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Volume 1, Issue 3
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November 6th, 2009 | |
I've learned a lot of lessons this week. It started last Sunday when I had an unexpected day of unplanned connection and fun. I'd had a particuarly busy week the week before…3 coaching programs running at the same time, and each with specific tasks to do…emails, private consultations, teleseminars, group coaching calls, and materials creation.
My bad habit, when it comes to my health, is staying up too late. Because of the intensity of the workload I had been going to bed at 3AM or later for 2 weeks. I decided to sleep in on Sunday. After getting up at 10, the plan was to go for a run, then have a green smoothie and do some writing and editing. I'm working on completing 2 books… the most complete book about dehydation on the market today with my coauthor Chef Alicia Ojeda (www.ezrawfoods101.com) and a complete holiday recipe and health guide. They both needed edits. As fate would have it, my run was delayed until very late…when I went into the kitchen to get some water before running, my teenage son Eric was there, and in the mood to talk. If you've ever raised a teenager, you know that when they're in the mood to talk, you drop everything and listen. It's a rare and incredible experience. So we chatted, and I made him breakfast. We chatted some more and I made him lunch. In cleaning up after the meals, I realized some of my spice jars needed refilling. As I filled the spice jars, I realized that I needed to do some reorganizing. When I brought something to my bedroom to put away, I noticed that my painting table needed to be cleaned off…it had become a collection spot for miscellaneous items without a home. I decided to set the table up so all my water color painting supplies were ready so I could paint at any time. With that set up, I could sneak in a few minutes here and there and maybe finally finish the painting I started a year and a half ago. Realizing that now was as good a time as any to start, I decided to do 10 minutes of painting before my run. 10 minutes lead to 40! It felt great. It was 4PM by the time I started my run. When I returned, Eric asked me to drive him to the store for some needed toiletry items. I agreed and again spent some enjoyable time with him. This very pleasant Sunday put me in touch with the realization that I love having unscheduled time. I realized how much I miss just hanging out, and I decided that I need to schedule a day a week off email and work related activities. It was a great day. A very important part of your health plan is schedled time for fun. I teach it all the time and sometimes I get caught in the time trap and ignore my own advice. Since then I've scheduled time almost every day this week for fun. And my painting is coming along nicely. Do it. When you're having fun, your biochemistry changes. You become more relaxed and your digestion improves. Your hormones are more balanced. Your neurotransmitters become more balanced and as a result your mood improves. I'm planning to schedule at least 5 minutes of fun every day. My life and my health depend on it. How about you? Will you join me? Post your reply to the blog version of this note. Enjoy this information packed newsletter. Love and Health and FUN, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo |
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Balancing Your Digestion: Strategies for Healing Leaky Gut and Chronic Candida Infections
I'm always asked questions like, “What's the best way to cure Candida” and “How long does it take to heal leaky gut?” The strategies for both are amazingly similar. Not surprising, though, when you realize that both are caused by an overload of toxins that your body just doesn't have the resources to get rid of. I recorded a video clip about candida to answer some of the questions I get most frequently: Watch my video about candida here… Most people think of candida as something that they need to “get rid of”, and treat from the perspective of killing the bad guy. What is often overlooked is that it's not enough to just kill the candida. What's more important is to create an environment in your body that is incompatible with candida. And that means strengthening your imune system, improving your digestion and and removing the toxins that provide a ripe environment in which candida thrive.
Candida can be one of the causes of leaky gut, a common cause of a myriad of symptoms that can effect all of your body systems. So what is leaky gut, anyway? It sounds kind of scary, doesn't it? Can I leave the house with a leaky gut? Is it messy? What's actually leaking and where does it leak to? Rest assured, while leaky gut can have some very serious health complications, it's generally not life threatening….at least not in the short term. And nothing is leaking out of you, so no one can tell that you have it unless you tell them. What's leaking is the some of the contents of the small intestine, and where it's leaking into is the blood stream. Leaky gut is a very common condition of the small intestine. Whereas a healthy small intestine will allow only fully digested food particles and nutrients to pass through, a leaky gut has been damaged and thus allows larger food molecules and toxins to readily enter the blood stream. This can lead to food allergies, autoimmune disease, eczema, psoriasis, and a long laundry list of symptoms and health conditions. Here's a summary:
These symptoms are, not surprisingly, very similar to the symptoms of candida overgrowth. And, as you can tell, the symptoms are not confined to the gut! There's so much more I'd like to share about these very common yet often times overlooked conditions. If you're suffering from any of the symptoms listed above, you owe it to yourself to find out more. If you'd like more details about candida and leaky gut, be sure to sign up for the new Fr*e teleseminar series I'm offering in conjunction with Tera Warner of the Raw Divas. The first class is Nov 5 and we'll be talking about why undigested food is toxic, no matter how good the food is, the harmful byproducts of incomplete digestion and what happens when they enter your bloodstream, how your gut contributes to depression, brain fog, aches and pains, what caused your gut bacteria to go out of balance and so much more. If you can't make the live classes, you can listen in on the recordings. Sign up at http://www.sixweekdetox.com. |
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Paul Nison's Transformation From Stressed Out Ulcerative Colitis Sufferer to Author and International Health Speaker
Paul Nison was only 19 years old when he received his wake-up call. He was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. Most people would consider this a tragedy. He considered it one of the best things that ever happened to him. Here's how he tells his story: “Ulcerative colitis is not an easy illness to live with. The colon is achy and inflamed with ulcerations, sometimes with bleeding. It is accompanied by spasmodic and frequent bowel movements. The typical poor diet, increased bowel movements, decreased assimilation of swallowed food, and drug therapies all add up to malnutrition and decreased vitality, not to mention misery and a ruined life. I got colitis flare-ups about six times per year. Every time I went to the doctor, she told me to stay away from dairy foods until I felt better. Then she increased the dosage of steroids she was giving me. When I felt better after a few weeks, she said it was okay to eat dairy foods again. I then ate foods that contained huge amounts of dairy. Sometimes this would be a whole pizza pie. Then the flare-ups came back. I finally saw the pattern and cut out dairy products altogether. I was very pleased with the results. I became sick less often. After that I began to eliminate whatever the doctors told me was okay to eat. Eggs, meat, and sugar to name just a few. I told my doctor I felt better without these foods. She told me food had nothing to do with my condition. After hearing that from her, I knew I was on the right track. At 23, I left my stressful job in the financial district in New York as an office manager for a big wall street company, and moved to West Palm Beach, Florida. I was still having colitis flare-ups, but not as often or severe. By seemingly sheer coincidence, I moved near a place called The Hippocrates Health Institute. I would visit the institute often during my daily walks around the neighborhood. At the institute, I learned about the raw-food lifestyle and about live foods. I immediately put myself on an 80% raw-food diet. What a difference it made! I told my doctor in New York about my improvement and she said that raw foods were no good for my condition. Once again, I knew I was on the right track! Feeling much better but not totally cured, when I was 25, I moved back to New York and resumed working the stressful job I left. In New York, I met many people who adopted a raw-food diet. I began reading more books on the raw-food diet and lifestyle. In a bookstore in Manhattan I picked up a book by David Klein called, The Fruits of Healing – A story about a Natural Healing of Ulcerative Colitis. It was exactly what I needed to read. I then heard David Wolfe of Nature's First Law speaking on a local radio show about the raw-food diet. After speaking to Dave Klein and hearing Dave Wolfe on the radio, I decided to switch to a 100% raw-food diet. Nature's First Law is an organization dedicated to spreading the word about the raw food movement. Dave is one of the authors of a book he and his co-authors wrote called The Raw Food Diet. Since going 100% raw, I have completely overcome ulcerative colitis. I feel better than ever and have become increasingly inspired about life. I quit my stressful job and began working as a raw-food chef in a vegetarian restaurant. I organized raw-food potlucks every month. I have started a raw-food support group, and I give lectures on the raw-food lifestyle to help others that have gotten their wake-up call. I have recently been traveling the world to experience the pleasures of new cultures and exotic fruits. Since adopting the raw-food diet, I have gone through several “healing crises.” I am happy for these episodes of elimination, as they are clearly my body's way of cleaning, healing and rejuvenating. I know the raw-food diet is the best way for me to go. Anyone can overcome any dis-ease or sickness the way I did. My book will help you accomplish that. I can only tell you about it, the rest is up to you. I encourage you to learn from my experiences and other people's experiences. With a healthy mind, you can overcome anything.” Paul can be reached at PaulNison.com SPECIAL NOTE: Paul will be coming to Texas at the end of January and he only has time for 1 city…Austin or Houston. Please send an email to drritamarie@drritamarie if you'd be interested in hearing him speak in Austin! |
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The Amazing Pomegranate by Valerie Kliewer Maybe it was the large number of seeds that allowed the pomegranate, known in Latin as pomum (“apple”) and granatus (“seeded”), to propagate for over 5,000 years making it one of the oldest fruits known to man and maybe one of the most medicinal. The pomegranate is found in mythology from Greece and Persia and in ancient religious text and artwork of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Perhaps there is some digestive wisdom in the fact that one of the Hindu names of Lord Ganesha is “Bijapuraphalasakta,” which means “He who is fond of the many-seeded fruit (the pomegranate).” Unlike many fruits which are high in fructose, pomegranates are low in fructose and can actually hinder yeast proliferation in the mouth. Gel made from pomegranates was found to be a useful anti-fungal agent in mouth ulcers caused by candida. Also, pomegranates can be used as a remedy for bladder disturbances and worm infestations in the intestinal tract. Ayurvedic sources suggest that pomegranates aid digestion. Some of the most exciting research is that of pomegranates in the fight against HIV. Dr. A.R. Neurath found that a substance in pomegranate juice prevents the entrance of the HI-Virus into cells thus hindering new cellular infection. Tannins in the juice reduce oxidative stress that can lead to atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. In a study published n 2004 by Clinical Nutrition, patients had up to a 30% decrease in arterial wall thickness in the carotid artery. In tests done on mice, metabolites from pomegranate juice localized in the prostate gland, colon and intestinal tissue. Recently published studies confirm the positive effects of pomegranate consumption in the same areas in humans, including providing defense against prostate cancer, reduction in oxidized cholesterol, and reduction in blood aggregation. The anti-oxidative effect of the pomegranate is 3 to 10 times higher than the blueberry, cranberry or green tea. Pomegranates also high levels of phytoestrogens and polyphenols and high levels of vitamin C. Though it takes 200 pounds of fresh pomegranates to make 1 pound of the precious pomegranate seed oil, the benefits are numerous. The polyphenols in pomegranate seed oil have proven effective in hindering the proliferation of breast cancer cells in vitro. Pomegranate seed oil is a rich source of Omega 5 oils (CLA). It contains punicic and ellagic acids which provide elasticity and luster to the skin and which aid in healing many skin ailments including eczema, psoriasis and sunburned skin. Preparing the pomegranate for consumption is easier than you might think. Pomegranate juice was once used to create ink and is likely to stain what it comes into contact with; therefore, start by protecting your cutting board with a paper towel or use a glass plate for the initial cuts. First, cut both the crown and the bottom of the pomegranate, taking off only very thin slices. Next, make approximately 4 or 5 vertical slices into the bark of the pomegranate only until you hit the spongy pith. Next, get a bowl of cold water and plunge the whole fruit under water to avoid dealing with the juice. Once the fruit is completely submerged, break the pomegranate into sections and work the seeds out of the pith. The pith will float to the top and the seeds will go to the bottom. Use a strainer to skim the pith off the top and then flip the water and seeds through the strainer. The seeds are then ready to add to soups and salads or to eat on their own, which is the way I enjoyed them while writing this article for you. I hope you enjoy the juicy details as much as I did. Valerie Kliewer is a food writer passionate about the healing power of foods. She specializes in helping those with vitiligo find healing. She lives in Austin Texas with her husband and 5 boys.
Photo provided by Valerie Kliewer |
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This month we have 3 recipes by Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo
Apple Pear Cobbler with Pomegranate Cream Sauce Equipment Needed: Food Processor and Blender Ingredients Crust:
Filling:
Directions
Pomegranate Taffy Equipment Needed: Dehydrator and Blender Ingredients
Directions
Pomegranate Macadamia Nut Butter Equipment Needed: Food Processor Ingredients
Directions
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Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo has been sharing her passion for raw and living foods for more than 23 years, lovingly catalyzing others to create joy, success and abundance in their lives by removing the pain and inconvenience so often associated with leading a healthy lifestyle. As a Doctor of Chiropractic with Certification in Acupuncture, a Diplomat of the American Clinical Nutrition Board, a Certified Clinical Nutritionist, a licensed HeartMath® provider, and soon to be Certified Herbalist, Dr. Ritamarie touches many lives with her message of empowerment. | |
SPECIAL OFFER
I know Halloween is over for this year, but I couldn't resist offering you an incentive for investing in this book now. Think of it as the after holiday close-out sale. Instead of dropping the price, I'm adding a bonus. I recorded an hour long DVD of recipe demonstrations to accompany the book. This was not completed in time to offer as a product for this Halloween so I thought I'd offer you instant access to the online version fo the DVD. If you already purchased the book, you'll automatically get the online DVD on Friday. Hurry and order because the offer disappears at midnight Sunday, November 8 and the DVD will not be available until next year. I know you're dedicated to doing the best for your kids. You want them to be healthy, strong and successful. That's what every parent wishes for their children. But the more you learn about diet and nutrition and the role it plays in your kids' resistance to disease, ability to focus at school and overall mood and behavior, the more scared you become about how to handle Halloween, the “candy” holiday. All that sugar, chocolate and artificial colors and flavors can't possibly be good for them. Find out about healthy alternatives 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… We videotaped the Green For Life talk that Victoria, Sergei and Valya Boutenko did in Austin, Texas so you can watch and learn from the comfort of your own home. There are 3 hours of video, filled with valuable and inspiring information. Read more here… Thanksgiving is just around the corner, and if you're a vegan, vegetarian, raw food enthusiast, food allergy sufferer or just someone who wants to eat more healthfully and manage your weight, this is a challenging time of year. Food temptations abound, as does pressure from often well meaning friends and family members who want to be sure you're enjoying the bounty. Find out how to create your own bounty here… Periodic cleansing and resting your digestive track is essential for vibrant health and boundless energy. While going away to a retreat center and fasting on green juices is probably the best way to do this, let's get real. Who has the time? And cleansing on your own is just not as effective as having a support group and a mentor with over two decades experience to back you up and cheer you on. Green Smoothies are a great way to cleanse because you're not hungry all the time. Find out more about how you can feel more energetic, less bloated and stronger andleaner than ever.
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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:
“Would you like to learn more simple strategies to achieving vibrant energy, a strong lean body and an extraordinary life? Check out my web site, www.DrRitamarie.com, for free articles, free resources and to sign up for my free report “7 Simple Steps to Energizing Your Life..in as little as 30 Days”. Internationally recognized speaker, author and mentor, Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo is the “Woman’s Fatigue Expert and Vibrant Health Mentor.” |
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Creating Vibrant Health is published by Dr. Ritamarie Loscalzo. If you have any questions or comments, please send them to: [email protected]. |
It’s hard to come by well-informed people for this subject, but you seem like you know what you’re talking about! Thanks