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Is Your Gut Bacteria Out of Balance? Here Are 7 Signs To Watch For...

11/15/2015

If you've done much reading in the natural health arena, you may have heard natural health experts talking about the importance of having a healthy balance of microflora in your digestive tract - or, in layman's terms - "good gut bacteria."

Since, as we mentioned a few weeks ago, your digestive system is one of the most important parts of your immune system, it stands to reason that the health of your gut has a lot to do with your overall health.

Unfortunately, our modern lifestyle is filled with unhealthy foods and habits, not to mention prescription drugs like antibiotics, which can really take a toll on the health of those ever-important bacteria whose job it is to help keep you alive and well.

In fact, there are more studies coming out all the time on the connection between your gut bacteria and just about every other aspect of your health.

While you may know that our motto here at New Holistic Living is "everything is connected," nowhere is this more true than in the digestive system. Just as an example, a recent study on mice tracked what happened when gut bacteria from depressed mice were transplanted into healthy, happy mice. The happy mice began showing signs of depression within hours! This just goes to show that changing your gut bacteria literally can change your life!

But how do you know if your gut bacteria are healthy or not? And if they aren't, what can you do about it?

Keep reading to find out.

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Homesteading Update: Storing Up For Winter

10/30/2015

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A Novemberish view.

Even though it is predicted to be in the 70's again next week, there is no doubt that summer is over. The garden is frost-blackened and blasted, waiting to be cleaned out and put to bed for the winter. The last of the brightly colored leaves will soon be gone, and already bare branches greet me through my office window.

We have lots to do outside yet, but in terms of food preparation and preservation, we are pretty much done - and it has been a fruitful year!

It was my first full-scale attempt to put away a good quantity of (mostly) home-grown food for the winter, and while it did involve a fair amount of work, the satisfaction is practically its own reward - although we have already been enjoying a few of the fruits of our labors.... :-)

I have 2 more food preservation tasks left, and then it will be time to rest for a few months - something I'm very much looking forward to after this busy first summer on the homestead!

Here's how things went, for our first season of partially self-sufficient living:

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What's The Deal With the Paleo Diet?

10/25/2015

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In recent years, the so-called "Paleo" diet has been the hottest thing since, well, 10,000 years before sliced bread! But is it really all that it's cracked up to be? Before we can unravel the truth from the hype, we need to go back in time and look at what the Paleo diet really is.

Dr. Boyd Eaton pioneered many of the concepts of the modern Paleo diet movement, although Dr. Loren Cordain is commonly recognized as the "founder." Once a fringe way of eating that eschewed the mainstream, I think it's safe to say that the Paleo diet is now fully commercialized. Dozens of books have been written on the concept, and there are hundreds of processed foods being sold as "Paleo" in stores throughout the country.

With all the hype surrounding the concept these days, it can be easy to see the Paleo Diet as just another fad. But there is much more to it than that. Eating Paleo really doesn't have anything to do with chowing down on "Paleo food bars," and it also doesn't mean you'll eat bacon all day, or give up your shoes! Instead, living a Paleo lifestyle simply involves smart exercise, sleep and eating foods that are nutrient-dense.

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13 Tasty Tips For A Healthier Brain

10/18/2015

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Brain diseases and disorders are one of the fastest growing health issues of the modern world. And while there are a lot of different factors that can affect your brain health, diet is one of the most important.

That's right, you really are what you eat - and your brain is paying for the sins you are committing when you eat a modern diet high in processed foods.

In fact, your brain is arguably influenced more (or at least more visibly) by your diet than any other organ. This can easily be seen by watching how a small child's behavior changes drastically after eating or drinking something packed full of sugar! But it's affecting you just as much as an adult.

If you listen to your body after you eat, you may notice that what you eat can affect your mood dramatically, and even change your entire day. What you eat impacts the way you think, the way you feel, and the way your body and brain function.

We talk a lot here about the impact of food on our health, but what about your brain health? How can you eat to improve your brain's health, rather than diminishing it? Is there an optimal way to eat that will both create a healthier brain, and maximize your brain power?

Try these 13 tips, and I can promise you, not only will your brain be healthier, but your whole outlook on life will improve! (And perhaps best of all, eating this way is highly enjoyable and satisfying!)

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Is "Natural" Sugar Really Better for You?

10/4/2015

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You probably know by now that refined sugars are one of the worst things you can consume. Along with processed trans-fats and artificial ingredients, sugar is one of the major killers that we consume on a regular basis, and has been linked to numerous diseases, including diabetes, obesity, and cancer.

As more and more people are becoming aware of the dangers of sugar, it's not surprising that more and more sugar "replacements" are being marketed, but are they really all that much better for you than real sugar?

We now know that artificial sweeteners such as aspartame are possibly even worse for you than real sugar, but what about the "natural" sugars you hear about everywhere these days?

Today I'm going to reveal the truth with a quick rundown of the top 6 natural sugars on the market right now, and how they compare.

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The Anti-Diet: How Intuitive Eating Can Make You Healthier & Happier

9/20/2015

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As I've mentioned before, one of the most important things you can do for your health is to learn to listen to your body. By doing so, not only will you learn a lot about what your body needs, but you will easily and even automatically begin to make healthier choices in many areas of your life.

One of the main areas that many of us struggle with in modern life as it relates to health is eating. We are constantly surrounded by unhealthy foods, which means that making healthy food choices takes conscious effort - it's not automatic anymore. There is also a lot of conflicting information out there about what "healthy" even means when it comes to eating. Should you avoid red meat? What about fat? Do you have to buy everything organic just to be healthy? Is vegan the way to go? Should you be eating gluten-free?

It's no wonder so many of us give up and spend most of our lives overweight or even obese!

But what if we could find a way to make it easy to choose what to eat, and completely change our love/hate relationship with food? What if we could relax in the knowledge that we actually can automatically choose the foods that our bodies need and want, without any guilt or stress?

If you've read my post mentioned above about listening to your body, you may know where I'm going with this, but even I did not realize there is actually a term for it.

It's called "intuitive eating," and it just may be the end of all diets, and the one way that we can finally turn our destructive relationship with food around once and for all.

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7 Foods That Should Never Be Refrigerated

9/13/2015

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We've been hot and heavy on serious health topics lately, so I thought it would be nice to take a break and share some lighter info today!

I ran across this article recently, and while these things all seem like common sense to me, it's amazing how many people really don't know that you shouldn't refrigerate these foods!

Whether refrigeration causes them to spoil faster or stop ripening, or reduces their health benefits, you're just better off not doing it.

Here are 7 foods you should never, ever refrigerate, and how to store them instead.

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Gluten-Free Is Healthier: Hype or Truth?

7/26/2015

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If you're at all interested in health (or even if you're not), I'm sure you've noticed the proliferation of "gluten-free" foods popping up everywhere. Everything from cakes and candies, to pasta, tortillas, and beer can be found in gluten-free versions, and most restaurants now have many gluten-free options on the menu.

But is the "gluten-free" craze just another fad, or does it really mean something? How much does gluten really affect your health? This week, we're delving into the details to uncover the truth about gluten, and what kind of impact it has on your health.

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Homesteading Update: Midsummer Madness

7/19/2015

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Our garden - mid-July.

Well, here we are in mid-July, and it's been quite an interesting summer so far.... What a year to start a huge, brand new garden! With almost non-stop rain for the past 6 weeks, this is unlike any summer I have ever seen before, but apparently most of the plants are enjoying all the water. The raspberry patch, and our new fruit trees are the main casualties, but little else seems too bothered by the consistent flooding, and in fact, most of the garden seems extremely happy.

We've yet to start on our geothermal project, but hopefully we will get that going within the next month or so. For now, the garden has been my main focus so far this year, so here's an update, and some pictures from yesterday - although these are already out of date, as everything looks even bigger today!

I've already learned quite a few important lessons during this garden season, as I will share below....

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The Agricultural Con Game

7/13/2015

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Decades ago, when people said "farming", the "organic" part went without saying. But during the second half of the last century, massive food producing conglomerates collectively now known as "agribusiness" have changed the way that we look at, purchase, and consume food.

As if this weren't bad enough, they've somehow managed to convince us that artificial fertilizers, pesticides, and genetically modified foods are the only way our planet can survive.

The truth, in fact, is just the opposite!

In reality, if we want to survive as a species, it's only a matter of time before we will find these modern methods completely unsustainable. (Hopefully, we'll figure this out before it's too late!)

Here are the 7 things that make our current model of industrial agriculture unsustainable, and what we need to do in order to fix this mess:

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