I have not mentioned it much on this blog, but I have been writing and refining a book titled Better Living With Whole Foods: the Delicious & Nutritious Guide To Looking Great & Feeling Younger!

It is a very exciting time in my life because it is going to print this week.
I will have advanced copies in a couple of weeks and the publication date will be in early May.

There will be some exciting things going on as a result of the book being published:
A new website and a whole host of other fun things to do and learn about.

I will keep you posted as to new happenings and events as things get closer.

Happy Easter

I hope you had a great weekend.

Mine was fantastic.
I attended the Health Freedom Expo in Long Beach, CA. It was really good for me.

If you haven’t been to this event, you should make a point of attending. It is held every year in Long Beach and Chicago.

Holistic health is my forte, so I really enjoy being surrounded by the energy contained in these types of events.

It is always interesting to see what the new fad is every year. Last year it was Nikken water systems, Goji juice, and cell phone protection devices.
This year the flavor of the day is water ionization machines and acai berries.

I’ll write more on these subjects on upcoming posts.

The cool thing about this event is the fact that it has a ton of informative seminars held all day long. In fact, at any given time there are as many as four seminars going on at one time. Very interesting and very cool.

This event was very grounding for me this year.
It helped to give me a renewed sense of who I am.

I help people achieve vibrant health through holistic fitness & nutrition. And I’m really good at it.

I was put on this earth to make a positive impact… to clear up the confusion and help people take control of their lives.

Well, enough about me.

I’ll end this by saying that I look forward to making a huge impact in 2008. There are collaborative efforts being made between myself and other individuals that are very exciting for the coming year and beyond.

Have an awesome week.

Alexander Morentin
My Fit Life
www.fitness-for-women.net

I went to a raw food festival at The Living Temple in Huntington Beach over the weekend.

It was particularly fun because I had the opprortunity to introduce some people to the raw food and wellness lifestyle.

These people are part of a new meetup group that I formed on meetup.com. The name of the group is Better Living Community. You can find out more about this fantastic group at http://wholefood.meetup.com/155/

Have a great day.

I went to Fresh n Easy this past weekend and was very disappointed. I was expecting to see a scaled down version of Whole Foods Market, but it’s not.

All the hype led me to believe that Fresh n Easy was a healhty neighborhood store; kinda like Whole Foods Market meets Trader Joe’s. In reality, Fresh n Easy carries vegetables, fruits, meat, dairy, and a ton of mainstream packaged foods. For instance, Fresh n Easy carries a ton of packaged and processed kids cereals such as Lucky Charms. Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s do not carry these types of denatured foods. In fact, I did not notice an assortment of organic foods in Fresh n Easy, which is what I was hoping for.

As a clinical exercise specialist, I was looking forward to being able to recommend Fresh n Easy to my clients, but I can’t. Now, all I can do is hope that Whole Foods or Mother’s Market decide to open a store near me in the near future.

Fresh n Easy gets a grade of “C” in my book.

Well, that’s all I have for now.

Best regards,

Alexander Morentin, C.E.S.
www.fitness-for-women.net

Those of you that are familiar with me know that I am a huge proponent of eating whole foods. And, I believe that the most important of all of the whole foods available are vegetables and fruits. However, I have found that most people find it extremely difficult to incorporate vegetables and fruits into their every day life.

The following is an excerpt from my forthcoming new book, Better Living With Whole Foods, that may help you:

Vegetables & Fruits
If you currently eat lots of vegetables and fruits, Great! If you don’t presently eat many vegetables and fruits you need to start. Yes, your mother was right; you need to eat your fruits and veggies. As with every other aspect of your health and fitness, add them in slowly. Think of how you ate last week and try to eat a little better this week. 

Look, I know first hand how hard it can be to incorporate vegetables and fruits into your daily routine. In fact, when I first started buying produce (notice that I said buying produce and not eating produce), I would have to throw most of it away because it would spoil before I ate it. A six ounce bag of spinach would spoil in my refrigerator before I was half way done with it.

If you are in a similar situation… keep on buying produce. You will eventually eat more and more of the green stuff as time goes by. I always get the same reaction from people when they hear me say this: “But I don’t want to waste food or money.”

Let me tell you something, if you don’t have produce available for you and your family to eat in your home, you will never develop the habit of eating it. You have to make small sacrifices in the beginning in order to receive big rewards down the line.

Today, a six ounce bag of spinach will be gone in one day. I now eat about 4 pounds of spinach per week, plus a variety of other fruits and vegetables that are in season. And I have never felt better in my entire life!

The point I’m trying to make is this: I would never have gotten to this point in my life if I hadn’t taken the steps to make sure that I always had produce available in my home.

In order to get in the habit of eating produce, you have to first get in the habit of buying produce.

I hope that this helps you on your quest towards a happier, healthier life. Have a wonderful day.

What the heck is flexitarianism?

Well, it is a cross between a vegetarian and a meat eater.

According to Maria Condo of Cooking Light:
“Like vegetarians, “flexitarians” eat a primarily plant-based diet composed of grains, vegetables, and fruits, but they occasionally obtain protein from lean meat, fish, poultry, or dairy. A quarter of Americans fit the description, consuming meatless meals at least four days a week, according to the American Dietetic Association.”

This is exactly the way that most people should eat. Studies show that people who follow this approach to eating generally weigh less and have lower rates of hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer.

Meats, including beef, chicken, fish, and pork, are a major cause of the above mentioned diseases. Not to mention all of the processed foods that are available.

If you concentrate on eating a majority of food from vegetables, fruits and raw nuts, and keep consumption of meat to a minimum, you are going to be much healhtier. There is no doubt about it.

I am a vegetarian and I love the way that I look and feel eating the way that I do. However, I am a healthy vegetarian. I eat healthy whole foods every day and stay away from the processed and denatured foods that most Amrericans eat. It is unfortunate that many vegetarians do not eat healthy. They substitute meat with packaged foods that contain a large amount of highly processed grains, flours, and sugars.

As mentioned above, I think flexitarianism is a great choice for most Americans that refuse to give up meat altogether. The premise is simple.

1. Eat like a vegetarian most days of the week.
2. Keep meat eating to a minimum.
3. Eat primarily healthy whole foods, including a variety of vegetables and fruits.
4. Stay away from processed and refined foods.

The principles are simple and easy to implement if you are well informed. However, I have found that most people are confused when it comes to exactly what foods to select when they are shopping at the grocery store or ordering a meal in a restaurant.

This is why I have created a new program, Better Living With Whole Foods. It clears the confusion and gives you the ammunition to make the most healthful and delicious choices in any situation. I will talk more about this fantastic new program as it comes closer to its release date.

Have a wonderful day

Alexander Morentin, C.E.S.
Health & Fitness Consultant
http://www.fitness-for-women.net/

Hi,

I hope everything is going well today.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of visiting Organic Pastures, a raw dairy farm located in Central California.

Interesting Factoids:
Organic Pastures is the number one raw dairy farm in the United States. Because of this, they are under much scrutiny from the federal government. In fact, as I drove into Organic Pastures I was first greeted by two FDA officials that were there to inspect the facilities.

No worries though, Mark McAfee, CEO of Organic Pastures, and his talented staff run a very efficient operation.

Note: For those of you who aren’t aware, raw milk is illegal in most states in the United States. California is one of the few states that allow raw milk to be sold in grocery stores.

  
    Mark McAfee & Me

The Tour:
Organic Pastures is unlike the commercial dairy farms in his surrounding community. The cows are not confined to tight quarters; they live and graze on 400 grass filled acres. And yes, the land is certified organic.

We walked through the creamery, the kefir room, the cold storage rooms, the cheese room, the shipping department, and the sales office. In other words, I was taken on a tour of the entire operations and facilities, they have nothing to hide. It was fascinating to see how much effort and care goes into each bottle of raw milk and colostrum.

Next, Mark drove me around the entire farm, explaining all the details of the day to day operations as well as his mission to enrich the lives of his consumers through education, awareness, and whole foods nutrition.

I am extremely impressed with Organic Pastures and have developed a deeper appreciation for the raw dairy products they provide. I feel very fortunate that I am able to drive to my local Whole Foods or Mother’s Market and purchase this amazing product.

Many thanks go out to Mark McAfee and the staff of Organic Pastures. Keep up the great work!

For more information on raw milk and Organic Pastures Dairy, visit their website at www.organicpastures.com.

I hope you have a wonderful day.

Talk soon,

Alexander Morentin, CES
Health & Fitness Consultant
YWCA North Orange County
Owner, My Fit Life
www.fitness-for-women.net

A recent article highlights the dangers of drinking sodas. The article was written by Rachele Kanigel of Prevention Magazine.

Both sugary sodas and diet sodas were found to contribute to weight gain, bone loss, and corrosion of the teeth, among other things.

Here are some of the other findings:

• Drinking soda contributes to diabetes. The incidence of diabetes has more than tripled in occurrence from 6.6 million in 1980 to 20.8 million today.

• Sodas are very corrosive to your teeth, causing tooth decay. Doctors stated that sipping soda is like bathing your teeth in corrosive acid. Battery Acid has a pH of 1; sugary soda has a pH of 2.5; and diet soda has a pH of 3.2. That is crazy!

• Girls who downed colas were five times as likely to break arms and legs in their teen years as girls who abstained from carbonated beverages.

• Drinking sport drinks such as Powerade are almost as harmful as drinking sugary sodas. According to the article, at 10 calories per ounce, that Powerade is almost as bad as a can of Coke, which has 12 per ounce.

• Diet sodas are not better than their sugary counterparts. They are almost as corrosive, they promote weight gain, and contain artificial sweeteners which are just as bad as high fructose corn syrup or worse.

These findings are both disturbing and eye opening. 

Click here to read the entire article. It is very well written.

One thing that the article did not mention is the fact that most sodas, including Coca Cola, Pepsi, and Sprite, contained genetically modified substances.

According to Jeffrey M. Smith, author of Seeds of Deception, most of the corn syrup that sweetens packaged foods comes from genetically engineered corn. Artificial sweeteners, such as Aspartame (NutraSweet), are genetically engineered substances as well.

Okay, we all know that sodas are bad for us, but few want to admit how bad they actually are. However, the evidence against the dangers of soft drinks and sport drinks is too compelling to ignore.

Bottom line, if you drink soda you need to stop.

Good clean water is always going to be your best bet.

As always, my goal is to inform you as best I can, so you can make the best choices for yourself and your loved ones.

Talk soon.

Alexander Morentin, C.E.S.
Health & Fitness Consultant
www.fitness-for-women.net