Make Time For This One Morning Ritual

Morning rituals are very important, and a great habit to get into. The practice of Ayurveda often promotes several rituals to add into your day, and according to Ayurvedic philosophy the choices that you make in regards to your daily routine can either build up resistance to disease or, tear it down.

Some recommended Ayurvedic morning rituals include oil pulling and dry brushing. Both of these can provide some amazing benefits for you, and at the very least taking some time to do something for yourself and honor your body is a great way to start the day.

If you feel like you absolutely don’t have time, there is a ritual that is fairly effortless and one you should be sure to include in your busy schedule; a mug of warm water with the juice of half a lemon, that’s it and it couldn’t be easier.

Benefits From Warm Water With Lemon

Boost Your Immune System

As you may already know, lemons are high in vitamin C and contain an average of 30 to 50 milligrams per lemon. Vitamin C has been known to fight colds, but did you know that research has shown that vitamin C can also protect from cardiovascular issues, cancer, stroke and aiding in eye health? Not to mention it boosts the immunity to live longer. 

Clear Skin

The vitamin C content in lemons can also help to decrease wrinkles and blemishes.

Aiding Digestion

The warm water stimulates the gastrointestinal tract, it is especially important to drink this lemon water before ingesting anything else in the morning. The lemons assist in loosening up toxins and other material in the digestive tract.

Assisting With Weight Loss

Because of the high content of pectin fiber in lemons, drinking lemon water can actually help fight off hunger cravings. Pectin has also been shown to reduce the amount of cholesterol being absorbed from food or bile. 

Balancing pH Levels

You may think of lemons as a highly acidic food, but inside our bodies they actually become alkaline, once it is metabolized by the body the citric acid does not create acidity within the body. Some people even swear by using lemon water for treatment of acid reflux and heartburn. 

Cleanse Your Lymphatic System

Your lymphatic system is responsible for removing toxins from your body, you want to keep this system hydrated and working properly. When you drink warm lemon water it hydrates the system and stimulates the elimination process. If too many toxins are accumulated, you may find that you are feeling pretty stressed.
 

With all these amazing benefits (and that’s not even close to all of them) that can be achieved from something so simple, maybe its time you give it a go and see the benefits for yourself?

Remember, just one cup of warm water with lemon every day in the morning, how easier could it be?

The Truth About Cancer and Disease - 2014

2014 has turned out to be an extremely interesting year in the field on handling cancer.

While it’s evident that the number of cancer cases are rapidly increasing and as per W.H.O statistics, will only get worse in the coming years, despite the advancement in medical care and technology, I would like to share some simple and life changing facts about this deadly disease.

I had the opportunity to treat about 75 cases this year, some were, and are, extremely successful and some were not.

When I reflect on each case, there are some things, in fact many things that clearly stand out, that can contribute towards prevention and cure.

I like to get to the root of the issue when it comes to treatment. Most diseases are multi-factorial including cancer. It’s not just germs, viruses, bacteria’s etc that cause or are the reasons people get sick. We all have them living in us, including cancer cells.

What I mean by multi factorial is that, there are many small and large contributors that can activate all this into disease.
The problem with today’s generation, and this is the most alarming part, is the want for ‘ quick fixes’. It’s true, we all, including myself, want to feel better sooner, get what we want almost immediately, we don’t want to wait, be it the desire to heal, get cured, have a better body, fit into our clothes better…

And in this chase, we forget that nature has it’s own pace and no technology or medical advancement can change that. Maybe a very short temporary fix which makes us feel better, but then that’s it, and we want and we expect more and what we chase slowly becomes more and more elusive, creating frustration, anger and making us explore variety and other new techniques.

You see, cancer and disease occur and strike when we create an environment that supports their growth and existence. When you create an environment of peace, you experience peace, when you create an environment of negativity, you experience negativity, when you create an environment of unhealthy habits, you create disease.

So when you get cancer or any other disease, you need to change the environment in your body and mind.

I maybe against chemo and radiation in almost all the cases I see and my counterparts at Yale work on daily, but my request to everyone who undergoes these very powerful and toxic treatments is that they understand that just doing that is not enough. In fact they need to do so much more. They need to support their body’s through these deadly treatments by making lifestyle changes in regards to their food, exercise, sleep and stress.

You cannot just do chemo and expect to be healed. Chemo may have, I repeat MAY HAVE killed some cancerous cells, but it has also damaged your other healthy cells, making them weak and contenders for new mutations and it has compromised your immunity, your most important line of defense against cancer.

So if you undergo chemo and radiation, you MUST support your body with the right nutrition and lifestyle changes.

An extremely interesting point to make is my experience with last stage cancer victims. Most of them who passed away, had extremely healthy vitals right till the end. The problem was, conventional treatments had so destroyed the body, that no matter how healthy they ate , the intestines were too weak to even absorb any of the nutrition that the body needed.

You must help your body create an environment that is unfriendly to cancer cells and other germs, etc.

The top three reasons that I attribute to most of the cancer cases are –

Obesity, poor nutrition and unhealthy lifestyles

Smoking  ( number one on my list, and happens to be one of the most painful cancers)

Emotional stress and internalization – This is so interesting. It always shocked me when I handled a case of an extremely healthy, fit person, suddenly struck down by cancer, no smoking, no alcohol, great lifestyles…..the perfect person who should live a disease free life.

Constant counseling always brought out that the person has so many emotional issues, so many, and it’s ok to have then, everyone does, but the issue is when it’s internalized and kept to oneself, the damage it does to ones immunity is incredible, strong enough to allow mutation of cells to begin.

Have you ever noticed how sick you get when you are very stressed?

Its important that people express emotions, share, or find someway that prevents them from keeping it all inside.

Can cancer be prevented? Absolutely yes. Like I said it’s multi factorial. We just don’t look at weight, or sleep, or food, we look at stress, and we look at lifestyle.

Lifestyle is key, because lifestyle covers it all. Nutrition, sleep, stress, emotions, sex, intimacy, physical activity, the way you live your day to day life, relationships, friends, everything.

And if you do get a cancer,or if you want to prevent it,  my top three suggestions irrespective of what treatment you choose are  -

1. Change the environment in your body. Make your body alkaline through your nutrition. Cancer cells cannot survive in alkaline mediums.
2. Breathe. Oxygen kills cancer cells. Involve yourself in simple deep breathing, pranayma,  but keep breathing, almost all of us don’t breathe as much as we should.
3. Manage your stress. Easiest thing to say and yet the most difficult thing to do. Everyone has stress, but how we manage it, makes all the difference, especially when It comes to emotional stress. Stress kills the immune system.

Keep it simple. Understand, ask a lot of questions, and don’t do anything that doesn’t offer logic or makes sense to you.

Don’t let peer pressure decide for you. It’s your life.

If there is any resolution I can suggest for people for the year 2015, let it be to build healthy lifestyles. If you do this, everything else falls in place, right from your weight loss goals, to your internal health, body and mind.

Colds, Viral, Fever, Sore Throats - Heal Naturally

Colds, fever, viral, sore throats are rampant right now with drastic  changes in weather.

A strong immunity will help you recover quickly and mostly without the need for medication. The lower your immunity, the longer the healing process and you may have to resort to antibiotics.

Here are a couple of natural remedies that almost always work.

1 inch piece ginger mashed, 1 clove garlic, 3 peppercorns, 2 cloves, 2 cardamoms, cinnamon stick,,boil and reduce to half, strain, add organic honey

Drink this twice or thrice a day, actually as much as you need to.

Be aware of your body and feelings. Usually when sick, your appetite may reduce, and thats a good sign. It means your body is using energy to repair and heal. so if you can, don't eat until you feel your appetite  slowly increasing. This is one of the best ways to heal rapidly and completely.

Stay warm, wear socks even while in bed, cover your head to prevent contact with dew when out at night.

Sip on hot liquids through the day.

Breathe a lot - almost all viruses and germs cannot survive in highly oxygenated cells so help your body create an environment thats unfavourable for these germs.

Rest, rest, rest - This is the most natural and effective way to heal. It's natures cure. Rest.

It's good to fall sick once in a way, your body replenished white and red blood cells and it also strengthens immunity, so stay positive, don't feel low too long and know you are doing the right things to get better.

How Vitamin 'O' Can Change Your Health

Struggling to lose fat?

Eat healthy and yet get hit in the face with a report that tells you that you have Vitamin D3/ B12, calcium, iron deficiencies?

Do you struggle with portions and continuously over eat and feel stuffed?

Do you use exercise to punish yourself after eating incorrectly?

Bloating, flatulence, indigestion, acidity?

Exercising regularly and hard and still not seeing the results you want?

Do you fall sick easily or take time to recover?

Does your body ache? Your knees, your back, your head?

Are you always on the look out for diet and low fat foods and snacks?

With the rapid pace at which the world is moving, compacted and expensive situations seem to be on the rise and yet we have sicker, fatter ad more unhealthy people struggling with their health. Or we have healthy people still struggling to knock  of those last few kilos or side or mid-riff fat, unhappy and on the verge of depression, always condemning their bodies.

What you may need is simple, inexpensive and free and yet most taken for granted.

Vitamin ' O ' - Oxygen.

We just don't breathe enough. While we eat and most of us also breathe incorrectly while working out.

Here's what happens in the presence of Vitamin ' O ' 

Fat burns in the presence of oxygen. The more you eat , the more deeper you should breathe. Let Oxygen do what it's supposed to to do. Break down food, burn fat, help your intestines absorb all of the nutrition into your system from the food you eat.

Oxygen hits the cells and reduces inflammation and pains.

It's what helps your hair grow strong and your skin glow.

Absorption of vitamins and minerals happen in the presence of the right amount of Oxygen.

Oxygen is your natural vitamin to reduce cortisol , the stress hormone. More oxygen equals controlled blood pressure too.

When you breathe correctly while you eat, your body fills up much quicker and you end up eating much lesser than you would normally do.

Every one of our trillion cells need oxygen to carry on it's functions and it's pretty clear whats going wrong, if we are breathing in less Vitamin ' O' than we need.

When you breathe correctly while exercising, your body does not need 45 mins to an hour. You can complete a well planned work out in 30 mins and keep your cortisol levels in check.

Here's how you can change your life and health with the next thing you put in your mouth.

Breathe deeply before you eat.

Let oxygen really flow thru your body.

Between every morsel or bite, breathe in deeply

This technique will automatically make you eat slower and lesser without you having to fight cravings and portions.

End your meal with a few deep breaths. Your body and digestive system needs this Vitamin -' o'

Master this and eat what you want in moderation. If its an ice cream or chocolate or a tiramisu, breathe, eat it slow, breathe some more, let oxygen break down your foods the way the human body is naturally designed to do it.

See exercise in a different light. Not as a punishment, but as something you enjoy doing and as something that leaves you feeling energetic and good.

Vitamin - ' O '  - This will change your life.

Wheat - And Myths About This Wonder Grain

‘ If you drink too much water you will bloat up and become fat ‘.  Is this true?  It can be if someone says it and humans start believing it and it becomes a spoken statement in social circles and people start to claim that their weight loss is due to the above.

Is it true? Absolutely not, just as  ‘Wheat ‘ has become a ‘ carb’ that must be avoided in order to lose weight and prevent bloating and other weight related issues.

So many people are giving up wheat today. Such an important grain, so nutritious, cultivated for decades, used as a staple food in countries across the world and all of a sudden this humble grain gets a tarnished name for no reason.

Wheat contains gluten, a tough protein that some people’s digestive systems find difficult to break down, so they tend to bloat or get gassy. The immediate reaction is, ‘ wheat’s making me fat ‘ . The truth is wheat has negligible fat and most people confuse bloating for being fat or feeling fat, so blame it on wheat, but what really is the problem is your digestive system. It’s weak and it cannot break down gluten, which it should be able to.

Blaming wheat and switching to other grains to replace it may not be the solution. If your digestive system is weak, find out why and fix it. ‘ Quick fixes ‘ like abandoning this powerful grain is not the solution. Your digestive system will continue to get weaker and create more serious problems for you down the line if you don’t do something to strengthen it.

Yes, there is a population of people and children that cannot have wheat as they are allergic to it and they are called ‘ celiac ‘ .

Having wheat in your diet is super for your health. It’s a great complex clean carb with some protein and a small amount of good essential fat.

One of the reasons women , especially pre-menopausal, suffer from hot flushes and other symptoms that most women dread when they hear or talk about the word ‘ menopause ‘can be attributed to the cut out of wheat. Wheat reduces CRP levels in pre –menopausal women, something that is necessary to control, reduce and even stop hot flushes and pains, and no other grain does this better than wheat.

Wheat is not the issue you put on weight or you cannot lose weight. As discussed above, bloating is a function of poor digestion, incorrect eating habits and eating too fast and mindlessly.
 
Making small lifestyle changes is the way forward, rather than eliminating key essentials and nutrients from your diet. The goal should be to get stronger so that your body can handle foods that body’s have been able to handle for years.
GMO wheat ( genetically modified)  Yes – im against that.That can create problems of it’s own.

Have some wheat today,,,it’s not bad and if you feel uncomfortable, start working on improving your digestion.

Why Your Body Needs Curcumin ( Turmeric extract)

Many mails and white papers and journals have been written on the power of turmeric extract, now termed as ' Yellow Gold' in the western regions. 

The fascinating part is that consumption of curcumin has been linked to positive benefits in almost every possible disease or ailment one can think of. From cancer, to arthritis to the possible prevention of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. 

Curcumin and Cardiovascular Disease.

Numerous studies show that curcumin may have a protective role in cardiovascular diseases.  And since cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death, one can make the argument that everyone should include turmeric in their diet, or perhaps take a turmeric supplement.  One study discusses how the antioxidant effects of curcumin may prevent diabetic cardiovascular complications.  The same study shows that the anti-thrombotic, anti-proliferative, and anti-inflammatory effects of curcumin and the effect of curcumin decreasing the serum cholesterol level may protect against the pathological changes occurring with atherosclerosis.  Another study demonstrates how dietary curcumin is effective at inhibiting maladaptive cardiac repair and preserving cardiac function after ischemia and reperfusion. It also goes on to say that curcumin has potential as a treatment for patients who have had a heart attack.

Curcumin and Diabetes.

  This of course also ties into cardiovascular health, but there have been separate studies which show how curcumin can help with diabetes.  One study involved people in a prediabetic population who were taking curcumin (or a placebo) for 9 months.  The study concluded by showing that curcumin significantly lowered the number of prediabetic individuals who eventually developed type 2 diabetes.  The same study also showed that curcumin appeared to improve overall function of beta cells.  Another study concluded that curcumin supplementation could improve diabetes-induced endothelial dysfunction significantly . Yet another study demonstrated how curcumin attenuates diabetic neuropathic pain.

Curcumin and Asthma/Allergies.

  A few studies have shown that curcumin might be beneficial in people with asthma and allergies.  One study showed that curcumin treatments markedly attenuated the inflammation in asthma by regulating T regulatory/Th17 balance . The findings supported the possible use of curcumin as a therapeutic drug for patients with allergic asthma.  Another study showed that curcumin alleviates the pathological changes of chronic asthma, and might be a promising therapy for asthma in the future
 
Curcumin and Skin Diseases.

 Curcumin can even help with certain skin conditions.  One study discusses how curcumin protects the skin by quenching free radicals and reducing inflammation . The same study also mentioned how curcumin reduces wound-healing time, improved collagen deposition and increased fibroblast and vascular density in wounds thereby enhancing both normal and impaired wound-healing.  The study concluded by suggesting that curcumin might be a potent nontoxic agent for treating skin diseases.  Another study suggests that oral curcumin might be beneficial in the treatment of moderate to severe psoriasis ,although it concluded by stating that large placebo-controlled studies are necessary before recommending oral curcumin as a psoriasis treatment.

Curcumin and Autoimmunity.

  To no surprise, because curcumin can help greatly with inflammation, this herb can be extremely valuable in the treatment of certain autoimmune conditions, including Graves’ Disease and Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis. 
Thyroid cancer is the most common type of cancer when it comes to the endocrine system. A recent study reported that curcumin inhibits multiple metastasis steps of K1 papillary thyroid cancer cells.  These findings showed that curcumin might be effective for the treatment of aggressive papillary thyroid carcinomas.

Other Benefits of Curcumin.

  There are even more potential benefits of taking curcumin.  One study discussed how dietary curcumin is a strong candidate for use in the prevention or treatment of major disabling age-related neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and stroke. Another study suggested that curcumin has enormous potential in the prevention and therapy of cance.  Curcumin might also be useful as a treatment for ulcerative colitis  as well as benefit people with osteoarthritis.

Make Your Coffee Burn Body Fat

I love my morning coffee like millions of you out there. I also love raw pressed virgin coconut oil for its amazing health benefits.

What happens when you add a teaspoon of virgin coconut oil to your coffee?

You convert this simple beverage into a fat burning elixir.

Coconut oil contains medium chain fatty acids ( MCFA) which boosts the bodies metabolism and stimulates effective fat burn. 

Its a myth that coconut makes you fat. A coconut based curry is actually really healthy for you and has nothing to do with fat or weight gain, which  is why i highly advocate a well made Thai curry which has coconut milk and bird chili, two ingredients that stimulate fat loss.

coconut cream found inside of the coconut is also great for you and really has the right fats for your heart and metabolism and if eaten in moderation can only make you healthier.

Back to this coffee. Caffeine mixed with these MCFA's will stimulate your metabolism and fat burn. Try it. Replace the white sugar with brown or coconut sugar.

It makes a super pre work out drink. It will give you all the energy you need to work out to maximum capacity.

Remember though, coffee is a diuretic, so for every mug you have, drink 2 mugs of water

Try this out and let me know how it works for you....