Changing your Life with Sugar Free Recipes

By not taking advantage of sugar free recipes and buying foods that are undergoing more and more processing, many of us are finding we are having adverse reactions to these foods. Gastric upset, insomnia, headaches, feeling tired, muscle and joint pain can be symptoms caused by adverse reactions to the food we eat. Without the help of sugar free recipes; these problems are passed off as just growing older, or maybe we did too much over the weekend. In our busy lives, many of us don’t take these signs as our body telling us that we need to eliminate some of these processed foods.

Taking advantage of sugar free recipes and avoiding wheat, processed sugar or dairy products may help you start feeling better. The problem now becomes finding foods that don’t contain wheat, processed sugar and dairy products. If we omit these ingredients, called for in sugar free recipes, what is there left for us to eat?

It takes time to educate ourselves about ingredients contained in food sold at the market. Your shopping trips will start taking longer because, if you intend to start eating less processed foods and using your sugar free recipes, you will also read labels. Finding new sugar free recipes will also be time consuming, but the effort will be worthwhile. If you start cooking with food that is less processed, contains fewer processed ingredients, you may start feeling less fatigued, go through your day without a headache, feel less joint pain, no upset stomach, and start sleeping better. That could be the reward when you use sugar free recipes.

If you start omitting wheat, processed sugar, and dairy products, what does that leave you to eat? It may be hard to find food that does not contain wheat. Replacing processed flour with whole wheat flour may work for you. Whole wheat flour is called for in many sugar free recipes. You can also replace processed sugar with gluten-free, or sugar substitutes, and dairy-free products. These are easy to find in the market. It is just a matter of re-educating yourself to buy these products, not the items that you have purchased for years, and your mother before you may have purchased for years.

Before taking your “first” trip to the market, research sugar free recipes calling for wheat flour, sugar substitutes, and non dairy ingredients. There are thousands of these sugar free recipes on the internet just waiting for you to try. Cooking can be just as easy with non-processed products as cooking with them. You may have to just change your mind set.

Another point that you may not have considered when cooking with sugar free recipes, you may start dropping off unwanted pounds. When you start sleeping better, felling less fatigue, and experience less joint pain, your exercise program may be a joy again. May be not a joy, but easier. We can hope for that.

More of people are being diagnosed with diabetes than ever before. This is a disease that should be avoided at all cost; and controlled if you are diabetic. Offering your children foods prepared with sugar free recipes may improve their health save their lives.

Research of over a thousand adults, who were following sugar free recipes, found that when following a low calorie, sugar-free or less processed food diet, most reported better health over all. If you think about it, processing foods eliminates many of the vitamins and minerals nature puts in. If you are cooking with fresh fruits and vegetables, you are feeding yourself and you family food that is higher in vitamins, minerals, calcium, fiber, and iron. By reading labels, you are becoming educated regarding foods that offer higher quality and not fillers to enhance taste. Sodium is not your friend. Following sugar free recipes containing less sodium will only be to your advantage.

If you are omitting sugar from your diet, sugar free recipes, don’t feel you have to miss out during this holiday season. There are so many sugar free recipes that have your good health in mind.

Sugar Free Eggnog

1 package of sugar free vanilla pudding
5 cups of skim milk
2 packets of Sweet One, or 2 packets of Equal
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
Add additional spices to taste
Optional, rum or scotch

Prepare pudding according to package using 5 cups of milk.
If mixture is to too thick to pour, add additional milk.
Add cinnamon and nutmeg
Add alcohol to taste.

Sugar Free Chocolate Chips Cookies

Preheat over at 350 degrees
½ cup butter (softened)
1 egg white, beaten
4 packets of artificial sweetener
½ cup non-fat dry milk
½ cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/3 cup all purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or dark chocolate bar cut into pieces

Blend first six ingredients until blended, about two minutes.
Add dry ingredients.
Fold in chocolate
Drop from a teaspoon onto un-greased cookie sheet.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.

Using Collagen Fillers As A Way To Look Young

Collagen fillers are becoming more and more popular as the population grows older. Since we are living in a world that rewards “being young”, the battle goes on to try to keep those years from showing on our faces. As lines start forming and getting deeper on our faces, many of us are doing all we can to make these lines disappear. We are doing what we can keep those lines and wrinkles away for a few more years.

The American Society of Plastic Surgeons reports that 174,290 patients underwent collagen fillers in the year 2007. That showed a 70 percent increase from the year 2000.

Protein is the connective tissue support system for skin, bones, cartilage and blood vessels. The protein can also be called collagen. As a person ages, collagen breaks down causing the skin to wrinkle and show lines. When the collagen is replaced, with collagen fillers, the connective tissue system is restored for a little longer.

Among the collagen fillers used are, human collagen with CosmoDerm and Cosmoplast; collagen from cows or bovines, with Zyderm and Zyplast; or a hybrid gel filler containing millions of synthetic microspheres contained in purified bovine collagen.

Collagen fillers work best on people within the ages of 35 to 60. A person of any age that has frown lines, crow’s feet, smile lines, or deep lines around the nose will see benefits from collagen fillers. For women who are pregnant or nursing, collagen fillers are not recommended. If a person is allergic to cow products or lidocaine, a doctor will probably forgo collagen fillers. People suffering from any autoimmune diseases may want to find an alternative to collagen fillers.

Collagen fillers containing Zyderm and Zyplast have caused allergic reactions in some people. Before performing the injection, the doctor will test for allergies. Collagen fillers can be injected without anesthesia. A local anesthetic is used because a very tiny needle is used on the skin, and the procedure only takes about an hour. Several injections are usually required, depending on the size of the line or wrinkle.

Few people complain of discomfort, but the doctor is using a needle so some people do experience slight pain. Because the needle injecting the collagen fillers is so small, swelling and bruising is rare and, if it does occur, will subside after a couple of days. The procedure is usually done in the doctor’s office and people are able to go home immediately after the collagen fillers are complete and resume normal activities.

You will be able to appreciate the results immediately after the collagen fillers are injected. If the site seems to look like the doctor injected too much collagen, the area will return to normal in a couple of days. This may be from slight swelling. Even though results are seen immediately, total results will become evident in a couple of days. Collagen fillers are recommended every two to three months.

Complications after undergoing collagen fillers are rare. Some people may notice an uneven texture to the skin. An allergic reaction may show up later. Rarely does the area become infected, abscessed or show scarring. Leaving your hands away from the area injected with the collagen fillers is wise to avoid transmitting germs from your hands to your face.

If a person shows allergies to the collagen fillers, other treatments may be recommended such as Botox or Restylane. Botox is used with collagen and Restylane can be used in place of collagen fillers.

The extreme alternatives that can be considered, instead of collage fillers, are full facelift, forehead lift, blepharoplastym, eyelid lift, chemical peel, laser skin resurfacing, or microdermabrasion. All of these treatments may be presented to by your doctor. For best results, no matter what procedure you choose, consult with at least two doctors that are qualified in the dermatological field before your proceed.

Cellulite Treatments And Your Body

Millions of women have tried to reduce cellulite from their hips and thighs without success. There are as many reasons for the ripples as there are cellulite treatments that will not remove it. Thousands of dollars have been spent on cellulite treatments from cold jelly slathered on the legs and hips to lasers and ultrasound waves.

Cellulite is a cottage cheese looking substance just under the skin of the thighs, stomach, and buttocks, or upper arms. Fat that can be removed with liposuction as a cellulite treatment deeper than the fat you see on the surface. Many times, liposuction sucks out the deep fat, not the fat just under the surface. Cellulite is nothing other than fat pushing against tissue beneath the skin. It then makes the surface ripple and looks lumpy. Your age and thickness of skin will determine the amount of cellulite you have.

Go to the internet and you will find as many reasons for cellulite treatments as there are web sites, and as many different ways to treat it. The reasons for millions of women having cellulite treatments have been said to be for metabolic waste; poor circulation; no lymphatic drainage; the result of wearing tight clothing; wearing high heels; loose fat, and heredity. Dermatologists agree that cellulite is genetic. Many times, if your parents experienced cellulite, you will also. It is something most of us inherit.

Cellulite has been explained as a thickness of the inner layer of skin and the connective tissue under it that holds the fat cells. Men are more likely to have cross-hatch patterns that hold in the fat cells. Women have columns holding the fat cells. The fat cells find it easier to bulge through columns.

The only way to rid your body of cellulite is to undergo new cellulite treatments like liposuction that dissolves the fat. Some have been successful in reducing cellulite after plastic wraps, but the cellulite returned when the legs and hips became re-hydrated.

The FDA recently approved a substance called VelaSmooth cellulite treatments that appears to reduce cellulite in the thighs, hips, buttocks, abdomen and upper arms. Velasmooth cellulite treatments have combined a Bi-Polar Frequency, Infrared Light, tissue mobilization for a fat burning, non-surgical treatment. Velasmooth cellulite treatments have reported results after eight to 12 sessions over a month to six weeks. The positive results will only last up to six months when used along with a careful diet and exercise. Velasmooth cellulite treatments must be maintained to have continued cellulite reduction results. Velasmooth cellulite treatments are a medical device that claims to have created a new era in cellulite treatments. It is just becoming popular.

Most women have had some degree of success. Velasmooth cellulite treatments use radiofrequency waves, laser, mechanical massages that break up the fat forcing the water to leave the tissues and reduce the cellulite. Velasmooth cellulite treatments are considered a safe new treatment to reduce cellulite like no other treatments.

Facial Spas

Second only to a body message, facial spas are the most popular gift we give ourselves. Facial spas can be done at home, but for a special treat, have a facial by a trained esthetician. Facial spas are for relaxation, and cleaner, clearer skin.

Estheticians are trained professionals found in facial spas. He or she has had special training to become educated in skin types and care. A trained esthetician will be able to give you a relaxing facial to rejuvenate your skin, and can recognize problems that may arise or exist on your skin. If the problem you are having needs more attention than she can provide, a professional esthetician will refer you to a dermatologist for treatment.

When you find an esthetician or facial care specialist, you will want to take notice of the work area. See that everything is clean. The chair or bed must be fresh and clean, the esthetician must be clean and all instruments must be sterile. When anyone is touching your face or body, it is important everything be as clean as a medical office.

Estheticians in facial spas are licensed in most states. If you would feel better knowing how your state licenses estheticians, you can find information on the internet. Your esthetician may have a certificate displayed at her location. Many states require estheticians to have at least 600 hours of training before they can be certified. You have a right to ask the esthetician how much training she has had. Estheticians operating facial spas are also called skin care therapists.

Medical spas are under the supervision of a medical professional and offer services for the treatment of spots, redness, and broken capillaries. These are conditions that cannot be treated by an esthetician in facial spas without a medical professional on site.

Facial spas offer services for the skin that include facials that exfoliate the skin. Exfoliation must be done right to leave the skin smooth and fresh without damage. This allows facial products to penetrate the skin. The skin is rubbed with an abrasive to remove dead skin cells, or a gentle abrasive with a small round brush. Exfoliation can range from a sugar or coffee ground scrub, or jojoba beads for a more complete result. Chemical exfoliation uses enzymes, alphahydroxy acids or betahydroxy acids. These substances break down the glue that holds the cells together allowing the old cells to be removed.

Some facial spas use effleurage which is stroking used in Swedish massage and facials. Effleurage can be used for the entire body. The massage therapist or esthetician will start with gentle strokes and increase the pressure, depending on the desired results.

The two types of effleurage are gentle facial and deep massage. Facial effleurage uses a gentle touch for smoothing of the skin. The therapist applies more pressure along with oils at the end of the massage. The different types of massages range from the body massage to facial spas.

Facial spas are enjoyed by men and women of all ages. The most obvious reason for having a facial massage is for relaxation. Facial spas are also nice for rejuvenating the skin, removing old cells, applying products deep in to the skin, and for wrinkle removal.

How To Lose Weight Fast

How To Lose Weight Fast Step 1
How determined are you to lose weight? How bad do you want to slim down? Your attitude will determine the results. If you are committed to lose weight no matter how difficult it is, you will surely succeed. Imagine how your life will change for the better when you shed the weight. You will not only be healthier, look more attractive and have fewer problems finding clothes that fit you. All these can spur you on. So, keep this in mind and constantly remind yourself that you can do it.

Keep a picture of yourself and set a date and weight you want to reach. When you reach the next month, take another picture of yourself. You will get more and more motivated when you are able to see the results of yourself looking slimmer.

How To Lose Weight Fast Step 2
Get yourself enrolled in a gym near your area. Most gyms offer at least a free trial membership so you can see if that gym right for you. If you can get a friend or buddy who can work out with you, you will also be able to encourage each other to work out more often. Get a personal trainer and be serious about the training so that you can reach your goal.

How To Lose Weight Fast Step 3
Exercise is the key to weight loss. Start your regiment of intense cardio at least twice a week, for an hour. If you prefer out doors to a gym, there are also other forms of cardio exercises. Swimming, running, cycling or rock climbing are also cardio exercises to lose those calories.

How To Lose Weight Fast Step 4
There are many different diet options. There are Atkins program, Zone diet and South Beach Diet. Choose the one which is most suitable for you.

How To Lose Weight Fast Step 5
Watch your diet diligently. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Cut down on meat and poultry. Reduce intake of sugar and soft drinks from your diet. Avoid too much carbohydrate as they will convert to fats if not burned up. It is best to consume carbohydrates before noon so that it can have time to be used and let your body burn it up in the afternoon.

How To Lose Weight Fast Step 6
Be persistent- with your workout regimen and diet plans, so that you can lose weight fast and effective. It will take time for weight loss to become visible. However, determination and hard work always pay off in the end.

Is Sugar Bad and Finding the Answers?

Is sugar bad? Sugar, though it comes from sugar cane and sugar beets, is not natural. The sugar we have today has been refined to the point of pure sucrose. The vitamins, minerals, proteins, enzymes and any other beneficial nutrients have been removed.

If sugar is bad, is it leaving the body to metabolize a substance that is unnatural for the body to handle? Sugar may not be bad, if we were to consume very small amounts, but unfortunately we are consuming sugar by about 115 pounds a year. This is not us collectively. This is 115 pounds for each man, woman and child.

Sugar is bad because it is being fed to very young children when they are newborns, so people are developing a taste for sweetened foods almost from birth. We are consuming an unnatural substance that is not handled well by the body. Eating sugar, good or bad, has become an accepted way of life. I am sure, in the beginning, few people thought we would become dependent on sugar as a refined food additive. Ninety-five percent of our population is addicted to sugar. Sugar is bad because it can be found in baby’s formula and mother’s milk while she is nursing.

The rule of thumb, most of us live by, is if you consume a substance, you are safe as long as you consume it in moderation. Consuming anything in excessive can be harmful. This is also true with vitamins and minerals that are good for us if we follow the directions on the bottle. Thinking, “If something is good in small amounts it can only be better in larger amounts,” is the thinking that causes millions of people a problem. The best example is with snake venom. Snake venom is used medically for therapeutic purposes, but if we take larger amounts of venom, like in a snake bite, it can be deadly.

Can sugar be bad? It has been around since the beginning of civilization. In the beginning, though, it was consumed only in small amounts. It was an insignificant food ingredient. The Greeks did not have a word for sugar which leads historians to believe sugar was not around. In medieval Europe, it was unknown to common people and a delicacy to the royal families.

In 1204, Christian Crusaders were offered sugar by Saracens and started using sugar freely. Spain grew sugar cane on Spanish soil and started refining the cane into sugar. When Spain drove out the Moors, they continued refining the cane sugar. It was not long until the Christendom started eating sugar, good or bad, and liking it.

Why is sugar bad? Sugar is turned into a chemical during refining that takes all of the natural food nutrients out that is the cane. Heroin and sugar are processed in similar ways. Heroin is an extract of the poppy. The opium is refined into morphine. Chemists were then successful in refining morphine into heroin. They claimed they had produced a new pain-killer that was non-addictive. We all know that isn’t true.

In a similar manner, juice is drawn out of the beet and refined into molasses. From the molasses comes brown sugar and then refined into a white crystal chemical that is then sugar as we know it.

Sugar is bad for the human consumption because it is as addictive as heroin. Not only is it habit forming, once a person develops a taste for sugar, the body craves it and only wants more.

Further, the reason sugar is bad is because the damage to our systems is gradual. Over the years, sugar will ruin the pancreas, adrenal glands, and adjust the endocrine system.

Americans are told that they are the best fed people in earth. In reality, Americans are the biggest consumers of junk food. Nearly everything sold in the market contains processed sugar. Sugar is bad because many foods are loaded with sugar. Sugar is bad because it is considered a long term chemical poison. Sugar is bad because damage it does to the body include, – poor nutrition, it causes tooth decay, gum disease, and bone structure failure; sugar raises a persons risk of becoming diabetic; sugar is bad because it also contributes to heart disease, arteriosclerosis, depression, and hypertension; sugar is harmful to the endocrine system and adrenal glands, pancreas, liver and blood sugar; sugar is bad because it attributes to binge eating and bulimia.

Knowing and Understanding Iron Rich Foods

Hemoglobin is a protein that red blood cells require, and if you are lacking iron rich foods in your diet, you maybe lacking hemoglobin and be anemic. Hemoglobin carries oxygen from your lungs to all of your cells. If you are low in iron, you are lacking hemoglobin and your red blood cells are not able to do their job.

You may not even know you are lacking iron or have anemia. You may feel tired and have little energy. If you let these symptoms go checked without a blood test, you may go on feeling tired for months, even years. The best way to insure you do not have anemia is by learning about iron rich foods.

Children and young women are more likely to have anemia and need iron rich foods than men or older women. Children are growing, and maybe are picky eaters, and women loose blood frequently. If you are not in this group of people, it does not mean you can live your life without eating iron rich foods, but you will feel better if you include iron in your diet.

During pregnancy, women need two and a half times more iron than men. Women also loose blood during their period. There are many other ways to loose blood that may include all of us. Internal bleeding can be in the digestive tract, with a bleeding ulcer, ulcerated colitis, cancer or while taking aspirin for long periods. Bleeding can occur in the stomach and intestines without a person even knowing. These are conditions that should not be ignored. In addition to eating iron rich foods, it would be wise to consult a physician or medical professional, if you suspect you are loosing blood in any way.

You don’t have to eat boring foods to be sure you have iron rich foods in your diet. You can even feed picky kids without them knowing they are eating iron rich foods. By knowing a few secrets to help you, you will be able to eat what you like by just adding a few foods that are high in iron. One secret I will pass along is, drinking tea with your meal will cause your body to absorb less iron. You can substitute the tea with milk, which we all know is high in iron, or a glass of juice high in Vitamin C. It is also important that you take iron supplements with water, not milk. Waiting an hour before eating milk based products, such as pudding, will allow your body to absorb the iron supplement.

There are so many iron rich foods, it is easy to plan meals around them. Eggs are rich in iron and can be included in meals all during the day, not just for breakfast. Fish can be included in a meal in so many different ways. Oily fish are best, but you can work with tuna, sardines, pilchards, cockles and mussels. The kidney, liver, and heart of poultry are high in iron. Now don’t get disgusted. I know many people don’t like the insides of poultry. By cutting the kidney, liver, and heart into tiny pieces, you can make delicious gravy. Beef is considered one of the best iron rich foods. Knowledge of how to cook beef must be followed.

While you are shopping at the grocery store, read labels along the isles to discover iron rich foods. Many cereals include bran, bran flakes and weetabix that can be eaten at breakfast. Beans like lentils, chick peas, haricot, kidney, pinto, baked, butter, and peas can be used in soups and casseroles. Nuts like almonds, cashews, Brazils, and walnuts can be eaten raw or added to baked goods that everyone loves. Green vegetables that are rich in iron are watercress, spinach, and dark leaf lettuce. When shopping, remember the darker the leaf, the higher the food value. Among the spices that are iron rich are gingerbread, that children love, ginger biscuits, and curry power. Iron rich foods happily include Cocoa and chocolate which are every ones favorite, especially the kids.

Bran can be baked into delicious muffins. .Here is a recipe that will help you include iron rich foods into your morning meal.

Bran Muffins (You don’t have to tell the kids)

1-1/2 cups wheat bran
1 cup milk or buttermilk
½ cup vegetable oil
1 egg
½ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon each baking soda, baking power, salt
½ cup walnuts (you may substitute with dates or raisins)

Preheat over to 375 degrees Grease muffin cups or line with paper liners.
Mix bran with milk and let stand
Mix oil egg, sugar and vanilla. Add bran and milk until blended. Fold in remaining ingredients.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool and eat.

Improving your Memory with Natural Memory Boosters

The most frustrating part of life is when you start to say something and forget the words; or you go to another part of the house and have to stand there for several minutes before you remember what you intended to do. This has happened to all of us. It seems to happen more often the older you get. If you are wise with your food selections, you can eliminate most of these problems with memory boosters. The foods you eat can help your memory.

When someone tells you that just eating better will help your memory, it sounds so easy. It can be easy if you are familiar with foods that are memory boosters. There are a number of foods to choose from, so you can eat the foods you like and still improve your memory.

Your brain needs choline and DMAE to build cetylcholine, pyroglutamate, phosphatidylserine, and omega-3 fats, acetl-L-carnitine and glutamine, ginkgo, and other vitamins and minerals that we will talk about. Don’t let the words scare you away from reading this article. In order to provide your brain with memory boosters, we will explain what you can do.

The substances mentioned above are contained in your brain but need to be replenished for the brain to function normally. If you are lacking in any of these memory boosters, your brain will start letting you down. These substances are found in everyday food. When you become familiar with food labels, in your grocery store and health food store, it will be easy for you to select foods that not only taste great, but feed your brain.

Choline has the chemical called acetylcholine and is the main building block for your memory. If you are lacking this chemical, you will have noticeable memory loss. Let’s call “acetylcholine” the main memory booster. This is your main building block for a good memory. Fish are a great source of acetylcholine along with eggs, liver, soy beans, peanuts, and all the other nuts you like.

A few years ago, someone, who will remain nameless, told the public that eggs were not good for us. When the public heard this, many of us refrained from eating eggs and millions started having memory loss. I am sure most of us did not make the connection to eggs. By putting eggs back in the diet, we are adding back one of the most important memory boosters. Eating eggs is important, but your need to include other Vitamins such as Vitamin B5, (pantothenic acid), B1, B12 and C. A combination of eggs, along with these vitamins, will build acetylcholine that the body needs.

Researchers have gone on to find that supplementing choline during pregnancy can improve brain development in infants. Higher doses were shown to boost memory in adults by building nerve cells and receptor sites for neurotransmitters and raising levels of dopamine.

Further research with choline taken from soy lecithin has found it improves athletic abilities, may improve the human growth hormone, and may slow aging. Very few side effects were reported during the testing of these memory boosters.

The Wonderful World of Breakfast Recipes

Many of us have heard “breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” That is a phrase that many of us choose to forget, especially if we are trying to take off a little weight. It is so easy to just skip breakfast. We tell ourselves, “Oh I’ll just grab something later”. Your body only knows it needs breakfast. If you take time to learn about breakfast recipes, breakfast will become a meal you will never skip again.
That big yellow banana is the most popular food in North America. If it is sitting in your fruit bowl, it is calling your name. The banana is unique in itself. Bananas are derivatives of an herb called Musa sapientium that is related to the orchid family. There are probably a million breakfast recipes that include the banana. Dermatologists, psychologists, and researchers agree the banana is one of the most valuable fruits in your fruit bowl. The banana is acclaimed as the food that can cure whatever ails you, when eaten alone or added to a good breakfast.
Muffins are great for breakfast. To include bananas in your breakfast muffin recipe is a way to take advantage of bananas, whole wheat flour, and bran all in just a few bites. The following recipe is a wonderful breakfast recipe that will also respect your waistline.

Banana Bran Crumb Muffins
1-1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking power
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup bran
3 ripe bananas, mashed
¾ cup white sugar or ¾ cup sugar substitute (Splenda®) or ¾ cup (Sweet and Low®)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly grease 10 muffin cups or line with paper.

In a large bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking power, salt and bran. In another bowl, beat bananas with sugar (or sweetener) egg, and melted butter. Stir mixture with flour mixture until moist. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.
In a small bow, mix brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

Bake in preheated over for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean. Reduce baking time if sugar substitute is used.

The University of California at Davis and Harvard Medical School conducted a study regarding depression in children and adults. The conclusion, if adults and children eat breakfast, on a regular basis, depression can be greatly alleviated. Millions of Americans suffer from depression. The study concluded that breakfast, using one of many breakfast recipes, is the most important meal to rid a person of depression.
The brain is complicated. Think of your brain as a big bowl that needs filling each day. The bowl needs to be filled with ingredients, for making neurotransmitters, to tell your body how to function. In the morning, your bowl is empty and it is telling your body you need breakfast. If you choose not to fill the bowl, or select the wrong items to put in the bowl, your brain will tell your body things like. “I don’t feel good”, or “I’m sad”, or I just can’t function”.  Adding breakfast to your morning with one of many breakfast recipes will enable your brain to transmit the messages your body needs.

The key to having the right foods to put in your bowl starts while you are shopping at the market. The ingredients you buy, or pick from your garden, are the items you will have on hand to fill your bowl. It is important to prepare food from breakfast recipes that will enable your brain to send good neurotransmitters, or messages, to your body. By becoming familiar with food labels, you will take home foods with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids and other nutrients that will enable your brain to send positive messages to your body.
The food you select needs to provide serotonin and dopamine that will contribute to your well being and mood. The suggested items that you can include in your breakfast recipes are – banana fruit toast; oatmeal with a banana; pancakes, but whole wheat is important; or a whole wheat turkey breakfast muffin; oatmeal pancakes with flaxseed; bran and flaxseed muffins. Bran and flaxseed are essential fatty acids that can alleviate depression. People with chronic depression are found to have low levels of essential fatty acids.

Belgian Waffles with Flaxseed
1-1/2 cup flaxseed (if you don’t find it in your grocery store, look in the health food stores.)
2 teaspoons baking power
½ teaspoon salt
2 eggs, separated
1-1/2 cups milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Preheat and lightly grease a Belgian wall iron according to directions. Mix flour, flaxseed, baking soda and salt. Beat egg white until stiff peaks form. Fold in batter, being careful not to over mix. Spread ¼ cup or amount according to manufacturer’s directions. Top waffle with fresh strawberries and whipped cream.

If you start your day with a good breakfast, you will improve you memory and just feel better overall. Eating breakfast using breakfast recipes means you are less likely to eat the wrong foods at during the day. When you start eating a good breakfast, along with eating good foods all day, you may not feel better right away. Your body will go through a learning process. It may even seem like withdrawals. After you have eaten nutritious foods using your new breakfast recipes for awhile, you will find your mind is sharper, your memory is better, your mood will improve, and you may even start sleeping better.

Visit the internet for breakfast recipes and other recipes using nutritious foods. Fill the bowl in your brain with nutrients so the messages your brain sends will be, “boy, do I feel better.” If you get tired of eating a particular food, seek out new breakfast recipes. There are too many foods and recipes to choose from for you to get in a rut. When you start feeling better, thank yourself for a job well done. And remember, a banana is your best friend.

Massage Therapy Techniques

Massage therapy techniques have been around for as long as civilization itself. The techniques are very much the same as in the beginning. Modern therapists have just perfected massage therapy techniques over the years and adapted to ailments that people suffer today.

Ancient Egyptian tombs have been found to have images drawn on the walls showing people having massage therapy. Around 700 B.C., Eastern Chinese cultures were using massage as a device for healing. It is believed massage was used to heal ailments from pain to paralysis. History shows that traditional Indian medicine, such as Ayurveda, used massage therapy techniques for healing. They added aromatherapy oils and spices. History shows Greeks and Romans, such as Julius Caesar, used massage therapy for the treatment of pain.

In the 19th century, Swedish massage therapy techniques were introduced to our Western culture. It is the therapy that is used today. It is believed that these techniques were handed down from traditional Chinese, Egyptian and Roman masseuses. These therapy techniques have influenced aromatherapy, Riki, reflexology, Rolfing, Amma therapy and osteopathy,

Massage techniques were used during World War I in the hopes of helping to heal and relieve pain from nerve damage and alleviate shell shock in solders in the 1930s. Massage therapy techniques are used for an ever growing number of reasons. Massage therapy techniques have even been used on premature newborn babies in hopes of stimulating their nervous systems and growth.

Ailments and medicine keep evolving and massage therapy techniques are evolving along with them. Cancer patients find relief from pain through massage therapy. Aids patients, arthritic patients, patients with lumbar pain, nerve damage, fibromyalgia, paralysis, heart attack patients and stroke patients are finding relief while undergoing massage therapy. There are a number of massage therapy techniques to choose from to relieve pain and regenerate muscles.

One of the more popular techniques is the Bowen Technique. It is a gentle but useful massage therapy that many find beneficial and more comfortable when experiencing extreme pain. The technique is used on specific sites of the body to gently balance the nervous system and relieve pain. An Australian therapist, by the name of Tom Bowen, developed this method of a light touch therapy.

Deep Muscle Massage Therapy must be performed by a qualified therapist. When the body is off balance, due to tightening of the internal muscles, deep muscle therapy will relieve the muscle, or adhesion, to help the body resume its natural balance. Without relief from the deep muscle pain, the pain can move on into thee tissues, joints, and even poor posture. Many physical ailments can be attributed to deep muscle pain that goes unchecked.

Massage therapy techniques applied to the hands and feet can affect many other parts of the body in positive ways. In 1913, Dr. William Fitzgerald, an ear, nose, and throat specialist and surgeon, was applying pressure to a patient’s feet and noticed it affected other parts of the body in a favorable way. From this, he developed a reflexology chart by dividing the body into ten vertical zones. The zones showed that when pressure was applied to the different zones on the foot, other parts of the body responded. This message therapy technique is still used today.