If there is one thing that I recommend to my clients and to people who would like to improve their health and re-boot in the New Year is to juice!!! I am not talking about the Tropicana OJ or apple cider in a bottle juice but specifically about green juices and homemade veggie and fruit juices! Since it is the New Year and the time of the year when many of us are making resolutions for the year to come, make yourself and your health a priority and start the year off by cleansing your body and mind by integrating juices into your diet.

Fasting is not some new-age 20th Century fad but has been an integral part of different religions and cultures around the world for thousands of years. Fasting is described as intentionally abstaining from food, and is usually done for religious and health reasons. Fasting is nature’s way of giving the body a chance to overcome disease and rest. When animals are sick they instinctively quit eating until they feel better. This internal awareness is even present in our children who do not eat when they are not hungry. Somewhere along the line we lost the knowledge of the importance of fasting to regain and restore health.

While fasting is used for weight-loss, it is also a …

Excerpted from my monthly column in The Family Groove

I have to admit that I have been procrastinating about writing this article for over a year! I have a confession to make. Even though I know better, as a busy mother with two children, when I am in a rush I use the microwave! Because there is nothing worse than a hypocrite, I knew when I wrote this article it would be the end of the microwave in my house. The days of heating up dinner in 5 minutes were gone!

There is really nothing worse that you can do to your food than to microwave it! When we microwave food, we literally change the molecular structure of that food. The human body cannot recognize, therefore, understandably has a hard time metabolizing and digesting the unknown by-products created in a microwave.

Not only are we not able to assimilate and absorb the minerals, vitamins and nutrients in that food but microwaving food literally strips food of its nutritional value decreasing it by 60-90% in some cases as well as creating carcinogens.

In addition, female and male hormones can be shut down or altered by microwaving food. With all of the reproductive problems our generation has had, I have to wonder whether the microwave …

When it comes to whether it is beneficial to take supplements, there is so much conflicting information out there! We are constantly bombarded with information in magazines and the media about vitamins creating almost a fearful, panicked state. If we don’t take a certain vitamin, we are being led to believe that somehow we won’t be healthy, happy and vibrant! Even foods like cereals, orange juice and even water are being fortified with vitamins!

We are spending 22 million dollars in the United States on supplements alone but the important question is “are we getting any healthier?”

Do we really need those 20 bottles of various vitamins that you have been sold at the health food shop? Do we need to take a multi-vitamin and give one to our children? As a diet and lifestyle counselor and a working mother of two children, this is a question that hits close to home in my own heart! Before we discuss what to take, we have to go into the basics of what vitamins are and what they can do!

Can vitamins replace the nutrients in foods?
No! The sad truth is that many people eat terrible, nutrient-deficient lives and think they can put a band-aid on the problem by taking a good multi-vitamin. Vitamins do not replace food! Popping a vitamin C …

Most of us have been taught that the only way that we will get ample protein in our diets is by eating animal protein such as meat, fish, chicken, eggs and cheese. This could not be farther from the truth! Contrary to what most people might believe, you can easily obtain all your protein from good old fruits and vegetables.

Although we Americans are on non-stop low-fat, low-carb, low-whatever diets and, as a nation, spend 100 billion dollars on health care, we are reaching near epidemics with respect to cancer, obesity, diabetes and heart disease! In our country, 47% males and 38% females at risk for getting cancer, 1 out of 3 adults is considered obese, 1 out of 13 have diabetes, and 1 out of every 3 adults are at risk dying from heart disease. We are killing ourselves with “disease of affluence.”

In The China Study, the distinguished Cornell professor Dr. T. Colin Campbell shows through his research studies that we can literally turn off or on our cancer genes by eating a diet consisting of fewer than 20% and as close to 5% of animal protein. So, why don’t doctors tell us this? We may lose weight eating high-protein diets, but at what cost?

Since I don’t eat meat, I am constantly being bombarded with questions about how I get my protein …

Nothing quite warms me up like a cup of delicious hot chocolate when it is cold outside, and there is something about the holidays that make this even a more enticing treat! The kids and I love to come home after our school and work days and make a hot steaming mug… YUM! This is our favorite recipe. Not only it this recipe healthy but it is down right decadent and a nice pick me up in the afternoons!

Chocolate contains natural antioxidants (photonutrients flavonol and polyphenol,) the alkaloids (theobromine, phenethylamine and anandamide) and is rich in magnesium. Chocolate can lower blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes and dementia, balance brain chemistry, help build strong bones, help prevent cancerous activity and, last but not least, help with weight loss. On top of all that, it contains and has been linked to higher levels of the mood-altering serotonin, which boosts our energy and mood, and is a natural aphrodisiac!

As a sidenote, when you are shopping for the ingredients, it is important to look at the label and make sure that the chocolate powder you are buying is pure chocolate and does not contain sugar, butter or oil. Try to find raw cacoa, which is the actual pure cocoa bean and not only tastes better but has not been roasted and processed into powder and …