An Introduction to Juice Fasting
Juice fasting is a very popular form of detox diet. Many have reported about the many benefits that they experience with juice fasting. These include clearing of skin allergies, reducing frequent headaches and as a natural remedy for constipation. Juice fasting provides your body a chance to take a break from having to digest food. During a prolonged fast (3 plus days), your body starts to burn off and digest its own tissues by process of autolysis. It starts off by decomposing cells and tissues, which are diseased or damaged. These include tumors, dead cells, abscesses, excess fat deposits, etc. Less acid in your stomach is produced as there is no food to digest. Your organs such as the colon and liver, can focus on the elimination of toxic waste matter which had built up over the years.

You may experience certain detox symptoms such as acne breakouts, tiredness and headaches, as your body eliminates its toxins. These symptoms are expected to be short lived and you should feel a sense of renewal after the cleansing period.

Be warned however. If you find that your symptoms are extremely severe, it may be the case that your body is detoxifying too fast. You will need to adjust your detox diet plan accordingly. As such, before you start on juice fasting, you should always go under the guidance of a natural health practitioner so that you can consult him or her when necessary.

Different natural health practitioners recommend different juice fasting methodologies. In general, most would agree that you can juice almost any fruit and vegetables that you can eat raw.

Here are some basic tips for juicing:

1) As you are having raw juices, you should try to use organic fruits. Also rinse off the fruits using filtered water.

2) Juice should also not come from a packet, despite what the label on the packet says. Any juice in a carton, can or bottle has been heat treated for preservation.

3) Prepare and drink your juice fresh. The longer the juice stays out in the open, the less fresh raw food enzymes it will contain.

4) As you need to have good fresh juice, the best is to invest in a good juicer yourself. Good juicers make tastier juices and are able to extract more juice from the fruit. Good juicers also clean up more easily than cheap ones and last longer.
Benefits To Juice Fasting

There are many benefits to juicing, especially if you prepare them yourself:

1. If drank fresh, the juice is full of live enzymes, which is helpful the body.

2. Unlike coming out from a packet, the juice is fresh and not pasteurized. Pasteurization many have its conveniences but it has resulted in nutritionally dead foods. During pasteurization, high heat is used and this destroys the vital nutrients within the juice.

3. You consume more vegetables by drinking than by eating. As you probably have experienced, it’s not always possible to eat as many vegetables as you would like. Drinking fresh vegetable juice helps take care of this problem.

4. Digestion and assimilation of the vegetable nutrients is much easier. Your body is in fact, like a juicer. When you eat a celery, your body will digest the celery by extracting the juice to get the nutrition. The fiber is eliminated via the colon and bowel movements. However, if you juice, you have already extracted the juice for the body thus making it easier for your assimilation. Nevertheless, it’s still important to eat whole vegetables and fruits because you need some amount of fiber as well.

5. Fasting gives your digestive system a rest. Since fresh fruit and vegetable juices require little digestion, and are quickly assimilated into your body. Most of the 10% of bodily energy normally involved in your assimilation, digestion, and elimination is freed up. The end result? You feel a sense of renewed energy after the fast.

6. A fast helps to also break down toxic materials - fat, abnormal cells and tumors–and releases diseased tissues and their cellular products into the circulation for elimination.

7. In addition, new cell growth during fasting is stimulated and accelerated as the required proteins are re-synthesized from decomposed cells (during autolysis). Your serum albumin reading, that is blood-protein level, remains constant and normal throughout your fast, as your body very smartly uses protein and other stored nutrients where needed.

8. Juice fasting is a much gentler process of detoxification as compared to water fasting. For a juice fast, a broad variety of fruits and vegetables should be used in combination and that is necessary to enhance health during the fast. In this manner, the body still gets its daily calories from the easily-digested juices as compared to the more extreme water fast. Thus, the release of toxins from the fat cells in a juice fast is much more gentle and gradual.
An Overview Of A Detox Diet Plan
Your body naturally detoxifies on its own. Your colon, liver, intestines help your body remove toxic waste from your bloodstream and tissues. However, modern day diet can easily cause your organs to become overloaded with toxins and slow down their functions.

Adopting a detox diet plan may help to remove toxin buildup. If you feel constantly fatigued, have frequent colds, having problems with digestive system, skin allergies or just do not feel your best, a good detox diet plan is very useful to clean your body itself from these toxins, increase your energy, stamina and aid in the digestive process.

Some people believe that detox diets may involve unhealthy and weird foods. This is totally not true. A detox diet plan simply involves plenty of vegetables, fresh fruits and fish (for those who find it hard to stay off meat or for those who do not have a weight problem). It is a diet that enhances the process of eliminating toxins and waste. For a dedicated period, your natural health practitioner may prescribe that you go on a special cleansing plan which involve some fasting. This is designed to give your organs a rest and to stimulate them for the removal of waste.
The best vegetables for detoxing are broccoli, artichokes, garlic, cauliflower, beets red and green vegetables. Keep away from corn products, as it often contains allergens. Beans, rice, nuts and seeds all all acceptable on a detox diet.

It is also recommended that you drink about 6 to 8 glasses of water a day to help your body flush out the unwanted toxins. Our organs can only function in optimal state if we can maintain a hydrated body.

A simple detox diet plan may range from staying off meat for a couple of days to going on a fast for 3 days. However, if you have specific diseases or conditions that you want to target, then it is highly recommended that you work closely with your natural health practitioner.

Adopting a good detox diet plan can improve your health, help you to lose extra weight, make you feel energetic and much lighter.
Cleansing Herbs For Detox
You can use herbs to aid in detoxification. Herbs have many therapeutic abilities and can be used to support the functions of your colon, liver or kidney. There are many types of herbs from various countries. You can consume herbs in the form of supplements, teas or serve them in your cooking. However, if you have diabetes or pregnant or have other serious diseases, you should consult your doctor before using herbs. Although natural, some herbs can have potent effects.

Here is a list of commonly known western herbs that can be used to detoxify and cleanse your body.
• Cascara Sagrada - This herb works like a laxative. It helps your body to move your bowels.
• Garlic – Garlic is an excellent home remedy and widely used as an antiseptic. It detoxifies the gut and aids proper functioning of your bowels function. It is also a laxative.
Colon Cleansing For Constipation Relief
Constipation refers to the irregular movement of bowels. When you have constipation, your stools are hard and you experience great difficulty in passing them. You also experience bloating, the swelling of your abdomen. Constipation is a very common complaint. In fact, an average of 4 million Americans annually find that they have constipation related problems.

What is considered healthy is a bowel movement of at least once a day. If you have fewer than three bowel movements a week, you have a case of constipation. A frequencey of less than one bowel movement in a week is considered acute constipation.

Constipation and bloating should not be left untreated. On the extreme, you are at risk of developing colon cancer. Stagnant stools stored in your colon give rise to several harmful bacteria. These bacteria causes your colon linings to become inflammed; thus resulting in colon cancer.

In acute constipation, the bacteria from colon can enter other parts of your digestive system and hamper the entire digestive process. Symptoms of toxicity of your colon include eczema, acne, skin problems, weight gain, headaches, a lowered immune system and mood changes.

Colon cleansing is often recommended as a solution by natural health experts to clear the toxic waste build up. Colon cleansing can be achieved through a detox diet plan that is rich in fiber. Fiber retains water in the stools and eases the passage of the stools out from your body. A fiber rich diet also helps in the growth of good bacteria. It has been found that consuming psyllium, which is high in soluble fiber, with large amounts of water helps to alleviate constipation.

An age old home remedy for constipation relief is with the use of prunes. Prunes contain a substantial mount of potassium which stimulates the linings of colon. This results in easy bowel movements. Potassium also cleans the fecal matter attached to the colon linings. An excellent way to consume prunes is by juicing. Other rich sources of potassium including vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber and tomato and fruits like the pineapple.

Herbs for colon cleansing include aloe, senna, buckthorn and frangula. Flax seed and Rhubarb are two other herbs that alleviate the symptoms of constipation.


Colon Cleansing For Constipation Relief
Constipation refers to the irregular movement of bowels. When you have constipation, your stools are hard and you experience great difficulty in passing them. You also experience bloating, the swelling of your abdomen. Constipation is a very common complaint. In fact, an average of 4 million Americans annually find that they have constipation related problems.

What is considered healthy is a bowel movement of at least once a day. If you have fewer than three bowel movements a week, you have a case of constipation. A frequencey of less than one bowel movement in a week is considered acute constipation.

Constipation and bloating should not be left untreated. On the extreme, you are at risk of developing colon cancer. Stagnant stools stored in your colon give rise to several harmful bacteria. These bacteria causes your colon linings to become inflammed; thus resulting in colon cancer.

In acute constipation, the bacteria from colon can enter other parts of your digestive system and hamper the entire digestive process. Symptoms of toxicity of your colon include eczema, acne, skin problems, weight gain, headaches, a lowered immune system and mood changes.

Colon cleansing is often recommended as a solution by natural health experts to clear the toxic waste build up. Colon cleansing can be achieved through a detox diet plan that is rich in fiber. Fiber retains water in the stools and eases the passage of the stools out from your body. A fiber rich diet also helps in the growth of good bacteria. It has been found that consuming psyllium, which is high in soluble fiber, with large amounts of water helps to alleviate constipation.

An age old home remedy for constipation relief is with the use of prunes. Prunes contain a substantial mount of potassium which stimulates the linings of colon. This results in easy bowel movements. Potassium also cleans the fecal matter attached to the colon linings. An excellent way to consume prunes is by juicing. Other rich sources of potassium including vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber and tomato and fruits like the pineapple.

Herbs for colon cleansing include aloe, senna, buckthorn and frangula. Flax seed and Rhubarb are two other herbs that alleviate the symptoms of constipation.

•
• Dandelion - This is an herb that benefits the whole body, particularly your immune system. It works to eliminate toxins from the cells in the body. It also stimulates bile production. It increases the production of white blood cells thus strengthening the immune system.
• Licorice Root - This herb has antioxidant properties. It is used to help fight viruses and helps the body produce antibodies.
• Black Walnut Hulls - This herb also works in the bowels. It fights against parasites and removes them from the intestines. It also helps remove fatty material and toxins.
• Goldenseal - This herb has cleansing properties. It helps the body eliminate toxins and to remove obstructions.
• Psyllium - This popularly known herb also works to help move the bowels.
• The Chinese also have a long history of using herbs for healing Here are some Chinese herbs that are used for detoxification.
• Lian Qiao – Lian Qiao is the forsythia flower. It has cleansing properties and helps to clear heat and toxins.
• Pu Gong Ying – Pu Gong Ying is the dandelion plant. It is the parts of the plant above the root that is being used as a remedy. It is effective as a detoxification herb.
• Ju Hua – Otherwise known as the Chrysanthemum. It can help cleanse your body especially after an oily meal. Many Chinese consume Ju Hua in the form of herbal tea.
The main aim of detoxification is to aid your organs in removing toxins from the body, usually through the bowels. Using herbs is an excellent method for cleansing. In addition, there are nutrients that the herbs supply to strengthen your organs.

Inspired by the recent Facebook post of a friend of mine that read:
It is time to get rid of the dead weight for 2010; You know who you are, I began to think about the concept of dead weight in my own life as I move toward my goal of ever increasing wellness. I try to surround myself with like-minded, positive people who are generally on the same path. But there are times when I have met with dissention, egoism and negativity. Usually it is my own, but every now in then it comes in the form of a person close to me.

Others have shared similar experiences with me. In my recent foray into the world of nutrition and wellness counseling, I have come across many people who are ready to jump with two feet into a new eating lifestyle and exercise program. They have all the vigor, excitement, and energy and would like to learn more about what to do to access good health. They are done with the Monday morning diet-Friday evening failure syndrome, the yo-yoing, the false starts and promises. They are laying their fears aside, moving full steam ahead, turning over a new leaf and this time, going for the gusto!

Unfortunately, their programs have stalled and something is keeping them from getting off the ground. The problem? Surprisingly, often it is a loved one, a spouse, a parent, a child…. a highly significant other who they wrongly assumed would be their biggest supporter.

This is often not a surprise. Couples who start their relationships in leaner years, who grow together, in more ways than one, often find comfort together in food. I am reminded of the many trips my own grandfather took downstairs to get the late night snacks for he and my grandmother to eat while watching The Late Show with Johnny Carson. The vision of them, beyond pleasantly plump, peering over bellies and dinner trays, sitting up in bed, with the framed photo of a slimmer him in WWII uniform and a hourglass shaped her in 40s floral cotton apron on the beside table nearby.

Following his untimely death from a heart attack years later, she recounted to me “…our social lives were build around dining out with friends, Sunday dinners, backyard BBQs, and buffets lines. Food was our lives, and we just didn’t know any better. We tried to diet, but felt to change would be to ostracize ourselves from all aspects of how we related to the people we loved.”

My own attempt at dieting when a young mother was always thwarted, not just by a cabinet full of snacks for the kid, but by my own conditioning against waste. I found myself “finishing” my son’s food out of some moral obligation to the “starving children of Africa”. My obligation to my weakening waistline was left on its on, and soon forgotten. Seeking to ease the guilt, it became extremely easy to blame my kid for my inability to succeed on my quest for healthier eating.

What is one to do when your very goal is being sabotaged, intentionally or otherwise, by someone important in your life? This is particularly hard when you live with the person. When you have stocked your fridge with greens, fresh veggies, fruit, gluten free this and trans-fat free that and in they come with a bucket of piping hot KFC. What do you do when you feel usurped, undermined, unsupported and are ready to just join in the social eating club? How do you deal with their issued of want, need, abandonment and fear? Below are some tips on finding success on partnering on the journey to wellness.

Be an example. You may be spending the time thinking about how this person is holding you down and holding you back, but have you ever thought that you are there to inspire them? That they may need you more now than you need them. You may be the rock at this point. This is the nature of relationships. Sometimes you take them helm. Where you are weak, they make be strong and vice versa.

Thing of the shift in the relationship of being a child of an aging parent. Once they met your every need, kissed your skinned knees, soothed bruised egos and broken hearts, but in time the child become the anchor in the relationship, caring for the parent in many of those same manners.

When it comes to relationships and nutrition, you can make healthier meals, introduce items that will provide balance, like the Green Smoothie or Spirulina Bars, suggest new restaurant choices. Provide these items as side dishes or options to their less than healthy choices so as not to present a conflict. Allow them to see you reaching for these options without nagging them to make a hard and fast choice.

Walk the walk together. Walking has manifold benefits for those partnered in aspiring to greater health. Get the blood flowing toward your heads, hearts and all parts while getting a much needed opportunity to just talk. Our busy lives often do not afford many even the smallest opportunities just to download about our days. This can be done into the darker hours of the early evening that you may not being willing to do on the solo tip, but now that your are with a partner, you can take advantage of the “safety in numbers” aspect while listening and sharing about your respective days.

Brainstorm on Together on The New Social Paradigm.
If like many, you two have built much of your social life around eating activities, sit down and think of new activities to strengthen your bond that do not center on food. Family fitness day in the park. Camping. Boating. Backyard badminton. You will be surprised how receptive your social circle be when invited to these activities over a day of sitting around and eating. They will be grateful to both you for the inspiration.

Hire a coach. If it is financially feasible, enlisting the help of a professional nutrition coach. Sometimes it is harder for your partner to hear it from you. They may feel abandoned, even angry at you for ending your partnership in food. Hearing it from a professional may make it more palatable and takes the pressure off of you as a nag or a know-it-all.

Co-create. Make a plan. Set goals together. Create a vision for your future health. Make a vision board showing healthy food choices, healthy bodies with happy people engaged in fun outdoor activities. Discuss how you can enhance your relationship by reaching for wellness together. But be sure to do it in love and with respect to how your partner, parent, sibling, child, friend may feel about the joint venture.

Practice gratitude. Thank them and thank them often. The journey is a difficult alone, and having a partner can be the inspiration you need to make it a success. Tell them regularly how thankful you are for having them in your corner. Speak victory over them. Start to harness the power of words as powerful weapons. Start talking to them about the way you would like them to make you feel. Start speaking those things you would like them to do for you, say to you, and think about you. Thank you for your influence over my life. You are my inspiration, and I am excited about our partnership toward ever increasing wellness. I am so glad you are on my team.

Most importantly, Pray. All precious gifts come from above and if you ask it is given. It is the desire of the Creator that we be in good health and to prosper. Through prayer and supplication, enlist the help of God to help you find ways to be an inspiration to your partner and vice versa. Ask for strength for both of you along the path. Ask for new eyes with which to see them and for them to see you. Remember above all. When we change the way we look at things, the things we look at change!

From the book:

"Your Body's Many Cries for Water"

AMAZING SECRETS FOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS

AMAZING SECRETS FOR HEALTH AND WELLNESS
Cure # 1: Water prevents and cures heartburn.

Heartburn is a signal of water shortage in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract. It is a major thirst signal of the human body. The use of antacids or tablet medications in the treatment of this pain does not correct dehydration, and the body continues to suffer as a result of its water shortage.

Tragedy: Not recognizing heartburn as a sign of dehydration and treating it with antacids and pill medications will, in time, produce inflammation of the stomach and duodenum, hiatal hernia, ulceration, and eventually cancers in the gastrointestinal tract, including the liver and pancreas.


Cure # 2: Water prevents and cures arthritis.
Rheumatoid joint pain - arthritis - is a signal of water shortage in the painful joint. It can affect the young as well as the old. The use of pain-killers does not cure the problem, but exposes the person to further damage from pain medications. Intake of water and small amounts of salt will cure this problem.


Cure # 3: Water prevents and cures back pain.
Low back pain and ankylosing arthritis of the spine are signs of water shortage in the spinal column and discs - the water cushions that support the weight of the body. These conditions should be treated with increased water intake - not a commercial treatment, but a very effective one.

Tragedy: Not recognizing arthritis and low back pain as signs of dehydration in the joint cavities and treating them with pain-killers, manipulation, acupuncture, and eventually surgery will, in time, produce osteoarthritis when the cartilage cells in the joints have eventually all died. It will produce deformity of the spine. It will produce crippling deformities of the limbs. Pain medications have their own life-threatening complications.


Cure # 4: Water prevents and cures angina.
Heart pain - angina - is a sign of water shortage in the heart/lung axis. It should be treated with increased water intake until the patient is free of pain and independent of medications. Medical supervision is prudent. However, increased water intake is angina's cure.


Cure # 5: Water prevents and cures migraines.
Migraine headache is a sign of water need by the brain and the eyes. It will totally clear up if dehydration is prevented from establishing in the body. The type of dehydration that causes migraine might eventually cause inflammation of the back of the eye and possibly loss of eye sight.


Cure #6: Water prevents and cures colitis.
Colitis pain is a signal of water shortage in the large gut. It is associated with constipation because the large intestine constricts to squeeze the last drop of water from the excrements - thus the lack of water lubrication.

Tragedy: Not recognizing colitis pain as a sign of dehydration will cause persistent constipation. Later in life, it will cause fecal impacting: it can cause diverticulitis, hemorrhoids and polyps, and appreciably increases the possibility of developing cancer of the colon and rectum.


Cure # 7: Water and salt prevent and cure asthma.
Asthma, which also affects 14 million children and kills several thousand of them every year, is a complication of dehydration in the body. It is caused by the drought management programs of the body. In asthma free passage of air is obstructed so that water does not leave the body in the form of vapor - the winter steam. Increased water intake will prevent asthma attacks. Asthmatics need also to take more salt to break the mucus plugs in the lungs that obstruct the free flow of air in and out of the air sacs.

Tragedy: Not recognizing asthma as the indicator of dehydration in the body of a growing child not only will sentence many thousands of children to die every year, but will permit irreversible genetic damage to establish in the remaining 14 million asthmatic children.


Cure # 8: Water prevents and cures high blood pressure.
Hypertension is a state of adaptation of the body to a generalized drought, when there is not enough water to fill all the blood vessels that diffuse water into vital cells. As part of the mechanism of reverse osmosis, when water from the blood serum is filtered and injected into important cells through minute holes in their membranes, extra pressure is needed for the "injection process." Just as we inject I.V. "water" in hospitals, so the body injects water into tens of trillions of cells all at the same time. Water and some salt intake will bring blood pressure back to normal!

Tragedy: Not recognizing hypertension as one of the major indicators of dehydration in the human body, and treating it with diuretics that further dehydrate the body will, in time, cause blockage by cholesterol of the heart arteries and the arteries that go to the brain. It will cause heart attacks and small or massive strokes that paralyze. It will eventually cause kidney disease. It will cause brain damage and neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease.


Cure # 9: Water prevents and cures early adult-onset diabetes.
Adult-onset diabetes is another adaptive state to severe dehydration of the human body. To have adequate water in circulation and for the brain's priority water needs, the release of insulin is inhibited to prevent insulin from pushing water into all body cells. In diabetes, only some cells get survival rations of water. Water and some salt will reverse adult-onset diabetes in its early stages.

Tragedy: Not recognizing adult-onset diabetes as a complication of dehydration will, in time, cause massive damage to the blood vessels all over the body. It will cause eventual loss of the toes, feet and legs from gangrene. It will cause eye damage, even blindness.


Cure # 10: Water lowers blood cholesterol.
High cholesterol levels are an indicator of early drought management by the body. Cholesterol is a clay-like material that is poured in the gaps of some cell membranes to safeguard them against losing their vital water content to the osmotically more powerful blood circulating in their vicinity. Cholesterol, apart from being used to manufacture nerve cell membranes and hormones, is also used as a "shield" against water taxation of other vital cells that would normally exchange water through their cell membranes.


Cure # 11: Water cures depression, loss of libido, chronic fatigue syndrome, lupus, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy.
These conditions are caused by prolonged chronic dehydration. They will clear up once the body becomes well and regularly hydrated. In these conditions, exercising one's muscles should be part of the treatment program.


For More Information, Read the Book:
Your Body's Many Cries for Water.
by F. Batmanghelidj, M.D.

reprinted from Washington Post
December 10, 2009



Picture yourself at your most recent big holiday meal.

Did you pile your plate with food served from bowls and platters at the table?

Did you take some -- or a lot -- of everything, whether or not each food was a particular favorite?

Did you dig in when everyone else did and chat while eating, never even pausing to put down your fork?

And, when that first plate of food was gone, did you automatically seek seconds?

If that sounds familiar, you ate more than you actually wanted or needed. And you probably didn't enjoy it as much as you thought you would, especially when the meal was over and you were left feeling uncomfortably full.

Now picture this: At your next festive gathering, you serve yourself from bowls and platters in the kitchen, taking just the amount you want of only those foods you love best. Before digging in, you sit for a moment, even as those around you start eating, and you take in all the sights, scents and sounds of the holiday table. Then you lift your fork and taste, pausing to notice exactly how your food smells, its temperature, how it feels in your mouth, savoring its flavors. As you chew, you set down your fork. Only when you've fully enjoyed and eventually swallowed that first bite do you take another. By the end of the meal -- which you are the last to finish -- you are not just full but truly satisfied.

Which scenario sounds more celebratory?

I suppose an argument could be made for either. But proponents of a practice known as "mindful eating" are convinced that the second approach not only allows you to enjoy your food more but also can help you manage your weight during the holiday season and beyond.

Mindful eating is an outgrowth of a practice called mindfulness, itself an outgrowth of Zen Buddhism (but one that can easily be embraced without adopting Zen or any other philosophy). Mindfulness involves slowing down to savor all of life's details, to notice small things and appreciate every sensation. As applied to eating, mindfulness offers a means of making the most of every calorie you choose to ingest and can help you make those choices.

Psychologist Susan Albers has written extensively about mindful eating, particularly in her book "Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating and Enjoy a Balanced Relationship With Food" (New Harbinger, 2003). She defines the practice as "a calm, focused, nonjudgmental awareness of what you eat. It focuses more on the way you eat rather than what you eat." Mindful eating, Albers adds, "is not a diet. There are no menus or recipes."

It takes three steps, she says. First, train yourself to really taste food, using all of your senses. Next, become aware of the habits and routines that govern your eating. Finally, tune in to your hunger and fullness, learning to distinguish between psychological and emotional hunger and true physical hunger.

Mindful eating might just be the tool to get you through the calorie-fest we call the holidays. "Too many people decide to diet during the holiday season," Albers notes. "This isn't realistic. In fact, creating a rule to steer clear of holiday treats is a setup for failure, shame and guilt. Instead," she recommends, "work on eating cookies and other holiday treats mindfully. Before you take a bite, ask yourself, 'Am I eating this mindfully? Am I hungry, and would I really enjoy it?' "

Adopting mindful eating takes time and practice, Albers acknowledges. Even though the eating season is well underway, you can still commit. But don't try it for the first time at the office holiday party. "It is like building any other skill," Albers says. "You don't want to learn to swim when you are drowning. . . . Initially, practice the skill when you are feeling calm and relaxed rather than in the midst of a strong craving or too many holiday treats."

Brian Wansink wrote the groundbreaking book "Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think" (Bantam, 2007), which showed how our eating habits are governed by myriad environmental cues, such as the size of our plates and the company we keep. He has a slogan: "The best diet is the one you don't know you're on."

Wansink says he believes we can harness our awareness of environmental cues to create conditions that allow us to relax and eat without fear of overindulging. The goal, he says, is to "help people mindlessly eat right."

That means scouring your surroundings for all the little things that encourage you to overeat. Swap your mammoth dinner plates for modestly sized ones to make healthful food portions seem substantial. Use tall, thin glasses instead of short, squat ones so you pour less liquid. Plate your food in the kitchen rather than at the table so you're forced to get up for second helpings. You might not.

The idea is to remove all of the subtle obstacles to healthful eating so that you don't have to think about whether you're eating smart: Doing so becomes the only option.

"We have tremendous control over our personal environment," Wansink says. Exerting that control is a sound strategy "for anyone who doesn't want to be a full-time dieter."

Instead of devoting ourselves to lives of mindfulness, he suggests, we can just work on changing the cues that trigger our overeating. "For someone who really wants [mindful eating] to be their entire life mission, they can study it and eat mindfully," Wansink says.

"But most of us are too busy for that."

I am experimenting with sprouts. I haven't had the easiest time, but I am think I am having some luck this week with sunflower seeds.

WHY SPROUTS?

1. SPROUTS are biogenic - alive and capable of transferring their life energy to your body.

2. SPROUTS contain enzymes which aid in digestion and convert starches into sugars, protein into amino acids, and fats into fatty acids. Enzymes are destroyed in cooked food. When live enzymes are available, the body doesn't store unnecessary vitamin and mineral supplements.

3. SPROUTS provide the highest quality proteins, which are easy for the body to use, are low in fat and contain no saturated fat or cholesterol.

4. SPROUTS contain essential vitamins, proteins and minerals in their purest natural forms.

5. SPROUTS provide a good source of fiber, which stimulates the body's internal self-cleansing abilities.

6. SPROUTS slow the aging process. They are an excellent source of anti oxidants.

7. SPROUTS can provide you with a fresh garden in your kitchen when none other is available. Seeds can be stored economically for long periods of time with the potential of many times their weight in fresh produce.

8. SPROUTS are simple, easy and fast to grow. You can have fresh SPROUTS in 2 to 4 days instead of 30 to 90 days needed to grow most vegetables.

9. SPROUTS can be eaten alone, or in salads, sandwiches, soups, stir fry, pancakes, bread, or just about anything. LET YOUR IMAGINATION RUN WILD!

10. SPROUTS are the missing link to daily nutrition and home food storage programs.