• “My doctor doesn’t have time to talk about a natural health approach and somehow I always wind up feeling foolish for asking how I can be a part of healing myself”
• “My doctor doesn’t seem like he cares about my goals as much as he should”
• “Everybody seems to be selling the treatments and supplements they recommend. How can I find the real scoop from someone who’s not a salesman?”
• “Taking a pill is easy but I know there’s much more to being healthy. How do I put together a whole-life program that will really fit me?
• “I can’t afford going to spas, nutritionists, trainers and world-famous health doctors!”
• “If the natural approach is so great, why don’t doctors use it in their practices? Where is the scientific evidence that it works?”

Organic Foods

The best reason for buying organic food is simply that it tastes good, but there are also sound health reasons for doing so. Organic foods have been shown in some studies to have more vitamins and trace elements than conventionally grown food and of course, it will not have been treated with any noxious chemicals. If you want to begin eating healthfully and joyfully we highly recommend organic produce. Recent studies have shown that organic produce contains less than 40% of pesticide residues of non-organic produce and double the nutrient value in nearly every category. We’ve enjoyed experimenting with cooperative groups, whole food stores and supermarkets with organic produce. Local supermarkets have begun to stock organic produce that may be only slightly more expensive than chemically tainted varieties. The premium paid at the checkout counter seems to be acceptable given the nutrition statistics and clearly superior flavor and quality.

Range-fed meat and poultry, including game meats have higher concentrations of healthy fats and minimal hormone contamination. Antibiotic use and industrial slaughter practices also contribute to the lowered desirability of commercial meat and poultry. The risk of "Mad-cow disease" is nearly eliminated in animals denied commercial feed products. Finding a healthy source for meat can take some time but we have found several suppliers in North Texas that are happy to grass-feed cattle and have them processed in a safe and humane way. Find Products in your area.

Processed Foods

"The whiter the bread, the quicker you're dead." We don't know who said it, but it pretty well sums up the reality of eating highly processed food. We have found that immediate health benefits can be enjoyed within two or three days of eliminating processed food from the diet. Sugar, white flour, trans-fats (margarine, vegetable Crisco, fried foods), chemically or heat-extracted oils and corn syrup should be moved out of the pantry as soon as possible. We often find our families boxing up less healthy foods and giving them away to food shelters or friends who haven’t yet chosen to eliminate these foods. Changing long-held dietary patterns is challenging. It can be made more enjoyable by having a plan of action that includes the whole family and interested friends. It sounds nearly impossible to eliminate fast foods and processed foods until you try it. We have a component of our ideal weight course that helps with the transition to healthy food choices. Once flavor-enhancing chemicals have been removed from the diet, tastebuds revive, allergic responses diminish and good food starts to taste great. You will be amazed at how good you feel within a week of cutting out the terrible toxins!

The Sweet Life Sweeteners are the mother of all ailments. Our ancestors, who did not have this white poison, did not have nearly one hundredth of our daily growing list of new diseases. Nutrasweet, Sweet-n-Low, Splenda, Sucralose and other synthetic sweeteners are best left in their cute little pink and blue packets. These Healthy sweeteners include Stevia (debittered), Chinese Magic Fruit, locally harvested honey (sparingly), organic maple syrup and brown rice syrup. The ultimate goal is to use foods (including sweeteners) in their natural state and experience their complete taste spectrum. Food will never be fully enjoyed as long as sweeteners are included in most food preparation. Your taste buds will become more sensitive to all tastes as less sweetener is used over time. Sometimes it helps to keep a packet or two of powdered stevia or honey powder in your pocket or desk drawer so that you don't find yourself left without sweetening options. The interesting history of sweeteners and their effects are covered in the ideal weight course. Find out more information on the dangers of aspartame at sweetpoison.com.

Stress Reduction

More than 50 years ago, Dr. Hans Selye demonstrated how stress diminishes health and leads to glandular disturbances, including autoimmune endocrine disorders. Specifically, Selye subjected rats to a type of stress from which they had no escape. Over time, this chronic stress contributed to their deaths. Stress has been classically defined as: A mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to adverse external influences… The classic definition of stress is probably too narrow for our use. Stress is a response to an internal or external force that creates a perceptible change in emotion, physiology, structure or energy. Stress occurs in three distinct phases:

Alarm-Stress hormones are released in response to some physical or mental trauma. Normal resistance to infection is lowered but when the stress is discontinued the body fully recovers rapidly
Resistance-The body adapts to continued stressful stimuli. Immune and other systems are working overtime to compensate.
Exhaustion-Resistance fails to be maintained and disease is manifested in one of the many possible areas.

Structural imbalance, internal medical illness and dysfunction, negative subconscious emotions and energetic imbalances all create stress throughout the body’s systems.

Stress is obviously unavoidable and can impact our sleep, digestion, sexual capability, cardiovascular status, immune and other systems. There is no system that is not affected by stress. Herbert Benson M.D. wrote The Relaxation Response and gave a simple method for intervening in the cycle of stress:

Sit quietly in a comfortable position.

Close your eyes.

Deeply relax all your muscles,
beginning at your feet and progressing up to your face.
Keep them relaxed.

Breathe through your nose.
Become aware of your breathing.
As you breathe out, say the word, "ONE",
silently to yourself. For example,
breathe IN ... OUT, "ONE",- IN .. OUT, "ONE", etc.
Breathe easily and naturally.

Continue for 10 to 20 minutes.
You may open your eyes to check the time, but do not use an alarm.
When you finish, sit quietly for several minutes,
at first with your eyes closed and later with your eyes opened.
Do not stand up for a few minutes..

Do not worry about whether you are successful
in achieving a deep level of relaxation.
Maintain a passive attitude and permit relaxation to occur at its own pace.
When distracting thoughts occur,
try to ignore them by not dwelling upon them
and return to repeating "ONE."
With practice, the response should come with little effort.
practice the technique once or twice daily,
but not within two hours after any meal,
since the digestive processes seem to interfere with
the elicitation of the Relaxation Response.

- The Relaxation Response , Herbert Benson, M.D.

• Don’t drink fluids 2-3 hours before bed
• Eat protein-only snacks before bed
• Sleep in complete darkness
• No TV, read something relaxing (no thrillers)
• Try 5-HTP capsules before bed (amino acid)
• Go to bed before 11:00 PM
• Take a hot bath or shower

• Synthetic fabrics should be reduced from your wardrobe, bedding and furniture as time and finances permit.
• Any material that comes into contact with the skin should be made from cotton, linen, real leather, wood, ramie or silk.
• Metal jewelry should be kept to a minimum and your next pair of glasses should be purchased with a plastic or wooden nosepiece.
• All plug-in electrical devices should be kept at least ten feet from your bed.
• Synthetic chemical cleaners, cosmetics and household products should be avoided. Check out our free mini-course on household cleaners and how to improve your indoor air quality. There are several companies that have specialized in the development of natural products for daily household use. (Seventh Generation)
• For those who are chemically sensitive toxic exposure can require cleansing and detoxification regimens.