Tip #18: Drink green smoothies

About five years ago I discovered green smoothies after reading about liquid salads in Dr. Fuhrman's books. I then found a wonderful website that was just starting out, Green Smoothie Girl,which had lots of information about those mysterious green drinks. I had just bought my Vitamix and I was going to use it, so they looked pretty good. The lady who runs the site, Robyn Openshaw, eventually wrote a book about it, The Green Smoothies Diet. I recommend it for anyone interested in this. Here you can also find information about why she is so in love with GreenSmoothies.

Lately, I have been having green smoothies for breakfast almost every day. I make a whole container of Vitamix (about 8 or 9 cups) and it lasts me for 2 days. Here's what I put in them:

- 3 cups of water
- I put enough greens until I get to the 6 cup line in the Vitamix. I use kale, collards, spinach, romaine lettuce etc. I mix them or use only one, each day is different.
- About one inch of ginger, peeled.
- Half a lemon (whole, with skin and all, organic). I have read that the peel of lemons (or oranges) has anti-cancer properties.
- I usually add also a sweet potato, a beet (with its greens), or 2 or 3 carrots, but some days I just add more greens if I don't have those things on hand.

The green smoothie becomes a lovely red when you add a beet.

- A cup or so of frozen mango (depending on how much room I have left in the Viatmix. Be warned, one time I put too much and it exploded! Unreal. The Viatmix people were very nice and sent me another glass).
- I tablespoon of amla gooseberry powder. This is a recent addition to my smoothies, but I was convinced that I needed to be eating some amla after reading Dr. Greger's post Amla: Indian gooseberries vs. cancer, diabetes, and cholesterol
- A bit stevia to sweeten it.

I drink 4 cups of this almost every day (at least 6 days a week). I like to have two cups for breakfast, some of it mixed with my flax seeds, and the other two cups for an afternoon snack.

As you can see, I use very little fruit. In general, I try to be careful with any sugar, even fruit or carrots or beets. It is part of the protocol I follow to make my terrain (body) as inhospitable to cancer as possible. So, depending on the greens, sometimes the smoothie tastes kind of not great, let me put it that way, although most days it is quite enjoyable (or I'm getting used to it). I do feel much better when I drink it, though. I have more energy, more mental clarity and I know I'm getting lots of nutrients and fiber in a relatively easy way.

Here's another smoothie recipe for you, Dr. Fuhrman's Green Longevity Drink.

Do you make green smoothies? Let me know!

Tip #17: Change your perception

This week, in my quest for the impact of positive thinking, I came across (by chance) a couple of interesting things. First, I heard a report on NPR called "Can you think your way to that hole-in-one?" in which they talk about how some researchers from Purdue University have discovered that you can improve your game of golf if you believe that the hole is larger that it really is. How can this be? They first asked golfers to estimate the size of the hole after they had played, and it turned out that the better they played, the larger they thought the hole was. So, the researcher decided to test it from another point of view. What if the players thought the hole was larger or smaller than it really was before the game? It turned out that when players thought the hole was larger (and thus, the task looked easier) they performed better as well. Isn't this amazing? When we perceive something to be easy, we just do it, and that's why we probably do better then, but if we believe the opposite, then, not only the task is harder to complete, but we feel like we have to struggle to complete it. But if we realize it could be as simple as just changing our perception, what would happen? I'm willing to try next time I feel a bit down.

Younger people's goals and aspirations

A bit connected with this, I also saw another TED talk called "Older people are happier," by Laura Carstensen, who is the director of the Stanford Center on Longevity. In the talk, she mentions that, as humans, we are able to monitor time and create goals, set in temporal contexts, which change as we age and move closer to death. Thus, for young people, their goals are what we have on the left. But all those goals create anxiety, which comes often with unhappiness.

Older people's goals and aspirations

Older people, on the other hand, have very different goals, as we see on the right. Because their time span is different, they do not need to take chances, for example, as often and they understand that there is value in the present moment, because, after all, that's what is important, as they may not have much left. Many studies show that, as a results, people tend to be happier as they age and that happiness tends to peak at around age 80, and then it goes down a little, but never to the levels of young 20 somethings.

I think the connection between the two reports is that our perception of life in general really changes our happiness level, but we do not need to be old to achieve happiness. When confronted with something difficult, let us try to look at it from a different point of view, trying to remember that it may only look difficult to us at that moment in particular. Or, let's just start thinking like old folks now. :)

What do you think? Let me know!

Tip #16: Add flax-seeds to your diet

Today, another short post, as the semester is winding down  and I have a lot of accumulated work to do. But, I set out to do a post a week, and I am finding that it is very rewarding to be able to fulfill one's own goals (and hopefully I'll write about that another day).

One thing my nutritionists recommends and I feel it's easy to do with many benefits is to have a couple of tablespoons of ground flax seeds every day. Flax seeds contain Omega 3s, lots of fiber, and many minerals and vitamins. They also have something called lignans, which help the body metabolize estrogen, with implications for the prevention of breast cancer in particular. They help lower your inflammation, blood pressure, cholesterol and can offer some protection against heart disease and diabetes. In my own life, I find that it helps me be regular, which is much appreciated. I like to mix my 2 tablespoons of ground flax seeds with a bit of my morning smoothy, which creates a mushy paste that I actually love (but maybe my taste is just becoming as weird as me. Who knows).

 Here you have another video from Dr. Greger's (5 minutes), and he explains it much better than I could:

There is some controversy with flax seeds, as with most things,and here's a link about it from the blog Mark's Daily Apple (of the Paleo diet, whom I like in general, although I don't agree with him on some things). But he also mentions, in another post, that he considers flax seeds to be one of the best foods for your brain (because of the Omega 3s).

As with most food controversies, I like to read as many sources as I can, but ultimately I go by what my nutritionist recommends. I feel this is one of the things that anyone can also benefit from and that's why I decided to include it here.

And for more information (and some of my sources):

• The World Healthiest Foods
• Dr. Oz: 3 benefits of flax.
• Dr. Fuhrman: Fighting breast cancer with flaxseeds
• New York Times: Recipes for health: Flaxseeds
• New York Times: Replacing eggs with flax

Have a great week and let me know what you think!

Tip #15: Spice it up

Today, a super simple and easy tip. Just by spicing your meals a bit, you add amazing health properties to them. Most spices are powerful antioxidants, that is, they help protect and repair cells from the damages caused by free radicals. The damaged cells can cause chronic diseases, including cancer. Antioxidants also help your immune system become stronger, so you can avoid other, milder things like colds.

But most spices also have other benefits as well. Some of them help lower blood sugar (cinnamon and parsley, for example). Others help with inflammation (curry, ginger, garlic). They can also inhibit a protein complex called Nuclear Factor Kappa B (NF-kB), which contributes to the growth of cancer cells (rosemary, turmeric). Even saffron has been shown to help mild cases of Alzheimer's as much as the leading drug.

Here's a compelling video (and just 3.21 minutes long) from Dr. Greger's Nutritionfacts.org (one of my favorites places to look for reliable information about food), in which he explains how, just a pinch of certain spices can change the antioxidant value of any common dish.

I definitely have been using much more cinnamon, rosemary and turmeric than before, and I have to say, spices do make our foods taste better, so, again, easy and nutritious and full of flavor. My kind of tip.

Do you have any suggestions for using more spices? Let us know!

Tip #14: Get inspired (I)

I think that being inspired is one of the easiest ways to feel happiness. You can be inspired by anything if you look closely. It could be a beautiful cloud, a flower, the wind. Maybe your co-workers or a family member, when we look at them with a new light, Or you can be looking for inspiration in books, movies and, of course, the "internets." In another post, I'll write about what I do myself to get inspired everyday.

But yesterday I was very surprised that I found inspiration in my daily newspaper, the Connecticut Post, which, I have to admit, I've been reading less and less lately. But the cover in their weekly magazine, Parade, caught my attention. It was Michael J. Fox at 50. I have always liked him, and now I know why.

Here are some quotes that I enjoyed from the interview: 

I could say, “I’m powerless over this, but I have options, I have things I can do.”

We always can do something, no matter what our situation is. Of course, we can choose to complain about the situation, but why waste everybody's time? Like I've said before, we do need to spend the time processing things, crying as much as we need (or however we need to cope), and then we do have the choice to do something. Michael J. Fox mentions that, at first, he just dealt with his Parkinson's through drinking. Then, he stopped and became active in the research process with his foundation. So far, he has been able to raise $285 million. What would have happened if he had kept drinking and complaining?

Here's the next quote (bold emphasis mine): 

I don’t look at life as a battle or as a fight. I don’t think I’m scrappy. I’m accepting. I say “living with” or “working through” Parkinson’s. Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation—it means understanding that something is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it. I look at it like I’m a fluid that’s finding the fissures and cracks and flowing through.  

Acceptance is very difficult in many situations. I see why with my friends in my support groups. Some women are diagnosed with cancer the same week their husbands left them or they lost their jobs. I see women way too young, with little children or a supposed life ahead of them that just die of this disease that I have. And yet, I still think we need to accept  that our reality has changed, that this is not a fight, but a walk, maybe not exactly in the park often, but still a walk, still with beauty around me and still full of possibilities. Accept that I am now different, but that maybe I have also gained something with this change. And acceptance does not mean resignation, we still have to move on, keep walking, in this our new path that appears at our feet every morning when we wake up.

In the interview, he also talks about his relationship with his children, but I think this is a message that is important for all of us:

I told my kids early on, “When you go out the door in the morning, choose happiness.” They roll their eyes. [laughs] I also tell them, “Try to go for the loving response to any situation. Recognize that the other person has feelings and something at stake, too.” 

I recently read in Twitter (wish I could remember the source) of a teacher that has this (or something like this) on his blackboard: "If you have to choose between being right and being kind, always choose kindness." Michale J. Fox's quote reminded me of this. Again, I think we all need to learn that, not just kids.

And, finally, he says:

I really love being alive. I love my family and my work. I love the opportunity I have to do things. That’s what happiness is.

Happiness is not getting that job, or that new iPhone (maybe? - just joking). Like he says, happiness is the opportunity to do things. As simple as that. I just love it.

You can find the whole thing here. (And I hope I don't get in trouble with the copyright police for putting his picture here).

Tip #13: Crying is fine

How can you follow the course of your life

if you do not let it flow?

- Lao-Tzu

That's the quote for March 21 in The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo, which has a reading for every day of the year. In the reading for that day, he tells us that like nature, we need to shed from ourselves what we don't have a need for anymore. But we tend to do the opposite. We hold on to bad experiences, we internalize problems, we grow discontent inside of us. You can read the excerpt here.

In my life, I have found that sometimes it is hard to let go or to accept what we are facing. But we have to in order to move on. That's one reason why we need to cry. Tears are a way to let our life flow. Cry. Let go. Feel the sadness the tears bring. Really feel it. And then, feel relief. Like the baby in the picture, just brought into this world when he was so comfortable in his mother's womb.

And, as I was thinking about this post, I heard on the radio, by chance, the psychologist James Pennebaker, author of The Secret Life of Pronouns, talking about how he discovered that people who had a traumatic experience and kept it hidden had much worse health problems, so he asked a group of people to write about those experiences, while another group was asked to write about trivial things. The first group saw their health improve immediately, while there was no such effect in the second.I don't know if they cried while they wrote, but I'm sure they felt something very close to crying.

If you still need convincing, know that tears are actually good for you. In the article "The health benefits of tears," Dr. Judith Orloff explains that "like the ocean, tears are salt water. They lubricate your eyes, remove irritants, reduce stress hormones and contain antibodies that fight pathogenic microbes."

After my second diagnosis, I think I probably cried for three months. I still do when things accumulate in my plate. But, as my mother always says, "Tears make your eyes more beautiful, let them flow." What's there to lose?

What do you think? Let me know!

With lots of love and peace.

(Photo by KungFuStu)