I’ve been interested in doing the “Master Cleanse” diet for some time now, but I’ve also been reading a lot of debate and controversy on the subject of the modified fasting and detoxifying diet online as well.  I have to admit, a lot of what the medical professionals say about how the diet couldn’t possibly detoxify the body using maple syrup, cayenne pepper and lemon juice with water, and eating no food as well as taking herbal laxatives as a colon cleansing agent and detoxifier every night, makes a little sense, but I also have read so much anecdotal evidence that the fast really works that I can’t help but test it out myself.

I also happen to have two people that are close to me that have tried the Master Cleanse diet and say that it made them feel great, with more energy, and a little bit of weight loss, as well as great skin and a host of other side benefits that they definitely recommend the master cleanser diet as a way to sort of realign your eating habits, and, well, to just take the focus off food for a while and channel your energy elsewhere.  Many of us don’t realize how much time and energy we waste on preparing, thinking about, and consuming food. 

Heck, I thought about it just the other day.  If I had all that time back that I use to prepare lunches, breakfasts and dinners, AND the time that it just takes me to do the dishes for all those meals, I’d have so much more time in my schedule, and I’d be able to focus my energies on more important things! 

My two friends who tried it didn’t just experience weight loss and physical benefits, but they also said that it really made them appreciate their life, and other things that they didn’t even think about or have time to focus on before.  One even said that she got almost a spiritual high on the last few days of the fast, and that was truly one of the reasons I decided I’m going to try it - and soon - before Christmas time gets in full swing.  So, I’ll be letting you know how my herbal colon cleansing, detoxifying diet goes when I start it!  Hopefully I’ll be full of glowing reviews! 

Most Americans don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables in any form. Nutritionists usually agree that fresh is best for flavor and full nutritional value. What are the pros and cons of fresh versus frozen and canned?

Frozen vegetables generally use less sodium in the freezing process when compared with canning. Certain vegetables freeze better and maintain the quality of flavor and color. Spinach, peas, beans and corn are examples of vegetables that freeze well.

Canned vegetables are good for price and convenience. The downside to canned vegetables is that they are loaded with sodium. The canning process effects the color and consistency of the vegetables. The color is duller and the vegetables lose crispness.

Frozen fruits maintain their nutrition. The freezing process locks in nutrition. As far as cost goes, frozen fruits can be more reasonable than fresh, especially when the fruit is out of season. The disadvantage of frozen fruit is it is more watery and loses texture.

The advantage of canned fruit is affordability and convenience.The disadvantage of canned fruit is that it is often packed with a lot of sugar. If you read the labels, look for the cans without the syrup. Another downside to canned fruit is that it is mushy and lacks the crispness of fresh.

While fresh is usually best, frozen and canned products are a good idea so you’ll always have some fruits and vegetables on hand. It’s a good way to get your favorite fruits and vegetables when they are out of season. There is still nutritional value in frozen and canned fruits and vegetables.

The FTC, the federal commission that is essentially in charge of making sure consumers are not misled, at least to the best of their abilities, fined several high profile weight loss supplements recently to the tune of millions of dollars, for false advertising.  False advertising in supplement world means that you are inflating the claims of your product, and your company does not have any research or conclusive data to back up those claims. 

One of the really big name diet supplements that was fined was the infamous Anna Nicole Smith endorsed Trimspa, which is one of the first diet suppelements to include the now famous hoodia gordonii extract, a molecule found in African cacti that has been helpful in reducing appetite, and even thirst for hours on end.  I’m a little baffled on this one, because it does claim it can help you thermogenically burn calories and reduce appetite, and I’ve taken it before and did find a depletion of appetite to be a side effect, so it  actually worked for me. 

Another was the One a Day weight loss support vitamin supplement, which claimed that daily use of the vitamin would help to increase metabolism.  No substantiation for that claim could be found.  There were also a few other high profil OTC diet supplements that were fined as well, one even went as far as to claim their product made people lose more weight than people on a placebo when in fact investigators found their research showed the exact opposite, that people on the placebo lost more weight, so this was pretty much a blatant lie in their advertising. 

I pack a lunch almost every single day for work. Sometimes, I go all out and will make sure I’ve cooked a few days worth of a healthy, mostly organically friendly stir fry, low fat chili, or some sort of healthy sandwich for the week or at least a few days.

But sometimes I simply don’t have the time or the energy to spend on cooking in anticipation of lunches, breakfasts and snacks for work. Yes, I do eat breakfast at work also, because I’m not hungry when I first get up, and find it easier to take my breakfast with me and eat it first thing at work.

When these time crunches happen, I have tried the Guiltless Gourmet prepared foods, which are very healthfully prepared with organic ingredients, and contain fat, fiber and calories conscious ingredients (hence the name, Guiltless Gourmet), and it actually TASTES good! My latest Guiltless Gourmet favorite are their wraps, which contain different things, depending on which wrap you get.

They are usually a little higher priced, say about $3 a wrap, but they are filling and that is actually less than you’d spend on fast food or some other prepared food nowadays anyways if you think about it. The flavors I like are the California veggie wrap which contains tofu in a whole wheat wrap, with lots of veggies and other tasty goodies that are healthy and low cal.

Another excellent one is one with feta cheese and spinach - that one is really good! You can usually find Guiltless Gourmet prepared foods in the natural or organic referigerated section of your grocer, if they happen to carry t

I recently came across an interesting article on the reason so many Americans are obese. It was more complex than the simple explanation of; We eat too much and exercise too little.

One link to obesity of interest was our society’s sleep deprivation as a whole. Generally speaking, we average about 7 hours of sleep per night compared with about 9 hours of sleep per night just a few decades ago.

When we are sleep deprived, appetites increase thus another factor contributing to obesity.

The popularity of air conditioning in our homes and offices is also a contributing factor to our national weight gain trend. When the temperature is hot and sweltering, appetites decrease.

When the ambient temperature remains more even, we expend less energy. Also, our appetites never decrease with the summer temperature change.

Another factor contributing to obesity cited was the interference to our metabolisms by environmental toxins. PCB’s , DDT, and other industrial chemicals can cause changes in metabolism.

So if you are trying to go on a weight loss regimen, getting a good night’s sleep is a sensible place to start. Don’t be so quick to crank up the air conditioner in the warmer months. Avoiding toxic chemicals is just a good idea for general health but it also may help in some way to control weight too.