Flaxseed Oil Speeds Up Weight Loss and More

Today I went to the health food store for another bottle of flaxseed oil. If you haven't tried this yet, flaxseeds and flaxseed oil are a natural source of Omega-3 and have numerous benefits for us.

One of the immediate benefits is improved skin, shiny, healthier hair and a feeling of well-being. I started taking at least a tablespoon of flaxseed oil each day in the mid-1990s and within four days I noticed the difference in my skin and hair. I also had much more energy.
Omega-3 is great for the brain, is anti-aging, helps prevent or turn around cancer, depression, heart disease, dyslexia, ADD, bi-polar and much more. Besides flaxseed oil, it's also found in seafood (such as salmon).

When I researched this special oil, I learned that although it is considered fat, it is a good fat and is processed differently by the body than other fats. In fact, I learned that flaxseed oil burns fat stored in the body. That means this special oil can speed up weight loss, restoring the body to its ideal weight.

The recommended dose is 1 tablespoon daily per 100 pounds of weight. My favorite brand is Spectrum flaxseed oil which has somewhat of a nutty taste. Ideally, it tastes good although I found some brands to have a nasty taste mainly due to how it was processed. By the way, all flaxseed oil goes rancid within 24 hours if left at room temperature. It must be refrigerated. I keep mine in my freezer (it won't freeze), especially if I buy more than one bottle at a time. I also make sure it is refrigerated at the store where I buy this oil.

Flaxseed oil should never be used for frying or sautéing since heating it destroys all of the benefits. To eat mine, I prefer to make a salad dressing out of it, adding spices and herbs and drizzling it on my salads or vegetables. There is a lot more I can say about this wonderful oil (as well as the flaxseeds), maybe in another post.

Redheads Carry a Special Gene

I heard something very interesting on the news today.

According to scientists and doctors, redheads are more likely than anyone else to wake up in the middle of surgery. They need more anesthesia than other people and should always consult a doctor on this topic before having surgery. This has something to do with a particular gene redheads have.

Also, this study has only been done so far on redheaded women, not men. I may do some research on this since I have some redheads in my family and friends who are.

Why do you think redheads have this special gene? What are your thoughts about this?

Coffee and Your Aura

A medical intuitive named Caroline Sutherland answered many health questions on www.hayhouseradio.com recently (archives are available on that site). She was very interesting and there were many people calling in with all kinds of health questions.

One thing that caught my attention is what she said about coffee. According to Caroline, coffee (with caffeine) puts a darkness into one's aura or field, vibes of anger and irritation or negative emotions which she can see. She said others near and far can pick this up from our aura. Caroline said chocolate and other sources of caffeine can cause this on a lesser scale - it's mainly the effects of coffee and caffeine that cause this more intensely in one's aura.

I grew up on green tea (a wonderful Japanese influence) and I continue to enjoy it each day. I love the taste of coffee also although I drink mostly decaf (unless I'm really sleepy). My emotional state is always calm and leans mostly on the joyful side.

I've heard and read many things about coffee holistically, pro and con, but I haven't heard this before. Perhaps she is giving us a very important bit of information that can truly benefit us in many ways. Any thoughts?

More Vegetarian Choices at Restaurants

I discovered something new recently. King's Inn, a well-known, Chinese buffet restaurant chain, now has a special vegetarian bar. At least some of them do. I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed delicious, crisp Chinese vegetables in a sauce, large tofu chunks stir-fried with vegetables, eggplant strips in a special sauce, red potatoes and garlic, long strips of seaweed (one of my favorites) and another tofu dish I didn't get to because so many people were always crowded around it. Their salad bar is growing also.

I am noticing that more and more restaurants of all kinds are adding vegetarian dishes to their menus. I believe there is a growing number of people turning to plant-based recipes and dishes these days, sometimes for health reasons and mostly because it tastes so good.

You May Have Started Out as a Twin

Have you seen the show on the cable television Discovery and Health channel called, "Vanished Twins"? I found it to be very interesting. They said twins happen more often than we think, that 1 out of 8 of us started out as a twin before birth but only 10% of us are delivered as twins!

This made me think back to my childhood when I was about two years old. I clearly remember asking my parents repeatedly if I could have twin brothers (I am the firstborn). They humored me and said they would try. I always talked about twins and imagined what it would be like if I was one. As I grew up, I made a point to seek out twins whenever I could, just to get to know them.

The television show went deeper and focused on the rare phenomenon of babies being born with their twin growing inside of them, living as a parasite. Apparently it is more common for us to actually have a twin in utero (these days detected with ultra sound) and as the stronger one, we are born while our twin eventually disappears.