4 foods that accelerate aging

Do you eat these harmful foods that AGE you faster?  Some are even deceptively marketed to you as "healthy" by giant food corporations.  Avoid or minimize these and look 5-10 years YOUNGER than your real age.

Due to biochemical reactions in your body that occur with every type of food you eat on a daily basis, some foods age you FASTER than your real age, while other foods help to FIGHT aging.
Eat the wrong foods regularly, and you can look and feel 10 or more years OLDER than your real age (not fun!) ... but eat the right foods, and over time, you can start to look 5-10 years YOUNGER than your real age.
Three of the processes that go on inside your body that have a MAJOR impact on your rate of aging are called "glycation", "inflammation", and "oxidation".  When we talk about aging, we're not just talking about wrinkles on your skin or how thick your hair is... we're also talking about factors that you can't see, such as how well your organs function, and whether your joints are degrading.
Yes, I'm sure you'll agree this is much more important than just how you look on the surface (although we'll show you how to improve BOTH!)
So let's dig right in and I'll show you how your rate of aging can be directly related to the foods you might eat every day, and how to protect yourself...
Food #1 that ages you faster: Wheat (yes, even "whole wheat")
Before I tell you why wheat can actually speed up the aging process in your body, let's clarify some simple biochemistry in your body...

This deals with "glycation" in your body, and substances called Advanced Glycation End Products (AGEs).  These nasty little compounds called AGEs speed up the aging process in your body including damage over time to your organs, your joints, and of course, wrinkled skin.
So with that said, what is one of the biggest factors that increase production of AGEs inside your body?  This may surprise you, but high blood sugar levels over time dramatically increase age-accelerating AGEs in your body.  This is why type 2 diabetics many times appear that they have not aged well and look older than their real age.  But this age-increasing effect is not just limited to diabetics.  It can affect everyone.
So, let's get back to how "whole wheat" relates to this...

Here is a little-known fact that's often covered up by the massive marketing campaigns by giant food companies that want you to believe that "whole wheat" is healthy for you... but the fact is that wheat contains a very unique type of carbohydrate (not found in other foods) called Amylopectin-A, which has been found in some tests to spike your blood sugar higher than even pure table sugar.
In fact, amylopectin-A (from wheat) raises your blood sugar more than almost any other carbohydrate source on earth based on blood sugar response testing.
This means that wheat-based foods such as breads, bagels, cereals, muffins, and other baked goods often cause much higher blood sugar levels than most other carbohydrate sources.  As you know now, the higher your average blood sugar levels are over time, the more AGEs are formed inside your body, which makes you age FASTER.
You've probably heard about the potential health-damaging effects of gluten (also found in wheat) in the news recently, but this blood sugar aspect we just covered is not talked about that often, and is yet another reason to reduce or eliminate wheat-based foods in your diet.  Your body will thank you by aging slower and looking YOUNGER!
In fact, my own dad, who is in his mid 60's now, just removed 95% of the wheat from his diet about 3 months ago (aside from a little bit on 1 cheat day per week), and he's noticed that his chronic joint pain has completely disappeared!  Not only that, he also commented that he's finally lost those "love handles" on his sides that have been plaguing him his entire adult life...All by reducing his wheat intake!
Another problem with wheat-based foods and aging...
As it turns out, baked wheat products contain carcinogenic chemicals called acrylamides that form in the browned portion of breads, cereals, muffins, etc.  These carcinogenic acrylamides have been linked in studies to possible increased risk of cancer and accelerated aging.  Note that acrylamides are also found in high levels in other browned carbohydrate sources such as french fries or any other browned starchy foods.

Don't worry though... There's a trick that you can use to protect yourself from these carcinogenic acrylamides, and it has to do with eating the RIGHT foods that COUNTERACT damage from these nasty chemicals.

Food #2 that ages you faster:  Corn-based foods -- corn syrup, corn cereal, corn chips, corn oil
This is quite a variety of stuff that you might eat every day... we're talking corn chips, corn cereals, corn oil, and also the biggest health-damaging villain that gets most of the media attention, high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS).
We already talked in detail in the last section about wheat regarding the blood sugar process and it's relation to age-accelerating formation of nasty "AGEs" in your body.
Well, corn-based starchy foods such as corn cereals, corn chips, etc also have a big impact on blood sugar levels and therefore can increase AGEs in your body and accelerate aging.
But here's another nail in the coffin for corn... it turns out that scientists have found out that the fructose in HFCS causes 10x more formation of AGEs in your body than glucose!  Yes, that's right... that means the HFCS you consume daily in sweetened drinks, and most other processed foods (yes, even salad dressings and ketchup) contribute to faster aging in your body... as if you needed yet another reason to avoid or minimize HFCS!
We're not done yet with corn... it gets even worse...
Another major issue with corn-based foods and corn oils is that these foods contribute excessive amounts of omega-6 fatty acids to your diet, which causes an imbalance in your omega-3 to omega-6 ratio and leads to inflammation and oxidation within your body.
Once again... another example of corn-based foods aging you FASTER.
My advice:  Avoid or reduce corn-based foods like corn chips and corn cereal as much as possible. These aren't as bad as wheat in relation to blood sugar, and they don't contain gut-damaging gluten like wheat does, but they are still bad for you.  When it comes to corn syrup or corn oil, avoid as much as you can if you want to stay lean and young looking.   

Food #3 that ages you faster:  Sugar, sugary foods, certain starchy foods

Again, we get back to the relationship between your average blood sugar levels and blood sugar spikes over time, and how that can increase those age-accelerating compounds called AGEs in your body.
Sugar is an obvious one to avoid.  You've heard how bad it is for you 1000 times before for many other reasons, including your waistline and developing type 2 diabetes.  But now you also understand the aging effect of sugar.
Instead of sugar, consider using a natural non-caloric sweetener like Stevia in your daily coffee, tea, in baking, or other sweetening needs.  This dramatically helps you control your blood sugar response and thereby help slow aging.
So this also means to think twice about sugary desserts, sugary cereals, candy, and other sweets that are contributing to aging you faster. 
My personal trick to satisfy my sweet tooth is to only have 1-2 squares of dark chocolate after dinner instead of a normal full dessert that most people choose.  You only get about 2 grams of sugar in 1-2 squares of dark chocolate as opposed to 40-80 grams of age-accelerating sugar in a typical cake, ice cream, or brownie type of dessert.
Keep in mind that some starchy foods like white rice, oatmeal, and white potatoes can also have significant impacts on your blood sugar and thereby can increase formation of AGEs in your body.  These foods are best kept in smaller portions if you decide to eat them, and balanced with healthy fats and protein to slow the blood sugar response.

Food #4 that ages you faster:  Soybean oil, canola oil, or other "vegetable oils"

I know these have been marketed to you over the years by giant food companies as "healthy", but if you understand a little biochemistry about how these highly-processed oils react inside your body, you would quickly see how false that is.
First, anything labeled soybean oil, canola oil, corn oil, vegetable oil, or cottonseed oil (these are in a LOT of processed foods you probably eat) most times have undergone a refining process under extremely high heat and use of chemical solvents such as hexane.
This leaves you with an oil where the polyunsaturated fats have undergone a lot of oxidation and are therefore VERY inflammatory inside your body, producing free radicals, damaging your cell membranes, contributing to faster aging, heart disease, and other possible health problems.
If you want to avoid the health-damaging effects of soybean, canola, corn and other "vegetable oils", make sure to avoid them as much as you can, and instead opt for truly healthy oils and fats such as extra-virgin olive oil, avocado oil, virgin coconut oil (a healthy source of MCT fats), and grass-fed butter (a great source of healthy CLA fats).
We'll show you how to find plenty of delicious foods, spices, herbs, teas, and nutrients that PROTECT your body from aging on the next page!

You will also discover over a dozen surprising tricks you can use daily to FIGHT aging, helping you to look 5-10 years YOUNGER... click the button below to go to the next page to discover unique and delicious anti-aging foods, spices, herbs, teas, and other potent youth-enhancing nutrients: 
by Mike Geary - Certified Nutrition Specialist & Catherine Ebeling - RN, BSN
Authors of the best seller: The Top 101 Foods that FIGHT Aging

If you enjoyed this article please share it with your friends and family.

To your awesome health and wellbeing,

Joyce Hearn

Metabolism and Weight Loss

Metabolism and Weight Loss - What You Need to Know
Yuri Elkaim, BPHE, CK, RHN
www.myFitterU.com

Your metabolism is important in the weight loss equation because it represents 60-75% of your total caloric expenditure each and every day. Metabolism is proportional to your fat-free mass (ie. muscle), and after age 20 it decreases by about 2-3% per decade. In general, women tend to have a lower metabolism due to lower fat-free mass.

Your resting metabolism is the rate of energy expenditure that your body goes through at rest. It is the number of calories your body needs to survive if all you did was lie in bed.

For each 1% increase in body fatness, your metabolism decreases about 0.01 calories/minute. Thus, simply by having more fat on your body decreases your basal metabolic rate. Conversely, doing things that will burn fat and promote muscle development will increase your metabolism.

While this change may seem like no big deal, it is! This small difference can become much more meaningful if you progressively pack on weight. For example, a 5% increase in body fat at the same body weight results in a difference of 0.05 calories/minute, which is equal to 72 calories/day.

Since 3500 calories equals 1 lb of fat, in our example, it would take 48 days to add on one extra pound of fat (everything being equal). That might not seem like much but over the course of 1 year that would be an extra 7 lbs of fat just because of an initial 5% body fat difference. But it would actually be more than 7 lbs since your body fat would increase as you continued to pack on the weight.

METABOLISM IS ALSO INFLUENCED BY…

Fat-free mass is not the only factor influencing your metabolism. Since the early 1900s researchers have shown that prolonged dieting is associated with a significant decrease in metabolic rate (as much as 20% in some cases). For example, the famous Minnesota Starvation Experiment where caloric intake was restricted by 25% over the course of 24-weeks revealed that, per kg of bodyweight, metabolic rate is reduced on a semi-starved diet. The researchers also showed that T3 (one of the thyroid hormones) and sympathetic nervous system activity decreased as well.

The latter two findings are rather significant considering that thyroid is the master gland regulating your body's metabolism. A decrease in its function makes it more difficult to lose weight. I have seen this in practice having worked with hundreds of men and women who suffer from an underactive thyroid who at the same time, have had a very tough time losing weight.

The sympathetic nervous system plays a pivotal role in the body's ability to mobilize and burn fat. Since it stimulates the release of adrenaline from the adrenal glands, a hormone that breaks down fat, any interruption to its functioning will also impair fat burning.

What these “starvation” studies reveal is that during prolonged periods of low caloric intake, the energy production of the tissues decreases in an attempt to adapt to the lower caloric intake and reduce the rate of weight loss. It's simply a survival mechanism. Obviously, this is an appropriate adaptation in periods of starvation, but it is counterproductive if your goal is to lose weight fast and for good.

IS YOUR METABOLISM DOOMED?

Your metabolism is also responsive to periods of over-feeding. In one dieting experiment, when the subjects were allowed a day of "free eating", their metabolism was elevated on the following day. Further, in long-term (14-20 days) overfeeding to cause obesity, increases in metabolic rate have been recorded.

This would seem counter-intuitive. After all, if your metabolic rate increases wouldn't it help you lose weight? In most cases, yes, but not if eating to a point of creating a dramatic positive energy balance.

In essence, during the dynamic phase of weight gain (going from a lower to higher weight), more calories are required per kg of body to maintain the weight gain than maintain normal body weight. This is obvious and it's also one of the reasons why you may feel hungrier when you are more active.

DOES EXERCISE IMPROVE METABOLISM?

Studies have shown that trained individuals have a higher metabolic rate than untrained individuals - but only when they did high intensity workouts and consumed sufficient calories to maintain energy balance. This suggests that the higher metabolic rate in trained individuals is not due to chronic adaptations associated with training, but more to do with the acute energy flux associated with the most recent workouts and dietary choices.

There is no doubt that your metabolic rate is elevated following exercise. The questions relate to how much and how long it is elevated, and to what extent it contributes to total daily energy expenditure.

It may be said, in the long run, daily exercise is needed to maintain an elevated metabolism. However, it should be remembered that what you do today will potentially have a greater “short term” impact on your metabolism than your combined workout efforts over the past few years. Just another reason why working out at least every other day is imperative for maintaining an elevated metabolism and helping you lose weight and stay lean!

References:

Benedict, F. et al. (1919). Human Vitality and Efficiency Under Prolonged Restricted Diet. Washington, DC. The Carnegie Institute of Washington.

Keys, A. et al. (1950). The Biology of Human Starvation. Volume 1. Minneapolis: The University of Minnesota Press.

About the Author

Yuri Elkaim is a world-renowned fitness, nutrition, and weight loss expert. He is the creator Fitter U and Treadmill Trainer, author of Eating for Energy, and the Head Strength and Conditioning Coach for men's soccer program at the University of Toronto. His trademarked 12-week Fitter U iPod workout program has been helping thousands of people around the world get in shape and lose weight fast without the cost and inconvenience of hiring a trainer. Go to www.myFitterU.com now to get your FREE Fitter U workout and "How to Get Fit and Lose Weight Fast" report!

Start Losing Weight Today

I'll start my diet on Monday. How many times have you told yourself that? Right after New Years', I swear. Tomorrow.  Are you tired of hearing yourself say the same old excuses day after day, month after month, year after year?  If so, listen up!  Here are five things you can do to start losing weight today!

Activate.

The most important ingredient in your weight loss plan is exercise. If you think that's a dirty word, it's time to clean it up. Exercise is just what you do every time you move. Starting today, resolve to activate your life. Leave the car keys behind and walk to the corner store. Race yourself to get your housework done in ten minutes less time (because the more vigorous your movement, the more calories you burn). Get off the elevator one floor early and walk up the stairs. Every extra active thing you do will burn calories - and the more calories you burn, the more weight you'll lose.

When you're ready to really activate, get a physical workout designed with your interests in mind. Join a gym, take up a sport, or walk 10,000 steps a day. But don't wait until you think you can do it all. Just take a few extra steps today.

Motivate.

Grab a pen and notebook and start writing down all the reasons you should lose weight. Don't stop till you get to ten, at the very least. Here are some suggestions:

1. I’ll be healthier - losing as little as 10 pounds can decrease your risk of heart disease, diabetes and a host of other weight-related illnesses.

2. I’ll save money. Super-size costs more - whether it's an extra $2 for the night out you want or wanting to travel first class.

3. I’ll be able to keep up with my kids. It takes energy to keep up with kids, and extra weight saps your energy. Lose ten pounds and see how much better you feel.

4. I’ll get back into my favorite jeans.

5. I’ll find souvenir t-shirts that fit anywhere I go.

Cogitate.

Got your ten reasons? Don't stop writing. Keep that pen and notebook with you all day and write down every single thing you put into your mouth. Just for one day. You'll be surprised at all the 'unexpected' calories you catch yourself eating. The last two French fries on your son's plate. The two bites of chicken you tasted to make sure of the seasoning. The 'just one bite' of your husband's ice cream cone. The handful of potato chips you snagged from the bowl on your way by. Write down every single bite for one day to make yourself aware of all the food that you didn't even realize you were eating. Once you find it, you can start cutting it out.

Educate.

Take a trip to the Internet and visit some educational sites:

Your National Heart Foundation
The Food Pyramid
iVillage Diet and Nutrition section
The Diet Channel
The South Beach Diet web site
The Atkins Diet web site
The Mayo Clinic web site's Diet and Nutrition pages

Educate yourself about healthy diets and weight loss, and find a diet that you believe you can live with for the rest of your life. It's the only way that you'll lose weight and keep it off permanently.


Salivate.

If you think that diet food is boring, find a good low-fat cookbook and start re-educating your taste-buds. Healthy, low-fat, low-carb cooking is delicious - prove it to yourself with a recipe for dinner. While you're at it, pick one for tomorrow night, too. You can start your diet AGAIN
tomorrow!

Go for it and start TODAY!

To your best health ever

Cheers

Joyce

No Dieting And No Exercise Required

If you’ve ever said, “I just can’t eat what I used to...!”

... Then the following ground-breaking weight loss report is FOR YOU!

It’s also for you if:

• You’ve been gaining 8 to 15 lbs. (or more) per decade
  since you turned 30. 
  
  
• You’d describe yourself as a ‘carb-o-holic’ (carb addict).
  
  
• You secretly blame your lack of ‘will power’ for your steadily expanding middle.

... And, perhaps most important, you’re chronically unhappy with how you look and feel but you’re too tired to do a DARN THING about it!
 

I’m talking about a way for you to lose significant pounds (FAST):

• Without changing your diet!
• Without exercising more!  

... Plus, how to slim down EVEN MORE(once you’re feeling excited by the results you’ve seen) by making small, common-sense adjustments to your lifestyle.

  Sounds too good to be true...

Click Here to read the full report and decide for yourself

To your health and wellness

Joyce Hearn

Five Healthy Weight Loss Tips

Are you tired of getting the same old advice when it comes to dieting?  Are you looking for some quick tips to help motivate yourself during a diet?  Why not follow along below to learn about some quick healthy weight loss tips?

Tip # 1: Take off five pounds quickly before a big event!

If you're generally in good shape, but you want to pare off a few
pounds to look your best before a big event like a class reunion, one of the best ways to do it is to cleanse your system. For the week before, skip the breads and pastas, eat lots of raw vegetables and salads, and drink at least eight glasses of water a day. You'll not only end up slimmer, you'll feel 100% more energetic and healthy.
   
Tip # 2: Lose weight without dieting!

It's a lot easier than you think. The key is exercise. Just a half hour of moderate exercise per day will burn calories - and better yet, kick your metabolism into high gear so that you continue burning calories at a higher rate. Bonuses: you'll be doing your health a favor, too. The latest research shows that adding moderate exercise to your daily routine can help lower cholesterol, slow the progression of type-2 diabetes and improve your circulation. What's moderate exercise? A brisk one mile walk, half an hour of dancing, or chasing the kids around in the park will do it.

Tip # 3: Start your day off right!

Don't skip breakfast when you're dieting, and don't go for the convenience of a 'nutrition bar'. Give your body the pick-me-up of fresh fruit in either juice or raw form, and the staying power of a whole grain. One of the best breakfasts you can have is a bowl of whole-grain cereal with fresh berries, melon or peaches. You get
the sugar your body craves, the carbs it needs to run on, and the added
benefit of antioxidant vitamins to help it stay on track and balanced.

Tip # 4: Take a high quality multivitamin every day.

There's no substitute for a diet that has a healthy balance of all foods, but it's far too easy to skimp on the essentials when you're dieting. Make sure that your body doesn't miss out on the nutrients it needs just because you're cutting calories. A good multivitamin should contain, at a minimum, the minimum recommended daily allowances of vitamins A, B6, B12, C, E and K. While you're at it, get out in the sun for at least ten minutes a day to help your body manufacture the vitamin D that it needs.

Tip # 5: Eat your veggies - especially your lettuce.

But don't confine yourself to iceberg lettuce or to salads. Darker greens have about the same number of calories and carbs, but pack a lot more punch in the vitamins and other nutrient categories. By substituting radicchio, watercress, escarole or spinach for the iceberg lettuce, you add vitamin C, riboflavin’s, manganese and other essential vitamins that aren't present in lettuce. Try them braised, steamed or grilled for something a little different from the usual salad.

Experiment and have fun!

To your health and wellness.

Cheers

Joyce Hearn
www.joycehearn.com

How Do I Lose Belly Fat

Remember, if you don't have junk around the house, you're less likely to eat junk! And if you don't eat junk you WILL lose belly fat.  If all you have is healthy nutritious foods around the house, you're forced to make smart choices. Basically, it all starts with making smart choices and avoiding temptations when you make your grocery store trip. Now these are just some good ideas that you may enjoy.
Some of these will be obvious healthy choices, such as fruits and veggies... however, others on this page I think will surprise you!

Alright, so let's start with the fridge.Try to make sure you're loaded up with lots of varieties of fresh vegetables like onions, zucchini,  spinach, fresh mushrooms, red peppers, broccoli, etc. The more colourful, the better. Oh! and always some eggs.
By the way I'm talking about whole eggs, NOT egg whites.  Always remember that the yolk is the most nutritious and nutrient dense part of the egg, so only eating egg whites is like throwing away the best part... and no, it's NOT bad for you because of the cholesterol... whole eggs actually raise your GOOD cholesterol.  Try to get free range organic eggs for the best quality.

Here's a surprize for you. Coconut milk is another staple for the fridge. I  use it in my oatmeal now  for a rich, creamy taste. Not only does coconut milk add a rich, creamy taste to lots of dishes, but it's also full of healthy saturated fats. Yes, you heard me right... I said healthy saturated fats!  ...Healthy saturated fats such as medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), specifically an MCT called lauric acid, which is vitally important for your immune system.

Back to the fridge, some other staples:

• Walnuts, pecans, almonds - delicious and great sources of healthy fats.  Try to get raw nuts if possible as the roasting process can oxidize some of the polyunsaturated fats in some types of nuts making those damaged fats slightly more inflammatory.  Overall, nuts are still healthy even if they are roasted, but raw nuts are better. 
• Cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and yogurt ( organic if possible) - Try mixing cottage or ricotta cheese and yogurt together with chopped nuts and berries for a great mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack.
• Whole eggs - one of natures richest sources of nutrients (and remember, they increase your GOOD cholesterol so stop fearing them).
• Avocados -  a great source of healthy fats, fiber, and other nutrients. Try adding them to wraps, salads, or sandwiches.
• Butter - don't believe the naysayers; butter adds great flavor to anything and CAN be part of a healthy diet... just keep the quantity small because it is calorie dense... 
• Nut butters - Plain old peanut butter has gotten a little old, so  get creative and mix together almond butter with pecan butter, or even cashew butter with macadamia butter...delicious and unbeatable nutrition!  Using a variety of nut butters gives you a broader range of vitamins and minerals and other micronutrients, and gives you variety instead of boring old peanut butter all the time.
• Leaf lettuce and spinach along with shredded carrots - for salads with dinner.
• Home-made salad dressing - using balsamic vinegar, spices and extra virgin olive oil.This is much better than store bought salad dressing which mostly use highly refined canola or soybean oil (canola and soybean oil are both very inflammatory in the body).  Here's an article showing why to NEVER use store-bought salad dressings.
• Sprouted grain bread for occasional use -- Nutrition research is that we're not really meant to consume the massive quantities of grains (not even whole grains) that we do in this day and age... a small amount may be okay, but our digestive systems are still primarily adapted to a hunter/gatherer type of diet with only a very small amount of grains.

  Some staples for the freezer:

• Frozen berries -  I used frozen raspberries, coconut cream and a little organic mapel syrup in my oatmeal this morning. Yummm! And very filling. Kept me going for a good 6 hours before I felt hungry again.
• Frozen fish, frozen chicken breasts - very convenient for a quick addition to wraps or chicken sandwiches for quick meals.
• Lean steaks, burgers, and minced beef:  
• Frozen veggies - again, when the growing season is over and you can no longer get local fresh produce, frozen veggies are the best option, since they often have higher nutrient contents compared to the fresh produce that has been shipped thousands of miles, sitting around for weeks before making it to your dinner table. 
 

OK. So these are just a few examples.

In essence if you want to lose belly fat you need to lose the junk AND do some exercise!

Yeah, yeah, I know. You were hoping that I wouldn't mention that word EXERCISE. But I think that you and I both know that if you do both you will lose the belly fat faster.

Well, I hope you enjoyed this post and how to stock your fridge.Your tastes are probably quite different than mine, but hopefully this gave you some good ideas you can use next time you're at the grocery store looking to stock up a healthy and delicious pile of groceries.

Stay happy and healthy!

Joyce Hearn
www.joycehearn.com

  

Foods That Give Us Energy

It’s really unfortunate that the vast majority of the population turns to stimulants instead of looking to whole foods for a boost of invigorating energy. I guess part of the problem is that humans are generally lazy and would rather take the “magic pill” to fix all their problems.

But when it comes to having more energy the irony is that the stimulating foods such coffee, sugar, and energy drinks actually fatigue your body in the long run. Sure they give you a quick jolt of energy but then their real effects are felt as they wear down your adrenal glands, disrupt your blood sugar, and create a huge crash after the initial high. Essentially they are drugs. They are not foods that give us energy.

Ok, then, what are some natural foods that will give you long-lasting energy?

Well, you may want to consider that no single food will give you more energy than your overall diet. Sure you could add in some of the energy foods I describe below, but if your diet is horrific to begin with, then you will not see the sustained level of energy that you want.

Instead of searching for “miracle” energy foods your goal should be to eat a diet that consists of foods that are vibrating at higher energies. This means eating more raw living foods. When a food has not been cooked, it maintains its natural energy properties (not to mention all of its other nutrients). Thus, when you eat raw foods, you’re giving your body direct energy from the ultimate source – the sun – as most of these foods will be plant-based, and the sun is where they get their energy.

The closer you eat to the bottom of the food chain, the more nutrition and energy will you acquire. Think about it – it takes more of your energy to digest animal meat than it does to digest a green vegetable, right? Plus, this green veggie will have the maximum amount of living energy versus a dead animal carcass.

Thus, to have more energy, you need to follow a high energy diet. After that, you can start to knit pick and see which specific foods give you more energy, if at all.

To help you get started, here is a list of some my favourite energizing foods:

- wheat grass – if you haven’t tried wheat grass then you’re missing out on some big time energy and nutrition. Growing it and juicing yourself can be a bit of a pain but you can easily get a “shot” at most health food stores or juice bars. 1 oz of wheat grass juice packs more nutrition than 2.5 lbs of green leafy veggies!

- raw cacao (nibs or powder) – incredible source of magnesium, antioxidants, and life force. These give me a natural high that can last for hours without the subsequent like you would get from coffee and caffeinated beverages.

- goji berries – another incredible source of antioxidants and polysaccharides that improve cell-to-cell communication. I actually combine these with my raw cacao nibs and complementary tastes work really well together.

Remember that although these foods provide incredible nutrition they are like the healthier version of coffee and other quick fixes. The key still remains to follow a raw foods diet, as much as possible, that will provide you with tons of life force, alkalinity, and nutrients to help your body thrive.

 

About the Author

Yuri Elkaim is one of the world’s leading holistic nutrition and health experts. If you want to lose weight and live your healthiest and most energetic life ever, then you can learn more about his raw food diet book, Eating for Energy and get started with a FREE 6-part Energy Secrets e-course by visiting EatingforEnergy.ca today.

 To your highly energized life and body!

Cheers

Joyce

www.joycehearn.com