Healthy Living for Real People
Health News
From Our Family To Yours
Dec 22nd
Merry Christmas and a Healthy New Year from our family to yours!
May this holy season inspire you and may all good things come your way during the coming year.
To ring in the season of our Saviour’s birth, we invite you watch this special video of Rev. Malkmus sharing the Christmas message from the Word of God:
“Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself…”
Isaiah 55:2 (KJV)
How To Get Kids To Eat Veggies
Dec 20th
It’s one of the worst fears of young parents who are new to The Hallelujah Diet.
“How am I going to get my kids to eat veggies?”
One of our employees said that he and his wife simply asserted their authority.
They reminded the kids that Mom and Dad make the decisions about food, not the kids.
Then they simply stopped buying meat, dairy, and packaged junk.
Of course, the kids whined for few days, got used to it, and now they’re fine.
Kids are resilient, the employee pointed out. And his kids are now much healthier both mentally and physically because of the diet change.
But what if your kids refuse to even try new things?
A new study from the U.K. suggests non-food rewards.
Three and four-year-olds were the focus of the study that were given a taste of a new veggie every day for 12 days.
The kids were enticed to try the new food with either verbal praise or the promise of a sticker.
Guess which method worked a whole lot better?
When kids were promised a tangible reward (ie. the sticker) they not only tried the new veggie but actually changed the way they graded the veggie — those initially described as “yucky” suddenly became “yummy.”
Mind you, not everyone agrees with the reward system.
But hey, if it will get your kids to develop a new habit that will benefit their health for the rest of their lives, maybe a sticker bribe for a short time isn’t so bad.
What do you think?
Your turn…
Have you ever bribed your kids to try new foods?
Click to comment!
What You Didn’t Know About Chestnuts
Dec 15th
OK, you can probably make some assumptions here.
Just like any other nut, chestnuts have a good dose of healthy fats and some protein for good measure.
They also have more fiber (3 grams per 100 grams) than pecans, pistachios, or walnuts. Potassium, copper, and magnesium are in there, too.
But there are a few unexpected aspects of chestnuts. One is their fat content.
Chestnuts don’t have the same type of fats as other nuts (polyunsaturated). Instead, they have oleic acid, the type of fat found in olives, which are technically fruits (because they have a pit).
In another cross-species twist, chestnuts have 50% water — which is not nut-like at all!
By comparison, walnuts have just 3% water.
That makes chestnuts more like a vegetable than a nut. And that’s why chestnuts need to be refrigerated, while other nuts do not.
Chestnuts are also high in vitamin C. That’s weird for a nut, too.
Most other nuts barely tip the vitamin C scale, registering less than a milligram per serving (some don’t have any all).
Chestnuts, however, offer a whopping 21.8 milligrams of vitamin C per serving.
And if that wasn’t curious enough, chestnuts can also be ground into a flour for baking.
Though they’re not in every grocery store, chestnuts are the un-nut worth looking for!
Your turn…
What’s your favorite nut?
Click to comment!
Popcorn Do’s and Dont’s
Dec 13th
With Christmas comes popcorn — in some form or fashion — from popcorn balls to decorations.
But take note before you grab a handful.
You may have noticed, as we did, that there’s a news report this week on the dangers of microwave popcorn.
Apparently the effects of a banned microwave popcorn chemical called diacetyl (blamed for a fatal lung disease) are showing up again under a different name in butter flavored popcorn.
Now, if you’re on The Hallelujah Diet, microwaving anything is probably not on your list.
Still, you may want to warn your non-Hallelujah Diet relatives about it.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t have popcorn on the holidays — we’ve got a healthy alternative!
Instead of buying microwave popcorn bags, get some organic popping corn and pop it in a hot air popper.
Having organic popcorn is important, as most non-organic, U.S.-grown corn is genetically modified (that’s a whole other blog post). And a hot air popper eliminates the health hazards of other popping methods.
After popping the corn, drizzle it with some organic, virgin coconut oil and lightly season with unrefined sea salt.
Contrary to what many believe, the medium chain fatty acids in coconut oil are great for cardiovascular health, and unrefined sea salt has many beneficial minerals the body uses every day (just remember not to overdo it; too much sodium is still too much sodium).
And for a cheesy kick, add some nutritional yeast and cracked pepper.
Or if caramel corn is what you’re after, drizzle some agave nectar mixed with vanilla extract. It’s sticky, but boy is it good!
Your turn…
What’s your favorite Hallelujah Diet-friendly popcorn seasoning?
Click to comment!
How To Stay Healthy For The Holidays
Dec 8th
Next month, fitness gym memberships will spike upwards of 40%.
And in February, all the bandwagon jumpers will jump off again.
Yo-yo exercising gets you about as far as yo-yo dieting — nowhere!
The problem is timing.
Everyone waits until they’ve indulged through the holidays before they decide to join a gym or start a home exercise program.
But by that time, you’re lethargic from overeating and have a much greater obstacle (ie weight gain) to overcome than if you had started before the holidays began.
As we mentioned in our last blog post, the sooner you start an exercise program, the sooner you’ll crave healthier foods.
That means, if you start exercising now, you’ll breeze right through the Christmas season no matter where festivities take you (like to your relatives’ place who have never heard of The Hallelujah Diet).
We’re not saying that you won’t be tempted a little.
But if you start exercising now, your desire to maintain your buff new self will override the temptation to eat those Christmas cookies that could ruin it all.
And believe us… If you’re not currently exercising, we know how tough it can be to get back into it.
That’s exactly the position we were in before we developed our free, online Exercise Essentials program (which is why it’s designed for beginners).
We show you what exercises to do, what to eat, and give you some ideas to break up the monotony.
And it’s a lot easier to start now than in January! Check it out…
Your turn…
Are you a January workout bandwagon-jumper?
Click here to let us know!
Fitness Is The “Weightier” Matter
Dec 6th
Should you start exercising first, or start a new diet first?
Yes. 
It depends on who you are, really.
Some people change diet first, which gives them more energy, and then start exercising.
Others start exercising first, which makes them want healthier food, and then switch their diet.
Either way, a new study from the American Heart Association says keeping your fitness up regardless of age is what counts if you want to avoid cardiovascular disease.
The researchers said “the long-term effect of fitness change, primarily resulting from increasing physical activity, is likely to be at least as important as weight loss for reducing premature mortality.”
In other words, if you’re exercising regularly but you can’t lose that last 10 pounds, don’t sweat it (no pun intended).
The interesting thing about this study is that it did not call for a dietary change, just exercise and resulting weight loss.
You’d have to assume that changing your diet AND increasing your exercise would generate much better results.
If the thousands of testimonies we receive are any indication, that assumption is correct.
We’d love to help you achieve a testimony of your own!
Whether you want to start exercising first or change your diet first, we can walk you through it!
Your turn…
How often do you exercise?
Click here to let us know!
Herbal Secrets of Frankincense & Myrrh
Dec 1st
Most of us know the story.
Wise men came to visit the newborn Jesus and brought three gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh.
A little more obscure are the meanings behind each gift.
- Gold symbolized Jesus’ kingship.
- Frankincense recognized His holiness (it was a prized perfume in the ancient Middle East).
- Myrrh foretold his suffering (it’s used to spice the dead).
Even lesser known in Western society are the practical, medicinal uses of both frankincense and myrrh throughout the world.
“…the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”
Revelation 22:2
In Tanzania, frankincense is mixed with cinnamon and cardamom as a stomach ache remedy. In India, it is used to relieve rheumatism; in fact, frankincense is also known as boswellia and is included in Hallelujah Acres Joint Health supplement.
Some of the more obscure uses include a folk remedy that says ingesting 35 grains of frankincense improves the memory; and an African remedy that claims inhaling frankincense vapors can alleviate laryngitis.
Frankincense is even used as a mosquito repellant.
The historical uses of myrrh are even more colorful. In addition to curing earaches and skin wounds, it even donned the crowns of kings.
The Kenyans chew myrrh gum to treat spongy gums, mouth sores, and to cleanse the teeth. Algerians use it to heal open wounds. And in Nigeria it is used to treat everything from insanity to tapeworm.
It’s amazing to realize that all of these uses come from just two herbs.
Imagine all the healing powers of herbs (or “weeds”) growing in your own yard.
Your turn…
Which are your favorite herbs — and what do you use them for?
Click here to let us know!
A Game of Chicken — Over Kale
Nov 29th
We burst out laughing this morning when we heard this one.
There’s a guy in Vermont whose “Eat More Kale” t-shirts are under attack from the Chick-fil-A restaurant chain.
Chick-fil-A maintains that the “eat more kale” phrase “is likely to cause confusion” with the company’s “eat mor chikin” slogan.
We can’t remember the last time we confused kale for chicken, can you?
After we wiped the tears of laughter from our faces, we decided to dig into this a little.
Turns out that the “eat more kale” perpetrator is 38-year-old Bo Muller-Moore. He started printing the phrase on T-shirts to promote the benefits of local agriculture 11 years ago.
Apparently he’s not going to back down from the chicken giant (now that’s a weird mental image, isn’t it?).
Good for Bo!
The more attention he can bring to eating kale, the better.
After all, it’s one of the most nutritionally dense foods in the world and highly recommended on The Hallelujah Diet.
And if his battle ends up portraying kale as the polar opposite of fast food, that’s exactly the kind of publicity vegetables need (and don’t often get).
The next time someone asks you why you prefer kale over fried chicken, share this:
- kale is cancer preventative (fried chicken is not)
- kale has powerful antioxidants (fried chicken doesn’t)
- 4.5 oz of kale is 36 calories (4.5 oz of Chick-fil-A Chick-n-Strips is 290 calories)
- kale has 0.52 grams of fat per 4.5 oz (Chick-fil-A Chick-n-Strips have 13 grams of fat per 4.5 oz)
- kale even makes a great snack food
We’ll be watching this battle for updates and we’ll keep you in the loop. In the meantime… eat more kale.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Nov 24th
As you sit down with friends and family for Thanksgiving, think about the good each person around the dinner table has contributed to your life.
Think about how they’ve shaped your character and what you can do to make their lives better.
Who knows? The best way to thank them for what they’ve done for you may be introducing them to a better diet and lifestyle!
Happy (healthy) Thanksgiving from both of us!
“Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.”
- Proverbs 15:17
How To Make Thanksgiving Healthy
Nov 22nd
This morning we received two conflicting news reports about Thanksgiving foods.
One said that Thanksgiving celebrations contained some of the most nutritious foods of the year.
The other said they were loaded with sodium.
They’re both right.
They key is moderation, both in how you prepare the food and how much you eat.
Of course, we wouldn’t recommend the turkey.
Aside from the fact that it contains disease-causing animal proteins (and perhaps even growth hormones, antibiotics, etc) the sodium-focused report found that “sometimes a turkey or turkey breast is injected with salt water to plump it, adding a hefty dose of sodium before it even reaches the store.”
Conventional stuffing and gravy also add significant amounts of sodium, 600 grams and 270 grams per serving, respectively.
But it is possible to make Thanksgiving fixings that are healthy — you just have to improvise a little.
Instead of using butter, use organic virgin coconut oil. The medium chain fatty acids are heart healthy (to most everyone’s surprise) and coconut oil is known for its antimicrobial, antifungal, and antitumor effects, which have been shown to strengthen the immune system.
Instead of table salt, use unrefined sea salt. Unrefined salt still contains all the body-boosting minerals from nature, which offset the effects of the main mineral, sodium chloride.
This is how sea salt can actually regulate blood pressure instead of raising it like refined salt does.
Include lots of raw veggies — did you know you can even use them to make a raw, no-bean hummus?
Then, instead of conventional cranberry sauce, make cranberry salsa!
Instead of regular stuffing, make healthy stuffing.
And for dessert, try raw pumpkin pie!
It’s not difficult, just different.
All the while, you’ll be keeping your friends and family healthy — and that’s something to be thankful for.
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