The Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen Produce

                                  
                                      Save this image to your phone to reference while shopping. 

Every year the Environmental Working Groupreleases a list of produce with the most (Dirty Dozen) and least (Clean Fifteen) pesticides. It can help you prioritize what fruits and vegetables to buy organic, as nearly 70% of the produce sold in the U.S. comes with pesticide residues, according to EWG. Strawberries topped the list, so be sure to prioritize buying organic. 

Or better yet -- shop at your local farmer's market and talk to the farmers directly about how they grow their fruits and vegetables. 

(This list is sorted alphabetically for quick reference, not in order of greatest pesticide residue.)

Mental Health = Physical Health.

                                          Mental Health = Physical Health.

                               Article: https://www.themorningsun.com/lifestyles/health/loneliness

Low Dose Daily Aspirin: Increased Risk of Stroke

Low Dose Daily Aspirin: Increased Risk of Stroke

"Use of low-dose aspirin was associated with an overall increased risk of intracranial hemorrhage, and heightened risk of intracerebral hemorrhage"

How many times in the past have we seen a drug marketed for a certain benefit only to find out years later that it really wasn't true. Aspirin has been marketed heavily to doctors and patients as a preventative drug. "An aspirin a day is good for heart health!"

I have and will always have a hard time trusting someone who says a perfectly healthy person should take a medication as prevention...to stay healthy. Healthy food, supplements or other natural products I can get on board with but a medication to STAY healthy? Medications work by altering biochemical pathways, which means they will always have side effects. Yes, there is a time and place for certain medications, but that time and place is WAY to often and not to maintain health in someone who is already healthy!

"Pooling the results from the random-effects model showed that low-dose aspirin, compared with control, was associated with an increased risk of any intracranial bleeding (8 trials; relative risk, 1.37; 95% CI, 1.13-1.66; 2 additional intracranial hemorrhages in 1000 people), with potentially the greatest relative risk increase for subdural or extradural hemorrhage (4 trials; relative risk, 1.53; 95% CI, 1.08-2.18) and less for intracerebral hemorrhage and subarachnoid hemorrhage."

Source: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/article-abstract

Good Stress and Bad Stress

Most people know that having too much stress in their lives isn’t healthy but having too little is also very unhealthy especially as people age. 

Using your brain to make tough decisions on a regular basis is critical for long term mental heath and using your muscles on a daily basis is also critical for long term physical health. 

The healthiest clients I have in their 80’s and 90’s have purpose every day they wake up. They worked later in life, had a regular role in taking care of grandkids, have a huge passion for physical things like gardening or do a lot or volunteering on a regular basis.

Depression, Anxiety and Nutrient Deficiency

Depression, Anxiety and Nutrient Deficiency:

Our bodies require certain nutrients from healthy foods to function properly. When we replace those foods with processed junk food we start depleting our body of those vital nutrients.

Anytime your body is lacking nutrients you will start to feel different, and not in a good way. This feeling usually comes across as depression, anxiety and just feeling blah. Your body then tells you to eat more food because it needs more nutrients but eating more junk food that has no nutrients will only magnify the problem leaving you more anxious, depressed and deficient but now you start gaining weight! The cycle only stops when you change what you are eating.

The best way to fix this ASAP is to overload your body with healthy food and to take a natural anti-inflammatory and a multi-vitamin. I find that smoothies loaded with greens and berries are an excellent way to do this along with reducing processed carbohydrates and drinking lots of water.

Negativity Leads to Depression

“Negativity is a downward spiral, meaning that the more you focus on problems instead of solutions, you eventually start to see the negative side of everything in life”

It takes 120 days of focusing on being positive to start rewiring your brain to be positive.

Every time you have a negative thought or comment stop yourself and change it to be positive.

Link: https://dailyhealthpost.com/complaining-brain-negativity

Benefits of Magnesium

1. Magnesium is involved in hundreds of biochemical reactions in your body

In fact, it’s involved in more than 600 reactions in your body, including:

Energy creation: Helps convert food into energy.
Protein formation: Helps create new proteins from amino acids.
Gene maintenance: Helps create and repair DNA and RNA.
Muscle movements: Is part of the contraction and relaxation of muscles.
Nervous system regulation: Helps regulate neurotransmitters, which send messages throughout your brain and nervous system

2. It may boost exercise performance

Studies have shown that supplementing with it can boost exercise performance for athletes, the elderly and people with chronic disease

(Source: healthline.com)

To read about benefits of magnesium, follow this link: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition