I’ve talked a little bit before about how I was really getting into the idea of eating an alkaline diet and the alkaline ionized water and how these can improve your quality of life.  Well, I’ve started to try to incorporate more alkaline rather than acid foods into my diet to see if it really can make a big difference in how I feel, what my level of health is, and certain health issues I’ve suffered with suchs as allergies and asthma and acne my whole life on and off.  So far, I do think that it helps with all of that, but I admit I haven’t stuck to it all the time either.  I haven’t yet purchased by alkaline ionized water machine yet as I’m still shopping around, so of course I’ll have more on that for you as well when I do buy it.

One of my favorite meals so far which I believe from what I’ve read thus far is one that involves brown rice and two alkaline veggies.  The tomatoes aren’t the most alkaline veggie, since mostly the dark leafy greens and other green veggies are supposed to be the best for that, but they are ok and are not highly acid producing as long as they are not cooked and are eaten fresh, so I figured it was ok to incorporate them into this little recipe of mine.

Here it is.  It’s brown basmati rice, cooked in vegetable stock with no preservatives or sugar in it and a variety of spice such as sage and cumin mixed in.  I also added organic wild rice to the mix for a little more texture and that awesome extra nutty flavor that pure wild rice adds to your rice dish.  I had read that brown basmati rice was ok, but regular brown rice wasn’t, and that wild rice was ok as well so I assume those are both all right to eat.

Once the rice is done cooking, I cut up about a fourth of an avocado (a very alkaline vegetable) into small pieces, and also about a fourth of a fresh tomato into small cubes and topped the rice with that as well as a little sea salt.  Sea salt is preferred over regular table salt on the alkaline diet, and I prefer it’s flavor anyways, so that was just an added bonus. I am hooked on this recipe, it’s so flavorful and completely meat free, plus I don’t feel any discomfort even after eating a fairly large plate of it, and it gives me lots of energy.  A great alkaline recipe!

As I mentioned earlier, I’m very excited to bring to you soon a review of whatever alkaline ionized water machine I end up with.  So stay tuned folks!

Experts at the Pentagon are pressing the Defense Secretary to institute a ban on smoking on military bases and a ban on selling tobacco products on military bases.  In effect, they also want to be able to put requirements on new enlisters that they be nonsmokers, and basically force the rest of the already enlisted and deeply ingrained military soldiers to quit smoking for health and productivity reasons.  The concerns come as smoking has gone up, way up, since the war in Afghanistan started amongst the US military there as the stress of the war has eaten away at much of the troops, they turned to the help of tobacco products to get them by and relieve stress.

The funny thing about smoking though, is that the perception is that smoking a cigarette relaxes a smoker, but in fact that is only VERY temporary, and the longer term effects throughout the day are that it actually raises the stress hormones in the body and distresses the body, which makes the smoker crave more and more cigarettes, thus creating a vicious cycle of smoking throughout the day.

Some believe that it enhances their performance, but in fact it results in lost productivity due to the sheer time it takes out of one’s day to light up several times, and also because of it’s side effects which are reduced lung capacity, getting sick more often and depressing the immune system, and a variety of other illnesses and disorders that are associated with smoking tobacco products.

Health experts are hoping that by putting a ban on cigarettes on military bases and banning smoking on military bases, they can force troops to abandon the habit and gain what they claim is nearly a billion dollars in lost productivity back, and also gain back the money that is lost on treating troops for medical problems related to smoking tobacco.  There may be a lot of backlash amongst troops who migh resent being told that they cannot smoke, but in the long run they are hoping that this is the right move for a healthier military as well as a more productive one.

It seems that, per a new study, scientists have found a genetic link to people’s requirements for sleep hours per night.  More specifically, they isolated a gene, actually two gene mutations, that are responsible for people who only require 6 hours of sleep or less a night without any negative repercussions or performance issues that next day.  Most people require eight hours of sleep per night to perform optimally the next day and not have any symptoms of sleep deprivation.  I’m one of the people who needs her eight hours to feel my best the next day, I notice that if I even cheat myself out of an hour or two, I can’t function or think as efficiently as I can when I’m running on a “full” nights sleep.

I guess that I view sleep, like food, as gasoline for the human body to keep us going.  It takes a lot of energy to keep a body moving and running efficiently all those hours during the day when our brain waves are snapping and our bodies are moving around, especially for those of us that are very active, and that energy has to come from somewhere, so ideally it comes form a healthful, energy giving diet and plenty of sleep at night (but not too much). Those that suffer from insomnia often suffer from depression and anxiety and turn to sleep aids for the help they need to get them releaxed and geared for bed time every night with good reason, they see what the lack of sleep is doing to them mentally.

Researchers basically found two genetic mutations in a mother and daughter who only need six hours of sleep per night.  The mother was very active, as well as the daughter, and they went to bed at night around 10:00 and arose every morning pretty much without fail at about 4:00 or 4:30. Can you imagine doing that and not feeling pretty exhausted?  I most definitely can’t! In fact, that does not sound like a fun way to live life, but for these women, who were ultimately found to have two specific genetic mutations, this was no problem for them.

It was how their circadian rhythm was programmed, and their bodies told them that was all the sleep they needed every night, so their bodies obeyed that.  Our bodies are very powerful “tellers” of what we need, and they listen to that and don’t oversleep beyond what their body tells them they need, and for whatever reason they were blessed with this genetic anomaly.  Researchers are hoping that this discovery will help lead them to new and better treatments for insomnia and other chronic sleep disorders where patients cannot get the amount of sleep or the quality of sleep they need and suffer problems because of it.

Before we get into what the benefits of chlorophyll are to the human body, let’s talk about what it is.  Chlorophyll actually is the organism that gives green leafy veggies and plants their green color. So, if you were to take a chlorophyll supplement in liquid or encapsulated form, it should be a dark, rich green color.  It may also even turn your poo green just to warn you!  You can get chlorophyll from the following foods in your diet : dark green leafy vegetables, wheat grass, kale, broccoli, and the list goes on but basically anything that is green, and that darker green, the more of this nutrient you will get.

So, what are the benefits of eating this nutrient or taking chlorophyll supplements? Well, it is thought to benefit the body in several important ways that may make you think about incorporating this into your supplementation routine.  First off, chlorophyll is thought to be an excellent blood purifier and thinner.  For this reason, some people who go on detox diets choose to incorporate this into their regime.  It also is thought to help improve digestion and also aid in the waste elimination process, creating more comfortable eliminations and also less gas in the intestines.

Chlorophyll is also thought to have potential powerful anti cancer capabilities.  This is probably a big part of the reason that alkaline veggies are so good for you and are recommended in high quantities in the diet, because they are anti cancerous in nature and may even be able to neutralize the effects of certain cancer causing chemicals and reactions in the body, creating less cancer friendly environment in the body and less likelihood that one will get cancer of any sort.  That’s a great reason in itself to take chlorophyll supplements, but one of the most popular reasons that people take these supplements is actually as an internal “deodorizer”.

That’s right, chlorophyll is supposed to be excellent for internally killing bacteria that causes foul odors of the breath and the body, and some people swear that it makes everything that comes out of them less odorous, so there may be something to that.  I would say that chlorophyll has definite documented benefits, and it also has no toxic effects on the body when taken internally, so go for it if this is a supplement you’ve been thinking of incorporating, there are no downsides that I can see at all.

Vitamin B12 is a very important vitamin, as you may have already heard, to help us sustain and create high energy levels, brain function and overall effectiveness and productivity.  You can get vitamin B12 shots, but those only last so long, so obviously the best way to get your daily dose of B12 is probably to get it either through the intake of food or through taking a high quality, absorbable and effective Vitamin B12 supplement or spray that you can hold under tongue (one of the more popular methods for this vitamin since it tends to be better absorbed thorugh a liquid suspension than a solid form).

The reas that vegans and even vegetarians tend to have problems with B12 deficiencies is that they do not consume the foods that are highest in this important vitamin such as red meats, fish and proteins that are not consumed by them.  Because of this, it’s very important that they find other sources that are well absorbed, to help replace their Vitamin B12 consumption.  Vitamin B12 is a water soluble vitamin that helps maintain and control various functions of the nervous system, which is why it plays a key role in your energy levels. And this is good energy, not that nervous and temporary kind you get from drinking a caffeinated beverage, so it’s important that you get enough of this vitamin in your diet.

Two food products that are popular with vegetarians and vegans because they are both vegan in nature and totally natural sources of Vitamin B12 are spirulina and algae.  That’s why if you go to a natural or organic foods store, you’ll see these types of products in abundance or laced into the foods, because they help supplement the diets of those that frequent these types of stores, whom are often vegans.

In addition, other foods that are rich in this vitamin are (ick) liver, eggs, milk and certain types of shellfish, which is particularly why vegans often need to supplement since these foods are on the no no list for them to consume.  Again, if you choose to supplement, my vote would be to look for a sublingual formula which means it is placed, sprayed or droppered under the tongue, and absorbed slowly as you let it sit there for a few minutes, into the blood stream, and broken down by the salive more efficiently.  By the way, B12 is broken down first in the mouth by the chemicals in the saliva, so this is why a sublingual formula may be the best option.