EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Exercise, and fun… in the same sentence!

admin — Thu, 17 May 2012 03:38:18 +0000

When we feel fantatsic every day with boundless energy and enthusiasm for life, we naturally want to move our bodies and find joy in the expression of physical activity. But when we are tired, unmotivated, apathetic, and feeling down, exercise becomes an insurmountable challenge and drops to the bottom of our to-do list.

This then becomes a viscious cycle where the longer we don’t exercise for, the more difficult it is to get started again. The wonderful benefits we gain from exercise, such as the increase in energy, the anti-depressant effect, the support it gives our adrenals and the benefits to our cardiovascular system and muscles, all fall by the way-side.

I have gone through stages of exercising by doing activities that are done purely for the physical benefit they confer – however I know that I am much more likely to stick to an activity program if I actually enjoy what I am doing

The last time I went on holidays the weather was so warm, and the beautiful ocean was only a minute’s drive away. I had been going to the beach twice a day and swimming in the gentle swell for over an hour each time. I don’t even notice that I was exercising, I’m just enjoying the water, body surfing when a big wave comes in and generally relaxing and enjoying the experience. When I get out, I notice that I’m breathing pretty heavily, as if I’ve just gone for a good solid run. The joys of unconsious exercising…

Now if anyone asked you to exercise twice a day for an hour doing something you don’t really like, you would probably laugh at them – but when you are having pure enjoyment out of moving your body, then that is the ideal exercise for you.

Now of course, not all of us have a year round warm climate, a beautiful beach a minute away and two hours a day to luxuriate in the ocean – but there are plenty of ways to move your body and find an activity that is fun and keeps you fit too. Find yours and get to it!

Leisa

Exercise, and fun… in the same sentence! is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

The secrets of a raw kitchen…

admin — Tue, 15 May 2012 03:37:09 +0000

A little while ago now I moved house and had the chance to set up my kitchen from scratch – I put together the below video so that I could invite you into my home and show you what it looks like! And what’s involved in a Raw Food Kitchen!

Being organised is the key to success, and I find that if I have a well stocked and sorted kitchen, it makes it easier to be able to make all sorts of raw food recipes, as I can pick up most recipe books and know that I will have the ingredients on hand. I did a blog post a while ago called “Making it Easier” and you’ll find more great tips and hints there too!

Here is a basic pantry list to help you stock your kitchen – this isn’t gospel, you can add to it, but it is a great place to start!

Raw Food Pantry List

I hope you enjoy the tour!

Leisa

The secrets of a raw kitchen… is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

Delicious Lucuma Ice Kream

Leisa — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 11:00:15 +0000

This recipe was featured in the Raw Pleasure newsletter and is from Ani Phyo’s book Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen:

Lucuma Ice Kream

A rich creamy gelato-like ice cream popular in South America, this flavor is reminiscent of caramel. You don’t need an ice cream maker to enjoy this recipe. Just blend and freeze. Super fast and easy. As always, this recipe is gluten free, wheat free, sugar free, dairy free, and good for you!

Makes 2 cups

1/2 cup Lucuma Powder
1 cup Cashews
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Powder (or vanilla bean/extract)
1/4 cup Yacon Syrup
1 cup filtered water

Blend all ingredients until smooth and creamy
Freeze

Yum!
Leisa

Delicious Lucuma Ice Kream is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

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10 Things You Didn’t Know About Magnesium

Leisa — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 11:00:01 +0000

Magnesium is one of those beautiful healing minerals that is largely ignored by the medical profession, but is absolutely essential to good health. Luckily for us, magnesium is found in plentiful quantities in a raw food diet – especially in green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, legumes, some fruits, avocados and of course raw cacao powder! Here are 10 facts (out of 1000?s) you should know about magnesium:

1. Magnesium is the mineral of rejuvenation, and prevents the calcification of our organs and tissues that is characteristic of the old-age related degeneration of our body.

2. Magnesium deficiency contributes to an exaggerated response to immune stress and oxidative stress is the consequence of the inflammatory response.

3. Prolonged use of magnesium will prevent chronic complications of diabetes.

4. Evidence is mounting that deficient levels of magnesium contribute to the heavy metal deposition in the brain that precedes Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease.

5. When a doctor’s patient dies of influenza, it is not the virus that is deadly, but the patient’s compromised immune system due to chronic, long-standing deficiencies of vitamin C and magnesium intake, combined with the drugs and vaccines that doctors use that send old and young alike to their graves.

6. Cholesterol cannot be synthesized without magnesium and cholesterol is a vital component of hormones.

7. Women who suffer from premature menopause, or an early failure of the ovaries report that magnesium often helps fight the crashing fatigue that often comes at the beginning of premature or early menopause by boosting energy levels.

8. Diuretics help flush magnesium as well as potassium from the body. The resulting magnesium deficiency hinders potassium use by the cells. Magnesium deficiency keeps people from replenishing potassium.

9. Magnesium treatment has been repeatedly shown to reduce the incidence of both temporary and permanent noise-induced hearing loss and supplementation is now being found to significantly improve acute onset hearing loss.

10. All physiological processes deteriorate in the face of magnesium deficiency vastly accelerating the aging process and hastening the onset of death.

For more information see: http://www.phaelos.com/transdermal.html and check out the Green Smoothie Lesson for an easy way to get plenty of magnesium into your diet.

Leisa

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Magnesium is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

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Not so healthy, health food

Rhianna — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:00:26 +0000

I love Health Food Stores!! I almost live in mine. And thank goodness for them! They are the only place where I can get almost all of my grocery shopping needs. I really enjoy taking my time, perusing the new items, reading labels and checking out the newest craze items to hit the shelves. By the way, Maqui Berry is so hot right now, it’s the NEW Acai!!

One thing I notice often in my jaunts at my local health food store, is that there are a lot of unhealthy health foods in there too. I know this only from reading so many labels and having food intolerances I need to be aware of. Before I started down my journey of label reading (get the pocket book or Iphone app “The Chemical Maze” to help you out), I just assumed as soon as I stepped foot inside the door, that I was transported into a world of good health! Everything was good for me, everything was natural, organic, low in sugar, no colours or flavours, preservative free and sustainably harvested by happy well paid Peruvians (in regards to goji berries, maca and raw cacao!). Only when I still continued so suffer from food reactions did I flip over the packet and start really learning.

Let’s first talk about Gluten Free Food. I used to think that because it was gluten free, the food would be healthier in general. Not so, not so!!! Many of the gluten free products out there are loaded with sugar. In many cake mixes it can be the first ingredient, even before gluten free flour!! Gluten makes a baked item light and fluffy, so also be aware that other ingredients can be added to mimic this effect. Look up numbers and words in “The Chemical Maze” to find out if these are safe. The book will give you a smiley face for safe numbers and a sad face for bad numbers associated with allergies, chemicals and other nasties.

Dairy Free is another big place people fall down. Again watch out for heaps of sugar. Personally I am very suspicious of any non-dairy products masquerading as dairy. Soy cheese, soy sour cream, orange logs of melting fake “cheeze” and so on literally scare me. I read the ingredients of a popular brand from the United States and felt like I should have gone and washed my hands! So many numbers, colours, flavours and preservatives! That being said, there are some good ones turning up nowadays. Coconut yoghurt and ice-cream comes in a few brands, some of which do not contain any nasties. Read your labels just to be sure.

Sugar free is possibly the scariest of all. You may have to do your research here and find out what the replacement sugar is. Xylitol or stevia are natural plant sugar replacements that can be happily consumed. Artificial sweeteners and certain sugar alcohols can cause bloating, gas, loose stools, and have even been linked to cancers.

I actually avoid the section of the fridge that contains the vegan prepackaged food because it honestly disturbs me. I mean how do they make soy beans look and taste like bacon??? It’s just wrong! Be very careful with this “food” as by the time it is processed, coloured, preserved, flavoured and stamped into realistic bacon shapes,I highly doubt there is any nutritional value left in it!

I have three rules I go by when it comes to food shopping.

1. If it has any big scary words in it that sound like they have come straight out of a science lab…..INVESTIGATE or AVOID!!!

2. If you can’t tell what it was originally in nature (for example the vegan non-bacon bright red strips of death) then AVOID, or if you really want it, INVESTIGATE!!!

3. If it has an ingredient list as long as your arm……..RECONCIDER and AVOID!!!!!!!

It may take you a little while to get used to reading your labels but once you familiarise yourself you will become a health food shopping pro! Your local health food store is still your friend, there are still really good foods housed there, you just have to find them.

Flannerys at Robina is my favourite Health Food Store on the Gold Coast. Where is yours?

Rhianna

Not so healthy, health food is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

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Happy World Entrepreneurship Day

Leisa — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 03:08:59 +0000

Happy World Entrepreneurship Day! How will you celebrate today?

We are celebrating by giving a 2 for 1 deal for any of you who want to buy tickets to our Melbourne 9th May, Brisbane 14th May or Sydney 16th May The Y.E.S Movie Premieres… Bring your business partner, colleagues or clients. Bring your teenagers they will be inspired after seeing this movie…

Simply tell us how you are celebrating World Entrepreneurship Day by emailing me at info@embracinghealth.com.au and a link will be sent to your inbox so you can redeem your deal… Hurry as this opportunity expires in 24 hours!

Leisa

Happy World Entrepreneurship Day is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

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entrepreneurship day report

Red Bull gives you… more than you bargain for!

Trudy — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 02:41:28 +0000

Let’s not just stop at ‘the bull’, while I’m on the subject let’s bring into the picture – all energy drinks (with or without sugar), sports drinks, cola drinks (all of them! – diet, zero, etc) – I don’t need to mention them by name – the advertising and marketing industry has made sure we know them!

While this doesn’t apply to everyone, and certainly not the well-informed readers of this blog site, I am sure you will join me in recognising the problem that is within our community as a whole. We see the same neglect to health in many highly promoted items from so called ‘healthy’ products to things that many consider ‘can’t be that bad’ to the downright dangerous.

Working in a profession that calls for a high level of accountability and duty of care in regard to what we use as safe treatments and prescriptions, yet there seems to be no such accountability for so many blatantly dangerous products available for any age to purchase.

I cannot believe it when I see children at local sporting events drinking these drinks, either before or after a game, and mostly I mean a one hour game, hardly an endurance event, an event that brings about the need only for rehydration! Have you ever been into a food store and seen someone purchase takeaway food and 1-2 sports drinks for lunch thinking it a healthier alternative? What is going on? Why do we give so much power to advertisers? If we truly wish to reclaim responsibility for our health (and that of our families) we need to first start with asking questions and not believing the hype.

Why do we even reach for them? Firstly marketing has us believe that they give you extra energy and let’s face it that is appealing, in this fast paced life many choose to live in, extra energy sounds just like what you want…But extra energy is the last thing you get, actually when you come down from the energy rush, you hit a point lower than before you needed the rush, ‘no problem’ – that is when you reach for another redbull (or drink of choice!) and peak and crash, again and again – getting the picture?! The caffeine content varies between these drinks and while some are caffeine-free the artificial sweeteners, flavours and high sodium content causes problems with the balance of the fluid within the cells which interferes with energy production, so some of these things you consume to get a ‘hit’ or to get you through a game actually deplete your energy. The truth is there are no ‘wings’, you don’t get the body of an athlete and you don’t get to run your life effectively on 2 hours sleep and junk food!

Have you wondered why there is so much ‘agro’ going on – road rage; car park rage; shopping rage & so on? People & the media keep asking the question ‘why are there so many attacks or random fights breaking out amongst young people after a few drinks?’ No one however seems to be joining the dots. Well those that know me well know that this is a subject that gets me going!!

I think the most frightening aspect is that the target market is teenagers to young adults which, from a nutritional point of view is when it can contribute to long term damage – growth is at its maximum so all required minerals are needed for optimal growth; stress levels are often high due to peer group activities, demands of school, uni or starting work, not to mention social activities & sport, leading to a strain on nervous and immune systems.

The highly caffinated drinks interfere with the bodies signalling system for insulin production leading to insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome which can lead to diabetes. As these drinks interfere with mineral absorption necessary minerals (particularly calcium and magnesium) are leached from the bones leading to poor bone growth, juvenile arthritis, hyperacidity, poor digestion. With poor digestion comes poor nutrient assimilation, and many of these same missing minerals are vital for normal neurotransmitter and brain function. The domino effect through the body and its systems are not isolated, digestion affects everything in the body. The body is trying to deal with the effects of a caffeine buzz or falling off a caffeine crash. Subsequently the effect on the adrenals & thyroid affects how we cope with and respond to stress & stressors…which brings me back to the ‘agro’! Those who have heard me go on & on about magnesium (for those of you who haven’t give me a call sometime and I’ll be happy to fill you in!!) will know how this very important mineral (and the cofactors that work with it such as zinc and b vitamins) is responsible for so many reactions in the body and that when it is removed or blocked by drinking these drinks leads to a magnesium deficiency causing irritability, reduced digestion, anxiety, behavioural disturbances, poor concentration, depression, disturbance of heart rhythm, poor appetite, agitation and much, much more!

Mixing energy drinks with spirits and shots has become very popular, however combining alcohol with a highly caffeinated drink actually masks the effects of alcohol, leading people to underestimate just how alcohol affected (drunk!) they are. This leads to poor decision making such as: driving, uninhibited &/or risky behaviour, aggressive responses (fights, verbal abuse, sexual abuse, glassings) and other anti-social behaviour due to binge drinking and the effects of mixing alcohol & stimulants. When drinking alcohol with energy drinks a false self awareness of intoxication is present and as the person is not truly aware of how intoxicated they are they tend to drink more alcohol increasing their risk of acute alcohol poisoning and intense intoxication.

The bottom line is – if you don’t have enough energy to make it through the day there is something out of balance with your lifestyle – whether that be insufficient sleep, exercise, nutrition or even joy. When you are in good health, physically, mentally and emotionally the body is able to naturally produce all you need to boost you along as you need to.

Trudy

Red Bull gives you… more than you bargain for! is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

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Is Easter Really an Excuse to Eat Chocolate?

Julie — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 04:29:31 +0000

Welcome to our new Guest Blogger – raw food chef extraordinaire Julie Mitsios from Conscious Choice

It’s that time of year where everyone goes insane about chocolate - why chocolate for Easter I ask?

Well Easter is the symbol for re-birth. The eggs and the rabbits represent this. In some countries, like Greece for example, it is a tradition that the eggs are dyed red to represent the blood of Christ but here they use real eggs - so how did chocolate eggs come about.

I am guessing this is just a commercial invention, one which we are now hooked on.

So my question to you is how will you make your Easter healthier?

How about a raw chocolate alternative. Making your own raw chocolate is easier than you might think. It comes down to three basic ingredients: raw cacao butter, raw cacao powder and a sweetener. My preferred sweetner for this is Xylitol and no its not a nasty chemical sweetner, in fact Xylitol comes from a birch tree. It looks exactly like sugar but that is where the similarities end. Whilst Xylitol is just as sweet as sugar it has about 40% fewer calories and 75% fewer carbs. Most importantly it has a GI of just 7 therefore won’t raise your blood sugar levels like regular sugar so is the perfect sweetner for anyone concerned about there blood sugar including diabetics.

So here is the secret recipe to make your own liquid chocolate which will be perfect for using for chocolate eggs, moulds, making chocolate bark or even for dipping:

Ingredients:

½ Cup Cacao butter
¼ Cup Coconut oil
1/3 cup Xylitol, powdered or coconut sugar
¾ Cup Cacao powder
Pinch Celtic salt

Variations: Add a different superfood or different spices such as cinnamon, star anise, vanilla or use any of the Culinary extracts mint, raspberry, vanilla, banana etc.. all cold pressed extracts from Medicine flower available from: www.conscious-choice.com

Method:

Place the coconut oil, cacao butter and cacao powder in a blender and blend till smooth
Add your variations and either set in chocolate moulds, chocolate cups, or use for dipping
Place in the freezer to set for approx 20 min to set
These are best stored in the fridge and will last approx 2 weeks.

Julie

Is Easter Really an Excuse to Eat Chocolate? is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

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The Yes Movie Review and Tickets

Leisa — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:48:58 +0000

One of my friends recommended for me to watch this movie, and wow! It’s along the same lines of ‘The Secret’ but takes it to a whole other level.

They are having the Australian Premier very shortly, and you can register here for tickets! It is definitely something you don’t want to miss out on and there are numerous bonuses when you register!

I found this great review for you to have a read and find out more – Written by Life Compass Blog, you can see the original post here.

The YES Movie Review (Young Entrepreneur Society)

A few months ago, I heard about The YES Movie, produced by Louis Lautman of the Young Entrepreneur Society, which exposes the secrets of today’s young millionaires.

I had never heard of Lautman before, but I was eager to get a copy of the movie for myself to see what it was all about. I’ve been fascinated with entrepreneurship since I was a teen.

Growing up, I frequently read books by or about successful entrepreneurs. I loved reading stories of self-made men and women – people who took an idea and turned it into a reality. And I aspired to be like them – to own my own businesses and one day become a millionaire.

At age 39, I haven’t become a millionaire yet, but I have started several small businesses over the years that have had varying degrees of success. Someday, I’ll tell you more about the ones I wish I had started, the ones I started and quit, and the ones I’m still engaged in – and why.

When I was a teen, most of the books I read were by or about people who were older, and who owned companies that required huge amounts of capital investments – like manufacturers, retailers, and airlines, to name a few. Today, even with the struggles we’ve had in the economy lately, I think there’s never been a better time to start a business. The Internet Age has changed everything, and a new breed of young entrepreneurs are creating wealth quicker, cheaper and earlier than every before.

Lautman, himself a young entrepreneur, set out to interview 50 successful entrepreneurs, CEOs, millionaires and mentors. His goal: to hunt down specific strategies of the super-successful that anyone – regardless of background, age, experience, or financial backing, can implement. Specifically, he wanted to know:

What was their inspiration?
Why did they take action?
How did they finance their venture?
Where did they begin implementation?

I absolutely love how the movie was produced. It is very much like the documentaries you see on the CNBC cable network which feature stories of successful businesses like McDonalds, WalMart, Coca-Cola, etc. The music, and the way in which the interviews were shot, also reminded me a lot of The Apprentice, which I loved.

The YES Movie, which runs for 80 minutes, features Lautman’s interviews with over 35 successful entrepreneurs, CEOs, millionaires and mentors. I was already very familiar with many of the mentors that were featured, including Jim Rohn, Les Brown, and T. Harv Eker, just to name a few.

I was not familiar with many of the young entrepreneurs that were featured. One thing that surprised me was that many of these entrepreneurs, both black and white, started their first businesses when they were children or teens. And some even became millionaires in their teens!

This video is a great introduction to entrepreneurship. In fact, it is kinda like having your own mini-MBA course. By telling the stories of successful entrepreneurs, it shows that truly anyone can be, do and have anything they want in life. It covers topics like:

Where do you get ideas, and how do you turn them into a money-making business?
How do you take action and turn your dream into reality?
How do you take risks and overcome failure?
How do you go from having a job (even a dead-end job) to running your own business?
How do you finance your enterprise, especially if you have no money yourself.
Where can you find mentors who can help?

**Who is The YES Movie for?**

This video is for anyone who has ever dreamed of starting their own business, but didn’t think they really could do it (for whatever reason). No matter your age or stage in life, you’ll definitely be inspired and motivated to finally take action and realize your dreams. You’ll discover that there are simple steps you can take today to more forward, and short-cuts that will help you accelerate the achievement of your goals.

One interview, with Delatorro McNeal II, is worth way more than the cost of the video, in my opinion, for anyone who is, as he says, “caught between a dream and a job.” He shared some powerful insights on how to move from a dead-end job to a stepping-stone job, and from a stepping-stone job to your dream job, and from your dream job to the fulfillment of your dream. Every 9-5?er in the world ought to hear his message.

If you have young people in your life (teens, college students, or young adults) who have an interest in entrepreneurship (or you’d like to instill the desire in them), I think this inspirational and motivational video would make a great gift for them. And if you’re a teacher or home school family (like ours is), this video will serve as a great introduction to entrepreneurship for your teenage students.

The only potential negative I see is that one entrepreneur featured in the video, Dan Caldwell, goes by the nickname “Punk Ass”. He’s a nice guy in the video – there is no foul language – but Lautman does refer to him by his nickname a few times.

As a father of five children ages 3-13, I think concerned parents or teachers should preview the movie to understand the context of the interview with “Punk Ass” (aside from his name, nothing else could be construed as offensive) and then simply give a disclaimer before showing it to your students. They’ll probably just chuckle a little bit. And who knows – it just might cause them to pay closer attention!

But I don’t think anyone will get bored watching this movie. It will light an entrepreneurial fire in the belly of everyone who watches it. It did for me. Order tickets to the Premiere Event here!

Leisa

The Yes Movie Review and Tickets is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views

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Are you Tired; or Suffering Fatigue?

Leisa — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 03:44:34 +0000

In the area of fatigue issues, I’ve learnt through working with hundreds of patients, how important it is to be able to differentiate between being tired and suffering from “fatigue”.

Rather than exaggerating how tired they are, I find that many people grossly underestimate how bad they truly feel. I hear sentences like “I’m sorry, I’m just too lazy to exercise”, or “Of course I’m a bit tired, I work and have kids…” – and it can take some targeted questioning to get underneath the person’s habits of glossing over what can be very important symptoms.

Just this morning I was talking with one of my staff about a period of time in her life when she was bed-ridden at least sixteen hours a day with unrelenting fatigue, and the specialist she saw basically gave her the prescription to “stop laying around in bed” as the answer to her recovery.

Now I can’t say that I’ve ever met anyone who chooses to lay around in bed all day for months if not years on end, just because they’re “lazy”. Who wants that kind of life? When there are issues of fatigue – and no, it doesn’t have to be so bad you are bedridden – deeper exploration is always warranted.

The trouble with some of these problems (like an underactive thyroid, or adrenal insufficiency) is that the person often looks “normal”, and they don’t have a “disease” to name that explains to people why they are unwell. Quite often they gloss over how they really feel, describing themselves as lazy, tired, or stressed, when in actual fact it can be a real struggle for them to get through each day.

Being tired is normally the result of a lifestyle out of balance – working long hours, not sleeping enough, making poor food choices or having situations of high stress in your life – however when these issues are resolved, the tiredness reverses as well.

In fatigue states, this doesn’t happen. Often people with fatigue will wake unrefreshed even after a long sleep, they have trouble getting going of a morning and can rely on artificial boosts like coffee or sugar. The fatigue is usually relentless and not tied into anything that they do or don’t do during the day, or to their lifestyle. Many people find that they phase out activities in their life that are not absolutely essential, slowly reducing what they do each day so that they can cope.

The coping strategies become a way of life and after time people forget what it is like to be “normal” and have loads of energy to burn.

So if you are describing yourself as “tired” or “lazy” or making excuses as to why you don’t socialise so much anymore, maybe it’s time to check out whether you really are suffering from genuine fatigue, and something more is going on that needs to be investigated and then treated properly. For more information on testing adrenal function, see www.salivahormonereport.com

Leisa

Are you Tired; or Suffering Fatigue? is a post from: EmbracingHealthBlog | Alternative Health and Lifestyle Views