How to End Sugar Addiction - Detox From Junk Food

I commit to removing sugar and flour products from my diet, starting immediately.

There is no doubt in my mind that making changes to my food in this way impacts my life, energy, mood, mental acuity and relationships- not to mention my own wellness and well being, more than any other choice I can make. I've done it before, and the results are dramatic and worth it.

The first few days of making these changes can be a bit of a shock- depending on how much processed or sugary foods you've been eating (and this time of year, it could be on the over-the-top-end of the spectrum, ugh..) will impact your experience, plus your own individual chemistry.

If you really want to succeed at something like this, which is absolutely akin to detoxing from other substance addictions- although I know some medical professionals will disagree- you must create space for the experience.

Here's a checklist of a few things to help support you if you want to get the sugar/flour/processed carbs out:

• Set your intention- get clear on the parameters of what you will change
• Ready your environment, either removing or adding things to support you (get rid of triggery foods, and make sure you have the makings for satisfying meals and snacks readily available)
• Make time for the transition- i like to make sure I have a few days that will be less busy or challenging so I can afford to nap, or rest. You may feel tired, cranky, low energy, headachey or just a bit lost as you navigate your life without your favorite "drugs". We use sugar and such to change our moods and to divert us from painful thoughts and feelings, so prepared to feel a bit lost around this.
• Prepare some alternative forms of comfort- I love to read, meditate, walk, and other quiet pastimes in place of self-soothing driven eating. Think about how to get yourself through the first 4-5 days which are typically where you will most feel any physical discomfort.
• Nourish yourself- add some fruit to your meals and snacks, the natural sugars will help a lot.
• Avoid overcompensating via caffeine- it's a bad trade, you'll feel more irritable- drink lots of water to flush out your system.
• Get some crunch in- crunching raw vegetables will soothe some of the anxiety you feel, get the tension in your body out through your jaws, it helps.
• Know that "this too shall pass" - although you can feel more tired and sluggish for weeks after removing the sugar/flour, overall you will notice ways in which you feel a lot better, relatively quickly, after several days usually.
• Be extra kind to yourself- no perfectionism on other things, only focus on the task at hand. If you bring too many changes into the mix, kapow you're going to be overwhelmed and discouraged and your good intentions will probably fail. You don't have to let this happen.
• Protect your intentions- MOST important. Don't necessarily talk to others about this. I have found that virtually everyone has an opinion, and often people LOVE to argue debate about what others eat. It's annoying, none of their business, and can provide you with an easy "out" at a vulnerable moment when you decide, "hmmm, they're right, you do need sugar for a happy and normal life". Trust me on this, protect yourself by keeping your intentions sacred and to yourself. Avoid situations that will be too much to handle in the vulnerable early weeks... this makes all the difference, and you deserve to protect what is meaningful for you.

I love to help people get off the foods they feel addicted to- watching you become brighter and shinier and less encumbered physically and every other way, is part of this work that I adore.

You can even talk to me online now- see the little icon on my home page. I also have lots of new options for us to work together this year- maybe try an intuitive inspiration session with me as a way to get going on all of your wishes for this year.

So Happy New Year- I hope it's the best and that you are ready to create everything that is part of your Divine Inheritance. If I can help, just let me know.

Love and every blessing,
By Lisa C. Briggs

How To Get Rid Of A Hangover

It was a night you imbibed with your friends, happy and feeling wonderful. Now, why do you need to suffer from nausea and headache the next day? This should not be. However, your body is dehydrated due to the alcohol you take in the night before, you need to get rid of your hangover immediately.
What you usually do?
· Take another alcoholic drink in the morning. This is because you believe this to be the solution, but no, it is not. Taking another drink the morning after is a shortcut to alcoholism.
· Take an aspirin to reduce the headache. This is also not good because you subject your kidney to serious damage because alcohol and aspirin do not blend well.
· Stay in bed. This may not be good as well; it is better if you take a walk to help your system metabolize the alcohol. Exercise is actually best.
Tips to get rid of hangover
· Drink plenty of water; this will bring back your system to a hydrated state.
· Drink a cup of coffee. The caffeine in coffee will help reduce your swollen blood vessels. Inflammation of the blood vessels is the cause of hangover.
· Take a bowl of hot chicken soup. The salt and potassium in the chicken soup will help you overcome queasiness.
· You may also take fruit juice to help in metabolizing the alcohol in your blood.
· Eat crackers or muffin. If you take mild food with honey, it will be more helpful. This is because honey will help you breakdown the alcohol and speed its metabolism.
Again, I may need to emphasize here that you need to drink plenty of water. You will need to rehydrate your body and so water is your best bet.
Your hangover will be gone on or before 24 hours, if you however feel that your hangover is still there after this period, you may need to see your health professional for advice.
Finally, apples, bananas and Vitamin B-complex will help you restore the energy you lost the night you are imbibing. Taking them will help get rid of your hangover easily. Never take pain relievers; it may lead to serious health problems in the future.
Have fun but as my folks said, "having too much of anything may not be good for you", this is especially so for alcohol.
Emma Drosy 

Say NO To Smoking

Is there any adventure or fun in smoking? Absolutely not! Don't be fooled by the fun packed advertisements of the cigarette making companies. There is no "taste", no "fun" and no "adventure" in smoking cigarettes. These are just the slogans of the cigarette making companies which are multiplying their profits at the cost of the precious human lives.
The greedy multi-national multi-billion dollar cigarette manufacturers are killing people quietly without being noticed by anyone. According to the WHO report, every 6.5 seconds a person in the world dies prematurely due to cancer, heart attack, respiratory or some other kind of tobacco related diseases. No doubt, the tobacco is the fourth most common risk factor for diseases worldwide.
If you are a smoker then think seriously for a moment and decide whether you are mentally OK. I very much doubt because you are spending money on the purchase of an item which is not only risking your life by unintentionally inviting numerous diseases to attack your body but also risking the lives of other people who are forced to inhale second hand smoke, which is more dangerous than smoking. If you smoke inside your house then you also risk the life of your spouse and children. Is it a wise decision to keep on smoking?
Say no to smoking, if you want to live a normal healthy life free from diseases. Why not take a bold decision NOW and quit smoking immediately! Are you prepared to do so?
Tobacco use is going to kill nearly 10 million people each year, mostly in their productive middle ages. It is estimated that 75% of these deaths will occur in the developing countries mainly due to the high number of smokers and lack of medical facilities available there.
Due to lack of knowledge and education, the number of smokers in the developing countries and poor households is increasing at an alarming rate. The warning written on the cigarette packets is mostly ignored by the illiterate smokers. It is sad that the average amount spent by poor households on tobacco is nearly the same as the amount spent on education. A recent study in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has proved that the more people are educated, the less they smoke.
Your health is your best asset. Protect your life from painful tobacco related diseases. Live a healthy and happy life and just say no to smoking.

Hifzur Rehman

7 excessive emotional feelings that damage body organs!

Unbalanced emotion is the biggest cause of blockages in the body. Chinese Medicine tells us that overexcitement and excessive causes damage to the heart energy.

Anger and anxiety damages the liver energy. Fears damage the kidneys. Sadness and depression damage the lung energy. Too much thinking and mental work damages the stomach and pancreas.

When a person gets angry, for example, the automatic chemical activities of the body cause energy to collect in the liver. If this energy is not removed from the live, a blockage gradually forms and our liver becomes sick.

Let’s look at how over-happiness would cause damage to the heart. When a person is very excited, the energy heats the heart first. Excess energy travels up to the brain. Once the energy gets into the brain, it is not easy to get it out, because the channel between the torso and the head is very narrow. Just like an overfilled balloon, an energy explosion could result in a stroke or heart attack.

Our ancient wisdom asks us to stay calm all the time to keep the Yin and Yang energy in a good balance.

Excess emotional activity causes severe yin-yang energy imbalances, wild aberrations in the flow of blood, qi (vital energy) blockages in the meridians and impairment of vital organ functions. Once physical damage has begun, it is insufficient to eliminate the offending emotion to affect a cure; the prolonged emotional stress will require physical action as well. The emotions represent different human reactions to certain stimuli and do not cause disease under normal conditions.

喜 JOY
- In Traditional Chinese Medicine, joy refers to a state of agitation or overexcitement.
“When one is excessively joyful, the spirit scatters and can no longer be stored,” states the Lingshu (The Vital Axis). However, in TCM, joy refers to a states of agitation or overexcitement, rather than the more passive notion of deep contentment. The organ most affected is the heart. Over-stimulation can lead to problems of heart fire connected with such symptoms as feelings of agitation, insomnia and palpitations.

怒 ANGER
- Anger, as described by TCM, covers the full range of associated emotions including resentment, irritability, and frustration.
An excess of rich blood makes one prone to anger. Anger will thus affect the liver, resulting in stagnation of liver qi (vital energy). This can lead to liver energy rising to the head, resulting in headaches, dizziness, and other symptoms. In the long run it can result in high blood pressure and can cause problems with the stomach and the spleen. It is commonly observed that ruddy, “full-blooded” people with flushed faces are more prone than others to sudden fits of rage at the slightest provocation.

憂 ANXIETY
- Anxiety can block the qi and manifest in rapid, shallow breathing.
“When one feels anxiety, the qi (vital energy) is blocked and does not move.” Anxiety injures the lungs, which control qi (vital energy) through breathing. Common symptoms of extreme anxiety are retention of breath, shallow, and irregular breathing. The shortage of breath experienced during periods of anxiety is common to everyone. Anxiety also injures the lungs’ coupled organ, the large intestine. For example, over-anxious people are prone to ulcerative colitis.

思 PENSIVENESS
- In TCM, pensiveness or concentration is considered to be the result of thinking too much or excessive mental and intellectual stimulation.
Any activity that involves a lot of mental effort will run the risk of causing disharmony. The organ most directly at risk is the spleen. This can lead to a deficiency of spleen qi (vital energy), in turn causing worry and resulting in fatigue, lethargy, and inability to concentrate.

悲 GRIEF
- The lungs are more directly involved with this emotion. A normal and healthy expression of grief can be expressed as sobbing that originates in the depths of the lungs – deep breathes and the expulsion of air with the sob. However, grief that remains unresolved and becomes chronic can create disharmony in the lungs, weakening the lung qi (vital energy). This in turn can interfere with the lung’s function of circulating qi (vital energy) around the body.

恐 FEAR
- Fear that cannot be directly addressed is likely to lead to disharmony in the kidneys.
Fear is a normal and adaptive human emotion. But when it becomes chronic and when the perceived cause of the fear cannot be directly addressed, then this is likely to lead to disharmony. The organs most at risk are the kidneys. In cases of extreme fright, the kidney’s ability to hold qi (vital energy) may be impaired leading to involuntary urination. This can be a particular problem with children.

驚 FRIGHT
- Fright is another emotion not specifically related to only one organ. It is distinguished from fear by its sudden, unexpected nature. Fright primarily affects the heart, especially in the initial stages, but if it persists for some time, it becomes conscious fear and moves to the kidneys.

The emotions are considered the major internal causes of disease in TCM. Emotional activity is seen as a normal, internal, physiological response to stimuli from the external environment. Within normal limits, emotions cause no disease or weakness in the body. However, when emotions become so powerful that they become uncontrollable and overwhelm or possess a person, then they can cause serious injury to the internal organs and open the door to disease. It is not the intensity as much as the prolonged duration or an extreme emotion, which causes damage. While Western physicians tend to stress the psychological aspects of psychosomatic ailments, the pathological damage to the internal organs is very real indeed and is of primary concern of the TCM practitioner. 

by Silveryhat in Chinese Medicine