Worst flu season in years!!!

Have you been listening to the news. We are in mid Februsary and the flu bug has started increasing, not decreasing in new out breaks. More than forty states have posted record cases. Yesterday I heard that they have decided that the influenza shot given this year was not ready or prepared for these strains that are now present across the country.

I have been saying for years that the best way to prevent the flu is to not let your immune system waiver at all. Keeping it strong so that no matter what you come in contact with your body will be strong enough to take care of it and keep you healthy when those around you may be dropping like flies.

Putting all your eggs in one basket with the flu shot is like being a diabetic and saying because you are on insulin it is ok to eat cake all day long. A flu shot may help you in a round about way to dodge a few of the strains, but if your immune system is not protected, you will get sick anyway, and flu shot or not you will get sicker than you can possibly imagine.

Never let your immune system decrease, take some extra Viatmin C, Echinacea, extra B Complex vitamins, take a strong multiple vitamin and even add some Colloidal Silver every day. Prevention is the best way to avoid the germs that cause the problems to start with, and to keep you away from the sickly quick care Doctor offices across the country.

Tips for the flu season:
*Avoid excess dairy consumption as it is mucous producing food.
*Wash your hands every time you turn around.
*Drink more water than you do in the summer.
*Get plenty of rest and manage your stress.
*Stay away from places that are full of sickly people.


If you are supposed to travel or go to a function and you are already feeling under the weather, stay home. This will intensify the sickmess being around so many people and not having an immune system up to par to deal with all of the germs around you. If you go, you may be asking for pneumonia rather than a cold or flu. Also remember that a warm afternoon can turn into a cold evening when the sun goes down. Do not get caught outside without the clothing necessary to keep you warm.

Remember,if you are going somewhere and you are thinking that you may be getting sick, do yourself a favor and listen to that smart inner voice and stay home and get the rest you need. The inner voice is always much smarter that we think, or smarter than we will give credit.

Is your skin healthy?

I was asked yesterday about what were the best things to take for healthy and youthful looking skin. The answer was and is very easy, your skin is a picture of what is happening on the inside of your body. If you are unhealthy internally, you will have a very good chance of having unhealthy skin on the outside.

The first thing to do to help the look of your skin is to make sure you hydrate it daily. This means skip or cut back on soda, coffee and carbonated beverages and replace it with as much fresh water as you can consume. This alone makes a difference that is noticeable very quickly. You will next want to lubricate the skin and prevent dryness internally and externally. On the inside you can lubricate the skin by eating more foods with high levels of good oil content such as salmon, mackeral, sardines, olive oil, natural peanut butter and avocados, along with the increased water intake. You can also add things to your vitamin program that help natural internal lubrication like omega 3 capsules, cod liver oil capsules, flax seed oil.

Externally making sure you lubricate with high quality no added chemical oil and lotion products, make sure to look for these at your health food store and not your drug store. There is a wonderful oil that can be used on your skin that not only lubrictes but softens and reduces aging and dry skin, it is called Squalene. It is a shark oil product and is hands down the best thing for our skin as it ages topically, it is also available in an internal capsule to help carry that oild to the internal lubrication level as well.

As our body needs to be able to digest the food and supplements we give it every day, the skin needs to be able to absorb the oils and lotions we apply topically. I have a trick you might like to try. It is a way of exfoliating dry skin and clearing the skin to a healthier palate for absorption of the oils and creams.

First start with a teaspoon of simple table sugar and add a little water and immediately start scrubbling the face and removing dead skin. After about one minute, rinse the face with warm water and pat dry, you will be amazed by the glow and texture of your skin when dead skin cells are out of the way.

At this point add your oils and lotions and sit back and enjoy the glow. Many people pay thousands of dollars for advice that is given at department stores that will lead you to this exact location, so help your skin look it's best and put Your best face forward.

Beautiful spring day in the dead of winter.

Have you noticed that a warmer day actually gets us to be more active and really makes us feel better. In the dead of winter, well in Las Vegas the middle of our cold weather season, a warm day makes people want to get out and do something.

I have always heard that the winter blues can make us unhappy, sluggish, depressed and lazy. Some parts of the country actually use light machines because of what they call cloudy gloomy seasonal weather disorder where the gloomyness actually causes depression. Today was one of those beautiful days in the middle of the winter season. People were out in droves, working on their yards, washing their cars and everyone I came in contact with today was in a happy mood. It was like a Xanax day or someone sprinkled happy dust in the air. Well whatever happened, it was nice and made for an enjoyable day everywhere I went.

Funny thing, we are all such creatures of habit that chances are everyone will be back to their fast paced, in a hurry to go nowhere quickly, walk over the flowers and do not smell them, fast food eating in the car, fast moving lifestyles tomorrow, so thank you everyone for today, it was a pleasure.

Superbowl Sunday, it is a day of mass quantities!!

Superbowl Sunday, a time honored tradition for many an American. All over the country freinds and families have gathered to watch the game, eat, visit with each and catch up on the latest happenings in each others lives, eat and watch the game, and did I mention eat?

This is a day of mass quantities and calories and consumptionat it's best. Tomorrow, many of us will feel the ramifications of today's fun and festivities. Upset stomach, hangover, headaches, empty pockets for the Las Vegas betters, maybe full pockets for some of you, and the guilt of breaking the New Years resolutions in every which way we can.

Let us face it, we are human and we spend most of our lives having the best intentions, climbing back on the wagon we just fell off of and dealing with the guilt we put mentally put on ourselves.

I think we all need to realize that moderation is the goal we should all be looking for, with the occasional pary day like today, and enjoy and get back wih the program tomorrow and just enjoy and stop guilting yourselves the day after.

So have fun, partake, enjoy the festivities, your friends and families and make some memories to keep with you. Life is short, too short, so have a great time and if you do partake in alcohol consumption, have fun but throw your car keys away for the day.. Go Patriots!!!!

Week one down, are you still on course?

So how has your first week of your New Years resolutions gone so far? I think, believe it or not, it has been a very successful week for most people. From all of the emails I have received I think people were a little more motivated or a little more disgusted at how they treated themselves last year. Whatever the real reason, congratulations.

They often say that breaking an old habit or creating a new good or bad one takes about three weeks, so in a few more weeks you will be able to better see if you have made it over the hump and started making these changes a more permanent solution.

I hope that for all of you that this is the year you succeed with any and all changes you have wanted for a long time and also that all of your transitions be smooth, semi painless and that you see such great benefits that you never look back.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!!!

I am finally back and ready to write and pass on healthy tips and suggestions after a busy December.

December found me volunteering the entire month for an organization here in Las Vegas called the "Magical Forest". This is a Christmas themed event that benefits Opportunity Village, an organization that helps Mentally handicapped adults get on their feet, working, earning a paycheck and also provides all of the help these special adults need to live as close to normal lives as possible.

I learn so much every year when I am helping with this great organization. First of all, we are all a bunch of wimps here in America. We complain about the most ridiculous things that mean almost nothing, and we are so spoiled, almost to the level of absurdness!

We as Americans have the most of everything that we can possibly handle for making our lives wonderful, and yet we complain about that as well. We are lucky enough to have more choices for everything than almost every other country, and we are still not satisfied. I am amazed every time I hear people complaining about the most ridiculous thing and with such passion that I really do feel that if most of us were put somewhere that offered little to no cushy lifestyles and multiple choice alternatives, we would most likely die.

The New Year should actually be called Thanksgiving in my mind because it is actually the time for all of us to stand back and be thankful for another year of good health, good fortune and a great life. The thing is, even if it was not that great or healthy, we should still be thankful for living in a place where we have the tools to turn it around and make this year the best ever.

Be thankful for all you have and appreciate the choices you have, and most of all the right to be as healthy as you would like to be!

Happy New Year to all of you and yours

A way to get pointed in the right direction

Over the years the most common question I have always been asked is with all the things on the shelf in health food stores, what do I really need? My answer to this question is always the same, "how do you feel?"This really is the deciding factor when starting a supplement program.

Many people will say I have been taking this and that for years, and my question is still always the same, "how do you feel?" The funny thing is so many people will say lousy, or tired, or just exhausted or I hurt, or I cannot sleep, I usually ask why do you keep doing something that does not work? And after they think for a second, most people say I do not know, habit I guess.

Today I want to give you a list of questions to ask yourself to see what areas you need to focus on, and you may find the questions to be things you never though could relate to how you feel. It basically gives you some guidelines or parameters to work with so you are not taking a stab in the dark, but instead hitting the nail on the head ,if you will.

1) Do you drink a lot of caffeine

2) Do you eat many servings of sugar?

3) Do you eat in between meals?

4) Are you a rollarcoaster dieter?

5) Do you have more than a couple meals served through the window of your car?

6) Do you starve yourself and then binge eat all night at home?

7) Do you eat when depressed?

8) Are you exercising?

9) Do you sleep well at night?

10) Are you an anxious person?

11) Does stress rule your life?

12) Are you moody, or negative all the time?

13) Do you eat at least three servings of vegetables daily?

14) Is your digestive system working correctly?

15) Are you on more than one medication?

16) Do you drink 8 glasses of water every day?

17) Do you work on computers daily and are your eyes healthy?

18) Is your blood pressure normal?

19) How are you hormonally?

20) Do you use antibiotics frequently?

21) Have you been to the dentist within the last twelve months?

22) Have you had bloodwork and a physical in the last year?

23) Do you work in a germ filled atmosphere at work?

24) Are you a happy person?

25) Are you always tired and running behind?

26) Do you have eliminations every single day?

27) Are your fingernails and hair healthy?

28) Have you ever taken vitamins on a regular basis?

29) Is your skin healthy and do you have adult acne?

30) Is your cholesterol normal or high?

31) Are you a diabetic, is it in the family and have you been tested?

32) Do you have a pet?

33) Do you travel frequently?

34) Do you bruise easily and do your gums bleed?

35) How is your memory and do you get headaches frequently?

36) Do you have a nervous stomach?

37) Do you have hobbies or activities you do outside of work?

38) Do you have seasonal allergies?3

9) Do you watch a lot of television?

40) Are you a procrastinator?

41) Do you cook at home or eat out more often?

42) Do you study or taking classes or continuing education of any kind?

43) Have you switched careers in the last year?

44) Do you smoke or drink daily?

45) Have you gone through any surgery in the last year?

46) Do you now or have you ever had cancer and completed treatment?

47) Do you salt your food before tasting it?

48) Do you spend more time indoors or outdoors?

49) Are you a slow eater or do you eat on the run and quickly woof your food?

50) Have you always been nutritionally oriented or is this new?

This will be enough to get you started. I think you should print this and answer the questions. You yourself will find a pattern and will almost for certain link many of the problems you may be experiencing to your own bad habits. We sometimes are such creatures of habit that the craziest things become normal until you see them in print.

Make sure to hold on to these questions because every month I will add some more. This will let you get closer and closer to formulating your own areas that you will want to pay attention to. Something that drives me crazy is when you are told that one thing will do great for everyone, which is absurd because we are all different.

This list is also something to take with you when you start researching nutrition. If you are lucky enough to find someone nutritionally well versed and trained, they will be able to look at this list and give you a very focused nutritional program that you yourself will get great benefits from. If on the other hand, you go somewhere where the individual knows next to nothing, kindly say thank you and leave and go somewhere else. Never feel obligated to compromise with your health, NEVER.

Always feel that you are working with someone that is knowledgeable and knows about health situations and also medications and side effects, and is well versed in alternatives. I always tell everybody to ask yourself, would you let this person work with and make a vitamin supplement program for your mother? Hopefully you like you Mother and you would want a trusting individual to work with her. If your gut tells you yes, then give them a try.

Nutrition is like buying a car. Not everybody will fit in a corvette, some people need a truck, an SUV, or an economy car. The great thing is when you ask yourself questions and get a better grip on your own health, you actually narrow down the choices, which is a good thing.Good luck...