Thirsty for the Truth?

With the recent introduction of Diet Coke Plus, you may be wondering if soda is now considered a health food. Vitamins, minerals and sweet sparkling cola—what more could you ask for? For starters, you deserve a beverage that does not increase your risk of heart disease, obesity, metabolic syndrome and perhaps even cancer.

Bursting the Bubbly

It’s no coincidence that a Coca Cola bottle closely resembles a slender and attractive woman’s body. Diet soda manufacturers, boasting $21 billion dollars of profit each year, would have you believe their products are a wise option for those trying to cut calories and lose weight. But an eight-year study conducted by researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center shows that your odds of becoming obese increase by 41% for each can of diet soda you drink per day. Surprisingly, the risk is much higher for diet soda drinkers than for people who consume regular soda.

Scientists have offered several theories to explain the link between diet soda and obesity. Some in the medical community note the role of artificial sweeteners in increasing appetite and disrupting the body’s regulation of caloric intake. It seems that consuming sweet foods, especially those containing aspartame, causes us to crave carbohydrates and stimulates our cells to store fat. Other researchers point out that people who drink soda are more likely to eat fast food and make unhealthy dietary choices. Whatever the connection, it’s obvious that the diet soda industry has duped us.

Can of Controversy

Adding insult to injury, several studies highlight a relationship between diet soda and serious diseases like hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes and cancer. A trial funded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute revealed that people who drink just one daily diet soda raise their risk of metabolic syndrome by 34%. And though there has never been a definitive conclusion about ties between the aspartame in diet soda and certain types of cancer, many well respected health organizations have criticized the FDA for too quickly dismissing these possible connections.

If you enjoy a fizzy drink now and then, there’s no need to panic. Many companies offer carbonated beverages made with natural fruit juices that don’t contain artificial sweeteners or preservatives. However, if you find yourself hooked on diet beverages, check out this aspartame detoxification program and information about Splenda (sucralose). On the site, sweetpoison.com, there is an interesting press release from 2007, announcing how Coca-Cola will start to use Stevia in their beverages…which makes you wonder, why would they change a financially successful formula?

How often do you consume artificially sweetened food and beverages?

From the Founder: Diet Beverages

Even though I haven’t completely cut out diet beverages, I gave up soda as a New Year’s resolution 7 years ago and have stuck with it. I knew back then that soda, whether it had calories or not, it was bad for my health and appearance.

In our main feature this week, you learned some shocking information on the world of diet beverages, however, when I gave up soda I was not aware of the majority of that information. I had given it up because of the un-natural ingredients, high sugar content, staining and rotting of my teeth, and figured if I wanted something with no calories I could just drink water. I still drink diet energy drinks once or twice a month for that extra kick, and yes, I go for the diet because I too buy into the whole calorie counting mind game when I have a choice of regular or diet. Everything else I drink is completely un-sweetened or is sweetened with the best form of sweeteners (fructose, sucrose) or with an organic sweetener (cane juice, honey).

Now, some people drink diet soda, mainly colas for the caffeine high because they either do not want to drink coffee, prefer the taste over other options or do not seek that energy boost naturally. I have a close friend who tells me over and over again how she is addicted to Diet Coke and how she drinks on average 3-4 cans a day. There are so many alternatives available to get that energy boost such as green tea, guarana, apples, stretching your muscles to increase blow flow and much more.

With the surge of these alternative beverages, for the first time since its inception, the Soda Industry is seeing a significant drop in sales. This is mainly due to the increase in the wellness movement (Congratulations!) where people are more inclined to grab water or enhanced water.

Times are changing and that’s exactly why Coca Cola made over a BILLION dollar investment in Smart Water/Vitamin Water and why they are now moving towards using Stevia (which is still up for debate) in their diet beverages instead of aspartame. You are becoming more aware and educated on your health and your buying power is changing ingredients and giving us healthier options – Thank you!

C.H.E.K Yourself

Are you ready for a whole new approach to fitness and wellness? The C.H.E.K (Corrective High-performance Exercise Kinesiology) approach promises just that.

C.H.E.K -trained practitioners help clients achieve their goals by addressing all aspects of our health with a balance of movement, rest, nutrition and thought. Simply put, “C.H.E.K is an approach to being a healthy human,” says Penny Crozier, Chief Executive Officer of the C.H.E.K Institute. “Our practitioners view the body as a whole. We don’t just help you reach your fitness goals but look at the big picture, including your present level of health and fitness.”

That means not just prescribing one type of exercise, but assessing a client’s physical needs and limitations and then addressing them with specific actions. “We don’t just recommend specific types of exercise without first building an underlying foundation of fitness,” says Crozier.

C.H.E.K -trained practitioners (Levels 1 – 4) begin with the basics- movement analysis, then learn to assess the human body based on survival reflexes. This extremely effective system seeks to identify the etiology (cause of ailment) of each patient’s challenges or injury based on sound orthopedic, neurological, hormonal, digestive, eliminative and limbic/emotional factors. “C.H.E.K practitioners look at all parts of the foundation for good health, including diet, stress, sleep, and emotions, as well as fitness,” explains Crozier.

Level 4 practitioners are able to also focus on chronic pain patients and medical failures. Paul Chek, Founder of the C.H.E.K Institute states, “so many ailments can be traced back to the 'Faulty God Model', students (at the C.H.E.K Institute) are given extensive training in basic metaphysics, comparative religion, and philosophy so that they may effectively understand many of the common reasons people don’t heal.”

Once you undergo a thorough health assessment, your C.H.E.K practitioner will recommend the next steps to achieve good health. In cases where additional help may be needed, C.H.E.K practitioners assess and then refer clients to other experts. “We walk the client through several possibilities to determine what they need to work on, and do not attach ourselves to our client’s outcome." says Josh Lebow, of The Body Tailor, a Massachusetts-based C.H.E.K Level 4 practitioner. This allows the success or non-compliance of the action plan to be based on what the client really wants for their health and wellness and can only look to themselves for achievenment or blame.

C.H.E.K Practitioners are able to develop highly specific and effective physical, emotional, mental and spiritual development programs. C.H.E.K practitioners can also identify and rectify most nutrition, hormonal, organ, circadian and lifestyle challenges. While many C.H.E.K Level 4’s hold professional licenses, those that do not are trained to work within the scope of practice for their profession and to effectively integrate with licensed professionals for optimal patient outcomes.

By following the C.H.E.K approach, you’ll learn to stop compartmentalizing the many different aspects of your health—and view your mind, body, and soul as one. Taking Personal Training to the highest level.

For more on C.H.E.K and to locate a practitioner, visit www.checkinstitute.com.


Are you looking to take your health and wellness to the next level?

From the Founder: C.H.E.K Yourself

I have to start by letting you know that this topic really fascinates me. I had heard about Paul Chek through my work in the wellness industry but never really looked that deep into his Institute or the C.H.E.K concept until a friend of mine, who is really into his health and wellness told me how he is working with a woman who is C.H.E.K certified instead of a Personal Trainer. Because of the enthusiasm and intensity in the way my friend shared this information with me, I jumped into detective-mode to get a better understanding.

He told me about tests he’d taken with his C.H.E.K practitioner that were more advanced than what a typical Personal Trainer and even some doctor perform. Excited about the programs they were about to embark upon, he also showed me the book she gave him, How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy!, which I had seen before but never paid attention to its contents. The book, even though it looks like something for school kids if you quickly flip through it, is filled with detailed information and illustrations and is easy to understand and follow.

What drew me in even more was reading this page on the C.H.E.K Institute’s website and the interview I conducted with Josh Lebow, a Level 4 practitioner. This approach is the real deal when it comes to wellness and personal responsibility for your health and fitness (no one is going to do the work for you or help you get results if you’re not willing to do what it takes). The C.H.E.K approach takes it to another level (depending on your practitioner), which supports the whole mind, body and soul foundation of wellness and addresses spirituality and your thoughts.

I know a lot of people get turned off and maybe even offended when things start to go down this path, but I am the exact opposite because of what I know about achieving wellness, optimal health and happiness.

News Flash! Your health is completely tied into your emotions and spiritual outlook. Please understand spirituality is not religion, it is not faith- it is what guides you towards happiness, positivity and doing what’s right for yourself and others. Josh Lebow expresses, “True spirituality is taking responsibility of what you create moment-to-moment.” This means it is up to you to create your own health and happiness – no one else can and will do this for you.

Now, getting back to this level of spirituality, Josh discussed that they study (at the C.H.E.K Institute) how people tend chose guilt and pleasure. This was an “Ah Ha” moment for me because I do this see in life. Josh went on to say that people with chronic pain chose to continue to live with pain and won’t take the steps needed to alleviate and potentially eliminate the pain altogether because deep down they feel they don’t deserve to be pain-free. This notion is pretty deep but he goes on to say that we are a society of guilt-ridden people that would rather suffer than be happy and free of ailments because it makes us feel it is an easier way of life.

Josh gave the example that if someone does not feel pain [in their knees] they have to take on, in their mind, more responsibilities such as taking out the garbage or exercising regularly.

The C.H.E.K approach, on top of the health and fitness achievements, teaches people to move away from guilt and towards pleasure - you are deserving.

Who wouldn’t want all of that?

Love You!

Cupid has arrived and in the tradition of St. Valentine this one day asks us focus on the people in our lives who we want to express our feelings of love and commitment. While this is a time honored holiday, why not spend the other 364 days loving and making a commitment to yourself?

Janet Jackson asked, "What have you done for me lately?" The Wellness Industry asks, "What have you done for yourself lately?" in regards to your health, happiness and longevity.

Just last week, my health deteriorated to the point where I practically fainted during a Super Bowl party which scared me to death! I had experienced something similar to this during my freshman year in college during track practice. I started to feel extremely weak, saw black spots, became very hot and felt nauseous. A teammate gave me a piece of candy and some Gatorade and instantly, I felt better. I didn’t think anything about the incident until it happened again the following week.

I went to my doctor and explained what happened and expressed my concern that I may have Diabetes or Hypoglycemia. At that time the tests concluded that I had low blood pressure which increases dehydration and that I had a very active metabolism (couldn’t complain about that one).

Now, 14 years later, the incident at the Super Bowl party was more severe than what I had experienced in college. I considered the obvious – I had guests visiting me so I was very social that weekend - drank alcohol, did not consume enough food over a 60 hour period, and was sleep-deprived from the work week. The following night after the incident I had major menstrual and/or abdominal cramps which was not normal for that time of the month, plus I do not suffer from PMS.

After that red flag, I called my doctor and she wanted me to take a pregnancy test…yikes! However, I was 99.9% sure I did not have a bun in the oven and was right. From there, we started discussing a few other possibilities and I made an appointment to come in for tests.

Due to the fact that I always want to be and feel healthy, I really felt uneased by this whole situation. Also, my allergies were bothering me which I have not experienced in long while. So I did what I do best – I turned into my own detective and started “investigating” all of my symptoms online.

To add to all of this, I discovered that there was a big mushroom growing in one of my plants. When I went to get rid of it, I saw a ring of mold around the pot. Just like a detective I added this information to my notes and now have more to share with my doctor at this appointment and will have her also test me for mold toxins.

The point in sharing my story with you is that if I didn’t love myself enough and want to really take the driver’s seat with my health and wellness I might have just taken allergy medication, seen a doctor that conducted the same basic tests that I had done 14 years ago (thankfully, my doctor's practice has incorporated a wellness approach with their patients and go beyond basics), or I could have ignored the incident altogether going by information that was given to me 14 years ago.

Love begins with yourself and BalanceBoost.com hopes to inspire you to become your own detective and educate you on all areas of wellness to help you love yourself all year round by being healthy, happy and living well.

Happy Valentine’s Day!
Tiffany Houser, Founder


Are you your own detective when it comes to your overall health?

From the Founder: Raw Milk

The topic of Raw Milk has a lot of buzz around it right now due the legal issues of how and where it can be sold. It’s interesting to me because once again the FDA wants us to believe what’s best for their bottom line which now a days seems to be more business-related rather than concern for our education and safety.

I personally wrote off milk back in 2004, when I became serious about living a wellness lifestyle. As I mentioned in the past from my findings in the book Ultra Prevention, I discovered that that medical research has linked milk to many common and preventable health problems.

This sentence is what that made me give up milk forever, “For many, milk is the cause of allergies, sinus problems, eczema, and ear infections as well as a potential source of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and digestive problems.” Most of which I used to suffer from, until I stopped consuming the majority of the dairy products in my diet.

The book states that over 75% of the world’s population suffers from lactose intolerance. The book also goes on to say that we should not consume milk from a cow unless we are a calf.

I know some of you are wondering, “Where will I get the calcium by bodies needs if I am not drinking milk?”

Ultra Prevention also notes that most women in Africa ingest little calcium – perhaps 300 to 500 mg a day – yet they rarely come down with osteoporosis. This is because they are not drinking alcohol, colas, caffeine, or eating salt or excessive animal protein – all of which leach calcium out of your bones and into the toilet.

Now, I know most of you may want to stop reading this, but while living a wellness lifestyle I also insist upon balance – not giving up the things that make you happy. Most of us do enjoy a cocktail, a cup of coffee, a steak and other indulgences, but there are other amazing sources of calcium such as broccoli, bok choy, french beans / haricot verts, quinoa, dried figs, sardines, parsley, sesame seeds and almond butter. (For more foods that contain calcium, click here.) There is also supplementation, but find out which form calcium is best for your needs.

Back to the topic of Raw Milk, my vote is yes due to the hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides found in our pasteurized milk supply. Bovine growth hormone, used to increase milk production, may increase the likelihood of breast cancer. So on top of the everyday ailments, the additives in our milk supply can also lead to major diseases!

Overall, my suggestion is to avoid dairy at all costs. With all of the information we discovered while researching this topic, if consuming dairy makes you happy I say stick with the raw. Yes, it takes an extra step or two to get it, but aren’t you worth it?


Were you aware of all of the issues involved with what was marketed to us as an innocent and beneficial drink? Ever wonder what happened to all of the “Got Milk?” advertisements?????


Tiffany Houser
BalanceBoost

Milk Does a Body Bad?

If you’re like most Americans, you were raised—thanks in large part to the U.S. government and National Dairy Council—to believe that several daily glasses of milk were good for you. On the other hand, a growing number of doctors and researchers say that milk and other dairy products may worsen inflammation, allergies, asthma, and other health problems. Some experts also theorize that lactose intolerance—the inability to digest milk sugar—is a signal from our bodies that we shouldn’t be drinking animal milk at all.

The Raw Deal

There’s another side to the dairy debate:
raw milk.

Once a dinner-table staple, raw milk’s popularity decreased during the 20th century, with the advent of pasteurization, a process that kills E. coli and other pathogens with heat. But that may not be all that pasteurization destroys, say raw milk advocates, who claim the process also kills beneficial bacteria, proteins, vitamins, and digestive enzymes.

Instead, they praise raw milk’s nutritional value, creamy flavor, and alleged health benefits for conditions like eczema, allergies and Crohn’s disease. They may be right: A study published in the June 2006 issue of the Journal of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology found that British children who drank raw milk regularly were 40 percent less likely to develop eczema and 10 percent less likely to develop hay fever than those who didn’t drink raw milk.

Not so fast, says the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), whose director of dairy and egg safety has likened drinking raw milk to “playing Russian roulette with your health.” The FDA claims it’s safe to drink milk from cloned cows, but has banned interstate sales of raw milk—although individual states can determine commerce within their borders. Currently, raw milk is legal in 22 states and its devotees are growing in number: An estimated half-million Americans drink it.

Liquid Assets

The issue isn’t as simple as the FDA implies, however. All raw milk isn’t created equal, point out advocates. Yes, raw milk is unhealthy—if it comes from an industrial dairy. They view pasteurization as an excuse to produce dirty milk: Pasteurization doesn’t prevent contamination, it merely kills germs after they surface. In fact, outbreaks of salmonella, listeria and Campylobacter have been traced to pasteurized milk and cheese.

Unlike industrial dairies whose milk is later pasteurized, raw milk dairies tend to be cleaner and their cows are fed organic grass rather than corn. When purchased from such dairies, raw milk may be healthier, safer—and tastier—than pasteurized varieties.

For more on raw milk, see Real Food: What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck (Bloomsbury USA, 2006). Click here to find a raw-milk distributor in your area.


Could you cut out milk from your diet altogether?