Now the leaves are coming back. You can see the green veils on trees and feel the sparkling air while walking and enjoying the awakeining of nature.  Each and every year when Spring is in the air. you feel fresh and ready to face a new adventure. Life is an adventure. If you look at it with curious eyes, you will be happy to see that nature is repeating its outburst of flowers, colors, scents and that you can taste fresh vegetables that not only are delicious but that also deliver a great many health benefits.

I would like to talk about one of the most beneficial Spring vegetables, the asparagus. This vegetable  has been grown for centuries  in most areas of the planet. There exist several hundred types of asparagus but only about 20 are edible. There are three major groups. They have all a different color. The first one is white with long and rather fleshy spears, The second one is green and its spears are less fleshy and thinner  but as long as the white ones. The third group is purple in color and its spears are much shorter than those of the other two groups. In fact the white and the green type of asparagus reach a length of 6 to 8 inches whereas the purple asparagus reaches only 2 to 3 inches. This latter kind has got a fruity flavor that distinguishes it from the other two types. The asparagus should be eaten shortly after having been harvested and bought. You may  store it in the refrigerator for 2 days. After that time it starts to lose water and to shrink.

As asparagus is no longer a luxury food as it used to be time ago, you can enjoy it without spending much.

All edible types of asparagus  bring many health benefits to you. One other reason why you should eat this produce in Spring is its low calorie content. In fact a cup containing 134 grams, brings just 26 calories. .There are many ways to enjoy this vegetable.  You can eat it as it is or accompanied by an egg or some raped cheese on top. You can also cut the spears and mix the chunks with a risotto or with pasta. Whatever you choose, asparagus is healthy and tasty.

You will tell me that this is not a typical spring vegetable. In fact, depending on where you live, you can buy it from February onwards until June or even July. However, its best season is Spring.

The asparagus gives you a wealth of health benefits. I would just like to point out a few of them.

One of the major benefits is its detoxifying action. You can eat freshly steamed asparagus drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with a light seasoning. As this vegetable has high fiber content, it will help your  bowel movement. These fibers can do even more for you. They help prevent colon cancer and other forms of cancer as well. You can avoid taking laxatives if you eat this vegetable. It is also  diuretic and therefore helps you to eliminate waste in various ways.

The asparagus contains many vitamins like C, A, K, E and the complex of the B vitamins. It also brings many minerals to you like copper, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, calcium, selenium, zinc and iron. There are also other components that interest the metabolism and help avoid or better diabetes 2 and heart diseases.

This vegetable can help you  release stress and anxiety naturally if you eat it freshly steamed. You just add some drops of olive oil and  some seasoning. Why can it do this? Thanks to its loads of those B vitamins needed to help fight off stress and anxiety naturally. Enjoy it while it is fresh.

You know, anxiety can be cured in many ways. We would prefer the natural ones. I know that the synthetic ones act more quickly in general. However, there are many natural cures that act as quickly as you want them to.
You will say that anxiety comes up so quickly that you cannot make it disappear in a moment. This statement is only halfway true. I will be showing you how you can face anxiety the natural way. There are many different methods and you can choose the one that corresponds best to you.
As this is a large and vast field, I will be sharing these methods over the coming weeks. Some take into consideration your nutrition, others your breathing , others your overall life, others the more spiritual aspect. You see, there are many topics we can talk about and they will all conduct us to the same result._ Live without anxiety. I guess you all want this.
Anxiety seems to be part of our lives.. As long as it shows up in critical situations, where there is a real thing to be faced, it is ok. This is then more a fear that shows up as a panic attack and not anxiety as such. I must admit that these terms are often used in an inappropriate way. You can look up a dictionary for psychology and you will find an infinity of terms. Not even at a professional level anxiety equals anxiety.
What we are talking about is the emotion that turns up in an unexpected way , that threatens the person who is experiencing it. In most cases, it does not last for hours on end although this is possible. Anxiety as such does not harm you and you will not die, although you think you will drop dead while it lasts. Only in the long run it might have physical effects but we are here to avoid this. This is why I am going to propose to you natural cures.
The first thing I suggest is that you concentrate your attention on your fingers. You may know that each and every finger can help you to calm down.
Press the top of each finger or massage it. The effect is almost immediate.
Start preferably on the left hand. And do it by pressing the top of your pinky finger, then continue to the ring finger, the middle finger, the index finger and the thumb, then go to your right hand and do the same on the fingers of your right hand. By the end of one cycle, you are getting calmer. Repeat the cycle three times. You can do this little massage also when you do not have an anxiety attack. It is always healthy and helpful. It has an effect on all your inner organs and on the nervous system.
This is the first simple natural cure. I will talk about another simple method next time.

Did you go over your books? I mean did you think of how you had accomplished and fulfilled your last year’s resolutions, the decisions you had taken?
Did you really fulfill them? Or did you find out that they had just remained words?
Whatever your results, please take a moment and make a commitment. I would like you to take some decisions on how you are going to treat yourself.
On how you are going to treat our planet.
Yes, I said planet. You can do a lot to preserve it. It is the year in which you should be very careful about it. What do you think you can do to help our separation of the garbage. Paper on one side, plastic on another, glass on a third side, metals on a forth side. You may even find more items to separate. Maybe that in your community you will find containers for the various kinds of waste.
Something else: Be careful with how you buy your food stuff. When you buy, for example, bananas, you can take them home just as they are. Whatever can be carried without paperbags or other envelopments, is a contribution to a better place.
Don’t buy plastic cups and dishes. They cannot be re-used and are therefore anti-ecological.
When you can walk as the distance is short, please do it. Walking is good for your health and preserves the air. Every person who leave their car at home, contribute to a better quality of the air.
Use public transportation where available.
Don’t buy magazines you do’t really need or read.So many trees are cut that could be preserved.
A part from the contribution to our planet’s health, you also save money. Very often, one does not think of this, but if you add all the waste in your daily life, you will see that, if you are more conscious in your habits, you may save a bunch of money. For yourself but also for the community.
If you take into consideration these few resolutions that are so helpful, you will agree that they do not cost you anything. They will make you feel better about yourself. This turns out to be of help for your anxiety. Feeling better about oneself, is a big contribution to mental health. You see, you can improve your life by living more consciously. Isn’t this wonderful?
You can make a list of what you are going to change in your daily life and what will contribute to the betterment of our planet’s health. It is a question of responsibility
We are all invited to do our part. Thanks for your help.

First of all, be aware that the most important vitamins your body needs when it is anxious, are those of the B-group.
They all have a strong impact on your psyche, on your mental state and on your nervous system.
Don’t forget that anxiety may be a normal reaction in stressful situations. It only becomes a problem if you feel it all day long. Then it is no longer a normal reaction but has become a habit. Your anxiety may become the fear of an anxiety attack. and so on and so forth.
Then it becomes an unwanted reaction and perpetuates itself. It has to come to an end. Otherwise you might harm yourself in your overall health.
In any case, anxiety is not a good companion. A part from a healthy way of living, you need to give your body the vitamins that it needs to protect you against the negative effects of your anxiety.
The best vitamins are those of the B-group and I am going to show you why:
Every single vitamin of this group plays a particular part in maintaining your nervous system in good health.
Vitamin B1: It is also called thiamine. This vitamin improves your mood. It is important in keeping the heart and the nervous system run normally.
A lack of this vitamin can cause irritability. Sometimes it also influences the energy level.
Vitamin B2 is also called riboflavin. It is required by the body to produce anti-stress hormones. It also helps to release energy stored in food. Furthermore, it is needed for the metabolism of proteins.
Vitamin B3. Another name for this vitamin is niacin. Its deficiency causes mental instability. Anxiety and stress can cause skin-related problems. This vitamin provides a protection against skin-problems and inflammation.
Vitamin B5. Again, this vitamin helps the body produce anti-stress hormones.
As anxiety is strongly related to stress, the lack of these vitamins could cause your anxiety to show up more often.
Vitamin B6 also know as pyridoxine has a role in keeping your nervous system functioning properly. If you are lacking of a sufficient coverage of B6, you might experience anxiety or even depression. Insomnia is also related to its lack as is irritability.

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Vitamin B12 is playing a big role in providing the necessary brain chemicals that make you feel good. This vitamin is also essential for the production of red blood cells.
There exist two other types of vitamin B that are not yet taken into consideration and I therefore am not able to comment on.
You see, every single vitamin B is involved in the functioning of the nervous system which on its part is involved in the good mood or in irritability.
Most of these vitamins are available in their natural form. They can be found in the food. If you are a vegan, you have to take B12 as a supplement because this vitamin is mainly present in meat or in other animal proteins. There are many sources for the whole group of B vitamins. They go from germs, to peanuts, to pork and brown rice for the B1, to milk, yoghurt, avocados, beef liver for the B2, from chicken, potatoes, sunflower seeds for B3, from eggs, avocados, nuts, green vegetables for the B5, from bananas, fish, chicken, seeds in general and cabbage for the vitamin B6 to all animal proteins for the vitamin B12.
You can certainly cover your needs in vitamin B if you take into consideration the various food stuff available in your area. By eating the right food you can protect yourself against anxiety. If you already suffer from anxiety, you can lessen its frequency or intensity by eating the appropriate food.

Fall has just started. In fact, the Fall equinox has taken place on Friday September 23 at 11 am. What does this mean to all of us? Fall is a wonderful season, it’s the season of harvesting. Nature is giving us vegetables, fruits, grains, seeds, potatoes. Many of these produce ripen in Fall and are therefore harvested.
Many of these goodies will be preserved for Winter. However, if you have the opportunity to eat them while they are fresh, do so. They will give you a wealth of nutrients, of vitamins and of microelements.
If your nutrition is well balanced, your immune system is reinforced and can eqasily face the colder weather.
What you have to be careful about, are your lungs. They have to do a harder job in the forthcoming months that might be cold. The energy channels of the lungs belong to Fall. Help them to do their work properly. You can do so by keeping your body warm, by putting bowls of water in your home. You can put them In every room. It is important to keep the air slightly humid especially in your bedroom. Dry air irritates your lungs. Irritated lungs conduct to coughs or to even more severe diseases. You can absolutely avoid them if you observe these simple rules. One of these rules is also to avoid cold drinks. Cold or ice-drinks cool the temperature of your body down and this is no good during Fall and Winter. To tell you the truth, it is never good, but in the warmer seasons the impact is not so dangerous.
If your food contains grains and seeds, like sunflower and pumpkin seeds, you contribute to the good health of your body.
Eat the fruits of this wonderful season. You will find fresh apples, pears, grapes. And don’t forget to eat nuts. They all get ripe in Fall and they all contain excellent proteins, excellent fats and a wealth of very healthy nutrients.
You will enjoy Fall if you observe these simple rules. Fall is the season of warm colors, of falling leaves, of shorter days and longer nights. It is a good habit to walk in this explosion of colors because they not only look beautiful but they give us a feeling of coziness.

Now that Spring has arrived, your Snacks should really be healthy and not contain a lot of industrial sugar or wheat. Your body needs light meals and light snacks.
Nowadays people get aware of the importance of healthy foods from the very start.
If young people get used to eating properly, they will like fruits, veggies, yogurt, cream cheese, rye bread and other healthy foods.
Snacks should also be good to look at. You can cut the fruits into small pieces. Then you can put them on a stick like a kabob. You can put a piece of fruit and then a small slice of rye bread and again a piece of fruit until the stick is complete.
This snack gives you vitamins and some carbs. It does not contain fats and no sugar except for the fruit sugar. This can actually be combined with any fruit as long as they are fresh and do not have any syrup that might drop.
Another healthy snack that contains proteins, are pieces of cooked turkey that you also put on a stick. You can alternate them with small slices of cucumber or another veggie that you like. This snack does not contain sugar at all, very little fat but some fibers and proteins.
A third healthy snack may be prepared with pieces of veggies and a dip. The kid in yourself or in your family will like to dip veggies or also fruits. The dip could be just a plain yogurt. This snack gives you some vitamins, a little fat and proteins. Do not use fat-free products. They usually contain some additives that are not healthy at all.
The fourth snack could be rye crackers that are put in a dip of cream cheese. This cheese should not contain salt or only very little. Cream cheeses with low salt content are available everywhere. If you love this cheese, you will be thrilled by the idea of eating some crackers together with this cheese.
The fifth snack can be made with pieces of fruit that you alternate with pieces of veggies, all of them put on a stick like a kabob.
This is a very low calorie snack but, as it will be colored and looks nice.
We all also eat with our eyes. When a snack looks funny and is colored, you will like it better.
Your fantasy can help you make your family enjoy their small meals. Snacks should never be a big meal.
Other recipes for snacks are contained in my ebook Anxiety,Goodbye! that you can download from

Junk Food and Anxiety

Do you know how much junk food you are eating every single day? And do you understand that junk food is really junk?
It is not only junk for our physical well being. It is also junk food for our overall well being or its contrary. In fact, many of the foods you intake every single day, contribute to your not well being. It may contribute to your various difficulties at a physical and at a mental level, not to mention your psychical and emotional level.. It has been renowned now for some decades that the human being consists of various parts: the physical body, the brain with the mental and its spiritual part And not to be forgotten, the emotional part. You cannot take these as single parts of a person as they are just intrinsic of the person. They all need fuel in order to function well. Good fuel is not junk food. Good fuel is not necessarily organic food but it is natural food. Natural food means food stuff that has not been processed . Food that can be consumed either in its raw form or, if prepared and cooked, prepared and cooked in a simple way. Without the addition of too much oil and/or flour nor of too much sugar, especially the white one.
It means that our food should not be deep fried. .Among the deep fried junk food we find especially French fries. These are mostly prepared with low quality oils. And often with exhausted oils, oils that have been used many times to deep fry whatever came their way. If you prepare your meals at home, you can eat French fries once in a while because you know that if you use fresh and quality oil, it’s ok. Another often encountered junk food are hamburgers. Again, they are deep fried. The quality of the meat is often very bad.
Just a word about the components of junk food: if taken separately, the ingredients of junk food may even be normal food. It is the way of their treatment, processing and cooking which often creates junk food. If you cooked your potatoes in a steamer or had them transform in hash browns, they certainly would not be junk food but highly valuable food. The same can be said of hamburgers. If you cook the individual parts of the hamburger mixture, separating the meats and cook them as short fried meat to eat together with pasta and without adding any ketchup, but maybe just a fresh tomato, you can eat a satiable, healthy meal.
And it can go on and on.
Apart from the salty junk foods, there is a huge range of sweets that are nothing else but junk. When you are suffering from anxiety or panic attacks, you often eat these junk sweets because they give you immediate satisfaction. However, the satisfaction does not last long and so you put more of them into your stomach. What you are not aware of is that these sweet stuff gives you too much sugar and hardened fats. Both these food stuffs are no good for you. Especially if you tend to put on weight, you should watch it and not intake these sweets. Sugar has a tendency to be transformed by your body into fat. And the hardened fats are dangerous for your heart. So, stay away from these kinds of sweets. It is better for you to eat a fresh fruit. It satisfies you as far as your hunger for sweet is concerned and it gives your body what it needs. Instead of a fruit, you could also eat a handful of nuts. They give you a wealth of good nutrients and satisfy your longing for sweets.