Healthy Living for Real People
Posts tagged soda
Is Your Kid An Addict?
Nov 8th
Schools are having a hard time getting kids to stop drinking sugary beverages (sodas, sports drinks, etc).
That was the news from TIME Healthland this morning.
The report said that even in schools where these drinks are banned, kids are effectively smuggling them in.
Sounds like the actions of an addict, doesn’t it?
Essentially, that’s what is happening here.
Refined sugar is indeed as addictive as nicotine and alcohol and withdrawal from it can be as difficult as withdrawing from cocaine!
No wonder kids are doing anything to get it — they’re literally hooked like a coke addict! (no pun intended)
And like any addiction, the strong desire to have the substance can set off a habit of deceit, dishonesty, and defiance that only becomes worse.
Indeed, studies reveal a strong link between juvenile and adult criminal offenses and sugar addiction.
Obviously you don’t want this to happen to your kids, so what can you do?
First, stop enabling the addiction.
Don’t buy sodas, sports drinks, and even bottled fruit juice to have at home.
You may not be able to stop the school from selling these drinks, but at least you can send your child to school with an alternative.
Second, promote vegetable juices and water. If your kids consider water “boring” try weaning them off sugary drinks by putting some stevia into their water.
Stevia is super sweet herb that won’t affect blood sugar and doesn’t have any negative side effects.
SweetLeaf brand stevia is a liquid extract that is available in soda-flavored versions like root beer and vanilla cream. Just add a few drops to distilled water for soda taste without the sugar.
Third, educate your kids about the positive aspects of giving up refined sugar (like reducing acne, mood swings, and anxiety – all of which teens especially can appreciate).
Above all, be an example. Your actions are more influential that you may realize.
Your turn…
What do your kids drink?
Click here to let us know!
The Easiest Way To Lose Weight
Jul 14th
What’s the easiest way to lose weight?
Stop drinking soda. Period.
Well, that’s about it, folks. Thanks for reading.
OK, not quite… 
Just about everyone knows that drinking sugary soda will make you gain weight.
In fact, at every first-of-the-month Saturday seminar here at Hallelujah Acres, Rev. Malkmus shares that an average intake of soda alone can cause an annual weight gain of 15 pounds.
But that’s simple, right? It’s all the sugar. Surely the diet sodas don’t do that.
Think again.
New research is showing that, in addition to the harmful effects of artificial sweeteners (another thing almost everyone knows), diet soda can cause weight gain just like the sugary stuff.
In fact, a new study showed that people who drank two or more diet sodas per day expanded their waist lines at five times the rate of those who didn’t drink any soda at all.
How in the world does that happen?
Sweet tastes trigger appetite. But while sugary sodas satisfy the body with an energy source (sugar), artificially sweetened, low-calorie drinks don’t, thereby tricking the body into wanting food.
In a nutshell, diet sodas make you eat more to satisfy a false hunger.
So, again… what’s the easiest way to lose weight?
Stop drinking soda… ALL soda, including the diet stuff.
Period.
Diabetes: Insulin or Insult?
Jan 27th
Every time we host our first-Saturday-of-the-month Saturday Seminar at Hallelujah Acres, there are many, many people in the audience suffering with type-2 diabetes… needlessly! Those who come looking for answers leave with the testimonies of others around them that diabetes CAN be controlled.
Often these people are shocked at the apparent ease with which other diabetics have been able to give up their insulin. In fact, sometimes that shock leads to anger and they express how insulted they are that the medical mainstream has led them down a pointless trail of insulin dependence.
There’s nothing magical about controlling diabetes. It’s not about “curing” the disease with diet. The Hallelujah Diet, or any diet for that matter, cannot “cure” a disease. However, a change in diet DOES give the body what it needs to correct problems that cause disease — including diabetes.
Just how easy is it? A couple of years ago, a documentary film crew followed a group of 6 diabetics for 30 days. The group was challenged to give up meat, dairy, sugar, alcohol, nicotine, caffeine, soda, junk food, fast food, processed food, and packaged food (a diet almost identical to The Hallelujah Diet) for 30 days.
Within one week, individuals in the group experienced lower blood sugar levels without medication. By the end of the 30 days, many saw their bodies reverse their disease — with no other aid than a change in diet.
That was just 30 days… imagine what you could do with a 60-day protocol! We can show you how to change your diet, prepare the foods, and stay motivated for life with our 60 Days to Reclaim Your Health program. It’s free!
Soda ban part 2: Canada years ahead
Aug 24th
On August 17, we posted a blog about California’s new ban on sugary sodas in schools. In response to that blog, someone asked us, “What about artificial sweetened drinks? Shouldn’t they be banned too?” She went on to explain that her nephew delivers soft drinks to schools and noted that business is booming because the company is still allowed to deliver drinks sweetened with aspartame and Splenda! Obviously, this is not an improvement.
It appears that America has a long way to go in this regard, but Canada has been doing something about it for years! In 2005, the government of the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC) let PARENTS decide whether artificially sweetened soft drinks should be allowed in schools. The parents’ (and educators’) “broadly expressed desire” to eliminate these soft drinks led to the outright ban of ALL artificially sweetened foods in BC elementary and middle schools (such foods are still allowed in secondary schools under a “Choose Sometimes” category in the food guidelines for students).
Note that the decision was left to the PARENTS! This is a perfect of example of how personal responsibility can lead to widespread change. If you’re on The Hallelujah Diet and you know the importance of staying away from artificial sweeteners, tell your neighbors who are in the dark, and more importantly, tell your school board! It worked in BC and it could work in your state.
PS – Come see us at the Raw Spirit Festival at Watson Lake near Prescott, AZ, September 24-26. We’ll be speaking about Synergy in Juicing at 1 pm on Saturday (Sept 25).
Soft drink ban reduces obesity in CA schools
Aug 17th
California appears to be leading the way in the battle against childhood obesity.
An analysis including more than 8 million California children and teens showed encouraging declines in obesity following a peak in 2005 among Asian and white boys and girls and among Hispanic boys — the same year that California lawmakers banned the sale of sugary soft drinks and snacks in schools and took other actions to address childhood obesity.
California is also one of the few states that require school-based BMI assessment, which is conducted in the fifth, seventh, and ninth grades.
It’s human nature to let things go until there’s a real problem. Even Rev. Malkmus didn’t stop to think about dietary behaviors before he discovered that he had colon cancer; in fact, he created The Hallelujah Diet in hopes of informing others about the perils of bad diet before it led to something like the cancer he had, or childhood obesity for that matter.
Emulate California’s actions – take the lead in your community to make people aware of dietary dangers… you may be surprised at the positive power of your suggestion!
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