Calcium

If you are interested in trying a calcium soluble liquid instead of a calcium supplement in a pill that your body will not digest.. please copy and paste this link below and learn more about the Minerals For Life that ENIVA has. In fact if you go to www.vibeforme.com/lauracarson, you will learn a WHOLE lot regarding nutrician. Please email me or leave a comment if you have questions regarding these products.

https://www.enivamembers.com/BO/SingleProduct.aspx?ItemID=24&SessionID=f236e1f5-546d-4b22-8c1c-191f0aa9071e

Calcium supplements

There are so many women today who are on some type of calcium supplement. But let me tell you a little bit about it…if you were to go and pull that bottle off of your shelf in your kitchen, you would most likely see the ingredient “calcium carbonate.” Do you have any idea what that ingredient is??? Would you eat black board chalk on a regular basis? Calcium carbonate is nothing more than BLACKBOARD CHALK. It’s the ring around your bathtub and the scum around your faucets… calcium carbonate is the #1 ingrediant in most calcium supplements!! It is the same as the 15 lb bag of limestone that you can get at your local feed store! It was never intended to be used as nutrition for our bodies. When it is ingested, calcium carbonate just floats around in our bloodstream till it is deposited in our soft tissues making us susceptible to ailments such as bone spurs, kidney stones, hardening of the arties and gall stones. In fact this does not just pertain to just calcium supplements but the MAJORITY OF INGREDIANTS that are used in capsules, tablets and pills!!

"How do I get the calcium that my body needs," you scream..Well the simplest way to get it is through your diet. Include these foods in you diet: kale, collard greens, mustard greens, cabbage, seaweed, chickpeas, broccoli, red beans, soybeans (prepared properly), sesame seeds and raw nuts. Did hunters and gathers long time ago pop calcium pills? Heck no, they were out running around, getting exercise and foraging for food. They were out scrambling around throwing arrows, stalking prey and getting the nuts and seeds and greens that our bodies need.

Right now, go throw all those nasty calcium pills away and go eat a big salad filled with greens!!!

Say NO to Sugar!!!

Talk about having my eyes opened! When I read this chapter from the book, SKINNY B*TCH, I was forever changed. Whoever thought that a silly little cane plant could cause so much fuss? In fact the plant itself is almost perfect…its the extracting and filtering that turns a good thing into a not so healthy one. After it is all said and done, there is nothing left in the ”sweet white stuff” that holds any nutritional value. You would be amazed at some of the health problems that refined sugar is linked to. Here are some examples: weakened immune system, hyperactivity, ADD, enlargement of the kidneys and liver, mental and emotional disorders…do I need to go on??? If that is not enough, sugar also makes you FAT. Your body has a storing tank for sugar but when it get too full the amounts are returned into the bloodstream and decide to go and hang out on your thighs, hips and your butt. Oh what fun!

There is a really bad type of sugar that is found in all types of foods today mainly because it is cheap to produce. It is called high fructose corn syrup and it is found in juices, beer, yogurt, cookies, candies,and breads(sob). Did you know that Diabetes and obesity are directly linked to High Fructose Corn Syrup??? SAY NO TO SUGAR!!!!!

Now, I know that we live in the land of “sweet tea” and I used to be a consumer of the wonderful drink myself but once I read about the problems with sugar I quickly changed my tune and began ordering unsweetened tea or water with lemon. The good news is that now there are alternatives to refined sugar and they are actually pretty close at hand. If you are lucky to have a health food store such as WILD OATS or WHOLE FOODS, you are in for a treat.

One such sweetening product is called Agave Nectar. This plant is used to make TEQUILA. FUN FUN!!! We actually have a bottle sitting on our pantry shelf at this very moment and it is extremely versatile. We use it in everything from tea, coffee, and pancakes or anything that calls for a sweetener. It takes very little to make a HUGE impact of taste. Agave is absorbed slowly into the bloodstream and therefore does not spike blood sugar levels. It ROCKS!!

Another champion is STEVIA. The Japanese have been using this sweeter for years and years and South Americans for centuries. It is primary derived from a plant found in Paraguay. It is used throughout the world and helps balance blood sugar levels and helps aid in digestion. Some say that the taste is a tad bit difficult to stand and is not as friendly tasting as Agave. Stevia contains no calories, and is SAFE FOR DIABETICS. Alert- Alert!!!

Both of these alternatives to the “white powder” have wonderful health benefits to them. They can contain calcium, iron, potassium, protein, the B vitamins, magnesium, fiber and folic acid. (Say what??) So now you can have your cake and eat it too!!


Next time I will tell you about the BAD BAD artificial sweeteners out there one being ASPARTAME found in Nutra Sweet and Equal. Right now I want you all to go and throw out all of the splenda or any of those colored packets that you have in your pantry right now!!!!! After you have thrown it all out, then and only then can we talk….

Recipe for Edamame and shrimp

You were probably reading my SOY entry going, "what in the heck is edamame and what can I cook with it??" Well this morning in the paper I found a cool recipe so I wanted to pass it on to you..

SHRIMP WITH EDAMAME

1 lb medium shrimp, shelled, deveined and tails removed
2 1/4 teaspoons Kosher salt
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 teaspoons Shaoxing Wine (or Dry sherry)
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons chicken broth
1 Teaspoon sugar
1 Cup shelled edamame
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons of cornstarch

1. In a medium bowl, gently mix the shrimp with 2 teaspoons of the salt. Cover the shrimp with cold water and slosh around several times. Drain well and transfer the shrimp to a clean bowl.

2. Mix the shrimp with the cornstarch, egg white and 2 teaspoons of the wine. Set aside for 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, make the sauce. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, chicken broth, and sugar. Set aside.

4. Heat a large wok over high heat until a bead of water dances on the surface and then evaporates. Add the peanut oil and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt and swirl to coat the pan. Add the shrimp and cook for 1 minute, or until they are just pink. Pour in the sauce, bring the liquid to a boil and toss to coat the shrimp well. Add the edamame, remaining 1 teaspoon of wine, and white pepper and stir-fry for 15 seconds, just to evaporate the alsohol and warm the beans through. Immediantely remove the pan from the heat.

VIOLA'
:-)

Skinny B*tch

I got a very cool book for Christmas. The title is a little abrasive but the content is SPOT ON when it comes to taking care of your body. It is called SKINNY BITCH and the writers are Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin. The whole concept is how to be skinny (taking care of your body) and how to be smart and think about the food that you put in your body. Crap = A crappy body. The language can be harsh (authors tend to use foul language to get point across) but I am not a prude and tend to not let the language bother me. :-)

The girls are great when it comes to explaining how sugar, meat, dairy and protein affect your body but yet they act clueless when it comes to SOY. They are HUGE SOY advocates. Needless to say, that I will be very picky about giving out info in this book. I must say thought that this is the second book that I had read that also states the the USDA is a sneaky goverment agency whose whole purpose is to make money. DUH! Therefore you really have to do your homework and do not rely on the goverment to tell you what is healthy and what is not. Be smart! Trust no one!

What till I tell you about Sugar...and Splenda. Arsenic is in Splenda. On that note, go make yourself another cup of coffee..

Working for the weekend

Yay! So glad the weekend is here. Getting back into the groove of school and then to have Ian in a new school kinda placed our family in chaos this week. Course the weather this week added a bit more excitement to things as well.

Today we are going to be taking down Christmas decor(yeah we still have the tree up) and get everything in boxes and put away. Lindsey decided that she did not want to go to horseback riding today cause she just wanted to chill out all day. I was shocked that she did that and in fact, SHE made the call to her teacher to say that she was not coming! Lindsey is 9 years going on 21 I tell you!!

Ian's new school is different in that the 5th and 6th grades do not have classes on Mondays. But they are expected to study and complete homework that is given out on Fridays. Yesterday was a huge struggle getting Ian to finish his 16 math problems that were assigned. He still has to write a skit that is to be one page but I am allowing him to do it on Monday along with studying his Latin words. Yes, Latin entered the picture once we started this school. I hope he gets the hang of it faster than I did in College. I still have nightmares over the verb conjugations!!
AMO, AMAS, AMANT, AMOMOS, AMANTIS, AMONT!!!

Stormy Thursday

Crazy day...started off good but got real bad as it went on. Me and my buddy Lisa went out to go shopping at Stein Mart so I could use my gift card(thank you santa janice). While we were there one of the sales associates was on the phone in the dressing room talking about a Tornado Watch being issued. I was in the room behind her trying on a new bra and also leaning out to hear what she was saying. After I finished trying clothes on, I stepped out of the room and found my friend who was shopping elsewhere in the store. She also heard about the tornado watch so we proceeded to go check out and get home.

Since Ian has started this new school, Ian has to be picked up by Tom or I by 2:30pm. So, I am traveling down Mac Hatcher at 2:15pm and I can see ahead that the road is solid white...WHITE... and then the closer I get, I can see that it is rain that is ahead. BOOM before I know it, I am IN THE THICK of it...rain like I have never seen before! I had Bach,our german shephard, in the car with me and I called for him to give him pats and to reassure him that all was ok even though I was not sure it was.

I turned on my hazard lights to let others know to watch out for me and I pulled over to the side to wait it out. After about 5 long minutes things calmed down a bit so I was able to drive to Ian's school. While I was waiting it out, Tom calls me to tell me that a tornado is 10 minutes away from Franklin and is about to hit..he asks if I hear the tornado sirens going off in downtown Franklin and I reply, no..

I fly into the parking lot of the school and it is still pouring and it begins to hail. I park the car and throw my door open and Im trying to get Bach out to get him inside the school. Bach is scared to death and refuses to budge so I have no choice but to vacate him and run to the school. I run inside and the kids are in lockdown, meaning they are all in a hall, sitting down and trying to be calm. No one is leaving anytime soon. Tom comes in shortly after that dripping wet. Thankfully, after a few minutes the rain slacks off and the storm passes and Tom gets to run to the car to get Bach out. We bring him inside and the kids were excited to have a dog around. Bach did not like being around all those people though cause I guess he knew that something was wrong. Ian was too busy listening to his IPOD to even care what was going on...HA HA

We drove back toward home and being that it was close to the time for Lindsey to get out I went ahead and got her out early just so I knew that she was safe with me and that she would not have to be on a school bus during those dangerous conditions. After we all got home, including Bach, Tom came home shortly after. WHEW!! It was great to have all of my family together under one roof again. Today was wayy to exciting for me!! Cannot say that I would want to experience that again and all of that was WITHOUT AN ACTUAL TORNADO!!!

Want to know the skinny about SOY???

SOY,SOY, SOY, is all you will hear about these days. “ Instead of drinking cows milk, drink Soy milk.” “Child allergic to dairy? Drink soy formula.” Want to go without cows meat? Tofu is what you need to be eating.” For YEARS, everywhere you looked you would see the positive statements issued about soy. Even most health books articles you read turn out to be PRO soy. In fact with so much PRO SOY information out there it is not hard to believe why people think that anything made from soy is good for you and healthy. But I am hear to tell you that Soy is not that great. In fact in several books that I am reading, soy is not even listed as a great, or wonderful food. Crazy huh? Let me further explain…..

** The book that I am getting facts from is from the book The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth by Jonny Bowden, Pages 165-169.


If soy is so great why is the FDA actually reviewing where it stands when it comes to soy? Why last April, did the American Heart Association’s Nutrition committee decide that Soy is not a good food source in order to lower cholesterol? What would make the Journal of Pediatrics, Gastroenterology and Nutrition suggest in an article that soy protein formula had no nutritional advantage over cow’s milk protein...”

The main reason as to why SOY is not longer a SUPER FOOD is based on how it is prepared. Americans have been using Soy as a powder and will sprinkle it here and there and yon. Leave it up to Americans to take something healthy and abuse it, lie about it's nutritional value and then market it to death!! The truth is that Asians have used Soy for a long time. YEARS AND YEARS! But preparation is the key here. Soybeans themselves contain haemagglutinin which is a clot promoting substance causing red blood cell to stick together and goitrogens- substances that suppress thyroid function. That is pretty scary folks! Your thyroid has a very important job helping with metabolism, and it controls how the body makes proteins as well as other hormones. Soy is a blood clotter! Wow, I really want that in my body!


The only soy food that should be entering your body would be the Soy that is used in the Asian diet. Foods like Tempeh and Miso, where Soy is naturally fermented. That is the key word- fermented. Also Asians eat way less of it than you might think.

Here is the part where I tell you which soybeans are good for your body but will take some getting used to. Preparation is key as well. They are Edamame, Tempeh, Natto and Miso.

Edamame is the Japanese word for “green vegetable soybeans”. Japanese eat them as a snack food in the same way that Americans eat Peanuts. Usually they are prepared by steaming them in the pod for 20 minutes, then salting and chilling them before serving. If you have a Trader Joe’s where you live you probably already know that you can readily pick these up. It only take 3 1/2 ounces of the edible beans to provide 12g of protein as well as fiber, calcium (keep that in mind when I get to the topic of dairy some time later) and potassium for your body!

Now let us get to the Fermented types that are SUPER GOOD for you!!! TEMPEH is eaten a lot in Indonesia and is made from the controlled fermentation of cooked whole Soybeans. After fermenting the tempeh, it looks like a compact white cake. Here is a cool fact, tempeh fermentation produces natural antibiotic agents that are believed to increase the body’s resistance to infections. That rocks!! Now for some more good news, tempeh has what are called Phytochemicals such as isoflavones and saponins. When it is fermented, it leaves the isoflavones intact and as a result, the isoflavones may be responsible for helping to ease menopausal symptoms. In fact soy proteins that are found in tempeh may possibly reduce the risk of heart disease and some cancers! Yeah, now that is what I am talking about! Tempeh has a nutty mushroom flavor and can be sliced and sautéed till golden brown. In fact, you can use tempeh in soups, salads or any place that you would use mushrooms. Spaghetti anyone????

MISO is the other Soybean product that has been fermented and is great for your body. The Japanese have been using Miso since the 7th Century. Miso is a great component for protein. Just a 1/4 of a cup of pure Miso contains 8 g of soy protein as well as cancer fighting mineral selenium, plus potassium and a small amount of calcium. I have to add also that though it is great for you, miso does contain high amounts of sodium. But balanced with potassium found in fruits and veggies, it is not a problem for most people.

But if you want to get down and dirty and hear about the SUPER, SUPER soybean food, let me tell you about NATTO. Great for your body but it is an acquired taste. Once fermented it is sticky and odorous. The reason why NATTO is a super food is the enzymes that are in it help to reduce and prevent blood clots. In fact many nutritionists often recommend NATTO as an alternative to blood-thinning-medications and help to guard against strokes. But do not just jump in that car and rush off to your nearest health food store, you need to talk to your doctor first cause if you are going to wean off of a medication you need to have your physicians blessing. NATTO does contain Vitamin K and some medications used to help in blood-clotting might not work properly when Vitamin K is introduced. So again, check with your Doctor first.


WOW!! That was a lot of information there Laura, you are saying. Well, with the help of the author Dr, Bowden, let me try to place all that I have typed out for you about in a bit of a more concise form.

1) A serving of Soy powder is not going to kill you or anyone else but it is not doing your body any good so why keep using it???

2) SHOCK OF THE WORLD! All the soy products out there that are marketed as great food are C-R-A-P. Soy chips, soy milk, soy ice-cream, tofu ice cream, soy burgers, soy supplements and the lot. They are no better than eating Doritos and eating a fat helping of Marble Slab.

3) Soy formula should not be given to infants unless there are no other choices.

4) Using soy as your only source of protein is really not a safe or smart idea. So all you vegetarians listen up.

5) Fermented Soy prepared the old fashioned way, like they do in Asia, is very,very healthy for you. (Tempeh and Miso)

WOW that was easy.....

I mean really...WOW. I have been thinking about checking on how hard it would be to set up a blog and well here it is 10 minutes later. This is very exciting and I cannot wait to get started! I plan to get started on the "Health Blogging" very soon. And I know that I can make it so much fun with having this wonderful BLOG tool to get me started. So, hopefully by early next week I will have something more to say than just "wow".....