Raw Living Foods Lifestyle Training - chiDiet.net

Worldwide Obesity Epidemic

This past Wed., a famous researcher spoke to the listening audience of medical doctors in the teleconference put on by PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine). He shared a map of the world where the most dark spots were people who were more than 30% overweight or obese. I was shocked to see Australia, Mexico, many parts of China, Japan, the fertile crescent area countries, in those most dark spots - thinking that they would mostly come from Russia, Northern Canada and Alaska, as well as the US.

He said in his talk and in his published reports that it was from the vegetable oils and soda pops, watching tv and the greater availability of processed foods and animal products that people are obese now. And, it was affecting the women more than men. Also, that people of African and oriental descent were having more problems with heart disease and diabetes, with less help, because the fat is stored in their livers and heart areas instead of being disbursed as it does in Nordic or cold country peoples. A photo of a woman in Egypt in front of tvs she was selling was shocking because she was so large. The worst foods he mentioned were soda and pizza.

This triggered my memory about how when people fry food in vegetable oils, or add vegetable oils (yes, even the best virgin virgin olive oils), that the oils react with the starches and the animal proteins and create a super-glue type of bond that prevents the body from sweating the oil out.

Another thing: I was given a whole lot of baby food this month to share with others: much of it was organic. The 3 brands all had vitamin C added, to even step 1 (around 6 months), and some had calcium added.

I offered it to my ESOL class mothers, and one mother tasted about 3 types before she took it and then put the bottles back. I didn't ask her why but decided to look at them myself. I tasted a little of each and immediately got a headache, which affected my brain stem, and then was affected by a cramp in my left hand which has lasted for almost a week, weakening my grip and then also a stomach ache. I then began to crave more almond cream than I normally would use, and more avocado. My body was trying to heal itself from the acid of the calcium and vitamin C destruction in my epithelial lining. WOW!

Do you suppose the colic that babies have has a lot to do with the vitamin C and the calcium they are putting in the baby food? My throat got sore (some wheatgrass juice helped that) and my ear canals felt swollen and sore (the wheat grass juice helped all of the symptoms, except the weakness in my left hand, which I think is coming from my 7th and 8th vertebra damage by the C and calcium). I know how to heal this, with some fresh pineapple juice and energy soup, but I thought you might be able to share this with some young mothers who might be at their wits end wondering why their babies are unhappy.

Breast milk is all a baby needs until the 2nd year, with some wonderful  coconut juice, papaya, avocado, etc. as supplement after the 6th month. We need to get together and complain to the companies to get those supplements out of the babies' food. I spoke at the 2nd Calcium Conference at NIH about how according to the French doctor Kirvran we didn't need any calcium to make our bones stronger, just foods with potassium, maganesium and silica, which turn into bone calcium, and even then the supplement people were lobbying the doctors to add calcium, which does nothing but plaque onto our arteries and the exterior of our bones and cause lumps and early heart attacks (women spill calcium in their blood just before having a heart attack) and arthritis. We need to save the babies inner peace.

Peace and love,
Dr. Flora

Finding Success by Challenging Advice

(NewsTarget) One of the most successful ways to lose weight and reach optimum health is to challenge what you've been told. Successful people aren't reasonable and use a ton of common sense to make their fitness work for them. The solution is to ask yourself why you're doing something that you think will work for your health. If you don't have an answer, then search for one.

These two health and fitness lies are some of the biggest out there and challenge the status quo: http://www.newstarget.com/022390.html

High-fat Diet Disrupts Circadian Clocks

Mice that ate a high-fat diet gained weight and experienced a disruption in their circadian clocks, which regulate metabolic functions such as when they go to sleep, wake up and become hungry.

The disruption threw off the timing of the animals’ internal signals, including appetite control. As a result, the mice ate extra calories during the time when they would have otherwise been asleep or resting. For humans, this would be the equivalent of raiding the refrigerator in the middle of the night

The high-fat diet and resulting weight gain also triggered diminished expression of genes that encode the clock in the brain and in peripheral tissues.

The findings suggest that changes in metabolic state that occur with obesity and diabetes affect not only circadian rhythms of behavior but also physiology.

Read more:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071106133111.htm

http://www.cellmetabolism.org/content/article/abstract?uid=PIIS1550413107002665

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/12/01/do-high-fat-foods-disrupt-your-body-clock.aspx

Love Raways - Debbie Merrill

America is fat and getting fatter. Everywhere you look there is a fast, junky and overall unhealthy way to clog up your arteries. While most in the U.S. could care less about this sad state of affairs, health proponent/roller blade guru/TV show host Debbie Merrill has picked up enough slack for the entire nation. Luckily for you, she is completely hell bent on making America so healthy that it will forget the phrase “Mmm ... doughnuts” ever existed.

As a child, Merrill was denied every sweet tooth desire by a mom who was dedicated to the idea of her daughter becoming a medal-winning skater. “I never had a cavity before I was 35 years old,” Merrill says of her mother’s strict rules. “I never really thought anything of it until I went to college and became a junk food junkie.” When Merrill began to eat more junk food, she realized that she was not at the same level athletically as she was when she ate better. Then, after eating a disastrous meal consisting of shellfish, Merrill contracted Hepatitis A and ended up in the hospital for several weeks.

“The doctors said don’t eat any shellfish, don’t do a lot of oils, no alcohol and no meat.” Merrill recalls. “I did it for a couple of weeks and I felt great. They tell you this when you’re sick - why don’t they tell this to you when you are healthy?”

Merrill has a new lease on life and is spreading the news on her raw vegan lifestyle all over the world. She has already connected with many through her fantastic local cable access television show, The Debbie Merrill Show, and will soon grab more attention with a new book she has authored. Entitled Eat to Look and Feel Great, the tome will focus primarily on how to change your current diet into one that can contribute to a more healthy being.

Thinking of going all raw? If so, Merrill suggests in her book that one must make a natural progression away from his or her former lifestyle. “Go at your own pace,” Merrill says. “Do one good thing a day for yourself. If you just say to yourself, ‘OK, one meal without meat.’ Do that for two weeks and then add another thing. Adding exercising to your life and taking away vices like smoking, alcohol and meat from your life are the initial steps of [my] 12-step program to a more healthy existence."

There is something that is strikingly remarkable about Merrill. It could be that despite the fact that no one knows her exact age — she looks 20 years younger than your best guess at it. It could be the way she mesmerizes you with her fantastic personality and easygoing attitude. Maybe it's just the witty catch phrases like, “No need to panic, I’m totally organic!” that have sucked in the crowds. No, while these are important pieces, it really comes down to her genuine wish that Americans can become healthier: “I really hope that everyone in the community can benefit from this way of life.”  | RDW

From http://myspace.com/thedebbiemerrillshow

Lose Weight Effortlessly, Painlessly, and Permanently

If I Could Be Your Doctor, I Would Love to Tell You How: To Lose Excess Weight Effortlessly, Painlessly, and Permanently

1) You need to believe that the only thing that matters is the composition of the foods on your plate.

2) You can learn the truth about permanent weight loss by simply opening your eyes.

3A) The more you eat, the thinner and healthier you will become.

3B) Rather than semi-starvation, during your most desperate times you ate all you could stomach of meat, cheese, and eggs (a la Atkins).

4) If you have tried to follow a plant-food based diet in the past and got off track, don’t be discouraged.

5) Your goal should be to find a few meals that you really enjoy and are willing to fix over and over again.

6) The fat you eat is the fat you wear.

7) Under usual living situations carbohydrates do not turn into body fat.

8) Alcohol does not turn into fat.

9) Exercise helps but it cannot compensate for oil- and sugar-filled foods.

10) Eating out is a major downfall for most people—do not make restaurants your chief cook.

http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl/sep/if.htm

Thanks to www.vegMichigan.org

Raw Living Foods Continuing Education

To fully attain the benefits of the Raw Living Foods Lifestyle means more than eating raw fruits and veggies. You need to be aware of your protein and sugar intakes and your combination of foods, for example. Our lifestyle also includes detoxing, internal and colon cleansing, the proper type and amount of exercise, supplements of wheatgrass juice, fresh sprouts and easy ways to grow your own, energy soup and green smoothies, dehydrated foods, and how to deal with your cooked food addictions.

Even when you attend one of Dr. Ann Wigmore's hands-on educational centers, it's hard to retain all of the information. It's also challenging to stay Raw in a cooked food world.

For these reasons we created the Dr. Ann Wigmore Raw Living Foods Lifestyle Home Study Program.

Compiled from over 30 years of teaching the Wigmore Lifestyle at Creative Health Institute in Michigan, the 15 Lessons of the Home Study Program are available as a set, or you can get one lesson at a time on the subscription plan. Visit chiDiet.com for more information (we're having a Holiday Sale this month).

If you're looking for motivation, inspiration or information to Go and Stay Raw, this is your resource!

Here's what others have to say about the Home Study Program: http://rawlivingfoods.typepad.com/1/feedback_home_study_program/index.html.

"Teaching Wellness that Works since 1976."

From 22 to 2

When I was a small child it didn't really matter to the world that I was so overweight until I entered school. Then all of a sudden my appearance mattered to everyone. How I looked would determine how many friends I would have, what kickball team I would be chosen to play on and who would mock me. Well, let me explain something to you, it does not matter how big my heart is, how much I long to be loved, or how much love I am willing to give to someone. If I don't look a certain way, no one will want to even get close to my heart. Once I am judged by my appearance whether pleasing to the eye or not it doesn't matter, now it is determined how I am treated. Will I be invisible? Will I be mocked? Will I be treated with respect? Will I be lied to? Will I be used?

Most of my life I was used for one reason or another. I let myself be walked over because I was in such desperate need to be loved or at least, liked. If someone showed any interest in me at all for any reason I would do whatever it took to be around them. I never had any real friends. No one that really cared about me and supported my dreams and aspirations. In fact, I did not have any dreams or aspirations because my mother didn't let me. I had to live the life that she wanted me to live. If I had a desire to do something she would say no. I was never allowed to have a thought or show any emotion without checking with her first. I never had any privacy and was always around such negativity and pain that I didn't know what real love or happiness was. Love and happiness were just something that I was desperately looking for my whole life. I guess that I wouldn't even know what they were if I had stumbled upon them. Believe it or not, there were a few times that I did stumble upon them, or so I thought. No. Not this time.

This is why I used food to control my emotions. The only thing I could control was the food that went into my mouth and it was a lot of food.

[click on photo for enlargement]

I was always the fat girl in school, you know the one you can pick out of any class picture. That was me, the fat girl with a big heart desperately wanting to be included in anything. When I was 10 years old I was 150 pounds and a size 13. My nickname was Moose. We would play in the playground at recess and I would be on one side of the see saw and 3 or 4 girls would be on the other end. This was the only way that anyone would play with me. It was rare that I was included in anything like parties or sports teams. If I was invited to something I was usually made fun of once I got there. It was as if they had hired a clown for the birthday party and the clown never showed up so they decided to just use me for a laugh instead. If I could tell you how many times I called my mom to come get me from a party or a sleep over because I was being laughed at for being fat…

I just kept on eating and my parents kept telling me how fat I was. I was a closet eater. I would go to a drive thru, super size it, eat it in the car on the way home, go home and eat another meal. I would eat an entire box of oreos in one sitting and not even realize I had eaten anything. My mother put me on weight watchers countless times. I would lose 30 pounds in 6 months and then gain it all back, plus more. This was a vicious cycle that surrounded me until I turned 25.

A quarter of a century, 25 years old. I don't know what this did to me but, it pushed some deep rooted buttons, that lit a fire inside me burning so hot that no one could stop me. This point of my life, I was still living at home, engaged to a guy I dated for 10 years that I knew I didn't want to marry, I couldn't get a job, no one would hire me because I was morbidly obese, a size 22 and 245 pounds. Well, I was now on a mission to lose weight. I went on a mission to find the perfect way to lose weight. I searched the internet and spoke to people about what they did to lose weight. I found the perfect plan!!!!!!

I got started and my first month I lost 23 pounds!! WOW!!! In the past it would take me months to lose that much. Over a period of 10 months I made little changes every day and learned how to listen to what my body was trying to tell me. I felt amazing! I started to exercise and completely change all of my habits. I turned into a different person. People started to treat me differently. I broke up with my fiancé and gave him his ring back. I needed to move on. I started to surround myself with people that I wanted to model, positive, grounded and happy people. I went from a size 22 down to a 2 in 10 months. This was about 9 years ago. I have always struggled with my weight since then fluctuating up and down a bit but, I have kept my weight down.

Now I have some other demons to deal with. The demons in my head and some terrible digestion problems that I didn't know I had until I lost weight and realized what my body had been trying to tell me all along. I have severe constipation. Now starts the long road of taking laxatives and going to countless doctors. I won't bore you with all the details but, let me tell you it was not fun at all. I became a fixture in many doctors' offices for years. Still to this day not one doctor could tell me what was wrong with my body and would just prescribe some medication that I would end up not taking. I did not want to be dependent upon medication, I wanted to find the cure!

Google and I became best friends. Google helped me find something called a raw food vegan diet. That sounded intriguing so, I read on and on and on and on. How fascinating it sounded. I became a sponge and soaked up all the knowledge I could about being a raw foodist. A light switch was turned on in my head, how could I have been so blind? It was the food I was eating that was making me sick! Of course! Well, I got started immediately eating raw and about 4 days after I began I started to notice some changes. It was amazing! All I needed to do was change the way I eat once again to feed my body properly. It wasn't about the amount of calories I put into my mouth, it was the quality of the food and how it is prepared so my body will be able to digest it. The way my body feels is beyond words, it is just a feeling you need to experience for yourself. My body feels lighter, I am not bloated all the time like I used to be and I have the most amazing energy all the time. My mind is very clear. It was so foggy at one point I don't even know how I was able to get my shoes on. I have been raw now for only 6 months and I have fallen in love with it.

Everyone around me at work is so fascinated about the food I eat for lunch. A group forms around me at my desk on a daily basis to see what I have brought that day. My friends know that when they have a party at their house I am bringing a raw dish. Most people don't believe that what I made or how I made it, they just know it is delicious.

Now, I am on the right path, I can just feel it inside me. I have left the old me behind and still creating the new me. I am excited to be taking this new journey in my life. It is amazing what only 6 months can do to someone's life. Check back with me in another 6 months!

Thank you for listening to my story.

Eileen Mayorga

[I met Eileen in Atlanta last month and was fascinated by the story of this beautiful, energetic woman. I especially thank her for being willing to write this piece for us. Perhaps another time Eileen will share the before-and-after pictures of her now-raw husband, parents and family. - James Carey]

75% of Americans overweight by 2015

Americans across all age groups, genders and races are getting fatter, and if the trend continues, 75 percent of U.S. adults will be overweight by the year 2015. Obesity is definitely becoming the norm. Read more - http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2007/07/20/75-percent-of-the-u-s-population-will-be-overweight-by-2015.aspx.

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition confesses to Fraud

SUGAR AND OBESITY HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON?

The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) has confessed to printing a bogus study that denies the links between soft drinks and obesity. The current issue of AJCN reveals the study was funded by the American Beverage Association, an industry trade group comprised of soda pop manufacturers.

In addition, the lead author owns major stock in several beverage companies, and the co-author sits on the advisory board for McDonald's.

Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_4504.cfm and http://www.google.com/custom?domains=www.organicconsumers.org.

Ten things that will cause you to be obese

It's well known that poor food choices and sedentary lifestyles are the two most likely causative factors of the current epidemic of obesity.

But many scientists believe that other factors must also be involved in such a sudden and dramatic rise in obesity over the last few decades. A group of 20 obesity experts has determined the 10 most plausible additional explanations, which include: see Dr. Mercola's website.

Worldwide Obesity more harmful than malnutrition

European health ministers from 53 countries have approved the world's first charter to fight obesity, drafted by the World Health Organization.

The WHO charter aims to reverse the trend of increasing obesity by 2015. One of the charter's more controversial clauses is an obligation for legislation requiring private businesses to limit the marketing of fatty, sugary foods to children.

Obesity has tripled over the course of the last 20 years, and 10 percent of children and 20 percent of adults will be obese in Europe and Central Asia by 2010 if present trends continue: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20061115/ts_nm/obesity_cost_dc and  http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/16/world/main2188875.shtml.

Really Raw Weight Loss

By Anne Kasper

Imagine you can eat anything you want.  Imagine you can eat as much as you want and not gain an ounce in most cases.  Imagine losing between 6 -25 lbs per week AND keeping if off!  Imagine a diet of raw foods.

Some with digestive or glandular disorders will not lose weight as quickly or easily, but they will usually still loss unnecessary weight.  And their bodies will strive to heal on raw, live foods as it begins to re-balance, repair and rejuvenate.  When first start eating raw foods, most people will need time to cleanse, detoxify and rebuild their digestive system before noticing substantial weight loss. 

Excess weight is not an isolated  issue, but is part of your "whole being.” An imbalance in one part of the body effects your entire system. Weight is a “symptom” of what is going on with your elimination system, glandular system, emotions, sleep patterns,  stress levels, liver, colon, skin, lungs, blood, spirit and “chi” or energy levels.

The enzymes found naturally in whole, live, raw foods help with obesity at the "whole being" level. Enzymes do much more in your body than help digest food. Enzymes are responsible for  every single chemical reaction in every single cell of your body. All your minerals, herbs, vitamins and hormones cannot do their jobs without enzymes. Your can't lift an arm or think one thought without the help of enzymes. In fact, you could say that enzymes are, biologically speaking, the source of life. A diet without a source of live enzymes is removed from the source of life. All removed from their source of life slowly begin to die. For us, that leads to dis-ease, excessive weight gain, depression - many of the maladies that plague the modern world today.

One of the “magic bullets” for easy weight loss is simply the action of enzymes. For example, lipase, a fat splitting enzyme, is found abundantly in raw, live foods. However, few of us eat enough raw foods to get enough lipase to burn even a normal amount of fat, not to mention any excess. Lipase helps your body in digestion, fat distribution and fat burning for energy. Lipase breaks down and dissolves fat throughout the body. Without lipase, fat stagnates and accumulates. You can see it on your hips, thighs, buttocks and the stomach.

Protease is another enzyme for maintaining a healthy body. Protease helps break down proteins and eliminate toxins. Eliminating toxins is essential when you are burning fat. Your body stores excess toxins in body fat. As your body begins to burn this fat the toxins are released into your system. This can sometimes cause water retention and bloating.  Protease attacks and eliminates toxins.  It is critical to have plenty of protease during fat loss.

Common sense tells us that if you cannot get enough nutrition from the food you take in, which is what happens when you cook food, your body receives a signal that it needs to store fat to prevent starvation and will hold on to even more fat. It will also send a signal that you are hungry. This results in a vicious cycle of eating more and more and still feeling hungry. Combine the physical effects with the mental effects of poor digestion and insufficient enzymes with your natural reaction to all of this emotionally.  You have dis-ease, mental, physical, emotional or spiritual and often, all four at once, because you are an integrated being.

If you eat close to 100% fresh raw, whole foods, then you obtain adequate nutrition and enough enzymes to digest your foods properly. If you eat cooked foods, you'll be eating “dead foods” that have NO enzymes.  Your body then must scavenge enzymes for digestion from other metabolic processes in your body, wasting energy and resources. However, living food enzymes will over time restore energy and stamina and rebuild your healthy metabolism of all nutrients, including fats.

Today’s modern lifestyle KILLS enzymes in more ways than just cooking food. Stress can damage enzymes. Food additives can kill them. Frequent air travel, work outs, coffee breaks, air pollution, food irradiation and poor sleep - all kill enzymes. No wonder we are enzyme deficient!   Eating raw, live, enzyme-rich foods is more than just a weight loss or digestion issue - it affects your whole life, your whole being. When you eat living, raw foods you will begin your life of bliss. 

But the fact remains: the easiest, fastest and most natural weight loss program that also nourishes your body is raw, living, whole food.

Call BodyByBliss for your free health and wellness consultation today or visit our web site at www.bodybybliss.com  Begin a whole new life of bliss.

Anne Kaspar
Health and Wellness Consultant
O: 505.474.9699/ C: 505.690.0169
bodybybliss@aol.com

Why do we eat so much when it's so easy not to?

(ABC News) Eat fewer calories than you burn.

Exercise more, eat less.

It sounds so easy. Both of those formulas are foolproof. Anyone who follows them will lose weight, baring some kind of medical problem. Then why is it so hard to keep that old waistline where it's supposed to be?

Because eating, many scientists contend, isn't just about eating. In fact, according to researchers at the University of Toronto, our biological needs have little to do with how much we eat. They've even come up with a name for it.

"Eating occurs within what we have termed a zone of biological indifference, in which the individual is neither genuinely hungry nor genuinely sated," says psychology professor Peter Herman. Environmental cues, not biological mechanisms, are a big part of how much and what we eat: http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/DyeHard/story?id=2671027&page=1&technology=true.

The three main ingredients for a flatter stomach

(ABC News) We all have spoken about how great it would be to have a flatter stomach. As a personal nutrition, exercise and lifestyle coach, my clients often tell me during their evaluation that getting a flat stomach is their motivation and main goal.

How can you get a flatter stomach with nutrition?

Three main ingredients go into getting a flat stomach.

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/print?id=2586620

Almonds could suppress appetite, tackle obesity

A handful of almonds, a rich source of flavonoid antioxidants, vitamin E and magnesium, may enhance the feeling of fullness in people and aid weight management, suggests a new study.

Satiety has been called the 'Holy Grail of nutrition' and is seen as a key target in the battle against obesity, with figures from Europe showing that up to 27 percent of men, 38 percent of women, and 3m children are clinically obese in some parts of the bloc: http://www.foodnavigator.com/news/ng.asp?n=71527-almonds-satiety-obesity.

Eating trans fats gives you a big belly

Trans fats add - and move - weight to the belly

Trans fats make you fatter than other foods with the same number of calories -- but that's not all. Researchers at Wake Forest University find that trans fats increase the amount of fat around the belly. They do this not just by adding new fat, but also by moving fat from other areas to the belly.

"Trans fat is worse than anticipated," Wake Forest researcher Lawrence L. Rudel, PhD, says in a news release. "Diets rich in trans fat cause a redistribution of fat tissue into the abdomen and lead to a higher body weight even when the total dietary calories are controlled."

Read more: http://www.webmd.com/content/article/123/115139?src=rss_nafwa.

Typical American home has more TVs than people, seriously affecting health

(Dr. Mercola) Taking into account the epidemic of obesity along with the frightening exercise debt that's harming America's health, it's no surprise to me, based on data reported by Nielsen Media Research, the typical home has 2.55 people and 2.73 TV sets.

Some sad numbers about America's obsession with their TVs: http://www.mercola.com/2006/oct/12/are-you-surprised-the-average-american-home-has-more-tvs-than-people.htm.

Size matters

Does plate size really matter when it comes to watching your weight? Or is it a silly trick your stomach probably won't fall for?

As it turns out, in this case, size does matter. Researchers found that when you dish up your meal, you're likely to clean your plate, regardless of serving size. And when you use a large serving spoon and a large plate or bowl, you're more likely to help yourself to over 50% more food than if you use smaller utensils and dishes. To avoid doubling the self-sabotage, think petite. Petite plates and petite spoons mean petite you: http://www.realage.com/news_features/tip.aspx?v=1&cid=17251.

Leaner mice able to fight tumors

(AP) Fatty tissue may decrease the body's ability to kill off cancer, says a study that found making mice leaner — through exercise or surgery — seemed to help them fight skin tumors.

Scientists have long known that people who are overweight are at increased risk of certain types of cancer. The question is why, and whether slimming down will lower that risk or do any good after a tumor forms.

Rutgers University scientists took a closer look at that question using mice engineered to get skin cancer, and reported Monday that fat cells may secrete substances that short-circuit one of the body's main anti-tumor defenses: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061024/ap_on_he_me/fat___cancer_2.

Disease of older adults now seen in young, obese adults

(Science Daily) Acute diverticulitis, a disease traditionally seen in patients older than 50 years old, is now being seen in younger adults who are obese, according to a study conducted by the University of Maryland Medical Center's department of radiology in Baltimore, MD.

Acute diverticulitis is one of the most frequently encountered acute diseases of the colon and is commonly related to a low fiber diet. Increased pressure in the colon causes numerous thin-walled out-pouches (diverticula) to develop in the bowel wall, a chronic condition known as diverticulosis. Bacterial infection of these diverticula cause inflammation that may lead to a perforation in the wall of the intestine and other serious complications: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060923104630.htm.

Scientists find appetite molecule

(Reuters) Scientists in Japan have identified a molecule responsible for making mammals feel full, a discovery that could lead to new ways to treat obesity in humans.

Scientists believe appetite is controlled in a region of the brain called the hypothalamus, and the group of researchers claims to be the first to pinpoint an agent that triggers an increase or decrease in appetite: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15103053/.

- thanks to Helen Terry

Eating your way to a flatter stomach

We all have spoken about how great it would be to have a flatter stomach. As a personal nutrition, exercise and lifestyle coach, my clients often tell me during their evaluation that getting a flat stomach is their motivation and main goal.

How can you get a flatter stomach with nutrition? -- http://abcnews.go.com/Health/print?id=2586620

Miso soup may help burn off fat

That tasty miso soup you had for lunch may be more than delicious -- it could help you burn away excess fat...

They found that fucoxanthin, the brown pigment in the seaweed, promoted a 5 to 10 percent weight loss in mice and rats by shrinking abdominal fat. The compound appeared to stimulate a protein that causes fat oxidation and conversion of energy to heat.

This protein is found in white adipose tissue -- belly fat -- and that means fucoxanthin might be particularly effective at shrinking oversized guts, the researchers hypothesized... "The exciting finding is that fucoxanthin may increase metabolism and weight control," said Connie Diekman, director of University Nutrition at Washington University in St. Louis. "But the downside is that this is an animal study, and we can't automatically translate from animals to humans."  http://www.healthcentral.com/newsdetail/408/534849.html

- from VegMichigan

* Disclaimer: We do NOT support vivisection (animal experimentation). The results are unreliable and often don't translate well to humans. We reluctantly report these test results only because they are widely used and may demonstrate some useful benefits to humans.

Overweight toddlers may be at risk for adult obesity

About 60% of toddlers and preschoolers who are overweight or obese during their preschool years still weigh too much at age 12, setting them on a path toward adult obesity and its attendant health problems, a study finds.

USA Today article: http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2006-09-05-overweight-kids_x.htm.

Original Pediatrics article: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/118/3/e594.

International obesity pandemic looms large - Australian report

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - An obesity pandemic threatens to overwhelm health systems around the globe with illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease, experts at an international conference warned Sunday.

"This insidious, creeping pandemic of obesity is now engulfing the entire world," Paul Zimmet, chairman of the meeting of more than 2,500 experts and health officials, said in a speech opening the weeklong International Congress on Obesity. "It's as big a threat as global warming and bird flu."

The World Health Organization says more than 1 billion adults are overweight and 300 million of them are obese, putting them at much higher risk of diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure, stroke and some forms of cancer.

Zimmet, a diabetes expert at Australia's Monash University, said there are now more overweight people in the world than the undernourished, who number about 600 million.

People in wealthy countries lead in overeating and not doing enough physical activity, but those in the poorer nations of Asia, Africa and Latin America are quickly learning bad habits, experts said: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20060903/D8JTLP780.html.

Side-effects of gastric bypass surgery

Intestinal surgery can result in your body becoming unable to properly absorb vitamin A.

This can lead to eye problems that can start many years after the surgery. Vitamin A deficiency can result in dry eye, softening of the cornea, damage to the retina, and night blindness.

The link was discovered when the records of four patients with ocular problems were reviewed. One patient developed symptoms within months of gastric bypass surgery, but the other three did not experience any symptoms until at least 18 years after surgery.

Their complaints included night blindness, decreased vision in one eye, and decreased vision in both eyes. Lab tests confirmed vitamin A deficiency in all four cases.

There have also been other reports that a number of patients have experienced severe visual complications, including blindness, following gastric bypass surgery.

http://www.mercola.com/2006/sep/9/dont_be_blindsided_later_in_life_by_gastric_bypass_side_effects.htm

World is shifting to degenerative diseases

Global energy imbalances and related obesity levels are rapidly increasing. The world is rapidly shifting from a dietary period in which the higher-income countries are dominated by patterns of degenerative diseases (whereas the lower- and middle-income countries are dominated by receding famine) to one in which the world is increasingly being dominated by degenerative diseases.

This article documents the high levels of overweight and obesity found across higher- and lower-income countries and the global shift of this burden toward the poor and toward urban and rural populations.

Dietary changes appear to be shifting universally toward a diet dominated by higher intakes of animal and partially hydrogenated fats and lower intakes of fiber. Activity patterns at work, at leisure, during travel, and in the home are equally shifting rapidly toward reduced energy expenditure. Large-scale decreases in food prices (eg, beef prices) have increased access to supermarkets, and the urbanization of both urban and rural areas is a key underlying factor.

Limited documentation of the extent of the increased effects of the fast food and bottled soft drink industries on this nutrition shift is available, but some examples of the heterogeneity of the underlying changes are presented. The challenge to global health is clear. http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/84/2/289

How many pounds does a soft drink add to your body?

A new review of available research pinpoints exactly how much soft drinks and other sugary beverages contribute to weight gain and obesity in the

United States.

Just one extra can each day can add as much as 15 pounds to your weight over the course of a single year: http://www.mercola.com/2006/aug/24/how_many_pounds_does_one_extra_soft_drink_add_to_your_body.htm.

What Dr. Ann Wigmore's Raw Living Foods Lifestyle Did, and Does, For Me

by Dr. James Carey, PhD (applied microcomputer technologies)

For 23 years I lived in Key West, Florida, and built several computer companies. In '97 I sold off the business, apartments, office building, house, and most of the stuff I'd accumulated. By January '99 I was 48 years old, free and financially liquid.

I took a year or so off and toured the United States, traveled 60,000 miles, first with an Airstream trailer, and later with a Bluebird motorcoach.

I also spent the time overcoming my addiction to cigarettes, something I'd been dependent upon since I was 14 years old.

By Spring of 2000 I was rested, collected, and tobacco-free. I'd relocated to rural Georgia, adopted a dog, and started building a house with my own hands. I also weighed 260 lbs. I'd been watching my weight creep up over the years, from my college weight of 165 to around 220 by '99.

I considered myself healthy because at 45 I could still shinny up a 30 ft. sailboat mast and repair the masthead while holding on with my legs. But a year of sitting behind the steering wheel substituting junk food and rich meals for the cigarettes I was trying to give up really put the weight on me. Now I was almost 50 and single-handedly building a house.

I considered myself to be in good shape, I was active and pain-free, but I sure was getting big.

Jim at 260 lbs.

Jim at 170 lbs.

So... January, 2001. New Year's Resolution - go on a diet. I read about health and nutrition, then put myself on a 1700 calorie-a-day vegetarian diet. I walked at least three miles a day, five times a week.

In four months I lost 20 lbs., bringing my weight down to 240. I kept counting calories in my little notebook, I kept walking 15 miles or more a week, and by Summer - still 240 lbs.! 

I could not lose any more weight. Frustrating. If I went off my diet for a weekend in Savannah I'd gain 5 lbs. in two days, then take a week - or more - to get rid of it.

Back to the Internet for more research. I read about people who had been on one diet or another, but after initial improvements their health deteriorated and they were facing new health challenges because of the inadequacies of the dietary regime they'd adopted.

The deeper I dug, the more one program stood out. The Raw Living Foods lifestyle, taught by Dr. Ann Wigmore. It was old knowledge going back thousands of years, and she was the most famous of modern advocates. What impressed me most were:

1) Testimonies by people that have lived the lifestyle for 20, 30 and 40 years, and are thriving on it.

2) What does the founder look like today, or what did they die of? Dr. Ann died of smoke inhalation while fighting a fire, at 84. She was fit and healthy.

3) Other raw fooders have died as a result of sports accidents in their 80's and 90's, not of disease or medications. All maintained an active lifestyle up until their passing over.

4) Dr. Wigmore's Raw Living Foods Lifestyle combines raw living food, internal cleansing, body detoxification and plant-based supplementation. All of the elements of good health rolled into one.

5) There are hands-on training centers where one can go and experience the program for an extended period of time, and not just try to sort it out from books or weekend seminars.

6) Most hands-on centers are reasonably priced - I've paid as much for one night at a nice hotel for what they charge for a week's stay.

7) Dr. Ann Wigmore's program is educational, not "do this blindly because I say so." At the training centers they teach why the body isn't healthy, and what you can do about it. As an engineer and scientist, I appreciate this.

The more I looked at it, the more the Raw Living Foods Lifestyle stood out as being the program that would work for me - or for anyone!

Synchronicity also came into play. An old friend. When I mentioned Dr. Ann Wigmore's Raw Living Foods program she told me that she'd studied with Dr. Ann at Hippocrates Institute in Boston, and credited the lifestyle with changing her life.

August of '01 found me at Creative Health Institute, near Union City, Michigan. On a trip to visit family I stopped in for a three-day visit. I was so impressed with the personal experiences of the graduating students that I went back to Georgia, closed up the farm, and returned to Michigan to attend the two-week program. I still weighed 240 lbs.

In my first two weeks at Creative Health I lost 20 lbs. I never went hungry, I never missed a meal, I never counted a calorie. Indeed, I usually had seconds.

At the end of the first month I was down to 210 lbs. When I headed back for Georgia for Christmas I weighed 200 lbs. I'd lost 40 lbs. without even working at it!

Why did the program work so dramatically for me?

I was toxic. Not only did the organic, unprocessed food that Creative Health served reduce and eliminate the toxins in my body, Dr. Ann's program helped my body eliminate toxins that I'd been accumulating all of my life.

By eating processed foods, I'd been putting toxins into my body faster than my body could remove them. I learned that my body was storing these toxins in fat cells in order to protect me. Once I eliminated the toxins I was ingesting, my body was able to process the backlogged accumulation and dispose of it.

I also learned that I had a large amount of impacted fecal matter. Most people do. Enemas cleared out this backlog.

From '01 to '05 I spent three to six months of the year at Creative Health, helping out as a volunteer as I helped myself get healthier. I weigh 170 lbs. now.

The other reason I kept returning to Creative Health was the good feelings I felt when I saw others overcome their health challenges. I've seen people heal diabetes, obesity, arthritis, colitis, after-effects of chemotherapy, breast cancer, hepatitis, heavy metal poisoning, asthma, wounds that wouldn't heal, PMS, migraine headaches... all forms of health challenges.

I've seen people stop smoking, painlessly, in just a few days. They didn't even notice that they'd quit. Wish I knew that back in '99.

I've watched people perk up, heal, and get happy. Like Chantel from Zimbabwe. She came to Creative Health with rheumatoid arthritis, which she'd had since she was 16. She was 26. Upon graduation from the two-week program Chantel said, "I stopped taking my medication after I was here three days. I've not had any pain in more than a week."

With tears streaming down her cheeks, she added, "This is the best I have felt since I was 15 years old."

Some time later Chantel sent me an email: "While I am only 75% raw after these two years, I am not taking medication, and my pain has not returned. I am happy to tell you that I am now married and three months pregnant. Your program made this possible. Thank you, thank you, thank you."

What do raw living foods do for me?

Helped me lose over 70 lbs.,

Gave me an energy level that's like being 25 again (I even took up skydiving - at 52!).

Instead of sleeping 8-10 hours a night, I wake totally refreshed after only 4-6 hours of sleep.

My bowels are regular and move easily.

I'm happier - all the time. I have a more positive outlook on life. People say I "glow," and I smile all the time.

My taste buds have changed, and my cravings for snacks, sweets and caffeine have disappeared.

Most of all, I find my life more satisfying and rewarding than it's ever been before.

I try to help Creative Health in their mission. I've installed computers and a network, rewrote the website, taught classes, mowed the lawn, started a newsletter, served as Program Director, done public speaking, fixed toilets, painted, produced videos, answered the phones, stuffed envelopes, and told my story on TV and radio

When I was answering the phone at Creative Health I repeatedly heard people say, either:

1) I have the time to attend, but just can't afford it, or

2) Affording it is no problem, but there's no way I can take two weeks off.

For those reasons I created the Home Study Program. From a file cabinet with over three decades of research studies and student materials, and two decades worth of videotape, I spent my winters assembling the most comprehensive overview of the program I could.

I now administer the Raw Living Foods Home Study Program in order to help those who:

1) Can't afford to attend a center,

2) Want to have a comprehensive overview of the program to take home with them, or

3) Need training materials to help them share their wonderful transformation with others.

I'm finding it a great way to spend my retirement, and the second half of my life!

Jim Carey
Midville, Georgia
December, 2007

Losing weight in the gut

Why the gut can be the hardest to lose. Your gut might have nothing to do with your diet!

The hormone Coritsol floods your body when you’re stressed. Different people respond differently to stress. If your ancestral heritage is one of the many in which famine and stress were connected then you may be one who’s body will store up fat when stressed. And the fat that is stored from stress is stored right around the middle where your stomach will have easy access to it in case of famine.

So if you are fighting the battle of the bulge you may need to focus on taking time out every day to do whatever relaxes you. Some ideas are exercise, dancing, yoga, meditation, prayer, walking in nature, spending time alone, spending time with your children, spouse, friends, or family, reading a good book, playing music, etc... You might also reduce your stress by changing your situation our your outlook, counting your blessings and focusing on the positive.

To Your Health,
Jinjee
http://www.thegardendiet.com

Teenage obesity a killer in middle age

If teenage girls are obese at 18, they are twice as likely to die between the ages of 36 and 56: http://www.mercola.com/2006/aug/1/teen_obesity_a_killer_in_middle_age.htm.

Obesity in America - a timeline animation

An animated video of how obesity in America has increased over the last 20 years, and links to information about State programs combatting obesity:
http://health.msn.com/reports/obesity/default.aspx.

Hesitant about going 100% raw

Hi Jim,

I have been enjoying your daily RSS feed, thank you for the great information!  I began eating raw when I hit 400 pounds, the best thing I ever did.  Withing a few months I dropped 62+ pounds, and am feeling great.

I am currently 95% raw, eating only one cooked meal a week, usually sprouted wheat pasta or a steamed vegetable.  I find it very easy to eat raw, and really have no desire for cooked foods.  I could easily switch to 100% raw but I hold back for one reason, which is why I am writing.  I have read in numerous raw books that after going 100% raw for a few years, and even as little as 1 year, you loose the mucus buildup in your body, which makes you feel great!  But, on the flip side, if you were to take any prescription medication, etc, it could effect you drastically and could put you in the hospital because your body is so clean at that point.

Well, seeing as I plan to continue the diet, and am loosing weight so quickly, even though I am exercising I can't imagine that I will loose the excess skin after a year or two on raw and will probably have very sagging skin around my waist, legs, arms, etc.  Besides being unpleasant to look at, I know this excess skin can cause rashes, and other problems. 

So, once I level off and am at my goal weight I am thinking about going into surgery to have that removed.  If I am knee deep in raw, I don't want to have potentially dangerous reactions to anesthesia, medications, etc, so I figured if I remained 95% maybe my body will not get to the point of no return and I will still be able to cope with the operation and meds at the time, which of course I plan to ween off immediately. 

Please let me know your feelings on this.

Thank you for your time,
Philip
------------------------

Actually, your logic for remaining 95% raw is very valid; my 100% raw friends just make sure their doctors are aware of this and have their meds adjusted accordingly. In my opinion, the small risk of your medication concern is far outweighed by the advantages of living 100% raw.

In my experience the sagging skin contracts back in 1-2 years. You didn’t say how old you are; the younger you are the faster you skin will recover. Your body WILL heal itself. I've seen it hundreds of times at Creative Health.

I’m going to pass your letter on to a few very experienced raw friends and we’ll see if they have any comments or advice. I know that Dr. Flora, for one, has experienced this issue.

Congratulations on your decision to take responsibility for your wellness!

Jim Carey
------------------------

Dear Phillip,

I would encourage you to go 100% because your skin will pull back like an elastic band.  Every time you eat even one spoonful or bite of cooked food, your body is blocked from losing weight for at least 3 days, according to my research. 

I know from past experience helping people lose, that the enzymes in the living foods will help you slough off your old skin and when you use the natural bristle body brush dry on your skin before bathing, and use the wet loofa when you are in the tub or shower, you will have not trouble with sagging skin. 

It is only people who fast on water who don't take care of their skin whose skin sags afterwards. You won't have to worry about having an operation to get rid of the flab because it will just disappear. 

So, don't let anticipation of having an operation hold you back from losing weight as quickly (and safely) as you are able, by going 100%.  Just stay out of a/c places.  That will encourage you to eat cooked foods, which you don't need.

Peace and love,

drflora3rd@yahoo.com

40% of weight loss surgery patients develop complications

(HealthDay News) -- A growing number of people opt for surgery as a way to lose weight, but four in 10 develop complications within six months after surgery, according to a new U.S. government report: http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20060724/hl_hsn/40ofweightlosssurgerypatientsdevelopcomplications.

From morbid obesity to a new life with raw living foods

Just a few years ago, Angela Stokes from Brighton, England, weighed 294 lbs (21 stone/133kg) and was depressed, lonely and constantly ill. Underneath a false mask of contentment, she was deeply unhappy and binged daily on junk foods in an endless cycle of overeating, refusing to discuss her weight issues with anyone.

These days, after moving over to a raw vegan diet since May 2002, she weighs in at a healthy and happy 138 lbs (9st 9lbs/62kg), is 100% raw and feels her life has been completely transformed.

Angela was not always overweight. She was a very active child and the fastest runner in her school at the age of 10. Her problems began when at the age of 11 she developed an underactive thyroid and began to gain weight. The weight gain escalated with uncontrolled overeating, so that a decade later, at the age of 21, she found herself weighing in at nearly 300 lbs (21stone/133kg). Her pre-raw diet consisted of enormous quantities of chocolate, fried foods, stodgy carbohydrates and greasy fats.

It took a possible diabetes scare to jolt Angela into awareness that perhaps there were kinder ways to treat her body, but it was not until a friend lent her a book about the amazing transformation of one family on a diet of mainly raw foods – Raw Family by the Boutenkos – that life truly took on a new direction for Angela and her body started to take on a totally different form.

She felt like it was the answer she’d always been waiting for and swapped her calorie-packed carbs and fat-laden diet overnight for a 100% raw lifestyle.

Coming from a place of such ill-health, her detox was very severe and she found that cutting back to about 70% raw for the first couple of years suited her better. Her weight loss was phenomenal and during the first year alone, she lost over 100 lbs (approx. 7½stone/50kg) of excess fat and her health, vitality and passion for life increased exponentially.

She found that the less she became of herself physically, the more she became of herself as a whole person, gaining confidence, developing self-esteem and starting to open up towards others in a way she had previously found very challenging.

As the pounds slipped away, her body came to life and every day was an adventure of discovering new activities she could now participate in more easily, like sports, shopping for nice clothes and attracting male attention: her love life blossomed.

When she looks back now, Angela comments that it often feels like she is speaking about a different person, as her life has changed so dramatically over the last 4 years. She has lost more than half of her body weight from her biggest size and the transformation that began on this physical level led on to huge shifts on emotional and spiritual levels too for Angela.

She feels enormously blessed to have experienced such a remarkable transformation in her health and happiness and now devotes her life to sharing with others her message of hope for natural recovery from morbid obesity and destructive overeating patterns.

She encourages others to take this holistic approach to healing themselves, emphasising that this does not have to mean an ‘extreme’ lifestyle change to bring extraordinary results. It is not essential to go 100% raw, now or ever, to experience huge benefits - just eating MORE raw foods than before and more raw than cooked foods will help people begin to lose weight and regain their health.

In January, 2004, she set up her popular testimonial website www.rawreform.com, where she shares her own experiences of going raw, along with guidance for others on how to follow a similar path to reclaim their health.

She is living proof of the extraordinarily powerful healing effects that can be found through adopting a diet high in raw, living foods – she walks her talk and her before and after pictures speak for themselves.

Angela currently offers two e-books for sale on her site: RawReform: How to go Raw for Weight Loss is an intro guide to natural weight loss for those who struggle with overeating and RawReform: Recipes is a supporting volume to help raw newbies transition happily and safely into raw.

She has recently finished a tour of the West coast of the USA, sharing her message of hope and recovery and will continue later this year, from August to October on the East coast – details can be found on the ‘events’ page of her website.

She also runs retreats (held in Sussex, England and Michigan, USA this year) and guides others who would like support to lose weight with raw foods through personal consultations. Angela is passionate about helping people to reverse overweight and obesity issues with natural choices, rather than crash diets, invasive surgery or "magical bullet" pills.

Her desire to help others help themselves on the road to better health has already earned her an award at the House of Lords in England for research into obesity, along with funding to redevelop her website to better serve the needs of the growing community who look to her work for support and guidance.

Angela sums up her transformation on raw foods in the following way: "I may now be half the person physically that I was before going raw, but I am so much more myself in every other way. I am delighted to share my experience and hope with others."

For more information, or to purchase her e-books online, see Angela’s site – www.rawreform.com - or contact rawreform@hotmail.com.

Carlene beat obesity with raw living foods

Carlene beat obesity by simply eating a raw vegan diet and exercising! She now coaches others in her boot camp. An audio is available: http://www.therawdiet.com/carlene.mp3.

In this inspirational audio, Carlene discusses how raw foods saved her life. She discovered raw after watching a movie where actor Woody Harrelson discusses his raw vegan diet.

Weight loss at Creative Health Institute

Those who devote their lives to teaching a whole life turnaround, after having experienced it in their own lives, live with stable body weight and reliable life energy that supports their very active lifestyles.

When asked about weight loss I say that my old sick body was 55 lbs overweight and my new year-round weight, after adopting the life-saving lifestyle of the Wigmore Diet, has been constant for over 30 years now.  Now my motto is "stay light and travel fast." Admittedly, at 78 I don't travel so fast anymore, but the extra years I've lived make up for it -- especially since I was told, at 43, to "get my affairs in order because my time was short."  Quite believable, because my brittle asthmatic condition had threatened my life three times in as many months.

Hiawatha Cromer came here to avoid an early death that seemed imminent. Her desire was to work in the kitchen, stay active and learn this new way of eating first-hand. She had to have a kitchen stool to sit on at work because her knees would not support her. Her overweight condition proved to be 67 lbs more than her rejuvenated body is now comfortable with. Hiawatha now runs a Wellness Centerassociated with her church, teaching the Wigmore Diet, spends time at Creative Health Institute, and travels.

Victoria Boutenko's family of four spent many months at Creative Health Institute and went on to write the book "Raw Family,” and several others (http://www.rawfamily.com). This book has opened the door to a proactive life for all of them, and they now travel North America teaching reversal from degenerative diseases by the Wigmore Diet.  The remarkable thing to note is that all four Boutenkos had different life threatening diseases and all four are now remarkable healthy because they turned to the Living Foods detoxification rejuvenation program.

Next, we share the story of Dominic Knipfing who went from 255 down to his very healthy 175 weight level.  The CHI lifestyle now makes up his.  Eat right and experience optimal health and weight.

The 28 year story repeats itself wherever people live and practice Dr. Ann Wigmore's teachings.

• Don Haughey
• Founder, Creative Health Institute
• Hodunk, Michigan
  

The Personal Costs of Obesity

People who are very overweight face many difficulties that their normal-weight peers do not. Frequent doctor visits are a fact of life for very overweight people due to the development of weight-related disorders like diabetes and osteoarthritis. Along with the daily difficulties associated with these diseases, the very overweight person may be affected financially as a result of weight-related expenses.

The study found that decreasing BMI by 5.8 points resulted in an increase in wealth by more than four thousand dollars ($4,085). In addition, when BMI was reduced by 10 points, which is considered a large weight change, a wealth increase as much as a $12,720 was observed. In general, a one-unit increase in a person's BMI was roughly associated with a $1,300 or 8 percent reduction in wealth. But the changes varied dramatically by ethnicity and gender:
http://sciencedaily.healthology.com/focus_article.asp?b=sciencedaily&f=beyond_dieting&c=dieting_costs-of-obesity

"Super-sizing" no bargain

(Reuters Health) - The "super-size" deals at fast-food restaurants aren't such a bargain once the costs of weight gain are considered.