Dr. Ritamarie’s Fresh’n Fun Living Blog

Adrenal Fatigue, Depression and Illness: The Sleep and Fun Connection (Day 9)

Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on March 9, 2010 – 9:30 pm -

I work with a lot of people who are struggling with adrenal fatigue and depression. It’s almost an epidemic in our world today, and if you stay up with current events, watch the news and read the newspapers, there’s a good chance that you’re experiencing some adrenal fatigue symptoms and heavy mode as well. The media thrives on shifting people into fear mode. Fear sells. When you are fearful, the part of your nervous system called the sympathetic nervous system takes control, getting you ready for fight or flight. In this mode, your heart rate increases, your blood pressure increases and your digestion shuts down. The aftermath is fatigue, nutritional deficiencies and depression.

I just wrote a very detailed article for Purely Delicious magazine about stress, fatigue and burnout. It will be published soon.

When you’re burning the candle at both ends, you are much less able to deal with stress. To compound the problem, when stress levels are high, you have a tendency to sleep less, because stress can cause insomnia or frequent night time awakenings.

And of course, taking time for fun goes out the window in times of stress because of the perception that there just isn’t “enough time”.

My commitment for this month is to incorporate more fun and sleep into my life. Yours may also include eating balanced meals, eating more slowly, becoming more conscious when eating. These are all VERY important and I support you in your commitment.

So try this. Before you begin to put food into your mouth, stop. Take a nice deep breath. This alone is enough to shift you out of your sympathetic nervous system – remember–the system that causes your digestion to slow way down. Then take a few seconds to appreciate the food you are about to consume. Think about where it came from, how it was prepared, how it will nourish every cell. Only then, begin to eat, staying conscious of each forkful.

No kidding, it will take some focused effort to do this! Yet the time and attention to conscious eating, appreciative eating, is well worth it!

Go ahead and give it a try, and post a comment about how it went for you.

Join me on Wednesday March 10 at 12:30pm CST for my Blog talk Radio Show: Creating a Vibrant Life, during which I’ll reveal 5 strategies for balancing your mood through food. www.blogtalkradio.com/dr-ritamarie

My Report Card for Monday:

1- Green Smoothie – 2 quarts Done

2- weight training exercise Done

3- bed by 11:30 (how daring of me!) maybe even earlier a little later – 12:20

4- write a chapter in my new book did the research but didn’t complete the chapter

5- quality time with the kids – family conflict rather than quality time…

Commitments for Tuesday:

1- run 3 miles

2- bed by midnight

3- Drink 1 quart of green smoothie

4- drink 1 cup veggie juice

How about you? What are you committed to today?

Let us know. Post your comments below.

Love, Health and Joy to you,

Dr. Ritamarie

Tags: Adrenal Fatigue, cleansing programs, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, DrRitamarie, exercise, fatigue symptoms, living foods, livingfoods, raw foods
Posted in Adrenal Fatigue, Articles | 1 Comment »

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30 Day Fun and Sleep Challenge: A Big Day of Fun Goes a Long Way Towards Happy Adrenals.

Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on March 7, 2010 – 12:05 pm -

What a day! I had intended to get this posted this morning, but time escaped me. Between making breakfast for the kids and preparing for my Balance My Body webinar, I ran out of cycles.

After messing up on several of my comittments yesterday, I made up for it today! Seems FUN was taking the brunt of my unfulfilled commitments all week, but last night and today really made up for it.

After the Balance My Body webinar, I drove my son (or rather he drove me!!! He has his learner’s permit) to a friend’s house then went downtown to our beautiful hike and bike trail and did a 4 mile run around the lake.

Afterwards, I went to whole foods and bought some lovely vegetables. I was on my way to pick up my son and his friend frm the movies, when my husband called and let me knw that he could do it. So I stopped by Borboletta’s, one of Austin’s raw foods cafes, which recently changed management, to check out the changes. Low and behold, I ran into one of my students who’s become a dear friend. We sat and chatted, while eating drinking green smoothies and eating delicious raw and living foods, like kale salad, for hours.

I put in a couple of hours of work and now I’m off to hottub with the family and then go to bed.

A successful self care day on all fronts!

Here’s my report card for Friday:

Exercise 30 minutes - FLOP – all I did was a few minutes of weights
Fun: Quality time with my husband – a date for dinner at Beets Cafe! Yipee. It was great. We had a lovely dinner and good conversation.
Water – 8 cups Success
Get myself signed up to take the Vibrant Health Mindset Course and recommit to my own goals. Didn’t quite makt it and will move this to tomorrow.
Bed by midnight – Superflop. The evening out and a 2 hour excursion with my almost 16 year old son took time from a commitment I had to make. I taught a webinar class thsi morning for my Balance My Body group, and needed to prepare the case studies, and get everything set up, plus I needed to finish the maintenence Plan for the 6 week detox, as promised. Thus I got to bed at 2. I did sleep until 8 so this is still a better night’s sleep than I was getting last week. Progress not perfection.

Saturday’s Commitments…made this morning but posted in the evening:

Fun – 30 minutes
Exercise – longer run – 4 miles
bed by midnight
Hot-tub or Sauna before bed

How did you do yesterday? What are your commitments for today? Comment below.

Enjoy!

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

Tags: Adrenal Fatigue, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, DrRitamarie, exercise, green smoothie, livingfoods, raw foods
Posted in Adrenal Fatigue, Articles | 1 Comment »

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30 Day Sleep and Fun Challenge Day 4: Support Your Adrenals and Decrease Fatigue

Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on March 5, 2010 – 6:22 am -

Wow. What a day. I’ve been in sessions all day, and didn’t get to post my commitments for today until now.

It’s quite interesting for me…making a public commitment to go to sleep. It has really been driving my late night behavior. Last night it was particularly tempting to just ignore the commitment and work late, as I had lot to do. Yet I would have felt really bad having to post that I went to bed at 3 when I committed to 12.

I did a class on adrenal health last night for my online program, Balance My Body Blueprint. It was a great reinforcement for me to teach everyone about the importance of breathing, sleep and having fun. I’ve been focused on breathing and appreciation all day and I love how it feels. This activity can ease the burden your adrenals and alleviate fatigue.

So here’s my report card for yesterday:

Exercise: 2:30 – 3:30 get out for a run and do a few weights – I did this at 4:30. It was a beautiful day and i had a great time.
Fun break: 9:30 PM – after my Balance My Body Blueprint teleseminar call on Balancing Adrenals – I am afraid this was a flop, unless you count cuddling with my 11 year old…which I think is fun.
Off computer by 11:30, in bed by 11:45, lights out before midnight. I was off computer by 11:27. My 11 year old was troubled by some school events and needed cuddle time with Mom, so I lay with him in his bed, dozing, until I went to my own bed, lights out by 12:15! Great accomplishment!

And here’s my commitment for today:

64 ounces smoothie/green soup
Off computer by 11PM
Sauna 30 minutes
Bed by 11:30
Fun reading for 15 minutes
Lights out between 11:45 and 12.

How did you do yesterday? What are your commitments for today? Comment below.

Enjoy!

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

Tags: Adrenal Fatigue, commitment, fatigue symptoms, fun, livingfoods, raw foods, whole foods
Posted in Adrenal Fatigue, Articles | 3 Comments »

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30 Day Sleep and Fun Challenge: Day 3 – Conscious Competance

Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on March 4, 2010 – 12:35 am -

So, I’m going for progress not perfection. Habits take time to change and sometimes it takes days or even weeks of repetition to make permanent changes.

This challenge has brought my habits in need of change to my forefront and that’s what’s important. I learned a long time ago, from the teachings of Abraham Maslov, that all learning comes in 4 stages:

Unconscious Incompetence

This is the “ignorance is bliss” stage. You don’t know what you don’t know, and are not bothered by this lack of knowledge. For example, most people walk into fast food restaurants, completely unaware f the way that food effects them, without knowledge of or competency in a different way of eating.
Conscious Incompetence

Here’s where you become aware of what you don’t know. Perhaps you attend a lecture or read a book and realize that your way of eating is making you sick. You are conscious of a new way of eating, but you have no skill at it; you are incompetent, yet aware of it every time you put something into your mouth
Conscious Competence

You now understand or know how to do something, ie how to eat healthfully. However, demonstrating the skill or knowledge requires a great deal of consciousness or concentration. You need to stop and ponder the choices and consciously make yourself make healthy choices when confronted with a wide array of food.
Unconscious Competence

You have so much practice and skill, that the behavior becomes “second nature” and can be performed easily, without concentration or conscious control. You can at this point easily follow through without thought or effort. In our example, you know what foods are helpful, which ones are harmful, and you naturally choose the ones that promote health. It’s a non issue.

If you would like to know more about the 4 stages of competance, this series of articles goes into great depth.

http://www.drritamarie.com/go/4StagesOfLearning

For me, eating well is stage 4. For sleep, I am at stage 2.

Given that, I honor the progress I have made this week. I am light years ahead of last week. So here’s my “Report Card” for yesterday, March 2.

1- Shut down the computer no later than 11:30, lights out by midnight - I got off the computer by 12:05 and lights out by 12:25.

2- Drink 2 quarts of green smoothie. Yeah! did this.

3- Exercise for at least 30 minutes FLOP. It was cold in the morning, so I opted out of a 7AM run, then had to drive kids to school, then had a busy day. Was intending to do the stairmaster (in my bedroom) after my teleconference call, but a neighbor friend had hurt his back so I worked on him at 9:15 PM. After that I had bits and pieces and follwo-ups to do and never got to the exercise. Lots of excuses, eh! Lesson: Look at the calendar in advance and plan a specific time to do exercise.

FOR Fun: Water color paint for 5 minutes - FLOP again. Instead for fun I hung with my 11 year old and talked about his day.

OK. So I am making progress.

Here’s my comittment for today:

1- Exercise: 2:30 – 3:30 get out for a run and do a few weights

2- Fun break: 9:30 PM – after my Balance My Body Blueprint teleseminar call on Balancing Adrenals

3- Off computer by 11:30, in bed by 11:45, lights out before midnight

How did you do yesterday? What are your commitments for today? Comment below.

Enjoy!

Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

P.S. If food is an issue you are working on, check out the recording of a teleconference call I did Tuesday night with Nomi Shannon, the Raw Gourmet

http://www.drritamarie.com/DeliciouslyQuickRawFood-SignUp.php

Tags: Adrenal Fatigue, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, fatigue symptoms, goal setting, living foods, livingfoods, Maslov, raw foods, unconscious compteance
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30 Day Sleep and Fun Challenge: Day 2

Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on March 3, 2010 – 1:05 am -

I am excited by all the enthusiastic response to the 30 Day Sleep and Fun Challenge and Daily commitment to Health! Making commitments to others and publicly declaring them seems to be so motivating and helps you get in touch with what really matters.

Last night I made it to the bedroom by midnight and lights were out by 12:15. My husband came in at 12:30 and said I was sound asleep! Not 100% there yet close, and I’m excited by it. Remember, instead of beating yourself up if you came close to a commitment, applaud yourself for getting close and strengthen your commitment to get even closer. Use it as an opportunity to reflect on what you could do to get even closer.

My commitments for today:

1- Shut down the computer no later than 11:30, lights out by midnight

2- drink 2 quarts of green smoothie. I have already had 1

3- Exercise for at least 30 minutes

FOR Fun: Water color paint for 5 minutes (ok, lame, but 5 minutes is easy. It will likely be longer)

What are you committed to? Post below.

Love, Health and Joy to you,

Dr. Ritamarie

Tags: commitment, fatigue symptoms, fun, livingfoods, raw foods
Posted in Articles, living foods | 6 Comments »

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True Confessions and an Invitation to March Daily Health Commitment Challenge

Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on March 2, 2010 – 12:34 pm -

I’ve come to a realization and I feel the need to be really honest and open about it.

I spend my days connecting with thousands of people all over the globe, sharing the message of health–vibrant health–through focused actions and nourishing choices.

And for the most part, I totally live all that I teach.

Because I overcame debilitating fatigue in my 20’s through whole fresh plant foods, exercise and focused self care, I’ve dedicated my life to teaching others to do the same.

Lately, I have been falling short on my commitment to self care and I feel I need to own up to it and reaffirm my dedication to my own self care in order to best guide you as you work on your own.

I’ve always been a night owl, but over the past 3 months it has become worse. While I recognize the need for sleep for rejuvenation and detoxification, I just can’t seem to get myself to follow through.

I have several projects that are near an dear to my heart and I’ve been staying up into the wee hours more than I should.

The universe has been giving me subtle signals (and some not so subtle signals). I wrote a blog post about it a few weeks ago, right after I took a nasty fall and hurt my elbow. The message I was getting loud and clear was to slow down. And I did–for a couple of days.

When you’re really healthy and get a couple of extended sleep nights it’s enough to make you feel like you can conquer the world again…so I started back on the late nights a few days after the injury. I know better than anyone the importance of sleep for recovering from injury, yet I continued to push myself.

The universe has been talking to me again and the message is the same. Only this time it wasn’t so subtle. Twice in the past 2 weeks, I got a wave of exhaustion at 3PM on Friday afternoon. It was so powerful that I did something completely out of character…I took a nap. I haven’t felt exhausted like that in many years.

This morning during my exercise session, I re-injured my arm. In fact I completely dislocated it. Fortunately, I was able to re-locate it myself, but it’s talking to me now. It’s saying “slow down”.

I’ve had some administrative challenges over the past few weeks, which I believe may be on the way to resolution, and as a result, I got behind on answering emails, creating some bonus materials for my Balance My Body Blueprint program, and completing a few e-books. In spite of all of that, however, I am committed to lights out before midnight for the rest of the week.

That may not seem like much for some, but for me, it’s big. Once I get the hang of it, maybe I will push it back to 11pm.

The world is on the verge of a whole new paradigm in health care, and we are the leaders. We need to teach by example and that’s just what I intend to improve at doing.

I believe that it’s important to keep commitments, and I also feel it’s important to make realistic commitments. I believe some of my commitments have been realistic only if I am willing to work 16 hour days, so my new commitment is to be realistic and keep in mind the importance of balance whenever I make commitments.

One other commitment I am re-affirming—having fun everyday. When I was leading my Jumpstart Your Energy class back in October, we did daily goals on the forum, and each of us told what we planned to do for fun. By publicly declaring it, I made time for fun everyday.

I decided to re-awaken that ritual. The plan is a blog post every day, in which I declare my bedtime from the night before, and my health goals for the day, including the fun activity I choose each day.

Would you like to join me? All you need to do is subscribe to the blog so you get notified when I post a new entry, and comment each day with your commitments. I commit to doing this for 30 days. Who’s in? It’s absolutely FREE.
I’ll probably come up with some sort of contest as we go along, so don’t miss a single day…register and make your comment for Day 1 here. I’m calling it the 30 Day Sleep and Fun Challenge.

Dr. Ritamarie’s commitments for Tuesday, March 2:

Lights out by midnight
Exercise 30 minutes or longer
Drink at least 2 quarts of green smoothie

What are you committing to? Comment below.

Wishing you Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

P. S. And speaking of FUN, there’s still time to sign up for the teleseminar I’m doing with Nomi Shannon, author of the Raw Gourmet. It’s going to be so much fun. But don’t take my word for it. Read all about it here:

http://drritamarie.com/DeliciouslyQuickRawFood-SignUp.php

Join Nomi Shannon, the Raw Gourmet and I for Deliciously Quick Raw Food ~ Tips from the Raw Gourmet ~ on Tuesday March 2 at 7:30 PM Central time as we demystify raw foods meal planning and preparation, tell you how to make a couple of quick and delicious snacks to satisfy even the most discerning taste buds, answer your most pressing questions and offer you a rawking good time as well.

Here’s the link to sign up.

http://drritamarie.com/DeliciouslyQuickRawFood-SignUp.php

We’ll record the call, so if you can’t make it live, sign up anyway and we’ll send you the recording.

Tags: commitments, exhaustion, fatigue, fatigue symptoms, Gluten Free Diet, nomi shannon, raw abd kiving foods, raw foods, vegan foods, vibrant health, whole foods
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Sunshine and Fun are Vital to Your Health

Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on February 28, 2010 – 3:48 am -

It’s a beautiful sunny day here in Austin, today. Before I go outside and enjoy it, I thought I’d take a moment to connect.

I encourage you to please use your weekend to regenerate your energy from the week.

Get outdoors and replenish your vitamin D stores. I am discovering lots of vitamin D deficiencies in working with people lately. And be sure to refrain from washing with soap on the exposed areas for 48 hours after you get your vitamin D sunshine dose, or you may decrease your absorption of what your skin creates fromt he sunshine. It can take up to 48 hours for the Vitamin D to be fully absorbed. That explains why iI’ve been seeing deficiencies even in sun worshipers who dont use sunscreen.

Also important for your health is having fun. What will you do that’s fun today? Comment below. Please respect the importance of fun and recreation. They are up there with fresh raw and living foods and exercise.

If you live in or near Austin, join me and my friends for a raw foods potluck tonight. Go to www.drritamarie.com/potluck for more information and sign up to be part of the action at www.drritamarie.com/meetup.

Have a wonderful day.

Wishing you Love, Health and Joy,

Dr. Ritamarie

Tags: energy, fun, living foods, livingfoods, raw, raw and living foods holiday recipes, raw foods, recreation, sunshine, vibrant health, vitamin D
Posted in Articles, Immune System Support, raw foods | No Comments »

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The Sweet Side of the Agave Controversy

Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on February 24, 2010 – 5:59 am -

My article The Bitter truth about Sweeteners explores the topic of sweeteners, their safety, danger and a users guide to selecting them. I reprinted an article slamming Agave nectar in a previous post. Here’s the other end of the debate: This is excerpted from an article on the Altered Plates Blog, in response to an article that appeared on Natural Health News . It is reproduced here as part of an expose on agave. Read and think about it. The decision is yours.

By Craig Gerbore, President of Madhava

Mr. Nagel’s article is based on the view of a sole individual, Russ Bianchi. I suppose we should thank Mr. Bianchi for pointing out some issues that may have contributed to Iidea’s (the initial manufacturer of blue agave nectar) demise from the market, however I want to be clear, this is not about Madhava or our agave nectar. Once a dominant supplier, as of this past summer Iidea is no longer a major supplier in the agave syrup business. The distributors using them as a supplier have quietly switched to newly formed blue agave companies for their supply.

Madhava has always worked exclusively with Nekutli, the producer of agave nectar from the agave salmiana, a very different species of the agave. However, there is no mention of our agave nectar from salmiana in the article, nor of the differences in the plant, the collection and production of our product. So, the author has blurred the line with his all encompassing attack on blue agave nectar, by his failure to present complete information on the subject of agave nectars. For what purpose was this article written? If it were to educate the public, I think it would include all the information available.

With the errors and misstatements and half-truths, I don’t think this article is about education, it is an all out shotgun attack. I believe Mr. Bianchi, presented as the sole authority on agave nectar, was initially introduced to Iidea’s blue agave syrup product on their entry to the market in the late 90’s. At that time, Iidea was promoting a 90% fructose agave syrup. This is what I believe Mr. Bianchi is referring to. Unfortunately, he ignores the fact that this is not the agave sold on the market today, nor is it representative of Madhava’s product. In fact Mr. Bianchi has never even acknowledged the existence of our agave nectar from the salmiana variety. So, all his comments are apparently based on his experience with Iidea’s product, but I find ourselves caught in the blast. In their zestful attack against the blue agave syrup he was introduced to initially, Mr.’s Bianchi and Nagel have also made inaccurate comments which reflect on agave nectar generally.

As such, I take issue with several of their statements and claims and want to clarify some things as regards Madhava’s Agave Nectar from agave salmiana. Their discussion of the processing of agave nectar is in no way reflective of how Madhava’s agave nectar is produced. There are three ways to convert complex sugars into a simple sugar sweetener such as agave syrup. It can be done thermally, chemically, or enzymatically as ours is.

There are no chemicals whatsoever involved in the production of Madhava’s agave nectar from agave salmiana, nor is it cooked. Our agave is subject only to low temperatures during the evaporation of excess water from the juice. The author states “The principal constituent of the agave is starch, such as what is found in corn or rice.” This statement, which is the foundation of much of their argument comparing agave nectar to corn syrup, has no basis in scientific fact, THERE IS NO STARCH IN THE AGAVE.

How can the author and his source be so mistaken on this statement on which he bases his attack? All plants store energy in one of two ways, as starches or fructans. All agave plants create fructans as their energy storing means. So, agave plants have fructans, not starch. From Wikipedia: Inulins are a group of naturally occurring polysaccharides produced by many types of plants. They belong to a class of fibers know as fructans. Inulin is used by some plants as a means of storing energy and it typically found in roots or rhizomes. Most plants which synthesize and store inulin do not store other materials such as starch.

There is no starch in either species of agave, and agave nectar is not from starch as the author and Mr. Bianchi claim. They have tried very hard to propagandize the public with a false fact, either by design, or ignorance, for which there would be no excuse. Such an error of fact certainly casts doubt on the validity of the rest of Nagel’s article, as the lack of depth of his research has to be apparent to all. Really, he is just regurgitating the singular views of Mr. Bianchi. I personally spoke with the author during his “research”, as did at least one other in the industry.

He chose not to include one word of the information given to him by us, which I will repeat below, and failed to make any distinction between Madhava’s Nekutli agave nectar from salmiana and that from the blue agave plant. He only mentions blue agave. The plants differ, the locations differ, the methods and production differ greatly. The information we gave him did not fit his purpose and so was omitted in favor of a generalized attack. Madhava’s source is exclusively agave salmiana. If you haven’t already reviewed our site at www.madhavasagave.com , you will find background information there. Briefly though, the native people supplying the juice collect it from the live plant, by hand, twice daily. There is no heat involved in the removal. The juice is immediately brought to the facility to remove the excess water as it will ferment rapidly if left standing.

It is during the removal of the moisture that the only heat is applied. The juice is evaporated and moisture removed in a vacuum evaporator. The vacuum enables the moisture to be withdrawn at low temperatures. The temp is closely controlled. Subsequently, our agave is handled and packaged at room temperatures. No other heat is applied. And, rather than convert the complex sugars of the juice thermally, we use gentle enzymatic action. Just as a bee introduces an enzyme to flower nectar to make honey, we introduce an natural organic vegan enzyme for the same purpose.

The technical term for the conversion of complex sugars into their simple sugar components is hydrolysis. Inulin is a fructan which is hydrolyzed into the simple sugars composing agave nectar, fructose and glucose. Honey is composed of the same simple sugars.

The blue agave plant is harvested and the blue agave nectar is produced by a completely different method. I will have to leave it to the blue agave nectar sellers to comment on the production themselves. While I know of it, I have not witnessed it as I have Nekutli’s. Unlike the author, I won’t comment publicly on something I cannot verify.

To clarify further on another claim, “Agave Nectar as a final product is mostly chemically refined fructose”. As regards Madhava’s agave nectar, there are no chemicals involved in our production whatsoever. The sugars in our agave nectar come from the breakdown of the inulin molecule through the introduction of the enzyme to break apart that molecule. It is in no way chemically refined, there are no chemicals involved in any part of the production or packaging process.

Our agave nectar is refined only in as much as the excess moisture is removed from the juice of the plant.

“HFCS is made with GM enzymes”. Bianchi’s states “they (agave and corn syrup) are indeed made the same way” This is another false assertion as regards Madhava’s agave nectar at least. Our agave nectar is certainly and clearly not made the same way as corn syrup. There is no starch in our agave. There are no chemicals, no refinement beyond the evaporation of water. And, there are no GMO’s whatsoever. The agave salmiana has never been subject to this and the enzyme is a natural, non GM organic, vegan enzyme.

Other points regarding fructose apply to sugars in general and are a consumption, or overconsumption issue. Certainly consuming large amounts of sweeteners of any kind will be detrimental to one’s health. Suggesting fructose could cause health issues when concentrated amounts are eaten is a statement which should really apply to the overconsumption issue. The information the author links to agave nectar is the result of megadose testing of pure clinical fructose. Not the same thing as normal daily use of agave nectar in the course of our meals. The antisweetener advocates just have to admit that it is the overconsumption of sugars that is the problem. Used in moderation, sugars serve a purpose, to make other foods and beverages more palatable. Imagine a world without sweeteners if you can. Affinity for sweet taste is a human trait that most want to satisfy.

For those who use sweeteners, there are limited choices available and many choose agave for its particular attributes. It is a good choice. Madhava Agave’s neutral flavor suits the purpose. It is in fact low glycemic, organically certified and non allergenic. Many with diabetes and other special diets find it suitable for their use where other sweeteners are not. It’s easy to use and you can use less. And, we guarantee the purity of our product.

Tags: Agave, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, fructose, living foods, livingfoods, madhava, raw foods, raw foods diet
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From Fat Tired and Depressed to Vibrant Holistic Health Counselor: Allison’s Story

Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on February 24, 2010 – 12:37 am -

Last month, we did a call for success stories to publish. We’re looking for real life stories about real people who recovered from real illnesses, overcame weight problems or just plain improved their lives by using whole foods and lifestyle changes. Allison’s success story should be an inspiation to all. While not dramatic like recovery from cancer or a life threatening illness, Allisons story is a real story that you can relate to on a personal level. My intention is to inspire and motivate you to reach for your potential and to take charge of your health and vitality. We’re still looking for inspiring stories to publish. See the link at the bottom of the article. –Dr. Ritamarie

Never in a million years did I think I would ever have a weight problem. I was always the short, scrawny little girl that no one wanted to pick for their team at school. When I graduated from high school many moons ago in 1974, I weighed an impressive 88 pounds. I had to get a waiver for my weight to join the Army!

My weight stayed fairly level all through my 20’s and 30’s. I bounced right back after my daughter was born in 1982. All of this changed when I had my right thyroid removed due to a cyst in 1997. My weight suddenly ballooned and I gained about 40 pounds which was a lot on my small 4’ 11 ½” frame. I was addicted to McDonald’s quarter pounders with cheese and sodas. I ate Payday candy bars like they were going out of style. Even though I had always eaten a lot of junk food such as butterscotch krimpets, chips and cookies everyday for lunch (something everyone teased me about) suddenly everything I ate went to my waist and I was devastated! I was fat, tired and depressed.

The day I tried to bed over and tie my shoes and couldn’t reach them was the day I finally realized that something had to change.

This started a journey of learning about nutrition, exercise and being kinder to myself. I decided my focus would be on workout Videos and DVD’s, and I’ve amassed quite a collection over the years! This helps beat the boredom, I always have something new to choose from at home. I can roll out of bed at 5am and workout before going to work.

I worked out consistently for about 5 years using a combination of weights, cardio and T-tapp and then hit a very frustrating 2 year plateau. It wasn’t until I read Dr. Joel Fuhrman’s, Eat to Live book and started eating a more nutrient dense diet that I finally started to lose again. Now instead of eating crappy fast food I eat a variety of plant based foods that include beans, nuts, seeds, leafy greens and fruits. Do I feel deprived? Not a chance! I’m enjoying what I eat now more than I ever had in the past. The butterscotch krimpets really don’t appeal to me now.

Don’t get me wrong, I still have a sweet tooth that I battle every day. But now I have the tools to fight the cravings I get. Sometimes the cravings win and sometimes they don’t and if they don’t I know not to beat myself up. I now know what to do to get back on track and feel happy and energetic!

I’ve read a lot of books on diet, nutrition and exercise and as a Dental Hygienist I love to share what I have learned with my patients. I felt uncomfortable just sharing what I considered anecdotal information with them and wanted some kind of certification to back up my recommendations. I enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and graduated in July 2009. I am now proud to say that not only am I a Registered Dental Hygienist, but I’m a Certified Holistic Health Counselor with the American Association of Drugless Practitioners! I’m currently enrolled in IIN’s Immersion program.

My mom died of cancer when she was 55. She was obese for many of her adult years until the cancer treatments made her lose the weight. I am now 53, not many years off from her lifespan. That is very scary to me! I do not want to get older only die of some degenerative disease that could have been prevented. I am trying to do all I can to stay active and healthy and diet and exercise is a very big part of that plan and always will be.

I tell this story in hopes of inspiring others to get out there and do the same thing I have done. Also to point out that changes don’t happen overnight. I’ve been at this for 12 years and am still learning about nutrition and most importantly about myself. I don’t ever see myself changing this!

Have a story to share? Inspire others with your health success story . Go to

http://www.drritamarie.com/newslettercontributions

Tags: greens, raw foods, Success Stories, weightloss
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3 Keys to a Vibrantly Healthy Valentine’s Day

Written by Ritamarie Loscalzo on February 14, 2010 – 5:36 pm -

Valentin's day background

Valentines Day is the LOVE holiday…the day when we express our love to the special people in our lives.

The tradition of Valentine’s Day is believed to have originated from the pagan customs of the Third or Fourth Century B.C., when the Festivals of Purification were celebrated in Ancient Rome. With the advent of Christianity, priests attempted to replace all ancient heathen practices, and in the fifth century A.D., they created its own holiday around the same date, and selected a saint who to honor for his devotion to love.

Traditionally, Valentine’s Day is a day when health takes a backseat as most people embellish their loved ones with chocolates, little candy hearts with sayings on them and all sorts of sweet, heart shaped treats and lavishly rich dinners.

What would it be like to enjoy the magic of your Valentine’s Day love connections without compromising your health and your waistline?

Here are 3 key strategies that you can use to create new and memorable health promoting Valentine’s Day rituals.

1- Celebrate and thank the one person you can count on to be there every moment in your life, through thick and thin, good times and challenging ones and until you take your last breath…YOU. Do something special for yourself. Self love and care is health care. One of the best candle ways to improve the quality of your health and increase your energy and longevity is to consistently make time to reward and acknowledge yourself.

Take a minute right now to stroke and massage your shoulders, arms and hands. Doesn’t that feel great? Plan a time for a candle-lit hot bath, or an evening in bed to read, write or meditate. What’s your favorite pass time? What do you love to do? Reward yourself by scheduling time to do it. Schedule it right NOW.

Jot me a note in the comments box and let me know how you plan to show self love.

valentine chocolate small 2- Create special treats for your loved ones using whole, fresh, organic and living foods.

As a special Valentine’s Day gift from me to you, I created a recipe sampler you can use and enjoy.

http://www.drritamarie.com/candy.htm

3- Make aphrodisiac foods a part of the celebration, to spark some passion into your love life. These traditionally include:

Almond – aroma is supposed to induce passion in a female.
Arugula – has been documented as an aphrodisiac since the first century A.D.
Avocado – The Aztecs called the tree the “testicle tree”.
Basil – Is supposed to stimulate the sex drive and boost fertility.
Chocolate – contains PEA, a neurotransmitter that stimulates a feeling of love and connection.
Fennel – a source of natural plant estrogen, fennel was used in the early Egyptian times as “libido enhancement”.
Figs – An open fig is said to resemble the female sex organs and traditionally thought of as sexual stimulant.
Garlic – is said to stir sexual desires.
Mustard – is believed to stimulate the sex glands and increase desire.
Pine Nuts – have been used to stimulate the libido as far back as Medieval times.
Raspberries and Strawberries – are described in erotic literature as fruit nipples
Vanilla – The scent and flavor is believed to increase lust.