Nature is eliminating thru the circulation the waste of these foods, and it is when they are in the circulation the craving and desire is naturally produced. This then is why it is of extreme importance that every meal of a diet of healing and cleansing must leave the body as soon as possible."

So as they say, things need to get worse before they get better. Stick to your guns when things get rough on the healing path. I encourage you to pick up this tiny $4.95 book and see what Professor Ehret has to say. He is highly opinionated and passionate but the information he has for us is intriguing. Here is a link to purchase the book on line. http://www.arnoldehret.org/healthclub/fasting_aol.html

Nutrition Tips!

You probably already know that at Hip Goddess, our desire is to deliver, “Pure and natural foods in a simple way every day”. We're spreading our wings and now you can catch us around the Chicago land area teaching Hip people how to create simple, nutrient dense and scrumptious treats and meals that are alive and kicking! Our desire is to rejuvenate, energize and beautify your body all according to Mom Nature. We don’t expect you to go all raw with us, but do join one of our many classes forming around the Chicago area and learn just how simple, quick and delicious raw/living food can be.

Join us on line at www.hipgoddess.com under “The Club” or “Events” for upcoming “cooking” class dates, to join the “Hip Goddess Club”, get recipes, and to sign up for our monthly informative newsletter. Also, coming soon, our sassy mini living foods cookbook, “The Goddess in the Kitchen”.

Here is nutritional information for some of the ingredients we use in many of our Hip Goddess desserts! You can find amazing recipes on our website under "The Club" section. Be careful....they are too good to be true and will get your energy flowing!

In Joy!

1. RAW CHOCOLATE: Called Cacao pronounced “ca-cow”
-Magnesium: Cacao seems to be the #1 source of magnesium of any food. Magnesium is one of the great alkaline minerals. It helps to support the heart, brain, and digestive system (it fights constipation). Magnesium is also important for building strong bones...
-Antioxidants: Cacao contains the highest concentration of antioxidants of any food in the world. These antioxidants include polyphenols, catechins, and epicatechins. By weight, Cacao has more antioxidants than red wine, blueberries, acai, pomegranates, goji

2. HEMP SEEDS
-Today, research is being done that will prove that hemp seeds are one of the most nutritious foods in the world. Hemp seeds are packed with omega-6, omega-3, and vitamin E oils and are rich in Iron and chlorophyll as well.
-Hemp seeds are made up of 65 percent of the protein Edestin and are very easily digested and absorbed. Hemp seed is a perfect alternative source of protein for vegetarians because it contains all 20 amino acids (including the 8 essential aminos that adult bodies cannot produce). A great alternative

3. GOJI BERRIES
-Chinese herbalists have prescribed Goji Berries to restore energy and strength, increase stamina and longevity, boost sexual libido and enhance fertility (explaining its name – matrimony vine), strengthen the immune system, treat insomnia, improve eyesight (it's the world's richest food source of carotenoids), and aid in digestion. The polysaccharides in Goji Berries have been found to stimulate anti-inflammatory responses in the body and induce immune system...

4. AGAVE NECTAR
-Our Agave Nectar is extracted from the Blue Agave Tequilana Weber variety. This particular plant has the highest concentrations of minerals as well as a high content of Inulin. Inulin in known to increase calcium absorption and possibly magnesium absorption, while encouraging beneficial probiotic flora.

5. COCONUT FLOUR
-Coconut flour is fiber from the coconut meat after most of the oil has been extracted to make Virgin Coconut Oil.. Coconut flour is high in dietary fiber and protein, gluten free.

Read your label!

Here is some guidance for you when reading your labels in the grocery store. Just putting this out there as it is new education for some! It is a good idea to check the round stickers on your produce. There will be a 4 or 5 digit PLU number on it - when it's 5 digits and begins with the number 9, it's organic. Four digits means it's conventionally grown, and 5 digits beginning with the number 8 means it's been genetically modified! Let's NOT genetically modify ourselves! YIKES!

Seedless Fruit, Seedless Person!

I just have to reflect with you as a result of a conversation I had yesterday in the produce section. I squealed with joy upon seeing organic globe grapes WITH SEEDS! A woman heard me and obviously saw my joy and asked, "Why do you want the grapes WITH the seeds? Isn't it a pain and too much work to spit them out?" Her question sort of stopped the clock for me and I realized how far away from Mother Nature the general consumer has gone or is going.

My question to her was, "Do you want to be a seedless person?" A human without seeds is infertile right? Do you really want that? When our kitchens become filled with genetically altered and hybridized fruits and vegetables, then we too become genetically altered, seedless and infertile. Let's think about the advice of the saying we all know, "You are what you eat". It is my belief we are only as healthy and vibrant as the food we fuel our body. How about you?

Ponder this. If you stuck a seedless grape or any seedless fruit or vegetable in the ground, would it grow? NOPE! The best food we can eat is food that is whole, alive, full of enzymes, and with SEEDS! It is the original God given food that grows freely according to Mom Nature.

I can remember as a little girl eating grapes and hearing my Mom and Grandmother tell me, "Susie you should chew the seeds, they are good for you!" So I did and little did I know how good they really were for me. Grape seeds are known as a powerful antioxidant and full of bioflavonoids. Antioxidants help protect the body from premature aging, decay and disease. Antioxidants are needed to neutralize free radicals. Bioflavonoids have the remarkable ability to strengthen blood vessel walls. I don't know about you, but couldn't we all use some of that? Think about how much people pay for grape seed extract for their anti aging properties in top shelf skin care! And we are spitting the seeds out, or buying the seedless grapes. Hmmmmm...

So, take a peak a roo in your kitchen and take inventory. Do you see packaged and processed foods that are full of preservatives and chemicals. Ooops if that is the case, but no worries here! Just begin to replace your previous choices with whole foods that are organic when possible, not genetically modified or SEEDLESS! Let's not use our body as a filter or our beautiful rejuvenating cells as the pantry to store the toxins that the body cannot shake off and send on its way. If this is happening in your body, it probably feels like things such as migraine headaches, fatigue, bloated feelings, cholesterol issues, constipation. or finally a diagnosis of some sort of imbalance.

Our goal at Hip Goddess is to teach people how to use pure and natural foods in a simple way, everyday. Add in one new thing a day or each week, and delete something that is simply not the best ever and you'll be on your way!

Wanna learn some quick and easy food prep ideas using whole foods in their raw state? Then join us on Thursday November 6th from 7 -9pm at the Whole Foods on Ashland Avenue in Chicago! To register call 773-244-4200. The class is $20 and please, come hungry!

Also, we'll be at LuLuLemon on Halsted in Chicago this Saturday September 27th from noon to 2pm mixing up and sampling our over the top decadent RAW Goddess Brownies! Come see us and give your taste buds a serious treat while you benefit from some serious nutrition, IN A BROWNIE! Oh stop!

Four Tips to REGENERATION

These days, many are asking me for what I have learned over the years in my quest to regenerate and heal my body from cancer. There is much to be said about the mind body connection to proactively taking care of your health and for healing. One thing I did learn is we must BE OUR OWN LIGHT. Question everything and make it your own. Nobody knows your body better then you. One can get lost in all the opinions, protocols, strategies, and "proven" ways to heal. Everyone has an angle. Just educate yourself and make a decision that feels good to you, not because someone tells you it is the right way.

If you do choose to follow nature, have patience and trust. It may have taken you years to put yourself in a state of dis-ease and imbalance, so it may take you some time to get back into balance. Sure a pill can make it all better at the moment. However, there are usually other consequences that will be knocking at your door in the future as a result of the imbalances that are created from taking that pill. Just planting a seed of thought!

I generally offer guidance to focus on 4 simple things to keep yourself healthy and for regenerating your body temple. You asked so here they are!

4 TIPS TO REGENERATION

DIET

1. Eat Whole Foods. Do your best to eliminate packaged goods with chemicals and preservatives. Our body is 70% water. Organic whole unheated foods are rich in vitamins, minerals and organic water full of energy from the sun that our body needs to stay clean and juicy.
2. Eat Organic. Set your body free from filtering and storing pesticides and chemicals that WILL catch up to you at some point under the title of headaches, colitis, sore joints, bloating, cholesterol imbalances, or some sort of diagnosed disease.
3. Enzymes Enzymes are the catalyst of life-force in your body. They digest your food and are responsible for every metabolic activity in your body. Enzymes are the spark of life! You find them in raw foods and foods not heated above 118 degrees. You certainly can benefit from PLANT based enzyme supplementation taken before a cooked meal to help absorb nutrients and to give your body a break from doing all the work of digesting foods that have lost their enzymes in the cooking process.
4. Acid/Alkaline PH balance. It has been proven, cancer and disease thrives in an acidic environment. Your blood must be alkaline. Sugar, meat, dairy, alcohol, soda, coffee, most grain based foods, and negative based thoughts create an acidic ph balance in your blood. Fruits, vegetables, joy, forgiveness and gratitude are alkaline. Turning your diet to one of a heavy fruit/vegetable based meal will add water and oxygen to create an alkaline state in your blood. The result will be vitality, healing and regeneration. For complete protein or the raw goods of amino acids so your body can create the “protein” it needs, consume soaked raw nuts and seeds, avocado, coconut meat and all green leafy vegetables. Think of all the large and STRONG animals that eats nothing but grass and greens which are loaded with minerals and protein. As the saying goes, "When you are green inside, you are clean inside."

DETOXING

House clean your body temple with the change of every season. You will deep clean your house, open windows and scrub away. Honor your body in the same fashion allowing your organs to shake like a wet doggie, breath and shed the layers of stored mucous and undigested matter that is flowing in your blood from consumed preservatives, additives and chemicals. Our body is 70 percent water. Cooked foods are void of water and most Americans do not drink enough water to give your body and internal shower. There are MANY detox methods available, choose wisely. Consult or seek guidance from a trusted source who glows with health. It can be as simple as fasting for 2 to 3 days consuming nothing but vegetable and fruit juices and consider colon therapy. If you are not comfortable fasting, simply give your body a break from meat, fish, chicken and dairy for a few days, drink plenty of water and get some exercise!!

.

HYGIENE

In addition to diet hygiene is of utmost importance!

Our skin is our largest organ and everything we put on our skin enters our body 60 times faster then what we put in our mouth. Read labels and use botanically based, paraben and mineral oil free cosmetics, soaps and lotions that contain MINIMAL preservatives. Consider salt bathing, dry body brushing and using a sauna to give your cells an opportunity to clean out and breath!

EXERCISE

GET MOVING please! Your lymphatic system needs to be moved and given the opportunity to clean out! Living a sedentary lifestyle creates stagnation at the cellular level. Any debris and toxins that are in your body are just nestling in for a permanent residence if you don’t get your lymph flowing and moving out like a well run machine.

Consider this….we put gas in our car, change the oil, rotate the tires, get it washed and drive around with the windows down on a warm sunny day. Do the same for your body! Remember, you cannot trade this one in!