Traditional Naturopath

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Water is critical to your body! A large percentage of your body is made up of water, and most Americans are sadly dehydrated!

8 Fun Ways To Drink More Water If You Hate Water

Vitamin Shoppe – by Cassie Shortsleeve – “Water is a life necessity, there’s no way around it. Up to 60 percent of our bodies are made of H20, after all. But let’s be real: Drinking plain water day after day can be downright boring.

That could be part of the reason why up to 75 percent of the U.S. population is chronically dehydrated, according to Medical Daily. Fortunately, there are fun ways to stay hydrated, and you can start with these eight.

1. Carry An Inspiring Bottle
blender_bottlesThe market is flooded with water bottles for every personality. Picking one up will only set you back a few bucks, and carrying around a bottle that perfectly matches your mood or outfit will motivate you to drink up.

2. Add A Splash Of Juice
A glass of 100 percent fruit juice can be sky-high in sugar, sure—but a splash can easily sweeten water naturally, says Keri Gans, R.D., author of The Small Change Diet.

Your go-to recipe: Mix a quarter cup of your favorite citrus juice (think: orange, grapefruit, or unsweetened lemonade), and add three-fourths cup of water. Voilà! You’ll get a nutritional boost, too, says Gans: ‘The citrus provides your body with vitamin C, a powerful antioxidant, which may help to strengthen your immune system.’

3. …Better Yet: Infuse The Fruit Itself
Not a fruit juice fan? No biggie. Stick with the fruit itself. Add fresh slices of lemon, lime, cucumber, orange, strawberry, or watermelon to a jug of water and refrigerate, suggests Gans.

If you want, throw in an herb like mint, which (added bonus!) works to soothe your stomach in the case of indigestion, she notes. Pro tip: Pick up a decadent glass dispenser to showcase your infusions. Who doesn’t want to sip water when your beverage is worthy of a Pinterest board?

4. Get Creative With Cubes
Fresh fruits and vegetable.Upgrade your glass by making it tasty, nutritious, and good-looking. How so? Fancy ice cubes!

To create your next-level cubes, start with pairing fruits and herbs like cucumbers and basil, lime and mint, or lemon and honey. Chop your ingredients into very small pieces, sprinkle them into your ice cube compartments, and fill with water. When chilled, serve with a glass of water or seltzer (while looking at just how awesome your creation turned out!).

For a healthy-gut boost, mix with Ultimate Flora Probiotic Fizzy Drink Mix in Raspberry Lemonade.

5. Add A Healthy Mix-In
You can’t go wrong with a drink that packs a nutritional punch and is bursting with flavor. Add an immune-boosting Vitamin C pack, or a protein (like Clean Protein – Unicorn Milk, especially within 30 minutes of your workout) to your water to reap extra benefits. Or, go for BodyTech’s Aminos, which are designed to help your body recover post-workout. Need a dose of energy? Garden of Life’s Organic Plant-Based Energy + Focus is a great-tasting (and totally clean) way to help get your body and mind into gear.

6. Go Ginger
Tea in white cup with ginger, lemon, cinnamon and honeyFile this one under ‘who knew?’: ‘A little amount of ginger can make a simple glass of water full of flavor,’ says Gans. To boot, it comes with a whole host of health benefits.

According to Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects, ginger offers up antioxidants to support the immune system, while it also promotes digestive health. To get in on those benefits, cut a two-inch slab of ginger and add to your water. For a warmer concoction, add a bit of warm water, a slice of lemon, and a spoonful of raw honey to the ginger-y mix.

7. Add Some Bubbles
Water haters might want to consider a machine like a SodaStream, which can covert a bottle of plain ol’ H20 to bubbles in seconds. While seltzer water (even unflavored) is a bit more acidic than regular water, most of us won’t see any teeth issues from sipping the sudsy stuff. And if you pop a couple strawberries, cucumbers, or lemon slices into the mix, you’ll have an updated, delicious beverage.

8. Don’t Drink, Eat!
The beauty of hydration is that you don’t have to always be drinking to achieve it. According to Nutrition Review, plenty of fruits and vegetables (think: cantaloupe, strawberries, watermelon, lettuce, cabbage, celery, spinach, pickles, and cooked squash) are found to be made up of 90 to 99 percent water.

You generally need about 64 ounces (or 1900 milliliters) of agua per day, so if you’re not interested in drinking it all, consider the water content of these fruits and veggies: A medium cucumber offers about 194 ml, a slice of watermelon contains about 147 ml, and a medium tomato offers about 119 ml. Since these are pretty widely available foods, it’s easy to get a lot of your water you need from the foods you’re probably already eating.

In the end, you’ll need to nosh on about two slices of watermelon or a medium-sized cucumber and a tomato (which is probably already in your salad!) to get a little more than eight ounces (or one glass) of water.”

A good night’s sleep is highly under-rated as a natural health benefit. You MUST get enough sleep to let your body rebuild itself after a long day of work. Your muscles rebuild at night, your mind sorts out the issues of the day, your body renews and refreshes itself through sleep!

Get Rid of Sleep Debt

Sleep.org – “Think you can learn to survive on less than six hours of sleep a night? Think again. Adults typically need between seven and nine hours of shut-eye a night to function at their best. Between health care expenses and lost productivity, insufficient sleep in the U.S. rings in at an annual cost of about $66 billion.

How come? When you’re awake, a chemical called adenosine builds up in your blood, and when you sleep, your body breaks it down. Skimp on sleep, however, and adenosine builds up in your bloodstream, making you more and more desperate to snooze. Your reaction time slows, which makes you more prone to dangerous mistakes when driving. A shortage of sleep is to blame for some 100,000 traffic accidents, 76,000 injuries, and 1,500 deaths a year.

And it adds up. Getting just two to three hours too little sleep for a few nights can have the same effect as pulling an all-nighter—yet it’s something that many Americans routinely do. If that doesn’t sound like a big deal, consider this: Staying up for 24 hours straight and then getting behind the wheel is like driving with a blood-alcohol content that deems you legally drunk in all 50 states.

Just like with a credit card or a mortgage, sleep debt eventually has to be repaid. And the more you add to it, the bigger your balance. Sleeping in on the weekends (a common practice) is one way that you might try to combat a shortage of weeknight sleep, but it’s usually not the best strategy. If you have to overcome a one- or two-hour sleep debt, it might work. But if you’re under-sleeping by, say, an hour every night, Monday through Friday, you’ll end up with a whopping five hours of sleep debt by the time Saturday rolls around. And sleeping in too much on Saturdays and Sundays can make things worse by throwing off your regular snooze schedule and making it harder to sleep on Sunday night.

When it comes to paying down sleep debt, slow and steady is the way to go. Start by cleaning up your sleep hygiene habits to maximize the hours of snooze time that you get during the week. Even going to bed just 15 minutes earlier each night may help. Stick to a regular sleep and wake schedule, avoid caffeine and alcohol, exercise daily, and relax before bed with a hot bath or a good book instead of electronics (which can disrupt sleep). A daytime nap may also help you catch up, if it’s possible for you to take one regularly.”

Your skin is the largest organ in your body! (I know, that will make you say, “Hummm.”) But, it is! Here are some tips to maintain healthy, vibrant skin!

15 Natural Ways To Maintain Beautiful, Youthful Skin

MBGLifestyle – By: Kristy Rao – “There may not be a fountain of youth, but the food we eat and how we treat ourselves can prevent or even reverse aging. Your body needs the right nutrients to fight off damage, and your skin is no different. Nutrients help the cells replicate and have more energy. Processed foods, stress, toxins and low-nutrient diets will accelerate aging. Protecting yourself from harmful chemicals while getting enough sleep, relaxation and exercise will all help you maintain a healthy glow.

1. Drink plenty of water.

Even with a small amount of dehydration, your body functions in a less optimal way. The instant you’re dehydrated, it will take a toll on your skin, causing it to look dull, flaky, saggy and loose.

2. Eat foods with antioxidants.

Antioxidants are the best resources your body has to fight disease and aging by reducing damage and inflammation. Inflammation is a leading cause of wrinkle formation. Some of the best sources of antioxidants include:

• Blueberries
• Pomegranates
• Acai berries
• Goji berries
• Spinach
• Raspberries
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Purple grapes
• Dark chocolate (70% or higher of cocoa content)
• Organic green tea

3. Have a rainbow-colored plate of food.

Free radicals form in our bodies and cause major damage to our cell structures. The different nutrient-rich foods we eat neutralize them. You need to consume the widest variety of antioxidants you can to fight off the different kinds of free radicals. Think about what colors you’ve missed throughout the day, and try to incorporate them into your next meal.

4. Eat organic foods.

This curtails consumption of aging toxins.

5. Limit your sun exposure.

Small amounts of daily sun produce vitamin D and are beneficial, but too much sun will damage your skin. Don’t forget to wear your sunglasses, and use zinc or titanium dioxide sunscreen.

6. Opt for natural skin products.

Many skincare products contain harsh chemicals. When choosing moisturizers or makeup, research the ingredients in them the best you can to confirm that they’re safe.

7. Use non-toxic cleaning products.

It is imperative to limit exposure to toxic chemicals because the skin absorbs them.

8. Own a plant.

Indoor pollution levels can be even higher than outdoor levels. A plant in your home or by your desk at work will act as an air filter.

9. Get enough vitamin C.

A diet rich in vitamin C leads to fewer wrinkles. Researchers have found that skin exposed to vitamin C for long periods of time can produce up to eight times more collagen!

10. Avoid sugar.

It leads to damaged collagen and elastin, which cause wrinkles.

11. Eat healthy fats.

Incorporating foods such as avocados, olive oil, flax seeds, nuts and fish into your diet is important. The fatty acids are crucial for your skin to look youthful.

12. Cleanse your body.

A build up of toxins in the body due to the air, water and food causes damage to the body as well as aging. Detoxing by way of a juice cleanse is recommended for the body to be able to focus on energy production and eliminating toxins. Having a glass of water with squeezed lemon first thing in the mornings is also very cleansing.

13. Engage in activities that relieve stress.

High levels of stress will compromise your skin. Consider yoga or meditating. Eliminate problematic people and activities from your life. Confide in your friends and openly talk to them about your worries and troubles.

14. Sleep.

You skin rejuvenates and repairs itself mostly while you are asleep. Make sure that you not only sleep for eight hours a night, but that it is quality sleep.

15. Exercise.

It increases the circulation of oxygen and nutrients and releases toxins through sweat, which leads to clearer, firmer skin. Remember to smile. It’s the best exercise for your face.”

Many report the benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar. They include: killing all kinds of bacteria naturally, lowers blood sugar levels, helps with weight loss and reduces belly fat, as well as lowering cholesterol, and improving heart health. In this article by Dr. Joseph Mercola, he points out the best way to make and use Apple Cider Vinegar.

Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar

Mercola.com – Dr. Joseph Mercola – “It’s apple-pickin’ time in North America, and while all eyes are on apple pies and everything else apple-related, you may want to take a closer look at the health benefits of apple cider vinegar, A Great Gut Feeling suggests. From helping with satiety and weight loss to improving blood sugar levels and reducing triglycerides, apple cider vinegar has proven to be a great health booster.

The virtues of apple cider vinegar just go on and on, but before you rush out to buy a bottle, be sure that you know the difference between regular filtered apple cider vinegar and the unprocessed, unfiltered, raw, organic apple cider vinegar that offers you the best health benefit for your dollar.

What I’m talking about here is apple cider that comes with its distinguishing feature called ‘mother’ — dark, strand-like chains of cloudy, enzyme-rich, probiotic bacteria found floating in the bottom of the bottle.

The good news is, if you’re not yet familiar with the many beneficial uses of this versatile and economical home remedy, besides helping with blood sugar and weight loss, apple cider vinegar (ACV) also helps with acid reflux and an upset stomach — and more.

From alleviating symptoms of sinusitis and sore throat to using it to address certain skin conditions, ACV is a versatile product with unending applications. It even is a great and safe, all-natural, cleaning product!

If you’re wondering what the difference is between the ACV with the ‘mother’ and the filtered jug of clear vinegar beside it on the store shelf, ACV is made from fermented apples in a process similar to the one used for making other homemade fermented brews, such as kombucha.

In the first step of the process, sugar is dissolved in filtered water that is then poured over a variety of coarsely chopped apples. This mixture is allowed to set at room temperature until bubbles begin to appear as the sugar ferments into alcohol. (Because the sugars are digested through the fermentation process, apple cider vinegar contains very little sugar and carbohydrates, making it a very attractive food from a dietary standpoint.)

Next, the apples are strained out and the liquid is maintained, again at room temperature, for an additional three to four weeks. At this time, the alcohol is transforming into vinegar through the action of the acetic acid bacteria — this particular acid gives vinegar its distinctive sour tang.

As the bacteria do their job, a small amount of sediment will appear on the bottom of the container and the ‘mother’ culture will form on top, which is a colony of beneficial bacteria. From this point, you can quickly recognize organic, raw, unfiltered, unprocessed apple cider vinegar by the distinctive presence of the mother, which can only exist in vinegar that is not pasteurized or filtered.”

I know that “TraditionalNaturopath.com” can be hard to type, so we now also have a shortcut URL for you: “DrBill.LIVE” because I, (Dr. Bill) want you to LIVE healthy! I hope this helps!

This is definitely the best diet for losing weight, and remaining healthy!

The Keto Diet: 5 Proven Benefits For Your Health!

DrColbert.com – Dr. Don Colbert, MD – “The keto diet has recently been exploding in popularity. Adherents claim effects ranging from weight loss, craving reduction, and blood sugar balance to cognitive enhancement and cancer treatment. There are athletes, celebrities, CEOs, and doctors all adopting this diet and talking about the dramatic effects of burning fat for fuel.

With all the hype, it might just seem like another passing fad diet. The fact is, however, that the ketogenic diet is nothing new. It has been used by western medical doctors to treat epilepsy for close to 100 years!

What Is The Keto Diet?

The keto (short for ketogenic) diet brings the body into a metabolic state called ketosis. Ketosis refers to the body’s utilization of ketones for energy as opposed to glucose. Ketones are byproducts of fat metabolism and glucose comes from sugar metabolism.

Most cells in the human body can use either of these fuels for energy but preferentially burn glucose, only switching over to fat once all the glycogen (sugar stores) in the body has been depleted. Yet, since most people on a Standard American Diet (SAD) eat so much sugar, their cells are never able to switch over to ‘fat burning mode.’ For many people, it has been so long since their cells have utilized ketones for energy that they actually have to retrain their bodies to be able to do so.

All this biochemistry makes more sense when you take a step back and think about it logically. As humans we have not always had a stable food supply. In the past we did not have grocery stores or drive-thru windows and famine was much more common. In times of food shortage when carbohydrate intake would have been low, the human body adapted to burn body fat to sustain itself. So essentially, a ketogenic diet is mimicking some of the effects of fasting by limiting carbohydrates and forcing the body to burn fat.

What Are The Benefits?

The benefits of the keto diet are certainly real and far reaching in scope. Although not ideal for everybody all of the time, a ketogenic diet has been proven to help in 5 important areas of health and wellness.

Shed Pounds of Body Weight

This is possibly the most popular contemporary application of the ketogenic diet. In fact, a modified ketogenic diet is the foundation for the Slender System for weight loss used to help thousands of people reach a healthier weight.

When carbs are kept below 50-30 grams per day, the body does not have enough glucose to support the energy needs of the body and will be forced to begin utilizing fat. Once all the fat that has been consumed has been used up the body will then turn to stored body fat for energy. So by maintaining low levels of carbohydrate intake and a small caloric deficit you can stimulate fat burning and begin dropping the pounds.

There is ample scientific and anecdotal evidence to support the efficacy of a ketogenic diet for weight loss.

Crush Cravings

High fat and adequate protein intake can help suppress the ‘hunger hormone’ called ghrelin. This 2013 study suggests that a ketogenic diet results in more satiety than other diets. It is very common for people to surprised by the degree to which they are simply not hungry once their body has become adapted to burning fat for fuel.

However, keep in mind that although fat and protein alone can help suppress hunger, it is also important to maintain a high intake of low-carb non-starchy vegetables for their valuable fiber and nutrient content. Fiber has an immense effect on satiety and is crucial to a successful ketogenic diet.

Balance Blood Sugar

Most Americans are on a constant blood sugar roller coaster ride. From the moment they eat that muffin, bagel, donut, or bowl of cereal, their blood sugar spikes up and then falls after a couple of hours prompting a mid morning snack to make it through to lunch. After lunch there is the mid-afternoon pick-me-up treat to make it until dinner and then the after dinner dessert. Many people even wake up in the middle of the night to chow down because their blood sugar is so imbalanced they can’t even make it through the night.

A Ketogenic diet fixes this by keeping the blood sugar low and allowing the insulin sensitivity to reset. The transition from sugar-burning to fat-burning can be difficult for a few days as the body adapts and the blood sugar levels stabilize.

Boost Brain Health And Increase Cognitive Function

As stated earlier, the keto diet was first applied in the successful treatment of epileptic seizures. There has also been application in the treatment and management of alzheimer’s disease. In fact, many researchers are beginning to refer to alzheimer’s as type 3 diabetes, indicating the role of glucose metabolism in the progression of the disease.

The most readily noticeable effect of switching to a ketogenic diet is the marked improvement in cognitive performance. Many CEOs and Silicon Valley tech entrepreneurs have adopted the diet for this very reason. The sense of clarity and focus that can be achieved when the brain starts burning ketones for energy can be quite profound. It makes sense that in a state of caloric deprivation that the body would begin to produce a fuel (ketones) that allows for clear and lucid thinking that can help one be more likely to find food.

Ketones are so powerful for brain performance that there is an emerging market of exogenous ketone supplements that people take specifically to boost cognitive function and aid in weight loss. One source of exogenous ketones comes from MCT oil, a derivative of coconut oil that is readily converted to ketones to be used by the brain.

Starve Cancer

Although controversial, there is growing evidence that a ketogenic diet can fight cancer by depriving them of their preferred food source: sugar. One of the leading ketone researchers Dominic D’Agostino explains how this works in his 2013 TED talk. Essentially, cancer is a metabolic disease affecting the ‘power houses’ of the cells called mitochondria.

Almost all healthy cells in the body are able to use ketones for fuel, but cancer cells are unable to switch from glucose to ketones for fuel.

How To Eat a Keto Diet

So with all these amazing benefits, you’re probably wondering how you can get started on a ketogenic diet.

A state of ketosis can be usually be achieved by eating less than 50 grams of carbohydrate per day for 3-5 days. Ideally protein consumption would be less than 100 grams per day as excess protein can be broken down into glucose in a process called gluconeogenesis. The rest of the diet should consist of healthy fats.

Eating the right kind of fat is really important because rancid oxidized (damaged) fats can cause inflammation and hinder your progress on the diet. Opt primarily for saturated and monounsaturated fats because they are the most stable. Healthy saturated fats include: raw grass-fed dairy, grass-fed and finished beef and lamb, free range eggs, coconut oil, and MCT oil. Monounsaturated fats are found in: olive oil, avocados, nuts, seeds, and fish. The other important fats are the Omega 3 polyunsaturated fats DHA and EPA which can be found in fish and krill oil.

Burn Fat For Fuel

Again, the keto diet might not be the ideal long-term diet for everyone, but for those who wish to reap the reward of these five scientifically proven benefits of a high-fat low-carb diet then it is definitely worth a try. Stay hydrated, have patience during the transition period, and don’t be surprised when around day three you start feeling amazing and dropping pounds of body fat!”

By the way, I am not affiliated directly with, nor do I get any compensation, from Dr. Colbert, I just post this link [below] as a courtesy for interested readers!)