A Little Inspiration Goes A Long Way (22 Pics)

7 Nutrient-Dense Foods You Could Literally Survive Off Of Forever

Nutrient-dense foods provide the greatest amount of nutrition for the lowest number of calories. They’re not the salty, savory snacks you love, but they’re worth trying. Many of them might turn out to be familiar to you, and they could keep you alive for a while if your options suddenly diminished.

Garlic

If you’re a huge garlic enthusiast, you’re in luck. It may not be the smartest thing to eat before walking into a room of people you’re trying to impress. In the safety of your own home, though, it’s not a vegetable you want to avoid.

Garlic’s fiber, vitamin B6, and vitamin C content make it a major source of essential nutrients, especially when you add it to other foods.

Dark chocolate

Usually, chocolate ends up on your “do not eat” list after you indulge a little too much under stress. Too much of anything isn’t great — but you might benefit from eating dark chocolate more regularly. Dark chocolate has more cocoa per ounce than milk chocolate, which means you benefit more from that cocoa when eating it.

Dark chocolate specifically provides plenty of fiber, iron, and other essential minerals to keep you from getting sick. Some studies even suggest eating it regularly could decrease your risk of certain chronic conditions like heart disease.

Potatoes

Many people avoid potatoes — especially white potatoes — because they’re considered a starchy vegetable high in carbohydrates. In an emergency, potatoes could actually keep you alive.

They’re loaded with vitamin C, water, and carotenoids. They’re low in sodium and sugar, and contain decent amounts of fiber and protein to help improve your satiety and digestion.  Plant foods like potatoes provide many natural benefits to your health that processed foods simply can’t.

Egg yolks

Researchers and health officials used to think egg yolks were the enemy. They contain dietary cholesterol, which we used to blame for unhealthy levels of cholesterol in our blood.

It turns out you’d fare pretty well if you had to survive off of mostly eggs for a while. You could get a large percentage of your daily B vitamins, choline, iron, and more. Egg whites alone can’t give you everything you need — and the cholesterol in yolks probably won’t give you heart disease.

Salmon

If you’re a fan of seafood, you likely already know that many fish, like salmon, tuna, and tilapia, provide a large number of health benefits. Part of the Mediterranean diet, fish contain omega-3 fatty acids, which promote long-term heart health.

When purchasing salmon, always choose wild salmon over farmed salmon. Farmed salmon is higher in caloriesand saturated fat than salmon caught in the wild.

Blueberries

You’ve probably heard that foods with antioxidants, like blueberries, help to reduce cancer risk and inflammation. There are plenty of much simpler benefits you can get from all kinds of fruit.

Blueberries provide calcium, collagen, potassium, and fiber to keep various parts of your body in top shape. Consuming fruits like blueberries promotes healthy digestion, weight loss, stable blood sugar levels, and helps to keep blood pressure on the low end of the spectrum.

Kale

Are you tired of kale yet? Many label it a “superfood,” which means every healthy recipe somehow finds a way to incorporate these leaves into your favorite dishes. It’s no miracle food, but it’s still good for you.

This vegetable belongs to the same family as cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower. It contains massive amounts of vitamins A and K, calcium, and potassium. Low in calories and high in water content, protein, and fiber, kale’s nutrition will fill you up and keep you healthy.

Recommended by most doctors as a soda alternative, this powdered drink mix is extremely toxic

Have you taken Crystal Light recently? It is a product that Kraft pushes on consumers as a calorie-free way to add flavor to their water.

It’s also very popular among dieters and is often recommended by Western medical doctors.  So let’s see what’s wrong with Crystal Light, exactly.

Crystal Light Ingredients and Health Dangers

Classic Crystal Light, which comes in a range of flavors, such as lemonade, fruit punch, strawberry kiwi, orange and raspberry, peach or lemon iced tea, contains pretty the same ingredients :

Citric Acid
Potassium Citrate
Maltodextrin
Aspartame
Magnesium Oxide
Contains Less than 2% of Natural Flavor
Acesulfame Potassium
Soy Lecithin
Artificial Color and Red 40

So Let’s take a look at these ingredients

Citric Acid: Citric acid is the most common food additive in the market today; however, did you know that in Europe, it’s been described as the most dangerous carcinogen of all? Citric acid is used as both a flavor enhancer and a preservative ingredient. The problem with citric acid today is that produced from black mold, Aspergillus Niger, the same black mold that causes respiratory illness if found in the air ducts of your home air conditioning unit. Citric acid has been known to irritate the digestive system (ascorbic acid has similar attributes), causing heartburn and damage to the mucous membrane of the stomach. The eyes, skin and respiratory organs can also suffer scratchy, itchy sensations from overconsumption of citric acid. There have also been European studies which suggest that citric acid could be responsible for promoting tooth decay as well.

Maltodextrin

Maltodextrin is used as a thickener, filler or preservative in many processed foods.  Although maltodextrin comes from natural foods, it’s highly processed. Almost all the maltodextrin used in health foods, vitamins, and supplements are derived from genetically modified corn. Though not a sugar, it still has a GI (glycemic index) of 130 by itself (table sugar is only 65)! The glycemic index is a measurement of how quickly blood sugar rises after eating it. It’s high glycemic index, which creates a huge upswing in blood sugar, results in a huge upswing of a hormone insulin.

A 2013 study published in the Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology found that maltodextrin consumption, especially at higher doses, may cause gastrointestinal symptoms, such as gurgling sounds, gas and even diarrhea. There have also been reports of other allergic reactions to maltodextrin, such as skin irritations, cramping and bloating.

Aspartame:

Aspartame is a synthetic chemical composed of the amino acids phenylalanine and aspartic acid. It is composed of two amino acids, phenylalanine and aspartic acid. The aspartic acid is as powerful as an exitotoxin as is glutamate. Phenylalanine is known to produce seizures and act as a neurotoxin in the brain. … When a sweetener contains high amounts of these isolated amino acids the brain level may, after ingestion, become high enough to cause brain cell death, seizures and death.

A study published in the Journal of Applied Nutrition said that Aspartame causes brain damage by leaving traces of methanol in the blood. An additional study published by the Washington University Medical School outlined a connection between Aspartame and brain tumors.

Acesulfame Potassium: This is another controversial artificial sweetener that is 200 times sweeter than sugar. Acesulfame K contains the carcinogen methylene chloride which can cause headaches, depression, nausea, mental confusion, liver effects, kidney effects, visual disturbances. Early studies showed a link to multiple cancer developments in lab animals.

Soy Lecithin: The biggest problem associated with soy lecithin comes from soy itself because most of the soy in the market is genetically modified (GM). Researchers have proven that GM foods can create potential damages to our health. GM soy contains high levels of toxicants which represent thousands of plant biochemicals and has exhibited toxic effects on animals.

Additionally, it also acts as goitrogens, which suppress your thyroid function, and triggers many other health problems associated with thyroid suppression. Studies have shown that soy contains toxins and plant oestrogens that could disrupt women’s menstrual cycles, damage the thyroid, lower testosterone levels, stimulate the progression of breast cancer.

So why are doctors recommending it? Most of its ingredients  are causally linked to many health problems in both animals and humans.

8 Winter Sources of Vitamin C

Let’s face it: most of us don’t eat enough fruits or vegetables this time of year. Yet these foods are essential to get adequate vitamin C and we need more vitamin C to ward off colds and flu and to keep our immune systems strong.

You can still get your daily dose of vitamin C in winter no matter where you live. Here are my top picks:

PAPAYAS

While they’re not available in every grocery store this time of year, papayas seem to be fairly accessible and affordable in most grocery stores. Obviously if you’re reading this from Alaska you’ll probably want to move on to the next options on the list. But with a whopping 168 milligrams of vitamin C per fruit they top the list of sources of vitamin C.

BROCCOLI

You may wish to start adding more broccoli to your diet when you learn that it contains over a hundred milligrams of vitamin C per cup. Don’t boil it though since the vitamin C will be lost to the cook water. Instead, lightly steam it, eat it raw with your favorite veggie dip, roast it or saute it in a stirfry.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS

At 97 milligrams of vitamin C in a single cup of Brussels sprouts, these miniature cabbage-like veggies make a great addition to your winter meals. Like broccoli, do not boil the or you’ll lose the vitamin C but roasting them is a great way to enjoy these vegetables. Chop in half, toss in a small amount of olive oil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. 

GRAPEFRUIT

One medium grapefruit typically contains 88 mg of vitamin C, making it time to add it back to your morning regime, afternoon snack or to enjoy as a delicious fresh juice. Forget the bottled stuff, most of the vitamin C is lost in the processing even before it gets to you.

ORANGES

Fairly inexpensive all year round, oranges are still an excellent source of vitamin C. An average size orange contains about 70 mg of this important immune-boosting nutrient.

KIWI

A single 2-inch long kiwi fruit contains 64 mg of vitamin C, making them an excellent source of vitamin C. Availability and price varies widely depending on your location but in many places they are still accessible and affordable this time of year.

CAULIFLOWER

This much-maligned vegetable deserves some respect. It contains 54 mg of vitamin C in a cup of the cruciferous vegetable. Again, don’t boil the vegetable, favoring instead roasting, raw, steamed, or sautéed. If you haven’t tried tossing cauliflower florets in a bit of olive oil and adding a pinch of sea salt and roasting in the oven for about 30 minutes at 350 degrees, you’re in for a treat. Even cauliflower haters often enjoy cauliflower when cooked this way.

PARSLEY

Overlooked as nothing more than a garnish, it’s time to start enjoying more parsley. It contains 40 mg of vitamin C in a half cup of chopped parsley. Add chopped parsley to some cooked quinoa, some mild onions, and tomatoes and dress with a garlicky vinaigrette made with lemon juice and olive oil and you’ve got yourself a delicious (and gluten-free) tabbouleh salad.

5 Ways to Get Healthier & Happier With Age

In our culture, everything happens at the speed of youth. Whether it’s cell phones, computers, songs, movies, books or opinions, it seems that only the newest models and latest releases matter. Whatever it is, if it’s been around for a while, it’s probably lost some value along with its straight-out-of-the-package luster.

And that might be inevitable when it comes to the latest iPad. But it makes no sense when it comes to people. Because while our culture is inclined to associate aging with a downgrade in beauty, vitality and appeal, aging done well has the potential to be something else entirely: an enjoyable and inspiring upgrade of self.

Unlike the boundless energy of youth, the treasures of aging don’t just arrive at our doorsteps, though. While it is entirely possible to become more interesting, attractive and dynamic as you age, it rarely happens without some conscious striving.

That said, it’s well worth the effort. Done right, living brings wisdom, emotional maturity and insight. With age comes experience, skill, discernment and perspective. We become more empathetic. We develop the compassion to fully know and love others, and the confidence to relax into our best attributes. We gain the ability to know — and even strut — our own stuff.

Seen in this light, getting older can be downright sexy. But how does one go about engaging in artful aging? One of the best ways is to start early.

Knowing at 20, 30 or 40 that you can, and fully intend to, become cooler, smarter and potentially hotter as you age gives you an important advantage, because it can help you keep your goals and priorities in line over the long haul. It also helps you focus on the end game, so you don’t get stuck thinking that midlife achievements are the highest markers of a life well lived.

But at whatever age you suddenly realize that you are, in fact, getting older, it is still possible to age gracefully from there on out. All it takes is smart choices, well-directed energy and a desire for self-renewal. As best-selling author and journalist Gail Sheehy puts it, we need to “remain open to new vistas of learning and imagination and anticipate experiences yet to be conquered and savored.”

1. CONNECT WITH OTHERS

One of the most important things you can do to enrich your life at any age is to connect with other people. Meeting, talking, collaborating, sharing — none of these personal-growth essentials happens when an individual is isolated. The people around us (friends, lovers, family, mentors and even enemies) can all provide important insights and become catalysts that aid us in our quest to evolve.

Developing relationships with older folks whom you admire and perceive as good role models, whether for their enduring physical fitness, their perspective and experience, or simply their joie de vivre, can be especially inspiring. So can connecting with younger people. Older men and women gain a deeper appreciation of their accumulated knowledge by sharing it. And feeling gratitude for one’s wisdom and previous life experiences is itself a powerful factor in remaining happy and inspired as we age.

Linking with others has huge health benefits as well. Edward M. Hallowell, MD, an adult and child psychiatrist based in Boston, cites landmark research from Harvard University School of Public Health, that showed people with no close ties to friends, relations or other community were three times more likely to die over a nine-year period than those with at least one source of social support. “Social isolation is as much a risk factor [for early death] as smoking,” he says.

The value of connection increases with years and experience. As lives and relationships deepen, there’s more to share.

A Minneapolis resident, Scotty Gillette was in her early 40s when she and a group of four other childhood friends decided to meet for dinner once a month. Nearly 40 years later, they’re still doing it. “We’ve supported each other through divorces, widowhood, and issues with our children and grandchildren,” she says. “We’ve nursed each other through operations, helped out when husbands have gotten sick, and celebrated at the weddings of our children and the births of our grandchildren.” Each woman is a crucial beam in her friends’ emotional architecture.

Community can be as simple as three or four people getting together for focused conversation once a week, says Parker Palmer, an educator, community activist and author of Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation (Jossey-Bass, 1999). “It requires, more than anything else, intentionality.” The form matters less than the function; joining a bowling league, volunteering to tutor at the local high school, starting a band, taking an acting class — all will connect you with something you love, as well as a vital group of friends.

2. LOOK AND LEARN

To recognize life’s continuing possibilities, you must constantly survey the world with an open, inquisitive mind. “Lifelong learning expands our horizons and helps us see a life beyond our current roles,” says Pamela McLean, PhD, a clinical psychologist and coauthor of Life Launch: A Passionate Guide to the Rest of Your Life (Hudson Press, 2000).

The Harvard Study of Adult Development found that pursuing education throughout your adult years is a key factor to a rich life and healthy aging. Research has also found that learning can make your brain function better.

For many years, neuroscientists thought that the body stopped building new neural connections after childhood. But landmark studies in the early 21st century showed that the adult brain continues to grow new cells and create new neural connections. And learning helps trigger the growth of those new cells.

“Long-held assumptions that our brains are in a state of gradual decline from a youthful peak have been proven untrue,” notes Barbara Strauch in The Secret Life of the Grown-Up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind (Penguin, 2011).

If you maintain only one interest in your life — whether it’s work, children, athletics or a hobby — you risk losing your source of identity and satisfaction when change comes. Conversely, if you polish many facets of yourself, you will shine no matter what.

“The demands of the 30s and 40s are so pressing that it’s almost impossible to imagine how you can diversify your interests,” says McLean. “But it’s important not to become a one-string guitar. Don’t give all your life to work. Allow yourself to try adventures you normally wouldn’t.”

The opportunities to learn are endless. You can choose a structured activity, like taking a class or starting a book club. Or you can take a more free-form approach: Learn about local history or sports teams; listen to public radio while going to work and books on tape during the commute home; commit to visiting a new place every year, even if it’s on the way to your annual vacation spot.

As your life path proceeds, keep an eye out for life’s teachers. McLean suggests seeking out role models who are living in a way that inspires you. Then learn about their lives by asking questions about how they got there.

One person who has made a career out of interviewing his mentors is Bill Moyers, the host of the public-television news program Moyers & Company. “All the septuagenarians I’ve interviewed through the years have taught me something,” he says. “They lived long enough to turn their experience into wisdom, and to share it.”

3. EXPLORE WITHIN

Perhaps the best way to integrate valuable life experiences into your aging process is to regularly evaluate where you are and what’s calling next. “It’s a challenge for anyone, regardless of their age, to know where they want to go,” says McLean. “It’s easy to wander or, in our media-oriented society, to be led. But satisfaction only comes with a direction that is truly your own.”

Palmer agrees, and points out that instead of becoming more set in their ways, aging adults need to remain nimble. “One of the keys to aging gracefully is to acknowledge that you have as much need for discernment now about the best next steps in life as you did at 32 or 45 or 56. There’s a mythology that by 72 you’re pretty well settled, but we have wiggle room as long as we’re drawing breath.”

Developing and following your own evolving sense of purpose takes mindfulness, says McLean, which requires regular doses of reflective thinking. “Look for opportunities to think outside the moment and ask what you want to be,” she advises.

There are opportunities everywhere. Take a vacation, journal, meditate, try yoga, get a coach. Resist the invented busyness that keeps most of us distracted from our feelings: Stop compulsively checking your email or your phone; go on a weeklong media fast; sit still on your couch for five full minutes and don’t write a “to-do” list or schedule a dentist’s appointment or rearrange your sock drawer. If you feel uncomfortable, that’s the point. You’re starting to listen to your inner self.

Allowing our internal compass to guide us toward meaningful pursuits brings its own set of benefits. The Longevity Project, a long-term study launched by a Stanford psychologist at the turn of the last century, followed 1,500 people born around 1910 and found that passionate people who believed they were living up to their potential and engaged in meaningful work lived longer, healthier lives than their less reflective and less engaged peers.

The inner journey itself can be a wellspring of energy and inspiration for daily life. “I’ve found that if a person has a way of being introspective while aging, it creates an acceptance of life,” says Stephan Rechtschaffen, MD, a cofounder of the Omega Institute, a holistic learning center based in Rhinebeck, N.Y. “Maintaining vitality can be aided by spiritual processes. They allow us to access our inner landscapes and to see life with wonder.”

4. PLAY CREATIVELY

Embracing the pleasures of uninhibited expression — whether we find that in art, music, dance, woodworking, Scrabble or poker — enriches and regenerates our souls no matter how old we are. “Any healthy activity where your brain lights up helps plant the seeds of happiness,” says Hallowell.

Those bits of happiness enrich our brains now and can continue to pay off in the decades to come, bringing satisfaction and continual self-renewal. In fact, time often enhances the end results of creative endeavors. In her book The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life (Simon & Schuster, 2005), choreographer Twyla Tharp explains that she didn’t feel like a “master” of her craft until she had completed 128 works and was 58 years old.

“Why did it take 128 pieces until I felt this way?” Tharp asks rhetorically. “A better question would be, why not? What’s wrong with getting better as you get more work under your belt?” She cites Verdi, Beethoven, Dostoyevsky, Kurosawa and Balanchine as a few of her personal role models. All had stunning early triumphs, to be sure. Yet what interests Tharp is that all of these artists kept raising the bar for their achievements throughout their middle and later years.

How, in the face of deteriorating memories and aching backs, did they do it? In Tharp’s view, they were able to integrate what they had learned and put it into perspective.

“As we age, it’s hard to recapture the recklessness of youth, when new ideas sparked off us like light from a pinwheel sparkler,” she writes. “But we more than compensate for this with the ideas we do generate, and with our hard-earned wisdom about how to capture, and, more importantly, connect those ideas.” The results of this mature brand of ideation and creative expression, Tharp asserts, can be richer, deeper and just as satisfying as the spontaneity of youth.

5. MIND YOUR BODY

Whether you’re 18 or 88,you feel better when you maintain a healthy weight, a high level of physical vitality, and a commitment to daily movement. As the years pass, though, it becomes increasingly important to examine specific aspects of your daily routine and environment.

For instance, according to Mark Hyman, MD, recent research shows that balancing blood sugar is one of the best ways to inoculate against certain age-related diseases, such as dementia, cancer and adult-onset diabetes.

Besides reducing our sugar intake, Hyman, author of The Blood Sugar Solution (Little, Brown and Company, 2012), advises people to take a few key steps: (1) Avoid flours and starches (“They act just like sugar in the bloodstream,” he explains); (2) include healthy proteins (such as fish, beans, nuts, lean animal protein) with every meal to fuel metabolism and maintain muscle; (3) liberally consume high-fiber foods (nuts, berries, beans, non-starchy vegetables and seeds); (4) enjoy healthy fats, including omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to activate a critical cell-signaling system related to blood-sugar control.

Hyman also wants us to mind our mitochondria, which are the microscopic components of each of our cells that turn food and 90 percent of the oxygen we breathe into energy. We have more than 100,000 trillion of these little energy factories in our bodies, and according to recent lab tests, rats with the healthiest and most plentiful mitochondria had greater endurance and aerobic capacity, experienced increased fat burning, didn’t develop prediabetes, and lived to be the equivalent of 120 human years old.

The trouble is that, over time, mitochondria are sensitive to poor diet, sedentary habits, toxins, allergens, and high levels of stress. This is why Hyman urges us to emphasize whole foods, limit our overall exposure to pollutants, find time to relax and rejuvenate, and enjoy plenty of physical activity. Interval training is especially helpful, he notes, since high-intensity activity interspersed with periods of rest increases the efficiency and function of mitochondria. Strength training also increases the amount of mitochondria in muscle cells.

Beyond all these practical recommendations for healthy, graceful aging, though, success is ultimately rooted in self-honesty — the ability to see yourself clearly and then take action on the parts of your life that are asking for investment and attention.

For example, the Harvard Study on Aging tells us that having a healthy marriage before age 50 is an indicator of successful aging. Do you have a strong partnership? If you do, what sorts of steps can you take to fortify that bond? If not, what can you do to change your situation?

If you are severely overweight, chain smoking, or abusing alcohol or drugs, what resources are available to help you face down the demons? What role do you play in the dysfunction?

Ignoring problems not only leads to physical and mental deterioration, but also leads to avoiding solutions that have the potential to connect you to the larger community and your better self.

In other words, you’re never too old to leave behind old habits, to embrace new rituals, or to discover new vistas in the search of happier, healthier and higher terrain.

5 Foods Proven to Make You Happier

Can you find happiness in your fridge? Yes—as long as you’re eating the right stuff. Looking for a pick-me-up? Here’s what to nosh on:

BROCCOLI

This veggie contains a trace mineral called chromium, which in addition to helping you metabolize food, also increases your brain’s levels of serotonin, norepinephrine and melatonin, helping it regulate mood. It’s even been shown to decrease symptoms of atypical depression (like overeating and sleeping excessively). You can also get chromium from grape juice and potatoes.  

CASHEWS

Cashews are full of zinc, which has been found to decrease depressive symptoms and even improve the response of antidepressants. A lack of the vitamin can lead to loss of appetite, depressive symptoms and a weaker immune system. Roasted pumpkin seeds and pork loin are also good sources of zinc.

SALMON

This fish is packed with vitamin D, also known as the “sunshine vitamin”—the easiest way to get your helping of the mood-regulating vitamin is to spend about 15 minutes out in the sun a few times a week. Having trouble getting your dose during wintertime? Make sure you’re getting it from the foods you eat—in addition to salmon, milk and egg yolks are also good sources of vitamin D. 

SPINACH

Spinach contains the mineral magnesium—something that the USDA estimates about a third of people are deficient in. It’s important to get it into your diet—magnesium plays a big role in the development of serotonin, and a deficiency can lead to depression, anxiety, insomnia, and fatigue. You can also get magnesium from almonds and edamame—and also an epsom salt bath.

CHICKPEAS

Reach for the chickpeas to get your helping of vitamin B6—the vitamin helps the body make serotonin and norepinephrine, which influence mood. A serious B6 deficiency can lead to irritability, nervousness, and depression. Other sources of the vitamin include chicken breasts and yellow fin tuna.

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