Sugar. Would a food by any other name taste as sweet?

As it turns out, the answer to that question is yes, and our food industry is literally banking on consumers’ growing appetites for sugar and sweeteners. Americans are expected to consume 11.2 million metric tons of sugar this year alone, much of it through processed foods and in the guise of dozens of different names for sugar.

Take a look at these statistics:

• The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal reported that 74% of products in the U.S. food supply contain added caloric or low-calorie sweeteners, or both.

• A study published by the open-access medical journal BMJ Open found that nearly 60% of an average American’s daily calories come from ‘ultra-processed’ foods – products that contain flavors, colors, sweeteners and other additives that you wouldn’t use at home. These products are the main source of added sugar in the U.S. diet.

• The USDA reported that the average...

Is there any one out there that thinks it’s weird that you have to go to a gym to be healthy? How is it that I have an almost 93-year-old father who never set foot inside a modern-day gym? Sure he played basketball in high school, and he probably played some in the college gymnasiums. But going “to the gym” to work out?! No way. And yet he is still here and has opted to take only one prescription medication. The thing I remember about my mother, who was active until her death at age 84, is that we were always asking her to sit down. My memories of our visits were that she was always running here and there doing the laundry, grabbing a book to share, pulling food out of the freezer for supper, or any number of other activities necessary for running a comfortable home.

When I recall my early years, I never had to worry about weight, feeling strong, or staying healthy. I attribute that in a large part to the activities I was involved in and the diet that I was...

How many of you, in an attempt to take in everything life has to offer, have ever used the phrase – I’ll sleep when I’m dead? In honor of the end of Daylight Saving Time this weekend, yes it’s time to turn the clocks back, I wanted to share my take on the importance of sleep.

I have always been one to make sure that I get my minimum 8 hours of sleep during the night. I was not a night owl growing up. Always to bed between 10-10:30pm. I was always amazed at my friends that were able to stay up late enough on Saturdays to watch Saturday Night Live. I can remember many attempts only to wake up on the sofa having missed the whole episode and longing to be curled up in my nice, warm bed.

What my experience has shown me is that when I don’t get enough sleep my attitude sucks! I’m not a happy person to be around. I’ve also noticed that when I’ve had to force myself to have a stretch of nights where I get less than 8 hours of sleep, I usually...

For most of the kids in the United States, Halloween wouldn’t be Halloween without Trick-or-Treating and bringing in their annual haul of candy! However, looking back to the origins of Halloween it was a little different than what we think of today. It began with the Celtic people as they welcomed in the harvest and ushered in “the dark half of the year.” Their name for this holiday is Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced “SAH-win”) usually celebrated from October 31 to November 1. Celebrants believed that the barriers between the physical world and the spirit world broke down during Samhain, allowing more interaction between humans and denizens of the Otherworld. (1)

So, to remain safe from being taken into the spirit world they would leave offerings outside their homes and villages for the fairies. As years passed the Irish started putting on costumes and going door-to-door singing songs to the dead. In return the homeowners would give them cakes as...

My belief in the philosophy of the healing power of the human body has become more solid with each passing year. This idea about the power that made the body, heals the body was first introduced to me by my brother who was instrumental in my journey into the world of chiropractic.

Over my thirty plus years of practicing chiropractic I have heard story after story of people who have sought allopathic help for their health issues. In the end, they have been left with no resolution of their symptoms. Many went on to find alternative health options such as; chiropractic, homeopathy, acupuncture, naturopaths, health coaches, etc. They were able to manage or completely rid themselves of the symptoms that had once kept them from living their lives to their fullest.

I do believe there is a time and a place for allopathic medicine. If I broke my leg, I would certainly consult a medical doctor to set and immobilize my leg until it healed. And there are other instances where I feel that...

If you were to strike up a conversation about taking time off to do something fun or relaxing, I bet you would be surrounded by people with a “deer caught in the headlights” type of glance.

We have become a society filled with doers. People who must keep busy at all costs. If they are busy with tasks, they can talk themselves into believing that they are working hard. And working hard fills them with a sense of purpose and worth.

In recent years, I have taken a step back and reevaluated my approach to many of the tasks I involve myself with in regard to the workings of my business. And I was often doing things for no other reason than to convince myself that I was indeed working hard because I was busy and didn’t have time to take a break. When in fact I could get the things that truly needed to get done in a lot less time if I just worked more efficiently. And with efficiency came extra time for other things.

I was able to find time to spend a few hours visiting...

Today is all about the green! What a great day to introduce you to all things green when it comes to the foods you eat.  NOW WAIT! Don’t leave me yet.  I’ll be the first to admit that unless green foods involve mint chocolate chip ice cream, key lime pie or, especially on this day – green beer, I was never too quick to pay attention.  But as I have continued to learn more about how the foods and beverages I put into my body influence how I feel, I’ve adopted a new approach when it comes to green foods.  And that is being curious.

For those of you who are struggling with achy joints, foggy or forgetful brains, or just feeling exhausted this could be some life-altering information.  There are several green foods that can help your body heal itself when incorporated into your diet.  The following list of foods are helpful when fighting that ugly word inflammation that’s being tossed around these days.

One of the...

In the year 1926, a baby was born who would come to be known as Mom.  She was given a name that would be forever misspelled and mispronounced…Le Ella Belle.  This was my mother.  She was raised outside a small Nebraska town on a farm with her mom, dad, sister, and brother.  She was the oldest of the three children.  And it wasn’t long before she had sailed through her school lessons and become the teacher herself.

She started teaching school in a one-room schoolhouse because being a schoolteacher was of course a proper job for a woman.  As for my mother, she had bigger dreams.  She wanted to become a nurse.  As the story goes, she was met with resistance from her father.  He had very strong feelings about how “nice girls” would never go into a profession like that and do the things that nurses would have to do.  But my mom had a mind of her own.  And when she got something in her head it was...

When we think of the month of March, the first things that come to mind for most of us are St Patrick’s Day and Mother’s Day.  For me there are family birthdays as well.  But how many of you are aware that there is another day celebrated every March called International Women’s Day.

This day had its beginning in 1909 in New York city.  And was officially marked for the first time on March 19, 1911.  You can read more about the history of International Women’s Day by visiting their website HERE. 

Have you ever wondered when it was that women actually started to make their voices heard?  If you look at recorded history, you’ll find that women back in the days of Plato were speaking about equal rights.  During the 15^th century (1401-1500), several female writers including Christine de Pizan who wrote The Book of the City of Ladies and Mary Wollstonecraft, author of A Vindication of the Rights of Woman argued for greater...

^{Part Four of Four}

After returning home, I felt safe again.  Safety, security what beautiful sensations in my body.  I felt safe in my bones.  And now that I had a sense of safety in my life I could move forward with healing and personal growth.

After a day or two of being home, I thought to look at my calendar with the help of my sisters.  I realized that I had registered for a two-day, 20-hour seminar prior to my hospitalization.  It was in one week.  Ugghhhh.  Could I do it?  Should I do it?  I waited until the day before to make my final decision and figured I wanted to give it a try.  It was an hour and a half away in the Minneapolis/St Paul area.  Jim drove me up there since I had not driven in a long time and I was not comfortable at all behind the wheel.  He would be returning on Sunday evening to bring me back home.  I went into the seminar with my overnight bag to begin day one of the seminar.  My sister...