Almonds—are high in fiber, calcium, magnesium, and useable protein that helps stabilize blood sugar and remove  impurities from the bowels.

Avocados—lower cholesterol and dilate blood vessels while  blocking artery-destroying toxicity. Avocados contain a nutrient called  glutathione, which blocks at least 30 different carcinogens while helping the  liver detoxify synthetic chemicals. Researchers at the University of Michigan  found that elderly people who had high levels of glutathione were healthier and  less likely to suffer from arthritis.

Beets—contain a unique mixture of natural plant chemicals  (phytochemicals) and minerals that make them superb fighters of infection, blood  purifiers, and liver cleansers. They also help boost the body’s cellular intake  of oxygen, making beets excellent overall body cleansers. Aphrodite, according  to legend, ate beets to retain her beauty. She was definitely on to a good thing  since beets, in addition to all the benefits listed above, also help stabilize  the blood’s acid-alkaline balance (pH), which in turn supports healthy  detoxification.

Blueberries—contain natural aspirin that helps lessen the  tissue-damaging effects of chronic inflammation, while lessening pain. Blueberries also act as antibiotics by blocking bacteria in  the urinary tract, thereby helping to prevent infections. They have antiviral  properties and are loaded with super-detoxifying phytonutrients called  proanthocyanidins.

Cabbage—contains numerous anti-cancer and antioxidant  compounds and helps the liver break down excess hormones. Cabbage also cleanses  the digestive tract and soothes the stomach, which could in part be due to its  antibacterial and antiviral properties. Cruciferous vegetables like cabbage  (kale is another excellent choice—see below) demonstrate powerful detoxification  activity, including neutralizing some of the damaging compounds found in  cigarette smoke (and second-hand smoke). They also contain a compound that helps  the liver produce adequate amounts of enzymes for detoxification.

Cranberries—have powerful antibiotic and antiviral  substances to help the body cleanse harmful bacteria and viruses from the  urinary tract.

Flaxseeds and Flaxseed Oil— are loaded with essential fatty  acids, particularly the omega-3s. They are essential for many cleansing functions  and maintaining a healthy immune system. They are also critical to maintaining a  healthy brain. The health of every cell in your body is dependent on getting  adequate amounts of essential fatty acids.

Garlic—helps cleanse harmful bacteria, intestinal parasites,  and viruses from the body, especially from the blood and intestines. It also  helps cleanse buildup from the arteries and lowers blood pressure. Garlic has  anti-cancer and antioxidant properties that help detoxify the body of harmful  substances. It also helps cleanse the respiratory tract by expelling mucous  buildup in the lungs and sinuses. I am referring to fresh garlic, not garlic  powder, which has virtually none of the above properties.

Kale—contains  powerful anti-cancer and antioxidant compounds that help cleanse the body of  harmful substances. It is also high in fiber, which helps cleanse the intestinal  tract. Like cabbage, kale helps neutralize compounds found in cigarette smoke  and contains a substance that jump-starts the liver’s production of cleansing  enzymes.

Legumes—are loaded with fiber that helps lower cholesterol,  cleanse the intestines, and regulate blood sugar levels. Legumes also help  protect the body against cancer.

Lemons— are superb liver detoxifiers. In addition, they contain high amounts of  vitamin C, a vitamin needed by the body to make a substance called glutathione.  Glutathione helps ensure that phase 2 liver detoxification keeps pace with phase  1, thereby reducing the likelihood of negative effects from environmental  chemicals. Vitamin C and other antioxidants found in lemons are integral to ward  off cancer, fight the effects of pollution and cell damage. Fresh lemon juice  contains more than 20 anti-cancer compounds and helps balance the body’s pH  levels.

Seaweed—could be the most underrated vegetable in the  Western world. Studies at McGill University in Montreal showed that seaweeds  bind to radioactive waste in the body so it can be removed. Radioactive waste  can find its way into the body through some medical tests or through food that  has been grown where water or soil is contaminated. Seaweed also binds to heavy metals to help eliminate them  from the body. In addition, it is a powerhouse of minerals and trace  minerals.  (For those who don’t like the taste of seaweed, Leesa recommends Chews4Health which is a delicious fruit tasting antioxidant that contains Dulse, Kelp, Bladderwack and Nori.  www.chews4health.com/Leesa)

by Michelle Schoffro Cook, PhD

Adapted with permission from The 4-Week Ultimate Body  Detox Plan by Michelle Schoffro Cook, PhD.  Subscribe to my free  e-newsletter World’s Healthiest News to get more health tips, news, and  recipes.

Once you have a baby, your life changes. Not only in the small ways –  you  have less time for yourself, you drive slower, and maybe you even  buy life  insurance – but you start to take a look around and see ways to  improve the  world. One of the ways that many people choose to do so is  choosing a more sustainable life.

What is that, you  might ask? A sustainable lifestyle uses resources  minimally, with  minimal negative impact on the earth and with maximum potential  and  benefit for others. The standard, traditional industrial model utilizes   genetically modified ingredients, non-organic methods and cares very  little for  the impact on the environment. In short, it’s a selfish way  to live.

I’ve been trying, for several years now, to teach my  children what it means  to live in a sustainable manner. To teach them  why it matters how the animals  were raised, what chemicals were poured  into the soil, and how things just  don’t disappear when you toss them  into the trashcan. The can that we have for  recycling is a good start,  but it’s just a small step and I want my children to  take gigantic leaps  toward making the planet a better place for their  children.

We  vote at every single meal. We vote to eat the right  things for our body,  but that voting should begin with the purchase and  preparation of the  foods we ingest. Local, organic, sustainable. One great way  to help your  children see this is by growing your own food. It doesn’t have to  be a  large garden at first – maybe just tomatoes and herbs in a pot on your   porch. Once you do this, you’ll see how easy it can be to grow your own  foods,  and as a bonus, those foods are healthier for you, especially if  you chose to  grow them organically.

Start a rainwater collection  area, and use that water for  your garden. This is a simple, albeit messy, way for your kids to be actively  involved in the process that doesn’t need too much supervision.

Start composting. Creating a compost pile reduces food waste while providing  organic fertilizer for your garden. If you use worms, your  children are sure to  be interested in helping – I’ve yet to meet one  child who can stay away from  worms. If all of this sounds like too much  work, or you just don’t have the  time or space to garden, see if your  community offers a garden plot. One year I  put in a garden at my father-in-law’s house. Think outside the box and your  taste buds will  appreciate the effort.

Turn to your local farmer’s markets. They  can be fantastic  sources of fresh, organic produce, and usually offer dairy, butcher or baker  products too. It’s a perfect family outing for a Saturday morning or weeknight  evening. Everyone can walk, hand-pick their produce choices, smell the herbs for  themselves, and maybe even hear live music.

Eat  as close to nature as possible, with more fruits and  vegetables, seeds  and whole grains. We try to eat as many colors as we can at a  meal, but not day-glow orange or sickly green. Institute “Meatless Monday”, and try to eat vegetarian for every meal  on  Mondays. Reducing your family’s intake of meat helps the world. The  United  Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the meat  industry  generates nearly one-fifth of the man-made greenhouse gas  emissions, more than  the transportation industry! One  fantastic way to do this is by making  your own pizza, which children love to help prepare.

Avoid  single use products. This has been a huge teaching  moment in our  family, more so due to the larger number of people we have. Paper  towels, disposable diapers, scratch paper, triple-wrapped convenience  foods  and female products all contribute heavily to a large trash load, and those  things don’t disappear when the trash truck leaves. Visit the  recycling plant  and help your children learn how to recycle the  “right” way. Buy reusable water  bottles for each member of your family  and get in to the habit of taking them  with you whenever you leave the  house.

Often, I feel overwhelmed at the reality that one person,  or one family,  really won’t make a difference in the world. Much of what  needs to change can  only be accomplished on the government level. Vote  with these thoughts in mind,  and inform your congressmen and senators of  the reasons behind your votes.

Sustainable living sounds like a  very overwhelming concept, but it’s not  when you make small changes that slowly added up to make a big difference. Each  change you make offers a learning experience for your kids that they’ll probably  enjoy being a part of.

By Carmen Staicer for DietsInReview.com

Most of the processed foods we eat are studded with mysterious additives. They extend shelf life. They create exciting flavors, colors and textures. But they don’t do great things for our health. Find out which ones to avoid, and why.

Artificial Sweeteners

Acesulfame-K: Used in candies, baked goods, chewing gum, dry beverage mixes, canned fruit, gelatin desserts, diet soda, and as a tabletop sweetener under the brand names Sunette and Sweet One. About 200 times sweeter than sugar, acesulfame-K was tested for safety in the 1970s. The tests were not conducted with gold-standard protocols; however, two rat studies suggested that the chemical could cause cancer. In addition, large doses of a breakdown product from this chemical affected the thyroid in test animals.

Aspartame: Used in breakfast cereals, soft drinks, drink mixes, gelatin desserts, frozen desserts, yogurt, chewing gum, diet foods, and as a tabletop sweetener under the brand names Equal and NutraSweet. Used in more than 6,000 products worldwide, aspartame is 200 times sweeter than sugar. Studies have suggested that it might cause cancer — especially with lifelong consumption — or neurological problems. Aspartame also lowers the acidity of urine and may make the urinary tract more susceptible to infection.

Read more about why you should avoid aspartame here.

Saccharin: Used in many diet products as well as a tabletop sweetener under the brand name Sweet’N Low. About 350 times sweeter than sugar, saccharin has been shown in animal studies to cause bladder cancer; rodent studies indicate that saccharin can cause cancer of the uterus, ovaries, skin, blood vessels and more. A major study conducted by the National Cancer Institute found that the artificial sweeteners saccharin and cyclamate are associated with higher incidence of bladder cancer. In 1977 the FDA wanted to ban saccharin; however, industry pressure has kept it in circulation.

Dyes and Colorings

Caramel coloring: Found in colas, baked goods, precooked meats, gravy mix, soy and Worcestershire sauces, chocolate-flavored products, liquors, syrups, wine, and beer. The most widely used (by weight) dye, caramel coloring is often made by heating sugars with ammonium compounds, acids or alkalis, and it contains contaminants that have been shown by the U.S. National Toxicology Program to cause cancer in male and female mice. In 2011 the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a division of the World Health Organization, concluded that caramel coloring, when produced with ammonia, contains contaminants that are “possibly carcinogenic to humans.” Avoid beverages with caramel coloring, since the amounts consumed in one drink are so large.

Yellow 5: Used in gelatin desserts, candy, pet food and baked goods. This is the second most widely used coloring. It causes allergy-like hypersensitivity reactions, primarily in aspirin-sensitive persons, and triggers hyperactivity in some children. It may also be contaminated with cancer-causing substances.

Yellow 6: Used in beverages, candy and baked goods. This is the third most widely used dye. Industry-sponsored animal tests indicated that this dye causes tumors of the adrenal gland and kidney. Like Yellow 5, it may also be contaminated with cancer-causing chemicals. Yellow 6 may also cause sometimes-severe hypersensitivity reactions.

Blue 2: Found in pet food, beverages and candy. Some animal studies found evidence that Blue 2 causes brain cancer in male rats. Blue 2 and other artificial colorings are made from petroleum, much of it refined near China’s Yellow River Delta, one of the world’s most toxic polluted areas

In a new paper by USC researchers, bad eating habits were shown to persist even when the food didn’t taste very good; but the best nugget of the study, perhaps, is the revelation of a surprisingly easy way in which to counter bad eating habits.

Researchers gave people entering a movie theater a bucket of either just-popped popcorn or week-old popcorn. People who don’t generally eat popcorn during movies ate much less of the stale popcorn, but moviegoers who indicated that they typically had popcorn at the movies ate about the same amount of popcorn whether it was fresh or stale. The conclusion: for people accustomed to eating popcorn at the movies, it made no difference whether the popcorn tasted good or not.

“When we’ve repeatedly eaten a particular food in a particular environment, our brain comes to associate the food with that environment and make us keep eating as long as those environmental cues are present,” said lead author David Neal, who was a psychology professor at USC when the research was conducted.

“People believe their eating behavior is largely activated by how food tastes. Nobody likes cold, spongy, week-old popcorn,” said corresponding author Wendy Wood, Provost Professor of Psychology and Business at USC. “But once we’ve formed an eating habit, we no longer care whether the food tastes good. We’ll eat exactly the same amount, whether it’s fresh or stale.”

According to a press release for the paper, the researchers also gave popcorn to a control group watching movie clips in a meeting room, rather than in a movie theater. In the meeting room, a space not usually associated with popcorn, it mattered a lot if the popcorn tasted good. Outside of the movie theater context, even habitual movie popcorn eaters ate much less stale popcorn than fresh popcorn, demonstrating the extent to which environmental cues can trigger automatic eating behavior.

“The results show just how powerful our environment can be in triggering unhealthy behavior,” Neal said. “Sometimes willpower and good intentions are not enough, and we need to trick our brains by controlling the environment instead.”

Also surprising is what researchers found by testing a simple disruption of automatic eating habits: Once again with stale and fresh popcorn, the researchers asked moviegoers to eat popcorn either with their dominant or non-dominant hand.

When using the non-dominant hand, moviegoers ate much less of the stale than the fresh popcorn, and this worked even for those with strong eating habits. Using the non-dominant hand disrupted eating habits to cause people to pay attention to what they were eating.

Could mindful eating be as simple as switching hands?

by Melissa Breyer