Now that winter is upon us, I thought I would share some simple strategies to help you stay healthy throughout the season. The first is a simple ginger tea recipe I have been using for almost 20 year to prevent or treat colds and flu. Iit has always worked and has never lets me down.

I discovered ginger tea when I was living in India in the early 90’s. I went there with the the guys in punk rock band and we traveled, studied and lived the yoga lifestyle first hand. I had an amazing experience that would change my life forever.

My friend and I stayed in temples, ashrams, hostels and sometimes slept on trains on 3 day rides through the jungle. We learned yoga, Ayurveda, cooking and traditional Indian devotional music. Every morning, we would go out to this little cart on the street corner where an old Indian guy would be brewing fresh ginger tea in the early morning just before sunrise. We sipped our homemade ginger tea out of clay cups every day for one month and the recipe has since become an integral part of my life, especially during harsh New York winters.

Ginger is often called an herb or a root, but actually it’s a rhizome, which is like an underground stem. Its aromatic, culinary and medicinal properties have been revered for thousands of years in Asian, Indian and Arabic cultures.

It is also known as East Indian Pepper, Jamaica Ginger, Jamaica Pepper and galangal. It can be white, tan, brown, yellow, pink or red and is cultivated all over the world. Ginger is popular throughout the Caribbean, especially Jamaica.

Although you can find it in many forms (fresh, dried, powder, crystallized, pickled, ground), I use the fresh organic root, (except when using powdered ginger in curry spice mix) which can be easily found at any health food, traditional foods market or grocery store these days.

Food As Medicine

Ginger’s medicinal properties are valued by many cultures and have been proven by modern science: it’s anti-bacterial, anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory and has antioxidant benefits and protective against several types of cancers.

Ginger is often used to treat upset stomach, gas, nausea and diarrhea. It is widely used to prevent or treat nausea associated with motion sickness, pregnancy and cancer chemotherapy.

Ginger reduces all symptoms associated with motion sickness including dizziness, nausea, vomiting and cold sweating.

Ginger is an excellent expectorate, relieving congestion in the chest or sinuses. Ginger is widely used to treat the common cold, flu, headaches and even painful menstrual periods.

Recent studies have shown ginger helps lower cholesterol and prevent blood clotting and thus protecting against heart disease.

Ginger is used by traditional cultures as well as modern health care professionals to treat health problems associated with inflammation, including arthritis and ulcerative colitis.

Ginger is used as a food preservative and is antimicrobial (kills or inhibits the growth of microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi, protozoans, viruses) has been proven to kill e-coli.

Ginger is mineral rich (potassium, manganese, copper, magnesium) and has B vitamins, but its medicinal properties may come from its powerful essential oils and phenolic compounds.

Ginger’s fiery and pungent aroma makes it distinct and is highly valued throughout the Caribbean where it grows wildly in warm, fertile tropical areas. Much of the world’s supply of ginger comes from Jamaica.

How to Make Ginger Tea

I buy ginger root from the health food store and get a piece about the size of the palm of my hand. I determine the freshness by breaking off a piece. The skin should be tight and when you break a piece, it should snap off. If it’s weak, softer and doesn’t have a crisp, clean break, its old and should not be eaten.

Always wash ginger and although some people peel it, I leave the skin on without peeling it. I do cut off the gnarly, dark edges though.

Break or cut off a piece about the size of your thumb and slice it thin (see image above).

Here are two simple ways to make ginger tea:

1 – Put the ginger slices in a pot of water and turn up the heat until it boils. As soon as it boils, take it off the heat and let it cool for 5 – 10 minutes.

2 – Boil some water and add the hot water to your cup of ginger and let steep for 5 – 10 minutes.

I don’t strain the pieces of ginger out (I leave them in and chew on them when finished with the tea). Then, just before you drink it, while its still hot, squeeze in an entire lemon and add a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper and mix it up. Do not add honey or any sweetener. That will do the trick.

The more pepper you use, the hotter it is. It should be hot enough to make you break a sweat. You will also digest any food in your gut. I drink it hot, not warm, and make enough to last for 3-4 cups.

You can adjust the heat of it by how much ginger and pepper you use.

Drink it often to enhance digestion and strengthen your immune system so you can fend off illness. When you’re feeling like your coming down with something – you can blast it out of your system right away using this tea and drink as much as you can tolerate. If you have a cold or flu, it will clear your sinuses, make you sweat and you’ll feel better soon. I have found the more ginger tea, the better. In fact, I have not been sick in years.

Contraindications

Ginger may be contraindicated for people with gallstones or those taking anti coagulants. This information is not medical advice, should not replace the advice of your health care provider and is not used to diagnose, treat or cure anything. Use your intelligence, think logically, research what healthy people do and make your own decisions. Tropicana orange juice and Emergen-C do not prevent colds or flu. Taking responsibility for your health does. If you get sick, there is a plethora of natural remedies that are inexpensive, safer and many cases more effective than conventional medical approaches.

References

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Does Red Meat Cause Cancer, Heart Disease and Eternal Damnation in Hell?

Earlier this week every major news organization published an article on a recent study that was published Monday in Archives of Internal Medicine. A research team led by Rashmi Sinha, Ph.D., from the National Cancer Institute looked at more than 500,000 people aged 50 to 71 and came to the conclusion that red meat causes cancer, heart disease and if we avoid it, we will live longer.

Headlines read ‘Want to live longer? Cut back on red meat’ and ‘Premature death from red meat’ and other similar sensational titles.

You want to know the real deal with red meat?

The truth is this — If you want to avoid illness, disease and live a long robust life, you may not need to cut back on red meat. You may, however, need to cut back on TV and consider giving yourself a detox from mainstream news sources. You also need the ability to think for yourself and not believe everything you read.

Seriously, you do need to understand some FACTS about red meat which were not covered in ANY of the articles I saw.

You also need to understand a few simple TRUTHS that were completely ignored by this massive study that created more mass confusion than anything else.

I’m Glad I’m Not an Oscar Meyer Weiner

The red meat in the study included all types of beef and pork (I thought pork was ‘the other white meat’?), bacon, cold cuts, ham, sausage, hamburgers, hot dogs, steak, as well as meat in pizza, chili, lasagna and stew.

So I’m going to drop some serious nutritional knowledge bombs on this report and give you solutions so you can eat what we are designed to eat, support your local economy, promote a healthy planet and avoid disease.

Chemicals and Cancer

The first thing I noticed in almost every news report was that they ignored the fact that processed meats are made with chemicals, including sodium nitrate or nitrite, a preservative, flavor and color enhancer that’s also used in fertilizer.

Nitrates, along with excess table salt and smoking, extend the shelf-life of these crap products so they last longer in 7-11’s, truck stops and other fine dining establishments that are frequented by many discerning Americans.

When these processed foods are heated, the protein breaks down and combines with nitrites to form compounds known as nitrosamines. There are many different types of nitrosamines, most of which are known carcinogens. Nitrosamines promote the growth of various cancers, including colorectal cancer and pancreatic cancer.

Dioxin – a proven carcinogen (causes cancer) is found in commercially raised meats & dairy.

No one really knows what happens when you combine different toxins in your diet – especially after they have been cooked.

Solution: The real issue here is the type of meat. Do not eat commercially processed meats. They are not fit for human consumption. Choose Grass fed Meats & Eggs from pastured chickens

If you cant take the heat…

Cooking meat at high temperatures (especially when frying, broiling and barbecuing) produces heterocyclic amines as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, the compounds found on charred food, both are known carcinogens.  The longer the meat is cooked and the higher the temperature, the more of these compounds are produced

Also, what few people realize are some other problems associated with commercially produced processed meats. The FDA has approved a potent mixture of six bacteria-killing viruses designed to be sprayed on these ready-to-eat meat and poultry products.

Although many people falsely believe this is a good idea – to prevent disease – they fail to realize the truth: processed meat manufacturers should NOT BE PRODUCING bacteria-laden meat that needs to be purified with viruses. How about addressing the problem at its source?

Solution: Cook foods as little as possible. This does not mean you should go out and become a raw food vegan. Eat grass fed meat and eat it as rare as possible. Support local, small family farms that are healthy, clean & safe and produce high quality food that is superior to commercially produced food.

The Real Deal on Red Meat

The main issue in this report is the FAILURE to distinguish between grass fed meat and grain fed, factory farmed animals, living in unnatural conditions that make them sick so they have to be drugged up which actually makes them sicker and since they are eating grains (an unnatural diet), they get develop an unhealthy fatty acid ratio (among many other serious problems) which make them unfit for human consumption and oh yeah, carcinogenic when eaten.

Cattle are designed to eat grass, not grains. When you feed grains to cattle, they get fat and sick. When humans eat sick animals, they get fat and sick. Pretty simple formula.

When cows eat grass and freely graze, they are healthy. This is called ‘nature’. It’s a perfect system and worked without a hitch until the turn of the century. Once we started using chemicals for farming and feeding grains to cows and confined them into dirty feed lots with little (or no) exposure to grass and sunshine and started drugging them up, we ran into some very serious health problems.

Grass Fed vs. Grain Fed

Grass fed meat has less total fat, less saturated fat, less cholesterol and fewer calories. It has 400% more vitamins A and E, vitamin C, omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA).

Grass fed beef is the richest known source of CLA. With 300 – 400% more CLA than grain fed animals, CLA is a potent cancer fighter that also reduces body fat, increases metabolic rate, enhances muscle growth, lowers cholesterol and triglycerides, lowers insulin resistance, reduces food-induced allergic reactions as well as enhances the immune system.

You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out the difference between these two types of cattle farming. One produces meat that is healthy and the other produces food that is deadly. One preserves the environment while the other destroys it.

Alpha & Omega

Grain fed beef has higher levels of omega-6 fat, which may promote heart disease, and less omega-3 fat, which is beneficial for heart health.

Grass fed beef has higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids which are essential for normal growth, brain function, reduced body fat and have been proven to lower the risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer, depression, arthritis, allergies, auto-immune disorders, obesity and diabetes.

Research has revealed that too much omega-6 in the diet creates imbalances result in inflammation, high blood pressure, irritation of the digestive tract, depressed immunity, sterility, cell proliferation, blood clots, cancer and weight gain.
If you’re eating a diet high in omega-6 fats, you could be vulnerable to prostate, colorectal and breast cancers.

For millions of years up until the end of World War II, omega-3 and omega-6 ratios in our diet were in favor of omega-3s (1:1 – 1:2). Now, that ratio is closer to 25:1.

Around the turn of the century, heart attacks were rare. Today, heart disease is the number one killer.

Simply look at all the grain fed animals we are eating along with the consumption of vegetable oils (high in omega 6) and the solution is simple. Do not eat commercially produced meat and avoid vegetable oils.

‘Life in all its fullness is Mother Nature obeyed.”

Weston A Price

Is Your Brain on Drugs?

Grain fed cattle are injected with growth hormones, antibiotics, vaccines and other drugs. Grass fed cattle got the straight edge – they are drug free.

Grass fed farming does not use fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides and other dangerous chemicals. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) considers 60% of herbicides, 90% of fungicides and 30% of insecticides to be carcinogenic.

Pesticides are neurotoxic, disrupt the endocrine system, carcinogenic and immune suppressive. Pesticide exposure may also affect male reproductive function and has been linked to miscarriages in women.

E. coli, mad cow or foot and mouth is much less of a concern with naturally raised grass fed cows. These are issues stemming from dirty, overcrowded confined feedlots.

Solution: Start your own farm or choose grass fed & organic food.

4 Day Rotation Diet

The first thing I thought of when I read the report is ‘Who eats like this everyday?’
Apparently, millions of Americans do. You would have to be nuts to eat this type of diet on a daily basis.

Nobody should eat the same thing everyday, especially not crappy processed meat.

Solution: Rotate your protein sources every four days. Choose grass fed and organic meats and don’t be a wiener – never eat commercially processed meat.
Also, not everyone should be eating red meat as often as other people should.

We are all unique and have different requirements for food. Some people (we call ‘Protein Types’) require more red meats and can’t tolerate carbs so well.

Others (called ‘Carb Types’) require leaner (white) meats and can tolerate carbs much better.

Then there are people like me, who fall in the middle and have a ‘Mixed Type’ of metabolism.

Solution: Eat according to your metabolic type.

The Data Was Collected How?

The study looked at people aged 50 to 71 and relied on self reporting.
Memory recall for Americans aged 50 – 71? Are you kidding me?

From my professional experience, you can not trust food memory of people in ANY age bracket. Most Americans I have met, know nothing about nutrition, health and food is simply not priority for them.

Asking people to recall what they ate is not reliable for most people – at any age. Most people
underestimate how much they eat and since almost every unhealthy person has a emotional issue tied to food, there will be unreliable reporting.

And how many Americans that age have sharp memories especially about something that is not a priority for them?

Solution: Eat grass fed meats as the saturated fat and omega 3 fatty acids support optimal brain function & focus. Get Grass fed Meats by CLICKING HERE.

Nature is Perfect – Industrialized Farming is Flawed

Commercial, industrialized animal farming and meat processors produce sick animals and inferior, disgusting products that make people sick and cause cancer.

Grass fed meat – when kept raw or as rare as possible, is very healthy.

It has sustained human culture for close to 3 million years. Nature is perfect. It is ignorance of this fact that causes problems on both an individual health and global scale.  As soon as people wake up to the fact that nature cannot be beat, no matter how hard you try, and as soon as we start showing respect for this planet, its people and its resources, instead of trying to exploit every possible thing that modern man can get his greedy hands on without any thought of the consequences…the sooner more people will be happier, healthier and relatively free from cancer and heart disease like our ancestors were.

The study has many flaws and just so you know, this happens on a regular basis regarding health & nutrition.

Start your detox and learn the truth about real food. You will be healthier and happier and can avoid the diet & lifestyle diseases that are plaguing Americans (and other cultures who play follow the leader).

Here are some resources to help you find Grass fed Meats:

Antonio Approved Grass Fed Meats

http://www.eatwild.com

http://hawthornevalleyfarm.org

http://www.eatwellguide.org

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If you value your health and your freedom to choose unpolluted food, then your help is needed.

The USDA is trying to mandate a program that will be so costly and bureaucratic for small farmers that it will likely drive them out of business.

Why Small Farms Are So Important

Organic food is an essential part of good health because it is not exposed to the nutrient destruction and chemical toxicity of modern, industrial farming practices. Many farmers are pressured into using chemicals and depleting their soil to keep up with the industry. As a result, many of the foods you see in your local supermarket are low in nutrients and are loaded with chemical residues.

Organic farming requires a significant amount of effort and care. With the advancement of chemical based agriculture, industrial farming has become a big business and most large farms are more interested in profits than environmental sustainability and the quality of food they produce. As such, even certified organic food doesn’t always meet the top level of quality that you’d expect it to.

Small farmers are often passionate about what they do, particularly the ones who have embraced organic and sustainable practices. They are less likely to take shortcuts, and because they don’t have the overhead of a big business to deal with, they are free to focus most of their efforts on producing high quality food.

Although not all small farmers can afford to offer certified organic food, small farms still provide a majority of the world’s healthiest supply of food. Because of new legislation that is underway, we are at risk of losing this invaluable resource and it’s up to us to do something about it!

NAIS – The National Animal Identification System

NAIS is an animal identification system that the USDA has been trying to mandate for about 5 years. According to the USDA, the program is intended to improve food safety, but in reality, it’s more likely to worsen it.

Under this program, anyone owning livestock would be required to register their property, tag each animal with a computerized chip, and report the activity of each animal to the USDA. This even applies to some pet owners. For example, someone owning just a single horse would have to register their property and report to the government each time the horse was taken off the property.

While this program could potentially be useful for the regulation of large factory farms, it’s far too extreme for small farmers and can even be considered unconstitutional. Adding insult to injury, farmers would be required to buy the equipment needed to follow the program. If the hassle doesn’t push small farmers out of business, then the expense will!

Food Safety – What a Joke!

As I said, this program is intended to improve food safety. With a mandatory “48 hour traceback”, the USDA argues that they’ll be better able to manage the spread of disease outbreak, but wouldn’t it make a lot more sense for a food safety program to prevent disease rather than just manage it?

Because small farmers tend to follow natural and organic farming practices, they raise healthy animals that rarely get sick. This is in direct contrast to the factory farms where sickness is common and antibiotics are used as a preventative measure. While the practices of small farmers represent what food safety should be about, the NAIS program would make life more difficult for these small farmers than anyone else.

Furthermore, if the USDA is serious about food safety, perhaps they should revisit their own inspection process. In 2007, over 22 million pounds of ground beef were recalled despite every package of it being inspected by the USDA!

Is it About Safety or Politics?

Possibly the scariest aspect of NAIS is the potential control that it gives the government. Based on the political influence of agricultural companies like Monsanto, this control can easily lead to small farmers being forced to implement the highly toxic and destructive practices that these companies promote and profit from. With this in mind…

If you’ve never heard of Monsanto, a corporation that is putting small farmers out of business, destroying the Earth’s top soiI and genetically modifying foods and animals, I highly recommend that you visit:

The Millions Against Monsanto link uncovers this dangerous company and the strong political influence they have over US government.

Finally, consider who benefits most from NAIS. Technology companies will certainly benefit from the tags and computer systems that the program requires. More importantly, agricultural companies like Monsanto will benefit by their products being a part of the “best practices” imposed on farmers to control disease outbreak. In contrast, the small farmer gets nothing but grief and we lose the ability to choose where our food comes from. In my opinion, this sounds a lot more like corporate cronyism than a food safety program!

Take Action!

If you have any regard for your right to choose where your food comes from, please take action by opposing NAIS! The following website makes it very easy to send a letter to the USDA stating your opposition.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD!

Unfortunately, speaking out against NAIS may not be enough. New legislation has been proposed in Congress that will combine the USDA and FDA into a single “Food Safety Administration”, but also create a backdoor for the USDA to mandate the NAIS program.

You can voice your opinion against this legislation as well through the following link:

For more information on NAIS and this proposed legislation, visit:

No to NAIS

The Death of Organic This is a radio show hosted by my friend Sean from www.UndergroundWellness.com

Why NAIS Must be Stopped. A video presentation about by the Environmental Conservation Organization

Monsanto Punishing Farmers. An article by Linn Cohen-Cole describing the political connections of Monsanto in regards to this legislation.

This post was written by my friend Vin Miller. Vin is a certified Holistic Nutritionist & Lifestyle Expert and Certified Personal Trainer. Vin’s expertise comes through rebuilding his own health and is passionate about helping others to do the same. Check out his website http://www.naturalbias.com

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Last week’s radio show on cholesterol is something you dont want to miss.

check it out…http://www.blogtalkradio.com/undergroundwellness

This live nutrition workshop can change your life,

get tickets to this event immediately as it will sell out!

The Oiling of America

Evening Workshop with Sally
Fallon, Author of the bestselling, Nourishing
Traditions and President of the Weston A. Price Foundation

Friday, February 20th, 7-9
pm
Community Church of NY, 40 East 35th
St. (Park &
Madison) Manhattan

Misinformation and deception in heart disease research

The vital role of cholesterol and saturated fats in human biochemistry

The behind-the-scenes influence of the powerful vegetable oil industry

How the cholesterol theory of heart disease has led to our current health crisis

Dangers of cholesterol-lowering drugs

What traditional foods are & why they are so critical for our health

Sally Fallon is the founding president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a non-profit nutrition education foundation that provides science based information on nutrition, cholesterol and dietary fats. She is the author of the best selling cookbook, Nourishing Traditions and Eat Fat, Lose Fat,
both with Mary G. Enig, PhD, the first scientist to warn the public about the dangers of trans fatty acids.

Workshop Fee:
$20

Registration:
Space is limited. Pre-registration is strongly suggested
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/54312

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A recent poll by the American Psychologist Association showed Americans are turning to junk food, alcohol and ‘comfort’ foods when stressed. I also see it every day in New York City – the more stress goes up, the more business for Starbucks. This might be a popular, but it is not a wise coping strategy and causes more stress in many other ways.

Your diet & lifestyle have a profound and underappreciated effect on your moods and physical stress response. I will cover some basics of nutrition & stress tips that will help you cope and get healthy at the same time!

Every meal produces a hormonal response. Your hormones control your emotions and thus affect your perception. Certain foods trigger a stress response while others can help you stay calm by balancing your energy and hormonal systems. What you eat before, during and after any stressful event will either help you cope or make it difficult to deal. Here are some tiups that will help you stay focused and energized during the economic crisis.

Eat a fat, protein and a carb at every meal or snack.

Since all carbs are sugars, eating a carb by itself (or skipping meals) is a sure fire way to create energy & hormonal imbalances. Yes, fruits and vegetables are carbs, the best carbs in fact. So choosing smart carbs like fruit and veggies, but also including a fat and protein, will help you tremendously.

Eat 4-6 times per day, no matter what! This creates hormonal balance and maintains energy levels so you can cope effectively.

You are designed to drink nothing but water. Even a small drop in your water needs can trigger brain fog. Drink half your body weight in ounces of water each day, spread throughout the day.

Sugar, in all its forms, triggers hormonal volatility. Artificial sweeteners can also trigger brain chemistry imbalance and cravings which not only make it difficult to deal, but also create more physical stress later in the day.

Due to the high prevalence and under diagnosed reality that is celiac disease, it may be helpful to simply avoid grains and notice how you feel. If you are gluten intolerant and don’t know about it, you could be eating foods that cause a whole host of health problems, including brain chemistry imbalance and digestive problems.

There are many other foods that trigger energy and hormonal imbalances and these are just a few.

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Your brain & body are amazing.

They come with a 24 hour, all natural, highly efficient pharmacy that dispenses the right drugs in the right amounts at the right times.

During stressful times, the brain & body produces bio-chemicals and hormones from this pharmacy that help you stay calm, alert, focused and elevate your mood.

One of these bio-chemicals is serotonin – a natural antidepressant and sleep aid.

We also have a supply of chemicals needed for focus and vitality. These little guys keep us alert, upbeat and give us an overall sense of well-being – they are called catecholamines.

Serotonin, catecholamines and other bio-chemicals are made from the food we eat, specifically, from amino acids which are the building blocks of protein.

Different protein foods have different amino acid profiles. Two aminos in particular – tryptophan and tyrosine – are involved in the production of serotonin and catecholamines.

Our body’s natural pharmacy can also become depleted by recreational drugs, stimulants (caffeine), dieting & skipping meals, processed foods that have crappy flours, bad fats, sugars and artificial sweeteners.

Our all-natural pharmacy can either be fully stocked, totally depleted or anywhere in between – depending on our diet & lifestyle.

When we are stressed, we naturally use up these bio-chemicals. So it makes sense then to choose foods that are higher in these aminos to support us in times like these.

Unfortunately, most people tend to do the opposite. Many Americans do things that deplete these bio-chemicals, like reach for coffee, alcohol or junk food. Excuses like ‘it takes the edge off’ or ‘it calms my nerves’ or delusional concepts like ‘comfort foods’ often accompany this approach. Before you know it, your overwhelmed, overweight, exhausted, underslept, underfed, have bags under your eyes, blood pressure is off the charts! Welcome to Burnout.

A much more intelligent, sustainable and profitable approach to reducing stress, improving health and vitality and preventing burnout, would be the exact opposite of what’s most popular. Eat specific foods that enhance health, give us energy and keep our body’s pharmacy stocked up, simultaneously avoiding the stimulants & habits that deplete them.

These 5 foods are high in tryptophan and tyrosine which support your body’s production of serotonin and catecholamines. These foods can alter your mood and offer many other benefits that are essential for reducing stress and improving health & wellness. Best of all, there are no side effects, nervousness and no risk of addiction.

One of the primary reasons for choosing organic and grass fed foods is the fact that pesticides are potent neurotoxins and endocrine disruptors. These man made chemicals are poisonous to the brain and alter hormonal levels. Do your best to eat grass fed and organic foods whenever possible.

Eggs – Make sure you get truly free range, pastured chickens that run around outside eating the insects & foods they are supposed to eat which allows them to lay healthy eggs. Eggs are high in tyrosine and tryptophan. They also contain cholesterol and saturated fat which are essential for the production of all your hormones and helps sustain good energy levels throughout the day.

You can eat them raw, fried, hard boiled or baked. Keep the yolk intact when eating eggs. You can eat eggs often, but only have scrambled eggs and omelets occasionally.

My favorite sources are: grazinangusacres.com

Pumpkin, Sesame, Sunflower & Chia Seeds – Mineral dense and packed with energy and essential fatty acids which support brain health. These seeds are also highest in tryptophan. You can easily make your own trail mix by adding some figs (and other fruits) which is another good mood food.

Coconut oil – this is my favorite oil to cook eggs with. Although it doesn’t have any amino acids, it is required for overall brain health and hormonal balance. The cholesterol is needed for proper function of serotonin receptors in the brain. Low cholesterol levels are linked to aggressive and violent behavior, depression and suicidal tendencies. Cholesterol is also a primary ingredient for our ‘repair & recovery’ hormones that allow us to recover after a day of hard work and other hormones that maintain steady blood sugar levels (energy levels), proper mineral balance and blood pressure. Coconut oil also supports healthy thyroid function.

My favorite source for coconut oil and trail mix: wildernessfamilynaturals.com

Stress Reducing Fruits – the fruits that are highest in tryptophan & tyrosine include avocado, kiwi, cranberries, raisins, guava, plantains, figs and last but certainly not least, starfruit. If some of these fruits are not part of your normal routine, then when would be the perfect time to get more variety into your diet while eating good mood foods that are also juicy and delicious.

My favorite source is the local green market: localharvest.org

Wild Game – Wild game, especially duck and goose, are much higher in these powerful amino acids than chicken or turkey. Elk, caribou and rabbit are the highest game meats with tryptophan. Lamb, rabbit and bison (buffalo) are game meats that are highest in tyrosine. Wild game meats are mineral rich and supply fat-soluble vitamins A and D which are catalysts for the assimilation of protein (aminos) and minerals. Vitamin D, whose only food source is animal fat, can fight fatigue, depression and SAD (seasonal affective disorder). Venison is also a high performance, nutrient dense protein that is also mineral rich and loaded with B vitamins which are necessary for energy production.

My favorite source is: grasslandbeef.com & brokenarrowranch.com

Healthy Native Americans who ate a 100% organic, grass fed diet. They had no air conditioning, no central heating systems, no Advil, no Prozac, no Tums with Calcium, no Muscle Milk and hunted wild animals. Cabeza de Vaca wrote “The men could run after a deer for an entire day without resting and without apparent fatigue. . . one man near seven feet in stature. . . runs down a buffalo on foot and slays it with his knife or lance, as he runs by its side’

Their diet was high in saturated animal fats & protein, nuts, seeds, seasonal fruits & vegetables they were a strong and robust culture that lived virtually free from modern diseases like depression, obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

So I gave you more than 5 foods. I gave you a bunch of whole foods that will enhance your overall health, wellness, vitality, energy levels and even help you get more variety into your daily routine – all of which support you while dealing with stress. Because these foods are high specific aminos that help supply our natural pharmacy with serotonin and catecholamines, a comprehensive stress management program means not only avoiding foods & habits that are stressful, but also choosing smart foods that are supportive.

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