Green Tea The Use of Green Tea in Home Remedies There are a plethora of natural home remedies from brown sugar to eliminate heartburn to corn syrup to control nausea that can be used by those who want alternatives to over the counter medications. More than a tasty, hot beverage, green tea is an important part of home remedies from skin and teeth care to general preventative measures and everything in between. For specific examples to ways to use green tea to get excellent benefits read below. Green Tea and Skin Care Positive skin effects in the area of skin care have been found with green tea. Acne and eczema are two specific areas. Green tea is a great, cheap alternative to the expensive toners and astringents used for acne. Green tea is used to make a concoction with other ingredients that can be applied to clean skin with a cotton ball. Some notice a decrease in the presence of acne by simply drinking the tea, even though you should be careful with the increase of the caffeine to your diet since this is linked to an increase in acne breakouts. Olive oil can also be added to green tea to make a treatment for eczema. Homemade Mouthwash Green tea can also be used as part of a homemade mouthwash in addition to skin care. You will have to avoid adding sugar and honey. The presence of fluoride in this light drink helps keep your teeth healthy by preventing tooth decay and strengthening your teeth and gums. The most basic recipe is adding the brewed tea to spring water. Although it can be added to other ingredients if you want to create flavors for your homemade mouthwash. Preventative Medicine Your overall health and well-being is thought to be helped by a daily intake of green tea. Free radical in our body can cause damage to cells and the tea is full of antioxidants that bind free radicals to our bodies. Cancer prevention has been linked to green tea through several studies. Green tea is also thought to promote an increase in metabolism as an essential benefit that helps burn fat and lowers cholesterol in the body. Green tea may also play a part in reducing the intensity of rheumatoid arthritis because of the antioxidants present in the tea. The benefits of green tea are a great reason to drink it whether it is to drink it by and open fire or to get rid of unwanted acne breakouts.

The Negative Calorie Diet - Part II The Thermic Effect of Food & Negative Calories The concept behind the Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) and the idea that it is possible to eat Negative Calorie Foods is the fact that eating any food causes your Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) to increase because you use energy to eat, digest, and metabolize the food you’ve just eaten. The rise occurs soon after you start eating and peaks two to three hours later. This rise in the BMR can range from between 2-3 per cent, up to 25-30 per cent, depending on the size of the meal and the types of foods eaten. The idea of Negative Calorie Foods is based on the belief that there are certain foods, which use more calories to digest than the amount of calories actually contained in the food! Calories from these foods are much harder for the body to use. In other words, the body has to work hard in order to extract calories from these foods. Even though different foods may contain equal amounts of calories, in Negative Calorie Foods much less of these calories turn into fat, as fewer calories are actually available to the body. This allegedly gives these foods a tremendous natural fat-burning advantage. The Theory of How it Works There are six essential nutrients that the human body requires to keep it nourished and healthy; these include; protein, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. Foods have a macronutrient (carbohydrate, fat, and protein), caloric (calories) and vitamin & mineral content. Vitamins stimulate living tissues to produce enzymes that breakdown the caloric nutrients of that food. It is generally accepted that the various categories of macronutrients that are present in the diet will increase BMR by different amounts as shown below: · Fats - raise the BMR 4 per cent · Carbohydrates - raise BMR 6 per cent · Proteins - raise BMR 30 per cent (It is suggested that hot spicy foods can also have a significant thermic effect: for example foods containing chilli, horseradish and mustard). The overall “Thermic Effect of Food” is considered to utilize roughly 10% of the total calories of food ingested in the “average” diet. However, Negative Calorie Foods are supposed to contain enough vitamins & minerals to produce enzymes in quantities sufficient to break down not only its own calories, but additional calories present in digestion as well. This is the “secret” of The Negative Calorie Foods and the reasoning behind why Negative Calorie Foods may be regarded as “Fat burning Foods” (The Negative Calorie Foods will tend to have maximum benefits when eaten without any “empty calorie foods” i.e. junk foods). There is much disagreement about the negative calorie diet and some experts are unconvinced about the claims made. Some believe the amount of energy used may be relative to the amount and complexity of the meal ingested. In other words the energy used to digest and absorb may be set as a general percentage of the energy contained in each specific food, thus there cannot ever be foods with negative calories. However, some research has proved that celery does cause a negative energy intake but this is mainly because the energy is "sealed" making the digestive system work harder to obtain its energy content. It is unclear therefore as to whether negative calorie foods are fact or fiction. There needs to be more research done in order to prove or disprove the theory. Although it seems reasonable to believe that if negative calorie foods help people consume fewer calories AND eat healthier foods, then including lots of these foods as part of an overall balanced diet, can be a positive start to permanent weight loss!

The Colon Cleansing Diet – What It Is And How To Use It Of the major types of colon cleansing, the colon cleansing diet is the most simple and, in the long term, probably the most effective. Once you learn what the optimum colon cleansing diet is - what you should and shouldn't eat - you have the basic tools you need to safely and effectively colon cleanse anytime you want. Most people who chose to follow the colon cleansing diet, do it for a period of 7 to 30 days. Other people, myself included, naturally eat a colon cleansing diet and maintain high levels of health and fitness. The longer you can follow the diet the better. There are 3 major aspects to the colon cleansing diet. First and foremost is to get rid of all foods that make it harder for the colon to do its elimination work. These foods include: processed meat, most seafoods, pasteurized dairy products, processed oil, most flour products including breads, and pastas, refined sugar, sodas, alcohol, caffeine and all processed foods with artificial flavorings or other chemicals. The principle here is to lighten the load on the digestive system by removing the foods that slow it down. Second, it's important to add foods that are high in dietary fiber. Fiber is an indigestible substance that comes only from plants. It passes through the acids of the stomach and reaches the intestine and colon where it has a sweeping broom-like effect. In cultures with a high daily fiber intake, digestive difficulties and colon diseases such as colon cancer and irritable bowel syndrome are unheard of. Good sources of dietary fiber include flax seeds, pears, berries, some beans and peas. While on the optimum colon cleansing diet, a person should eat 35-50 grams of dietary fiber per day. The third aspect the colon cleansing diet is to eat lots of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables. Raw fruits and vegetables have enzymes in them which promote digestion. They also contain higher amounts of fiber than their cooked counterparts. A person who is in relatively good health should consume between 60% and 100% raw fruits and vegetables while following the optimum colon cleansing diet. One final dietary change that can greatly improve colon cleansing results is to include some fermented foods like miso, sauerkraut and yogurt during the colon cleansing diet. These foods contain positive bacteria which live in the colon and help protect us from disease. If you choose to colon cleanse using the colon cleansing diet, keep in mind that results come slower than with an herbal colon cleanser. But, they do tend to be longer lasting. That's because following the optimum colon cleansing diet will help you to make important healthy dietary changes. The key is to be disciplined because progress on this type of cleanse can be stopped easily by eating any foods that make digestion more difficult. Mark Ament is an expert on colon cleansing and raw foods nutrition. He is the author of “Homemade Colon Cleansing Made Easy” and 3 other books on natural health. Learn how easy it is to follow the optimum colon cleansing diet, using Mark’s proven colon cleanse recipes at: http://www.safecoloncleanse.com

The Major Health Benefits of Raw Garlic Since moving to a tropical climate, I've noticed something interesting: I've developed an appetite for raw garlic. I've always enjoyed garlic in my raw food dishes and have used it medicinally to cure an ear infection. But living in Bali I find myself eating a few cloves of raw garlic at least twice a week. I was curious why I developed this unexpected craving so I did some research and discovered that raw garlic has powerful medicinal properties with some great health benefits. Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is part of the lily family and it's medicinal use dates back to 4000 BCE. It grows well in nearly every climate, so it is known throughout the world. Hippocrates, the founder of western medicine, used garlic in some cancer treatments. In ancient Egypt garlic was valued as a general health tonic and sometimes even used as currency. Later in the middle ages, garlic was used in treating victims of the plaque. Even as late as WW II, garlic was used as an effective replacement for antibiotics. The Medicinal Properties of Garlic Garlic is high in sulfur, which accounts for some of it's medicinal potency. The stronger the taste of the garlic, the higher the sulfur content and the better it is for you. Two other medicinally potent compounds in garlic are Diallyl Sulphides, which increase blood circulation, and Allicin, an anti-biotic, and anti-fungal compound. In general terms raw garlic is: A broad spectrum anti-biotic Highly Anti-fungal Highly Anti-bacterial Highly Anti-parasitical High in antioxidants And the major health benefits of garlic are: 1. Increases blood circulation and thins the blood - this can lower blood pressure, reduce the likelihood of blood clots and lower the risk of heart attack and stroke 2. Suppresses the growth of tumors 3. Decreases levels of LDL or "bad cholesterol" 4. Stimulates the immune system by increasing blood cell count 5. Supports recovery from cancer 6. Kills some intestinal parasites - this may be related to its potency as a cancer treatment, as some naturopaths consider intestinal parasites to be directly linked to cancer 7. Repels insects - some sulphur in raw garlic passes into the blood and is carried to the skin where it is excreted. This helps to make the skin unattractive to insects 8. Soothes coughs and colds - this is due to garlic's anti-biotic properties 9. Kills fungi such as athletes foot and warts It's important to note that these health benefits only apply to the use of raw garlic. The active compounds in garlic are destroyed by cooking. They are also lost over time. Crushing or chopping raw garlic releases its medicinally potent compounds, which are sensitive to oxidation. It is best to consume the raw fresh garlic shortly after crushing or chopping to get the highest benefit. How To Use Raw Garlic Internally - take 1 to 2 cloves or crushed raw garlic every other day. I sometimes just pop a clove in my mouth with some olive oil or avocado and chew it up (to keep it from burning). I also blend it in raw soups, use it in guacamole or sprinkle it over my salad. You can eat raw parsley afterwards to sweeten your breath. Topically - make a poultice with raw garlic to use on skin infections like athletes foot or warts. Be careful not to irritate the skin by using too much. As A Tincture - you can use garlic oil drops in the nose, as a gargle or in the ears to fight infection. Make garlic oil drops by mixing one clove crushed garlic with 10ml (4 oz.) pure water. Garlic is generally very safe, but in some people and at higher doses, it can cause irritation to the stomach and skin. Also people who are on any kind of blood thinning medication not take garlic medicinally without first talking to their doctor. Garlic should be used very sparingly with small children. A Few Facts About Garlic Garlic is probably descended from the species Allium longicuspis, which grows wild in south-western Asia There are now over 300 varieties of garlic China produces 10.5 billion kilos/year - about 75% of worldwide production In Northeastern India, it is believed that garlic mixed with water spread around the home will keep snakes from entering Garlic plants are very hardy and not attacked by pests A Christian myth considers that after Satan left the Garden of Eden, garlic arose in his left footprint, and onion in the right Garlic cloves cooked whole have very little medicinal value Central European folk beliefs considered garlic a powerful ward against demons, werewolves, and vampires Garlic and onions were invoked as deities by ancient Egyptians at some religious ceremonies

Carbohydrates, The weight loss Myth For years I have been going out to eat with people who stay away from bread and pasta in fear of gaining weight or at least not losing any, they sit across from me as I eat all of it and look at me curiously and hence the carb conversation begins. First of all let me qualify this by saying I am a 42 year old female Certified Personal trainer with 16% body fat while I don’t say that to impress you but to impress upon you that carbohydrates are an essential part of our diet when we do the right things as part of a healthy lifestyle. When you are working with a trainer or fitness professional or if you do your own strength training program carbs are essential part of weight loss, toning and firming and gaining lean muscle mass. Carbohydrates are what your body needs to build muscle. For every pound of muscle your body gains it burns 50 calories while at rest. That is right while at rest. You heard me you can burn calories while you sleep, they key is carbs and strength training. To find out what all this means to you stay tuned for Carbohydrates the weight loss myth part II.

Part II of the article GABRIEL: Whereas before, when you're toxic, there are a lot more dead and dying cells because they had all the toxins and then they couldn't survive or they are half alive. That's how most people feel anyway, they're half alive. KEVIN: Sure. I've heard that before. Yeah. GABRIEL: And that's what we are talking about. But the research is, the literature is enormous and the basic summary of all the research, animal research and human research, the cultures that are long-lived like the Karmacoma Indians in Ecuador I think in the 100s, is that their calorie intake is half as much as other people. KEVIN: OK. GABRIEL: Because they're primarily, not a 100%, but primarily vegan. KEVIN: OK. GABRIEL: So those seem to be the 2 things. Eating the animal products can secrete a lot more toxicity and speed up the aging process. KEVIN: OK. And now let's say I wanted to put together a fast on my own, I mean , is that advised to 7-day fast on your own? I mean, would you lock yourself in a room with a juicer? I mean, what kind of protocol would someone consider taking? GABRIEL: Well, what really happens here is that it's really a generally good idea to have somebody guide you the first time. KEVIN: OK. GABRIEL: Because as a holistic physician, as a kind of yogi, you know, I did the 40-day fast but that's an exception. I do not recommend that for most people. It's not that safe you know, OK. So it's really good to have a run through. KEVIN: A-ha. GABRIEL: In about a year or two, I will be coming out with the book on spiritual fasting but right now I'm writing a book on diabetes and I don't really have time. But after that then what we see a pattern as what people will do, maybe fast at home and may be come here twice a year, so they're doing it that way. What you want is an optimal situation where you are vitalizing the body, so where you can get good sun, fresh air, healthy water, and you know, clean organic juices. That's what you want. KEVIN: Yes. So you wouldn't recommend anyone go into their high stress job? GABRIEL: Right. Because the body doesn't open up. The body...that's work, in that the body has to be able to relax to let go to heal itself. KEVIN: OK. GABRIEL: And if you're going to continue, you can do it. You can lose weight that way. .Let's put it that way. KEVIN: OK. GABRIEL: And aside from losing weight, there's not nearly as much healing because a high stress job tends to shut the body down. It doesn't tend to go into that kind of place where it really works to heal. KEVIN: And do you recommend a fast for people who want to lose weight? GABRIEL: That's the best way to lose weight. KEVIN: OK. GABRIEL: For the last 5000 years, it's been the best way. We have started 2 programs here. One is what we call juice feasting which involves really liquids and juices, 4 juices a day and then blended fruit. KEVIN: A-ha. GABRIEL: And people could be on that for a 100-120 days if they do really, really, really well, and they lose weight gradually, you know. In live food itself, we could lose about 100 pounds in a year. KEVIN: Wow. GABRIEL: Because with live food you can eat half as much. Because when you cook your food, you lose 50% of the protein and 70%-80% of vitamins and minerals and up to 95% or so of the phytonutrients. Well, the math is simple. If you just simply go on live food, you eat half as much. That means you take in half as many calories. You're taking double the nutrition but half the calories and the result is you lose weight. KEVIN: A 100 pounds in a year. That's pretty intense. GABRIEL: Yes. But it happens gradually and you're not doing any physiological tricks. This is very important. Fasting is not a physiological trick. You're actually helping the body accelerate the process. Now, during that time, your stomach tends to shrink and so you will not be that hungry. You really start to lose that interest. So we have, you know, let's say, a lot of people have done 70-day fast, 85-day fast for weight loss. And that's usually people who are between 100-200 pounds overweight. KEVIN: Right. GABRIEL: It's a very good thing that is also a very good for smoking. Agatha Trash, and I don't know if she is alive but she and her husband are the 2 physicians at the head of anti-smoking clinic in Arkansas and they saw over 3000 successful cases of helping people to get off cigarettes. Why? Well, fasting helps you lose your cellular memory for your toxins. OK. And it also alkalinizes you. The result is that when you're alkalinize, it's a lot easier to break the nicotine habit. KEVIN: OK. GABRIEL: The moment that you get 5 days, it's really good, 7 days is really excellent. Now when you use a few other homeopathic remedies and things like that, pack and release to help people break their smoking habits. But then we also recommend the psychological aspect and that's why we use the Zero Point Course, which we use to do 1 day afterwards. So, they're linked, but fasting is really good for all of us. It's so simple. It's really quite simple. KEVIN: Right. What are some of the best things to juice? What are some of the best things that will get you the most minerals? GABRIEL: I think the thing that's most important is the organic. KEVIN: OK. GABRIEL: And we get whatever is in season although we use a lot of cucumbers and celery because they have lots of minerals particularly sodium which we need, healthy sodium, and flushes out the toxic sodium in the system. And then we get whatever greens are in season. And mostly, we are growing a lot of our own, but we also will use beet and carrot diluted, which is good for the liver. KEVIN: A-ha. GABRIEL: But what were finding is it doesn't matter. We really...basically, if you're doing juice fasting, everything gets better.

Fasting, Losing Weight and Quitting Smoking, with Dr. Gabriel Cousens by Kevin Gianni, citizen journalist The Fountain of Youth World Summit with Dr. Gabriel Cousens, the founder of Tree of Life Rejuvenation Center and author of "Conscious Eating" and "Spiritual Nutrition." KEVIN: Some people will say fasting is unhealthy. What do you have to say about that? GABRIEL: Well, there is a quote from Atheneus, a Greek physician, he said, "Fasting cures disease, dries up bodily humors, puts demons to flight, gets rid of the impure thoughts, makes the mind clear, and the heart pure, and the body sanctified, and raises humanity to the throne of God." And again, you're talking about, you know, 2000 years of observation. Fasting is extremely safe. Now, let's qualify what we say, when we say fasting is extremely safe. We are talking about a 1-week fast, extremely safe. KEVIN: OK. GABRIEL: Humans on water can go 40 days and may naturally push on it. We do not recommend that at all and I just can go a 100 days. We do green juice fasting here. We don't use any foods because it is way too sweet and it creates sugar imbalances and aggravates diabetes and hypoglycemia, which we don't like to do. We use green juices and in the juices, you get the minerals and the enzymes which help stimulate and support the fasting process. The problem with water fasting, while we don't really recommend it and try to discourage people, is that even though you obviously get detoxification from it, you get really weak and so you can't really enjoy life in the same way. The second thing is the mineral deficiencies can show up being the heart palpitations and other kind of weaknesses that are actually potentially dangerous. We don't have that on juice test. So, those are the big things, plus you got the enzymes in the vital life force. I mean, there's vital life force. We only at the Tree of Life, we only use organic. KEVIN: OK. GABRIEL: And it is fresh, very very fresh, like within a few minutes. So people are getting the tremendous vital life force in nature. We said that earth and water elements are being really actively pooled into the system. This is really safe. We've been doing this for, you know, since 1988. Well, that's quite a few years. That's almost 20 years now. KEVIN: Sure. GABRIEL: And no one has really, really had problem. Water fasting, different things. So there may be a crossover. People say fasting, end. Now, there's another thing that we need to understand is that going without food is immediately threatening the people. Why? Because the Americans overeat. And why do they overeat? Not just because they like being the numbness of bowel toxicity, which is what happens, you get numbed out when you overeat, but it is a way of suppressing emotions. KEVIN: OK. GABRIEL: I am depressed. I am going to treat myself, you know, or I am going to celebrate, so you eat all those kinds of junk food. I don't know what kind of a celebration it is, but apparently some people say this is a celebration. KEVIN: A-ha. GABRIEL: And so, this is the point, and does that make sense? This fear because it goes into an ego defense called eating, if you see what I am saying. KEVIN: OK. GABRIEL: And the fact is we can live a really long time without eating food, you know, on liquids. You do not have to, but a week fast is completely safe. KEVIN: Right. And what are some of the longevity benefits from not eating as much? I guess it's the best way to say it. What are some of the studies on that? What are some of the things that have been proven to show that this is the case? GABRIEL: That is a good question. Dr. Spindler who is a biochemist at the UC Riverside, published in Science, the magazine, in 2001 a research he did with rats and he underfed them 40%, and after 1 month, the rats had a 400% increase in the anti-aging gene expression. He was using 1100 gene chip-type system at 400% and also anti-aging and anti-inflammatory. So what he concluded, now there's lots of research since the early 1900s that the less you eat, the longer you live, that's clear. But you usually thought it was actually just slowing the aging process down, right? KEVIN: A-ha. GABRIEL: But now we are talking something different after Spindler's research. You're actually activating the anti-aging genes. You actually had the potential to reverse the aging process. That is the whole of the statement. KEVIN: Wow. It does not stop, it's reversed. GABRIEL: Right. KEVIN: OK. GABRIEL: And what happens when you are fasting? Fasting usually begins in the 2nd or 3rd day and when the body goes into what we call autolysis where it begins going after the dead and dying cells, OK, and clearing them out. The pre-cancer cells and the not so healthy cells. And so that process speeds up. So by the end of the fast by 7 days, you have increased the healthy vibrant cells and you have decreased the dead and dying the cells, so you're really into a rejuvenation process. You see what I am saying? KEVIN: Yes. now,Tell me what do you see the article now

(NaturalNews) A new French study published in the October issue of the journal Neurology has found that obesity may cause cognitive decline over time. French researchers from Toulouse University Hospital conducted a five-year study of more than 2,200 adult men and women who were examined using four mental ability tests administered at the beginning and the end of the study. When the trial began, people with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 20 or less -- within the "healthy" range of the BMI scale -- could recall 56 percent of the words in a vocabulary test, while those classified as obese, with a BMI of 30 or higher, only remembered 44 percent of vocabulary words. When the subjects were re-tested five years later, the participants with a healthy BMI had the same level of vocabulary recall, while obese participants' recall abilities fell to 37.5 percent. Lead researcher Dr. Maxime Cournot, an assistant professor of clinical epidemiology at Toulouse University Hospital, said hormones secreted by excess fat could possibly damage brain function. "Another explanation could be that since obesity is a widely known cardiovascular risk factor, due to the thickening and hardening of the blood vessels, that the same happens with the arteries in the brain," she said. Dr. David Haslam, clinical director of the UK's National Obesity Forum, called the research "alarming," and said, "It goes to show obesity affects every single organ in the human body." Nutritionist Mike Adams, author of "Natural Appetite Suppressants for Safe, Effective Weight Loss," said the study's findings are not surprising, since many of the foods that cause obesity can also be damaging to the nervous system. "The brain is a physical organ, and like the rest of the body, it also needs supportive nutrients and protection from dietary and environmental chemicals," Adams said. "When it doesn't get the nutrients it needs, such as when a person avoids natural foods and consumes mostly processed junk foods, the brain begins to suffer a drop in performance."