Imagine you had a pair of goggles that would make hideous things appear beautiful… or magical headphones that changed bad news into good?

Those things don’t exist, but here’s what does:

The Miracle Fruit!

The berry itself doesn’t have an overwhelming flavour, but here’s the miracle…

It has the ability to change how we taste – more specifically:  it makes sour things taste sweet!

The berries contain miraculin – a protein that attaches itself to our taste-bud receptors. It fools those receptors into believing that sour foods are actually sweet.

The miracle berry has been used in west Africa for centuries to sweeten sour food and drink.

Chewing just one of these berries can apparently create the effect for 30-60 minutes.

Imagine the possibilities!

What if…

• we substitute sugar (ie. on cupcakes, cookies, etc.) with a thick lemon-paste?
• we take the healthy foods that taste bad and squeeze lime on those?
• instead of a can of soda, we drink a big glass of pure lemon juice?

The answer is that these things would all taste beautifully sweet. 

Proceed with Caution!

The third of those ideas brings to mind the only warning…

While the miracle berry makes sour foods taste sweet, it doesn’t change what those foods are.  So consuming acidic substances in large quantities, while they may be delicious going down, could prove harmful to the stomach.

Sources: guardian.co.uk

Spinach is probably one of the more famous of leafy greens.

It was Popeye’s favourite food.  He’d chow down on a can of spinach, causing an instant muscle-explosion in his arms.

Among many other nutrients, spinach is considered a very rich source of iron!

With every 180g serving of boiled spinach there are 6.43 mg of iron.  Compare that to a 170g hamburger patty that has 4.42mg at the most.

But eating doesn`t mean absorbing…

The absorption of iron into our bodies will vary based on the presence of other things – like for example fiber and Vitamin C.  Without Vitamin C, iron absorption can be difficult. 

On top of that, spinach also contains substances like oxalate.  Oxalate not only prevents iron absorption, but it will also remove existing iron from the body.  The addition of oxalic acid to the diet is said to counteract this.

So, sometimes it isn`t what we eat that matters – it`s what we eat with what we eat that is important.

I bet you didn`t know this…

In 1870 a scientist misplaced a decimal point while measuring the iron content of spinach.  It led to an iron content 10 times higher than reality and a popular acceptance of spinach`s powers.  The mistake wasn`t noticed until the 1930`s.

Sources: wikipedia

After getting home late from a long day of work, the easy option is always to reach for a frozen dinner or stop by your favourite fast food drive-thru.

But when you dig deep enough, the nutritional health consequences of eating processed and quick-serve foods are a bit scary!

Next Generation Foods put together a great infographic that displays some startling nutritional facts.

Click on the image…but if you’re a pizza-lover like me, brace yourself for the stats you’re about to see.

Sources: nextgenfoodus.com

Isn’t it interesting how despite the wretched looking pictures on the back of cigarette boxes, addicts are still compelled to pay big bucks for a carton of cigarettes?

Addictions are serious business.  The risk of lung cancer is bad enough, but there are many other side effects.

Have you ever heard of the “smoker’s pucker”?

When smokers suck air through a cigarette they repeatedly use a certain set of muscles around their lips.  Combine that the loss of elasticity in their skin and you’ve got something called “smoker’s pucker” – Deep wrinkles that form around the lips. 

Other reasons to quit or never start:

Sagging Skin
Poor Skin Tone
Damaged Teeth/Gums
Stained Fingers
Crows Feet Eye Wrinkles
Brittle Bones
Heart Disease
Erectile Dysfunction

Sources: webmd

Orange juice is a breakfast obsession in North America.  It’s known for its source vitamin C.

Did you know that freshly squeezed orange juice only has 25% of the vitamin C of the whole orange?

Many people throw out the most valuable part of the orange…

It’s called the “pith”.

The pith is the white stuff that lies under the skin of the orange.  You might say it has a bland-to-bitter flavour.

Not only is the pith fully loaded with vitamin C, but it also contains high levels of fibre, anti-cancer agents and bioflavonoids (a type of antioxidant).

Interesting facts:

Orange is known as one of the world’s favourite flavours.  It ranks 3^rd – trailing only chocolate and vanilla.

The pith of an orange is also used by some as a natural teeth whitener.

Sources: foodgenetics.com | juicingforhealth.com

Trans fats are probably one of the worst things we can consume. 

Trans fats are known to destroy our body – increasing LDL (bad cholesterol) and decreasing HDL (good cholesterol).  It also increases the production of plaque on our arteries.

In other words, trans fats are a heart attack in a box.

What about products that say, “Zero Trans Fats”… are these safe? Do they mean what they say?

Here’s the surprising truth…

Sources: Dr. Oz | 5min.com

The world drinks about 400 billion cups of coffee per year. 

Finland leads the way averaging 5 cups per day…and that’s without any ‘Roll Up the Rim’ incentives! 

No doubt coffee is addictive, but how exactly does this stimulant work in our bodies?

Is it good or bad for our health?

Sources: discoverytv

It’s been pounded into us that we need calcium for healthy bones. 
When asked which foods are rich in calcium we think milk, cheese, yoghurt.

If you’re sick of dairy or if dairy makes you sick, here’s the good news…

Milk isn’t the only game in town!

Here are 6 non-dairy options that are bursting with calcium:

Leafy Greens – Kale, broccoli, bok choy, collards, etc.
Root Vegetables – Rutabaga, sweet potatoes, squash
Nuts & Seeds – Sesame seeds, almonds pine nuts
Beans & Legumes – Kidney beans, black beans
Fermented & Organic Soy – Tofu, miso, tempeh
Others - Almond butter, sea vegetables, cocoa, figs

Sources: ca.shine.yahoo.com

Your trainer tells you, “Drop and do as many push-ups as you can.”

You get to your 15^th push-up and it becomes obvious to you and the trainer that 15 is as many as you can do. 

But the question is…

Is 15 ALL that you can do?

The answer is no! 

If you rest a little you can do 15 more. 
Rest again and do 15 more.
Rest again and do 20 more.

20??  Wait a minute. How did that happen?

The magic is in the good habit – The repetition!  Consistent repetition increases our capabilities both physically and mentally.

And the good news is, we usually don’t need to rest for a week in between.

Imagine the possibilities…

Imagine all the things we could accomplish in life if we took small, positive steps forward every day.

It is easy….But then again, what’s easy to do is also easy not to do.

We sometimes fail to see the bigger picture. The small activity seems too insignificant and so we tell ourselves – “I’ll rest for 6 days and just do 700 push-ups on Sunday”.

The best way to reach big goals is to slowly put one foot in front of the other.

“Yard by yard, life is hard..Inch by inch, life’s a cinch!” (unknown) 

Written by Nicholas Klassen

You’ve heard the saying: “An apple a day keeps the doctor away.”

While apples have many health benefits, the saying may have more to do with the wisdom of good habits than it does with apples themselves.

Despite how healthy they are, I suspect eating 9 apples 10 days from now will not have the same benefit as eating 1 apple every day.

One of the reasons diets, exercise plans and most other new year’s resolutions die in the first or second month is that we start at a pace we aren’t willing or able to maintain.

Ever tried to lose weight?

You probably noticed that it was a lot more fun putting it on than taking it off.

It’s not something that happens overnight (despite what late night infomercials may lead you to believe). 

If we look for quick fixes, we often set ourselves up for failure.

Running 10 miles on day 1, after being inactive for 365 will do more harm than good.  It’s likely to hurt you physically and take that motivational wind out of your sails.  It’s not sustainable and you won’t want do it again tomorrow.

Perhaps it isn’t as glamorous, but there is some wisdom in starting slow with the ability to finish.

In the next post:

The Forgotten Principle of Success.  

With this 1 simple strategy we can achieve anything we want…