Oh no!!!

This article was sent to me by one of my friends. They wanted to hear me kick and scream after reading the article (I only did a small scream, trust me).  Instead of going berserk, I decided to share this article with you and let you know why MOST of this information is INCORRECT or INACCURATE!

1. EAT YOUR WATER? I don't think so!!

Let me be the first to say, "you really may not need 8 glasses of water per day!" May not are the key words because how much water you need depends on your weight and your present state of health. However, eating your vegetables is like saying, "soda is a liquid so you can get all your water needs from it!" People don't realize how important water - and water ALONE - is to the body. Water is necessary to help transport necessary nutrients to cells, blood, and plasma. Water helps these minerals and vitamins absorb into the body, especially the ones that are water-soluble. Your body actually KNOWS the difference between water and everything else so you go ahead and think that the foods you eat will give your body enough water. Then you can come back to me when you have edema and wonder why your body is retaining water, which is never a good thing!

      2.    Fill half your plate with produce. I actually like this one.

I like this one because it's true, it's hard to figure out what a serving is. My general rule is that if it's the size of your fist, then it's enough for your stomach. Too many people eat too much meat. I think this is a great way to balance your meat intake and get your fill of veggies.

      3.    Beef in moderation can be healthy. It depends.

I believe in Ayurveda, the science of life. Ayurveda is truly a holistic practice based on the individual. So for some, they may need meat (not just beef) in order to help with a certain ailments. Also, depending on your blood type, you maybe able to eat meat with no issues.

4.  Eat healthy, exercise, and let your weight settle naturally. Eh, somewhat.

So you want to lose weight. You start to eat the most "organic" and "all natural" foods known to man. You may exercise until "the cows come home." But your weight is still high (you haven't lost as much as you would like) and you're ready to try all the things you don't need to.

I just want to say that this is more garbage than not because, once again, it depends on who you are. What if you have a major ailment that prevents you from losing weight? What if your weight gain is not physical? Yes, it's true. Holistic Health deals with the mind, body, and spirit. Most of us have physical issues that stem from mental problems (like grief, anger, fear). For all we know, someone is attached/attracted to food because of some sort of mental anguish they had as a child. You never know!!

So all in all, this "one size fits all" type of attitude never works. It's ok to read and do research but question everything!!! We are all individuals so what may work for me, may not work for you. But there are so basic rules that we should all follow. Drinking water and not substituting your water with food or juice is NOT the answer!!

Please let me know what you think...this is something that people need to increase their awareness on because holistic health coaches, doctors, and other practitioners can't do it for you. At the end of the day, you need to Do Right For Yourself!!

I'll talk to you again very soon. In the meantime, stay strong, stay healthy, and fight dis-ease!

Sometimes, it takes a while for information to sink into our brains. Especially now that there is soooo much information from TV, Internet, and unknown voices that whisper some how into our psyches. When I got this information, I was a little peeved...only because I'm mad I didn't get this sooner.

I'll go in my chronological order, even though this is not the order of events in this story. I want to go with my own order so that you can see my thinking process and how sometimes, learning things later can really help your awareness to grow...

When I first heard about this story, I was watching Dr. Besser's apology to Dr. Oz on the ABC Evening News. As he was explaining the issue at hand (Arsenic in Apple Juice), the first thing that came to my mind was, "nuh duh!! I could have figured that out!" (we'll get to why in a moment...) The link above is to their much publicized debate, which I watched as soon as I watched the apology.

I started to do research on the timeline of this controversy and of course, the FDA didn't believe Dr. Oz (see this article for more information) and the FDA had to do a back track after Consumer Reports confirmed Dr. Oz's findings.

So here's where my "nuh duh" moment comes in...

When I first heard that there are high levels of arsenic in apple/grape juice, the first thing that came to my mind was my grandma telling me, "don't eat apple seeds...they contain arsenic." Of course, grandma explained that it contains arsenic in small amounts but still be careful (since I used to eat sooo many apples).

With that knowledge in mind, I can understand why apple juice would have so much NATURALLY occurring (remember that...it's not something the gov't is inserting purposely into food...I know conspiracy friends, it's a shame right?! LOL) toxins in them. Think about it...fruit juices aren't created the "old-fashioned way" (see pic). They're put in this huge vat (most likely) and companies, not worried about the intricacies of the human body (or the cost behind crossing all the "t's" and dotting all the "i's"), more than likely put the entire apple (including the seeds) into the vat for juice creation. Same thing for grapes with seeds in them!

So even when you decide to juice...no matter what kind of juicer you have (even if you have the super duper VitaMix with the blades that can cut feathers in the wind), cut your fruits and don't put in the seeds. I don't care if your blender/juicer/mixer/whatever it is tells you to put the entire fruit in there, DON'T!! Spare the seeds and avoid any possible chance of buildup in your body (especially if you have problems with absorption).

Before writing up this post, I decided to check the internets for any truth to the arsenic in apple seeds "old wives tale" that my grandma told me. I was very surprised to see that it's actually cyanide in apple seeds as opposed to arsenic. It's nice to know that grandma (and mom...I hear her yelling in my head LOL) had the right idea in mind...even though it was the incorrect poison.

Did you ever hear about arsenic in apple seed? Check out the article above to see what other fruits have poisons (in small and medium sized amounts). Are you going to stop drinking bottled apple juice or get a juicer to create your own? Please let me know in the comments.

One more thing...always remember that if you like drinking fruit juices, please dilute them with water. Fruit Juices alone are very high in sugar and that can lead to obesity and diabetes (I know you know...just had to tell you once more! ;))

Until next time (and there will be a next time)...stay strong, stay healthy, and fight dis-ease!