Things have been smoking around here the past few days… actually quite literally.
I sent out an e-mail message over the weekend while we were in the middle of a power outage. I managed to hit the send key just minutes before my laptop battery died. Turns out the reason for the outage was high winds that had knocked down power lines. Unfortunately, in some areas, the lines sparked and caused an outbreak of fire in a nearby neighborhood. Since central Texas hasn't had rain in months, it was ripe for a fire.
Three days later, the fires are still burning. Twenty-five homes have been destroyed, many others have been damaged, and countless lives have been turned upside down. My kids had the day off as their schools became Red Cross shelters for the families who were evacuated.
It seems only natural that at times like this we became fraught with feelings of worry, anxiety, and depression as we empathize with the victims. Yet this is exactly the opposite of what's best for us and for the victims. Read my feature article as I explore the effects of worry and fear on your health and the large scale positive effects of projecting positive energy and prayer in times of disaster.
It's been a very busy and emotional week for me, James. In the midst of the power outage and fires, I've been making videos and preparing for a groundbreaking webinar called Mend Your Metabolism and Maximize Your Vitality.
The 5 videos in the Bye-Bye Belly Fat, Brain Fog, and Burnout series leading up to the webinar are packed with inspiration and practical advice. Over 2000 people have signed up to watch them, and the feedback we've been getting is phenomenal.
The webinar is on Wednesday evening, September 7th, and on it I'm going to share a 5 step plan you can get started on right away to clear your foggy brain, flatten your bloated belly, and skyrocket your energy. A big part of that process is managing the effects of stress, fear, and worry on your metabolism.
The Energy Recharge Green Cleanse that starts next Monday is another great way to kick it all off, too.
You can join us by clicking below: https://drritamarie.com/GreenCleanse
Also included in this week's newsletter is a new recipe I created in the midst of the power outage because it required no electricity to make. It's called Mango-Mole Tacos. It's very quick and easy to make and tastes great.
Be sure to check out our radio show schedule. We have some really good shows planned, including this Thursday's where I'll give you some ideas for how to recharge for those times when you're so tired that even your cells and organs need naps.
I was inspired by last week's de-clutter show and I reorganized my workspace and threw a lot of things away on Saturday. It made me so much more productive.
I wish you a pleasant week, and I look forward to connecting with you on the webinar on Wednesday.
And remember, rather than going into a place of feeling powerless and fearful in the face of natural disaster, go to a place of quiet meditation and project positive energy on the situation. It really does make a difference.
With love, gratitude, and positive energy,
Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo
P.S. If you're sending out good vibrations, James, I'd really appreciate it if you'd spare a thought (and a vote!) or two for the 2011 Veg Health Awards.
Are you ready for this?
I am TIED FOR FIRST PLACE with David Wolfe in the category of best nutrition guru/trainer, so they've extended the voting until September 15th! https://drritamarie.com/go/VoteRitamarie
I know that if we all expect a positive outcome and pull together, we can make the difference! It only takes a moment to register, and you'll receive a free 10-day e-course from the Vegetarian Institute of Health!
James, now more than ever, I hope the next time you see this picture, it will be proudly displayed on our website as the 2011 Veg Health Award winner!
Fear, Anxiety, and Thanklessness – A Sure-fire Prescription for a FAT Midsection
By Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo
Most people consider me an expert in restoring and maintaining health using diet and lifestyle approaches. My “claims to fame” are my in-depth knowledge of nutrition and biochemistry, and my program effectiveness for restoring balance to achieve vibrant health and energy.
Countless people come to me for advice, wondering why they are still overweight and ill, in spite of eating a healthy diet.
How Stress May Supersize You
While I can usually find things to tweak in clients' diets, and I can recommend herbs or natural nutrition supplements to restore balance, we're fighting an uphill battle if we ignore the role of stress, negative emotions, and worry; your health, energy level, AND weight are all affected.
On a past radio show, Your Muscles May be Making You Fat, I explored in detail the mechanism by which stress and worry contribute to belly bulge, and I encourage you to listen for details.
In summary, fear, worry, stressful thoughts and situations, and negative emotions trigger the release of cortisol and adrenaline from your adrenal glands. This hormone release triggers a series of fight or flight mechanisms that cause your liver and muscles to release sugar into your blood. Normally, this release would ready you for your “chase” or “escape”.
But what also happens, and this is the troubling part when it happens frequently, is that your insulin is also triggered to rise, so the sugar in the blood can be absorbed by your cells and fuel them to flight or fight. Keep in mind, that extra sugar in your blood would normally get used. Unfortunately, when your stresses are mental, you can't burn all the released sugar. Insulin, in following through with its job of maintaining healthy blood sugar levels, causes the sugar to be put back into storage… as white adipose tissues, whose main receptors are – you guessed it – right around your belly.
I discuss more details concerning insulin, its role, and insulin resistance in Video 1, of the 5-part Bye-Bye Belly Fat, Brain Fog, and Burnout video series. When you get stressed over situations that are beyond your control – like fires, earthquakes, hurricanes, traffic, other people's attitudes – you are creating the perfect environment not only for “turning your muscles into fat” but for injuring your insides and setting yourself up for diseases. The three most serious and very common sequelae [secondary conditions] to chronic stress are the BIG 3: Heart disease, Cancer and Diabetes.
If achieving a slim trim body and keeping yourself safe from “the Big 3” aren't enough motivation to get a handle on stress, there's more.
A Change of Heart Can Mean a Change in Dress Size
Your thoughts and emotions impact others around you, both those in close proximity and those far away. Let me explain.
Research at the Institute of HeartMath has confirmed that your thoughts and emotions affect your heart rate variability (HRV). When you're calm, HRV, when graphed, looks like a nice even sine wave and when you're frustrated or angry, worried or anxious, it's erratic and spikey. Notice the difference in the graphs to the right. The smooth wave pattern is associated with ideal blood pressure, clear thinking, proper metabolic function and overall well being. The other pattern hallmarks disease, dysfunction, resistant weight loss and a host of other serious metabolic disruptions.
“… most of the widely used stress management interventions do not directly focus on emotions. … Relaxation is a helpful and beneficial process in that it temporarily draws attention away from distressing feelings and reduces physiological arousal, thereby promoting regeneration of the body. However, relaxation techniques generally do not address the unmanaged emotions that are the root cause of stress–nor
do they seek to transform the deeper, recurring emotional patterns that give rise to stress-producing
feelings. Without these more fundamental changes at the emotional level, any relief from stress that is experienced is likely to be short-lived.”
On tonight's Mend Your Metabolism & Maximize Your Vitality webinar, I will take you step-by-step through one of the HeartMath processes for Transforming Stress so you can feel for yourself the effects of being in a state they refer to as “coherence”.
It's an amazing feeling and you too can learn it. In my 30-day B4 Be Gone program, I guide my patients and students through daily practice of this technique, and send them daily reminders and a recording of me guiding them through the process. Join us on the webinar to get yourself started.
Get Slim, Stress-free, and Save the World
So now for the really amazing, almost unbelievable finding.
YOU have more power than you think over the state of the world, the energy in the room, and the stressful feelings of others.
Hear me out on this one…
When two people with different HRV patterns come into each other's energy fields, the HRV's tend to synchronize, and the strongest field prevails. This has been measured by the institute of HeartMath researchers on medical equipment!
By practicing the HeartMath technique called Quick Coherence several times a day, with as little a time investment as 5 minutes a day, you'll become proficient at changing your emotional state and the HRV's of others with whom you come into contact.
How cool is that?
And when you practice their more advanced technique, called Heart Lock-in, you actually practice deliberately projecting your energy out into the room. To master Heart Lock-in takes a bit more time, 15 minutes about 3-4 times a week!
When natural disasters like fire and flood strike, the natural tendency is to feel victimized. That puts you into the “triple P emotional state” that has been shown to be the most damaging of all… powerlessness, pessimism, and pervasive worry.
It's times like these that we need to band together energetically and send positive thoughts, prayers, and uplifting energy to those whose lives are affected. Imagine the effect of thousands of people all over the world projecting their positive energy field! According to the above aforementioned article from the Institute of HeartMath (which I highly recommend you read in its entirety), “positive thinking” without accompanying positive feelings usually only provides temporary relief from emotional distress. Whereas the activation of positive emotions is more likely to transform the stress at its source.
According to Joe Vitale, author of The Attractor Factor, “there are over 25
scientific studies that prove when a group of
people meditate together, they can change their
surroundings — just by getting settled inside.”
Dr. Vitale lives not too far from where I live, just outside of Austin, and he sent out a plea for help with getting the fires under control through the power of positive emotion.
I've printed his entire letter on my blog, where Joe tells of his experience with this process when Hurricane Rita threatened Austin a few years back.
Whether you believe Dr. Vitale's account of changing the course of natural events or not, there's no disputing the positive effect of appreciation and love on your own chemistry and that of those around you. Lots of studies at www.heartmath.org support this.
So, what do you have to lose?
Even if you think it's goofy, it can't hurt and it will change your own emotions and your internal well-being.
So take a deep breath… find that place of peace
inside yourself where you know all is
well. Access that area of inner calm…and then just feel the fires going out; imagine the hurricanes heading out to sea; envision the earth's core relaxing; and perceive that all the people affected are safe, sound, and protected.
Stop, breathe, focus, pray, or in some positive way send out an energy that will help dissolve the fear.
It's your way of making a difference in the face of disaster, even if you can't send lots of money or travel to the scene to help.
Check out the book Unconditional Bliss by Howard Cushnir. He says you can find happiness in the face of hardship.
And in the words of Joe Vitale, “… be happy, right now. Smile. Send that loving energy out, in the direction of Texas.
Intend for all to be well, for, in reality, all is well.”
The 5-part B4BeGone video series
will prepare you for this LIVE Webinar where you'll learn how to take
belly fat busting, brain fog clearing, and burnout rejuvenating health
highlights to the next level of nutrition and natural healing.
Ritamarie will be answering as many questions as time allows pertaining to belly fat, brain fog, burnout, and blood sugar imbalances. Once you register and access the video pages, you'll be able to post your own question for the live teleseminar. The call is scheduled for tonight (Wednesday, September 7th, 2011): 7:30 pm Central (5:30 pm Pacific, 6:30 pm Mountain, 8:30 pm Eastern)
It's time to do some green cleaning from the inside out! Discover the
benefits of drinking blended greens and green smoothies. If it's been a
summer full of bbq's and bad choices, this full-support program is the
perfect way to detoxify and destress.
The Transition week begins on
September 4th and the 7-Day program begins on September 11th. Click HERE to sign up!
Upcoming Raw Food University Classes:
You can attend our Raw Food University Classes live and in person and get to sample the delicious raw food recipes or
learn to make these dishes from the comfort of your own home.
Either way, you get a recipe guide
e-book and fully indexed online video class you can watch over and over.
September 25th, 2011 – Eating for Hormone Balance
October 9th, 2011 – Oil-Free Dressings and Dips that Delight
November 19th, 2011 – Eating for Health and Longevity
December 10th, 2011 – Party and Potluck Nibbles that Nourish
Dr. Ritamarie's Vibrant Health Solutions Radio Show: combining experience, education, and practical advice to make healthful eating fun again! Click here to learn more.
Do you wake up after a long night's sleep only to still feel exhausted?
You may very well be experiencing burnout.
Did you know that your organs and glands can suffer from fatigue? Your skin and immune system can too.
Often “exhaustion” is at a cellular level. When your skin is tired, you get outbreaks and slow wound healing. When your digestion becomes sluggish, you may experience constipation or indigestion. A fatigued immune system can't adequately protect you from microbes and starts to attack itself. And a worn out liver is unlikely to be efficient at eliminating toxins.
Join Dr. Ritamarie and learn what influences may be making you tired at a cellular level. NEW TIMES: 8:00 am PT, 9:00 am MT, 10:00 am CT, 11:00 am ET
You'll find a wealth of free natural health resources when you visit our radio shows archive! Look for the most recent shows in the sidebar of the Vibrant Health Solutions Radio Show homepage. Here are the latest shows we've added:
Are you drowning in clutter? Does your clutter make you feel as though you can't breathe?
Tolerating clutter means that you just aren't living life to the full.
Clutter can also have adverse effects on your health, including a
reduced sense of well-being.
If you're ready to clear your home's stagnant, negative energy and
welcome in fresh, prosperous energy, then join Dr. Ritamarie when she
interviews law of attraction coach Joanne Newell, of Rich Radiant Real coaching.
Joanne will reveal the link between clutter and prosperity (health, wealth, and happiness), and gift you with two valuable tips for starting a highly effective yet ‘low-overwhelm' declutter of your environment.
If you want a smaller waistline you need a bigger understanding of
insulin. When you eat high carbohydrate comfort foods regularly, your
insulin levels become dangerously high and your cells become resistant
to insulin. This means you can't get enough sugar into your cells and
you feel tired, unfocused, and hungry after meals.
To get control of your belly fat, you need to break the viscous cycle.
On top of the difficulty and stress people experience due to insulin
resistance, worry and fear trigger increased cortisol, an adrenal
hormone. Join Dr. Ritamarie and learn the kicker that keeps the belly
fat from burning…and how your muscles could be contributing to your
belly fat.
In some parts of the country school has already started. In others, it's
just around the corner. As kids get older, it's not “cool” to bring
your lunch from home, but just what are your kids eating in school that
could be hurting their health and affecting their ability to focus and
do well in class?
Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, MS, DC, CCN, DACBN, has been an integrative health care practitioner for over two decades, empowering her patients and students to overcome health challenges and lead a joyful and healthy life.
She's a Doctor of Chiropractic with Certifications in Acupuncture, Clinical Nutrition, HeartMath® and Herbal Medicine as well as a certified raw and living foods instructor, chef and coach. She's the author and co-author of several gluten-free vegan and raw foods recipe books including: Power Breakfast Ideas, Deliciously Quick Lunch and Dinner, Healthy Halloween Treats, Dessert: Making it Rich Without Oil and Dried and Gone to Heaven. She's also the creator of many successful online courses designed to restore people to the health, energy, and vitality they need to live full and vibrant lives.
Joe Vitale is asking for your help in fighting the fires in Austin, in a way that may surprise you. No matter where you are, you can make a difference… one that will benefit you as well.
Never miss a single article! Click HERE to subscribe to the blog!
Includes a downloaded recording of a 2 hour teleclass, anti- inflammatory recipe guide, shopping list and checklists, flowcharts of your body's inflammatory pathways and bonus resources, including Lunch and Dinner and Breakfast e-books and Transforming Stress Kit. Read more here…
Desserts make your tongue feel gleeful and your heart sing. But have you ever thought about how your favorite desserts ultimately affect your body? With their gluten, dairy, unhealthy trans fats and refined sugar, these desserts are likely to contribute to premature aging, inflammation, irritable bowel, mucous buildup and problems with focusing. Read more here…
They're all comfort foods that we turn to in times of emotional upheaval, boredom or loneliness. When you eat your favorite comfort foods, you feel great…for a little while. Until the discomfort sets in. Read more here…
Your children are your most precious gift. You teach them by example and your every thought, word and action. What you feed your children, especially during the early years, will shape their health and vitality throughout their lives. Starting with the freshest, most vibrant and clean sources of nutrients to feed their growing bodies is vital to their health and development. Read more here…
You might have heard many health experts say that it's crucial to begin your day with a meal. What they might have failed to say, though, is how to make your first fuel of the day powerful enough to propel you forward with energy and gusto! Read more here…
This week's recipe does not require any electricty to make, so it's simple to put together. While it may not take power to create, it sure does provide lots of great raw food gusto!
Mango-Mole Tacos
Ingredients:
1 mango
1 avocado
Juice of 1/2 lime
Pinch of salt
Pinch of kelp powder
Dash of cayenne
1/4 teaspoon chile powder
3 – 4 large green leaves as taco shells (I used romaine lettuce, but you could use your choice – collard greens, kale, cabbage, chard…)
Handful of sprouts
Any other chopped or grated vegetables desired as topping
Directions:
Cut mango in half lengthwise, as close to the seed as possible. Scoop out flesh and put in a bowl. Repeat for the other half then peel and cut the remaining flesh off the seed.
Cut avocado in half, remove seed and scoop flesh into bowl with mango.
At this point, I smashed the mango and avocado together with my hands. You can use a fork or potato masher.
Add all remaining ingredients except green leaves.
Assemble your tacos: Place lettuce on plate and scoop mango-mole equally over the leaves.
You're welcome to share any of the articles in this newsletter. When you do, please use the article in its entirety and include this complete blurb with it:
Internationally recognized speaker, author and mentor, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo is the “Woman's Fatigue Expert and Vibrant Health Mentor.”
Recharge with Dr. Ritamarie is published by Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo. If you have any questions or comments, please visit: https://drritamarie.com/helpdesk
It seems only natural that at times like this 
I wish you a pleasant week, and I look forward to connecting with you on the webinar on Wednesday.
Research at the Institute of HeartMath has confirmed that your thoughts and emotions affect your heart rate variability (HRV). When you're calm, HRV, when graphed, looks like a nice even sine wave and when you're frustrated or angry, worried or anxious, it's erratic and spikey. Notice the difference in the graphs to the right. 
When two people with different HRV patterns come into each other's energy fields, the HRV's tend to synchronize, and the strongest field prevails. This has been measured by the institute of HeartMath researchers on medical equipment!
According to 
Stop, breathe, focus, pray, or in some positive way send out an energy that will help dissolve the fear.
The 5-part 
Do you wake up after a long night's sleep only to still feel exhausted?
Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo, MS, DC, CCN, DACBN, has been an integrative health care practitioner for over two decades, empowering her patients and students to overcome health challenges and lead a joyful and healthy life.
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