A Simple Qi Gong Exercise

Mark Rothstein shared this simple Gi Gong exercise with me several years ago, and it's a terrific one to try to get a sense of what this Oriental approach to natural health is all about. Read on for Mark's thoughts on Qi Gong...

I just started taking Qi Gong one day a week (in addition to my Astanga yoga). Both use very deep breathing in their practice. The yoga practice even has a name for it - pranayama.

In the Qi Gong practice, you stand up, relaxed, and take a deep breath in while raising your arms over your head, then lowering your hands slowly while you breath out and imagine that the "bad" Qi is draining out of your body through your feet into the earth while the fresh Qi is entering through the top of your head.

I find many of the Qi Gong practices "subtle" (that means I don't feel anything).

But this one is very relaxing, and I can feel the tension drain out of me and I feel re-energized.

How's that for a simple Qi Gong exercise?

And it didn't cost you a dime.

Try it. You'll like it.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Six Easy Ways to Improve Memory

Here are six easy-to-do things that may well help to improve your memory, according to Dale Maxwell:

1. Increase pure water consumption.
2. Stop drinking any other liquids.
3. Eliminate dairy products.
4. Increase high fiber foods.
5. Get some sun 20-30 minutes per day at minimum with as muchskin exposed as is safe. Do not use sun blocks. Start with small times if you are in hot sun area.
6. Get mild exercise. Start with 10 minutes of walking andbuild additional minutes each day until you can walk for 60minutes.

After as little as 15 days you should experience improvement.

Chet Day
Editor, The Natural Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Healthy Snack Recipe

Here's a healthy snack recipe that's not only great during the holidays but wonderful during the whole year...

Healthy Snack Peppermint Balls

1 cup pitted dates
1 cup raisins
1 cup raw almonds
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup shredded coconut
2 Tbs raw grated chocolate
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
2 Tbs raw honey

Put the raisins and dates in your food processor and blend into small pieces. Add the almonds, oats, coconut, and chocolate. Blend until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Add the extracts and honey. Stop the machine and try rolling a small amount into a ball. If the mixture doesn't bind, add extra honey or some apple juice. Store in your refrigerator until they're all eaten, which won't take long.

Enjoy this healthy snack recipe!

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Eleven Useful Sleep Tips For Better Snoozing

You can sleep without pills and still beat insomnia. The eleven simple-to-do tips below will help you get a better night's sleep.

1. Try to relax before bedtime. You can take a walk or read a newspaper. But don't do anything stressful.
   
2. Do paperwork or other work-related activities early in the evening.
   
3. Make sure your bedroom is quiet.
   
4. If your bedroom is noisy and you can't correct it, wear earplugs.
   
5. Think of places where you slept like a log in the past and try to copy those places by providing a similar atmosphere and set-up in your current sleeping room.
   
6. Check the medicines you're taking. If they're nervous system stimulants, you've just discovered one reason why you're not sleeping properly.
   
7. Make sure your bedroom is well-ventilated but not too cold.
   
8. Don't use too many or too few blankets.
   
9. Keep your feet free and unrestricted -- in other words, don't tuck your sheets in at the bottom of the bed.
   
10. Your mattress should not sag.
    
11. Try a soothing relaxation or sleep-inducing CD like Cat's Purr.

If you have a sleep tip that you'd like to share, just click on the comment button below and post away.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

A Healthy Nut Milk Shake

If you're a Dairy Queen fanatic, I understand the compulsion. It's hard to beat a soft serve on a hot day or with a hot date.

Unfortunately, most desserts and snacks made with traditional, pasteurized dairy and sugar are anything but healthy for your body.

But don't despair because I have a great alternative for you, an easy and delicious recipe:

Health Nut Milk Shake

3/4 cup almonds, soaked 2-8 hours or
3/4 cup cashews, soaked 1-2 hours
4 dates, soaked 1-2 hours (save soak water)
3-4 peeled frozen bananas
3 cups cold filtered water or apple juice

Optional flavorings:

1 tsp non-alcoholic vanilla extract
2 Tbs raw carob powder
A few fresh berries
1 tsp ground cinnamon

In blender, combine nuts, dates and water or juice until smooth. Break frozen banana into pieces, add to mixture and blend until smooth. Add one or more optional flavors if desired. Pour into glasses. Serves 4.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Broccoli and Red Bell Pepper Soup

Few vegetables have as many health benefits as broccoli, so it's a crying shame that most people rarely include it in their menus.

As a member of the cabbage family, broccoli contains cancer-fighting phytochemicals called indoles, one of which is believed to help estrogen change into a form less likely to promote breast cancer. Additionally, broccoli contains sulphoraphane, another potent cancer fighter.

Rich in nutrients, broccoli has vitamin C (twice that of an orange), folate, iron, calcium (almost as much as whole milk and better absorbed), and trace minerals.

The bad news is that broccoli is the 18th-highest holder of residual pesticides. So get organic, or wash it very well.

With all that out of the way, how about a healthy broccoli soup recipe?

Broccoli and Red Bell Pepper Soup

2 Tbs butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 pound of broccoli (chop both florets and stems)
2 1/2 cups vegetable stock
1 medium red bell pepper, cut into quarters
2-3 Tbs of yogurt (if you like)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and cook the onion until it becomes translucent. Put all the broccoli (except one cup of the florets) into the saucepan and cook until the broccoli begins to soften. Add the vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes.

While this is simmering, bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil and add the remaining florets until they become tender. Remove the florets and place them in cool water (this helps them keep their bright color).

On a broiler pan, place the red peppers shiny-side up and broil them for about 10 minutes or until the skin becomes blistered. Turn them over fairly often so as to avoid burning. Remove the peppers from the broiler, allow to cool, and remove the skin. Chop them into small pieces.

When the soup mixture is done simmering, place it in batches into a blender and puree it until it is smooth. Return it to the saucepan and add the yogurt if you choose to do so and the remaining florets.

Serve in soup bowls with the red bell peppers sprinkled over the top as a garnish.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Look and Get Away from Your Computer Monitor

I should talk since I spend at least eight hours every day of the week strapped in front of a 17" computer monitor, but at least I know doing this is not good for my health because of all the electromagnetic fields (EMFs) zapping my eyes and body.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health encourages people to stay at least three feet from sources of EMFs, so do the best you can to keep a decent distance between yourself and your computer monitor. Arm length at least.

Eye strain's another problem that develops from spending too much time with your computer, so start making it a habit to stand up and walk around for a minute or two every hour. And looking away at least every fifteen minutes is another great idea.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Homemade Peanut Butter

If you're anything like me, you really like peanut butter.

Today I have a terrific recipe for peanut butter you can make at home with your food processor.

How to Make Homemade Peanut Butter

1 cup raw peanuts
4 Tbs water
1-2 Tbs of honey depending on taste (2 is very sweet)
1 1/2 Tbs coconut or extra virgin olive oil

Put all ingredients into your food processor and let it rip. It will become spreadable but not creamy. This healthy peanut butter is excellent on a piece of celery or on whole wheat bread with sliced bananas on top.

Keep this homemade peanut butter refrigerated or it will get moldy in 4-5 days if left out.

Click here for an excellent article, What a Raw Fooder Should Know about Nuts.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Olive Oil, Sunbathing, and the Mediterranean Diet

Scientists recently discovered that you may protect yourself against skin cancer by rubbing extra-virgin olive oil on your body after you spend time in the sun.

Interestingly, cheaper non-virgin olive oil had less effect. The hairless mice in the study who used the top-of-the-line oil developed smaller, fewer, and less life-threatening tumors when they were put under a strong ultra-violet lamp three times a week for five minutes a session.

So use that extra-virgin olive oil on your salads and on your body after sun bathing. I personally use organic brands only.

Of course the people in Italy have known about the virtues of olive oil practically forever and that's one reason the Mediterranean Diet is so healthy

Click here for an excellent article on the Mediterranean Diet.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

101 Crockpot Recipes

I can't believe it's almost six o'clock on Friday afternoon, and I'm more than nine hours late in posting today's entry.

So I'll just keep it short and point you to our newest website -- CrockpotRecipes101.com -- where you'll find 101 of our favorite slow cooking meals.

And putting the finishing touches on that site explains why I'm so late today.

Or, at least, I hope it does.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Healthy Granola Cookie Logs

You don't have to spend an arm and a leg on supermarket granola, which isn't very healthy for you anyway. Instead, the next time you get a hankering for granola, roll up your sleeves, head for the kitchen, and crank out a batch of these...

Healthy Granola Cookie Logs

1 egg or 2 Tbs ground flax seeds
2 Tbs coconut oil or olive oil
1/3 cup strong peppermint tea
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1/2 cup kamut or oat flakes (or rye or barley)
1/2 cup cane sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup raw almonds, chopped
1/4 cup carob chips
1/4 cup raw, hulled sunflower seeds

Combine flax seeds or egg, oil, and tea in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, combine flour, oat flakes, can sugar, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, stir slightly and add nuts, carob and seeds. Mix until a dry dough forms, adding more tea if needed. Shape in the form of logs if you wish or leave them as drops on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 350F degrees for 13 to 15 minutes.

These are great on extended car trips or while hiking. They also make for a much healthier afternoon snack than a Snicker's bar.

Speaking of healthy, check out our newest website, Crockpot Recipes 101.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

In Praise of the Sunflower Seed

If you're like me, you can stop and gaze for many minutes at a beautiful field or stand of sunflowers.

And if you're like me, you probably used to buy little plastic bags of sunflowers when you were a kid. You know the kind -- they were really salty and you'd crack the seed between your front teeth and then chomp down on the delicious kernel while spitting out the husk. And your mom would yell at your for spitting and acting common.

I loved those seeds when I was a kid, but, honestly, commercial sunflower seeds in the cellophane bags don't cut the mayonnaise compared to raw sunflower seeds and sprouted sunflower seeds.

Talk about good protein, the protein in sunflower seeds can't be beat. And it won't clog up your innards like beefsteak and pork chops coagulated with grease.

Raw sunflower seeds make for a tasty mid-afternoon snack too, and they're a lot better for you than a Snickers bar or a Dr. Pepper. Wash 'em down by chewing them until they're a liquid. Savor the subtle tastes as your mouth enzymes break them down and prepare the seeds for stomach digestion.

Sprouted sunflower seeds? Whoa, you haven't lived until you've planted a handful of sprouted sunflower seeds on top of a baked potato that you've split down the middle. Better than sour cream and a huge dab of butter.

Well, maybe not quite that good, but close enough and a lot better for your heart and health than commercial dairy from cows violated with growth hormones and all those antibiotics.

Ready to add some real sunflower seeds to your diet?

I hope so.

Click here to read a more detailed article about sunflower seeds, including how to sprout them for a really healthy taste treat.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Healthy Vegetable Recipe with Brown Rice

I'm big on quick and easy meals, and today's vegetable recipe from Marty Hanna certainly fits those two qualifications. Additionally, it's fiber-rich, healthy, and tasty as all get out.

A Brown Rice and Vegetable Recipe

Brown rice is very high in fiber and helps keep me regular.

I love to take a cup of cooked brown rice and mix with it a good variety of finely chopped raw veggies, including but not limited to broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini, grated carrot, chopped onions, and greens like spinach or romaine.

Use your imagination! You can heat the rice, and then mix in the veggies raw. This way the dish is slightly warmer than room temperature when you eat it, and the veggies still have their "life" in them.

I use soy sauce or a good tahini dressing or even just a dash of sea salt for flavoring.

Slicing an avocado on top will add some healthy fat to this healthy meal.

If you have a vegetable recipe you'd like to share, just click on the comments button below and type away.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Try Weightlifting If You Hate Walking, Jogging, and Swimming

I want to put in a few good words for basic weightlifting, an excellent exercise choice for just about everyone.

I added weightlifting to my exercise routine several years ago, and I usually push the iron three days a week. When I started, I invested all of about $28 on a basic set of 100 lbs worth of weights at K-Mart. Great price... even came with the bar. So you can get started for minimal dinaro.

I set up a corner of my garage as my gym and have been pumping iron ever since. I've added some good muscle to my body and enjoy the redistribution of tissue that seems to come naturally with weightlifting.

No, I don't have power buns. But I do look less and less like a pear back there.

I won't describe actual exercises since you can check out FAQs on the net or buy a magazine at the supermarket or a book. Routines are easy to find, and I think it's best if you research and develop for yourself a weightlifting routine that look funs or interesting.

Regarding my current exercise program as a whole, I lift three days a week for about 30-40 minutes. On days when I don't lift, I walk and jog for at least 30 minutes. I take Sundays off (and write email health tips and other fun stuff). Every day, I warm-up with a few minutes of rebounding and the five Tibetan rejuvenation rites.

If you don't have 30-60 minutes a day set aside for some kind of exercise (even if it's just walking in the fresh air), then you need to start doing it right now. I consider exercise one of the three cardinal parts of my health routine. (Diet and meditation are the other two key parts.)

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

In Praise of the Blended Salad

What looks ugly as sin but feels great in your stomach?

A blended salad.

It's sad, but most Americans don't like salads. And by salad I don't mean a handful of iceburg lettuce with a slice of sorry hothouse tomato on top.

I mean a tub of dark, leafy green lettuces and celery and cauliflower and carrots and everything else that graces the produce aisle in the grocery store.

If the idea of eating all that "rabbit food" makes you want to puke, then try a blended salad, the answer for non-salad people who still know they need to eat veggies to be healthy.

How do you make a blended salad?

Simple.

Chet Day's Blended Salad Recipe

Let me walk you through my basic recipe: in my blender, I drop in a tomato which I have either quartered or whacked into eighths, depending on the size.

On top of the tomato pieces, I drop in one small quartered baby cucumber (usually about the size of two thumbs in length).

I hit the grind button and turn these two ingredients into mush.

Add one half to one whole avocado, and, yes, you peel it first.

Squeeze in the juice of one half lemon.

Now it's time for a teaspoon of dulse, which is a seaweed available at health food stores.

Then I add half of a bell pepper (green or red).

Next come five to eight leaves of Romaine or other green-leaf lettuce.

Pack all this stuff loosely into the blender. Toss in any other veggies (dice 'em a bit first) that you like.

Now pull off three or four good-sized celery stalks and turn on the blender and use the celery stalks to push the other ingredients into the blades.

The whole deal will eventually wind up as a liquified mass that doesn't look very appetizing.

If strangers were to break into CasaDay before I sat down to dine on my blended salad, they'd probably scream, "Yuck, you're going to eat THAT?"

If they did behave so rudely, I'd give 'em my most superior smile and nod sagely. Little do they know what they're missing.

So don't throw your blended salad away because it doesn't have the beautiful looks of Angelina Jolie!

Instead, pour it into your finest crystal bowl, pull out one of Granny's best spoons from the silver cabinet, and then sit in a quiet environment and enjoy a remarkably healthy and tasty treat.

Not only will you enjoy the taste (experiment with ingredients until you find combinations that make your tastebuds yell "Wow!"), but you'll also assimilate more vitamins, minerals, and other goodies than you would have had you chewed the ingredients separately.

If you have a recipe for a blended salad that you'd like to share, use the comment button below.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Really Raw Fruit Cake Recipe

There are some recipes that are so simple and so tasty and so healthy that it's downright silly.

Today's recipe, which comes courtesy of Dr. R.G. Wilborn, fits in that category.

Really Raw Fruit Cake

1 cup dates
1 cup raisins
1 cup prunes
1 cup pecans
1 cup walnuts
1 cup shredded coconut
Honey

Run through your food processor the dates, raisins, and prunes. Finely chop the pecan and walnut meats and then mix with the fruit, adding the shredded coconut. Moisten all with a small amount of honey and put in mold.

Then sit down and enjoy this wonderful, healthy fruit cake.

But do it in a hurry because this baby won't last long.

Once the rest of the family gets a taste of this concoction, whoa, the whole thing will be history before you can twiddle your thumbs and shout, "Save some of that fruit cake for me!"

Seriously, food doesn't get a whole lot better than this.

If you have a fruit cake recipe you'd like to share, please click on the comment link below and post it before sundown.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com

Use Your Feet and Improve Your Sleep

Anyone who knows diddly about natural health knows daily exercise is a sensible thing to do.

Well, medical science recently confirmed what us health nuts have known forever: older and middle-age people reported sleeping better when they added regular exercise to their days.

These aging baby boomers fell asleep about 15 minutes earlier and slept about 45 minutes longer at night.

Since most of us live frenetic lives and are seriously sleep-deprived anyway, doesn't it make sense to use our feet and legs for something other than appendages to move us from car to desk to car to home?

Of course it does.

So make a commitment today -- Wednesday -- to exercise at least four times before next Wednesday.

Begin today by brisk walking, swimming, or biking for at least 20 minutes.

This approach beats the tar out of the drug approach. Sadly, though they are only 20% of the population, older Americans receive almost half the medications prescribed by doctors to aid sleep.

And these sorry drugs cause confusion, falls, extended drowsiness, and a host of other nasty side effects.

Here are some other exercising tips:

• A drop in body temperature aids sound sleep. So time your exercise five to six hours before bedtime.
• Make your exercise vigorous enough to make you sweat a little. Previous studies have shown that non-aerobic stretching and concentration exercises alone did not impart sleep.
• Stick with it! Participants in this study did not report improved sleep until they had been exercising for 16 weeks.

And if you would eat a bicycle seat before you'd ever take time to exercise, I have an alternative for you too, if you want better sleep -- my best-selling Cat's Purr CD.

If you have a sleep tip you'd like to share, click on the comment button below.

Chet Day
Editor, The Health Circus
http://chetday.com