Do you eat to live or live to eat? Neither could be called a healthy relationship with food. Eating to live—using food simply as fuel—takes the joy out of one of life’s great pleasures. On the other hand, giving food too much importance, either by living only for our next meal or obsessing lest we eat too much or eat the wrong things, isn’t a joyful or healthy relationship either.In a healthy relationship, we would look forward to our encounters with food. We would respond appropriately to our hunger cues by supplying ourselves with nourishing and tasty food (in the words of nutrition expert Mark Hyman, MD, “foods we love that love us back”), and we would eat until satisfied and no more. We would trust our body cues to maintain a weight that is perfect for us (although it might not conform to the latest fashion). But according to the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders (ANAD), almost 10% of our population is struggling with one or more of the thre…

How do you get your family to adopt better health habits?  At Beyond Health we get this question a lot, especially from people who’ve read one of Raymond Francis’s books and have become convinced they want to make some major changes in their lifestyle.  Here are some ideas. First, make time to talk with your spouse or other adult members of the family about your family’s health and what you’ve been learning. They may be “ripe for the picking” and enthusiastic about your ideas. Or they may be ready to make some changes, and not others. You may be excited about going raw and vegan; they may want hot, cooked meals for dinner. You may want to refuse vaccinations for your children; they may want to do more research first before taking such an unpopular stance. Encourage them to empower themselves by reading Raymond Francis’s book The Great American Health Hoax, so it’s not just you who’s supplying information. The Maintenance List chapter alone is worth the price of the boo…

Is this the year you finally establish a regular exercise program? Exercise is the wonder drug par excellence. We can’t think of a single body system—whether it’s cardiovascular, digestive, neurological, musculoskeletal—you name it, that exercise doesn’t improve. It even makes the senses keener. Yet, only 20 percent of US adults meet the government’s exercise guidelines: 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity (or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise, or an equivalent combination) plus two sessions per week of muscle-strengthening activity. Want a free and easy way to find out how fit you are? Click here. The most convenient and efficient way we’ve found to exercise is rebounding. What's rebounding? Simply bouncing up and down on a specially constructed trampoline called a rebounder. There is no more efficient form of exercise, bar none, because it exercises every single cell in your body simultaneously. One or two 15-minute sessions a day will provide you with…

Slow Food, an anti-Fast Food movement that originated in Italy in the late 1980s, now has 1,500 Chapters in more than 150 countries and millions of members.Although Slow Food is about slowing down to enjoy good meals, it’s about a lot more. It asks of us to slow down from our fast-paced culture and take a good look at how crazy, unsustainable and inhumane our food system has become. And then to participate in changing it. Our relationship with food is being corrupted by the speed of modern life that forces many of us to grab “fast food” on the fly. It’s also being corrupted by agricultural, processing and distribution systems that devitalize, standardize and restrict our food options (for example, franchise restaurants that make one town look like every other) and are even changing the very nature of food.Conventional food today is much less nutritious (grown in nutrient-deficient soils) and more toxic (with pesticides and GMOs) than it was even decades ago. But more than that, vario…

Humans may have other species beat when it comes to doing higher mathematics, but where food choices are involved, wild geese proved to be significantly more intelligent.Consider this report from anti-GMO activist Jeffrey Smith’s important book, Seeds of Deception.An Illinois soybean farmer had been plagued by a neighboring flock of soybean-loving geese which habitually made a feast of his fields, reducing plant growth to almost a stubble.Unwittingly, genetic engineering helped him to solve this problem. One year, he planted part of one field with genetically modified soybeans. When the geese arrived for their usual feast, they completely ignored this portion of the field and ate only the conventional soybeans, leaving a distinct pattern of growth that showed where each type of soybean had been planted.This solved the problem of keeping the geese away, but it’s just like the refined flour that no bugs want to eat. What are these animals, who are obviously smarter than we are in certain…

We’ve been praising coconut oil for almost a decade now, and we searched the world to find the very finest coconut oil available, which we carry Beyond Health Coconut Oil. So, we were pleased to see an article online listing 20 benefits of this amazing stuff. Apparently coconut oil has “come into its own,” since the article begins, “You’ve no doubt noticed that coconut oil is on everyone’s lips . . . and in their frying pans, smoothies, hair, and in a little jar on their nightstand. What underlies coconut oil’s recent popularity is the sheer amount of benefits to mind, body and soul that it promises, and research shows that adding coconut oil to your diet and your person could be one of the easiest ways to improve your health, well-being, appearance, and even your sex life.”So without further ado, here are author Grant Stoddard’s 20 benefits of coconut oil: Capric acid in coconut oil increases energy and reduce food consumption. Lauric acid in coconut oil kills bacteria,…

Regular exercise usually increases vitality, but a lot of people just don’t have the energy or motivation to get started on an exercise program. Although different factors can be involved, such as low thyroid, inadequate nutrition, or trying to force yourself into a boring exercise routine, a 2013 study showed that genetics can encourage either a love of movement or for your favorite recliner. Fortunately, there are ways you can compensate for couch potato genes.Rats given running wheels usually put them to good use, but scientists observed that some rats choose to run more than others. They separated high voluntary exercising (HVE) rats from low voluntary exercisers (LVE), and bred them through ten generations to produce final generations of super-HVE and super-LVE rats. The primary differences found between the two groups had to do with genes that control the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain. The researchers believe that humans have similar genes that make them avid exercisers…

Raymond Francis often says, “If you are deficient in only one nutrient, you will get sick, guaranteed.” Although many people still focus single-mindedly on calcium, bone-building is a team sport. While calcium may be the star player, it’s ineffective and even dangerous without its teammates. If even one member of the team goes AWOL, your bones will suffer. Bones are about half mineral and half protein. Minerals give bones their hardness—an important quality if you want to stand up straight. However a large part of bone consists of “bone matrix:” flexible tissue made of collagen and studded with hard minerals. Calcium accounts for about 64% of bone’s mineral content, but phosphorus and magnesium also contribute to bone hardness. Zinc, manganese, silica and copper are used as co-enzymes in constructing bone matrix. Vitamin C is needed to create collagen. Vitamins C, D and K and the minerals boron, chromium, germanium, selenium and vanadium play various roles in what’s called bone…

For years, Beyond Health has recommended limiting fruit consumption to two pieces of fruit per day and avoiding fruit juice altogether. Although fresh fruit is a good source of nutrients, it’s also high in sugar, and sugar, even from healthy sources, can be detrimental if you get too much of it. Although a diet high in fruits and vegetables is often recommended for lowering blood pressure, studies have found that high fruit consumption is not associated with lowered blood pressure and can even cause elevations in blood pressure. How would eating fruit lead to higher blood pressure? It’s the sugar in the fruit that’s the problem. Fruit contains two kinds of sugar—50% glucose and 50% fructose. And they each impact blood pressure. High fructose corn syrup is also composed primarily of glucose and fructose—42% glucose and 55% fructose. Under normal, healthy circumstances, if you eat a piece of fruit, the glucose will cause sugar levels in your blood to rise so…

Carnivore, herbivore or omnivore, it behooves us all to be locavores—people who buy food from local farms. Buying both local and organic is usually best the best option. This not only supports your health by consuming fresher food, it also supports your local economy and helps the environment. Buying locally is often a bargain for both consumer and farmer. The consumer may pay less by eliminating middlemen, and the farmer gets a fair return. According to the Organic Consumers Association (OCA), using conventional channels farmers get only an average of 20 cents for every dollar spent on food. They do much better selling direct. Local produce is fresher. Produce begins losing nutrient value within hours after it is harvested, and many vegetables and especially fruits are weeks and even months old before they reach outlets. Crops destined for shipping, especially fruit, are often picked before they’re ripe and never reach their maximum nutrient potential. According to one rep…