Seaweed Statistics

As mentioned in my previous blog, I like to bring my own food to restaurants sometimes, assuming they do not serve certain foods I require in my daily diet. One of the foods most frequently travelling with me is seaweed. I consume seaweed on a daily basis, due to its tremendous healing properties. I am not going to go into too much detail, because there are SO many details in terms of the biological and physiological implications of consuming this superfood on a regular basis. Rather, I will give you a list of some seaweed facts and statistics, and you can decide for yourself if seaweed should be a part of your daily diet!

FUN FACTS:

-Seaweed contains natural sea salt, which is a very healthy source of sodium.

-As an alternative to leafy green vegetables, seaweed can be used to aid in the detoxification of free radicals in the body. Free radicals can have the ability to damage cells/DNA. Seaweed's many antioxidant compounds have the ability to neutralize free radicals.

-Demographic studies in Japan have concluded that people who regularly incorporate edible seaweed into their diets have fewer problems from mineral depletion and live longer than other people.

-Seaweed contains all of the minerals and trace minerals required for your body's physiological functions.

-Seaweed is a staple food in Japan, which happens to be a country with a very low rate of degenerative disease such as heart disease and cancer (as compared to North America).

-Seaweed is full of fiber, which aids in digestion.

-IT TASTES AMAZING!

-Many forms of seaweed contain trace amounts of vitamib B12, which rarely occurs in land plants. This is wonderful for vegetarians who are looking to add B12 to their diets.

-Seaweed feeds the shafts and ducts of the scalp to help improve health of the hair.

-Seaweed can regulate hormonal activity, enrich the bloodstream, assist metabolism, and promote youthful skin.



Types of seaweed to try include: kelp, kombu, nori, dulse, Irish moss, wakame, hikiji, and arame.

Besides nori, these seaweeds are often sold dried, therefore you simply soak them in water for about five to ten minutes, drain, rinse, and enjoy! They taste great by themselves, on salads, in soups, entrees, pasta substitution, salt replacement, omelettes, etc. This true 'super-food' can add miraculous dimensions to your cuisine... and your palate! Be creative, because you are!

Other forms of algae include spirulina, chlorella, crystal blue manna, and E3 Live. They can be found in tablet or liquid form in your local health food store.

*You can also find condiments (usually in the Asian section of supermarket or health food store) which include seaweed. Be sure to check ingredient labels, as some of these can have hidden sugars.

Contact me for your own recipe guide, including scrumptious meals and treats involving seaweed! shaynayoga@gmail.com

I Think I Can!

As we all know by now, it is not only what we eat that creates good health. It is how we approach all aspects of our lives. Is it possible that maintaining a positive attitude can create fantastic health? This subject interests me, partially due to its increasing popularity and also from personal experience. This subject can become slightly tangled when people boil it down to: think positive thoughts, and you will get what you want. I mean, that's true... but there's more to it. Here's an example:

Jake has an interview tomorrow morning for a job he really wants. He doesn't think he will get the job, and he is extremely nervous about the interview. He spends the entire night beforehand worrying about the interview and barely gets any sleep. He realized in the morning that, because of his incessant worrying, he forgot to wash his shirt, so he ended up having to wear his wrinkled dirty shirt to the interview. With tired eyes, he ran out the door and hopped into his car, completely forgetting to eat breakfast. His behavior and demeanor made a bad impression on the interviewer, and because of the materialization of his fears and worries, he did not get the job.

Alex, on the other hand, applied for the same job. The night before his interview, he washed and ironed his clothes for the next day, relaxed, and brushed up on his notes. He was sure he was going to get the job. He went to sleep on the early side, woke up, ate a wholesome breakfast, and went to the interview before the scheduled time with a clear mind. Alex got the job because he made a good impression.

Both, Jake and Alex, had the same qualifications for the job, but due to their varying mental states, one was hired and the other was not.

Alot of this may seem obvious, but it is SO powerful! In my opinion, many of us get 'trapped' in the cycle of negative thinking. It's almost like we are on 'auto-pilot' when it comes to our reactions to certain stimuli in our environments. I encourage you to experiment with RESPONDING, rather than reacting. If your thoughts towards something or someone are negative and you feel YOURSELF getting stressed as a result, see if you can think the opposite. A very good yoga teacher of mine once said, "When thinking negative thoughts, think the opposite." Seems easy, right? Even if you do this just once and catch yourself when you are tangled in the mess of negativity, I assure you that you will feel lighter and happier. After all, a negative mood or negative thinking are both a CHOICE we make as individuals. Noone can PUT you in a bad mood.

Another example: If I offered a bowl of rice to a rich man, he may look at me with disgust and tell me that is not enough food for him, or not the right type. He may suffer, because he is not used to eating that.

If I offered the same bowl of rice to a beggar on the street, he may bow down to me in deep gratitude, for that is the first meal he has eaten in three days.

How we view our external circumstances is all relative.

Another important point is the fact that positive thinking and negative thinking are both highly contagious. Have you ever been somewhere and someone entered the room and you automatically felt a wave of dullness or fatigue? It's possible for a person's negative energy to create a negative mood in his or her surroundings. The same goes for the opposite; imagine a person full of joy and vigor entering a room. There's no need for that person to speak, for his or her body language most likely displays an upbeat attitude. How can you frown and be negative when you are surrounded by joy and love?

What can you do TODAY to start the 'positive process'?

Look for a good role model. In India, it is common to have a 'guru', or teacher. Find someone you know who is doing what it is you would like to do, and ask him/her how they go about it. Follow in their footsteps, yet remain unique in your own nature.

Try some positive self-talk. Every day, create affirmations for yourself. Affirmations are uplifting words that describe you or your mood. I love writing affirmations, such as "I LOVE MYSELF", or "I AM ABUNDANT" and posting them on my mirror so I see them when I wake up in the morning.

Get support for your healthy habits. Tell your family and friends about your goals, and get them involved in supporting you on your journey.

Reward yourself. Go out with good friends, get a massage, take a mini-vacation, and honor yourself for your grace and effort.

Have a plan. Write it down and be clear. Having an enjoyable plan can increase motivation to complete tasks.


*According to Dr. Caroline Leaf, communication pathologist, toxic thoughts are like 'poisons or abcesses'. Leaf has been studying the brain since 1981 in order to reveal how negative thinking patterns can hinder proper brain function.

"There is a point in your brain called the "free will" and it is a genetic structure, there is genetic code. You can use that free will to accept or reject incoming information. So if you are controlling your thought life, you don't have to just receive all of the input that is coming in from the outside world, from the media, from the external and also from your internal world; we;ve got alot of existing toxic memories in our head, everything from birth to death is stored in your brain. So you're going to have information coming from the outside, from the inside, and it all meets at this point of the free will in the brain. You can make a decision at that point to accept or reject that information. If you decide that this is not good for me and you actually analyze that thought and say, this is not good for me, this is not healthy. You can reject that thought and it goes out and becomes heat energy. It actually becomes hot air and it doesn't become part of you. But if you choose to think about it, if you choose to meditate on that, if you choose to ask, answer, discuss, analyze to give meaning, you push it into these memory trees of the mind, into the memory circuits, and once they're there, they're there for good. Once they've moved into what neuro-scientists call the magic trees of the mind, once they're there, they're there for good, you can't get rid of them. Then you've got to rebuild, and that's the renewing of the mind. Much more difficult to rebuild than it is to reject. " -Dr. Caroline Leaf

No Menu-- Thanks Anyway!

I find it quite interesting when I go to a restaurant and am handed a menu. Yep... just that... probably doesn't sound like anything out of the ordinary, huh? Well, what I find interesting about it is that, in my opinion, people tend to think they are confined to the 'guidelines' of the menu. This is why eating out on a continual basis can become a problem. You are constantly allowing someone else to dictate what is going to your body... simply because it is printed (usually with captivating wording) on an elegantly laminated piece of paper. Of course, it depends what type of restaurant you are going to, but the truth of the matter happens to be that most restaurants carry many items that are not necessarily listed on the menu! Not only that, but most chefs will accommodate specific requests you may have. Many restaurant meals contain way too many sauces, sodium levels, and other unhealthy ingredients... even the 'healthy' options tend to have hidden danger zones.

I began experimenting with this process at a Chinese restaurant about three years ago. I used to love mixed veggies and rice. I wondered what the healthiest sauce was, and apparently it was 'brown sauce'. What exactly is brown sauce, you ask? Well, probably a mixture of salt, corn syrup, MSG, and some other stuff... don't quote me on that, but all in all probably not the healthiest condiment. Not only are most condiments unhealthy, but I feel as if most of the time, the food you are eating is practically drowning in the heaping portion of that sauce. Even if you order a salad at a restaurant in an effort to have a lighter/healthier meal, notice how soggy the lettuce is when you receive it or how oily and weighted down the veggies are by the dressing. Do you really need ALL that dressing? Can you even taste the vegetables in the salad? If not, that's sad. A salad can actually end up being a much unhealthier option than you may think. Okay, so back to the Chinese restaurant... so one day, something 'clicked', and I decided, first of all, to inquire about brown rice. There was no brown rice listed on the menu, but they were very delighted to inform me that they did, in fact, carry brown rice and I could substitute my white for brown at no extra cost. Score! Then I asked for my veggies to be steamed, rather than stir-fried. There was a steamed veggie option on the menu, but I still wanted my sauce. Hmmm... how to manage this? I asked for my sauce on the SIDE, and from that day on, I have been a DIPPER. Experiment with ordering sauces on the side and dipping your food into them. Not only will you experience the same satisfying flavor you would have if the food were drenched, but you will be consuming way less than you would have been otherwise. Eventually, I started bringing my own sauces, such as Bragg's Liquid Aminos or Nama Shoyu. If the restaurant doesn't have what you want, bring it! Why not? As long as you order something, there should be NO problem bringing some of your own 'goods'. I have been bringing my own food to restaurants for years and have never once been scolded. In fact, many people seem to find great interest in it.

Another point I'd like to express is... before opening a menu at a restaurant, ask the waiter/waitress what is fresh. What vegetables do they have? Keep in mind... there is an entire kitchen back there! I remember a few years back I was travelling to Miami with a friend. He took me to a very fancy Italian restaurant, and I automatically knew I was going to have to pull one of my clever 'non-menu ordering' tricks out of the bag. I ended up creating my own HUGE salad with greens, spinach, arugula, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, onions, avocado, olive oil, and fresh lemon. It was UNBELIEVABLE, and the chef was pleased to prepare it.

It all boils down to this: Think outside of the box, and perhaps eating out doesn't have to throw you off the wagon.

PAPAPAPAPAPAPAYA!

Sorry if it seems that I'm overly excited about papayas, but the truth of the matter happens to be that, well, I AM! Papayas are one of the healthiest fruits on the planet, and I feel blessed to be in Costa Rica right now, indulging in mother nature's goodness. What's all the hype about this 'super-fruit', you ask? Well, papayas happens to be LOADED with enzymes (especially papain) which aid in the digestion and assimilation of food you eat. Not only that, but these magical enzymes have been linked to numerous ANTI-INFLAMMATORY functions. As you may or may not know, inflammation is the first sign of dis-ease in the human body. So not only does this fabulous fruit stimulate the taste buds with that slight tropical familiarity, but it is completely FUNCTIONAL food as well. Papayas are jam-packed with fiber, B vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, calcium, iron and zinc as well. So basically, eat papayas... but make sure they are organic, and make sure they are in season.

The juicy part of all this papaya lingo (no pun intended), really has to do with the SEED of the fruit. The seed is often disregarded or cut away when eating papaya. If you cut a papaya in half, you will see a bunch of small round black slimy seeds, which often emit a quite spicy and bitter flavor if accidentally eaten. These seeds happen to be the healthiest part of the fruit.... FIGURES, right?! Do not fret! I recently heard a fantastic way to receive the health benefits of the seeds is to take them out of the papaya, either dehydrate them in a dehydrator or on the counter top, and then put them in a grinder and use them as PEPPER! How interesting is that? They happen to have a very peppery taste too. You can sprinkle it on a salad or your favorite meal, and the digestive enzymes will help assimilate the food you are eating! I have heard that chewing even just ONE of the seeds very well can digest an entire meal.

BON APPETIT!