Grace Magazine

Here are 10 ways to lower your cholesterol levels and your risk of heart disease without taking scary drugs.

1. Exercise - There’s no way around it. You have to move every day. Exercise fights the buildup of cholesterol in the blood and plaque on the arteries.
2. Eat Soluble Fiber - Eating foods like beans and lentils can help remove bad cholesterol from your system.
3. Eat fish - Fatty fish provides DHA and EPA, two fatty acids which help fight cholesterol buildup in your arteries. If you don’t like fish, you could take a fish oil supplement.
4. Cut down on meat - Meat and the fat that comes with it is packed with cholesterol. A heavy meat diet is probably the biggest cause of heart disease in America.
5. Cut back on dairy - Dairy products are high in saturated fat and therefore loaded with cholesterol.
6. Use olive oil - Olive oil is one of the best oils to use in cooking and salads. It can help lower LDL, which is bad cholesterol without reducing HDL, good cholesterol.
7. Eat broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage - These kinds of vegetables are high in fiber, which you already know is good, and loaded with indoles, which fights high cholesterol.
8. Eat plant sterols - They can be found in foods like avocados and sunflower seeds and may reduce bad cholesterol.
9. Spice your foods - Cinnamon, chili peppers, evening primrose, garlic and cayenne can help reduce cholesterol.
10. Add oat bran to your diet - Oat bran and rolled oats are other ways to lower your cholesterol. Just be careful not to buy the sugar-filled instant types. Eat the real thing. Yum.

Source: beachbody.com

These ten foods will help cleanse and detox your body, making you look and feel more beautiful.

1. green leafy vegetables - Chlorophyll is a powerful way to rid your body of toxins. Raw vegetables are best, but cooked ones are good too. Chop them into salads, toss them in soups, throw them in a juicer.

2. lemons - full of vitamin C, lemons are a natural detoxifier. They help clarify your body’s fluids and are also great for soothing a soar throat.

3. watercress - tasty in salads and sandwiches, watercress is rich in minerals and is a natural diuretic.

4. garlic - add spice to your life with garlic, perhaps nature’s most beneficial food. Not only does it ward off vampires, it softens up the stuff that clogs your arteries and helps it pass through your system.

5. green tea - rich in antioxidants, hot brewed green tea helps keep your liver healthy.

6. broccoli sprouts - a super cancer fighter, even more so than broccoli itself.

7. sesame seeds - protects the liver from invaders like alcohol. A tasty way to enjoy it is in tahini.

8. cabbage - it may be stinky but it sure is good for your liver. Try it cooked or in cole slaw.

9. psyllium - a soluble fiber that fights toxins and helps rid your body of cholesterol. You can buy it powdered in your health food store or find it in some bran cereals.

10. fruit - we can’t say enough about the benefits of fruit. Delicious and nutricious. Full of vitamins, fiber, fluids, antioxidants, and flavor. And no, fruit rollups do not count.

French chocolates by the house of Debauve & Gallais have a royal history.

In an effort to help the Queen, Marie Antoinette, be able to stomach her medicine, royal family chemist Sulpice Debauve developed a chocolate bonbon. Everything tastes better with chocolate.

After the French Revolution, Sulpice opened a shop to sell his confections and they are still available today.

Pistoles of Marie-Antoinette: coins of black chocolate, pure 99% of cocoa (chocolat de Santé) or flavoured with almond oil (Pastilles de la Reine), bitter coffee (Chocolat des Affligés), island Bourbon vanilla (Croquignoles du roi), orgeat cream (Chocolat des Demoiselles) or orange tree flower(Chocolat des Dames),designed by Sulpice Debauve in remembering the Queen of France. - $180.96

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.

source: style.com

Have a mimosa with breakfast.

Pour 2 oz. of fresh-squeezed orange juice into a tall flute and top off with 4 oz. of champagne.

Mmm.

Dancers have the best bodies. They are lean, flexible, athletic and strong.

Now you and your favorite couch potato can get fit by playing video games that incorporate dance.

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) has researched games such as Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) to see if they provide the same fitness benefits as more structured aerobic workouts. And they were pleased with the results.

You can boogie to your PlayStation or Wii and burn calories at varying intensity levels. They are finding that people from different age groups are playing and dancing together.

Hmmm, I’ve been looking for an excuse to buy a new gaming system. DDR sounds like a fun way to workout, relieve stress, burn calories and improve balance and coordination.

To read the full details of the ACE study, click here for a pdf version of the Sep/Oct issue ACE Fitness Matters.

I originally found this story at Yahoo! Health.

Longing for a lean dancer’s body with strong, beautiful legs?

Me, too.

Here are my favorite workouts that incorporate ballet techniques.

Muscle Ballet
Starring Stephanie Herman

This is my absolute favorite ballet workout. I have it on VHS. I hope my tape never wears out.

Stephanie Herman has a very pleasant style and gives clear instructions. I have her whole line of dance-inspired workouts.

For more on Stephanie Herman, visit her Web site. You can explore her other workouts or take an in-person class.

NYC Ballet Workout:
Fifty Stretches And Exercises Anyone Can Do For A Strong, Graceful, And Sculpted Body (Paperback)

I prefer the book over the DVD because I like to work at my own pace.

I like the way they teach you to build your own workouts to suit your needs and to prepare you for other activities, such as tennis or golf.

Ballet Workout
Starring Melissa Lowe

This is the first ballet workout I ever bought. It’s from the late 1980s as you can tell by the costumes.

Even though the makeup and clothes are a little outdated, the workout remains timeless. I love workouts that are full-on classic ballet, not just inspired by ballet moves.

Hot Bod Fusion:
The Ultimate Yoga, Pilates, and Ballet Workout for Sculpting Your Best Body (Paperback)

This book has sections on ballet, yoga and pilates techniques.

You can mix and match, so you don’t get bored with one workout. It doesn’t hurt that the models are gorgeous.

Balocity: Cardio with a Classic Twist
Starring Deanne McBrearty

This is my most recent purchase. I haven’t tried it yet. But I have watched it all the way through and I can tell I’m going to love it.

Deanna McBreary was featured in the NYC ballet workout book.
Visit her Web site for more information.

Ballet Class: For Beginners

This is not designed as a workout. This is an actual beginner’s ballet class led by ballet master David Howard.

Such a treasure.

What are your favorite workouts?

Fight off the winter sniffles and blahs.

My favorite place to buy vitamins and supplements is Puritan’s Pride.
The prices are amazingly low and the quality is very good.

Here are recommendations for fighting the winter yuks.

Cold Weather Defense Kit - only $7.99 !!!

The latest kit from Puritan’s Pride is one you’ll want with you all year long. The Cold Weather Defense Kit contains vitamin, mineral and herbal support, to keep you feeling your best every day. Featuring both the leading vitamin and the leading herb for immune health, our Cold Weather Defense Kit is a bundle of wellness…anytime of year!

Kit contains:

Vitamin C - 500 mg with Rose Hips tablets
As one of the best antioxidants available for heart health, Vitamin C is also the leading vitamin for immune support.**

Chelated Zinc lozenges
Chelated Zinc lozenges dissolve in your mouth to promote the health of the immune system.**

Echinacea 400 mg capsules
Echinacea naturally contains beneficial polysaccharides and phytosterols, and is the #1 herb for promoting the body’s natural defense system.**

Time Release Complete One® tablets
Just one tablet a day provides you with more than 20 vitamins and minerals, and contributes to overall well-being.**

**These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

High fructose corn syrup is evil.

I’ve been wanting to write a post about the dangers of High Fructose Corn Syrup for a while now.

After trying to find a loaf of wheat bread that does not contain the stuff, I’ve been on a HFCS rampage.

Even loaves of bread that claim they are healthy, like multigrain and kosher brands, are made with the cheap, dangerous crap.

Bread doesn’t need HFCS or even sugar. There was a time when honey wheat was made with, I know this radical: HONEY.

Well, anyway, everything I wanted to say about high fructose corn syrup can be found at this post at Fallenmonk. He also provides links to research the topic.

Next time you are at the supermarket, look at the labels. You’ll be shocked at how high fructose corn syrup is in everything we eat.

Old-fashioned mulled wine has always intrigued me. But the complexity of the ingredients has scared me away. And I just don’t like cloves that much.

I found this simple recipe for Vin Brule that only has 4 key ingredients:

- 1 bottle of dry red wine (burgundy is best)
- 4 cinnamon sticks
- the peel of 1 orange
- 3-4 tablespoons of sugar

Put all ingredients in a medium sauce pan. Cover and cook on high. When it starts to boil, remove lid and light with a match. Be careful: A beautiful large blue flame will burst out.

When the flames dies down, ladle into mugs. Serves 4.

Delicious.

Don’t forget to spill a little wine to the gods.

A short nap in the middle of the day can reduce stress and invigorate you for the remainder of the day.

Quick napping for 10 to 30 minutes a day can relieve stress on your heart and increase your effectiveness at the office.

Of course, it’s not always possible to nap at work. But no one will miss you if you sneak off to the ladies room for a few minutes. Close your eyes for 5 quiet minutes and try meditating as a substitute.

Instead of reaching for a midday coffee, try the oppositie approach. Shut down for a few.