Did you overdo it on holla-day foods, desserts and drinks? Have you been thinking about eating healthier in 2012? Why not try going meatless on Mondays? Going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, heart disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help reduce your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel. If you do eat meat on other days, we strongly recommend grass-fed, hormone-free, locally-raised options whenever possible. Also the body does not need anymore than 5-8oz of meat daily.

Health Benefits

• LIMIT CANCER RISK: Hundreds of studies suggest that diets high in fruits and vegetables may reduce cancer risk. Both red and processed meat consumption are associated with colon cancer.
• REDUCE HEART DISEASE: Recent data from a Harvard University study found that replacing saturated fat-rich foods (for example, meat and full fat dairy) with foods that are rich in polyunsaturated fat (for example, vegetable oils, nuts and seeds) reduces the risk of heart disease by 19%
• FIGHT DIABETES: Research suggests that higher consumption of red and processed meat increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
• CURB OBESITY: People on low-meat or vegetarian diets have significantly lower body weights and body mass indices. A recent study from Imperial College London also found that reducing overall meat consumption can prevent long-term weight gain.
• LIVE LONGER: Red and processed meat consumption is associated with modest increases in total mortality, cancer mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality.
• IMPROVE YOUR DIET. Consuming beans or peas results in higher intakes of fiber, protein, folate, zinc, iron and magnesium with lower intakes of saturated fat and total fat.

I've been watching Oprah's Life Class and it's been so powerful and uplifting! One jewel that she just haphazardly said about how she wakes up in the morning just stuck with me. She said that every morning she reads some type of spiritual or enlightening quote or text to get her in the right mind state for the day. She does it to start her day with a positive perspective instead of just rolling out of the bed dreading the day.

This was an "a-ha" moment for me (as Oprah says), because I have been trying for many years to meditate but just sitting still and quieting my mind was just not working for me. I needed something to quiet or redirect the thoughts that were running through my mind all day when I wasn't sitting for that 5 or 10 minutes meditating.

SO with that "a-ha" moment I googled some Deepak Chopra positive quotes (since he is a mentor in my head), cut and paste them into a word document and printed them out.  I taped the quotes on the side of my night stand so that I can read one every morning when I wake up. I also printed out a copy an put it in my office so I can bring my mind back to that positive state throughout the day! Reading these quotes are a meditation for me... Thanks Oprah!

Here are a few quotes from Deepak that have really helped....

“To be healthy, wealthy, happy and successful in any and all areas of your life you need to be aware that you need to think healthy, wealthy, happy and successful thoughts and cancel all negative, destructive, fearful and unhappy thoughts. These two types of thought cannot coexist if you want to share in the abundance that surrounds us all.”

“As you embrace the present and become one with it, and merge with it, you will experience a fire, a glow, a sparkle of ecstasy throbbing in every sentient being.”

“Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future”

The National Black Arts Festival is this weekend in Atlanta Georgia, July 14-17. This event is full of concerts, movies, vendors, exhibits and just a whole lot of fun. If you get a chance please check it out! There is something to do for the entire family. Click here for more on dates, times and events.

The Dirty Dozen

The Environmental Working Group recently released the top “dirtiest” fruits and veggies list. The Dirty Dozen is a list of fruits and veggies that are the most contaminated with pesticides. What was first this year? APPLES!! According to the group, picking five servings of fruits and vegetables from the 12 most contaminated would cause you to consume an average of 14 different pesticides a day even after the foods had already been washed or peeled. So why does it matter if we consume pesticides? Consumption of pesticides can cause birth defects, nerve damage, cancer and developmental delays in children such as a reduced IQ and ADHD (attention deficit disorder). That does not mean stop eating these foods because the benefit of consuming any form of fruits and vegetables outweighs not consuming any at all.

So what are we to do??? Eating organic is the first option. Can’t afford organic? Choose from the shopper’s guide (see here) that pinpoints foods with fewer pesticides. Eat with the seasons. Eating with the seasons keeps the price of organics low. Talk to the farmers at farmers markets and demand better quality produce. Studies show that people who eat organic have lower levels of pesticides in their bodies than those who do not.

Naysayers claim that you’d have to eat hundreds to thousands of pounds of produce per day to reach the level of harm that can be caused by pesticides. But pesticides from foods, mixed with pesticides and chemicals in the water, mixed with radiation from our phones and computers, mixed with processed foods and artificial ingredients can really add up and cause a toxic mess in us!!

The Dirt Dozen (in order of pesticide amounts)

1. Apples

2. Celery

3. Strawberries

4. Peaches

5. Spinach

6. Nectarines

7. Grapes

8. Sweet bell peppers

9. Potatoes

10. Blueberries

11. Lettuce

12. Kale/collard greens