Getting Sick at the Holidays/WHY? And how to STOP it! Here ya GO!!!

So with winter, and the Holiday Season upon us, has your household seen an increase in colds and flu????  It is often blamed upon being inside more, being in the malls, the cold outside itself, but guess what????  While more activity, less sleep, burning the candle at both ends, may have some effect on the immune system, may I suggest what REALLY is likely responsible for more illness this time of year!


The holidays, from Halloween on, trigger, along with Holiday traditions, more eating of SUGAR, Refined goodies, processed foods at football TV gatherings, parties, and it is just "around" in the house more! Lack of fresh foods (fruits and veggies) just "slips" a little as high white flour/white sugar foods become more "acceptable and available. The consequence for many is a weakened immune system. Sugar inhibits and unbalances the natural healthy flora in the intestinal tract,  and feeds the bad bacteria present. And if you get the flu and take ANTIBIOTICS, double trouble can occur. Actually a vicious cycle can occur as the good flora, necessary for health, digestion, immune function are destroyed along with the bad bacteria. So often a rebound effect occurs. One can have symptoms return,  and wonder why, since they took antibiotics to get rid of the bacteria, for colds, flu, upper respiratory infections, ear infections, sinus infections, how could they get sick again?? What they fail to realize is that once the healthy flora has been destroyed, one has little resistance power, and coupled with most likely eating many more dessert/candy foods, which feed the bad bacteria, oh oh, it becomes an overgrowth of the bad and shortage of the good bacteria/flora!

Sooooooooo, if you are finding that you had even ONE case of the flu or a cold, our family was fortunate, and have had none, then perhaps you may want to consider the following:


Watch your intake of refined foods loaded with white sugar and white flour, AND add in things like apples, pears, berries, and veggies and salads as well. But add in something called PROBIOTICS during this time of year, to build the HEALTHY FLORA, which in turn can help build immunity, ward off an overgrowth of the bad bacteria, and help in a myriad of ways.


Think you can get it from eating a container of yogurt everyday??   Don't be fooled by the adds on TV showing that that is the best way to balance your intestinal flora and keep healthy. And don't buy drugstore, non refrigerated Probiotics. Just try ONE capsule daily of a high end, what I call INDUSTRIAL strength Probiotic, found in the refrigerated area of your local health store, or in the nutrition section of your grocery store or by ordering online, and they ship it with dry ice. I do not rely on yogurt to build my intestinal flora that has been destroyed by holiday eating or antibiotics as most carry one to two strains of the flora I need to create a wonderful environment intestinally. And about a fraction of what I need. Instead of eating 30 containers of yogurt a day, I take ONE high end Probiotic capsule, such as the one shown on here tonight, BY ITSELF on an empty stomach, either upon arising, or when going to bed. It costs about .75 per day, but especially during the winter months, I truly believe using this routine, and enjoying but not going "crazy" with sweets, and making many of them with less refined ingredients, is what protects me from colds and flu, almost every winter! I like a Probiotic with 12 strains included, and you won't remember them but look for some of these on the back of the bottle, ( see below) and 20-40 billion of the flora, are what I seek, not a measly 1-2 billion!  Here are the flora I take in the once a day capsule I use.  Just look for "a bunch" on the back. Lactobacillus alone is PUNY! And that is basically all that is in yogurt! The following are great strains of healthy flora, especially look for FOS on the label as well!


 (40 billion viable cells in each capsule!
   FOS (fructooligosaccharides)
   Lactobacillus acidophilus
   L. plantarum
   L. casei
   L. bulgaricus
   L. brevis
   L. rhamnosus
   L. lactis
   Bifidobacterium lactis
   B. bifidum
   L. sporogenes (B. coagulans)
   S. salivarius K12
   S. salivarius M18


So there you go. Go to Lucky Vitamins.com to order online, look in your health food store, or Whole Foods, but wouldn't it be nice to be flu and cold free this winter for you and your family??   If you have questions, on a particular brand you are looking at, ask away. I will be glad to help! CHEERS. Enjoy the Holidays, without the super bugs that seem to be on the attack more and more!  PROBIOTICS!   When I got the right kind, they changed my health!   They can yours too! Hugs!

EATING at RESTAURANTS/EATING during the HOLIDAYS.....CAN DO ;-)

So a dear friend asked me, "Linda, how are you able to go out to eat as often as you do, and stay on a healthy eating lifestyle?"  And who doesn't like to have a restaurant night out for a special occasion or "date night," or "girl's night out," etc.????

Well, last night was my husband's Birthday, and he loves great restaurants. We call him the 1% of  the population in knowing and liking high end food. So we visited a restaurant called Stanley and Seaforts, overlooking Tacoma, Wa. It is known for it's wild caught seafood, and if you splurge on steak or poultry, it is free range, grass fed, etc. And they use organic whenever possible. So, this is my plate. It is a lovely wild Alaskan salmon done over hickory wood, with a sauce with balsamic vinegar done to reduction with raw sugar, just a hint added. It came with fresh pumpkin cooked and pureed and mixed with risotto, and fresh broccoli. Here's where I eat this heavenly dish, and don't feel guilty at all!

FIRST, I eat only HALF! Never ever do we go out and eat the whole meal. Before the entree',  I ate for 1/2 an hour on a nice healthy salad (the longer you draw the meal out, the more full you become!) I did not have the sourdough bread. The fish was superb. FIVE stars. The risotto is not white rice, nor is it brown rice, it is in between, but with the healthy, YUMMY pumpkin added, it was superb, and I loved it. I didn't eat all the white sauce, just enough to flavor my fish, and had the other HALF of my fish/risotto/broccoli for dinner tonight. I was full, but since it came with the meal, I had a small sized creme' brulee' and took off the sugar crust, (you could eat it once in awhile...no problem)...but I ate just the egg custard with the most delicious fresh strawberries and fresh blueberries and just dabbed my spoon w/ea bite in the fresh whipping cream. When done, I had a dessert plate with a fluff of whipping cream left still and a whole pile of burnt sugar topping and I was still a very contented, full patron!

Lloyd had Etouffee', which is a cajun dish I am thinking. It included all wild, mussles, clams, scallops 4" in diameter and sliced in half width wise to be not too deep and chewy, prawns, and halibut and cod pieces, and two sausage pieces. His was on grits, that had some sprinkled white cheese in them. None of it was overloaded with the fats, was too greasy, just flavorful, until you didn't want to leave, it was sooooo good.

AND he took HALF home. He NEVER ever eats the whole meal. Our stomachs are used to small meals often, so we literally feel ill if we push too much food down in one sitting. It is so important to learn to fuel the body with breakfast, a healthy snack, lunch, a healthy snack, dinner, and then maybe something other than chips or sugary desserts about an hour after eating. Say a string cheese, or some healthy turkey slices, etc. Or if you top the night off with some healthy cold cereal (KIND granola is now out and 2die4) and rice or coconut milk, then so be it ;-)

So the night was a success, and it is easy to go out and eat and pick good choices, but try this! Each restaurant now posts it's whole menu online. We looked at five restaurants, and knew we could find healthy, but gourmet, in a good price range at this restaurant, and we knew exactly what we would be ordering. If you walk in a restaurant, and they serve iceberg lettuce, walk out. You will know they are not into your health at all. It's always true. Decent restaurants, even a small, more fast food one like Chipolte's Mexican, will serve romaine or else mixed greens or spinach. ICEBERG lettuce is always the tip off, and NOT offering brown rice as an alternative if it is Thai, or Asian as well, means that it is likely not into healthy eating! And even if you have the chocolate mousse as Lloyd does, having it as a treat, not every day, is going to keep you in a pattern of wanting to treat your body like the miracle it is, and not going to keep you over your suitable weight. And he even takes half the dessert home. He came this way, "in the package," when I married him, so how fun is this! It makes it SO much easier when you work as a team to enjoy but have routines you use to stay healthy! 

Now with the holidays, never go to an event without eating enough, first, so you are fairly full. That way if they serve refined, all prefab food, you can find something redeemable, and still be happy. I make my worst choices when I am overly hungry. Learn to shrink your stomach so you NEED to box half of your meal home, and you may be looking at eating 1,500 calories vs. 3,000 and up in calories if you clean your plate. If it is buffet, fill up on the salad, stir fry, fish or chicken, veggies, then go for the other not so healthy stuff and you will eat less. We rarely do buffets. At holiday get togethers, bring your favorite dish, that is healthy, but that no one will guess, it is anything but TASTY!  You'll learn how to substitute healthier ingredients for every type food you eat if you educate yourself, and ask questions, eventually!    And remember, the worst part of the holidays, is that eating the extra refined sugar (addictive itself) can trigger you into eating past your limit, causing cravings, and having you feel defeated so you just go full tilt until New Years, and then do the silly resolution thing. Just try some of these things this holiday, and see, they DO WORK! Enjoy eating folks, just make sure you realize, YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT. And what you are eating is either creating optimal health in your body, or disease. So whether 20 or 30 or 50, it is always the right time to begin. Your arteries, closing, start the process when you are YOUNG....so don't wait until you need an artery unclogged, or prescription drugs, or even a surgery. Remember our motto, a lot of the good, a little of the bad. That was last evening, and it was still DELIGHTFUL.  Happy Birthday to the man who lives all that I teach.  He is my inspiration. G'nite all! 

CARBS: Yes??? No???? When??? GOOD NEWS for "Carb-O-Holics!"

It's always the same proverbial question when it comes to wanting to eat a bit healthier, and keep the waistline in bounds! CAN I STILL EAT CARBS??? And of course, the answer is a resounding YES you can, with a few suggestions!


Carbs are a very necessary part of your everyday diet. I do not approve of too low or no carb diets. I just suggest you understand that eating more complex (unrefined) carbs, vs. ALL refined, simple carbs, (white sugar/white flour products and pop namely) is healthier and will help you in the battle of the bulge ;-) So while you enjoy those special treats, and may eat some simple carbs, you will have an edge relying more on Complex Carbs because they empower the body with:


 A long term sugar energy that lasts longer, without spiking insulin and blood sugars.
REMEMBER: Besides diabetes or hypoglycemia, FAT is stored in sugar/insulin spiking!
 Intact enzymes that weren't robbed in processing so you digest easier w/out bloating.
 Fiber, so vital to disease prevention, giving a feeling of fullness and aiding in eliminations.
 Vitamins essential to health, especially B-vitamins, crucial to the nervous system & hormone health.
And there are many many more reasons the right kind of carbs are essential to wellness and weight management!


Here are the Complex Carbs you will want to incorporate more than the simple, stripped sugary ones. Remember again, it's all about moderation.....a lot of the good, a little of the bad, and don't sweat it. But if you eat refined carbs as your main carbs, expect your body to be starved of nutrition, to be acidic and therefore leave you open to diseases and to battle your weight continually!  And you may have candida, or yeast in the body, which can cause a myriad of problems from migraines to an impaired immune function!


Yams/Sweet potato/Red potato in order of first to last in how they break down.
Oat bran or steel cut oat hot cereals/boxes cereals that are whole grain/gluten free.
Brown rice/basmati rice/wild rice.  Limit white rice, as it turns to glucose asap!
Lentils/Kidney beans/Black beans/Garbanzo beans/Hummous/Split peas/Barley.
Whole grain breads in moderation, hopefully a gluten free mix or spelt over wheat.
Most vegetables, excluding white potatoes and corn, and fruits like apples/berries, etc.
For chips, shop Whole Foods at least once, and just try some of the alternatives!


I eat mainly complex carbs. And when I want a dessert, I do eat one, without guilt. As I choose dark chocolate, cupcakes/pies/cookies that are  delish, but just have some twists on the recipes, such as being made with an all purpose, gluten-free flour, using a less refined sugar, such as turbinado, agave, evaporated cane juice, etc. TURBINADO is my favorite. Brown sugar in the store is JUST caramel colored WHITE refined sugar! Do not think it is less refined.

So this week, I will be having a slice of black bottom pie from Marlene's Market and Deli in Federal Way, Wa. It is "off" my normal routine of complex carbs, and that's fine. I don't eat simple carbs every day. It is the best pie I have ever eaten, I give it FIVE STARS, and it is on a gluten free w/nut crust 2die4! I will show a picture! And I will enjoy EVERY bite. I don't bring extra home, I'll cave in...LOL...and I don't bake a whole one.  So yes, when you do the cupcakes, muffins, pie, cookies, make better choices, but if they are the exception, and not the rule, your body will be ever so happy!  Happy Week. Thanksgiving is coming, and it's the easiest holiday to eat healthy and deliciously! ENJOY, and thanks for the comments from my wonderful readers ;-)

ARTIFICIAL SWEETENTERS: Fattening AND Dangerous??? And DARK CHOC RULES!

Soooooooooo, if you are sitting in a restaurant and want to sweeten your drink, etc., which colored packet do you choose? 
I hope we ALL know the answer to this one. Oh, and you will notice one color packet is missing white, or refined white sugar!
Well, the answer is simple, pick the best choice, which for me would be the brown one, which is raw (not just caramel colored white, highly refined sugar) but more in it's natural state, not chemically made, raw sugar.

So why not the "sugar free" ones like the Yellow Splenda packet, or Pink Equal or Blue Nutrasweet??? 
Well, in my opinion, there are TWO reasons to avoid them, not just in these packets, but in ALL food! READ LABELS!


Theoretically, you may think, I'm trying to keep my weight in control, I don't want to promote diabetes or other disease, and I still enjoy the sweetness that these products give without the calories of white sugar! But studies are beginning to show, that folks who eat foods/drink pops etc. with these artificial sweeteners are actually GAINING weight overall. Look at the number of people who drink diet pop only to be mildly to overly obese.  And this may be the reason why.


Use of artificial sweeteners may actually be a TRIGGER and have you craving sweets! You get used to liking SWEET foods/SWEET drinks, and so you give into desserts, candy, etc. in addition to your food choices made with the artificial sweeteners. You want to learn to enjoy your times you allow yourself to have sweets, just have them be LESS sweet, and with less REFINED sugars,  and you will begin to program to enjoying less sugar overall, and sugar that is LESS refined! Make sense??  Since artificial sweeteners are nutritionally empty, but carry toxins due to it's synthetic, chemical makeup,  the body has nothing to process, and can only store the chemicals ingested, and does this in your fat cells!! YIKES!!   Since the body didn't receive REAL food, the brain says, more, more, more food that I can really break down and use! And you overeat sweets in the end!


Also, there are continued studies that these artificial sweeteners can be involved in making unhealthy changes in the brain, as well as the verdict is not in on their relationship to the growth of some cancers, etc. Remember saccharin, and how the FDA said it was SAFE for decades, until so many cases of cancer were found related to it's usage, and it was banned!  Why would you want to wait until the Pink/Blue/Yellow packeted artificial sugars may end up with the same evidence, which seems to be widely mounting??  And WHY does it say on products with these artificial sweeteners in them, do not eat when PREGNANT? Hmmmmmmm!!!


So think about whether you could just use less sugar, less refined, super concentrated sugar (like white sugar or high fructose corn syrup, etc.) BUT if it were a choice to me, I'd rather see you use any type regular/real food than these synthetic chemicals!  Try things like agave, evaporated cane juice, stevia, maple sugar granules, etc.  AND as a sidenote, ending to tonight's blog. GO FOR THE DARK CHOCOLATE in your treats for the holidays! Dark chocolate is a wonderfully high antioxidant, actually helps get rid of free radicals, and usually has less refined sugar than milk chocolate. Sorry, milk chocolate has no redeeming value, and I know the transition is an adjustment for you milk chocolate lovers, but try mixing it up, or just going totally dark chocolate! Find one 60% cacao or above that still is to 2die4~~~~~

Everything is about moderation, and better food choices when we do have our treats. The reason is not just about keeping a certain weight, enjoying how our clothes fit, but even more about keeping ourselves in OPTIMAL HEALTH! Cheers! And thanks to all who read tonight's blog! ;-)

Simple Remedy I use to PREVENT/REDUCE Flu/Colds A MUST at our HOUSE

 Tonight I am going to share with you a DUAL COMBINATION of two items that we find a MUST in our household. When your immune system gets even  slightly compromised by eating REFINED SUGARS/flours (and we just had a huge influx with Halloween) from LACK OF SLEEP, or lots of STRESS, it may become the "perfect storm" for viruses just looking to find a host to occupy, namely YOU!  Hopefully, you will begin to realize that a healthy immune system is created by not only keeping the processed, boxed, dead foods at a minimum, but also by adding in the whole, live, clean foods, balancing a LOT of the GOOD with a little of the bad. But when you feel that DRAGGY, TIRED, FEELING OF FATIGUE, maybe a scratchy throat, a headache, you just know that BUG is trying to infiltrate your system, here is what works well for my family! It is an inexpensive way to prevent illness as well as hasten healing if it does begin to manifest symptoms!

NATURE'S WAY Echinacea/Goldenseal Root is something we keep on hand, take on trips, ALWAYS have in case we feel that a "bug" is looming. You will usually feel extremely tired before said "bug," hits. You know the feeling. It especially is easy to find YOU, if you are in an enclosed work place, where germs spread, if you have just ONE poor night's rest, and if you are eating poorly! If we do, we immediately get our LARGE bottle of the yellow and white wonder combo as we call it, and begin taking two capsules with lots of water throughout the day, and food. We chase it with one to two packages of an inexpensive product called EMERGEN-C, a packet of 1000 mg. of effervescent Vitamin C that comes in all flavors and is dropped in a short glass of water, it fizzes and you down it. Even children love Emergen-C. It is fun and tasty. NOW, if we have SYMPTOMS, it's time for more than prevention, and we do the following regime! We take TWO Echinacea/Golden Seal capsules every 3-4 hours until we feel better. And up to four packets of Emergen-C in divided doses...and the only side effect of overload on the Vitamin C would be to feel a little gassy or  have slightly loose bowels. We keep this THERAPEUTIC dose up until symptoms subside. My daughter will take this regime for several weeks if work is rampant with sick folk sneezing and ill, to keep the "bug" at bay. Here's why it works.

You MUST buy the PROPER Nature's Way product, it has to be....Echinacea AND Golden Seal. Echinacea is an adaptogen that works to build immunity. It finds the weakest link in your body, be it sore throat, tonsils, earaches, headaches, and adapts to building the immune factors in those areas. So it is like an army with a specific target, as each of us will have different symptoms in the flu. The Golden Seal works like a "natural" antibiotic, without the side effects, and is amazing with both bacterial and viral infections. Together, they are an awesome team. The Vitamin C, as most of you know, just helps the immune system on so many levels, and the fizz type is easy, goes immediately to help and is fun to carry to work, etc. IF you are in the sick, SYMPTOM stage, you'll need both every 3-4 hours, so BAGGY THEM, and don't forget to take them at work. It is vital, you ramp up on them until symptoms subside...and don't forget to take sugar out when letting this superstar formula do it's job.

You can purchase both items at any health food store, order them at LuckyVitamins.com, or find them at the health food section of most grocery stores. Here in Washington, they can be found at Safeway or Fred Meyer. And the Emergen-C is even found at Walgreens, etc. Keep them on hand, use them for either a prevention when flu is going around, or when symptoms appear, use a therapeutic dose as outlined. But remember, the BEST thing is to begin building your immune system with life sustaining food that is not adulterated by man, processed, and just cheap, dead food. Remember, without your health, you are miserable! So we'll continue on our journey of learning that we want to let Food be our Medicine, and Medicine  be our Food. Thanks to all of you! ;-)