Green is Sexy

Greens. The sexiest of all food groups! Chlorophyll is one of nature's greatest healers. If you want glowing health and beautiful skin, choose greens: arugula, collards, parsley, kale, chard, watercress, nettles, dandelion, spinach, sprouts -- any green, any time! So much research has been done on the benefits of greens. Greens help us digest other foods by stimulating the secretion of digestive enzymes. They are an excellent source of amino acids -- in fact; greens are the primary food group that match human nutritional needs most completely! Why aren't you eating them??

"Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon." ~ Doug Larson

Why is it so hard to love greens?? Take a look at what has been found when greens are put to the test:

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found that individuals who eat leafy greens had a 23% reduction in coronary heart disease.

Scientists found that a diet rich in leafy green vegetables actually showed a significant reduction in the chance of developing colon cancer.

Research shows that folate, one of the impressive B Vitamins in greens, may protect against cognitive decline in older adults.

Studies found that caratenoids (powerful antioxidants) in green leafy vegetables can inhibit the growth of certain types of breast cancer cells, skin cancer cells, lung cancer and stomach cancer.
Another study showed that women who ate the most leafy greens had half the risk of ovarian cancer compared to those who ate the least. Half!! What are you waiting for??

The darker the green, the more nutrients they hold. Choose those that are lusciously deep in color, like kale and collards, and mix them with a variety of shades, textures and tastes for the perfect balance of vitamins and minerals.

Have you ever dared to eat raw collard greens?? Dinosaurs must have been gnawing on collard greens because they date back all the way to prehistoric times. They're one of the oldest members of the cabbage family and a close cousin of another one of my favorite greens, the super sexy Kale. The vitamin K, A, C and magnesium levels in collards are off the charts and their folate, calcium and dietary fiber content is impressive, too. Try this easy recipe:

Collard Green Wrap

Cut the stems off of 1 or 2 collard green leaves. Cover with a layer of hummus. Add filling, such as grated carrot, sliced zucchini, sprouts, avocado, tomato, quinoa or anything you like or have on hand. Fold over the bottom and roll up like a burrito. Easy, healthy, portable and a cinch to make! You can try other greens, too, like big chard leaves or crunchy cabbage leaves.

Super Sexy Smoothie

1 cup pineapple, fresh or frozen 1 ripe banana, fresh or frozen1 fresh, juicy mango or 1 cup frozen7 leaves of dinosaur kale (stems removed)2 cups water

Blend until creamy. Use more or less water to get your desired thickness.The super sexy kale is considered to be a nutritional super star among green veggies, with very strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Leafy Greens Rock!!

Get green and get your sexy back!! Try to include at least one good green salad into your diet every day -- two if you can. Add greens to your smoothies! Juice greens! Gently steam or lightly sauté your greens just until they wilt and turn a brilliant emerald! There are so many varieties of sexy greens at your local Farmer’s Market. Have fun and try a new green every week. Fuel your glow with greens!

Attract Sickness or Wellness -- it's up to you

As you know, optimal health includes physical, emotional and spiritual balance. Pass this on to a friend or loved one...it may result in a turning point necessary for a positive change in someone's life - even yours.

How to Attract Illness

Avoid making any changes which would bring greater satisfaction and joy into your life.

Shun anything that resembles humor. Remember that life is a serious struggle and is no laughing matter.

Do not express your feelings and views openly and honestly. Other people wouldn't appreciate it. If at all possible, avoid even knowing what you're feelings are.

Blame other people for all your problems.

Fill your mind with dreadful thoughts and then become obsessed with them. Worry about the future often, if not all the time.

Be resentful, critical and judgmental of everyone around you, especially yourself.

Do lots of things you don't like and avoid doing what you really want. Follow everyone else's opinion and advice, while feeling miserable and stuck.

Don't pay any attention to your body. Eat plenty of junk food, don't exercise and drink lots of soda, sports drinks, Red Bulls and tap water. Sleep less than 6 hours every night. Smoke and drink. If you are stressed and tired, ignore it. Just keep pushing yourself.

If you are sick, go see lots of different doctors; run from one to another; spend half your day in waiting rooms; get lots of conflicting opinions and treatment; start one program after another without sticking to any. Take lots and lots of drugs. Be helpless and uninformed.

How to Maintain Wellness or Improve Health, Even If you’ve been Sick

Do things that bring you a sense of fulfillment, joy purpose and validate your self-worth. See your life as being your own creation and strive to make it a positive one.

Pay close and loving attention to yourself, tuning into your needs on all levels. Nurture and encourage yourself.

Release all negative emotions, especially resentment, envy, fear, sadness and anger. Express your feelings appropriately and authentically; don't hold onto what does not serve you.

Hold positive goals in your mind; images of what you truly want in your life.

Love yourself unconditionally and do your best to love everyone else. Make this love the primary expression in your life. Create fun, loving, honest, authentic relationships, allowing for the expression and fulfillment of your needs.

Nourish yourself with whole, fresh, nutrient-rich organic foods as Nature provided, not processed foods out of a box or can. Put love into the preparation of those foods. Drink pure water, exercise daily and treat your body with respect, honor and love.

See yourself as God sees you.

Enjoy the unconditional love, dedication, companionship and joy of sharing your life with a furry friend.

Make a commitment to your health and well being. Believe that your body can heal itself.

Develop a natural wellness program, drawing on the advice and wisdom of professionals you respect and trust.

Accept yourself and everything in your life as an opportunity for growth and learning. When you make a mistake, forgive yourself, learn what you can from the experience, and move on without regrets.

Most importantly, be grateful for the abundance and blessings in your life. Give thanks for all you have and for the beautiful person you are. You are the thoughts of God -- an absolute miracle. Treat yourself as such.

Why You are Addicted to Sugar

Let me ask you...how often do you feel compelled to drive into Starbucks? How often do you reach for bread, crackers, pasta or cereal throughout your day? Do you think that sugar only exists in candy, cake or cookies? Think again.

Most people will insist, "I'm not addicted to sugar. I can quit eating sugar anytime I want." Really? Prove it! See if you can go sugar-free for just ten days. That's a real eye-opener for most people, because even if they have the determination to attempt such an experiment, most soon find themselves crawling back to the pantry, desperately seeking a soda beverage loaded with high-fructose corn syrup (liquid sugar) to end their withdrawal symptoms.

You may not realize it, but you are addicted to sugar.

The truth is, most of us are so addicted to sugar that we deny our addictions in the same way that a crack or heroin addict might. And yet, when it comes down to it, sugar controls our behavior. If we don't have our sugar in the morning (in our Starbucks, pancakes, muffins or donuts or cereals), sugar at lunch (in the salad dressing, pasta sauce, lunch meat, sandwich bread soda and cookie for dessert) and sugar at dinner (there's sugar in pizza, ketchup and BBQ sauce, frozen and low-fat meals….plus virtually all restaurant foods and fast foods), then we suffer serious withdrawal symptoms and go crazy with moodiness and irritability. Sometimes we are cheerful, charming, funny and delightful. Other times you can be a royal pain in the butt and even the people who love you stay out of your way. We start blaming everyone around them for silly things, and they may even become sweaty and light-headed if we don’t get our fix. Sound familiar?

You are a sugar addict.

If you don't believe me, just put a spoonful on your tongue. How does it instantly make you feel?? You get a warm, comfortable, incredibly pleasurable feeling that makes you feel safe and happy. When we eat sugar, we feel happy.

I know. I used to be a sugar addict – I used to think sugar was harmless and now I am speaking out to let you know that sugar addiction is real and it wreaks havoc on our health. I had acne and bloating. I wanted to sleep after meals. I had mood swings and depression. I was irritable. I could not go a day without some form of sugar or flour. My only saving grace was that I exercised a lot because I was an aerobic instructor -- but sugar was devastating my health slowly.

You may not think it is possible to be addicted to something so ''harmless'' as sugar. Most people wouldn’t consider a sugar addiction as serious as a cigarette or an alcohol addiction. After all, how dangerous can a chocolate chip cookie really be?

But refined white sugar is a pleasure drug -- a legalized recreational drug that's socially acceptable to consume.

That’s because, when we eat sugar, our brain releases natural chemicals called opioids, which give the body a feeling of intense pleasure and we begin to crave more of it. Drugs like heroin and morphine also activate the brain to release opioids. Rats that are fed sugar and then completely denied of it will go through withdrawal symptoms such as teeth-chattering and the shakes – and they repeated press the lever that once dispensed the sugar solution.
Research shows that sugar contributes to as much illness and suffering as other legal addictions, but suffers none of their social ostracism. Smokers huddle outside. Alcoholics have their own support groups. Sugar addicts ... well, it’s everywhere – in the grocery store, at the birthday party, in those little dishes at the bank, at grandma’s house and someone at work is always bringing in sugary treats.

Sugar is far worse than “empty calories.” It is actually an anti-food. It steals nutrients. People live longer on nothing than they do eating sugar. (This fact was first discovered with marooned sailors in 1806 and later verified by laboratory experiments.)

This applies to refined carbs as well as sugar. Refined wheat has protein, fiber and a dozen nutrients removed. Many sugarholics and others consuming lots of processed food live in a constant state of nutrient depletion.

Refined flour products, such as breads, bagels, tortillas, pasta, muffins and cereals are often our primary food source in this fast-paced, microwave, working-mom society we live in. The problem is that eating these refined carbohydrates daily in significant quantity causes our bodies to metabolize them just like sugar. Basically, refined carbohydrates release sugar into the blood stream faster than we’ve evolved to handle it. This challenges the cells’ energy-producing systems, throws hormones out of balance, increases inflammation, severely impairs our immune response and triggers the release of numerous harmful compounds – in addition to making us fat, feel lazy and sick all over.

When sugar or flour is our main source of food, our body literally becomes addicted to it like a drug. Our body metabolizes flour and sugar immediately after it is eaten. Our pancreas dumps a huge surge of insulin into our system, which uses up the sugar very quickly, causing us to crave even more sugar. We then crave our “drug” fix to make up for the energy we lose by the lack of nutrients in these foods. The short-term burst of energy that sugar and refined flour products provide needs to be replenished quickly by more sugar intake in order to continue to satisfy our body’s cravings! Like drug addicts, we continually turn to soft drinks, sugary energy bars, bread, pasta and other forms of sugary, refined food products in order to satisfy our cravings. Sadly, we crave the very thing that is killing us.

When we bombard our bodies daily with refined food products, eventually we get fat. Our body is being forced to use sugar for fuel, instead of fat, eventually damaging our ability to break down fats properly. When that happens, our body will store extra proteins, carbohydrates and fats all as fats. Even farmers know that to fatten up livestock before they are slaughtered, feed them lots of grains instead of healthier grasses!!

To avoid becoming a sugar addict, start transitioning your diet to REAL food. Whole foods that grow in the ground or from a tree, rather than refined flour or sugar products. Whole foods retain their nutrient value, allowing our body to recognize them and metabolize them slowly and properly. We are truly nourished from them. Choose whole fruit instead sugary treats; sprouted breads rather than breads made from flour, and avoid foods in boxes, wrappers, packages and cans. Need some help? Grab a copy of my e-book, Cleanse Your Way to Health, Beauty and Longevity at http://www.ginareneelac.com/

And remember, as the famous author Michael Pollan quotes: “If it comes from a plant, eat it. If it was made in a plant, don’t.” Pretty simple advice. Whole foods nourish us, free us from disease, slow the aging process, and give us energy and vitality ~ just like God intended.

Lose the Stress and Set Free Your Qi !

Get Ready to Glow with Acupuncture


Our life experiences shape the look of our face as we age. If you’ve ever watched someone go through an emotionally trying time, they can seem to age 10 years in a matter of months. Even if we’ve faced just a few stressful days in a row, we’ll often be able to see it written all over our face. These are prime examples of the toll stress can take on us physically.

So, the fact that we may have a genetic “predisposition” for facial wrinkles, for example, does not mean that we are doomed to develop a face full of wrinkles during middle-age! In other words, whether we are mentally stressed or able to maintain a more positive, balanced outlook can influence the expression of our genes, and thus directly impact how we age.

Stress lessens our skin's ability to function properly, heal wounds and fight disease, and could put us at an increased risk of skin diseases like psoriasis or dermatitis. Meanwhile, scientific data has revealed that extended exposure to stress could speed up the aging process of our cells and cause them to die at a faster rate than normal.

The key is not getting rid of stress completely, as we all face stressful situations from time to time (even exercise is a form of stress), but rather adjusting the body’s ability to tolerate the stress.

Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years to release stress and enhance the energy flow within the body for whole body rejuvenation. Setting free our Qi (energy) and restoring vitality within the body represents a radically different approach to achieving beauty than a surgical facelift! Acupuncture heals every aspect of our being. It can be used to correct the internal imbalances that cause us to hold on to stress, create the wrinkles, sagging, discoloration, dark circles, or "bags" under the eyes. Acupuncture keeps our energy harmoniously balanced in mind, body and spirit — so we can live in beauty and flow through life gracefully and joyfully.

Our true beauty comes from within. When we feel healthy, happy and harmonious on the inside, our exquisite beauty is revealed. Our eyes shine, our complexion glows, and we feel more beautiful.

Set free your Qi and get the glow with Acupuncture!! Contact me at http://www.ginareneelac.com/

Get the Glow!

If you want your health to improve, if you want to glow with wellness and beauty, and if you really want your life to change for the better -- you have to do something different than what you are doing now. The foods we choose to fill us make all the difference because everything we eat becomes a part of us.

What we eat radically affects the way we think, feel and behave. It is nutrient-rich, real, authentic, alive foods that put a sparkle in our eye, a glow to our skin and hair and a feeling of pure energy, beauty and joy from the inside out.

If you insist on eating processed, dead foods that are devoid of nutrients, you will feel devoid of energy, radiance and vitality. Your body cannot live on dead food energy. If you want to feel alive, glowing and beautiful, doesn’t it make sense to fill yourself with foods that are alive with energy and vibrantly beautiful, instead of foods that are devoid of life and even vibrant color??

Even mice fed live foods have three times more energy and endurance than when they are fed cooked foods! And when we have more energy, we glow. Our food, as all of life, has electrical energy and the potential to enhance our own glowing life-force. “You are what you eat” — it’s true!

Raw food is complete with everything that allowed it to sprout and grow in the first place -- enzymes, water, oxygen, vitamins and minerals and so much more. It was divinely designed to be perfect by nature. Untouched, untainted, raw food is honest food -- what you see is what you get. No hidden ingredients, nothing messed around with, just pure delicious fresh live food that we are designed to eat - living food for living bodies. Natural foods, alive with energy, creates new life, new cells and glowing wellness. These are the foods that nourish and give us vibrant health, glowing wellness, exquisite beauty, an exceptional quality of life and longevity.

Foods that Rob You of Beauty

Sugar & Artificial Sweeteners / Refined Flour and Gluten / Heated & Processed Oils / Dairy

A Few Foods that Enhance Your Beauty:

Greens — The sexiest of all food groups. Chlorophyll is one of nature’s greatest healers. If you want to glow, choose greens — arugula, collards, parsley, kale, chard, watercress, nettles, dandelion, spinach, sprouts — any green, any time!

Try to include at least one good green salad into your diet every day— two if you can. Add greens to your smoothies! Juice greens! Fuel your glow with greens!

Olives – Olives are perhaps the most beautifying food of all. They are one of the highest natural sources of vitamin E, known to erase fine lines on the face, repair connective tissue, heal the circulatory system and soothe digestion. They are high in antioxidants and squalene to keep the skin smooth. (Canned olives are pasteurized and don’t contain these beneficial properties.)

Coconut – In Sanskrit, the coconut palm is known as “the tree that supplies all that is needed to live.” It contains one of the most healing fats of all foods and the remarkable ability to rejuvenate tissue damage. So, repairing and nourishing the skin with coconut should be approached by both eating the coconut and massaging it’s oil into the skin. It also heals and prevents stretch marks.

Cucumber – cucumbers have the reputation as the most excellent kidney cleanser known – they prevent puffiness and bloating due to water retention – and they are very hydrating.

Radish — Very high in both sulfur and silica, and one of the highest vegetable sources of vitamin C! Sulfur and silicon work together with vitamin C to create glowing, radiant skin.

Pineapple — Rich in bromelain, manganese and collagen-healing vitamin C, pineapple contains enzymes that make skin elastic, improve skin hydration, reduce inflammation and remove damaged and dead cells for a clear and glowing complexion. The enzymes in pineapples also fight free-radical damage and can reduce age spots and fine lines. It can even help curb sugar cravings!

Figs — One of the most nutritious fruits in the world, with one of the highest concentrations of calcium than any other food. Sweet and sexy, figs increase fertility and are a symbol of abundance.

Get the glow and bring color and vibrancy back into your life with the power of fresh, whole raw foods!!