Cravings | Unhealthy Food made Healthy

Blogging for Fun Fridays, unhealthy foods made healthy!

Well this was a bit difficult for me as I eat a reasonably healthy diet. I'm allergic to chocolate, have been from a child. I do however crave Hot Cross Buns and Spicy Fruit Loaf. These two things are particularly difficult to make healthy, so I shall just leave these in the 'cravings' and 'treat food' bin.

What I can offer, is a healthy alternative to energy drinks. My favourite of all energy drinks is 'V' without the sugar, its bitter and really nice. It is expensive to drink all the time, the instant 'up' or 'buzz' you get is great, of course due to all that lovely caffine. The down side of course is when it wears off, I actually feel more tired than I did before I drank one to 'wake me up'.



The healthy alternative I have is Crave Energy Drink; Simply mix one packet into approximately 1/2 - 1litre of pure water or whatever other beverage you prefer and drink slowly. You will love the taste and in just a few minutes you will feel the most incredible energy come over you. The energy will last about 4-6 hours on average.

No Headaches
Unlike the majority of energy drinks on the market Crave will not give you a headache. Crave is not loaded with large amounts of sugar (less than 1gram) or artificial sweeteners that causes headaches for many people..

Only 9 Calories
Calorie counting? And, who's not these days.....well with Crave you get only 9 calories per serving. What a way to count calories!

I also make for breakfast some mornings if I know I'm going to have a particularly hard day at work a;
Crave Banana Smoothie

• 1 banana
• 1 cup of low fat plain yoghurt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup orange juice
• 1 sachet of crave
• handful of ice

Place all ingredients in a blender, blend till smooth. One delicious, healthy, power packed energy drink to set you off on your day.

I drink Crave daily, I take a 1.5litre drink bottle with only half a sachet of Crave, with me in to work and drink that all day. I have a cleaning business that I work myself, I find with Crave, it gives me the much needed energy that I need to see me through my day. I also drink just plain water as well to keep well hydrated.

Enjoy more energy today.
Julie McClelland

Life with Limu Plus

Limu Plus
The best of nature and science combined!

• Improve blood function*
• Equip the body to adapt to stressors
• Improve digestion*
• Enhance skin and cellular growth*

Treat your body right. You live in a fastpaced world. Sometimes you make choices that are not the best for your health and happiness.

That’s why you need a product that supports your body’s natural functions and helps you find your center. Take care of yourself and the people you love with Limu Plus.

Discover Wellness Discover wellness with Vitamark, the makers of Limu Plus. You’ve heard about the nutritional benefits of kelp. Limu Plus, a wellness breakthough, the best of nature and science combined. Add one or two ounces of Limu Plus to your daily diet and discover wellness for yourself.

Fucoidan One of nature’s health secrets has been discovered in the waters off the coast of the Pacific island of Tonga. According to research, this complex carbohydrate may lend extraordinary support to the body’s immune functions. Fucoidan is also said to: Assist with joints* Improve digestion* Offer liver support* Improve blood function* Improve stomach function* Enhance skin and cellular growth*

Advanced Russian Adaptogens The strength of Limu Plus does not stop at fucoidan. This revolutionary elixir also contains advanced Russian adaptogens. Adaptogens are a rare class of plant first identified by Russian scientists. In the mid-1950s, the Russian government commissioned its Academy of Sciences to create a product to enhance human performance. The product had to accomplish three objectives: Be safe and non-toxic to the body Support cellular health Equip the body to adapt to stressors In a society where, according to the American Medical Association, more than 80 percent of health challenges may be related to stressors, the adaptogens in Limu Plus could be your answer for alleviating stress.* This adaptogen blend helps support: Better focus* Mental energy* Stamina* Enhanced sleep* Less toxicity* Better attention to detail* Mood improvement* Improvement in the aging process* Antioxidant capability* Cellular balance*

Superior Absorption: Aloe Vera & GreenTea To be effective, a health beverage must be readily absorbed by the body. One of the best “conductive vehicles” to increase effectiveness in the body is aloe vera. The International Aloe Science Council (IASC) points out the long, illustrious history of the semi-tropical plant called aloe vera. It dates from ancient antiquity and has been mentioned throughout history for its beauty-enhancing, health and medicinal properties.* Aloe vera contains more than 70 essential ingredients and more than 200 biologically active compounds. These include vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, proteins, polysaccharides (called the master molecule) and biological stimulators. Along with ACTIValoe, Vitamark adds Green Tea and Taheebo Tea—some of nature’s strongest antioxidants—to Limu Plus. These two ingredients increase the antioxidant properties of Limu Plus while insuring the bioavailability of nutrients.

The Highest Production Standards To create a quality product like Limu Plus demands the highest standard of raw materials and manufacture. Working with one of the leading manufacturers of high quality nutritional supplements in the world, Vitamark delivers the best. Vitamark’s Limu Moui is harvested by hand to insure that only the best plant material is selected and the process is friendly to the Tongan ecosystem. It is then carefully processed to preserve its beneficial essence. Our adaptogenic plants are also selectively harvested at an exact point during the growing season to insure peak potential. Then, to harness the potency, experts with more than thirty years of experience process the plants. These ingredients are formulated under the legendary production standards of our manufacturer using state-of-the-art technology. That’s why Limu Plus is the best of nature and science combined. Great Taste Limu Plus tastes great. You will look forward to drinking it every day for optimal health. Limu Plus is a breakthrough product like no other.

My Testimonial I'm a great fan of this product. I've being taking this now for several months and the difference it has made to me internally and externally for me is great. I like to trial products for a period and then stop using them to see what impact the products really have had on my system. I have found myself of late to be physically exhausted. Every muscle in my body ached. Since I've introduced Limu Plus, I'm not as physically achey, I have more energy, I sleep well, therefore wake up feeling like I have slept well. As per my regime of trialing, I stopped taking Limu Plus, it only took a few days for me to feel exhausted again. So for me this is really a no brainer. I also have two teenage boys, you know how fussy they can be, sometimes worse than pre-schoolers when it comes to taking something 'foreign'. Both my boys take it, like it and can see the difference for themselves in their skin and both aren't as lethargic as they were...perfect solution for those parents out there that are so over their lack lustre, lethargic teens. You too can feel the benefits of Limu Plus. Julie McClelland * These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Omega 3 Women

Omega 3 Essential for Women

As girls, women, mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers we tend to forget to look at ourselves and treat ourselves well, properly well.

Some of us treat ourselves with Spa’s, massages, facelifts, botox, manicure and pedicures. Most of us have some sort of daily beauty regime of, face and body, hair, clothes; exercise whether it be walking the dog or going to your local gym, taking the stairs instead of the lift, too not bothering at all. We are all conscious of what we eat, whether we are on a diet, watching our weight, just eating as part of our daily routine. Some of us take vitamins to enhance our diets, the majority of us don’t.

The time has come for those of us that don’t have a high Omega 3 diet to change that. There is scientific proof that Omega 3 fatty acids (omega-3 FA) help in the prevention of various common conditions affecting women;

• Dysmenorrhea – period/menstruation pain. This normal occurrence in many women is anything from mild discomfort to spending the first day or so at home in bed with hot water bottles and painkillers. Increase in Omega 3 FA’s can reverse the symptoms of this.

• Pregnancy. Increase in Omega 3 FA can assist with women having fertility problems; supplementing diets during pregnancy lowers the risk of premature births, promotes good fetal growth; and taken during pregnancy and breast-feeding may facilitate good brain development in the baby.

• Menopause, postmenopausal osteoporosis, preeclampsia, postpartum depression, breast cancer and cardiovascular disease all containable/controllable by supplementing our diets with Omega 3 FA.
  

Omega 3 Fatty Acids - according to Wikipedia;

n−3 fatty acids (popularly referred to as ω−3 fatty acids or omega-3 fatty acids) are a family of unsaturated fatty acids that have in common a final carbon–carbon double bond in the n−3 position; that is, the third bond from the methyl end of the fatty acid.

Important nutritionally-essential n−3 fatty acids are: α-linolenic acid (ALA), eicosapentaenoic aciddocosahexaenoic acid (DHA), all of which are polyunsaturated. The human body cannot synthesize n−3 fatty acids de novo, but it can form 20- and 22-carbon unsaturated n−3 fatty acids from the eighteen-carbon n−3 fatty acid, α-linolenic acid. These conversions occur competitively with n−6 fatty acids, which are essential closely related chemical analogues that are derived from linoleic acid. Both the n−3 α-linolenic acid and n−6 linoleic acid are essential nutrients which must be obtained from food. Synthesis of the longer n−3 fatty acids from linolenic acid within the body is competitively slowed by the n−6 analogues. Thus accumulation of long-chain n−3 fatty acids in tissues is more effective when they are obtained directly from food or when competing amounts of n−6 analogs do not greatly exceed the amounts of n−3.[citation needed] (EPA), and

We all know that we can get Omega 3 FA's through food sources; Tuna, Salmon, Mackerel, Eggs, Meat, Flax and other botanical sources. We can also access Omega 3 through supplements;

Omega III with EPA (eicosapenteaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is a source of essential fatty acid derived from the purest fish oils. Vitamark insists on both molecular distillation and absorbent technology to ensure the efficacy, potency and purity of our Omega 3 product.

Sometimes referred to as “good fats,” essential fatty acids impact almost all of the body’s key functions, including pain mechanisms, inflammatory processes, circulation, gastrointestinal function, fluid system, nervous system, and hormones.* They are particularly important for the formation of healthy cell membranes.*

Women's Health - Your Health

Julie McClelland


* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Omega 3 Men

Omega 3 Men! Kerpow, Kerplunk, Zapped...ok I'm not that good at this action man stuff, that's okay, can't be good at everything.

As I was researching the effects of Omega 3, for woman actually, then I thought about our counterparts and started researching for men, I came across Wikipedia and their definition "Omega Men"!

Did you know that Omega Men are actually fictional extraterrestrial superheros from the Vegan System - not vegan as in vegetarians - Vega is known to be the brightest star in the constellation Lyra, the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest start in the northern hemisphere!

How on earth I ask did this come about - must be a comic seris written by a man!! LOL!

There is lots of documentation available on the net, health magazines, medical magazines, health shops extolling the benefits of Omega III for Men. It is known in medical fields that by taking Omega III, whether it be by supplements or eating fatty fish such as tuna, salmon, herrings and mackarel, it benefits you in numerous ways;

• Cardovascular Disease
• Cholestrol levels
• Reduces Arthritis swelling
• Maintains normal eye function
• Enhances brain function
  
• Alzhiemers Disease
• Extends life expectancy

It is also documented fact that various cultures around the world that have a very high 'fish' diet; there is a strong correlation between the Eskimos' low incidence of heart disease and their high consumption of fatty fish, a finding that has also been founded in studies of other fish-eating cultures; Japan, Alaska, and the Mediterranean.

So what are Men doing to take advantage of this information? Reality, not a lot. Men for whatever reason seem to perceive eating fish (good fatty fish) to not be keeping up with their carnivorous appetite and that 'real men' don't eat Quiche, fish and anything else that isn't a Fred Flinstone Dinosauric T'Rex Steak, Burger, Ribs, drowned in gravy with a side of chips!

Did you also know? I discovered whilst researching this, looking for a different take on 'healthy promotion' of Omega 3, the 'Flintstones' have a healthy range of vitamin supplements because they have seen the marketability of a range of products moving away from 'caveman' mentality, into the 'new age man' mentality of healthy living.

so...for those men of you out there that don't want to give up your healthy meat diets, Vitamarks' "Omega III with EPA (eicosapenteaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) is a source of essential fatty acid derived from the purest fish oils. Vitamark insists on both molecular distillation and absorbent technology to ensure the efficacy, potency and purity of our Omega 3 product.

Sometimes referred to as “good fats,” essential fatty acids impact almost all of the body’s key functions, including pain mechanisms, inflammatory processes, circulation, gastrointestinal function, fluid system, nervous system, and hormones.* They are particularly important for the formation of healthy cell membranes.*"

Become a 'Super' Omega Man today
Julie McClelland
Enjoy Life and Live your Dreams

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Prostate Health Solutions

I’ve learned there are four main disorders of the prostate, which may include one or more of the following symptons:


Waking frequently at night to urinate
Sudden or urgent need to urinate
Difficulty in starting to urinate
Slow flow of urine and difficulty in stopping
Discomfort when urinating
Painful ejaculation
Blood in the urine or semen
Decrease in libido (sex urge)
Reduced ability to get an erection



If you can tick off one or more of the above symptoms I would recommend that you contact your GP or Health Professional for a consultation.

The Prostrate Cancer Foundation of Australia; have extensive information available for you to further your own knowledge should you wish.

According to both sites the four main disorders are;

Prostatitis; is a benign (non life threatening) condition. It is NOT prostate cancer.
Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH); or enlargement (BHE) is quite common in older men. It is a benign condition and is NOT prostate cancer.
Prostatodynia; this is long standing or chronic prostate disease. There are usually no clear signs of infection or inflammation but there may be pain or discomfort in the pelvic region. Treatments are varied including antibiotics, non –steroid anti-inflammatory agents, muscle relaxants and sometimes medications for chronic pain.
Prostate cancer; is the only one of the four disorders that is potentially life-threatening. One of the most worrying aspects is that many prostate cancers develop without men experiencing ANY SYMPTOMS.

Prostate cancer occurs when some of the cells of the prostate reproduce far more rapidly than in a normal prostate, causing a swelling or tumour. However, unlike BPH, prostate cancer cells eventually break out of the prostate and invade distant parts of the body, particularly the bones and lymph nodes, producing secondary tumours, a process known as metastasis. Once the cancer escapes from the prostate, treatment is possible but “cure” becomes impossible.

Prostate cancer is usually one of the slower growing cancers. In the past, it was most frequently encountered in men over 70, and many of those men died of other causes before their prostate cancer could kill them. This led to the old saying “most men die with, not of, prostate cancer”.

However, that is certainly is not true today. Three developments have changed things considerably:

• Men are living longer, giving the cancer more time to spread beyond the prostate, with potentially fatal consequences.
• More men in their early sixties, fifties and even forties are being detected with prostate cancer.
• Earlier on-set, combined with the greater male life expectancy, means those cancers have more time to spread and become life-threatening unless diagnosed and treated.

I worked with a colleague, in New Zealand. He was a partner in his firm of financial planners. Their philosophy was ‘wholistic’ planning for your future. Whenever they met with new and current clients, they didn’t just look into where they were at with mortgages, debts, shares etc, a huge part of their practice was around Health and Wellbeing and a variety of Insurance products.

True to his philosophy, part of that involved him personally having yearly regular health checkups with his Dentist and GP. Lucky for him he did, they discovered very early onset of prostrate cancer – he had no symptoms and he was only in his early 50’s.

Unfortunately what seems to happen amongst men, because these are things that aren’t and shouldn’t be talked about, most men tend to accept the onset of these symptoms as part and parcel of being men and maturing.

I know this, much to my husbands’ horror when I laid down an ultimatum that he go to the doctor and start having yearly checks. Not a pleasant thought for most men – but is unnecessary and early death really your preferred option for a few minutes of ‘uncomfortableness’? Remember earlier in the article, MOST men don’t even know they have cancer or that things aren’t as they should be as there are no actual SYMPTOMS, unlike some women that have breast cancer, they can feel the lumps.

As young men and it’s not too late for older men, you can help keep yourselves healthy and perhaps help to avoid this whole issue by maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Eating the required daily adult amount of two fruits and five vegetables coupled with exercise can be a way to ensure that you stay healthy and are within a healthy weight range for you.

Of course in this day and age of eating on the run, takeaways and convenience foods – you can always supplement with vitamins that contain key ingredients; Lycopene, Saw Palmetto, and Pygeum Africanum – these have long been used in the support of a healthy Prostate.

Mature living...the secret is VitaMen, the supplement that re-writes the rules about aging. Just because you're gaining experience doesn't mean you have to lose your edge. Stay sharp with the best male stamina and prostate health product on the market:

• VitaMen! Supports prostate gland*
• Nutritionally balanced for men over 40*
• VitaMen features the powerful antioxidant Lycopene, Saw Palmetto, and Pygeum Africanum, long acknowledged for delivering naturalprostate support.*

The recent scientific focus on prostate protection has lead to breakthrough discoveries like Pumpkin Seed extract, which, like our standardized Pygeum Africanum, includes the beta sitosterol, the recent focus of important studies.* VitaMen also includes chrysanthemum, zinc, selenium, Vitamin E, Reishi (sometimes called the "mushrooms of immortality") and Ginseng. It also packs prostate-friendly amino acids like L-alanine, L-glutamic acid and Glycine.* VitaMen is also supercharged by the addition of EnZact 77k™, our exclusive enzymatic activation and delivery system.

To your health
Julie McClelland

* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

How to know if you are menopausal

How to know if you are menopausal? HRT versus Alternative Remedies for relief of systems?

Measure how you are feeling against common factors affecting Menopause;

Are you over age over 40?

Have your periods ceased or become irregular?

Have you had your ovaries removed?

Have you had a hysterectomy?

Do you suffer from hot flushes during the day or at night?

Do you suffer night sweats?

Do you cry for no particular reason?

Have you become moody / temperamental?

Are you feeling more depressed, isolated, or withdrawn?

Are you experiencing more headaches than usual?

Do you have reduced sex drive or pain with intercourse?

Do you have difficulty remembering or retaining information?

Are you experiencing more body aches in general?

If you can 'tick' 5 or more of these questions then I would recommend that you contact your local Menopausal Clinic or your GP.

I somehow missed this; I was only 43 – 44, too young for menopause, I thought, I was working, in New Zealand, at the time, stressed to the max. I was wandering around in this fog/cotton wool on the brain. I was getting migraines not just weekly, 2 – 3 times a week.

In discussion with my best mate one day – she regaled this story about a woman she knew that had similar symptoms to mine; she was diagnosed with a brain tumour and died a couple months later. Perfect…

I went to the local health shop – she gave me vitamins, advising a visit to the doctor as she thought my symptoms indicated a possible Thyroid problem, another Perfect...

So with due diligence, off I trundled to my local GP – we’ve know each other for years, our children all went to school together and he also knows my best mate really well. I told him my ‘stories’. We both decided that I was not going to die from a brain tumour in a couple months, but he decided to do a work up of bloods.

RESULTS: Menopause. Due to the fact that at 40 I had a hysterectomy, I had early onset. He couldn’t tell me when, but my estrogen levels were such that I was definitely in ‘Menopause’. Relief I suppose, ruled out the brain tumour for sure, thyroid too, but I still had the ‘hung over’ feeling, how was going to get relief from this?


Menopause by “Beverley Lawton General Practitioner, researcher and a Past President of the Australasian Menopause Society, at the time was a life saver, I was not going insane, I was just menopausal. She covered topics that relate to menopausal woman globally, it is full of symptoms, tips to help relieve and she provides good, sound research data that also pertains to world wide findings. Read more here; http://tinyurl.com/db5up2

So what was Menopause doing to my lifestyle? For me at that time, my symptoms were severe; I wanted / needed instant relief. I needed to be able to function as normally as possible again. I have for three years now taken HRT; there are studies now and then that show/ed;

For many women suffering moderate to severe symptoms of menopause, the benefits of HRT are likely to outweigh the risks.

Of the alternatives to HRT, black cohosh appears to be the most effective option, and is also among the cheapest.

Health authorities have warned women to avoid using bio-identical or 'natural' hormones.

Clinical trials in China have found that Chinese herbal medicines are effective at reducing the symptoms of menopause, but there's no "one-size-fits-all" remedy.

There was also an article on the web in January 2009 relating to bullet point 4;

“Did You Know Oprah Winfrey is on Bio-identical Hormones?”

“Oprah Winfrey says menopause caught her "off guard" and that she's taking bio-identical hormones that have made a big improvement in how she feels.” More on this article here; http://tinyurl.com/dg5rqv

The upshot is, because my menopausal systems are now under control, due the risk, however small or large, I decided that I no longer wished to put prescription medicines in my body if I can help my systems ‘naturally’.

For myself I've found this to be absolutely great, I get no 'hot flushes', 'cotton wool brain, or migraines since I've introducted this into my system. Woman who choose alternative remedies, find good results incorporating into their diets all-natural ingredients like folic acid, Vitamin B 12, St. John's Wort and Valeriana -- as well as plant-derived estrogen alternatives like extracts of Licorice, Black Cohosh, Dong Quai, Soy and Vitex Agnus Castus (chaste berry), can help addresses the needs of premenopausal, menopausal, and post menopausal women.

Selected Benefits:

PMS and menopause maintenance system*

Hormone and estrogen support*

Natural answer to mood change, irritability and lack of energy*

For optimum support, VitaWoman is supercharged with EnZact 77k™, our exclusive enzymatic activation and delivery system.*

We as women have fought so hard for pro-choice in all aspects of our lives. This is another area whereby we have options, choices and remember there is no 'cure' as such - menopause is not a disease.

Your health and wellbeing is important to me.
Julie McClelland

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Cleanse - Mind and Body

Cleanse - Mind and Body

In todays fast and action packed pace of Work, Kids Taxi Service do you not find it surprising that we feel depleted and in need of a
'cleanse of your mind and body'?

We are all trying to;

• operate businesses from home,
• go to work,
• juggle kindergarten, school, after school activities the list goes on...

Here's an idea that's helped lots of people in their work, businesses and personal life to clear the chatter and clutter from their minds, to feel rejuvinated / reinvented / healthy again. You will also learn that;

• You're perfect just the way you are
• We all need our batteries re-charging - physically and mentally
• Re-program yourself with our 30 Day Mental Cleanse
• What we offer is 'free'
  

Here's to a rejunvinated you
Julie McClelland