Welcome to my new newsletter-blog format. I hope you like it! ~ Bernadette Wulf
Laughter Heals
I love to laugh and my favorite people are usually the ones I can laugh with a lot. That doesn’t mean we can’t be serious. In fact, in my experience, people who laugh easily can go deep in conversation and also silently enjoy the many wonders of life. In short, spontaneous laughter seems to have a lot to do with feeling free, natural, emotionally balanced, and safe in your own skin.
It turns out that there is a lot more to laughter than just having fun. It is actually a healing experience. No wonder it feels so good!
From wellness.com: “Dr. Berk [ ] states that the reason laughter improves your health is because it causes “all the reciprocal, or opposite, effects of stress.” Laughter literally triggers your hormones to stop releasing cortisol, a stress hormone. It then triggers the release of feel-good hormones like dopamine and endorphins, both of which calm you down and lower your anxiety level. Since cortisol literally suppresses the immune system and contributes to weight gain, obesity, and diabetes, you can see why laughter would be an important, well, medicine.
“And the benefits don’t stop there. Laughing also lowers blood pressure and improves cardiac health, actually boosts the immune system by activating T cells, and provides a quick ab workout. Once laughter turns off the flow of stress hormones, your stress level drops, and so does your heart rate. Laughing activates T cells, immune system cells that usually lie dormant, promoting immune function. And who doesn’t love the idea of working their ab muscles without going to the gym?”
Read More About the Healing Power of Laughter
http://www.wellness.com/blog/13277821/is-laughter-really-the-best-medicine/linda-rundare
Eating to Prevent Cancer
Since both of my parents died of cancer, or side-effects of cancer treatments, it is something I think about fairly often (and I always think of my Dad when writing my monthly newsletter, because he was my biggest fan). Why is cancer such a prevalent disease in our times? How can we improve our odds of avoiding it?
With all the toxins in our environment, in our foods, and even injected into our bodies over a lifetime, it is a wonder that we survive at all, but fortunately our bodies are resilient and adaptable. The good news is that we can do a lot to stay healthy by eating a plant-based diet and maintaining a positive attitude (including laughing a lot). That doesn’t mean we need to become vegans, though for some people that is the best option. It means keeping animal products well below the 10% level in our diets.
Some people do seem to need animal products, and they should eat what their bodies need, but that may mean eating a small amount of organic, pasture-raised chicken or fish once a week, rather than a steak or quarter-pound hamburger every day. Maybe it means a half cup of kefir or an egg now and then. Americans so often seem to think more is better, but when it comes to animal products that is definitely not the case.
From wjla.com: “Dr. Barnard encourages consumers to fight for their health with every meal, not just avoiding the cancer promoters, but opting for foods that can decrease our cancer risk. He points to green tea, grapes, turmeric, and tomatoes for their natural processes that destroy unhealthy cells. To reduce the risk of stomach and colorectal cancers, Dr. Barnard, who admits to giving up smoking and adopting a vegan diet after medical school, recommends a diet favoring plant-based foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. (For those interested in trying a vegan diet, Dr. Barnard created this 21-day kickstart.)
“‘Compared with those who consume meat and dairy products, women who follow plant-based diets have a 34-percent decreased risk for specific cancers including breast, ovarian, and uterine cancers,’ said Dr. Barnard. Orange vegetables like sweet potatoes, squash, and carrots are most effective in lowering a woman’s cancer risk. Consuming soy in adolescence, once thought to be harmful to teenage girls, can reduce the risk of breast cancer by 43 percent; if you are recovering from the disease, eating tofu, soybeans, and other pure sources of soy can reduce the risk of death by 30 percent.” Pretty good odds!
As I’ve shared many times before, soy is much better for us when fermented, as in tempe, soy yogurt, miso, and natto (though, the one time I bought natto, I couldn’t bring myself to eat it – ugh). Tofu (non-GMO of course) really seems to agree with me. WildWood SprouTofu is great, because it’s sprouted, which offers similar benefits to fermenting. Try it and see how you feel.
Read More About Eating to Prevent Cancer
http://wjla.com/news/health/eating-like-you-have-cancer
The Wonders of Golden Milk
I’m sure you have heard the buzz about turmeric if you pay attention to health articles and blogs. The curcumin in turmeric seems to be a cure-all for just about anything from arthritis to cancer. Why? Because it is so good at relieving inflammation and congestion, which is said by some to be the source of all disease. But there’s a glitch… of course, there’s always a glitch.
Apparently, curcumin is hard to absorb by itself, so we have to cook it thoroughly and combine it with fat and a bit of black pepper to get the most benefit. There is something alchemical about the combination of turmeric, a dash of black pepper, and healthy fat, such as coconut oil, so ancient Ayurvedic doctors of India came up with a delicious way to enjoy the benefits by combining these ingredients in what is known as Golden Milk.
They used dairy milk, which most Indians can tolerate well, but if we want to move to a plant-based diet, we can easily substitute nut or seed milks. (Be sure to read the article below and avoid milks that contain carrageenan!)
You can find lots of recipes online, but here is the basic recipe:
They always seem to say 1/4 cup turmeric to 1/2 cup water, but I find that it needs more water, even a whole cup sometimes by the time it is finished cooking. Start with less water. You can always add more while it cooks. It should be stirred over a medium flame for about 10 minutes until it makes a smooth, thick paste. The paste is then stored in the refrigerator for up to two weeks and you only need to use about a half teaspoon a day.
Other spices like cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom can also be added. I came up with a little trick of mixing 1/4 cup of coconut oil and 1/4 tsp. pepper into the paste as soon as it has finished cooking. Then I can just have it ready in the refrigerator to add to smoothies, hot milk, or Thai and Indian dishes. Best if taken every day!
Carrageenan in Your Nut Milk – Oh No!
Carageenan is definitely linked with inflammation, and now it looks like there’s a cancer link too. It is added to a lot of nut milks, ice creams, and sauces to make them thick and smooth, but when it breaks down in your digestive system it can cause big problems. Here’s why from TruthAboutCancer.com:
“Digestion Degradation of Carrageenan
“Once we drink our favorite nut milk beverage with carrageenan, the thickening agent gets degraded by the stomach acid and bacterial fermentation in the gut which alters the structure of the compound. Heating the almond or coconut milk would also degrade the compound and make it potentially toxic.
“Let’s say you get an organic pizza with this ingredient in the sauce portion. You heat the pizza up and it begins to break down the carrageenan particle. Then you begin to digest the pizza and the chewing process provides mechanical insult to the agent that further degrades it. The additive is then exposed to harsh stomach acid as the body is working to metabolize and absorb the nutrients within the pizza. This same process occurs with your nut milk.
“Finally, the pizza or nut milk gets into your small and large intestine where it is exposed to bacteria that further metabolize it, releasing the carrageenan in its most degraded form into the blood stream. By this time, we must expect the carrageenan to represent a similar degraded form that scientists use in order to create inflammation in lab animals.“
Read More About the Dangers of Carrageenan
http:thetruthaboutcancer.com/almond-milk-cancer-causing-ingredient/
Past issues of HealItAll.com Newsletter –
http://healitall.com/newsletterarchives.html
Bernadette Wulf is a Law of Attraction Coach, Ideal Weight Coach, EFT Therapist, Naturopath, and Reiki Master with a world-wide practice via phone and Skype.
Visit http://wulfworks.com for more information.
For Shamanic Energy Healing, Reiki, Health & Wellness Coaching
or Law of Attraction Coaching – Email Bernadette Wulf
707-824-0675 (Pacific time zone)
New Earth Ambassador & Faery Emissary
Sharing Health, Wealth & Faery Magic to Uplift the World!
What I love best is creating opportunities for people to tap into the New Earth reality — a reality of harmony, cooperation and prosperity for all. I call it the New Camelot!
I still recall the thrill of discovering how to break through the confusion and angst of living in the old 3D Matrix. That’s when I realized I had found something far more valuable than money or worldly “success.”
So now I spend my time creating courses, blogs and tools to support the citizens of the New Camelot in their ongoing quest for more vital health, abundant wealth and the magic of the faery realm (which is woven into the fabric of the New Camelot like silver threads of wonder).
I am also passionate about protecting Nature, educating people about a healthy whole plant foods diet, artistic creativity, connecting with the faery realm, Celtic and Arthurian lore, writing, painting and gardening.