Apples

Protects your heart

Prevents constipation

Blocks diarrhea

Improves lung capacity

Cushions joints

Apricots

Combats cancer

Controls blood . . . → Read More: Great Nutritional Information! Great Nutrition! Great Health!]]> Great Nutrition!  Great Health!  This chart is awesome! Everyone can use it. Please Pass it on to others. It was sent to me from a dear friend in
Pagosa Springs, CO. Thanks so much, Helen!

I suggest that you print and place this chart on your refrigerator
or somewhere in your kitchen.  I hope you find this to be helpful in
your journey for total wellness / health. Remember to share this with
your friends.  Also, don’t forget to boost your immune system and
increase your glutathione (Master Anti-oxidant) with MaxOne or Cellgevity at
http://www.connieclark.max4u.com
This is also an established Anti-Aging product!  Do yourself and
your loved ones a huge favor for total wellness with MaxOne or Cellgevity.

Also, with the holidays upon us, consider the best weight loss
product I have ever found (I’ve lost 40 lbs and
kept it off for a year now)
ThinMagic Ultra at 
http://www.americandream4me.com/connieclark

Have the most wonderful Holiday Season ever!
I am thankful to our Creator and Heavenly Father for the
opportunity to experience total wellness with all
the natural solutions that have been provided
for us!!!

Warmly,
Connie Clark
Wellness Consultant
303-770-3180
http://www.behealthysolutions.com

Aromatic Methods of Use Yes, we know about . . . → Read More: Aromatic Methods of Use for Oils, Mists and Blends]]> I’m thrilled to share some more great information on aromatherapy and oils with you. Be sure to visit Candace, The Oil Lady® website and learn all about her wonderful products.
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Touch With Oils® …
a language of no words
The Peace of Aromatic Health and Prosperity to you!
Candace, The Oil Lady®

Aromatic Methods of Use
Yes, we know about Aromatherapy and Essential Oils. However, it’s the knowledge of the many safe ways to use them that gives us freedom to take care of ourselves. This satisfies our pocket book and our sense of control and empowerment.

Three main forms of delivery for essential oils are (1) Mist form (such as Lavender Mist), (2) pure straight form (Pure Peppermint Essential Oil), and (3) a Blend: essential oils blended at a safe percentage in a base ingredient like Jojoba, lotions or gels (Rejuvenation Face Gel). An example of this is our Sweet Sleep Set.

Essential oils soothe our emotional stress and physical pains. How? … because of their olfactory nose-brain response, and their skin absorptive properties.

Main methods of use are (1) Inhalation of pure essential oils straight: breathing from the bottle, in a room diffuser, on a cotton ball or in a steam tent; (2) Skin application: always use essential oils in a blend for massage, body and face blends, bath & shower blends.

August Special: Subscribe here to my next year of 6 Aromatherapy Guides for $39.00 and receive 10% off your next order to September 15th.

Quick Tip: Keep a bottle of Peppermint with you during the day for direct inhalation. Good: energetic menthol lift, clear brain fog & fatigue, increase focus, sinus or headache & digestion relief.

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When essential oils first touched my palms in 1989, I thought “When people understand what REAL SMELL is and what pure essential oils REALLY ARE … the life-changing benefits for us all will be unstoppable.” It’s about education. We live in a smell deprived society of man-made fragrances. When we smell a familiar aroma like Peppermint, we know THIS is Peppermint. The oils rescued my failing health, exhausted feelings, and waining spirit … so education has always been a main part of my life purpose with Aromatherapy.

The vision of my Aromatherapy Guides is to provide you with a wonderful chapter of a book every other month (some day I do believe I’ll have a book or several for you!). Each Guide is a stand-alone specific topic. A year subscription is $39.00 or individual Guides are $8.50. I’m starting the next year in September with Guide #13. Order here and receive a special gift of 10% off your next purchase until Sept 15.
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We appreciate the opportunity to be a part of your life with our education and essential oils. Nature provides us with her essential oils to assist us through transitions, protect our physical & nonphysical health, & celebrate the joys of life. So spread the good news!

Be gentle with yourself … Life is precious … so are you!

Candace Newman, The Oil Lady®
Oil Lady Aromatherapy® LLC

www.Oil-Lady.com
email:info@Oil-Lady.com
970.731.1589
866.304.3451

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Another wealth of information from Candace, The Oil Lady® and I encourage you to visit her website and check out her marvelous Oils, Mists and Blends. They are truly wondrous! Thank you, Candace, for your loving care with Oils and sharing with others!

Warmly,
Connie Clark
Wellness Consultant
303-770-3180
http://www.behealthysolutions.com

For many years Ben Stein has written a biweekly column called ”Monday Night At Morton’s.”  (Morton’s is a famous chain of Steakhouses known to be frequented by movie stars and famous people from around the globe.)  Now, Ben . . . → Read More: Life lived to help others is the only one that matters!!!]]> This article spoke to my heart since it is why I do what I do….
thank you Ben Stein!              Life Is Too Short!   Enjoy!!!

For many years Ben Stein has written a biweekly column called ”Monday Night At Morton’s.”  (Morton’s is a famous chain of Steakhouses known to be frequented by movie stars and famous people from around the globe.)  Now, Ben is terminating the column to move on to other things in his life.  Reading his final column is worth a few minutes of your time. 

Ben Stein’s Last Column…

How Can Someone Who Lives in Insane Luxury Be a Star in Today’s World?

As I begin to write this, I ’slug’ it, as we writers say, which means I put a heading on top of the document to identify it. This heading is ‘eonline FINAL,’ and it gives me a shiver to write it.  I have been doing this column for so long that I cannot even  recall when I started. I loved writing this column so much for so long I came to believe it would never end.

It worked well for a long time, but gradually, my changing as a person and the world’s change have overtaken it.  On a small scale, Morton’s, while better than ever, no longer attracts as many stars as it used to. It still brings in the rich people in droves and definitely some stars. I saw Samuel L. Jackson there a few days ago, and we had a nice visit, and right before that, I saw and had a splendid talk with Warren Beatty in an elevator, in which we agreed that Splendor in the Grass was a super movie. But Morton’s is not the star galaxy it once was, though it probably will be again.

Beyond that, a bigger change has happened..?  I no longer think Hollywood stars are terribly important. They are uniformly pleasant, friendly people, and they treat me better than I deserve to be treated. But a man or woman who makes a huge wage for memorizing lines and reciting them in front of a camera is no longer my idea of a shining star we should all look up to.

How can a man or woman who makes an eight-figure wage and lives in insane luxury really be a star in today’s world, if by a ’star’ we mean someone bright and powerful and attractive as a role model?  Real stars are not riding around in the backs of limousines or in Porsches or getting trained in yoga or Pilates and eating only raw fruit while they have Vietnamese girls do their nails.

They can be  interesting, nice people, but they are not heroes to me any longer.  A real star is the soldier of the 4th Infantry Division who poked  his head into a hole on a farm near Tikrit , Iraq .  He could have been met by a bomb or a hail of AK-47 bullets.  Instead, he faced an abject Saddam Hussein and the gratitude of all of the decent people of the world.

A real star is the U.S. soldier who was sent to disarm a bomb next to a road north of Baghdad .  He approached it, and the bomb went off and killed him.

A real star, the kind who haunts my memory night and day, is the U.S. soldier in Baghdad who saw a little girl playing with a piece of unexploded ordnance on a street near where he was guarding a station.  He pushed her aside and threw himself on it just as it exploded.  He left a family desolate in California and a little girl alive in Baghdad ..

The stars who deserve media attention are not the ones who have lavish weddings on TV but the ones who patrol the streets of Mosul even after two of their buddies were murdered and their bodies battered and stripped for the sin of trying to protect Iraqis from terrorists.

We put couples with incomes of $100 million a year on the covers of our magazines.  The  noncoms and officers who barely scrape by on military pay but stand on guard in Afghanistan and Iraq and on ships and in submarines and near the Arctic Circle are anonymous as they live and die.

I am no longer comfortable being a part of the system that has such poor values, and I  do not want to perpetuate those values by pretending that who is eating at Morton’s is a big subject.

There are plenty of other stars in the American firmament…the policemen and women who go off on patrol in South Central and have no idea if they will return alive; the orderlies and paramedics who bring in people who have been in terrible accidents and prepare them for surgery; the teachers and nurses who throw their whole spirits into caring for autistic children; the kind men and women who work in hospices and in cancer wards.

Think of each and every fireman who was running up the stairs at the World Trade Center as the towers began to collapse. Now you have my idea of a real hero.

I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters. This is my highest and best use as a human.  I can put it another way. Years ago, I realized I could never be as great an actor as Olivier or as good a comic as Steve Martin or  Martin Mull or Fred Willard–or as good an economist as Samuelson or Friedman or as good a writer as Fitzgerald.  Or even remotely close to any of them.

But, I could be a devoted father to my son, husband to my wife and, above all, a good son to the parents who had done so much for me.  This came to be my main task in life.  I did it moderately well with my son, pretty well with my wife and well indeed with my parents (with my sister’s help).  I cared for and paid attention to them in their declining years.  I stayed with my father as he got sick, went into extremis and then into a coma and then entered immortality with my sister and me reading him the Psalms.

This was the only point at which my life touched the lives of the soldiers in Iraq or the firefighters in New York …  I came to realize that life lived to help others is the only one that matters and that it is my duty, in return for the lavish life God has devolved upon me, to help others He has placed in my path. This is my highest and best use as a human.

Faith is not believing that God can.  It is knowing that God will.

By  Ben Stein 

I sincerely hope that this article spoke to your heart in some way, as it did mine!  Thanks much for subscribing and reading my blog!

Warmly,
Connie Clark
303-770-3180
http://www.behealthysolutions.com

There appears . . . → Read More: Healthy Coffee Drinking…]]>

I’ve been reading up on coffee and caffeine.  It is quite interesting since caffeine is not perceived as a healthy supplement. Coffee is typically avoided as a health issue, such as pregnant women should not ingest coffee because it can affect fetal heart development.  I learned quite a lot from Dr. Mercola on this subject.

There appears to be instances where coffee may be of therapeutic benefit to aid in total wellness.        

Coffee Quality is Key

When it comes to the whole food, in this case of the coffee bean as opposed to the isolated caffeine, the converse is oftentimes true.

Most coffee produced today is heavily contaminated with pesticides. It’s actually one of the most heavily sprayed crops grown. So, when speaking of coffee here, make sure that you are using  organic, pesticide-free coffee.  With a quality coffee bean, you get nutrients and flavonoid antioxidants.

As an organic food in the United States, the crop must have been grown using at least 95 percent organic fertilizers and without the use of chemical pesticides for at least three consecutive years and the beans may not be irradiated.

Always look for the USDA 100% Organic seal. If you have trouble finding organic coffee in your local grocery store, check online, as there are many organic coffees available. Coffee should be taken black, without sugar (or use Stevia instead). Otherwise, you could be overspiking your insulin and causing insulin resistance.

There are some reasons why coffee has gotten such a bad rap.

Risks of Caffeine

Most coffee available today is rancid and packed from ground beans that will be stale in a week. The rate of rancidity increases heavily once you grind the beans. A lot of the bagged coffee you find in your grocery store is an already degraded product with rancid oils inside.

For total wellness, in order to provide you with healthful nutritional co-factors, you would want to grind the coffee beans of your choice fresh, making sure they are organic and pesticide free.

If too much caffeine is being chronically absorbed, there is a high likelihood that it could cause glutamate toxicity and related damage in certain areas of your brain.

Acidity from Coffee—Is that Good or Bad?

Another reason why coffee has a bad reputation is because it’s an acid forming substance. But some acid forming foods are essential to your health.  They provide benefits that should not be overlooked.  However, Acidity is a major problem. Anything that chronically acidifies your body can cause metabolic acidosis, a condition which is extremely unhealthy to say the least.

When your body becomes overly acidic, due to an acid forming diet, you set yourself up to a total metabolic shutdown.  Over acidification of your body wastes your muscle and bone tissues, and as the level of acid rises, cellular congestion occurs along with increased vulnerability to degenerative disease. Basically, when your body is acid, you’re falling apart…  So there was good reason to believe that all acid foods may cause metabolic disorders and disease including cancer. The two things that cancer thrive on are acid and sugar. So you should avoid having too much acid and certainly avoid sugar. Logically…  But in real life, not all acid foods are bad…

In fact, some of the most beneficial foods are acid forming.  These include protein foods and plant based antioxidants such as alagic acid, garlic acid, fulvic acid and humeric acid all of which are highly beneficial to your health.

So what should you do?  For total wellness, first of all, eat whole foods and do not ever eat protein isolate… protein isolate doesn’t have the alkalizing mineral co-factors that are needed to balance the acidity of the protein. This means that you should stay away from all whey isolate, hemp isolate, or soy isolate. These are extremely acidifying. If you keep using them in large amounts unbalanced by alkalizing foods, you risk metabolic acidosis.

Virtually all plant foods are alkalizing, besides glutenous grains and some nuts and seeds… If you support high protein intake with a high intake of fruits and vegetables and good selection of nuts like raw unpasteurized almonds for instance, you cannot go wrong.  You must balance acidic and alkalizing within the body for total wellness.

The same rule actually applies to coffee!  Another great way to balance the acidity in our bodies is to use alkalized water.  I personally use a Kangen Water machine to alkalize my water for drinking and it majorly helps to decrease the acidity of the body and promote much better health.  You can contact me if you are interested in finding out more about Kangen Water!

If you drink coffee, just make sure your intake of raw fruits or vegetables is high enough. Essentially, a good diet is a balanced diet that includes all the major building blocks—fats, proteins and carbs—acidic and alkalizing foods must be balanced!  Using Kangen Water in making your coffee is another way to lower the acidity in your body!

What Makes Caffeine Healthy?

Natural sources of caffeine include tea, coffee, and chocolate. These whole caffeinated foods are highly beneficial.  Every time you get naturally occurring caffeine, such as in cocoa beans, coffee or tea, you get it from a nutritionally dense healthy whole food. And note that when you use the same food in a decaffeinated form such as decaffeinated coffee, or decaffeinated tea, you ingest ”nutritionally deficient inferior foods.

A tea without caffeine is useless. It loses all the antioxidant bioflavonoids in the processing. Same with decaffeinated coffee…it has zero nutritional value. Research has shown that both whole cocoa beans and coffee have remarkable neuroprotective properties. There is emerging evidence that South American societies who drink freshly ground coffee from whole coffee beans have the lowest rates of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. That’s definitely something I’m interested in because Alzheimer’s and Dementia run in my family.

***Can Coffee stop aging?***  There is a new school of research that argues that the body is much smarter than previously thought…and it has the capacity to literally stop aging.  The body has a mechanism that can actually destroy damaged, sick or cancerous cells along with weak or damaged muscle fibers.  These are then digested and recycled back into the tissues.  BDNF (Neuro-factor) turns on the mechanism that activates stem cells to rebuild the tissue. This mechanism is real. It’s just that it stays dormant for most people… you need to know how to activate it.

***Coffee activates this rejuvenation mechanism in your brain. You will keep your brain young by activating neuro-factors that regenerate neurons and recycle your brain tissue.”

Other Benefits of Coffee

Coffee increases your metabolism by up to 20 percent.

Again, make sure you use whole, fresh, organic coffee and take it balck without sugar (or use Stevia).

So, all in all, it appears coffee may have some valuable benefits, particularly to boost the benefits for your health, as long as you get high quality organic coffee, ground your own beans to make sure it’s fresh, and avoid adding sugar.

If you use a “drip” coffee maker, be sure to use non-bleached filters. The bright white ones, which most people use, are chlorine bleached and some of this chlorine will be extracted from the filter during the brewing process and they are also full of dangerous disinfection by products like dioxin.

Also be careful about the container you use. You will want to avoid plastic cups as the BPA from the plastic will migrate into your blood .  You also want to avoid the use of Styrofoam cups as that will leach polystyrene molecules.  Your best bets include glass and ceramic travel mugs.

Warmly,
Connie Clark
303-770-3180 home office
303-898-7376 mobile

http://www.behealthysolutions.com 

I hope your year is off to a great start! I want to thank all of you that helped make last year so great.

This year is already getting off to a fantastic start. I look forward to helping all of you, your friends, family, and clients, in any way I can, to make 2011 . . . → Read More: Parabens and Phenoxyethanols found in Breast Cancer]]> Happy new year!

I hope your year is off to a great start! I want to thank all of you that helped make last year so great.

This year is already getting off to a fantastic start. I look forward to helping all of you, your friends, family, and clients, in any way I can, to make 2011 a successful year. Let’s be extra healthy this year with less aches and pains, less excess weight, more energy and all the wonderful things that go with total wellness!

I’m going to start the New Year off with some very important information to help you on your road to great health!

I thought the article below to be important as you should go through all products you own to make sure they are free of parabens, phenoxyethanols, and all harmful ingredients. These are the two ingredients that are very carcinogenic. You should be extremely cautious of everything that you put in and on your bodies. What good are any results if you are at the risk of horrific repercussions from the ingredients you put ON or IN yourself? It is important that I also provide you the necessary education to you and your families so you know how to make the best choices to keep you and your loved ones safe from harmful ingredients. 100% Chemical Free is the Mission you should have for All. Article Below:

Subject: Parabens and Phenoxyethanols found in Breast Cancer
By: Rebecca James Gadberry

Posted: June 25, from Skin Inc. Magazine.

Q. After reading about a British study reporting that parabens in antiperspirants contribute to breast cancer, some of my clients don’t want the substance in their cosmetics. I am looking to you to help clarify this issue for me. Are parabens harmful, or are they safe? Is it true that they have been banned in Europe and Japan?

A . Parabens, which are widely used antimicrobial preservatives for cosmetics, are among the most studied of all cosmetic ingredients and have a long history of safety. Although there is an Internet myth claiming that they have been banned in both Europe and Japan, it is not true. Parabens are allowed for use by every government agency that regulates cosmetics worldwide.

Used since the 1920s in thousands of cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, as well as in a few foods, parabens are a family of chemicals known as alkyl esters of p-hydroxybenzoic acid. They have various prefixes that refer to the length of the alkyl ester group that branches off of the acid. These include methyl, ethyl, benzyl, propyl and butyl.

Methylparaben is the shortest chain or smallest molecule of the group, butylparaben is the longest and the others are of various midlengths. Several parabens are found in nature, including methylparaben. This most popular variety is produced by certain MOLD species in order to protect themselves from hostile bacteria. However, to my knowledge, NONE that are used in cosmetics or other commercial products come from natural sources. All of those utilized in cosmetics are derived from PETROLEUM.

Throughout the past decade, Parabens have been recognized as several of the more than 8,000 endocrine disrupters (EDs) in the environment. These chemicals, which behave like animal estrogens, can affect hormone balances adversely or disrupt the normal function of organs that are controlled by hormones. Among the more popular plant EDs are phytoestrogens, which are found in SOY, hops, Angelica sinensis (dong quai), Salvia officianalis, clary sage, red clover, pumpkin, poppy, St. John’s wort, rosehips, yarrow and some seaweeds. They now are believed by many researchers to contribute to the increasing incidences of breast cancer, low sperm count and other estrogen-influenced medical problems in humans, as well as to alter the sexual characteristics of fish, frogs and other species by contaminating fresh water supplies. My advice – Stay away from ALL Parabens and Phenoxyethenols – Both found to be in 98% of All Breast Cancer studies.
____________________________________________________________

It seems to me that as far as we are able, we need to eliminate all toxic ingredients from the products that we use on our bodies, in our bodies and in our environment. I have found products that are green and organic and are 100% chemically-free.

If you would like to start your New Year off with really good products that help to eliminate toxins from common products that you use frequently, like shampoo, conditioner, supplements, laundry detergent and so much more, then I invite you to visit Essante Worldwide to check out their Organic and Green products NOW!

Warmly,
Connie
Wellness Consultant and
Health Blog Writer
303-770-3180 home ofc
303-898-7376 mobile
http://www.essanteworldwide.com/optforsuccess

As I have before and still . . . → Read More: Banish Wrinkles and Boost Memory with Fruits, Vegetables, Probiotics, Enzymes and More!]]>
Although there is no “fountain of youth,” there are many foods and natural compounds that can help combat the consequences of normal aging, like memory loss and sagging skin. Recent research has uncovered the potential power of antioxidant compounds found in berries for fighting some of the undesirable effects of aging.

As I have before and still do, I highly recommend a whole, live food product.

The InstaFresh™ Difference
As a result of two decades of ongoing R&D, the Nuriche exclusive InstaFresh™ process has emerged as the most nutritionally protective way of creating whole food powders. In less than 30 seconds and at temperatures below 100º F, fruits, vegetables, and sprouts become blendable powders, rich combinations of fruits, vegetables, enzymes, trace minerals, probiotics and seeds, nuts and sprouts, and waiting to be brought to life by the water you add.

INGREDIENTS:
Each serving contains juice and whole food concentrates from:

ORAC Rich Berry & Fruit Blend (30): Purple Grape*, Noni Fruit, Acai Berry, Mangosteen, Wolfberry-Goji, Raspberry*, Black Currant, Blackberry*, Blueberry*, Hawthorn Berry, Pomegranate, Bilberry, Cranberry, Elderberry, Whole Purple Grape, Strawberry*, Acerola Cherry, Cherry*, Orange, Watermelon*, Papaya, Lemon, Grapefruit, Peach, Prune, Plum* and Pineapple in a base of Apple, Pear, and Banana.

Nutrient Rich Vegetable Green Blend (30): Barley Grass juice powder*, Alfalfa Leaf juice powder*, Wheat Grass juice powder*, Carrot*, Beet*, Oat Grass juice powder*, Dunaliella, Kelp, Spinach*, Sweet Potato*, Dulse, Klamath Lake Algae*, Chlorella, Spirulina, Broccoli*, Kale, Tomato*, Squash, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Bell Pepper, Parsley, Cucumber, Brussels Sprout, Onion, Celery, Garlic, Cayenne, Asparagus and Ginger.

Omega Rich SNS Blend (11): ** Flax Seed, Oat Bran, Brown Rice Fiber Complex, Almond Seed*, Sunflower Seed, Chia Seed, Quinoa Sprout*, Amaranth Sprout*, Wheat Sprout*, Pumpkin Seed, and Sesame Seed.

Enzyme Rich Mineral Blend (83): Amylase, Cellulase, Protease, Lactase, Lipase, Maltase, Bromelain, Sucrase, Ionic Fulvic Mineral Extract Powder, Superoxide Dismutase (SOD), Aloe Vera Leaf Extract and Yucca.

Vital Probiotic Blend (22): Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, Bifidobacterium bifidum, Lactobacillus sporogenes, Lactococcus lactis, Lactococcus cremoris, Lactobacillus delbrueckii, Lactobacillus kefir, Leuconostoc cremoris, Lactobacillus caucasicus, Lactobacillus plantarum, Lactobacillus salivarius, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus helveticus, Lactobacillus paracasei, Lactobacillus brevis, Bifidobacterium infantis, Bifidobacterium lactis, Bifidobacterium longum, Bifidobacterium breve and Streptococcus thermophilus.

*Certified Organic

Healthy Energy
When you make live, whole foods part of your daily diet, you’ll immediately start to notice some changes in how you feel. For starters, you’ll sleep better at night and awaken feeling rested and alert. You’ll find that as you go through your day you think more clearly and feel more energetic the whole day through. LiVE and ReVive don’t merely provide long-term health benefits—They deliver an immediate, noticeable change in how you feel.

•Greater Mental Clarity
•Improved Endurance
•More Restful Sleep
•Long-lasting Energy

Natural Weight Loss
One of the great advantages of LiVE and ReVive’s whole food nutrition is that your body will become accustomed to the best kind of nutrients. As a consequence, you’ll be less likely to crave snack foods and other hollow calories, less prone to the between-meal hunger pangs that seem to undermine your attempts to lose weight. Meanwhile, your digestion will improve as your body benefits from a natural cleansing process that helps your body retain only what it needs to keep you feeling fit.

•Less Hunger
•Fewer Cravings
•Improved Digestion
•Natural Cleansing

Personal Vitality
It is an established fact that the natural whole foods in LiVE help your body to function better overall. One reason for that is that live, whole foods are high in antioxidants, phytonutrients and enzymes, which means that they help reduce the negative effects of toxins that build up in your body. At the same time, however, such nutrients tend to increase oxygenation (which is good), meaning that your blood remains richer in oxygen to supply the functions of healthy cells. Many people also report that whole food nutrition helps to reduce stress and improve their overall sense of well-being.

•Reduced Stress
•Improved Circulation
•Increased Oxygenation

A recent study, presented at the National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, analyzed the effects of certain compounds found in berries1. Researchers found that antioxidant compounds from berries may activate and protect special cells within the brain (known as microglia) which help remove the buildup of toxins that can lead to memory decline.

As part of the normal aging process, microglia can become dysfunctional, either failing to do their job of “cleaning up” the brain or actually damaging healthy cells, both of which are associated with age-related cognitive decline. This new research suggests that consuming antioxidant-rich berries, including blueberries, strawberries and blackberries, may help protect the brain from the gradual buildup of harmful toxins that can affect proper cognitive function.

In addition to their brain-boosting benefits, berries may also help counter the effects of aging on the surface of the skin. A recent study published in Experimental Dermatology revealed that ellagic acid, an antioxidant compound found in various berries, may actually reverse skin damage (including wrinkles and inflammation) caused by UV-B radiation2.

Researchers used a topical preparation of ellagic acid on human skin cells and hairless mice exposed to UV-B radiation. Results showed that the application of ellagic acid to the skin prevented inflammatory response, as well as the destruction of collagen, the compound responsible for skin’s firmness and elasticity.

Another similar study analyzed the effect of antioxidant-rich bog blueberry extract on human dermal fibroblasts (skin cells) exposed to UV-B radiation3. Researchers discovered that the extract reduced collagen breakdown and inflammation in the exposed skin cells. The study author hypothesized that the anthocyanins (antioxidant compounds) found in the blueberry extract may have a protective power against UV-induced photoaging, a common cause of wrinkles.

I believe in the power of antioxidants – and this research only confirms my thoughts that a healthy diet can help make the natural aging process as smooth and graceful as possible. I recommend eating plenty of dark-skinned fruits, such as blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, cranberries, cherries and grapes, as these typically contain a higher concentration of antioxidants. I particularly recommend eating fresh fruit and/or freshly prepared fruit juice, or frozen fruit when fresh is not available. Alternatively, one may drink commercially prepared, vacuum packed fruit juice. For skin protection and preservation, I suggest looking for a facial cream or serum that is enriched with antioxidants such as resveratrol (commonly found in grape skin), vitamin C or CoQ10. To your best health always!

And I have found that using my whole live food product LiVE and ReVive are the easiest and cheapest way to get what we need into our bodies. I highly recommend that you visit http://www.mynuriche.com./connieclark and read more about this phenomenal product. You can’t do better than this.

RESOURCES
1. Poulose S, Joseph J. Eating berries may activate the brain’s natural housekeeper for healthy aging. (Presented at the semi-annual meeting of the American Chemical Society, Boston, Massachusetts, August 24-30, 2010).

2. Bae JY, Choi JS, Kang SW, Lee YJ, Park J, Kang YH. Dietary compound ellagic acid alleviates skin wrinkle and inflammation induced by UV-B irradiation. Exp Dermatol. 2010 Aug;19(8):e182-90.

3. Bae JY, Lim SS, Kim SJ, Choi JS, Park J, Ju SM, Han SJ, Kang IJ, Kang YH. Bog blueberry anthocyanins alleviate photoaging in ultraviolet-B irradiation-induced human dermal fibroblasts. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2009 Jun;53(6):726-38.

Warmly,
Connie Clark
Wellness Coach and Consultant
303-770-3180