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Many of my readers and clients often ask me about how they can lose weight around their mid-section, a problematic area that doesn’t seem to go away, no matter how many miles they run or sit-ups they do at the gym or healthy foods they eat daily.

Oftentimes, this extra weight comes from what we all know as “the beer belly.” That unsightly pudge that comes from too drinking too much alcohol, eating a variety of unhealthy/fatty foods, such as processed white flour, sugar and foods low in fiber.

Many of you may be unaware that the average can of beer contains 140 calories, and the averaged mixed-drink has over 600 calories. These are also what are known as “empty-calories” meaning that your body will have to work pretty hard to process them, without getting anything back in the way of vital nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Typically, this leads to weight gain.

What is more, alcohol has been shown to actual interfere with your body’s ability to metabolize fats, meaning that your body actual stores fat much easier. And from this combined effect comes the quintessential beer belly.

The following article will address the beer belly and the active steps you can take to deflate it.

Continue reading: “How to Get Rid of a Beer Belly”

Lately there’s been increasing interest in the effects of lemon juice on the liver. Specifically its effectiveness as a liver detox agent. While there is a good bit of truth to this claim, there’s also a growing pile of misinformation being produced by people who don’t really understand how the human body operates, or the basics of organic chemistry.

Lemon juice naturally contains potent levels of citric acid. When mixed with distilled water and consumed regularly, it can benefit the body in a number of ways.

First and foremost, lemon juice helps break down food in your stomach for better digestion. In part because of its own acidic qualities, and in part because it stimulates the stomach to produce more digestive juices.

Continue reading: “Does Lemon Juice Detox the Liver?”

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Readers of my blog probably won’t be surprised to hear that blueberries and probiotic bacteria are a great way to help the body naturally defend itself against intestinal disease. Still, it’s always nice to see more scientific research making its way into the mainstream media.

This latest clinical study, conducted at Lund University in Sweden, shows that eating blueberries can ease and protect against intestinal inflammation. They also found that these beneficial effects on the body are increased by the consumption of probiotic bacteria along with the berries.

The two researchers, Camilla Bränning and Åsa Håkansson, have found that when taken together, blueberries and common strains of probiotic bacteria performed better than either did when tested alone. They also found this combination to be more effective in fighting the symptoms of intestinal disease than probiotics paired with other types of dietary fiber such as oat and rye bran.

Continue reading: “Study: Blueberries & Probiotics Help Counteract Intestinal Diseases”

We’ve all heard the debate about eating meat and how it may have a negative effect on the environment.

Here are a few reasons why eating an excessive amount of meat may be causing more harm to our planet than good.

The Effects of Meat Production on the Land

Grazing land leads to deforestation and has pushed a number of species to the brink of extinction. Even livestock raised using “factory farming” techniques create the same disproportionate strain on the environment due to the massive quantity of grains necessary to fatten them up. All that grain has to be grown somewhere.

The impact of meat consumption is perhaps most obvious in South America where large portions of tropical rain forest has been leveled for grazing. Some sources estimate that, globally, up to 90% of all deforestation is the result of poorly managed and unsustainable ranching practices.

Continue reading: “Is Eating Meat Bad For The Environment?”

It’s no secret that high fructose corn syrup is detrimental to your health. Unfortunately, it’s also no secret that it has replaced other forms of sugar in a disturbingly large number of manufactured foods. Even worse is that most high fructose corn syrup is made from genetically modified corn.

Since the late 1980s, HFCS has replaced regular table sugar, honey, and similar sweeteners in practically everything. Prolonged consumption of HFCS is now the topic of much debate and we are learning that it can cause long-term damage to the body.

A number of studies conducted over the past few decades indicates that consumption of HFCS is connected with a wide range of health concerns. Here are a few of the more important health dangers of high fructose corn syrup you should know about:

Continue reading: “5 Health Dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup”