Each year millions of Americans face the reality of living with a mental health condition. However, mental illness affects everyone, directly or indirectly, through family, friends or coworkers. Despite mental illnesses’ reach and prevalence, stigma and misunderstanding are also, unfortunately, widespread. At Food Matters TV we are raising awareness of mental health week by releasing the film ‘Crazy Wise.
What can we learn from those who have turned their psychological crisis into a positive transformative experience?
You’ll never look at the humble banana the same way again after discovering the many health benefits and reasons to add them to your diet.
They can help to combat depression, make you smarter, cure hangovers, relieve morning sickness, protect against kidney cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, and blindness. Plus they can even cure the itch of a mosquito bite and put a great shine on your shoes.
Here are 25 reasons to eat bananas you might have never considered before.
Almost 60 million Americans spend their nights in fitful slumber; tossing and turning, wrestling with the need to get to sleep and yet torturously being unable to do so.
We all know those nights when no amount of counting sheep will work and each hour stretches by with increasing frustration.
Yet there are many options to help you sleep better, ranging from meditation to aromatherapy. But what if the solution was actually in your gut, of all places?
This rehydrates your body, revs up your digestive system, and gets things flowing. You may notice positive changes like clearer skin and better digestion. Bonus points if you add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice or a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar.
While fasting has been part of human culture for thousands of years, only recently have we begun to investigate the therapeutic benefits of the practice. Interestingly, modern science has found a variety of verifiable positive effects fasting that has on human health.
What Is Water Fasting?
Water fasting, also known as a water cleanse, is a type of fasting in which you consume only water for a set period of time. Many cleansing diets are referred to as fasts, but in water fasting, you take in zero calories. It’s distinct from caloric restriction in which a person’s daily caloric intake is reduced by 20–40%.
Importance of Healthy Fats for Nutrient Absorption
Since the 1960s, Americans have been obsessed with cutting all fat out of our diets. In that same time frame, rates of obesity and diabetes skyrocketed across all socioeconomic groups. How is it possible that reducing fat intake coincided with a 300% rise in obesity and a 700% increase in diabetes?[1, 2] It’s almost as if we’ve been completely wrong about fat and its role in nutrition this entire time.
Why Low-Fat Diets Fail
Many readers have no doubt tried a low-fat diet and experienced mixed results. Maybe it didn’t work at all. Maybe you lost a couple of pounds, only to have them quickly return—with a few unwelcome friends. The diet may have even made you sick. Most people eventually slip and abandon the diet, but even when followed obsessively, low-fat diets don’t work.
It’s just as concerning as it sounds. Scientists have introduced into plants and animals, new, scientifically manipulated or chosen, genetic material, to advance and suppress traits as they see fit. The products are genetically modified foods.
From as early as the 70’s, scientists have been genetically manipulating crops. Scientists used these soil bugs along with other gene-implantation technologies to develop numerous new types of crops.
These crops are steadily increasing in our and other countries as well. Some countries are not so completely receptive. The genetic materials are selected to promote resistance to pesticides, herbicides and insecticides; higher nutrient levels; larger produce; and tolerance to extreme weather conditions.
There’s a reason that people are searching for, buying and growing organic produce. It’s a matter of good health and supporting a clean and GREEN environment. People are finally learning the truth, that genetically modified foods are dangerous.
These genetically modified foods that chemists are “designing” are not tested over any significant length of time. They are introduced into our food supply, in our stores and often time with no disclosure requirements for labeling. Generally, they’re not pulled from the shelves until they have done significant damage to consumers’ health, and usually on a large scale.
In today’s world of deadlines, demands and a general desperation to create more time in our days in order to get more done, it can be very easy to believe that we feel overwhelmed because we’re just so busy. Yet there is much we can do to create more of a sense of calmness within us.
We understand that for physical fitness, we need to train our body – we can’t just get up one day and run a marathon. The same is true for our mind – it requires a daily practice of ‘training’. Here are two great ways to build a happy mind.
Avocados are native to Central and South America and have been cultivated since approximately 8,000 B.C. By the mid-1800s, they had been introduced to Asia and Jamaica, but they did not arrive in the United States until the early 20th century. California and Florida produce most of the avocados grown in the USA with other commercial producers existing in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, and the Dominican Republic.
Guacamole is a popular way to enjoy avocados and this delicious food contain other ingredients besides avocados that offer some surprising health benefits.
Mitochondria power every cell in your body and are very susceptible to the surrounding environment. By controlling the environment you can harness the power of your mitochondria to give yourself more energy, brain function and natural anti-aging benefits!
What are mitochondria?
Responsible for more than 90 percent of cellular energy, your mitochondria are organelles that power every cell in your body and are necessary for the body to sustain life and support growth. There are more mitochondria in your body than there are cells and bacteria! These little ‘powerhouses’ dictate how you feel all the time and are the bedrock of a strong body and a powerful mind.
If you consume soy on a regular basis, you may want to take a look at this new study coming out of Harvard School of Medical Health and published in Human Reproduction[1].
According to researchers, men who regularly consume foods containing soy, soy milk, and soy isoflavones are more likely to suffer from a lower sperm count. Obese and overweight men are at the highest risks of decreased sperm concentration, as a result of soy consumption.
Constipation is a taboo subject for many people. If you’re too embarrassed to discuss it, know that you are far from alone. Constipation affects about 14% of adults in the United States and accounts for an astounding 3.2 million medical visits every year. It’s a common and widespread issue. Nobody wants to talk about it, but for the sake of our health, maybe it’s time we opened a dialogue.[1]
Americans spend three-quarters of a billion dollars on laxatives every year, and it’s not helping.[1] Pharmaceutical laxatives and stool softeners often make constipation worse. Laxative overuse can lead to dependency, making it difficult or impossible to have a bowel movement without using strong laxatives.[2] Over-the-counter (OTC) laxatives also tend to produce some serious side effects including abdominal cramps, dehydration, dizziness, low blood pressure, electrolyte imbalance, and bloody stool.[3, 4]
Here in Australia, winter is behind us and Spring has finally arrived. Despite the warmer temperatures and budding blooms, you might also be feeling this shift internally, as well. We’re discussing the best ways to cleanse with the new season and detox from the more stagnant months. Find out how to stay healthy, vibrant, and energized with Spring.
For those of you who are heading into Fall and Winter, details for your season change can be found in this article.
In Spring, your mood may feel brighter, your digestion faster, and you find yourself craving foods you haven’t in quite some time. It’s only natural. With the shifts of the seasons, we change too, and Spring, especially, has a new vibrant and dramatic energy that kicks us into gear and gets us moving after the more static Winter season. However, Spring is also a transitional and dynamic season, known for its lion/lamb shifts in temperature and climate. Despite the warming temperatures and green surroundings, Spring is also a time that many find themselves under the weather with colds and seasonal allergies. Go with the flow, so to speak, and eat what Nature provides, and you’ll likely find yourself in good health.
The benefits of fasting are many and various. Fasting supports good health by promoting a healthy body weight, encouraging normal cognitive function, and even facilitating detoxification. Now, research has also shown that fasting may help reset the immune system.
How Does Fasting Reset the Immune System?
Like every other system in the body, the immune system is subject to wear and tear. Aging, aggressive medical therapies, oxidative stress, environmental toxins, and the like can all accelerate the degradation of immune cells.[1, 2, 3] When immune cells are weak and frail, they’re not as effective as they should be in protecting your health. This is where fasting can help.
