Very Rare German SS Belt Buckle (24 pics)

This is a very rare Nazi multi-shot 5.6mm (.22 cal) belt buckle gun invented y Louis Marquis while in a WWI POW Camp and received a patent for a similar design in 1935. When activated, the cover would open up, revealing the barrels loaded with cartridges. These immediately fired on some test model or could be individually fired by the triggers.

10 Health Benefits and Uses For Miso

As miso is not a common American food staple, I often find people are reluctant to pay for a tub of the fermented bean paste, perhaps for fear that it will sit in the back of their refrigerator for most of eternity. Coming to embrace the benefits of serving miso soup on a daily basis can take time for some, but those who make the commitment will likely see a host of healing benefits.

Miso is a paste made from soybeans, sea salt and koji (a mold starter), and often mixed with rice, barley or other grains. The mixture is allowed to ferment for 3 months to 3 years, which produces an enzyme-rich food. The binding agent zybicolin in miso is effective in detoxifying and eliminating elements that are taken into the body through industrial pollution, radioactivity and artificial chemicals in the soil and food system. 

Miso has been a staple in Chinese and Japanese diets dating back approximately 2,500 years. Today, most of the Japanese population begins their day with a warm bowl of miso soup believed to stimulate digestion and energize the body. When purchasing miso, avoid the pasteurized version and spend your money on the live enzyme-rich product, which is also loaded with beneficial microorganisms.

10 BENEFITS OF MISO:

1. Contains all essential amino acids, making it a complete protein.

2. Stimulates the secretion of digestive fluids in the stomach.

3. Restores beneficial probiotics to the intestines.

4. Aids in the digestion and assimilation of other foods in the intestines. 

5. Is a good vegetable-quality source of B vitamins (especially B12).

6. Strengthens the quality of blood and lymph fluid.

7. Reduces risk for breast, prostate, lung and colon cancers.

8. Protects against radiation due to dipilocolonic acid, an alkaloid that chelates heavy metals and discharges them from the body.

9. Strengthens the immune system and helps to lower LDL cholesterol.

10. Is high in antioxidants that protect against free radicals.

Miso has a wonderful sweet/salty flavor that can be used in a wide variety of recipes. The color of miso can vary from light yellow—good to use in a sweet miso soup during warm weather—to a deep dark brown with earthy tones and hearty flavor, which can be cooked with root vegetables, wakame sea vegetable and dark leafy greens during the colder months. When cooking with miso use just enough to enhance flavor and avoid overpowering the dish with a strong salty taste.

10 WAYS TO USE MISO IN RECIPES:

1. Use light colored miso as a dairy substitute in place of milk, butter and salt in creamed soups.

2. Puree with tofu and lemon juice in place of sour cream.

3. Blend light miso with vinegar, olive oil and herbs for salad dressing.

4. Use unpasteurized miso in marinades to help tenderize animal protein and break down vegetable fiber.

5. Use the dark rice or barley miso, thinned with cooking water, as a sauce for sautéed root vegetables or winter squash.

6. Use dark miso in a vegetable-bean casserole to supply plenty of high quality protein.

7. Make cheese for pizza and wraps with yellow miso and firm tofu.

8. Make a spread using white miso, peanut butter and apple juice to thin.

9. Make a pate with tofu, garlic, white miso, tahini, lemon juice and dulse flakes.

10. Add miso to dipping sauce for spring rolls, norimake rolls or raw vegetables.

Be careful not to get carried away and use miso in everything. Your body will respond to the excess salty taste with cravings for sweets, liquids and fruit. It is suggested that the amount of miso used should not exceed 2 teaspoons per person per day.

Is It Worth Switching from White Rice to Brown?

In 2012, a meta-analysis was published tying white rice consumption to diabetes, especially in Asian countries. Even in the United States, where we eat much less white rice, research shows the regular consumption of white rice was associated with higher risk of type 2 diabetes though brown rice was associated with lower risk, and that was after controlling for other lifestyle and dietary factors such as smoking, exercise, and meat, fruit, and vegetable consumption. The researchers estimated that replacing even just a third of a serving per day of white rice with the same amount of brown rice might lower diabetes risk by 16 percent.

Since the publication of that 2012 meta-analysis, a study out of Spain suggested white rice consumption was associated with decreased diabetes risk. However, it was a tiny study compared to the others, with only hundreds in contrast to hundreds of thousands of people involved.

In Spain, rice is usually consumed in paella, which is commonly prepared with the spice saffron that research indicates may have therapeutic potential against diabetes. Additionally in Spain, white rice consumers also ate more beans, which appear to have antidiabetic properties, as well. This gives a sense of how difficult it is to infer cause-and-effect relationships from population studies, since we can’t control for everything. Yes, we can control for weight, smoking, alcohol, exercise, and so on, but maybe people who are smart enough to eat brown rice are also smart enough to wear seatbelts and bike helmets, install smoke detectors, and forgo bungee jumping. 

What we need is a way to fund randomized interventional studies, where we switch people from white rice to brown rice and see what happens. “Until then, the effect of the consumption of white rice on the development of type 2 diabetes will remain unclear.” But we didn’t have such studies…until now.

Researchers conducted a study in which overweight women were randomized into two groups: one following a weight-loss diet with a cup or so of cooked white rice every day and another with a cup of cooked brown rice every day. After six weeks, the groups switched, and the white rice group ate brown rice and vice versa. When the subjects were eating brown rice, they got significantly more weight loss, particularly around the waist and hips, lower blood pressure, and less inflammation.

Researchers found similar effects for prediabetics: Substituting brown rice for white rice led to significantly more weight loss, more waist loss, and better blood pressures.

Brown rice may not just help get rid of tummy fat, but also preserve our artery function. High blood sugars can stiffen our arteries, cutting in half their ability to relax within an hour, whether you’re diabetic, have prediabetes, or are nondiabetic. For diabetics, though, their arterial function goes down and stays down. We also know that brown rice can have blood sugar lowering effects compared to white rice. So, can switching to brown rice help preserve arterial function? In folks with metabolic syndrome, within an hour of eating about a cup of cooked white rice, we can get a drop in arterial function, but not so with brown rice.

Despite all the benefits of whole grain rice, Asian people often prefer white rice, considering it softer and tastier than brown rice. In a focus group of Chinese adults, however, researchers found that only a minority of them had ever even tried brown rice.  “Before tasting brown rice, the majority of participants considered it to be inferior to white rice in terms of taste and quality…” So, the researchers simply served some up, and, after actually tasting it and learning about it, most changed their minds.

Bring Home Peppermint Plants and Say Goodbye to These Health Issues

Far from just a flavoring for candies, the therapeutic effects of fresh peppermint leaves and peppermint essential oil have been known since ancient times, and its aromatic aroma has come to symbolize hospitality in many cultures. According to GreenMedInfo:

“Dried peppermint leaves have even been found in several Egyptian pyramids carbon dating back to 1,000 BC.”

Today, modern research has continued to prove what these ancient cultures already know, which is that peppermint is one of nature’s most valuable herbal remedies.

21 Health Benefits of Peppermint

Why might you want to add peppermint to your natural medicine chest? Here are 21 valuable uses for this therapeutic plant.

1. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)

Peppermint oil capsules have been described as “the drug of first choice” in IBS patients,3 as it safely helps alleviate symptoms and improve quality of life. Research has shown that it is effective in children and adults alike, with one study showing a 50 percent reduction in “total irritable bowel syndrome score” among 75 percent of patients who tried it.

2. Colonic Spasm and Gas

Peppermint oil is an effective alternative to drugs like Buscopan for reducing colonic spasms. It may also relax the muscles of your intestines, allowing gas to pass and easing abdominal pain. Try peppermint oil or leaves added to tea for gas relief.

3. Gastric Emptying Disorders

In people with functional gastrointestinal disorders, peppermint may be useful to enhance gastric emptying.

4. Functional Dyspepsia (Upset Stomach and Indigestion)

Supplementing with 90 milligrams (mg) of peppermint oil, along with caraway oil, “much or very much improved” symptoms of functional dyspepsia in 67 percent of patients. If you have an upset stomach, try drinking a small glass of water with a few drops of peppermint essential oil added.

5. Infantile Colic

Peppermint is at least as effective as simethicone in the treatment of colic in infants.

6. Breastfeeding-Associated Nipple Pain and Damage

Peppermint water helped to prevent nipple cracks and pain in breastfeeding mothers.

7. Tuberculosis

Inhaled essential oil of peppermint helped to rapidly regress tuberculosis inflammation, with researchers suggesting it may help prevent recurrences and exacerbation of the disease.

8. Allergic Rhinitis (Hay Fever)

Extracts from peppermint leaves may inhibit histamine release, which suggests it may help alleviate hay fever symptoms.

9. Shingles-Associated Pain

A topical treatment of peppermint oil resulted in near-immediate improvement in shingles-associated pain, with the results lasting for two months of follow-up treatment.

10. Memory Problems

The aroma of peppermint has been shown to enhance memory and increase alertness.

11. Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea

Peppermint oil effectively reduces chemotherapy-induced nausea, and at a reduced cost compared to standard drug-based treatments.

12. Prostate Cancer

Peppermint contains menthol, which may inhibit the growth of prostate cancer.

13. Radiation Damage

Peppermint may protect against DNA damage and cell death caused by radiation exposure.16

14. Herpes Simplex Virus Type 1

Peppermint has been shown to help inhibit drug-resistant herpes simplex virus type 1.

15. Dental Cavities and Bad Breath

Peppermint oil extract has been shown to be superior to the mouthwash chemical chlorhexidine in inhibiting the formation of biofilm formations linked to dental cavities.18 Powdered peppermint leaves have also been used historically to freshen breath and whiten teeth; you can even add a drop or two directly to your toothpaste.

16. Respiratory Benefits

Peppermint oil acts as an expectorant and decongestant, and may help clear your respiratory tract. Use peppermint essential oil as a cold rub on your chest or inhale it through a vaporizer to help clear nasal congestion and relieve cough and cold symptoms.

17. Headaches

Peppermint oil may help relieve tension headache pain. For headache pain, try dabbing a few drops on your wrist or sprinkling a few drops on a cloth, then inhaling the aroma. You can also massage the oil directly onto your temples and forehead.

18. Stress

Peppermint oil is cooling and energizing. Add a few drops to your bath, or dap a few drops directly on your body then get into the tub, for near-instant stress relief. You can also put the oil into a burner for a stress-relieving aroma.

19. Hair and Skin

Try blending peppermint oil into your massage oil, shampoo, bodywash or body lotion. It has antiseptic and antibacterial properties that can help cool your skin and remove dandruff (and lice) from your scalp.

20. Asthma

Peppermint contains rosmarinic acid (also found in rosemary), which may help to reduce inflammation-causing chemicals in people with asthma.

21. Muscle Pain

Peppermint may help to relieve muscle spasms and pain. Try massaging its essential oil onto sore muscles or adding it to your bath water for muscle pain relief.

Peppermint 101: A Quick History and How to Use It

Peppermint comes from the mint plant (there are about 25 different species of mint), and is actually a natural hybrid cross between water mint and spearmint. In addition to its medicinal properties, mint leaves were rubbed on tables to welcome guests in Greece, and mint tea is still customarily offered to arriving guests in the Middle East.

When selecting peppermint for your own use, the fresh leaves will impart a superior flavor to dried leaves (such as for use in tea). Look for fresh leaves that are green in color without any dark spots or yellowing. In addition to using fresh mint leaves in tea, you can add them to soups, fruit salad or gazpacho. Peppermint essential oil is also widely available, as is peppermint extract in supplement form.

The essential oil is ideal for muscle and chest rubs, headache pain, dental care and aromatherapy. You can even add it to your homemade cleaning supplies for extra antimicrobial power and natural fragrance.

If you want to give the therapeutic properties of peppermint a try, simply add a drop or two of natural peppermint extract or a few crushed mint leaves into a glass of pure water (either iced or hot). For even more therapeutic punch, and with flu season upon us, try a tea made from a combination of elderflower, yarrow, boneset, linden, peppermint and ginger; drink it hot and often for combating a cold or flu. It causes you to sweat, which is helpful for eradicating a virus from your system.

A Groundbreaking Program to Reverse and Prevent Cancer

Half of all men and one-third of all women will experience cancer at some point in their lives. Fortunately, there are ways to significantly reduce your risk, as detailed in Dr. Leigh Erin Connealy’s book, “The Cancer Revolution: A Groundbreaking Program to Reverse and Prevent Cancer.” Connealy’s interest in cancer prevention and treatment grew out of her own, long personal health journey.

“[When] my mother was pregnant with me … she started bleeding. The doctor gave her a drug called DES (diethylstilbestrol). That was given to women in the ’50s to prevent miscarriage. Approximately 16 years later, my parents received a letter … [saying] ‘This drug causes cancer, hormone problems and anatomical problems. You need to go to University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and get a full workup.’

At 16 years of age, I started getting pap smears, colposcopies and biopsies … [T]hey told me … I would need to be followed continuously for this problem. I went to University of Texas School of Public Health and did my Masters on DES … [learning] all about the complications …

I had many of them. Today, I still have many of them. My whole mission is [to avoid] cancer, because I was so high risk. Luckily, in my journey … I met practitioners who’d had cancer themselves and fought it and won. I always tell people, ‘You learn from those who have already been down that path and have become masters of healing themselves.'”

Key Anticancer Strategies: Diet and Detoxification

Optimizing your body’s ability to burn fat as its primary fuel by eating a ketogenic diet and/or fasting is a foundational aspect of cancer prevention and treatment. Detoxification is another crucial component. Connealy’s book contains a chapter focused on detoxification, as most of us are inundated with thousands of toxins each day, many of which have carcinogenic potential.

“Water, air and soil [are contaminated],” she says. “If you’re going to live in today’s world … the No. 1 thing you need to do is detox on a regular basis, somehow, some way. A lot of it you can do at home all by yourself …

We do heavy metal testing and toxic load testing for all patients … [Phthalates are] the next big thing. Phthalates are everywhere … [and] we know they cause cancer, heart disease and diabetes … Then [there are] the heavy metals — mercury, cadmium, lead, oxides, aluminum and arsenic.

Then [there’s] the benzene compounds … indoor air pollution, outdoor air pollution … toxic teeth. People don’t realize their teeth are connected to the rest of their body. There are toxins being produced by different infections and/or root canals …

Then you have [water pollution] … Even if you’re not taking a prescription by your doctor, you’re getting it in the water. Whether it’s blood pressure pills, chemo, birth control pills … it’s in the water supply. You’re getting it regardless of getting water purification.”

Simple Detox Strategies

When it comes to water filtration, remember that filtering your shower water may be more important than filtering your drinking water, as you actually absorb three times more chemicals through your skin than when taken orally. There are many ways to eliminate toxins. One of the simplest and perhaps safest ways is to use a low EMF, far-infrared sauna coupled with a near-infrared light, as your skin is a major organ of elimination.

Connealy has had a sauna in her office for nearly 18 years. “I tell people the single greatest investment they can make … is investing in an infrared sauna,” she says. Not only is it useful for detoxification, but cancer cells also do not fare well in extreme heat.

Adding ozone to your sauna is another potent anti-cancer strategy. Hooking the ozone generator up to an oxygen generator is ideal. Place the ozone generator in the sauna with a small fan to blow away the excess. Connealy also recommends using organic coffee enemas and taking regular baths with Epsom salt, baking soda and clay.

“The medicinal effects of Epsom salt are phenomenal,” she says. “It relaxes the nervous system. Magnesium’s involved in 400 chemical reactions in your body. It relaxes the entire muscular system. Then baking soda … It helps oxygenate. It’s antimicrobial. It alkalinizes the body. These are simple little things that we can do in the comfort of our home.”

She also uses zeolite as a daily detox, along with 10 ounces of fresh green juice each morning and vitamin C, the latter of which has potent antimicrobial, anti-chemical, anticancer, alkalinizing effects. “People sometimes say they can’t afford some of these things,” Connealy says. “Yes, you can afford it. You’ve got to put your priorities in place. Health is your most important asset.”

On Cancer Screening

Another section of her book addresses cancer screenings. While detecting cancer early is important, many screening tests have been shown to actually do more harm than good, necessitating taking both pros and cons into consideration.

For women, the most commonly used cancer tests are the Pap smear, mammograms and colonoscopies. While Connealy believes the Pap smear is a good tool, she’s less enthusiastic about mammograms, calling them “an inadequate, incomplete tool of investigation for cancer, especially if you have dense breasts.” In her practice, she recommends ultrasound and thermography instead. She explains her choice, saying:

“The standard of care is for a patient to get mammography. That’s what I’m supposed to tell patients. But I tell people, ‘Look. You’re not going to get all the answers.’ I’ve been doing thermography for a long time. I find most of the breast cancer on thermography, as opposed to mammography.”

For men, common cancer screens include the PSA test, which has been shown to be highly inaccurate and has the potential to cause physical harm.

Blood Tests That Help Reveal Your Cancer Risk
Rather than rely on these conventional cancer tests, Connealy uses standard blood tests to check for things like inflammation and insulin resistance, both of which are precursors and hallmarks of all disease, including cancer. One such test is the high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (CRP) test, which is a non-specific marker for inflammation. “It doesn’t tell me where the cancer is, but it tells me something is brewing,” she says. “We want to see C-reactive protein less than 1.”

The other blood test she uses on all patients is the hemoglobin A1C test, which reflects your blood sugar over the past 90 days. The reason for this test is because high blood sugar is a cancer-friendly environment. “Just those two tests … will tell us that you have an environment for cancer,” Connealy says. Other valuable blood tests Connealy routinely uses include:

• A cancer profile test (fasting blood and urine) from American Metabolic Laboratories, which checks for:

Quantitative human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG)
Phosphohexose isomerase (PHI), the enzyme of hypoxia or low oxygen, which allows cancer to thrive
Dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA), a stress hormone
Thyroid hormones, as low thyroid levels may predispose you to cancer
Gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), a liver marker and a sensitive screening tool for inflammation
Arachidonyl-2-chloroethylamide (ACEA), a non-specific marker for many cancers
• ONCOblot, which can identify up to 33 tissue types of cancer and has a 95 percent accuracy rate. It measures the ENOX2 protein

• Circulating tumor cell test by the Research Genetic Cancer Center (RGCC). The vast majority of people die not from the tumor itself but from circulating cancer stem cells, which allow the cancer to metastasize and spread throughout the body. This test is used after cancer treatment, to determine whether or not you might need to continue an anti-cancer program. Connealy explains:

“Even if you have surgery, chemo or radiation, it will not eradicate or eliminate circulating tumor cells … The biggest cause of reoccurrence is the circulating tumor cells and stem cells … Anybody who’s had cancer must have their circulating tumor cells [or] stem cells checked quantitatively.

RGCC is not the only lab that does it, but … they’re in 13 countries [and] have the highest laboratory international certification you can have. It is, to me, probably the most accurate …”

Cancer Prevention Is for Everyone

Connealy explains her core strategy when working with patients in her family practice:

“I try to … figure out where all their imbalances are, whether there are nutritional deficiencies, toxic substances, heavy metals, do they have the right antioxidants, are their mitochondria working or not working? Then I do all the hormone testing. I also look for cancer, because we all have to embrace this prevention …

Today we have this incredible laboratory testing … I do the nutritional testing, and it’s not just nutritional checking. It checks their gut. It checks their antioxidants. It checks everything. You know what you’re dealing with more specifically. Believe it or not, the insurance companies pay for all these tests. It’s not like it’s financially unaffordable because all the insurance companies pretty much pay for all of these, whether it’s blood testing and/or nutritional testing.”

She also employs nutritional supplements known to improve mitochondrial function and/or aid in the elimination of cancer stem cells. There are approximately 50 different agents with a known effect on circulating tumor cells and stem cells, including vitamin C, vitamin D, curcumin and agaricus, a type of mushroom.

In regard to vitamin C — which recently made headlines when researchers found intravenous (IV) vitamin C doubles the effectiveness of chemotherapy and radiation treatment — the vitamin works by producing hydrogen peroxide. This oxidative stress is what kills the cancer cells, while healthy cells have several pathways by which they can eliminate the hydrogen peroxide.

Combining IV vitamin C with nutritional ketosis and fasting for 14 to 48 hours before and during chemo has been shown to produce even more remarkable results, as detailed in a recent interview with Dr. Abdul Slocum.

In certain cases, Connealy will add vitamin K3 to her vitamin C protocol. K3 is a synthetic form of vitamin K2, designed for tumors that have high catalase. In addition to these natural agents, most of which are rotated, not given all at once, she uses supportive oligonucleotide technique (SOT) therapy.

SOT therapy involves taking circulating tumor cells and reverse engineering a messenger RNA (mRNA) to disrupt the DNA of the circulating tumor cells. That mRNA is then given back intravenously, and has a 24-hour, seven-days-a-week targeted killing effect that lasts for about four and a half months. While it cannot be used for masses (tumors), it attacks the circulating tumor cells, which are responsible for 95 percent of metastasis and death.

Treatment Alternatives: Cryotherapy, IPT Chemo and Hyperthermic Therapy
While surgery, chemotherapy and radiation are a standard part of conventional cancer care, Connealy does things a bit differently. For example, she recently started working with an interventional radiologist who does cryotherapy, which is where you freeze the cells.

“I had a patient with a very large grapefruit-sized tumor on her right chest wall, a neuroendocrine tumor. She had breast cancer on her left breast and a neuroendocrine tumor [on her right]. She’d already been treated by other doctors [who] said they could not do anything. She came to see me. The neuroendocrine tumor is now gone from the cryo procedure. The left [tumor] is partially gone …

If it’s something small that we can approach, I will recommend cryo because surgery is a very intrusive procedure … In some patients, you do everything [to] get rid of the tumor burden because the tumor burden is immunosuppressant. Patients may need chemo. If I have patients who have cancer in multiple locations in the body, I will recommend IPT chemo. That’s insulin potentiation therapy with chemo.

IPT chemo is using a low-dose chemo after I do the sensitivity testing with RGCC. It will tell me the ideal agents for these particular patients. We will make a cocktail. We give insulin. It lowers the blood sugar to a therapeutic moment. We give the chemo drugs … and then we drop a bag of sugar.

I also got a machine from France called iTherm. I’ve been using the iTherm machine on some cancers. When you get your RGCC testing, it tells me whether your cells respond to heat shock protein. It will tell me the three different proteins and the sensitivity.

Specific cancers, like breast cancer, [are] very easy to treat with the hyperthermia machine. We trained with the doctor in France who only allows integrative treatments if you have stage 3 or 4 cancer. He spent a lot of time with us in conference calls, elaborating us on this particular treatment protocol.

I will combine that with mistletoe, an immune-modulating natural substance. We combine all those things together. Because the first thing we have to do if we have lots of tumor burden is to … shrink it down to a manageable problem. Then if it’s easily accessible with a cryo or a surgical procedure, we will do that. I’ve had cases where a breast tumor of 9 centimeters with low-dose chemo and hypodermic mistletoe goes down to nothing in one month.”

As noted by Connealy:

“Optimize your eating, your detox, your hormones, inflammatory nutrient levels. Don’t go spend $10,000 or $20,000 on a procedure in a dirty body. Get your body prepared. I prepare my patients two weeks before they even have a surgical procedure. Don’t go have surgery when you don’t have good nutrient levels, when you don’t have a good immune system, when you have inflammation. Get the body ready. The outcome would be outrageously improved.”

10 of the Most Unhealthy Beverages You Can Drink

Most high schoolers can easily chow down an entire pizza for dinner and still be hungry for a snack by bedtime. Eventually, this sky-high metabolism starts to slow down. The same sort of carefree eating that used to be no big deal as a teenager now leads to major weight gain, so smarter choices are the clear answer. Unfortunately, even the most saintly diet won’t necessarily help you slim down. The culprit could be what’s in the glass next to your plate. A diet of nothing but lean protein and veggies won’t do you any good if you’re washing it down with tons of calorie-laden beverages.

These beverages are among the worst offenders. Keep these drinks out of your fridge, and you’ll be on your way to a healthier tomorrow.

1. Juice and juice drinks

The juicing crowd likes the drinks for their great taste, but also for the health factor. There’s no denying fruit and vegetable juices offer plenty of nutrients, especially when freshly made. The problem comes with calories and portions. If you drink one cup of grape juice, you’ll get a whopping 120% of your daily vitamin C needs, but it’ll cost you 140 calories. Eating a cup of the whole fruits will give you only a fraction of the vitamin C, but you’ll also only consume 104 calories and end up with over a gram of fiber.

2. Sports drinks

Hitting the treadmill for 30 minutes then lifting a few weights doesn’t require nearly the same number of calories or electrolytes. Furthermore, Livestrong.com points out many of us get plenty of these nutrients from the foods we normally eat. If you are an endurance athlete, it may be wise to go for sports drinks, as long as you do it right. The Washington Post recommends figuring out your hydration requirements by keeping track of how much you sweat. Just step on the scale before and after you exercise. Also, make sure you’re getting enough sodium.

3. Soda

It can’t be any surprise that this fizzy beverage makes the list. Made from little more than artificial flavorings and sugar, soda isn’t doing your body any favors. Let’s actually take a look at the damage. If you were to down 20 ounces of cola, a pretty standard bottle size, you’d be consuming 260 calories, 60 milligrams of sodium, and 70 grams of sugar. No vitamins, no minerals, zip.

4. Zero-calorie beverages

Diet soda is anything but diet-friendly. Many people look to fizzy drinks and other calorie-free beverages to satisfy a craving for sweets while avoiding the calories they’re hoping to cut. It’s not that simple, though. Research, including this study from 2008, indicates artificial sweeteners cause us to crave more food because we aren’t getting the calories we associate with the sweet taste. The study was performed with rats, but it doesn’t seem too much of a stretch to think the results may be the same for humans.

5. Energy drinks

Some people don’t care for the bitter taste of coffee, so they opt for an energy drink to get a caffeine boost. The similarities between a basic cup of joe and these fizzy drinks pretty much ends there. An 8-ounce portion of one of these high-octane beverages delivers 130 calories and 31 grams of sugar. The ingredient label is even more concerning. Barbara Lewin, R.D. and sports nutritionist, tells Outside Online that many energy drinks contain other stimulants that could be harmful. We can’t think of any situation where one of these beverages would be a good choice.

6. Purchased smoothies

Making smoothies at home can be a healthy way to get in your recommended servings of fruits and vegetables. The ones you buy from juice shops and delis are a different story. Life by Daily Burn featured a list of some of the most shocking beverages out there, and Smoothie King’s The Hulk Strawberry took the top spot. This 40-ounce monster is almost enough sustenance for an entire day, with 1,928 calories, 64 grams of fat, and 250 grams of sugar. It also provides 50 grams of protein, but who cares. Even the slimmest option, a 20-ounce light version, is 864 calories.

7. Flavored coffee drinks

Most people wouldn’t dream of starting their day with anything other than coffee. The morning brew even boasts a number of health benefits. But adding a bunch of syrup, chocolate, and whipped cream to the drink pretty much undoes all of those advantages. A 20-ounce white chocolate mocha made with whole milk and topped with whipped cream comes in at 580 calories and 26 grams of fat.

8. Cocktails

A daily glass of wine has gotten the green light from plenty of health professionals. Even the occasional mixed drink isn’t a problem, unless you’re going for the wrong ones. Alcohol itself is pretty high in calories, with many varieties falling around 100 calories for 1½ ounces, so adding loads of sugar or high-fat ingredients can quickly turn your beverage into the caloric equivalent of a meal. Livestrong.com points out some of the worst offenders, including piña coladas and amaretto sours. Looking for some better options? Try these picks from San Diego Magazine.

9. Vitaminwater

Beware of sweet water infused with vitamins and “natural flavors.” Do you know what makes this water taste so delicious? Fructose. Research suggests diets high in fructose, a common ingredient in most types of Vitaminwater, can increase your risk for heart disease, type-2 diabetes, and metabolic problems. The reason people love Vitaminwater isn’t because of the added vitamins and minerals — it’s because of the added sweet taste.

10. Sweetened almond milk

Almond milk doesn’t come from cows, but it also tends to be less healthy than regular milk in a number of ways. Silk Vanilla Almondmilk, for example, contains 16 grams of sugar per cup, as well as 1 gram of each protein and fiber. Reduced fat milk has around 12 grams of sugar and 8 grams of protein, but no added sugars like the cane sugar found in almond milk.