Twelve Steps to Happiness in 2012

Positively Positive says:

Each New Year brings awesome blogging opportunities for self-help junkies like me. I love offering up tips for making positive change—especially when readers are committed. This year I’m going to take advantage of the resolution bandwagon and throw down some tips for bringing more happy into the new year.
Now is the perfect time to make powerful change—your willingness is at an all-time high.
Check out my top twelve happiness tips:

Tip 1: Let go of last year's baggage.

It’s likely that last year brought many ups and downs. This year, resolve to focus on the good stuff. Choose to let go of what went wrong last year, and commit to what will go right this year. Be grateful and appreciate all that you have. When you appreciate what you do have, you create more of what you want. Stop focusing on lack and let the energy of gratitude create a more abundant life.

Tip 2: Change the conversation.

Make a resolution to change your dialogue about fear and negativity. When you think, talk, and act from a negative place, you attract negativity into your life. Commit to a new conversation. Begin the New Year talking and thinking about what you love about your life, rather than replaying the same old negative story. You might just be surprised by the results.

Tip 3: Give.

Being altruistic not only benefits the person you’re helping but greatly enhances your own life, too. This year, commit to the mantra “How can I give?” rather than “How can I get?” Giving produces endorphins, which make you feel great! Plus, giving to others helps you get out of your own way. When you focus on giving you can stop focusing on what you’re not getting.

Tip 4: Take a ME break.

Commit to a ME break at least once a week. Take time out to focus on yourself. This is a powerful habit to create early in the year. Need some suggestions? Take a long yoga class, prepare a nice meal for yourself, or create an evening ritual. One of my favorite ways to take a ME break in the evening is to give myself a facial.

Tip 5: Get naked!

This year, make a commitment to be authentic. Get naked with your truth, offering the world your greatest gift: your authentic self. Begin a practice of being yourself on dates, in the office, or even in your home. We all thrive on true connection. So this year, get naked with your truth. Don’t deprive the world of your authentic gifts. Even if it feels uncomfortable at first—go with it—you’ll feel liberated in no time.

Tip 6: Get creative.

This year, I commit to spend more time painting. This creative hobby takes me out of my daily patterns and ignites my inner spirit. Pledge to engage in a creative project as often as possible. You’ll find that time spent in creativity heightens your happiness, and gives you more energy for the other areas of your life.

Tip 7: Do innovative exercise.

Each New Year, millions resolve to hit the gym and lose weight. This year, make your physical resolutions fun! Rather than locking yourself up in the gym for days, find cool ways to shed the pounds. I am a huge fan of Hoopnotic, a rockin’ workout with a Hula-Hoop. When I Hula-Hooped as a kid, it was just a fun thing to do. I never would’ve imagined doing it as a killer (and totally addictive) workout.

Tip 8: Practice the F-word.

Carrying resentments into the New Year will only recreate the patterns from years prior. This year, vow to let go of resentments by practicing the F-word and forgive. Become conscious of whom you need to forgive (including yourself) and be willing to let go of your resentment and turn it over daily. Each morning when you wake up, set the intention to forgive. This daily intention will ignite a consciousness of forgiveness and provide you with the necessary tools to allow the F-word process to set in.

Tip 9: Eat mindfully.

To keep your Spirit Junkie mentality intact, you must feed your soul superfoods. This New Year I’ve committed to kicking the coffee. Rather than go nuts trying to eliminate everything bad in your diet, keep it simple and choose one thing to let go of. My spiritual running buddy Kris Carr offers amazing tips for cleaning up your palate in her book Crazy Sexy Diet. Let Kris’s book inspire you to keep it simple and wholesome. There’s no need to kick it all at once. Small shifts create powerful change.

Tip 10: Be Authentic.

Rather than conform to what you think the world wants you to be, in 2012, serve the world more of YOU. Make a New Year’s resolution to be more authentic. When you share your truth with the world, your genuine gifts shine through. Plus your authenticity gives others the chance to be truthful, too!

Tip 11: Sit back and receive.

I work hard to balance my go-getter mentality with my sit-back-and-RECEIVE approach to life. This year, welcome stillness and receptivity. Through a daily meditation practice, you can begin to transform your need to control outcomes and learn to sit back and receive. You’ll come to understand that stillness is sometimes the greatest action. Begin a meditation practice today with one of my FREE Spirit Junkie guided meditations. CLICK HERE to download.

Tip 12: Expect miracles.

Kick off the New Year with a miracle mindset. Begin each day with a prayer for peace and happiness. Say out-loud or to yourself: “Thank you, God, for reminding me of all the love and light in my life. I welcome positive support throughout this day. I expect miracles.” This daily prayer will jump-start your day with a miracle mindset and awaken your consciousness to the greatness around you.

Anti-Depressant Foods

An Alternative to "Prozac"?

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"Prozac" Alternatives Home

Inside you, the essential amino acid L-tryptophan is broken down into anxiety-reducing, snooze-inducing niacin. Even more important, tryptophan is also made into serotonin, one of your body's most important neurotransmitters. Serotonin gives a feeling of well-being and mellowness, or as the Australians would say, "no worries." This is such a profound effect that Prozac, Paxil and similar antidepressants usually either mimic serotonin or artificially keep the body's own serotonin levels high. You can do the same thing with your food. And no one can tell us that beans, peas, cheese, nuts and wheat germ are toxic if you eat a lot of them! Plenty of carbohydrates (starches) in your meals help tryptophan get to where it does the most good: in your brain. In order to cross the blood-brain barrier to get in, carbos are required. So cheese and crackers provides a better effect than the cheese standing alone. An egg or two on toast is better than just the egg. Beans, peas, and nuts already contain carbohydrate, so you are all set there. Consider that five servings of beans, a few portions of cheese or peanut butter, or just one big handful of cashews provides one to two thousand milligrams of tryptophan, which will work as well as prescription antidepressants... but don't tell the drug companies. Some skeptics think that the pharmaceutical people already know. Here are two quotes in evidence: "Pay careful attention to what is happening with dietary supplements in the legislative arena... If these efforts are successful, there could be created a class of products to compete with approved drugs. The establishment of a separate regulatory category for supplements could undercut exclusivity rights enjoyed by the holders of approved drug applications." (FDA Deputy Commissioner for Policy David Adams, at the Drug Information Association Annual Meeting, July 12, 1993) "The task force considered many issues in its deliberations including to ensure that the existence of dietary supplements on the market does not act as a disincentive for drug development." (FDA Dietary Task Force Report, released June 15, 1993) Remember that tryptophan is one of the ten essential amino acids you need to stay alive. It is by law added to liquid feedings for the elderly and all infant formulas. This says a great deal about its safety, as well as its importance. And, tryptophan is really quite easy to get from the good foods listed below. So go; eat; and be happy! Foods high in the Amino Acid L-Tryptophan (in milligrams (mg) per 100 gram (3.5 ounce) portion), about the size of a deck of playing cards. That is not a large serving, and in a single meal you might easily double or triple the figures listed here. Beans Lentils 215 mg Dried Peas 250 Navy (pea) 200 Pinto Beans 210 Red Kidney 215 Soy 525 Nuts and Seeds Brazil Nuts 185 mg Cashews 470 Filberts 210 Peanuts 340 Peanut Butter 330 (this is for natural peanut butter, not popular commercial brands) Pumpkin Seed 560 Sesame Seeds 330-575 (if seeds are ground up) Sunflower 340 Other nuts generally provide at least 130 milligrams per small serving; usually more. Grains Wheat Germ 265 mg Cheese Cheddar: 340 mg Parmesan: 490 Swiss: 375 Other cheeses tend to be lower in tryptophan, but are still very good sources. Eggs 210 mg Brewer's Yeast 700 mg (Source: US Department of Agriculture, Amino Acid Content of Foods.) Meats are generally regarded as a good source of tryptophan, organ meats supposedly being the highest. However, most meats are in the range of 160 to 260 mg/100 g, (chicken is about 250) with organ meats ranging between 220 and 330. These figures certainly do not compel meat eating. Compare with soybeans, split peas, cheese and cashews! Copyright C 2008, 2004 and prior years Andrew W. Saul. Andrew Saul is the author of the books FIRE YOUR DOCTOR! How to be Independently Healthy (reader reviews at http://www.doctoryourself.com/review.html ) and DOCTOR YOURSELF: Natural Healing that Works. (reviewed at http://www.doctoryourself.com/saulbooks.html ) For ordering information, Click Here .

Preventing Cancer: 11 Tips to Live By

Dr. Mercola recommends:

In the last 30 years the global cancer burden has doubled, and is estimated to nearly triple by 2030. Clearly, we must begin to take cancer prevention seriously.
While curcumin offers great potential in the fight against cancer, I believe a healthy lifestyle—as opposed to swallowing any number of supplements—is the BEST way to avoid becoming a cancer statistic. I believe you can virtually eliminate your risk of cancer and other chronic diseases, and radically improve your chances of recovering from cancer if you currently have it, by following the following risk reduction strategies.

1. Radically reduce your sugar consumption. Normalizing your insulin levels is one of the most powerful physical actions you can take to lower your risk of cancer, and in order to do so, cutting sugars and grains out of your diet is a must. Eliminating fructose is one of the most important sugars to initially concentrate on. If you have cancer, you'll want to reduce that to below 10 grams per day from all sources.
2. Optimize your vitamin D levels. There's overwhelming evidence pointing to the fact that vitamin D deficiency plays a crucial role in cancer development. Researchers within this field have estimated that about 30 percent of cancer deaths might be prevented each year simply by optimizing the vitamin D levels in the general population. On a personal level, you can decrease your risk of cancer by MORE THAN HALF simply by getting optimal sun exposure year-round. Alternatively, you could use a safe tanning bed, or, as a last resort, an oral vitamin D3 supplement. Remember the BEST way to raise your vitamin D level is by sun exposure.
   
   If you are being treated for cancer it is likely that higher blood levels—probably around 80-90 ng/ml—would be beneficial. To learn the details on how to use vitamin D therapeutically, please review my previous article, Test Values and Treatment for Vitamin D Deficiency.
3. Exercise regularly. There's compelling evidence indicating that exercise can slash your risk of cancer, primarily by reducing elevated insulin levels and normalizing estrogen. For example, women who exercise regularly can reduce their breast cancer risk by 20 to 30 percent compared to those who are inactive. I prefer to view exercise like a drug that needs to be carefully prescribed to achieve its maximum benefit.
   
   It's important to include a large variety of techniques in your exercise routine. Additionally it is likely that integrating exercise with intermittent fasting will greatly catalyze the potential of exercise to reduce your risk of cancer and stimulate widespread healing and rejuvenation.
4. Get appropriate amounts of animal-based omega-3 fats.
5. Eat as many vegetables as you are comfortable with. Ideally, they should be fresh and organic. Cruciferous vegetables in particular have been identified as having potent anti-cancer properties.
6. Have a tool to permanently erase the neurological short-circuiting that can activate cancer genes. Even the CDC states that 85 percent of disease is caused by emotions. There are a number of different energy psychology tools available that are particularly well-suited for this purpose; the Emotional Freedom Technique is one example.
7. Maintain an ideal body weight.
8. Get enough high-quality sleep.
9. Reduce your exposure to environmental toxins like pesticides, household chemical cleaners, synthetic air fresheners, air pollution, and plastic toxins like BPA.
10. Reduce your use of cell phones and other wireless technologies, and implement as many safety strategies as possible if/when you cannot avoid their use.
11. Boil, poach or steam your foods, rather than frying or charbroiling them.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/09/14/this-spice-inhibits-brain-tumors-in-81-of-mice-tested.aspx?e_cid=20110914_DNL_art_1

Olive Leaf Extract

Olive leaf extract has amazing anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal properties.  It helps modulate the immune system.  In a recent study, Olive leaf extract was shown to be effective in working against 25 out of 25 viruses tested.

It helps regulate blood pressure (especially in combination with Grape Seed extract) by blocking the calcium channels in arteries. 

It reduces systemic inflammation and calms auto-immune responses in conditions such as diabetes, MS, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and chronic respiratory allergic responses.

Other studies indicate that it helps heal open wounds 78% faster, heals cartilage, chelates heavy metals, helps with gout, and may slow the growth of cancer.

Work out fatigue may be reduced by using a combination of Olive Leaf extract and the CoQ10.

I recommend a product called Immu-zyme by Apex Energetics.  This product contains an advanced herbal and colostrum immune health formula, including 10 immune-building herbs. These include olive leaf extract, astragalus root extract, and European black elderberry, plus several key vitamins and minerals.

To order, please call Shelly Byrd, NTP at 949-351-3699 or e-mail me at backbayusa@yahoo.com.

Coconut Oil

Coconut Oil is a medium-chain triglyceride, a good fat that the body uses to produce energy.

In a recent study, participants who used 1 to 2 tbsp a day of coconut oil and walked 50 minutes a day had:
Increased levels of HDL (good cholesterol)
Decreased LDL/HDL ratio
Reduced waist circumfrence

Other benefits included increasing the body's metabolism, helps fight off pathogens, reduced body fat helps improve insulin resistance and glucose tolerance and helps with elimination.

Coconut Oil can be used as a spread, in salad dressings, smoothies, protein shakes, oatmeal and hot tea.  You can also apply it directly to your skin or apply one drop to your hair as a conditioner.

The 39th Annual Cancer Convention

I had the privilege of attending the Cancer Control Convention put on by the Cancer Control Society Sept 3-6, 2011 in Universal City, CA.  It is a very affordable annual event, costing just $40 to $75 per day.  I would highly recommend it for anyone interested in non-toxic alternative therapies, therapeutic nutrition and tests.

Bus tours of Cancer Clinics offering alternative therapies in Mexico are coming up on Sept. 17th.  Buses leave from the Sheraton Universal in Universal City, CA at 7AM and arrive back at 11:30PM.  The cost is $75. 

Cancer Control Society
2043 N. Berendo St.
Los Angeles, CA 90027
323-663-7801