From obesity website "

The reason many people are overweight is not because they like food more than the rest of us. It’s because their hunger and full signals are broken.

Once you continue to stretch out your stomach by overeating on a regular basis the signals your stomach sends to your brain indicating fullness and hunger start to get skewed. After a while your stomach only says, ‘I’m full,’ after its severely stretched out. And it may start saying ‘Feed me,’ when its still half-full. This is why losing weight is so difficult."

http://www.obesitycoverage.com/weight-loss-surgeries/gastric-sleeve/gastric-sleeve-will-my-stomach-stretch

Consistency is the key to life-long habit & life-long weight-loss. That's why I keep my pledge of 20 min. of exercise per day, which I started in Sept. for this forum. My pants are looser, although I lost only 2 lbs, down to 126. It's so comfy to wear loose pants !! How's everyone doing with their goals? What are the good habits you want to acquire?

I was sick for the past 4 days with bad side-effects of the flu shot: vertigo, dizziness, vomiting, nausea ... I managed to do 1/2 mile of treadmill per day, plus 15 min. of elliptical & some weight lifting. Total of 1/2 hour exercise .. the weather is awful: blizzard, icy snow. Big comfort: the treadmill gave me instant digital display when I achieved 1/2 mile mark. My skinny sister got a rowing machine for $25 at Goodwill .. so I hope to find some bargains. Anyone used the rowing machine before? Thanks.

Khalid: I didn't see your pictures on making rose-tea until now. Thank you, I like your wooden tables & like the tip of removing the stamens/pollen (I'm allergic to them). Sharifa Asma has a wonderful fruity scent, it's like a sniffing a desert. When I grew 2 Jude the Obscure roses: sniffing them was like eating the most decadent tropical desert (guava & passion fruit).

Thank you, Khalid, for the recipe of 2 cups water & rose-petals & 1/2 teas. black tea, drinking tea helps with weight-loss. I agree with the below link that bitter orange helps, when I sniffed orange-roses like Versigny, Crown Princess Magareta, it's so yummy-fruity !! See link below:

http://www.symptomfind.com/healthy-living/strange-weight-loss-tips/

Aromatherapy, such as sniffing peppermint oil before meals, may help with weight loss in two ways. First, certain smells may help suppress the appetite and cause you to eat less. For example, in addition to peppermint, sniffing bitter orange may also help decrease appetite and reduce cravings, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternate Medicine (NCCAM). Inhaling a fragrance which has a calming affect on the mind may help decrease emotional eating."

The above link also have other tips to lose weight .. agree with spicy food, I need to buy a bottle of red hot pepper sauce & make more curries, yes, posting here helps me toward my exercise goal, and when others post on their progress, that motivates me:

"2. Spice Things Up

Dieting does not have to include eating flavorless food. Adding certain spices, such as turmeric and curry, to food may help increase metabolism, by raising the body temperature."

"3. Make Your Weight-Loss Mission Public

In addition to telling people in your life your weight-loss plan, setup a weight-loss blog or use other social media sites ... It will also hold you accountable and help you feel motivated and encouraged to continue."

4. Eat An Apple Before Lunch And Dinner

Apples are high in fiber, especially if you eat it with the skin on, and it helps you feel full. Eating one once or twice a day before meals can help you eat less. A study conducted at Pennsylvania State University found participants who ate an apple before meals typically consumed about 180 calories less at meals than those did not.

http://www.symptomfind.com/healthy-living/strange-weight-loss-tips/

From Reader's Digest .. it stated that sweet fruity scents like banana or apple (some roses have such scents) help to reduce appetite, same with grapefruit scents: " Researchers at Osaka University in Japan found that exposing rats to the scent of grapefruit oil for 15-minute intervals helped lower their appetite and weight. Researchers believe it may have to do with how the smell interacts with liver enzymes."

http://www.rd.com/health/diet-weight-loss/weight-loss-smells/

I'm going to make more teas and sniff the scent before eating. My skinny husband is an herbal tea drinker ... I like how he perfumes the entire house whenever he makes tea like orange essence, peach essence, vanilla, or chai tea. An excerpt from below link:

"Our sense of smell and our appetite are closely related," says Dr. Hirsch, author of Dr. Hirsch's Guide to Scentsational Weight Loss. "More than 90 percent of taste is smell.”

Read more: Use Scents to Lose Weight Without Hunger

" When you smell food, odor molecules enter the nostrils and reach the olfactory, or smell, center at the top of the nose. The molecules affect the brain's satiety center, located in the hypothalamus, and they send a signal that you've had enough to eat. The molecules trigger the release of hormones that create the sense of fullness even before you get the "stop eating" signal from your stomach. Dr. Hirsch has the scientific evidence to back his theory. He conducted a study involving 3,193 overweight volunteers. Each was given an inhalant containing various herb and fruit scents and was told to inhale three times into each nostril when they felt hungry. "The more people used the device, the more weight they lost," says Hirsch.

*** From Straw: The research is more certain with peppermint tea. When I had Stash peppermint tea (voted as best tasting mint-tea by Men's Health magazine) ... the scent is so strong that I could not taste my food, yes, it took away cravings for sweet. From livestrong.com:

Certain scents, including peppermint oil, can help control appetite and cravings. A 2008 study conducted by the Wheeling Jesuit University evaluated the level of hunger of participants after inhaling peppermint oil every 2 hours for five days. Participants who inhaled the peppermint oil experienced less hunger and fewer cravings than those who didn’t use the oil.

Oh Straw you are full of knowledge. Never new that certain fragrance will reduce a person's appetite. So, if I smell a rose midway while eating, it should give a feeling that I had my fill. Would try pepper mint too.

Khalid: Exercise right before a meal helps me to eat less ... can't stuff myself when I'm tired & sweaty. When my husband runs on the treadmill before dinnertime, he eats like a toddler .. 1 1/2 cup of food the most.

My kid's friend put us to shame ... she never catches a cold, is on the track-team, and runs 12 miles a week indoor, She's muscular at 13-year old, zero fat, and beat all the boys in running.

Here's what that fit teenager girl wrote to me as her secret of being healthy & lean: "A BIG part of being healthy is exercise. I run 4 miles 3x a week on top of gym class at school Monday-Friday."

So she runs 12 miles a week ...For me to achieve that I would need to do 2 miles on the tread-mill, or 4-intervals of 15 min. running. per day.

She's 5 feet or 1.5 m, but has a strict regime of eating, which she never strays .. here's her prescribed meals planned by her dietician .. it blows my mind at how small her portions are, despite her growing needs, plus running 12 miles a day. Here's her portions per day:

"At breakfast I do 1/4 cup cottage cheese for a protein,1 1/2 cups cereal for 2 grains, 1/2 cup apple juice for a fruit, 1 tbsp of peanut butter for a lipid, and a cup of 2% milk in my cereal.

At lunch I do a turkey or tuna sandwich on two pieces of bread for 3 protein, 2 grains, and 1 fat. I use 1 tablespoon of light mayo for a lipid.

At dinner I need 3 oz of protein, 2 grains, 1 fruit, 1 vegetable, 2 fats, and 1 milk. I am also on one snack a day which consists of 1 chewy oatmeal raisin Quaker granola bar, and 1 cup of kefir."

Above is meal-plan of a 13-year old athletic who runs 12 miles per week.

I'll post some pics. of portion-sizes from the internet. I put these in my screen-saver file so I can see on my computer.

Agree to the last chart of tiny-thumb-tip for sugar and butter. My body is still in pain after my flu shot Dec. 18 from Sam's club: still sick with vertigo .. I bleed in my right ear, and my nose is bleeding right now. I'm having a low-grade fever for a week, it's a terrible ordeal to lie down and get up (get really dizzy when I change head position). I am NOT allergic to eggs whatsoever, but I am allergic to ragweed, so I don't recommend flu-shot for anyone with allergies. Nurses also testified to vertigo & side-effects after flu shot, see below link:

http://www.mdjunction.com/forums/menieres-disease-discussions/introductions-personal-stories/207497-vertigo-and-flu-vaccine

Yesterday I had a Danish flaky pastry (once a year treat). With my fever & indigestion it was so GROSS .. I scraped off all the white-sugar coating, and it was still sickening sweet & greasy. Thank God for that nauseating experience, since it took away my chewing gum habit (has sorbitol and aspartame). I went to sleep for the 1st time in a decade WITHOUT sucking on a piece of sugarless gum .. woke up with a cleaner mouth. Even sugarless gum can promote bacteria.

My neighbor also chew sugarless gum, and she notes that she's hungrier and thirstier after chewing gum. Sugar-substitute like sorbitol and aspartame mess up the healthy intestine bacteria-population, promoting bad bacteria that secretes more acid, thus one feel more hungry.

After that nauseating experience with a Danish pastry, I don't think I can handle sweet more than a thumb tip, just enough to balance out the acid in juice. Although my entire body is in pain from that flu-shot, I still need to do 2 miles on the treadmill to burn off that nasty Danish treat.

Hey I found another Bob Cannard video. I like that he grows 50% for human and 50% for nature. He is fun to watch. I hope you enjoy it too.

https://youtu.be/CPwYEuNtZXg

He gives a tour of his farm by a mountain creek in Sonoma California.

The weeds grow next to the plants for ground cover and bio diversity.

Thank you, Sam, for that link showing the farm & healthy soil, and what's like to be in tune with nature. Last night I was up until 4 am, could not sleep thanks to a congested nose & dizziness as a bad-reaction to the flu-shot. Then I ate some curry soup, took Mucinex (with decongestion & antihistamine & pain-reliever), and slept until noon. That curry soup cleared my inflamed head, and the Mucinex enable me to breathe.

THANK YOU, Khalid, for sharing with us your testimony of being healthy the natural way. I re-post what Khalid wrote from Pakistan:

"I have never taken flu shots in my entire life. When I was a kid, my mother preferred herbal treatment and we did get flu once in a while but get over it in a week or so. During flu, treatment with selected food and herbs used to provide lot of relief. We would only take medicine if the things prolong or go very bad. Normally it would be over in a week or so.

When I grew up, I somehow developed a habit of avoiding use of medicine to last limit and depend more on prevention, use of selective food as a habit and use of herbs etc.

I regularly use black tea with ginger and cinnamon. Honey (with black pepper if I have a source throat), cardamom, garlic (as part of all our curries), onions (an integral part of our curry), as well as a few more herbs, spices ... Generally I stay ok." Khalid.

Bluegirl in Texas is skinny with same weight as when she was young, gave me some great recipes .. Bluegirl wrote:

" I think it would be hard to gain too much weight on a vegetarian diet--too coarse! I used to live on beans & cornbread, but I cut the amount of fat called for in the recipe. Corn bread recipe:

1 cup cornmeal (I use organic, nearly all US corn is GMO now)

1 cup flour, 1/4 sugar, 1/2 c. fat, 1/2 t. salt, 4 t. baking powder, 1 egg, 1 c. milk

cook ~375 for ~20 minutes

I like it in an iron skillet. I stick the skillet in the oven with the grease & let it melt while I mix everything else, then dump it all in the skillet of hot grease--give the edge a nice crackle." Bluegirl.

From google news today, David Ludwig, M.D., Ph.D., answers in his new book, Always Hungry? Conquer Cravings, Retrain Your Fat Cells, and Lose Weight Permanently, which was released this week. He is currently chair of pediatric endocrinology at Boston Children’s Hospital, where he also directs the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center.

" David Ludwig: First, white potatoes. Yams and sweet potatoes are okay, because they raise blood sugar much less. Second, highly processed grains. I’m talking about breads, white rice, and most breakfast cereals. Third, added sugars, in all their many forms—from soft drinks to yogurts to muffins, and many more. If people reduce these foods, and substitute healthy fats (nuts, olive oil, avocado, dark chocolate) and natural carbohydrates (vegetables, fruits, legumes), their metabolism will change, and they will be able to lose weight without hunger."

*** From Straw: agree to the above, I keep track of my weight daily, and it goes up on the day that I consume the most sweet, be it more juice or desert. Weighing oneself DAILY helps. The years I gained the most, from 111 lbs. to 134 ... that's when I didn't keep track of my weight.

Now I'm 126 lbs. .. and if I don't watch my sweets or portion, it goes up to 127. Last month there's a study that those who weigh themselves daily, can keep the weight down better.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/05/3500-calories-one-pound-fat-calorie-burn_n_2806578.html

"There are 3,500 calories in a pound of human fat, explains Dr. Donald Hensrud, chair of preventive medicine at the Mayo Clinic and medical editor-in-chief of The Mayo Clinic Diet. But diet and exercise cause the body to lose lean tissue and water along with fat, making it unlikely that initial weight loss truly addresses fat only

So if you aren't losing a pound of fat with that 3,500 deficit, what should you do to ensure steady weight loss? Hensrud recommends beginning with a small overall energy balance -- meaning, the daily total of calories should be low, even just 1,200 for a woman and 1,400 for a man, either from restrictive eating or increased physical activity and exercise.

Hensrud explains. "What's interesting is that to keep weight off, the research shows that physical activity is more important for that phase," he says. "But to lose weight, calorie restriction is best."

Folks report website like Calorie count help them to lose weight. Caloriecount has a section where you can enter recipes, and it will analyze recipes for you:

caloriecount.about.com

You register then start tracking. The iPhone app syncs with the website.

Another good one is FitDay. It's more analytical and provides more in-depth vitamin/mineral tracking. FitDay

SOME GREAT SUGGESTIONS FROM COOKING FORUM:

Chi

Maybe add some healthy fat. Coconut oil is said to help boost metabolism and it tastes great. I add it to smoothies. I still don't think you're eating enough.

Also, you could try going completely raw for a week or two. The weight flies off - I lost 10 pounds in one week and felt amazing.

Chi

Well, I'm far from a scientist but I've done a lot of research. The vast majority of fats are composed of long chain fatty acids, which require a lengthy digestive process. However, coconut oil is one of the few that is made of medium chain fatty acids (MCFA)which is digested completely differently. It goes directly to the liver to be metabolized and results in a burst of thermogenesis and energy, which increases metabolism.

The bottom line, from my research, is that coconut oil produces almost exclusive energy while other fats produce body fat and some energy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Source

Here's my strategy to lose 1 lb. a week: eat raw food, use coconut oil in baking, to create a calorie-deficit of 3,500 to burn 1 lb. of fat.

Coconut oil did help us: husband at 150 lb.(68 kg) and I was 111 lbs. (50 kg) when we used coconut oil in baking, Nutiva extra-virgin coconut oil has the most flavor.

To create a deficit of 3,500 calories, I need to take in 500 calories less per day. 500 x 7 = 3,500. I can do tread-mill & stair-climbing to burn 250 calories per day, the other 250 calories I have to shave off from food: less salt (salt retains water), less sugar (cut down my juice), and more fruits & veggies to fill up, rather than starch.

What are your strategies to lose 1 lb. a week, or to create a 3,500 calories deficit? Thanks.

Jess: You asked for the rose tree recipe.

regards

Khalid: didn't know that rose-tea helps with digestion until you informed in the other thread. Thanks. I looked that up and livestrong.com stated: "Ancient Chinese medicine used roses to treat digestive disorders, the pain from injuries and menstrual irregularities."

From the below site "Rose Petals contain Vitamin A, C, D, and E and some B Vitamins too! Rose Petals also contains antioxidants, and they are a mild sedative, anti-depressant, and mood-enhancing agent. Rose water is antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and can be use for all kinds of skin ailments like eczema, psoriasis, and works great for sunburns too!"

https://paulhaider.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/the-many-wonderful-health-benefits-of-rose-petals/

I checked on rosehips, very high in vitamin C at 199%, plus vitamin A at 24%. I find that rosehips is more gentle on the stomach than citrus fruits like lime and lemon. We watched MasterChef Junior, and there's an 8-year-old girl Addison who made a winning Thai Tom Yum soup (shrimp, herbs, mushroom), except she put coconut milk in there, plus serving it with rice cooked in rose-petal water.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/hot-and-sour-thai-soup-tom-yum-goong-recipe.html

Weight-loss-update: I shoveled snow for 20 min. last night, plus 45 min. this morning, went down to 126 .. I find that adding more RAW fruits & veggies really help with weight-loss. The only time that I lost 3 lbs in a week was when I cut out on sugarly drink to replace with RAW fruits .. All fruit juices are pasteurized (cooked), so that destroy the natural enzymes for optimal health.

They were out on Eziekiel bread at the store, so I'm without bread for a few days .. just boiled eggs only .. that really help to keep the weight down. All the sugar & starch that I eat go straight to fat. The only thing that doesn't add is fiber as in wheat-bran cereal, or RAW fruits & veggies.

Good information Straw. I am taking rose tea everyday and it is so good. It is keeping my stomach in order. Also, I feel so fresh and relaxed. It also perhaps releases stress.

Khalid: Ginger tea was a miracle for my stomachache & dizziness last night. THANK YOU. Some info. from below link:

http://homeremediesforlife.com/ginger-for-upset-stomach/

" Ginger contains anti-inflammatory properties that helps to increase the digestive juices and neutralizes the stomach, giving relief from an upset stomach and stomach pain.It contains strong anti-oxidants called gingerols and shogaols, both of which decrease the free radicals production and the damage they do to the body. It also helps to relax the intestinal tract and which can give instant relief.It will effectively eliminate any extra gas from the intestinal tract.It stimulates the production of saliva, bile, gastric juices, etc. which aids in better digestion and prevent gas.It relaxes muscles and relieves cramping that lessens the chance of backed up food in the digestive system."

Ginger Salad Dressing - Mix 1/4 teaspoon of grated ginger, a tablespoon of soy sauce (tamari), 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar, 4 tablespoons of raw sesame oil and a smashed clove of garlic.

*** From Straw: Sesame seed is highest in plant sterols to lower cholesterol, next is sunflower seeds .. both beat oat bran. Sesame oil is used in weight-loss, see excerpt from below link: http://www.livestrong.com/article/297149-sesame-oil-weight-loss/

" One study published in 2006 in the “Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine” found that participants who consumed about 2.6 tablespoons of sesame oil daily lost a significant amount of weight -- an average of 2.6 pounds in 45 days. When subjects stopped consuming the sesame oil for a period of 45 days, they started to gain back the weight they had lost. Researchers who conducted this study suggest that the polyunsaturated fatty acids in sesame oil might play a role in weight loss because they increase plasma levels of leptin, a hormone that regulates energy balance and suppresses food intake.

Cleveland Clinic notes that the monounsaturated fats found in sesame seeds help raise your good cholesterol, lower bad cholesterol and reduce your risks for stroke and heart disease. The “Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine” study reports that 50 subjects with high blood pressure who ingested 2.6 tablespoons of sesame oil daily for 45 days as a replacement for the oils they normally consumed experienced decreases in blood pressure."

I am so happy it worked. I also use it for avoiding chest congestion and other respiratory infections / diseases.

From Chicago Tribune: http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/health/ct-sugary-drinks-belly-fat-0112-20160112-story.html

Sugary drink consumption, deep belly fat often seen together, study says

The study results are based on 1,003 middle-aged adults taking part in a larger study on heart health. The researchers used CT scans to measure each participant's levels of visceral fat, at the study's start and again six years later.

At the outset, 13 percent of the study group said they drank at least one sugar-sweetened beverage every day. And on average, those men and women showed the greatest increase in visceral fat over the next six years.

Compared with people who never had sugary drinks, daily consumers accumulated about 27 percent more visceral fat, the investigators found.

The researchers found no connection between diet soda intake and visceral fat accumulation. (They had data only on diet soda, and not other calorie-free drinks.)

The potato has bad reputations .. such as inducing gestational diabetes. I wonder if pesticides have to do with that. Here are the 12 crops most contaminated with pesticides (best to buy organic. or grow yourself). I talked to a grocery guy on how Sweet Bell peppers from Mexico gave us tummy ache, but we have zero problems with bell peppers imported from Holland. He agreed that the Mexican peppers are heavily sprayed, and he doesn't even buy them !!

http://www.sustainabletable.org/263/pesticides

The Environmental Working Group compiles a yearly list of fruits and vegetables with the highest levels of pesticide residues, based on USDA and FDA testing data. FThe current top 12 are:

• Apples
• Celery
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Peaches
• Strawberries
• Nectarines (imported)
• Grapes
• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Cucumbers
• Blueberries
• Potatoes

http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php

Key findings:

• 99 percent of apple samples, 98 percent of peaches, and 97 percent of nectarines tested positive for at least one pesticide residue.
• The average potato had more pesticides by weight than any other produce.
• A single grape sample and a sweet bell pepper sample contained 15 pesticides.
• Single samples of cherry tomatoes, nectarines, peaches, imported snap peas and strawberries showed 13 different pesticides apiece.

The Clean Fifteen™

EWG's Clean Fifteen™ list of produce least likely to hold pesticide residues consists of avocados, sweet corn, pineapples, cabbage, frozen sweet peas, onions, asparagus, mangoes, papayas, kiwis, eggplant, grapefruit, cantaloupe, cauliflower and sweet potatoes. Relatively few pesticides were detected on these foods, and tests found low total concentrations

Everything is an acquired taste, I have been cutting out sugar, and I'm eating my kid's left-over granola, it's sickening sweet, with 10 g of sugar. It didn't taste that sweet before, but after 2 months of less sugar, my taste-buds can't handle such sweetness. Finally see 125.5 lb. as a stable weight, it took me weeks before I figure out how to lose weight: cut out sugar, salt, drink 1 full glass of lemonade (without sugar), plus eat only 1/2 to 1/3 portion. And ginger-tea (no sugar) after dinner.

Also go for more nutritious foods that isn't zapped by high heat, such as RAW veggies & RAW fruits with all the enzymes & nutrients intact. COOKING DESTROYS THE ENZYMES IN PRODUCE, making them dead, rather than alive.

Agree with Chia from cooking forum that RAW produce is the fastest way to lose weight. I lost 5 lbs. per week when I picked FRESH apples from Michigan, and was eating 3 per day. Same with FRESH peaches from Michigan and was eating 5 per day.

Ever wonder why we have UNNATURAL state like high cholesterol, high triglycerides, high blood-sugar? It's because we eat DEAD food, food that sit on shelves for years (sugar & white flour & soda), or food that got ZAPPED by cooking (pasteurized): milk, juice, cooked veggies.

I learn from Grainlady (cooking forum) .. who educated people that certain grains need to be soaked overnight to digest better. So the no-knead bread method, where grains are fermented 12 to 24 hours with a tiny amount of yeast, produce a softest-bread, without the nasty yeasty-flavor. Here's the recipe that helped me to be slim for years, until I quit making it ... I didn't know about EASY no-knead bread-method back then.

NO-KNEAD ROLLS
WITH OATMEAL, FLAX, AND SUNFLOWER.

Use 1 cup whole wheat flour. Buy "WHITE whole wheat" which is milder in taste. With a coffee grinder, grind 1/2 cups toasted sunflower seed until it's
dusty, but not to a sticky paste. Also grind 1 cup oats. Add that to the wheat flour, plus 1/2 cup of yellow ground flaxseed. Blend well.

In a small saucepan, heat 2 cups water.
With a thermometer, check to see if it's between 100 and 120. Or
else stick your finger in there, it should be warm, but not scalding.
Mix in 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon rapid-rise yeast, 3/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 TBS. sugar, 1 1/2 TBS oil.

Using an egg-beater, mix the dry ingredients into liquid .. it looks wet, but will thicken later. Cover the bowl with
plastic wrap, and let rise for 12 to 24 hours.

Pinch off tiny rolls and coat with sesame seeds.
I make the rolls really small since I want to coat them with more sesame. I use thick & insulated baking sheet or pizza stone. Let raw rolls rise for 1/2 hour. Preheat oven
to 350. Bake for
20 minutes. These "bread-nuggets) can be frozen, and nuke for 30 seconds (per 2 pieces). It's high in protein, with 4 high-plant-sterols to lower cholesterol: Sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, flax seed, and oatmeal.

Commercial bread use the NO-KNEAD method since it takes much less yeast (save money), plus yielding a softer & moister loaf.

My sister sent me this educational you-tube on what to do when your car hit a down-power-line. This can save someone's lives

https://www.facebook.com/imtiaz.paracha.35/videos/10153358630293789/

Still sick with fever & coughing from that flu-shot on Dec. 19. I'm seeing the doc. next Wed. Jan. 20.

I googled Flu-shot in Houzz, and many people report coming down with the flu & bad side effects after flu-shot. Houzz is a great place for info. Some tips on curing sore throat: eating a mash & RAW clove of garlic,

pitimpinai(z6 Chicago)

I got awfully sick last winter. A good friend pried me with a concoction made of lime, honey, a little salt and RED HOT peppers & very warm water.

cookie8

I did home remedies and I have to say they worked wonders! The best the remedy was putting a small drop of peroxide in my ears. The ache was gone instantly. I was terrified to try but so glad I did.

Pinterest has the best from the web on Home Remedies for flu. I didn't know that pineapple or pineapple juice is 5 times more effective than cough syrup !!

Pineapple Cough Suppressant Recipe

– 1 cup of fresh pineapple juice
– 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice
– 1 piece of ginger (about 2 inches)
– 1 Tbsp raw honey
– 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=home%20remedies%20for%20flu&rs=typed&term_meta%5B%5D=home+remedies+for+flu%7Ctyped

Some excerpt from below link on fighting flu: "The tangy lemon contains anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory and anti-fungal properties that boost your immune system and weakens the influenza virus.

Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties that will ward off various symptoms of flu and fight infections too.

The menthol in peppermint can help the body cough up mucus and relieve congestion. It soothes the sore throat and calms the cough symptoms.

http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/effective-home-remedies-for-influenza/

Ingredients:

• 2-3 cloves of garlic or juice of onion
• Few drops of clove oil
• 1 teaspoon of honey

Cayenne Pepper

It can desensitize the tickling and reduce the coughing. It reduces the chest pain caused by continuous coughing.

1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

• 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger
• 1 tablespoon of honey
• 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons of water

http://homeremediesforlife.com/cough/

Straw: May like to try black pepper mixed in honey. I hope you will feel better. Are you still taking ginger cinnamon tea? Hope you get better soon. I would suggest a herbal or homeopathic treatment (as suggested by Jess). Allopathic treatment for flu always has after effect as per my little experience.

Yes, I take ginger cinnamon tea before bed .. it helps with my dizziness. Funny that I have a craving for Tabasco sauce (hot pepper sauce) and bought one recently. Black pepper doesn't go well with me, I tend to sneeze.

Sugar tastes really bad to me now, since sugar is known to depress the immune system. Everything is too sweet for me, including orange juice, but I like freshly squeezed lemon juice.

Pinterest collects the best info. from the web, and based of the 'Like" votes for the site, one know if it's worth reading .. below is from a site on Pinterest.

http://www.ithinkwecouldbefriends.com/2013/11/01/little-known-facts-flu-shot/

"Plus ALL vaccines depress your immune system functioning for up to several weeks, which means you are FAR more susceptible to flu varieties for which you have not been vaccinated.

So you might be looking at bronchitis, upper respiratory infection or a stomach bug…which you might NOT have contracted if you DIDN’Tget a flu shot."

Plus vaccinations inject proteins directly into your bloodstream and this is not good.

You see, since your body is designed to break proteins down into their smaller individual amino acids in the digestive tract before they are absorbed into circulation, shooting full-blown proteins into your blood vessels with a vaccine (and bypassing the GI tract) puts your immune system on high alert and can eventually elicit inappropriate immune responses.

That’s why many people find themselves developing asthma or allergies when they never had a problem with them in the past!"

*** From Straw: Agree with the above, my doc-sister who got flu-shot yearly is the only one in the family with asthma. The other sister with yearly flu-shot now develop an allergic reaction to grapefruit (which she loves).

I have to post this to counter-act the tremendous pushing for flu-shot, from the media, work place, and stores. The entire medical community is brain-washed by the pharmaceuticals companies that we need flu-shot. Suppressed immune system is the cause for flu, rather than NOT having a flu shot.

http://www.healthextremist.com/natures-flu-shot-natural-way-prevent-flu/

According to this study, flu vaccines only prevent the flu in 1.5% of adults. Flu shots also come with serious health risks including: immunosuppression, increased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, neurological disorders, autoimmune diseases, neurological disorders, seizures, miscarriages, and death.

Straw. Agree with your opinion on flu shots. I seldom take any allopathic medicine (unless I get very sick) and I think I am doing OK without them. Few years back I had bronchitis two years in a row. First year I took strong antibiotics which had lot of after effects. Second year I took ginger/cinnamon tea and honey with black pepper regularly and got well though it took a few more days. No after effects and since last two years, no problems. I still take these things alongwith black cumin quite regularly. Second winters and no flu. What I learnt was that regular use of these things is far better than starting them when one falls sick.

Regarding sugar, I rarely eat anything sweet. I take tea and coffee without sugar and milk. Actually I don't like sweet stuff since I was a child and if I am forced to take anything sweet, I feel like vomiting. But I do take honey and sugar in natural form. I don't know of any scientific evidence but I have heard old people saying that sugar in natural form has different effects as compared to extracted sugar that we use. Any views on that?

Here's an excerpt from below link, WebMD echoes the same info:

"In the book "Get The Sugar Out" by Ann Louise Gittleman M.S. C.N.S says, "No matter what form it takes, sugar paralyzes the immune system in a variety of ways: Sugar has been proven to destroy the germ-killing ability of white blood cells for up to five hours after ingestion.

It reduces the production of antibodies, proteins that combine with and inactivate foreign invaders in the body. It interferes with the transport of vitamin C, one of the most important nutrients for all facets of immune function.

It causes mineral imbalances and sometimes allergic reactions, both of which weaken the immune system. It neutralizes the action of essential fatty acids, thus making cells more permeable to invasion by allergens and microorganisms."

http://www.immunesystemetc.com/Sugar.html

*** From Straw: heating destroys nutrients in honey, so I always opt for RAW honey .. the darker honey like buckwheat, the more nutrients. Manuka honey from Australia is famous for anti-bacterial, that stuff is nasty, it has a slight penicillin taste.

Funny how when I'm sick with fever like this month, MY BODY HATE THE TASTE OF SWEET, and crave for acidic & high-vitamin-C like pineapple, lemons, pomegranate. I also have a craving for cayenne hot pepper sauce, I did sprinkle lots of black pepper on my food .. could hardly taste them.

The flu shot on Dec. 19 suppressed my immune system to the point that I caught 2 flu in a row: 2 weeks of the vomiting & stomachache & low-grade fever & bleeding ear & nose type, then as that lessened, another 2 weeks of different flu: high fever, constant coughing, plus vertigo from the last flu. I didn't lose weight from the 1st flu, but I lost weight from the second flu, down to 124 lbs. today, Sat Jan. 16.

My last flu shot was 10 years ago, I got dizzy for 1 week, and lost 5 lbs. I was younger back then, and the weight loss was faster, but the pain & suffering can't be compared to what I'm going through now.

The recent 2 flu taught me that I ate way too much before. To keep myself from passing germs to my family, I'm using wide-rim teacups with handle as food-bowl. The teacups work better than small bowl, since there's a handle for safety. Will post those small teacups .. people don't use small bowls since it's hard to get them out from microwave, plus finger touching food. Target has a nice selection of wide rim & glazed teacups, which are easy to clean with large handle.

One small comfort: David Austin free new catalog arrived today ... ABSOLUTELY gorgeous, with a 20% off coupon per order. I haven't bought from David Austin but I request a free catalog every year.

Agree with what Ann Louise Gittleman M.S. C.N.S sys, "No matter what form it takes, sugar paralyzes the immune system in a variety of ways: Sugar has been proven to destroy the germ-killing ability of white blood cells for up to five hours after ingestion."

When I was in Junior High & High School in Michigan, our family were very poor, we rarely have sweet treats & really skinny back then .. I caught only 2 bad colds out of 6 years. The colds I caught were after my parents got reduced donuts on the weekends, very sugary treats.

My kid got a flu-shot under 2-year old and developed 2 BAD colds within a month of each other. She also got vertigo for a month.The flu-shot suppressed her immune system to the point she developed an allergic reaction to peanuts. Same here, I'm a BIG daily peanut-butter eater, until my flu-shot when I was 44 year old, I developed nuts-allergies and break out in rash. FLU SHOT CAN MESS UP IMMUNE SYSTEM WITH NEW ALLERGIES, even for older people.

A better way to boost the immune system is to introduce beneficial probiotics, or bacteria. People in South Korea drink Kimchi-juice (RAW) to prevent cold. I eat much less after I cut out my Sorbitol & Xylitol chewing gum habit, those artificial sugar zaps out the good bacteria that signals fullness.

Here's the picture of David Austin New Catalog with the rose Olivia in the front (named after his granddaughter), the small tea-cup holds 1 cup of food if filled 3/4 full, I can only handle less than 1 cup of solid food,

The large teacup below holds 2 cups of liquid. I only fill it to 1/2. I use it for making ginger tea, or fill it half-way with very thin-soup. I prefer the large teacup because it's glazed so it doesn't absorb stains.

Straw: DA catalog looks nice. This facility is not available to us here so I can't order if I feel like doing so even if I have money. It takes a mammoth effort to get the original roses here.

Thanks for the info on sugar and I am happy that by nature, I don't like sweet things. However I was just thinking that our body does need sugar after all.

Best regards

I hope you get better soon. I know you're doing all you can to get well.

I feel just the same about sugar. I've got a cold right now. I usually don't catch them. All I can think of is I worked too much and didn't get enough rest and * SIGH* ate sugary stuff when I went out with friends. I never eat that stuff any more but I did at a breakfast and now I have a cold. It seems that last time I ate sugar and got a cold I told myself it wasn't worth it. Sometimes I think that I don't have any tolerance for sugary stuff anymore.

Those sugary carbs. Then when you give in, then your brain wants more for days after. What was the temptation? Waffles with sugary fruit topping. And whipped cream ( usually don't eat dairy ) which made me more congested. While I was eating it, my brain was singing a happy song of euphoria. Some of you know how those wheat-sugar-dairy combos can be. The carb crash comes about 4-5 hours later and you feel hungry and moody and looking for some pick me up like more carbs or sugar or caffeine. I went for years like that and didn't know what was going on. Then when you give it up and eat it again, you can feel the direct result on your mood, your cravings to eat before and after meals. Everyone's looking for a way to eat that stuff and not get the consequences.

I always think, can't the human race show enough cleverness to not pass around colds and flus? Nope. I couldn't even say no to a loaded up waffle.

Hi Kitty: I sincerely hope your cold isn't as bad as my 2nd flu AFFTER the flu-shot.

when we are short of certain nutrients ... we develop cravings. I started "health pledge" in Organic rose forum of 20 min. of exercise, cut down on sugar & salt ... I posted about sugar suppressed immune system since Sept., and I cut out sugar completely, and instead of drinking juice, I drink freshy squeezed lime and lemon. At the end of the 1st flu, I had craving for sweet, so I made my VERY NUTRITIOUS sunflower seed & sesame seed & oatmeal & flax rolls and drizzle JUST A TOUCH of RAW buckwheat honey (like 2 teaspoon). That high nutrient & high zinc & high protein took away my craving. Usually runny-eggs and Eziekiel Bread (sprouted grains made from a recipe from the Bible took away my craving for sweet, but that's too heavy when I'm sick.

I should had been suspicious of flu-shot when Google News (sponsored by vaccine companies) kept reminding people to get flu-shot, or people stand in front of Sam's club to offer flu shot. When they are that pushy, you know there's BIG Profit involved.

I was so miserable with month-long flu & vertigo after flu shot that I want to die, including today, but I realize husband and kid can't take care of their health, they ordered greasy & salty pizza, while this evening Jan. 17, I was bed-ridden with a fever and dreaming of chicken cabbage soup.

So the 2 flu-in-a row is A DIRECT CONSEQUENCE OF FLU-SHOT, my M.D. sister already warned me about flu-shot suppress immune system, but she believed in the LIE posted by CDC website and recommended me to get the shot. The past month has been constant fever, vertigo, headache, catching far-more serious flu that I ever had in my 54-life. From below link:

http://www.intoxicatedonlife.com/2014/10/15/truth-about-flu-vaccine/

In Are US Flu Death Figures More Public Relations than Science?, an aptly named article in the British Journal of Medicine, the author reports:

“[According to CDC statistics], ‘influenza and pneumonia’ took 62,034 lives in 2001—61,777 of which were attributable to pneumonia and 257 to flu, and in only 18 cases was the flu virus positively identified.”1

Do you see what the CDC did?

1. They combined both Influenza and Pneumonia deaths so as to inflate the numbers and make it look like more of a problem than it was.
2. They estimated what the flu related deaths are and did not report on the actual number, which was 18.

Fact #2: The statistics that the CDC throws around regarding death from influenza are grossly exaggerated. Furthermore, much of the research out there has been funded by the vaccine makers.

Not only this, but the Journal of Virology found the immune systems of children who have been vaccinated against seasonal flu strains are weakened, making them more susceptible to becoming infected with flu strains not included in the vaccine. T cells are essential for immunity. This study found that the T cell response was absent in the vaccinated children.

Fact #5: The flu shot may help you avoid some strains of the flu virus, but it will also likely decrease your ability to fight off other strains of the flu virus.

They reported an 8.5% flu risk for those who had been vaccinated and an 8.9% risk for those who have been unvaccinated along with other infections.

Vaccine inserts, they range from mild to severe. Some of the fairly common side effects include: pain (64%), fever (29%), fatigue (20%), headaches (26%), nausea/vomiting (12%), runny nose/nasal congestion, (58%), decreased appetite, (21%).

http://www.intoxicatedonlife.com/2014/10/15/truth-about-flu-vaccine/

The flu-shot I got was Fluvirin, and I got most of side-effects listed after 7 days of flu shot in Dec. 19: vomiting, Vertigo (extreme dizziness, ceiling rotating when I change my head position, headache (I never have that in my life), and muscle pain. Since there's lots of profit involved, many brands of flu shot, made by different companies, and you don't know what you are getting. Plus they change the virus-mix in the shot yearly !!

This is from Google news today how sugar & saturated fat in dairy destroys sleep:

" As published in The Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, there was a big difference in sleep quality between the controlled diet period and the uncontrolled diet period. The nutritionists' diet (higher in protein and fiber and lower in saturated fat than the self-chosen diet) was correlated with a significantly shorter time taken to fall asleep, and a longer portion of the night spent in deep sleep. In contrast, the participants' chosen diet (which also contained more sugar) was associated with less restorative sleep and more sleep disruptions. Not good."

http://www.bustle.com/articles/136020-this-is-how-you-should-eat-for-better-sleep

Straw: That's a terrible time you are passing through. I pray for your speedy recovery. For future, I suggest you will be better off without getting the flu shot. (8.9% vs 8.5%). Few of my doctor friends recommended me a flu shot but I have taken it and after seeing what it did to you, I will never get it. Thanks for all the information

Yes that's good information on the flu shot and the diet for sleeping I agree with both of those articles are true.

This month has been the most suffering I had ever gone through in my life ... if I'm single I would pray for death. I caught a few flu/cold in my 54-life, none were serious enough to require medications. I even went through 8-year span of zero-cold or flu, until 2014 when my kid stressed both me and my husband with her gifted program, and all 3 of us got a cold last year. But it was minor.

WORSE EVER!! This flu shot of Dec. 19 gave me vertigo, headache, month-long fever. Over my dead body I would get a flu-shot. Last night was hell: had a fever & constant coughing, so I took an old Alka-Selzer (where it fizzles) .. It tasted super salty. After that I vomited 4 times through the night. The most I slept was less than 1 hour. I would had been better off one the above natural teas I listed, rather some chemicals. Lost 4 lbs (1.8 kg), down to 123, but feel rotten.

When I reported my adverse reaction to a national-website, the FLUVIRIN I got was one among the many .. there are many brands of flu-shots made by different companies, with different reactions.

They constantly change the types of virus in the flu-shot every year, so you don't know what you'll get for next year. In addition, there's the accumulation of mercury and aluminum, which are brain-toxins.

"Vials of batch flu vaccine produced by British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) were found to contain upwards of 51 parts per million of mercury, or 25,000 times the legal maximum for drinking water established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/045705_flu_vaccine_mercury_heavy_metals.html#ixzz3xczpgMg9

Here's an excerpt from a British site:

"GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is in the news again making headlines after having to settle another major lawsuit bringing the latest total to over $9.1 billion since 2003. This time, it is due to GSK’s product Pandemrix, which was the swine flu vaccine forced upon the public during the pandemic of 2009 (which is argued by some to have been fake). As the victims are being compensated in the U.K., the same neurological mechanisms that damaged the children in the lawsuit are still potentially at work in the confirmed excitotoxicity that takes place after many vaccine injections.

According to the International Business Times U.K. Edition, each of the victims is “expected to receive £1 million each.” Peter Todd, a lawyer who represented many of the claimants, told the Sunday Times (U.K.):Read more: http://naturalsociety.com/brain-damaged-victims-of-swine-flu-vaccine-win-63-million-lawsuit/#ixzz3xctJaUNt

THANK YOU, Sam. Wilbur is so cute in the winter like a stuffed animal, Yes, he did cheer me up. Reason why I didn't try those natural-tea for coughing is they all have honey. When I'm sick with fever, I HATE sweet. I did my way: freshly squeezed lime, 1/2 cup water, and lots of Tabasco sauce (cayenne pepper.. it was delicious for my taste bud and lessened my coughing & inflamed throat. I also put tons of black pepper in everything I eat. Before my flu I was sensitive to hot sauce, 3 sprinkle is enough ... with my flu I was putting at least 20 sprinkle of red cayenne pepper, didn't even taste it.

The body craves for it since acid in the stomach, hot sauce, and black pepper kill both virus and bacteria.

When I'm sick I become very sensitive to salty & sugary taste ... thus I vomited with that salty Alka-selzer COLD tablet that fizzle (it has Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate 1625mg ... the type that's hard to digest, plus Sodium Content 445mg per tablet ... add that together you get a week's worth of salt per small tablet). Why would anyone want to consume one's week worth of salt when a body is sick? My husband takes 4 pills per day, or 1 month worth of salt per day, every time he's sick, and he's absolutely cranky & blew up easily. He has high-blood pressure.

This is to prove that you can't trust pharma-companies, they put the cheapest ingredient, most unhealthy just for profits. Alka-selzer is constantly advertised on TV. The cold-fizzling type contains the same SALTY BASE as the one used for stomach acid. Why would anyone want to create an alkaline stomach when one can hardly digest food when sick? Why would anyone want to create neutral & alkaline stomach that encourage gas and bad bacteria? That's why Koreans eat hot & sour Kimchi when they are sick. And the Chinese eat Hot & Sour soup with lots of black pepper when they are sick.

http://www.alkaseltzer.ie/en/about-alka-seltzer/

God put a mechanism in our body to detest sweet & salty when we attacked by virus, since sugar suppress the immune system, and salt dries out the body. Notice how God makes sweet fruits in hot summer: blueberries, peaches, melons .. but toward the cold fall ... there's more acidic apple ... and during the coldest winter, there's the most acidic crop: pomegranate, grapefruit, tangerines, lemons & limes.

I never have craving for sweet unless it's during HOT summer, even then I'm happy with melons.

How are you feeling now Straw?

so sorry to hear about all your suffering...

has anyone heard anything from Khalid?

Jess: Thanks a lot for asking about me. I am back in Islamabad from a trip to Northern Pakistan where I attempted to shoot a Himalayan Ibex but despite lot of rough and tough time, couldn't succeed. Came back today. I really appreciate and value your sentiments. Thanks a lot and all my prayers for rains in your area. I am sure nature will help. When the humans try to make the life of other humans difficult, God is always there to help those who are in problem. But in my humble view we have to show trust in God and make efforts to correct the wrong (both are essential in my view).

best regards

Thank you, Jess and Khalid for your comforting words. I went to the PA (physician assistant) on Jan 20. He checked my ears and found the right ear badly blocked, same with the left ear. When the cold virus attacks the body, it inflames the Eustachian tube. Some info. from Mayo clinic: "With plugged ears, your eustachian tubes — which run between the middle of your ears and the back of your nose — become obstructed. You may experience a feeling of fullness or pressure in your ears. You may also have ear pain, dizziness and muffled hearing. As swelling from the cold subsides, the obstruction usually resolves."

My experience is very much like what the below doc. went through:

http://www.healthxchange.com.sg/healthyliving/SpecialFocus/Pages/a-common-cold-can-cause-vertigo.aspx

" Dr Young, 33, started an otherwise ordinary day with a mild sore throat and a runny nose – like he was coming down with a cold. However, by the third evening, he started to feel light-headed and awoke the following morning with severe vertigo. He felt as if the room was spinning around him.

“For the first two days after the vertigo set in, I couldn’t eat, drink, turn my head or even move my eyes from side to side without vomiting or feeling the room spin around me,” he said. It turns out that Dr Young had labyrinthitis, a condition where the labyrinth (the inner ear) is inflamed and not functioning normally. Dr Young, an infectious disease specialist from Britain who works at a local hospital, self-medicated with vestibular suppressants and anti-emetics. These are prescription drugs to suppress dizziness and nausea. “But they had little effect." he said.

“The acute vertigo usually lasts from a few days to two weeks. As it resolves, the patient experiences slight imbalance or unsteadiness while walking. This rehabilitation phase may last for one or two months. The hearing function may or may not fully recover. The recovery period is fastest during the first month but the patient may still recover up to six months after the onset of the disease,” said Dr Tan.

Labyrinthitis is often spontaneous and idiopathic but can occur after a cold, flu or upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). “These infections don’t usually affect the inner ear. More often, in URTIs, the middle ear is affected when bacteria and nasal secretions pass through the eustachian tubes to the middle ear causing fluid accumulation. A bad middle ear infection can lead to the spread of infection to the brain, or in rare cases, labyrinthitis as well,” said Dr Tan.

**** From Straw, the P.A. who examined my ears recommended an MRI of the brain (magnetic resonance imaging scan) to show the inflammation. The cost? $1,000. I said, "NO way, I'm going to rinse my ears with hydrogen peroxide". I went home, fill a glass-dropper with hydrogen peroxide, rinsed my left ear. That cleared out completely. The right ear which bled, I had to rinse it 3 times with hydroxide peroxide ... and my vertigo went away !! I was able to stretch my head backward in all directions. Hydrogen peroxide kills all three: bacteria, fungi, and virus.

Saw the headline on my Comcast main page: "30 foods you should never eat after you turned 30". Besides salty canned soup, lifeless granola bar, sugary pop tarts, it listed flavored yogurt: "Dannon’s Fruit on the Bottom flavored yogurt line, for example, has about 24 grams—or an entire day’s worth—of sugar in each 6-ounce container. That’s more sugar than you’d find in an entire bag of Dark Chocolate Peanut M&Ms!"

http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/30-foods-you-should-never-eat-after-age-30/ar-AAg1K5e?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=U218DHP#page=8

Other unhealthy choices " Instead of caramel coloring—the chemical that makes Coke brown—Diet Mountain Dew and Fresca are colored with brominated vegetable oil, a chemical used in rocket fuel and flame retardants. It’s been shown to have negative effects on thyroid hormones and fertility, a primary health concern of people in their 30s.

What’s the connection? “Added chemicals like BVO can contribute to internal inflammation, which has been linked to obesity."

Excess caffeine: " Once you’re in your 30s, caffeine can take more of a toll on the body. “As we age, our circadian rhythms change, as do our hormones, which can make us more sensitive to caffeine and affect our ability to sleep soundly,” says Smith.

What’s wrong with getting a little less sleep? In a recent study of more than 500 participants, researchers found that losing a mere 30 minutes of shut-eye increased their risk of obesity by 17 percent!

Doritos loaded with MSG, increase one's appetite. Any chips loaded with MSG would tastes good, but one will eat more.

"Coffee creamer and sunblock have more in common than you might think. They both contain titanium dioxide, an ultraviolet radiation blocker that doubles as a whitening agent. Pretty much all of Coffee Mate’s products have this scary ingredient that has been shown to diminish memory in adults under 45 years old."

http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/nutrition/30-foods-you-should-never-eat-after-age-30/ar-AAg1K5e?li=BBnbfcL&ocid=U218DHP#page=8

MSN health is my favorite browsing page. It has this slide show "18 weight loss tips from around the world", I summarize them here:

" By incorporating spicy chiles into your diet, you are consuming more capsaicin. Capsaicin helps not only with appetite suppression but also with thermogenesis (heat production that can increase energy expenditure)."

The Japanese practice of hara hachi bu supports a healthy diet by counseling that you should eat until you are just 80 percent full. The long-living Okinawa (over 100 year-old) practice hara hachi bu.

American, grain-fed cows tend to be fattier than the grass-fed cows of Argentina. It should go without saying that leaner beef leads to leaner bodies.

Injera, a teff flour-based sourdough flatbread, is used to soak up food in place of utensils in Ethiopia. Low in fats and low on the glycemic index, teff flour’s benefits include maintaining a healthy weight and providing vital energy.

French meals are notorious for their length. With long, relaxing lunches and dinners, diners do not feel the need to stuff food down as quickly as possible. And, as it turns out, eating more slowly can help you feel full faster.

Swiss muesli is very similar to granola. The main difference is that all of the ingredients are raw. The high protein content of muesli helps diners feel fuller faster and so does its high fiber count.

Hungary and pickled foods: While pickled foods often have high levels of sodium, the vinegar used in the process may aid your quest to drop some pounds. The vinegar can fill your stomach, and it contains acetic acid which has been shown to fight against obesity.

While portion sizes and the all-you-can-eat style have reached an intimidating state here in America, the United Kingdom’s sizing is much smaller and more reasonable.

Tumeric: This free-radical-fighting, anti-inflammatory, diabetes-squashing, aromatic powder ... its prolific use in Malaysian cuisine, residents of the country get to reap the benefits of its health-boosting properties regularly. Turmeric’s dietary role is that of a cholesterol-reducer (especially the “bad,” LDL cholesterol) and thermogenesis-encourager.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/weightloss/18-weight-loss-tips-from-around-the-world/ss-BBouzXt?ocid=U218DHP#image=20

*** While being sick from the flu-shot reaction. I did all the above, except for Muesli (raw granola). My body hates sugar and crave for hot pepper, pickles, ginger and curry powder. I eat 1/2 of what I normally eat, and drink lots of fresh-lemon-juice (no sugar).

Before the flu shot in Dec., I was 127 lb. My weight of today, Jan. 23 is 121 lb. I lost 6 lbs just by disliking sugar, and eating less.

I don't need to eat the same portion as when I was younger with faster metabolism. For older people (over 50), we need very little food to stay warm & sleep well. Unless I'm a lumber-jack chopping woods in the winter, I would need to eat more. But it takes very little calories just to sit around.

Straw: I hope you are feeling better now. Are you still taking ginger / cinnamon tea?

And what an informative post (rather posts). I am very surprised to see that your research these days talks of many practices that are traditional (and some are even religious) in our culture. But during past 20-30 years, we have stopped following old traditions with regard to health and eating and started following things which are absolutely un-healthy.

Like, what does come from religion in my culture regarding eating? Few things mentioned below:

- Wash your hands properly before eating and eat with hands. Use right hand for eating.

- Avoid very hot and very cold food. Eat slowly and chew well.

- Eat while sitting.

- Stop eating when you are still a little hungry (like 80% filled)

- Eat simple food. Simpler the better

Our traditional ways also emphasize on the same things, plus eating the fruits / vegetables / grains OF THE SEASON is a must. Turmeric, along with many other spices is an essential part of our curries. Our traditional pickle is oil based (and not vinegar based) and is an essential part of our daily diet. We mostly use mustard oil for making pickle. Mango chunks, green chillies, lemon, carrots are most commonly used though anything can be used. Our pickles are spicy, containing red chilies, cumin seed, turmeric, coriander, salt, cardamom and many other spices.

However, we are fast losing these traditions and moving towards fast foods and other junk stuff at an enonrmous pace. Our foods are no more simple rather getting more and more complicated. What we traditionally used to eat only on festivals and gatherings (marriages etc), we now eat them in routine. Those foods, which were very high in nutrition were not to be eaten in routine but now we do eat them in routine because eating simple food makes us look "poor" and "underprivileged".

Time to revert to old traditions, of course after knowing the reason why they were done so that one feels convinced that he is doing the right thing

best regards

A lot of good Ideas. Thanks for posting this list.

Thank you, Khalid, for an excellent input. Mustard oil is fantastic as pickle-base. Some info: Stimulant: Mustard essential oil is a very strong stimulant, just like mustard oil. It is particularly effective in stimulating circulation, digestion and excretion. It also stimulates digestion by stimulating the secretion of gastric juices and bile from the spleen and liver. The excretory system is also stimulated by this oil since the peristaltic motion of the intestines is activated, benefiting digestion." Mustard-oil based pickle sounds yummy.

Thank you, Khalid for influencing me toward spices, which helped me BOTH in losing weight, and in fighting the nasty side-effects of flu-shot.

Thank you, Sam, for being there during my worst moments of flu-shot reaction. Also Sam: thank you for setting a good example of walking daily, despite our very cold & icy zone 5a winter.

Thank you, Jess, for your genuine concern which prompted me to see the doc, that's when things started getting better.

I started a new thread 1/24/16: What you learn? Ways to lose weight & stay healthy & happy". I hope to see you both there.

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/3637717/1-24-16-what-you-learn-ways-to-lose-weight-and-stay-healthy-and-happy

Wow, so much information, here. I have to come back and glean thoroughly for healthy tidbits.