What to Eat and Drink While Studying. What to Avoid.

                    Sugar Makes You Dumb? 

Do the foods you eat really impact the way you think and how well you perform in school? A recent study demonstrated that sugar does indeed cause poor brain function. Sugary foods and drinks result in a decreased ability to learn new material and impairment of short-term and long-term memory. If you want to do your best academically and increase your free time then you must lay off junk food. Eating junk food slows down the performance of your brain which can cause you to spend more time studying. Not only do these foods cause memory problems, but according to emerging research they definitely affect your mood. Eating sugar has been shown to raise your stress levels leading to depression and anxiety. If you want to feel your best you should switch to these snack foods instead.

• Raw nuts including walnuts, pistachios, almonds, cashews, Brazil nuts
• Apples
• Raisins
• Granola (No sugar added)

Instead of soft drinks, energy drinks, and juice (which causes poor brain function) switch to these healthier alternatives.

• Green Tea (Plain or with one teaspoon of real honey)
• Black coffee (no cream or sugar)
• Real coconut water (no added sugar)

Whereas soft drinks are detrimental to brain function, green tea has been shown to increase memory and mental performance.  Coconut water contains the electrolyte magnesium. Magnesium is something that 90% of students do not get enough of from a normal diet. Magnesium is an essential element needed for maximum memory and overall brain function. And of course, coffee is good for the brain if you don't add anything to it. Coffee has been shown to boost short-term memory but not when you add sugar to it. It is always best to find an organic source of coffee and teas to avoid any chemicals that might interfere with brain function.  

Is Your Tampon Toxic? Watch This Video and You Will Understand Why You Need To Switch Brands.

Ladies, do you want to be healthier by  reducing your exposure to toxic chemicals and genetically modified organisms? Changing the type of tampon you use would eliminate your exposure to cotton that is soaked in cancer causing pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fragrances, chlorine, and plastic derivatives. The cotton in every major brand of tampon is not only saturated with an array of corrosive chemicals but also genetically modified (GMO). These chemicals are highly absorbed in the vagina and are linked to hormone disruption, infertility, dryness, and birth defects.  The average women uses about 12,000 tampons in a lifetime which is approximately 36,000 hours or more of direct chemical exposure.  These highly flammable chemicals do not belong in the body and in my opinion are at least partially responsible for the major increase in female cancers, infertility issues, and overall toxic chemical exposure. 

What tampon would you use? 

In the video of the burning tampon on the left, the black chemical cloud of smoke looks exactly like the fumes emitted from a chemical factory on fire.  Untreated, organic cotton never burns like this.    

Make the simple switch to organic tampons and feminine care products.  I recommend the brands Natracare or Seventh Generation. Keep in mind that green drinks and detox regimens are great and I highly recommend to feel your best, but if you keep exposing yourself to toxins then you are negating the whole purpose.  

Like and share if you think people you care about should make the switch too.            

Sugar Depletes Magnesium From Your Body and How This Impacts Your Health

Everybody knows excessive sugar is bad for your health.  But did you know that it could be robbing an essential nutrient from your body?  This can steal your vitality and make it difficult to perform your best.  

• Magnesium: The Essential Nutrient that Sugar Depletes

It is estimated that 85% of Americans do not get enough magnesium in the diet!  So everyone is already deficient in magnesium and regular sugar consumption reduces already low levels.  

Magnesium is absolutely necessary for:

• Energy production, improving stamina and reducing physical and mental fatigue.  Magnesium is essential to make the energy molecule ATP.  Without magnesium you will never have enough energy or endurance.  Most high performance athletes are aware of this and supplement with magnesium daily for peak performance.
• Deep and restorative sleep.  Yes, higher intake of magnesium enhances your level of sleep.  Keep in mind that sleep is the ultimate antioxidant, the deeper your sleep the better.  

• Maximum brain function and capacity.  Higher levels of magnesium improve learning and remembering.  Without adequate magnesium intake your IQ suffers and so does your ability to think. 
• Peak muscular function and fitness.  If you are trying to get in the best shape you will want to be certain you are consuming magnesium rich foods and consider supplementation.  Muscles rely upon magnesium to help strengthen contractions and for expediting recovery time.      
• For over 360 biochemical reactions.  This means magnesium acts to reduce disease associated-inflammation.  The more sugar you eat or drink the more inflammation is cascading in your body.  Higher levels of inflammation increases your odds of developing many disease states.  Ideally you cease eating refined sugar and increase your magnesium intake to keep inflammation levels low and your body healthy.
• A long healthy life.  Aging research shows that a longer telomere length on your DNA is associated with a longer, healthier life.  Studies have shown that a higher intake of magnesium along with a low intake of refined sugar maintains telomere length.  So a lifetime of higher magnesium intake and avoiding things that deplete it like sugar, may increase your health and lengthen your life.  

So what foods should you be eating to increase your magnesium intake?

• Spinach
• Kale
• Cashews
• Brazil Nuts
• Peanuts
• Walnuts
• Pumpkin seeds
• Quinoa
• Wild rice
• Yogurt
• Bananas
• Real dark chocolate

Ideally you should be eating at least 6 servings of these foods everyday.  If this is impossible for you then magnesium supplementation should be considered.  If you already eat or drink a lot of sugar everyday then a magnesium supplement would be especially helpful for you.  Never take a magnesium supplement if you have kidney disease.  

Top 10 Benefits of Laughter

Treat Your Laughter Deficiency Every Day   

Short burst of hysterical laughter is as important as short burst of high intensity exercise.  

• Feeling down?  
• Stressed?  
• Anxious?  
• Low energy? 
• Overwhelmed? 
• Worried? 
• Or just blah?

You probably haven’t laughed hard enough recently. 

If you try to eat right and exercise regularly, then you should also be making sure you spend enough time laughing.

Laughing so hard that you can’t catch your breath provides unique benefits that superfoods, vitamins, exercise, and good quality sleep can’t provide.

The benefits of laughter…

It decreases stress.  Laughter reduces stress hormones which accelerate aging, make you fat, and drain your energy.  Stress is the number one thing that makes people feel bad.

Rebalances “feel good” brain chemicals.  Laughter releases endorphins and dopamine which can make your day much more enjoyable regardless of what is going on.  After laughing hard your body experiences a surge of these feel good chemicals creating a high in some people.

Humor improves memory recall, topic understanding, increases attention and stimulates creative thinking.  A reduction in stress hormones allows for the brain to work significantly better.  Scientist have proven that being highly stressed makes it much more difficult to learn new material.  Laughter reduces tension and helps bring synchronicity to the two hemispheres of the brain enabling it to remember ideas better.  Both of these help bring about the ideal, relaxed learning state.  If teachers used humor and relaxation as teaching methods students would learn exponentially more information. 

Dramatically boost immune function.  Laughter stimulates a major component of the immune system known as natural killer cells.  These cells kill cancer cells and infectious organisms like the common cold and flu.  Laughing also boosts IgA antibodies which attack organisms responsible for upper respiratory tract infections.  If you ever start to feel sick, laughter can help boost your immune system and make you feel better. 

Eases tension and relaxes your muscles.   Laughing temporarily contracts your abdominal muscles and once you are finished laughing your body relaxes deeper than had you not laughed at all.  Muscle contractions stimulate lymph glands to help eliminate toxins out of the body.  So laughing regularly assists in detoxification.  This is one explanation for how continuously watching funny movies has cured some people from disease.   

Laughing can help you stay lean.  Laughing reduces the stress hormone cortisol, which can cause you to gain bodyfat.  High amounts of cortisol cause fat accumulation, especially around the abdominal area.  Laughing itself is a workout and it has been said that 10 minutes of laughing is equivalent to 30 minutes of exercise. 

Laughter makes you more attractive to the opposite sex.  Laughing makes you feel good and when you feel good people are more attracted to you. 

Eases fear and anger, providing a sense of hope.  A study with terminally ill cancer patients demonstrated that laughter was extremely beneficial for those facing death.  Humor can help improve coping skills, whether it is finals coming up, a bad break up, or a death in the family.  Laughing can comfort emotional pain from any source.    

Reduces inflammation.   Inflammation accelerates aging, causes brain fog and sets up the conditions for diseases of every kind.  Laughter is a strong, natural anti-inflammatory similar to superfoods like cherries, pineapple and ginger.

Balances blood sugar.  A research study demonstrated that laughter after eating prevented the rise in blood glucose in diabetics.  This is important because higher levels of blood sugar in anyone is associated with accelerated aging and the onset of a variety of diseases. 

In order to reap the benefits it’s important to laugh hard.  The harder you laugh the better it is for your body.  Hysterical laughter is best and probably has hundreds of health benefits that scientist have yet to discover.  Hang out with some ridiculous friends, watch TV shows, movies, YouTube videos, Twitter feeds, or whatever it is that makes you laugh.  

Don't just watch one funny show a week.  Make sure you find humor throughout the day, everyday.

Don’t take life too serious….

Is Stress Causing Your Upset Stomach?

Is Stress Causing Your Upset Stomach?

Are you experiencing stress from any of the following?

·        Exams

·        Relationships

·        Deadlines

·        Generalized worry

·        Financial concerns

·        Bad foods

If so, you know how the stomach can be directly affected from mental stress causing bloating, cramping, diarrhea, and or constipation to name a few symptoms.  From my experience, typical drugstore, over-the-counter medication doesn’t adequately treat all these symptoms.

Few students realize how helpful peppermint oil enteric coated capsules can be especially around finals.  Well over a dozen scientific studies have validated the effectiveness of peppermint oil on calming the gastrointestinal tract.  This has led many doctors to begin prescribing peppermint oil for gastrointestinal disturbances and spasms.  From my experience, the peppermint oil capsules very rarely ever cause side effects and profoundly benefit the user. 

To a lesser degree, peppermint oil also kills yeast or candida albicans which can also cause gastrointestinal disturbances.  Killing yeast is important for girls and guys in order to have maximum vitality. 

Yeast overgrowth can be caused by:

·        Binge Drinking

·        Antibiotics

·        Sugar

·        Birth Control pills

·        Excessive Carbohydrates

·        Artificial Sweeteners

Symptoms of yeast overgrowth aside from recurrent yeast infections in women include:

·        Brain fog/Poor Memory/Slow to learn concepts or ideas/Lack of concentration

·        Fatigue/Low energy

·        Low Mood, Anxiety, Irritability

·        Frequently Sick

·        Digestion issues, diarrhea, constipation

Instead of using synthetic over-the-counter drugs, choose an enteric coated peppermint oil capsule or softgel.   Typical instructions are one capsule 1-2 times daily as needed.

If you don’t have peppermint softgels available you can always drink a special anti-stress stomach concoction.   Brew 2 teabags of peppermint tea (I prefer organic tea bags) with one or two bags of chamomile tea.  Let steep for at least 5 minutes and then enjoy.  You may drink this warm or over ice throughout the day to calm stomach nerves.  A simple tea concoction can make a profound difference for some people who struggle with nervous indigestion or stomach upset. 

Purchase “The Natural Truth About College” to learn more on how to reduce stress, feel your best and have maximum vitality. 

www.NaturalTruthAboutCollege.com 

If You Drink Filtered Water, Should You Breathe Filtered Air?

Do you want to breathe in the healthiest, cleanest air?  Of course you should.  In the 1980’s everyone drank regular tap water until major companies started filtering and bottling water to sell.  Today, common knowledge tells us that drinking mainly tap water is a health hazard.  Research clearly demonstrates over 200 pharmaceutical drugs are in tap water along with heavy metals, pesticides, herbicides, and much more.    

In twenty years, air pollution in certain areas will be viewed the same as tap water today.  People will find it hard to believe that people were not using air filters for their living quarters.  Air pollution can be accumulating toxins in your body and setting the conditions for disease and cancer.  The World Health Organization now acknowledges that air pollution (especially prevalent in major cities) is causing many different types of cancer.  http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-air-pollution-causes-lung-cancer-20131017,0,981625.story#axzz2iToKoIbv  It is not just lung cancer where toxins build up and elimination is inadequate, but other types of cancer including bladder cancer.  I believe the link to bladder cancer is the body's attempt to eliminate toxins but due to inadequate water intake it can't properly flush the system clean.
Avoiding polluted air can be difficult especially if you live in a densely populated area.  High end air filters can be very expensive and sometimes require one for each room in your house.  I own high quality air filters and they work very well at cleaning up the air, but they came with a steep price tag.  Recently I discovered a low cost alternative that will clean the air you breathe very effectively.      

This Michigan University video below will demonstrate how to make your own air filter for around $25.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kH5APw_SLUU

I suggest spending a little extra for a higher quality HEPA furnace filter.  I like this 3M brand “Elite Allergen Extra Reduction” HEPA filter. 

http://www.lowes.com/pd_362200-98-EAX02-TWR_4294761657%2B4294751788%2B4294804526%2B4294794887__?productId=3460922&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1&currentURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=1.0|20.0|20.0  You will need to find an air filter with the dimension of 20” x 20” x 1”.  This filter and the 20 inch box fan (retail $19.99) can typically be found at Lowe’s or Home Depot.  This type of filter will filter almost as much more expensive home air filter.

I created this box fan filter to put in my laundry room/garage entry to test its strength.  After one month of use the air quality was much better.  As you can see how much dirt was filtered out of the air with the image below.  The HEPA filter is white and the circle of dirt is what is being filtered out of the air.  Imagine how many toxins were going into my lungs and burdening my body without this filter.

Ignore the awful blue colored tape, I used blue painter’s tape because it was the only tape I had at the time and I’m the only one that walks in that room. 

It is important to have at least one air filter in the place where you spend 1/3 of your life, your bedroom.  Breathing in clean air while you sleep is important to eliminate mold, bacteria, and toxins from entering your body.   This keeps you healthy, feeling young, and is important for anyone wanting to live the healthiest way possible.  
Anyone that has pets, especially cats should definitely have an air filter.  The most important area would be near the litter box in order to remove bacteria and toxins from the air.  Recent studies show that bacteria from cat litter boxes negatively impacts health. Not only is it bad for your lungs, (especially for asthmatics) but it also bad for your brain.  The toxic bacteria is linked to depression, anxiety and increased suicide risk.  
Remember to drink lots of filtered water throughout the day to help eliminate toxins that build up in our system from multiple sources.  
For more information read my book "The Natural Truth About College".  www.NaturalTruthAboutCollege.com

Beer: Canned vs Bottled Beer. Whats Healthier?

Whats healthier?  Canned vs glass bottled?  

Everyone is concerned about the type of drink they have; whether it is “light” beer or “sugar free” mixers, but rarely is any attention given to the type of container it is served in. If you are going to party; a simple decision could dramatically reduce the amounts of toxins that enter your body which can negatively impact your body-fat, cognition, aging, hairline and vitality.

Canned beer is lined with a plastic coating to prevent the aluminum, metallic taste in the beer.  This plastic liner contains a high concentration of BPA or bisphenol-A.  BPA is a toxin that has the potential to cause serious health problems over time. BPA was just recently banned in all children’s drinking cups and bottles by the FDA, yet it is still in beer and soda cans.  When beer is transported to the liquor store it can vary wildly in temperature and sitting in extremely hot trucks can dramatically increase the amount of BPA leeched into your beer or beverage.  A recent Harvard study showed that eating just one can of soup per day for 5 days increased the amount of BPA in the urine by 1200%! Some people drink 6, 8, or even 12 cans of beer in one night.  The BPA level after one weekend could be astronomically high.  Binge drinking of this type clearly has inherent risks and health detriments of it’s own, but that will be a blog post for another day…

It is really unknown how much BPA is being lodged in your vital organs and other tissues creating silent conditions for disease later in life.  I don’t want to be a guinea pig so I stopped drinking and eating out of plastic a long time ago. I believe BPA accelerates aging and reducing your overall appearance.

Here are the top 5 reasons to avoid canned beers and soft drink chasers and switch to glass bottles.  

1) Canned beer could be making you fat.  Not because of the beer, but because of the BPA in the liner has been linked with obesity in several studies.  In an analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Association of 3,000 teens, those with the highest concentration of BPA were 2.6 times more likely to be obese. BPA could be partially responsible for the “Beer Belly”. 

2) The “other ingredients” in canned beer could be lowering your GPA.  BPA has been shown to alter the structure and function of your brain1.  It may actually be impairing your brains ability to function at the highest level.  So this could hurt your ability to learn and memorize things and perform your best on exams.  Getting drunk numerous times can often create a brain fog but depending on what container you are drinking out of could be making it even hard to get better grades. 

3) BPA is a xenoestrogen or synthetic estrogen toxin that doesn’t belong in the body.  BPA acts like a synthetic version of the female hormone estrogen.  This is of course is terrible for guys to feel your best and could be causing serious health problems with females later in life.  Since BPA acts as a xenoestrogen  it may be causing hair loss in people who drink and eat out of plastic containers a lot.  Guys, if you want to keep your hair and maintain peak muscle mass avoid the xenoestrogen BPA every chance you can.        

4) BPA increases oxidative stress and inflammation in the liver2.  Your liver is the main organ for detoxification especially alcohol.  If you damage your liver then toxins start to back up and aging accelerates.  For all you biology students, it causes mitochondrial dysfunction so this is a very, very bad thing.  Drinking alcohol already puts a severe burden and damages your liver.  Drinking out of plastic lined cans does further damage to your liver and sets yourself up for diseases down the road.  You can party but you can do it without exposing yourself to un-needed toxins.    

5) Drinking out of glass TASTES BETTER!  This is more than likely due to the fact that there is no BPA residue in the beer.  So you are left with what you intended to drink the whole time…..just beer.

If You Like to Party Make This Simple Switch

If you want to avoid excessive toxins while you are partying; avoid excessive canned beers, canned mixers, plastic cups and drink out of glass bottles and glass mugs if possible. Of course it is impossible to play “beerpong” or flippy cup” with glass cups, but drink out of glass as often as possible.  Avoid aluminum beer bottles because these also contain BPA.  Ultimately, the healthiest alcohol beverage is red wine, preferably “organic” or without pesticides and add sulfites.  Red wine always comes in glass and contains antioxidant rich compounds that actually benefit the body.  One or two glasses benefit the body and anything over actually creates free radical damage or becomes toxic. 

How Do I Detox BPA?

A thorough detoxification program is discussed in my book “The Natural Truth About College”, but one simple thing you can do is to increase your intake of cruciferous vegetables.  Specifically the vegetables broccoli, cauliflower, kale, and brussel sprouts.  These antioxidant rich foods contain a compound that helps metabolize xenoestrogens, keeping you healthy and lean. 

Always drink responsibly.

 For more information go to http://www.NaturalTruthAboutCollege.com    

www.NaturalTruthAboutCollege.com

Buy the book today.

1) Duke University Medical Center. “BPA may affect the developing brain by dis­rupting gene regulation.” Sciencedaily, 25 Feb 2013. Web.15 Apr. 2013

2) J Korean Med Sci. 2012 June; 27(6): 644–652.