During such a difficult time, improving our overall health is more important than ever before. Nobody on this entire planet wants to be vulnerable to viruses right now. And there is much we can do about to improve our immune system.
One method is healthy eating and juicing.
One of the two dozen experts I have interviewed some years ago was bestselling author Cherie Calbom, and her field of expertise is juicing.
The first question I asked her is what she thinks the reason for the rising obesity epidemic might be. And this was her answer.
Toxins
“Because we increased sugar and we refined carbs to a great degree, and it’s in so many things that we eat. High fructose corn syrup and all forms of sugar like dextrose and maltodextrin, on and on, things that are hidden in packaged foods, prepared foods that we don’t even know are there, they cause imbalances in our body. All those junk foods, pesticides, toxins from so many sources cause weight gain. Toxins are very destructive to our delicate tissues and organs and so our body is going to do whatever it can to store those in fat cells which is the safest place to put them. And when it does that, it’s going to hold on to those fat cells and even make new ones to protect our bodies.”
“And so, when people start getting rid of the toxic food that are in their diet and detoxing with these wonderful vegetable juices that are so high in anti-oxidants, in come all the anti-oxidants and the body says, ‘I can let go some of these toxins now that are stored in fat cells and so I can let go of the fat cells’.”
pH Imbalance
“And then also acidity, we have a huge emphasis today on acid forming foods. That is different than acid tasting foods. People get very confused thinking how could meat or grains or sugar or alcohol, coffee, black tea, soda pop, sports drinks, energy bars, be acid forming, but they are. Those are acid forming foods and it’s how it breaks down in the body.” — Cherie Calbom
Unfortunately, people don’t eat nearly enough of those to balance their acid diets. You don’t have to cut out all acid forming foods. We need some of those too. But we need many more alkaline forming foods than acid forming foods.
Like with the toxins, the body is going to story acid in fat cells because it’s the safest place to put them. And then it will hang on to those fat cells literally for dear life.
Probably every weight loss coach on the planet has heard statements like, “I don’t eat hardly anything and I am gaining weight or not losing it.”
Then, when you look at what they’re eating, you can see that they’re eating all the wrong stuff. They even may be on a thousand calorie diet a day, but they are not feeding their body with the right food to assist it to get rid off the extra fat.
Sugar and Yeast
One of THE most acid-forming food is sugar.
“Sugar in our diet set us up for sugar imbalances and craving more sugar, insulin imbalances, spikes and dips when the insulin dips low. Then we need something to raise that blood sugar up quickly and people would turn to sweets. And when you eat a sweets, then the body shoots up more insulin and then it dips low and you are on a roller-coaster ride all day long of highs and lows and craving sweets and eating more and more of the stuff that just keeps you in a trap. And then all of that sets us up for yeast imbalances in our body,” Cherie said.
The Candida Albicans is a particularly tough yeast to get rid of because the yeast will cause strong sugar cravings. In fact, the Candida Albicans yeast can be very adament and persistant when it comes to eating sweets. The yeast feeds on sugar and refined carbs and in order to grow, it needs more and more sugar. And all the time you believe that it’s your body that is craving the sugar, but it’s the Candida.
So as we get on a good balanced, alkaline balanced diet, get the sweets out of our diet, begin to control those yeasts, our sugar cravings go away.
By understanding this simple truth and by taking the right action, even the worst chocoholics and sweetaholics can become free, get on a healthy, alkaline diet and lose massive amounts of weight.
Poor Absorption
Cherie continued, “All of these terrible foods that people eat so much of today, the packaged stuff with the refined foods, the junk food, the fast food, sets us up for poor digestion. And many people have come to me said, ‘my doctors told me I am not absorbing the food that I eat.’ Their systems are just not taking in the nutrients. Said that their calorie is high but the nutrients that the body is absorbing is low, so they’re literally starving in the midst of a high caloric intake.”
Cherie concluded: “And no wonder we have the obesity problem and all the health problems that we have. We are way off track.”
To remedy that, the fresh juices are a great solution because they are broken down so the body can absorb them easily.
Eating more greens and more fresh vegetables and fruits is an important first step, especially now during the Covid-19 pandemic. We need lots of vitamins from natural sources.
Then everybody who has a juicer wants to press their daily glass of fresh juices, preferrably from leavy foods like beet leaves, multi-colored Swiss chard, cauliflower leaves, cucumber, herbs, lettuce leaves, a couple of carrots, etc.
Eating healthy is not difficult at all. Humanity has made it complex and complicated because of all the prefabrication and the toxins added to make people addicted to unhealthy food. Just stay with the natural produce and you will not have a weight issue much longer. On top of that, you will soon realize that you and your family get healthier and have more energy.
Isn’t that worth the price of cooking from scratch?
Good health!
*****
A few years ago, I did interviews with over two dozen health and weight loss coaches with a different approach than the diet approach. One of these experts was the bestselling American author, Cherie Calbom. Her expertise is in healthy eating and juicing. If you want to hear the whole interview with Cherie, you can go here and claim your free 2-week membership trial.
Currently, the world seems to be hidden under a gigantic clowd of fear, worry, and panic. The news channels seem to have only one topic: Coronavirus. It seems like the world has come to a screaching halt. There are so many different and even contradictory reports about the spreading of the Coronavirus what leads to even bigger confusion. Although the death numbers more sound like normal numbers like with any other winter flu to me (people are dying at any time of the year, not only during a so-called pandemy) the media publish new numbers every day. And the worst numbers are the added up ones what makes it look like quite a daunting number.
Corona-Gift #1: Relaxation Island
Hello and welcome!
During such a situation that is very stressful for many of us, I decided to give you a gift my clients usually have to pay for. May this help you get through the current corona crisis with less stress.
As you may know, stress is making matters worse not better. Stress is even adding on pounds and we want to prevent that from happening.
As a former stress-relief therapist I have created this short 10-minute relaxation for you to use as often as you like. If staying healthy is important to you, I recommend to do it three times during the day (although not directly before going to bed).
It takes some time until the body will react to, but once it will, you can be certain that your immune system is getting stronger daily.
Here is your gift:
Don’t use this relaxation tape shortly before going to bed becasue it increases your energy. The best times are upon waking up before breakfast, before lunch and before dinner.
Corona-Gift #2: 13 Tips to prevent yourself from getting sick
Almost all governements worldwide have issued various protective measures and implemented restrictive orders for the the people, which are, “Wash your hands”, “Sneeze into your ellbow”, and “Stay at home”. If we are facing a real pandemy, this seems quite rudimentary advice to me.
The importance of effective prevention and the appropriate strengthening of the immune system is hardly mentioned by the media, authorities and experts. Although this should be our very first concern. But the media are more concerned about which celebrity got infected and how much toilet paper they have to produce to cover the increased demand.
Prevention should always be given attention in the winter months anyway, but nobody seems to care about prevention for the 99,99999% of the people who are healthy.
Here are the most sensible preventive steps that can help your body to remain immune for viruses and to activate its fabulous self-healing power in case of an infection.
13 Steps how to remain healthy and give Corona no chance:
1.) Keep in mind the following fact: the body is perfectly capable of warding off any viruses and bacteria IF it has everything it needs. Therefore, as long as you are taking well care of your body and its immune system, you don’t have to worry about viruses. Just feed your body the right food.
2.) One of the best preventions is keeping an optimistic mindset. While fear weakens our immune system, positivity strengthens it. That doesn’t mean that we have to adopt a Polyanna mindset, but it means to be conscious about how we think and feel. Thoughts and emotions are energy, and if you are familiar with the law of attraction, you understand that we always attract what we are afraid of. Therefore, if you do not want to attract the Coronavirus, you should not even think about it, let alone allow fear, anxiety and panic to dominate your thinking and emotions.
Each time you realize that you are being fearful, stop and take a few deep breaths. Then shift your thinking to something else, preferrably to something you can still be grateful for. For instance, you can be thankful that you have more time with your family now, that you have more time for yourself, that you now finally can read that book you never had the time for, that you can meditate and relax every single day, that you can finish tasks you never had the time for and so on and so forth. Or you can simply be grateful that you and your loved ones are healthy and alive.
3.) To be on the safe side, follow the hygiene instructions of your government. Your own protection is only one part why I add this to my list. The second part is that when you follow these instructions, nobody can blame you for being irresponsible. Besides, a correct coughing and sneezing etiquette is always a good idea and should simply be part of good manners.
4.) Deep abdominal breathing has a profound effect on the flow properties on the blood. The blood then can transport more oxygen to the organs what increases the detoxification process what keeps your organs healthier. If you are not allowed to leave the house, step out on your porch or balcony or open the windows several times a day. Then hold your face up to the sun and breathe deeply for 10 minutes. Make sure that you breathe into your abdomen and breathe out deeply again. Imagine that your breathing is like the waves of the ocean: coming and going, coming and going, coming and going…. Do that several times a day. “Before and after” haemograms always proof clearly a big difference. While the red blood cells are often clumped together before the breathing exercise, they can float freely afterwards (no more clumping).
5.) Stress is one of the biggest contributing factor to any disease. Nothing weakens our immune system faster than stress. Therefore stress relief is the call of the hour. Although it may seem like normal to be stressed in such a worrisome time, the necessity to stop and refrain from what’s going on is life saving. Besides, most of us have more time now since we can’t leave our homes. So why not take advantage of this situation by giving your immune system a boost and practice to relax? With my last message I have sent you a gift, an audio with a relaxation session you can do at any time. Just don’t do it while driving or working with heavy machines. To do it properly you need to lay or sit down, close your eyes and allow your nervous system to completely let go. In that process of relaxing and letting go your immune system can recharge itself beautifully. The more often you practice this relaxation, the better you get and the faster and easier you can relax, even in times of stress. You can use my relaxation audio (it only takes 9 minutes) or any other relaxation method you may like. Just do it on a regular basis several times per day.
Here is the audio “Relaxation Island” (Corona-Gift #1) again:
Don’t use this relaxation tape shortly before going to bed becasue it increases your energy. The best times are upon waking up before breakfast, before lunch and before dinner.
6.)Fresh air and exercise is another way of improving your immune system. The combination of fresh air, sunlight and movement is simply ideal. Besides, it makes you feel great, happy and strong. Oxygen is more important than food. If you are one of those individuals who can’t go to work, it might be a great idea touse that time and go for a daily one-hour walk, play with your children outdoors, go on a bicycle tour or hiking tour. You will see that afterwards you will feel like all the power is back in your hands….and it is.
7.) Did you ever hear that a lack of sleep will lead to weight gain? So now you have the chance to sleep more (ideally 8 hours per night) and by doing so you can improve your immune system and at the same time lose weight. Especially during the flu season good and enough sleep is very much recommended.
8.) It’s no secret that a healthy and balanced diet supports our immune system. Health begins in our intestine, and optimal digestive function as a prevention of flu-like infections is crucial. A light and well-balanced diet – fresh and light meals, cut back on the carbs, eat lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, herbs, wild plants, sprouts and seeds – will aid your intestine to do a better job what will aid your immune system. Also cook from scratch and give your microwave oven a break. Microwaved food is dead and altered, thus toxic – your body simply can’t recognize it as food and stores it in fat cells to keep it away from the vital organs. This cloggs up your entire system, weakens the immune system, toxifies the body and leads to weight gain. If (since) you have more time now, there is no reason to use the microwave oven.
9.) When I was a child, each winter we had to swallow fish oil capsules in order to stay healthy. Gosh did I hate that. But today I understand why this was necessary. Thank goodness we have better alternatives nowadays. Vitamin D, E and C in high dosage are very important during the flu season. The combination of these two substances has proven to be very effective for the long-term strengthening of the immune system. This is a very important part of preventing a flu. But make sure that you get supplements from natural sources and not syntetically manufactured ones. Rather pay a few dollars more in your health food store than for supplements from the drug store. Together with vitamin D3 you should also take K2. And please don’t hesitate to add an Omega3 supplement.
10.) Besides the vitamins, minerals also play an important role for a healthy immune system. Zinc in particular increases the body’s defense mechanism and the protection of the lung – very important when facing the Coronavirus. Selenium is a strong antioxidant mineral and essential for various functions of the immune system and also for detoxification and cell protection.
11.) Many medicinal plants have an immune-strengthening, protecting and antioxidant effect. For prevention use products with echinacea, thyme, parsley, rosemary, basil, mint, ginger, turmeric, oregano, liquorice, rockrose, elderberry, rosehip, and horseradish. These plants can be ingested as tinctures, teas, in capsules or fresh in meals. The good news is that some of the mentioned herbs are great additions for the kitchen and improve every meal in taste. Nothing beats a salad with a handful freshly chopped parsley and basil or a pesto with fresh oregano. Why not take advantage of the unplanned “vacation” to experiment with new, healthy menues?
As soon as you begin to feel some flu-like symptoms, take 40 drops of echinacea tincture in a glass of water every two hours during the entire day until the symptons will be gone. Most of the time the flu will take its leave before it can really break out. If these symptoms don’t go away within a day or two, call the doctor. Keep in mind that the mentioned herbs are for prevention.
12.) The better your body can release toxins, acid and slag, the healthier your body remains. And to get rid of those in the fastest way possible, your body needs a lot of pure water (nothing added to it). If you are at a normal weight, three liters (102 oz or 300ml) per day is enough. But if you are overweight, you need four liters (135 oz. or 400ml or 1 gallon) of water daily. Add a small pinch of a healthy, organic salt to every third glass of water but nothing else. If you live in a city or in an area where you depend on community water, you should ideally filter your water. If you are not used to drink so much water, first replace all other drinks you usually drink during any given day with water. Then increase the amount of water slightly from week to week (for instance, increase your daily water intake for 500ml/17 oz. every week until you will have the three or four liters).
13.) Speaking of prevention we shall not forget one of the biggest contributors to illness. The virus has always been around and part of the winter flus. So why is it more severe this year? The problem is that the governments do not yet understand the severe danger of radiation (EMF). Some scientists are warning us from microwave radiation for many years, some even for more than two decades. So far that radiation has gone up linear, slightly increasing from year to year through cordless phones, mobile phones, Wi-Fi and all technical devices that communicate wirelessly. The cell phone and smart meter technology is based on microwaves and as we know, microwaves heat. Over the years the radiation was increased only slightly but regularly and steadily so that most people didn’t feel a difference. But last year in many western countries they began the roll-out of 5G which is said to be 17 times stronger than 4G. And that lead to a rapid increase of microwave radiation all around the planet and in the entire atmosphere.
Therefore, for the sake of prevention I highly recommnd to go hard-wired and reduce the use of cell phones, wireless phones, Wi-Fi, smart phones, robots, etc. to an absolute minimum and only for emergency cases if nothing else will work. At this time of your life you don’t need to be available 24/7 anyway, unless you have to work from home. But maybe even then your boss could call you on your land line. This will help your immune system to recover.
The electromagnetic radiation of such devices weakens the defence and detoxification ability of our organ systems and cells and impairs the regenerative and self-healing powers. Giving your body and immune system a break from radiation will be a very welcome change and help your body to improve its immune system and keep you healthy. Isn’t this the most important thing right now anyway?
Don’t forget the joy of life. Like attracts like! We can only attract the same Energy we send out through our thoughts and emotions. Negative thoughts and emotions bring back negative situations and circumstances and vice versa. If you start your day with a feeling of gratitude that you are alive and healthy and go through your day with joy and enthusiasm – by celebrating feelings of friendship, love, trust, hope, faith, and strength – that’s exactly what you will get. Pay very close attention to your thoughts and emotions and softly the negative ones into a more positive direction by changing your thinking. Pay very close attention to the information and news you are currently consuming. Don’t allow to get inundated. News are seldom positive and can make us feel helpless and hopeless. This is not helpful at all. Negative emotions have been proven to weaken our immune system. Whenever you feel helpless or hopeless, turn your attention back to gratitude, people you love and life-enhancing things.
And let’s not forget laughter – it’s said to be the best Medicine!
Aids for acute cases Should you have to stay in bed with symptoms of cold and fever, there are still several things you can do to support your body in the healing process.
Herbal teas with ginger, thyme or sage strengthen the immune system and free the respiratory tract. Camomile tea reduces the Inflammation. Drink a lot of these teas.
American Ginseng supports the lungs.
You can also apply a warming chest ointment from the drugstore or pharmacy.
Inhale with thyme, eucalyptus oil, American ginseng root or baking powder.
The intake of Umckaloabo (tincture) or acetylcysteine (available from the pharmacy) promotes the expulsion of mucus.
With bronchitis and pneumonia, potato, onion and mustard seed poultices have been found to be very effective.
If your symptoms do not improve, you should consult your naturopath, homeopath or doctor for individual advice.
As disasterous the effects of the corona virus are for the economy may be, there is still an advantage most people don’t realize. This crisis is forcing us to look at some things closer and change a few things in our lives for the sake of our health and the health of our loved ones.
Don’t allow the death numbers to impress you. Compared to the world population this is a minimal number. Of course each life counts, but please keep in mind that the people who die are old and/or have other diseases of which they probably would have died anyway. This may help you keep things in perspective. Follow the instructions of your government (just to be on the safe side) and on top of that try to implement these 13 steps to strengthen your immune system. This should get you a long way.
Corona-Gift #3: 17 Steps to healthy weight loss during Covid-19
Yesterday I read in the newspaper that because of the home quarantine people begin to gain weight. That doesn’t surprise me. Of course one issue is that people are sitting around more and move or exercise less. Then they also tend to eat more junk food because this gives them kind of a cozy feeling. But then there is also another psychological component to that.
In such a time where we are being told that our life is in danger – regardless whether this is true or not – we choose to prevent ourselves from starving by allowing the body to add more fat. This is a totally unconscious agreement between our brain and the body and is part of our survival mode. But that doesn’t mean that your weight gain is a given. You can still choose. You can over-rule your subconscious mind by becoming aware of. More about that in a minute.
Crisis always contains chances. And the Covid-19 crisis is no different. Everybody who is at home quarantine has received the gift of more time. And with that time we can do wonderful things and apply some new weight loss habits.
17 Steps how to lose weight during the Corona Crisis (instead of gaining weight)
Since most of the instructions above that lead to better health and a stronger immune system also lead to faster and easier weight gain, I highly recommend to keep applying the 13 Tips in my gifts #1 and #2 above. These steps will also aid your weight loss.
The next step is really to become aware of what’s going on subconsciously and then make a decision. As soon as you do that, it’s no longer subconscious and you gain the control back. That’s how you can over-rule your subconscious mind.
Tell your body that you are perfectly capable of taking care of its needs even during such a crisis and that there is no need to shovel in junk food to gain and store fat. You have to tell your body that in an assertive and determined tone and it will understand you.
Of course, you then will have to deliver on the promise so your body will learn to trust you when you say that you are taking care of it. One way to do that is by giving it the healthiest possible food your money can currently buy. This has to include a lot of fresh greens, salads, vegetables and fruits. The more fresh food the better.
Since sleeping is very crucial for healthy weight loss, I want to repeat that step here again. Make sure that you sleep between seven and eight hours every night. Do not underestimate the power of a good night’s sleep.
Just because you have to stay at home doesn’t mean that you can’t get out and get some fresh air. This is simply essential for effective weight loss. Your body needs a lot of oxigen to burn fat. If you have the opportunity to go for a walk in a nearby park or if you live in the Country, go for a daily walk of between 30 and 60 minutes. I hear you say that you still have to work from home despite of corona. Yes, that’s right, but since you don’t have to commute to work and back you gain time. That time should ideally be spent for your body in order to remain healthy And why not also use that time to lose some extra fat? That way you demonstrate your boss that you are able to take responsibility and he or she will appreciate that.
If you have a yard – whether you have children or not – play outdoors a lot.
When the weather is wet and cold, you can also move in the house. If you are so lucky to have stairs in the house, you can climb the stairs up and down. Just keep in mind that for the sake of weight loss, any kind of exercise has to be done at least 30 minutes. That means that you would have to walk up and down the stairs several times. To make this more interesting and to prevent boredom, you can use motivating music while exercising this way.
Speaking of music, dancing really intensive for at least 30 minutes is another way to exercise and it’s fun. Dance in a way that makes you sweat.
The good news is that many things that provide weight loss are actually free, and so is water. Water is a great help for weight loss. The bodies of overweight people have a higher need of water, therefore try to increase your water intake. Now is a very good time to train your body to hold more water. Three liters per day is a minimum. You will see that you will be less hungry.
Years ago I began to make weekly meal plans. That habit is now making my life significantly easier and helps me to eat healthier. Every day I know exactly what to cook and when I go shopping I don’t just fill the cart with food but I fill it with healthy food I know I will actually need during the week. This not only forces me to make healthier choices but also saves me money because I have to throwe away less food.
Cooking from scratch can be really fun. Spoil the body with healthy food instead of purchasing pre-cooked stuff that contains lots of sugar, carbs and toxins. I never liked cooking until I realized how much more tasty my meals get when I use fresh herbs. There is no comparison to pre-made meals. After cooking from scratch during four weeks of home quarantine it will become a desire to keep cooking that way after the crisis will be over. And thus you will find good ways to keep that healthy lifestyle beyond the Covid-19 crisis. After all, millions of European women still cook from scratch three meals per day and every day, although many of them have their jobs as well.
Don’t eat microwaved food because it’s void in nutrients. I know they told us that microwaved food contained the most vitamines over other cooking methods, which is only partly true. That means that the vitamins can be found in the food. But what they don’t tell you is that food that has been defrosted or heated in the microwave is being altered in a way that your body can’t recognize it as “food” any longer, and thus it becomes toxic for the body. Because your body doesn’t understand what to do with that “matter” it stores it in fat cells labeled as “toxic” what leads not only to a little bit weight gain but to massive weight gain and obesity.
Reduce the starchy carbs. Since you are now eating more vegetables and fruits, you will not need any starchy carbs anyway.
Some of the biggest stumbling blocks are snacks. It’s so easy to grab some sugary snacks or a bag of potatoe chips, especially when working from home. By eliminating them from your home completely helps your tremendously to make better and conscious choices. Unsalted nuts, for example are very healthy and you will only need a few of those to reduce your hunger. Then, again drinking a glass or two of water reduces the appetite as well and you will see that you will need way less food (and money). One of the healtiest snacks are apples, but only if it’s organically grown. One apple is enough between two meals.
I think by now we are all aware of the fact that stress leads to weight gain. You can easily reduce stress drastically by applying #2, #4, #5 and #7 of my Corona-Gift #2 above. Fresh air, deep breathing, regular methodical relaxation and good night’s sleep help reduce stress tremendously and although it may seem like costing time, at the end of the day these tactics help you reduce time. The Managers of some Fortune 500 companies I used to work with are not only allowed to relax regularly during the work time, they are also encouraged to do so. This for a very good reason. Relaxed employees are much more effectice than the stressed ones. Therefore, whatever you do to reduce stress in your life will increase the quality of your work and you can do much more.
Visualize. Imagine how you are slim and happy. Do that one a day for a couple of minutes.
Simple? Yes. Simple and effective.
Like I said earlier, we have been given a gift: the gift of more time. This gives us the great chance to implement some new and better habits and get rid of some old, fattening habits. It would be a shame not to take advantage of that gift of life.
Leading a healthy lifestyle has always been the best way of lasting weight loss.
Just in case that you might think that you already knew all that, I believe you. But how many times did we Forget About even the simplest Things because life was creaping up on us and then suddenly realized one day that we have forgotten what we wanted to do? And don’t we all need some motivation from time to time? So see this as a friendly reminder from me.
Especially during such an unprecedented time the world has never seen before we tend to run through the days mindlessly not realizing the chances this may bring. And when that happens, it is so easy to feel powerless and that we have lost control over our lives and health.
Now it’s time to be gently lead back to a healthy lifestyle and to gain your control back.
Take care….and stay healthy, slim and happy! You are worth it!
Corona-Gift #4: 3 Secrets and 4 Elements of Lasting Weight Loss
Gift #4 is the recording of a class I did about three years ago. So far nobody ever had access to this recording. This is my gift to you so you can learn what the four elements of a sensible and powerful weight loss strategy are.
With this gift we are going more into depth regarding lasting and healthy weight loss and also integrate the psychology of losing weight (it’s the psychology of weight loss that makes it last, by the way).
Corona-Gift #5: Weight Loss Experts Reveal The Truth
At the end of the webinar (Corona Gift #4) you have the chance to claim your $144 gift.
P.S. If you have any questions regarding Covid-19 and how to keep yourself and your loved ones healthy during these unprecedented times, please post them below and I will answer them personally.