Are You Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired?

As winter lingers on and we bundle up against a chill in the air, do you find yourself fighting an endless cold or flu. Abundant remedies and over-the-counter drugs exist claiming to shorten the condition or alleviate the symptoms. But if you really want to have an affect on sickness, the time to do something is when you're not sick. It's important to ensure that your immune system is in top condition to fight the endless assault of viruses and bacteria. See The Road to Health Comes Down to Diet.

Here are five tips to add to your healthy journey regimen:

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Interview with a Former Sugar Addict

I interviewed Sara, a 28 year-old mother of two energetic boys, ages four and two. She described herself as a sugar addict. Here is her story:

What was it like before you cut out sugar?
I’ve been a candy addict most of my life. I’d go to the gas station and get loads of candy that was really bad like Peach Rings and Gummy Bears. My husband called it “gross candy.” I could sit and eat an entire package of something and want more. After I’d eat dinner, I would crave candy.

I got to the point where I was extremely tired and impatient with the boys, my husband and I would fight and I was always grumpy. I would sleep-in in the morning, I would sleep in the afternoon, and even when I’d take a nap, I’d wake up feeling exhausted and tired. Also, I felt the sugar was making my heart beat really fast. I couldn’t catch my breath and felt sluggish. Not feeling good at all. I was just a mess.

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The Best Way to Avoid Getting Cancer

I subscribe to Dr. Mercola's health newsletter. It arrives in my Inbox each day. You can link to Dr. Mercola's website here.

I want to pass on a very important article in today's newsletter. The article begins with the tragedy occurring in far too many homes, exposing modern medicine's lack of preventive tools and treatments. Read on to learn the best way to avoid getting cancer.

Cancer Sucks—One Final Adoption by Dr. Mercola

While you're there, I suggest you sign up to get Dr. Mercola's natural health newsletter FREE in your Inbox.

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Veggie Salad Recipe

From Chris Pedersen

Yield 4 Servings

Category Salad

Cuisine Healthy

Ingredients

greens (spinach, kale, arugula, etc.), diced

1 zucchini, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 C red pepper, diced
1 C green or wax beans, 1 inch pieces

1 celery stalk, sliced

1/2 cucumber, diced

1/4 C raw-unfiltered apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar

1/4 C olive oil

salt, pepper and favorite spices

crumbled feta cheese

beans (black, garbanzo or kidney), drained and rinsed

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The Road to Health Comes Down to Diet

© 2011 JAGster Photo

Bad Food = Sick Bodies
It amazes me how people can get a diagnosis of cancer and NOT look at the diet they have been eating as a problem. The more I learn about the human body, the more I am in awe of my Creator.

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14a

It’s clear to me that our bodies were created to withstand a lot of abuse. There is no man-made thing that would survive the analogous ill-treatment some dish-out to their bodies. Artificial ingredients, hydrogenated oils, chemical sugars… and the list of unpronounceable items is endless. How long would you expect your car to work if you put junk in your gas tank?

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Blackeyed Pea Soup Recipe

From Chris Pedersen

Yield 4 Servings

Category Soup

Cuisine Healthy, Vegan

Ingredients

1/2 onion, chopped

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp basil

11/2 C water or vegetable broth

1 parsnip, chopped

1 celery stalk, sliced

1 carrot, chopped

1 C cabbage, chopped

1 broccoli stalk, separated into small pieces

1 can blackeyed peas

1 can cut tomatos

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Sleep! Who Needs it?

Problem
We live in a fast-paced world, filled with technology that consumes us and projects that drive us. Our desire to get the most out of every day pushes us to compromise on a very important aspect of health—sleep.

Thinking you can get by on a few hours of sleep, you push ahead and grab the coffee or energy drink to prop yourself up. It becomes such an ingrained pattern, you fool yourself into thinking you can do this. Who needs sleep?

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Grocery Shopping Made Healthy

Shopping healthy made simple thanks to Darya Pino (scientist and self-described foodie) at the Summer Tomato blog, who took the general rules for shopping healthy and produced a useful graphic.

My advice for shopping healthy includes steering your shopping cart around the outer edges of the grocery store where you find the produce, dairy and meats. Anytime you go down an aisle, you risk buying processed foods that may not be healthy for you. Make a habit of reading the ingredients list on the product's label to decide whether it fits the food category. And BTW, when you start reading the ingredients, you will be shocked at how much sugar is found in processed "food."

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Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

Sugar-free, Dairy-free

From Chris Pedersen

Yield 3 dozen

Category Dessert

Cuisine Healthy

Ingredients

1/3 C chunky almond butter

2 ripe bananas

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbsp soy milk

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp baking powder

2 1/2 C rolled oats

1 egg

dash cinnamon

dash cloves

1/4 C flour

1/2 C raisons

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New Year's Resolutions

Broken Promises
It happens every year. Lengthy lists are made of promises to ourselves that we will lose weight, save money, join the gym, eat healthy, learn a new skill, and on and on. Gym managers love it! They get new members who sign up, pay up and show up for a time until things go back to normal with only the die-hard regulars coming in. Purveyors of the latest diet fade love it! They sell diet books, recipe books and special food until the next hot fade comes along. What's wrong with the last one? Didn't lose weight? Too hard?

I caught a glimpse of the Hollywood Cookie Diet! Are you serious? I don't even want to know how that's supposed to work. Folks, we make it too hard. We look for the quick fix when what we need is re-education. We have gotten so far off track from what our bodies need to be healthy. Health science continues to identify all these marvelous nutrients that do wonderful things in our body and then they try to bottle it. Where did the nutrient come from? The fruit of the land—fruits, vegetables and grains. Let's get back to basics.

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