Dr. Linda Page's Weblog

Lose weight through healthy detoxification!

Even though Americans are still looking for the “miracle magic bullet” for slimness, everyone is slowly realizing that a good diet has to be front and center for health and body tone. Long term weight control is always the result of a sound nutritious eating plan and regular exercise, rather than a try at the latest fad diet. One of the great advantages of achieving weight loss through a cleansing program is the extra energy you feel from the fresh juices, superfoods, herb teas and healing broths. Most weight loss diets have little nutrition to offer so they leave you feeling tired and lifeless. In the end, even if you lose weight, your body feels so deprived that it starts ravenous cravings for foods that put the weight right back on.

A cleanse is one of the best ways to jump start a new health program. Unhealthy fats, like saturated fats in meats and dairy foods, trans-fats like those in many dairy foods, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils like those in margarine, shortening and many snack foods, and oxidized fats, like those in all fried foods, collect into excess body fat. Sugary foods and highly processed foods (like fast foods) are so devoid of digestive enzymes that they end up collecting as excess fat, too. Further, if you are congested, your body tries to dump its metabolic wastes to get them out of the way — one of the places that receives metabolic wastes is excess fat.

A 2-3 week Detox Diet for Weight Loss

Making a healing diet change and losing excess weight is one of the best things you can do for your health. The rewards are high - a longer, healthier life - and control of your life. 

On rising: Squeeze 2 lemons in a glass of water, and drink for a quick liver flush.

Breakfast: Have a poached or baked egg with bran muffins or whole grain toast with ghee or a healthy jam; or have low fat yogurt and some whole grain cereal.; or Try a healthy meal replacement shake.

Mid-morning: Have a green veggie drink, or natural V-8 juice or peppermint tea; or a cup of miso soup with sea greens snipped on top; or crunchy raw veggies with yogurt cheese dip.

Lunch: Have fresh leafy green salad with a lemon/oil or yogurt dressing with baked tofu; or miso soup, with steamed veggies and a light sauce.

Mid-afternoon: Have a bottle of mineral water, or a cup of peppermint tea, or apple or cranberry juice; or have a superfood drink like Energy Green.

Dinner: Have a stir-fry with lots of greens, onions, mushrooms, with clear soup and brown rice; or baked/broiled fish or seafood with some steamed veggies, brown rice or millet.

Evening snack: Have some un-buttered spicy popcorn. It’s good for you and its airiness will fill you up and keep you from wanting heavier or “habit” foods.

Choose a whole herb weight loss kit to increase your results.

Weight Loss Kit #1 Burn More Fat- Activates slow metabolism and boosts the thermogenesis for maximum fat burning activity. Save 20% off total retail value

Weight Loss Kit #2 Sugar Craver’s Control- Reduces weight by controlling your worst obstacle- sugar cravings. Save 20% off total retail value.

Weight Loss Kit #3 Cellulite Detox- Detoxifies the liver and releases unwanted cellulite. Save 20% off total retail value. 

Bodywork techniques accelerate and round out your cleanse

Daily exercise releases fat from cells. A brisk walk burns calories and cuts cravings. An outdoor walk in winter raises low serotonin levels. Exercise early in the day raises metabolism as much as 25%! Exercising before breakfast helps the body dip into its fat stores for quick energy and curbs the munchies all day. Even if eating habits just slightly change, you can still lose weight with a brisk hour’s walk or 15 minutes of aerobic exercise. 

To Life-long health,

Linda

Special Health Alert: Women's Heart Disease

Friday, February 6th was "National Wear Red Day" in order to support awareness of women's heart disease. Men and women face very different challenges of heart disease. Men's heart disease has largely been the focus of cardiovascular research. In fact, until the mid-1990s women were largely left out of heart census taking. Even more frightening, studies reveal women receive less medical treatment despite having more cardiac symptoms.

Heart disease is the leading cause of women's death in America, accounting for half of all women's deaths and killing 5 times more often than breast cancer. Heart disease for women, as for men, is linked to obesity, too little exercise and high cholesterol (even though tests show women have 60-70% less artery clogging plaque than men). However, statistics show that a woman is 50% MORE likely to die from a heart attack than a man!

Here's why the risk is so great:

1. Women have heart attacks at older ages (when they are more likely to be in poorer health) than men.
2. Female arteries are less able to compensate for the partial death of heart muscle caused by a heart attack, so a second heart attack is even more dangerous for women.
3. Heart attack symptoms are different- Women are less likely to have the intense chest pains during a heart attack than men (the reason researchers believe they are more reluctant to seek treatment). Instead, women should watch for shortness of breath, unexplained sudden fatigue or back pain as well as chest pains.

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A Woman's Healthy Heart Program

• Sea vegetables act as total body tonics to restore female vitality during menopause. Sea vegetables are a rich source of fat-soluble vitamins like D and K, which assist with production of steroidal hormones like estrogen, and DHEA in the adrenal glands. Sea veggies also help dissolve fatty deposits in the cardiovascular system. Add 2 tbsp. of dried sea veggies to soups and salads, or try my Ocean Minerals caps.
  >>> Download PDF Info Sheet for Ocean Minerals
  
• Soy foods not only lower cholesterol, they also help maintain normal vascular function. In addition, as a rich source of phytoestrogens, soy boosts female vitality and heart protection during menopause. Fermented soy foods like tofu, tempeh and miso offer the most benefits and are the easiest to digest. Herbs also provide effective phytoestrogen heart protection for post-menopausal women. My Easy Change caps are a good choice for menopausal women.
  >>> Download PDF Info Sheet for Easy Change
  
• Have cold water fish or seafood 2 to 3 times a week for Omega-3 oils. I think wild salmon is one of God's gifts, a rich source of omega 3 fatty acids and vitamin E for heart health.
• Eat brown rice regularly for heart smart B vitamins. Brown rice as a valuable source of fiber, vitamins and minerals is much superior to refined grains for heart health.
• Take an herbal heart tonic every day for extra protection. Women's Heart Defense offers powerful heart, circulatory and immune support. Cardiotonic herbs like hawthorn and arjuna nourish the heart muscle and provide a sense of well-being.
• CoQ10 60mg, 4 daily can strengthen heart muscle. CoQ10 helps the heart muscle work stronger and more effectively.
• Use natural vitamin E (400 IU) daily. Even though it's old news, vitamin E daily still cuts heart attack risk 77%.

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Women's heart disease is a problem that--for all too long--has been 'swept under the carpet,' not only in the media, but in the traditional medical community as well, and even in the alternative health field it has failed to achieve the recognition it deserves as one of the top preventable causes of death among women. All of that is starting to change, but it won't be easy. Spread the word.

-Linda

Healthy Anti-Aging Lifestyle

Aging is happening to everybody, most of the time faster than we’d like. Still, youth is not a chronological age. It’s good health and an optimistic spirit. Even though the hourglass tells us we’re older, the passage of time isn’t really what ages us. It’s the process that reduces the number of healthy cells in our bodies.  Today, the concept of anti-aging is gaining momentum as more people realize they can positively affect their own aging process. We can see anti-aging in today’s elite athletes who perform at world class levels well into their thirties or even forties. And there are pockets throughout the world of people living healthy lifestyles past the century mark, proving that the downward spiral associated with aging may not be necessary.

The good news? The longer you live, the longer your expected life span becomes!

Life expectancy lengthens as you age. In 1928, life expectancy in the U.S. was just 57 years, compared to 76 years today. Women’s life expectancy is expected to rise to between 92.5 and 101.5 by 2070. Researchers say the human life span is at least 20 to 30 years longer than most of us actually live today, that we are living only two-thirds of the years our bodies are capable of. Scientists have gathered a wealth of clear data that shows living to 100 or even 120 in a disease-free state is entirely possible, indeed may be a natural state of human life. Right now, people 100 or over are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. There are 61,000 centenarians living in the U.S. today. Researchers predict that number will grow to 214,000 by 2020!

The Fountain of Youth has been available all along. A balanced life is the key. Good food, pure water, energizing herbs and vitamins, exercise, proper rest, fresh air, sunshine, and optimism about life, really keep you young.

Age is not the enemy… illness is. Our cells don’t age; they’re sloughed off as their efficiency diminishes, to be replaced by new ones. Given the right nutrients, cell restoration continues—well past current life expectancy. But in industrialized countries, pollutants, diets full of chemical-laced, refined foods, and overuse of prescription drugs prevent our seniority dreams from becoming a reality.

Today, 80% of industrial country people over 65 years old are chronically ill. The average 75-year-old person has three different chronic diseases and uses at least five prescription drugs, as well as over-the-counter drugs.

Yet, loss of vitality and the onset of disease are usually the result of diet, lifestyle or environment—things we can do something about. Youthfulness is restored from the inside, by strengthening lean body mass, boosting metabolism, increasing immune response with good nutrition, regular exercise and a positive outlook.

Restore your looks and energy by addressing the factors that affect aging most:

1. Take a look at your prescription drugs: Many drugs lead to serious body imbalances by impairing nutrient uptake, and they can spur a free radical assault that accelerates aging.  They also tend to interact, especially hormonal drugs, like Propecia, or HRT drugs, and drugs that affect circulation like Viagra. 

2. Take a look at your habits: Smoking for example, greatly increases the body’s free radical load, is a clear contributor to premature skin aging, and is by far the #1 cause of preventable deaths in our country.

3. Take another look at your diet: You may have already cut down on fat and fried foods, but chemicals and additives in foods like lunch meats, hot dogs and most prepared foods are real culprits for early aging. They can create an over-acid condition that aggravates arthritis, triggers many allergies, and like drugs, set up a free-radical cascade favorable to disease. Research into fake fats like olestra (widely popular in snack foods) shows that they rob the body of vitamins like A, D, E, and K, and carotenoids. Even if your diet is good, you may need to take digestive enzymes and HCl with pepsin if digestion has become sluggish with age.

4. Take a look at your sugar intake: A high sugar diet wipes out immunity and reduces tissue elasticity. If you eat a lot of sweets or drink hard alcohol regularly, you’re taking in a lot of sugar. Sugar is also a hidden ingredient in most processed foods.

5. Watch your stress levels. A little stress helps motivate us in meeting a goal. But chronic stress can steal your health and your youth. Over time, high levels of the stress hormone cortisol can cause brain cells to age prematurely, or even die off! High levels of cortisol are also linked to middle-aged weight gain around the waist.

6. Interrupted sleep is a major aging trigger. A recent study links a lack of sleep to premature aging and serious illness. During sleep, important anti-aging hormones like growth hormone and melatonin are released which help regulate metabolism, heal tissues and boost immune response.

7. Regular moderate exercise actually reverses the aging process. A sedentary lifestyle paves the way for obesity and chronic disease. A 1994 JAMA study reveals that the bodies of postmenopausal women become up to 20 years more youthful just by lifting weights twice weekly for one year!

To Life-long Health,

Linda

 

Whole herbs for a Healthy Heart

With February upon us and St. Valentine's Day only a week away, thoughts naturally turn to affairs of the heart. Appropriate then, that February is American Heart Month.

Sadly, heart disease is still the number one cause of death of men and women in the U.S. today. Yet, most heart disease is 100% preventable with simple changes in diet and lifestyle. Diet changes are critical in a healthy heart program. Fried foods, sugary foods, low fiber foods, red meats and highly preserved meats all contribute to clogged arteries, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and heart problems. In contrast, a low fat, high fiber, plant-based diet promotes a vital, healthy cardiovascular system for years to come.

Whole herbs are an excellent choice for heart health. They ease anxiety, promote better circulation, and even strengthen the heart muscle. The whole herb hawthorn encourages heart muscles to work more effectively, while at the same time relaxing the blood vessels. All of the following formulas contain hawthorn, Crataegus oxycanthoides, one of my favorite herbs for the heart.

Featured Products

• Men's Heart Defense: Herbal nutrients to help improve circulation and strengthen the heart muscle. Gentle, non-invasive and rich in antioxidant proanthocyanidins that promote healthy veins, arteries and capillaries.
  >>> Download PDF Info Sheet for Men's Heart Defense
  
  
• Women's Heart Defense: Superior heart and circulatory support for menopausal women. Gentle plant hormones normalize body systems. Cardiotonic herbs nourish the heart muscle and provide a sense of well-being.
  
  
• Heartsease HBP: Supports healthy blood pressure by enhancing circulatory health, and strengthening arterial and nervous systems.

I carry herbs with me everywhere I go for heart support. In fact, herbs helped me to overcome stage fright and minor heart palpitations when I first began my career in public speaking.

- Linda