Sonia Jones from the Haven Spa, Health Clinic and Fitness Center

Taking these steps will help prevent osteoporosis but will also help the body get the minerals it needs to calm the appetite.

1) Generally, we should be eating natural foods, as close as nature intended. We should be eating foods that provide us with the maximum of nutrients, foods that are easy to digest and work in harmony with our bodies. You need top-grade ‘fuel’ to function well. Just as a high performance car would not perform well on low-grade fuel. We can make our body’s job very difficult or very easy. Good nutrition is essential at any age but even more so as we get older.

2) A healthy program needs to be followed for the rest of your life. I have eaten this way for well over 2 decades now, so I know what it is like to change habits of a lifetime.

3) Exercise is very important, helps the bones, circulation, heart, moods – includes walking, dancing, jogging, what ever makes you happy and you know you will continue to do.

4) Ban the aluminum cook ware, aluminum is a heavy metal, which enters food from the aluminum pots and pans during cooking, especially if the food is acidic for instance contains tomatoes. It has the ability to interfere with the absorption of calcium and other minerals.

5) Alkaline diet. Most people’s diet is too acid forming. It makes sense to ensure that you have a more alkaline forming diet. This ensures the body is not continuously leeching calcium out of the bones to neutralize the acidic environment you have created for your body. The is more acidic the body is, the more susceptible to disease and degeneration. Alkaline forming foods are vegetables, fruit, seeds, nuts, whole grains etc

6) Tea Total at meal times. Don’t drink black tea with meals, as it hinders absorption of calcium and some other minerals , due to the high levels of tannins.

7) Reduce stress levels. Too much stress causes the release of adrenaline, too much adrenaline has a harmful dissolving effect on the bones, and a negative affect on just about every other system in the body.

Avoid bran (in its concentrated form) as it also hinders the absorption of calcium and other minerals. Get your fiber from whole foods, they also supply the body with an abundance of nutrients.

9) A healthy digestive system is crucial to good health. When the digestive system is working properly, it is the foundation to a long and healthy life. If you have problems with your digestion you should make it a priority to solve this situation – herbs, enzymes, foods etc.

10) This is a very important aspect to your health. Stabilizing our blood sugar will make an enormous difference to how we feel both emotionally and physically. Nutrition is the key to stabilizing your blood sugar levels. Begin by removing white flour products and sugar completely from your diet.

I put in the title 10 simple things – I didn’t say 10 easy things. Some people will feel the changes are easy and others will find it very difficult – see the information in “bite size pieces” – tackle one thing at a time and then it is pretty simple and easy to make the changes you need to or want to.

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Research has revealed ‘going on’ several low calorie diets and the inevitable ‘coming off’ a diet has these consequences (this list is by no means complete)

1) Loss of self-esteem

2) 40% drop in metabolism

3) Muscles shrink which further lowers metabolism

4) Heart output decreases by 40%

5) Regain weight that was lost after coming off a diet.

6) Preoccupation with certain foods

7) Gallstones, and sometimes the removal of the gall bladder due to dieting

25% of dieters on a liquid diet develop gallstones and need their gall bladder removed

9) Mental dullness

10) Increased risk of developing diabetes

10 Decreased sexual drive and interest

11) Elevated cholesterol levels

12) Elevated uric acid levels

13) Nausea

14) Headaches

15) Abnormal heart beat

16) Moods

17) Binging and cravings

18) Much less energy

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Of course we are not addicted to food in the same way as cocaine addict is addicted to their drug, however there are some very big similarities. You may think this doesn’t apply to you but it probably does.

Statistically it is thought that a large amount of people eat compulsively. Food cravings develop and for some people these cravings can be for them as strong as an addiction to alcohol for an alcoholic, or a nicotine addiction. Otherwise everyone would eat sensibly all the time.

The body can fight back against deprivation of nutrients by escalating food cravings until they are strong enough to overwhelm the will, and for some these cravings don’t go away after they have stopped dieting and regained their weight. Most often than not because they still are not getting the nutrients they need.

The body will not switch off until it gets the nutrients it needs (I am not talking of calories), this is a built in safety mechanism. Some nutrients are vital to the body and sadly lacking in most people’s diet. When the body finally gets the nutrients it needs it will begin to tone down cravings, addictions and intolerances.

Some foods literally act like ‘drug foods’ as they create a false high in the brain, they change the brain chemistry – a feel good factor for a short time (like a drug such nicotine or alcohol). Some people overeat, consuming loads of refined processed foods giving them a temporary high, leaving them malnourished, as these foods will use up valuable resources, depleting the body’s reserves. These are what are called ‘empty calories’. They will leave you wanting more. They will eventually drain your energy and alter your brain chemistry.

Which foods do you love? Which foods do you think you would be unable to live without? Experience shows these foods could be the very foods you have a problem with. You may be using these foods unknowingly like a drug. Over the years I have seen it time after time.

A lot of people tell me they are not addicted to any particular food, but soon find out when they try eliminate certain foods, how dependent they really are. It often comes as a surprise to them, but do not worry we have had extensive experience in this area, making it easier for you to overcome these obstacles.

Of course the food industry is well aware that people crave certain foods like wheat, sugar, salt, and food grade chemicals like preservatives, sweeteners, colorings etc. The industry has made full use of this fact and everywhere you look there are products full of the ‘drug like’ ingredients! It’s good for business and luckily for the industry these food ingredients are very cheap.

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Sonia Jones ND form The Haven Spa, Health Clinic and Fitness Center

Our general attitude to life will have a direct effect on every cell in our body. It will have a direct effect on every aspect of our lives. Making laughter a bigger part of your life and trying to make other people around you laugh is healthy. Laughter is a true gift and there is no other living creature on this earth that is so lucky, even the laughing hyena really doesn’t laugh.

Research reveals that laughter reduces the level of stress hormones like cortisol, epinephrine, and adrenaline. All of these hormones when they reach chronic levels are destructive and will increase pain, anxiety, irritability, interfere with our quality of sleep, speed up aging and slow down healing and repair. For others this can mean binging and/or comfort eating. At the same time laughter will increase levels of health-enhancing hormones like endorphins and neurotransmitters (happy chemicals). This means generally – you will feel better, have less pain, be in a much better mood, speed up healing and repair, sleep better, maintain better blood sugar levels and slow down aging.

Laughter increases the number of antibody-producing cells and enhances the effectiveness of T-cells. All this means a stronger immune system, which is a really pleasant way of protecting yourself from the viruses and ‘bugs’ that are around us all the time. We have all heard and used the expression “didn’t know whether to laugh or cry”? Though, they both provide physical and emotional release its more fun to laugh. A good ‘belly laugh’ exercises the diaphragm, contracts the abs and even works out the shoulders, leaving muscles more relaxed afterward. This means less aches and pains in the neck and shoulder areas that are so common today. It even provides a good workout for the heart – known as a ‘hearty laugh’.

We stretch muscles in our face and body, our pulse goes up, we breathe more deeply, our heart rate goes up therefore increasing our oxygen supply to every part of our body. It is like a very pleasant mild workout. The research reveals that while watching a comedy blood vessels expand and contract normally with ease, however while watching a drama blood vessels constrict, hindering blood flow. Laughter has a positive effect on our blood sugar levels, too.

Laughter connects us with others, it is a very sociable thing to do and it’s wonderfully contagious. We are 30 times more likely to laugh if we are with other people.

Laughter moves the focus away from anger, worry, guilt, stress and negative emotions. Studies show – our response to stressful events can be altered by whether we view something as a ‘threat’ or a ‘challenge’. Humour can give us a more light-hearted perspective and help us view events as ‘challenges’, thereby making them less threatening so we are able to deal with them more effectively. I wonder how and why we lose the ability to laugh so much? A recent study showed that pre-school-aged children laugh up to 400 times a day!!!! That is enviable wouldn’t you love some of that? How many times a day do you laugh now you are a sensible ‘grown-up’?

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1) Buy plain clothes as opposed to patterns, especially large bold patterns.

2) Avoid clothes with strips going across, if you want to wear strips then always with stripes going down. Strips going down will certainly make you look taller and thinner.

3) Clothes that are too tight will make you look larger, clothes need to fit well not too loose not too tight. Too tight is worse than too loose.

4) If you wear trousers that are not long enough they will make you look heavier and shorter, wear a shoe with a heel (how high is up to you), the trousers should reach below the middle of the heel, the fashion at the moment of wearing short trousers is really fattening!

5) Trousers, if too narrow at the bottom of the leg will make your hips look bigger! The same is true of a skirt, if the skirt is straight as opposed to coming out a little, will make your hips look bigger.

6) Wearing colors that are not too contrasting helps you to look taller and slimmer. A pair of white trousers with a pale colored top is fine, but a pair of white trousers with a black top will cut you in half and make you look shorter and fatter.

7) Whether you wear trousers or shirts a heel even a low heel (you don’t have to wear high heels if you don’t want to), will make to taller and look thinner, and makes your posture different, making you stand differently.

If you don’t follow these 7 simple rules – then the answer to your question “does this make my butt look bigger” would have to be “yes dear”.

Of course clothes can’t make you look what you are not, but they can make a huge difference either way.

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The meaning and the value people put on health is different for each person. As a practitioner I see many people who would consider themselves healthy, they have not been branded with a particular disease – for instance diabetes. However, they do take some form of medication, have aches and pains, are over-weight, don’t sleep well, and their annual tests are okay-ish.This is not what I would consider health and well-being. I put a very high price on true health and vitality.

What is well-being as opposed to dis-ease?  It is a balance, a harmonious lifestyle that enhances and energizes, as opposed to dragging you down, leaving you more tired and more vulnerable to dis-ease, dis-stress and weight problems.

Changes – anything worth having usually needs some dedication and staying power. It does take some effort and commitment but the results are usually well worth it. In the majority of cases changes are often easier than you first imagined.

The hardest thing of all for most people is changing their thought patterns,  as they seem deeply etched. There is no one simple answer here, some people find mantras or meditation a good technique other people choose to read inspirational books, some would rather listen to audio CDs or watch DVDs, some get a mentor, while others find their daily journal invaluable.

Do not let anyone tell you their way is the best. The only way, is the way that works for you, we are all different. Bear in mind you have not only developed ‘eating patterns’ but also developed ‘thought patterns’.

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Moving out of the ‘box’, out of your ‘comfort zone’ can be a daunting experience but it is also an exciting experience. Changes in life are inevitable we need to view them as good things, as a challenge not a threat.

Be serious about making life-long changes, remember what you were doing in the past has not worked. The changes can be small and simple but the effects are profound. Don’t under-estimate how dramatic small shifts can be.

Think of a dripping tap, one tiny drop at a time, it’s just amazing how fast a bucket fills up – drop by drop.

The small changes add up and the affects can be quite dramatic. If you find some things too big to tackle, then start with the small and simple things.

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For instance it is a problem if your goal is an event like a school reunion and the need to get into a particular dress. However, this event can be used as a stepping stone. Having a series of stepping stones can help you get to where you want to be – step by step, stone by stone.

Important steps –

1) Read more articles on NATURAL weight-loss – this will give you a much better and deeper understanding

2)  It really is well worth while filling in a daily food mood journal – the evidence has proven it helps in many ways

3) Relax and enjoy your food – this means chewing your food really well, most people don’t, there are so many benefits to chewing well

4) Be truly aware of what you are eating and how it might affect you

5) Don’t eat standing up or on the move

6) Don’t eat while watching TV

7) Don’t eat until you are full, wait just 10 minutes before deciding to have more

Do drink some water 20 to 30 minutes before a meal

9) Really taste your food – you could do an experiment of blind folding yourself and concentrating on the food you eat, this has a profound effect. Try it.

10) Do eat more during the day and less in the evening

11) Don’t go food shopping when you are hungry – research shows it make a big difference to what you buy

12) Don’t skip meals – eat on a regularly basis

13) Remember taste buds need a little time to be re-educated

14) Remember old habits die hard

15) Do have a positive attitude

16) Avoid all sugar and white rice, white bread, white pasta etc

17) ‘Carbohydrate’ is not a dirty word

18) If you have to have alcohol then only with food – ie glass of wine when you are actually eating, not before eating. Drinking before food messes up blood sugar levels more

19) See this as a new adventure – exciting new possibilities

20) You are NOT going to be one of the 95 to 98 % of dieters who put their weight back with time

21) Take care of your health and the weight takes care of itself almost

22) If you wear glasses for reading – take them to the supermarket with you -read ingredients labels

23) Essential fats are vital for weight-loss and health-gain, stay away from all processed fats

24) Do not chew gum

25) Do not count calories

26) Clear kitchen cupboards or pantry of any processed foods, any half used foods, anything almost out of date etc – start a new

27) Any clothes you have not worn for a year or two clear out of the closet, give away or throw away, making space for a new you. If you want to keep one or two things that didn’t fit properly, get then altered so they do fit

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Research done on fatty tissue of overweight people showed their fatty tissue to be very deficient in lipase. Lipase is an enzyme that breaks down fat. It has been discovered that eating dead food puts on weight. What is meant by dead food? Foods that contain no enzymes and these foods most often than not lack the very nutrients (co-enzymes) the body needs for burning fat for energy. Without enough enzymes and nutrients, our fat stagnates.

Enzymes are needed by every chemical reaction in the body, our whole system is run by metabolic enzymes without these enzymes there is no life, no movement. Where do these all-important enzymes come from?

Our bodies can make enzymes. However, our bodies can only do this efficiently if they get the nutrients they need (the co-enzymes). In theory this statement is true in practice few people eat enough foods that are full of nutrients.

As we age our natural reserves decline.

Refining, processing and heating food above 60C, (about 140F) will destroy enzymes in foods. Take two seeds, boil only one of them. Then plant both of them in the same soil and water them both equally. As we all know only one of these sunflower seeds will germinate and grow. If you took grains of white rice and tried to sprout them nothing would happen -‘dead food’.

There are three types of enzymes

1) metabolic enzymes (found in places like the immune system)

2) digestive enzymes (needed for digestion)

3) food enzymes (found in fresh foods)

Our immune system reacts very differently according to what we have eaten. This may surprise you. Our white blood cells contain enzymes similar to those produced by the pancreas for digestion. These enzymes break down proteins, fats and carbohydrates that have managed to get into the blood stream. After a cooked meal our white blood cell count goes up considerably, it would appear to aid in the process of digestion by providing much needed enzymes. However, when we eat raw foods there is no substantial increase in our white blood count.

5 simple steps to increasing your enzyme levels on a daily basis -

1) Eat a natural ‘live’ yogurts, not only high in enzymes, it has a completely different effect on our bodies compared to milk that is treated with high temperature and is dead food. Natural ‘live’ yogurt also contains the correct bacteria encouraging the correct ‘bowel flora’ and protein helping to stabilise blood sugar levels.

2) Sprouted grains, beans and seeds are bursting with enzymes and the process dramatically increases the levels of vitamins and minerals (co-enzymes). It is so easy to do, it child’s play.

3) Fresh fruit and vegetables are full of enzymes and co-enzymes. However, fresh vegetables are easily robbed of their enzymes and many nutrients when boiled to death and then ant remaining nutrients are thrown down the drain with the water. The best way to eat vegetables – raw, lightly steamed, briefly stir-fried, salads and juices.

4) Juicing. You need a good quality cold pressed type juice extractor like the Champion Juicer for this job. Freshly made juices are highly concentrated with nutrients and those vital enzymes. Most cheap juicers produce too much heat, affecting the enzymes.

5) If you like eating muesli – there is only one way to eat it. Natural muesli must be soak in some water overnight, not so much water that in the morning it is swimming. This will activate enzymes that will get to work on the raw grains, nuts and seeds making them much easier for us to digest. Besides, this way you will also eat far less as the muesli expands in the bowl, not in your stomach.

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Sonia Jones ND from The Haven Spa and Health Clinic, Boquete,

Most people would certainly consider natural foods as good for them, enhancing their health and even helping them to lose weight. But there are usually exceptions to most rules. It is not so well known that some foods can actually hinder the thyroid function due to pacific plant compounds in these foods known as goitrogens. There are two in particular you need to know about because they are used very extensively in the food industry, they are peanuts and soy. Soy in one form or another is found in so many manufactured foods these days. You will also find peanuts and peanut oil in a lot of products too. Then add to this the fact that most people eat too many foods that contain sugar and refined carbohydrates that also have a detrimental effect on the thyroid function too, mainly due to the fact that these foods lack the very nutrients needed to convert one thyroid hormone into another more active form. Then there are the chemical pollutants, pesticides, mercury, chlorine, and fluoride that all have a harsh affect on the thyroid gland.

Other big enemies to the thyroid glands normal function

The processed vegetable oils freely found on the supermarket shelves and in just about every manufactured food available. The majority of the oils are made from soybeans or partly from soybeans. These highly processed oils are heated to extreme temperatures, changing the molecular structure of the oil, causing serious free-radical damage to every cell in the body, including the thyroid cells.

It is almost impossible to buy processed packaged foods of the shelf that doesn’t contain to some degree soybean oil. Unfortunately, most often just labeled as vegetable oil, hydrogenated fat, partially hydrogenated fat, margarine or shortening. It is important to become an avid label reader of the ingredient list found on all processed food products.

These cheap processed oils interfere with your thyroid function by

a) blocking thyroid hormone secretion

b) hindering its general circulation

c) altering the cells response to the hormone

Anything that interferes with the function and production of the thyroid hormone will interfere with cholesterol and hormone levels.

If you eat a lot of soybean products because you are a vegetarian consider cutting down and adding more variety of beans and lentils to your diet. The important thing to consider if you are a vegetarian always mix beans or lentils with grains this will give you the amino acids you need for a protein. So you would for example have brown rice with a bean chili or a lentil casserole with millet.

The other thing to consider about soybean products is that most of the soybeans on the world market are genetically modified and soybean products are also quite hard to digest. I suggest buying organic tofu to eat it occasionally. The process of fermenting soybeans to make tofu helps in digestion and being organic it will not be genetically modified.

From now on read label carefully and avoid those foods that will hinder your thyroid function and ultimately your weight-loss, general health and energy levels.

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