October 2011 ~ I'm Holistic

Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes

8:26 AM Postwriter

PALEO PUMPKIN PANCAKES

2 cups Almond Meal
4 tblsp of Chia Seeds

2 tblsp Coconut Oil

2 cups Pumpkin filler(Raw or Organic)

2 Eggs

1 cup of Coconut Milk (Thai Condensed)

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground Ginger
1/4 tsp ground Cloves
1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 Dropperful Liquid Vanilla Stevia or 1 tsp of Stevia powder (Liquid tastes the best)

Prepare a Stainless Steel pan with coconut oil and set heat to medium. Mix ingredients in a bowl until contents are smooth and creamy. Pour contents into preheated pan to the desired size. Do not cover, Let each pancake sit in the pan until you see that it appears to be solid. Be careful not to over heat your pan these pancakes take a little bit longer to form so lower heat is best. Be patient. When ready flip. The second side takes less time to form. Serve when cooked throughout. The Chia seeds and eggs help to keep it together; however, don't be surprised if it breaks easily.

Add Health Smart butter and serve with 100% pure maple syrup or without if you are trying to avoid any sugar.

Enjoy a Gluten Free, Dairy Free & Sugar Free breakfast packed with great proteins, fiber and vitamins.

Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of I'm Holistic, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experiences of I'm Holistic. I'm Holistic encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.

How Fats are Good

10:13 AM Postwriter

What You Need to Know about Fats

Fats are more important than you know. The trick is learning which ones are the best for your and why. Good fats help you maintain your energy levels. I have personally found that by eating a tablespoon of Virgin Coconut oil in the am and pm I have increased my energy levels two-fold and have successfully managed chronic fatigue.

Healthy Fats are:

Preferred fuel for your heart	Useful antiviral agents (caprylic acid)	Useful for lowering cholesterol levels (palmitic and stearic acids)
Carriers for important fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, and required for the conversion of carotene to vitamin A, for mineral absorption, and for a host of other biological processes	Effective as an anticaries, antiplaque and anti fungal agents (lauric acid)	Modulators of genetic regulation and prevent cancer (butyric acid)

Sources of healthy fats are:

Olives and Olive oil (for cold dishes)	Coconuts, and coconut oil (for all types of cooking and baking)	Butter made from raw grass-fed organic milk
Raw Nuts, such as, almonds or pecans	Organic pastured egg yolks	Avocados
Grass fed meats	Palm oil	Unheated organic nut oils

Another healthful fat you want to be mindful of is animal-based omega-3 found in Hemp Oil & Fish Oil. Deficiency in this essential fat can cause or contribute to very serious health problems, both mental and physical, and may be a significant underlying factor of up to 96,000 premature deaths each year.

Fats are important to maintain fuel, energy, clarity, weight, and overall health. Fats can be very useful when you are trying to get away from sugar and many have found that it helped the body overcome the sugar withdrawal.

Ultimately, if you leave a PH balanced life you'll want to include healthy fats into the equation to help your body function at it's fullest capacity.

A great example menu for the day would include:

Am: Egg (whites cooked, yolk not cooked), Grapefruit and Avocado
Lunch: Cabbage wrap with whatever you would put on a sandwich (add avocado, olive oil, hemp oil, etc)
Pm: Flash stir fry veggies with fish, cooked in coconut oil and a tablespoon of olive oil added after removed from the heat.
In Between: Snack on almonds, sour fruits, raw veggies, and seeds

Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of I'm Holistic, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experiences of I'm Holistic. I'm Holistic encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.

Understanding Foods With Sugar

10:35 AM Postwriter

On average our daily sugar consumption has gone from 1to2 tablespoons to 1 pound a day, and most don't even know they are having it. When you talk about sugar most people say "I don't have sugar", "I limit my sugar", "I only eat all natural sugars found in fruit". If only that were true, what most don't understand is that the majority of processed food now contains more sugar than anyone wishes to talk about. Bread, pasta, ketchup, cereal, peanut butter, jelly....just to name a few items. Sugar is sugar, whether you are having cane sugar, palm sugar, corn syrup, syrup, honey, sweet fruit, or carbohydrates your body does not know the difference and it processes it as a sugar.

The more foods that you consume with a higher sugar content the more likely you will create candida or yeast in your body, you will experience inflammations and a lower immune system response ultimately leaving your body vulnerable to attack. Most often attacks start as an allergic response and if left unattended it can allow your body the ability to build up bacteria which will result in a cold, bronchitis, the flu and any number of infections stemmed by bacteria.

Before you pick up that glass of store bought orange juice please consider how many oranges it took to make that one glass, how much sugar did they add to the mix and then ask yourself if it was sugar that got you into this mess do you really think it's going to help get you out? Having a glass of orange juice is nice if you squeezed the orange yourself and you only have one. Oranges are a sweet fruit and are considered a high glycemic food, while the vitamin c can be helpful it's benefits are being drowned out with sugar. Sugar is sugar. Keep in mind that most attacks lead to allergies, cold, flu; however, these are only signs to help you understand your limits. If you continue to push your own sugar consumption limit you can increase your chances for other disorders and disease to present themselves down the road.

How about Fruit:

Limit your consumption to a maximum of 25 grams per day, with a maximum of 15 grams from whole fruit. If you're already overweight, have diabetes, high blood pressure or heart disease (or are at high risk of any of them) then you're probably better off cutting that down to a total of 10-15 grams per day, including that from fruit. As you can see in this table, some fruits are very high in fructose, so munching indiscriminately could really set you back.

Fruit	Serving Size	Grams of Fructose
Limes	1 medium	0
Lemons	1 medium	0.6
Cranberries	1 cup	0.7
Passion fruit	1 medium	0.9
Prune	1 medium	1.2
Apricot	1 medium	1.3
Guava	2 medium	2.2
Date (Deglet Noor style)	1 medium	2.6
Cantaloupe	1/8 of med. melon	2.8
Raspberries	1 cup	3.0
Clementine	1 medium	3.4
Kiwifruit	1 medium	3.4
Blackberries	1 cup	3.5
Star fruit	1 medium	3.6
Cherries, sweet	10	3.8
Strawberries	1 cup	3.8
Cherries, sour	1 cup	4.0
Pineapple	1 slice (3.5" x .75")	4.0
Grapefruit, pink or red	1/2 medium	4.3

Fruit	Serving Size	Grams of Fructose
Boysenberries	1 cup	4.6
Tangerine/mandarin orange	1 medium	4.8
Nectarine	1 medium	5.4
Peach	1 medium	5.9
Orange (navel)	1 medium	6.1
Papaya	1/2 medium	6.3
Honeydew	1/8 of med. melon	6.7
Banana	1 medium	7.1
Blueberries	1 cup	7.4
Date (Medjool)	1 medium	7.7
Apple (composite)	1 medium	9.5
Persimmon	1 medium	10.6
Watermelon	1/16 med. melon	11.3
Pear	1 medium	11.8
Raisins	1/4 cup	12.3
Grapes, seedless (green or red)	1 cup	12.4
Mango	1/2 medium	16.2
Apricots, dried	1 cup	16.4
Figs, dried	1 cup	23.0

Everyone always says.. "I want to live for today, and I want to eat what I eat"... just remember "You are what you eat" and if you push your body limits too much for too long then it will eventually push back. Your body's first mission in life is survival. In order to survive your body must find the following:

1. PH balance - alkalinity (found in live raw vegetables)

2. Maintain good Flora (good bacteria found in probiotics)

3. Endurance - achieved thru exercise and helps to properly burn carbohydrates

If you are drowning your body in foods that are high in sugar and carbohydrates than you are creating a war for your body to fight. The more your body has to fight to survive the less it can spend on doing what it was meant to do... 'function' for you. Digestion becomes compromised, toxins build up and pollute your bloodstream, while opening you up for many other disorders that can make you miserable in your daily life and can eventually kill you. If you are already to the point where you are experiencing disease and disorder then more sugar and carbohydrates will only make matters worse.

When we pay attention to our body symptoms we begin to understand our limits. By understanding our limits we can learn how to find balance, experience less disease and disorder, and maintain a healthier lifestyle.

CLICK HERE FOR THE PH BALANCE CHART AND TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALKALINITY THROUGH GOOD FOODS.

Below is a list of foods to learn to limit or avoid:

Sugar - All kinds (cane, palm, etc)

Corn Syrup

Maple Syrup

Jelly/Jam

Peanut Butter with sugar added

Sweet Fruit (bananas, oranges, red apples, tropical fruits, pineapple, mango)

Sweet Veggies (carrots, corn, tomatoes)

Processed foods

Grains, Bean & Potatoes

On a side note, removing sugar and replacing it with Sucralose, Asparatame, Splenda and other synthetic sugars are not the answer you are looking for... they contain chemicals and toxins which are not natural to the body and bring their own problems to overcome. A great all natural replacement is "Stevia". Make sure you buy only the brand that says "Stevia", all others are genetically modified and lack the benefits real "Stevia" can offer. You can also grow your own stevia plant and use the leaves dried or right off of the plant to sweeten recipes and drinks.

In Summary, if prevention is the cure then hopefully you will see this information as a key to possibly what has been ailing you. Hopefully with this you will find relief from your symptoms while you test your body limits and limit your sugar intake.