AGAVE YES OR NO?

I`m tired of people arguing with me about Agave sweetener..so I took the following from 'Real-age food bites' maybe you will listen to them.

True or False: Agave’s the Healthiest Sweetener Out There

Could it be true? Is there really an all-natural, low-calorie sweetener -- with no aftertaste -- that doesn’t send your blood sugar into the stratosphere? Fans say agave (ah-GAH-vay) nectar fits that description. And to judge by the flood of agave-sweetened foods and drinks on supermarket shelves -- hundreds have been introduced in the last 2 years -- the new sweet stuff has a lot of believers. It’s even showing up in cocktails at trendy bars. So, is it true? Or too good to be?

T or F: Agave is super sweet.
True indeed! It’s four times sweeter than white sugar. Just 1/4 teaspoon of agave nectar/syrup approximates the sweetness of 1 teaspoon of sugar, costing you just 4 calories instead of 16.

T or F: Agave is all natural.
True, sort of. But “all natural” doesn’t mean “not processed.” Agave comes from the desert-dwelling succulent Agave tequilana, which is also the source of tequila. However, turning the plant’s juicy sap into a syrupy nectar you can drizzle on yogurt or stir into tea takes some doing. Some manufacturers heat the sap; others use enzymes to convert it into table-ready syrup.

T or F: Agave has no flavor.
True and false. It depends on whether the syrup is light or dark. The lightest types are virtually flavorless, but darker varieties have a maple- or caramel-like taste that you may take to . . . or not.

T or F: Agave has a low glycemic index (GI).
True. Because agave nectar is mostly fructose, it makes a pit stop for processing in the liver, which lowers its glycemic index (GI) -- a measurement of how quickly a food makes blood sugar rise. Table sugar is about half glucose, which goes straight to the bloodstream and sends blood sugar zooming in minutes.

T or F: Agave is a healthy sweetener.
More false than true. The major health benefit is that you may use less agave than sugar to get the same sweetness. But that’s about where the health-buck stops. People who’ve heard all the bad press about high-fructose corn syrup -- and avoid it like the plague -- need to realize that agave nectar is a high-fructose syrup (at least 75% fructose). Many health experts believe high-fructose foods are not good for you. “Perhaps most worrisome is that excessive fructose may increase the risk of metabolic syndrome and diabetes,” says Richard Johnson, MD, author of The Sugar Fix: The High-Fructose Fallout That is Making You Fat and Sick (2008). It also triggers a combination of unhealthy effects that can eventually lead to a host of troubles, including heart disease and stroke, according to Johnson and others.

Bottom line: If you’ve got a serious sweet tooth, a little agave syrup now and then may help you control calories and blood sugar spikes. But that’s as far as it goes --and the trade-offs aren’t great. Sorry about that.

Well as I have always said CURB YOUR SWEET TOOTH but if you can`t - sweeten with FRESH CANE JUICE!

What we should really be up in "arms" about

So now here comes the news that some people are upset about Michelle Obama showing her arms. Excuse me? If I had her arms I would never wear sleeves...that gown and neck piece that she wore this week at the Governors ball was breathtaking , her plum coloured dress she wore when the President gave his speech to Congress was on spot..... her dress at the Stevie Wonder, White House, concert - a Kai Milla (Stevie`s wife ) design, I need to borrow along with the Tracy Reese dress on the cover of this week's People magazine, and lets not even talk about the one in her official portrait, Michael Kors it is......What happen? Would these critics be happier if she wasn`t representing ? If she was dowdy and looked like that picture in that awful white organza or taffeta frilly dress that she had on some years ago posing with her husband ?
Why aren`t they proud of how she has come into her own and showing us what a clothes horse she is given the chance.Her hair and makeup is such a georgeous makeover! I think the 2 of them are just hot and sexy and we have far more important things to get worked up about.... for example the tent city that is forming in Sacramento California, that's far more important. The homeless that have been there for a while say that now everyday new families join them .
The other thing to talk about is food additives.......that term might sound like something positive. It is not - at least when it comes to your health. Check out this listing of 12 food additives you should avoid like the plague.The number one is sodium nitrite.
In Jamaica a lot of folks give the ackee a bad name but I think it's the sodium nitrite that's in the saltfish that we cook it in that is the guilty culprit.... some of us even add corn pork and bacon along with the saltfish...........
Sodium Nitrite is used to preserve, colour and flavour meat and smoked fish products, so we are double, actually triple dipping our ackee dish if this report is true.
Christine Gerbstadt,M.D.,M.P.H.,R.D.,L.D.N. a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association says of sodium nitrite "this would be at the top of my list of additives to cut from my diet" ......We touch one or the other of these 12 additives every day of life unless you eat fresh fruits and vegetables or cook for yourself, and that means fixing ackee without the saltfish!

LIFESTYLE CHANGES CUTS CANCER RISKS

The study is out........changes in lifestyle cuts cancer risks.
They are not saying it is guaranteed, but they have found that simple lifestyle changes like diet, weight control, exercise and not smoking is still the best way to statistically reduce your chance of a cancer diagnosis.
The American Institute for Cancer Research presented the findings of the most comprehensive report on cancer prevention policy ever undertaken at a Congressional briefing on Capitol Hill today.
Some amazing numbers are contained in the report:
Over 45% of colon cancer cases and 38% of breast cancer cases in the U.S. can be prevented by making changes in diet, physical activity and weight control.
Although cancer is also caused by radiation, smoking etc, why not start by removing all processed foods from your diet and go for a walk....give yourself a chance.
A report this evening on the CBS news with Katie Couric told us how China is having problems with breast cancer as they are rapidly replacing their low fat, high vegetable diet in favour of the west`s way of eating - don`t forget that MacDonald's` is now in China.
There was a doctor saying they have never seen these kind of cancers before . The report said they are hoping it doesn`t spread to the rural areas where they still eat the foods that they grow , but they are very worried as even the bicycle paths now are being replaced by freeways and Tai Chi is now a dying art........
Another report that I saw recently showed that the fruit and vegetables in the supermarket now carry codes on them to tell us which ones are genetically engineered and which ones are not. They have letters that will tell you what is organic, what has pesticides etc. and what is genetically engineered. Can you imagine that ? And there was the most beautiful dark red plum which was genetically engineered.
Now if that is happening daily in our supermarkets, just imagine what we are fighting elsewhere?
I ate with a few of my workmates this morning including the nurse, I remember she had scrambled eggs and left her stir fried vegetables on the plate(why eat that first thing in the morning) oil? I think not! The other one (male) had bacon at least a pound or 2 with eggs and the other person had cereal and milk....they all think I`m strange with my plate of fruits - MELON - if I`m eating melon it's a plate of only melon. So while we were chatting one of the persons who has given up meat for lent suggested that the bacon-eater should give up bacon for lent and he said he couldn`t do it .....it would be too hard...God bless him.

The Importance of Greens

I`m tired of hearing..... I don`t like it, it tastes so bad.......well try and like, no try and LOVE greens as we need to eat them everyday.
Greens will help you overcome and prevent all kinds of deficiencies, it's the best way to keep fat off, it stops cravings and you will have more energy than ever.
I must say that since I discovered greens, my eyes pop open at 6 a.m. and I`m ready to pop out of bed whereas before I would want to pull the covers tighter.
There is also that myth that greens have no protein.....greens contain quality proteins, it has all your major vitamins A, C, E.....and more importantly it provides essential alkaline minerals such as calcium and magnesium that are found in insufficient quantities in things like fruits, nuts and seeds. That's why you should add greens to your regular diet. I`m not speaking about a diet of bread and meat as those are acid-forming foods, and mucus forming too, I'm talking about your fruit, nuts and seeds (regular healthy ) diet you MUST add greens to get enough minerals.
What constitutes greens? IT'S GREEN VEGETABLES...
But we have to eat good quality green vegetables, we think we can eat celery and romaine lettuce and that's it......
Many Jamaicans consider raw greens to be iceberg lettuce and tomato or shredded white cabbage and carrot.
Folks we need more than that.
Some of you ask me what is kale and mustard ? You tell me you have NEVER heard of purple mustard.
Well all those make up quality greens. Spinach,calaloo, pak choi(the green part not the white as that is where the waste is stored)celery, all kinds of lettuce-iceberg has the least nutrients.
Parsley, basil, oregano etc. you can use as seasoning to make your greens taste good also cilantro ,purple onion, purple cabbage and all colours of sweet pepper.
People tell me they can`t digest sweet pepper, no wonder the green one that you are eating hasn`t ripened yet, leave it and watch it turn various colours of orange and red on your counter..... then you eat it.
Green-leaf vegetables are the best source of folic acid and folates,which as you know is necessary for pregnant mothers.
PLEASE NOTE:we have to chew properly so the tough fiber of greens can be broken down well enough for the nutrients to be assimilated, therefore be conscious of that....maybe that's why green smoothies are now so popular........just don`t add sugar or condensed milk to it PLEASE!

NEVER LISTEN WITH YOUR MIND MADE UP

The truths of life are best taught through stories and the following is one of my favourites :

A teacher teaching math to a 7-year-old asked him, "If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?”

The child replied confidently, "Four!"

The dismayed teacher was expecting an effortless correct answer (three). She was disappointed. "Maybe the child did not listen properly," she thought. She repeated, 'listen carefully. If I give you one apple and one apple and one apple, how many apples will you have?'

The boy had seen the disappointment on his teacher's face. He calculated again on his fingers. But within him his search for the answer was not for the correct one, but the one that will make his teacher happy.

This time hesitatingly he replied, "Four ..."

The disappointment stayed on the teacher's face. She remembered that he liked strawberries. She thought maybe he doesn't like apples, and that is making him lose focus. This time with an exaggerated excitement and twinkling in her eyes she asked, "If I give you one strawberry and one strawberry and one strawberry, then how many will you have?"

Seeing the teacher happy, the young child calculated on his fingers again. There was no pressure on him, but a little on the teacher. She wanted her new approach to succeed.

With a hesitating smile the young boy enquired, "Three?"

The teacher now had a victorious smile. Her approach had succeeded. She wanted to congratulate herself. But one last thing remained. Once again she asked him, "Now if I give you one apple and one apple and one more apple how many will you have?"

Promptly he answered, "Four!"

The teacher was aghast. "How, how?" she demanded in a little stern and irritated voice.

In a voice that was low and hesitating,the young boy replied, "Because I already have one apple in my bag."

The Moral of the Story?

When someone gives you an answer that is different from what you expect, don't think they are wrong. There may be more to it than meets the eye. You will have to listen and understand, BUT NEVER LISTEN WITH YOUR MIND MADE UP.

It is so important to keep an open mind in life, and that includes when it comes to your health. Simply believing the status quo, without searching for a deeper explanation, will often leave you with a superficial solution and an unrealistic slant on what is real. For instance, all of the following may seem true at face value, but if you dig deeper you’ll find that they are actually myths.

• HOSPITALS ARE ALWAYS SAFE AND CLEAN.- Biggest myth in the world..... my mother picked up an infection when she went to cut her cataracts that she didn`t recover from.
• TAKING PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS WILL ALWAYS RESTORE YOUR HEALTH.- Tell that to all the blood pressure and diabetes patients and their bags of medicine
• AMERICA HAS THE #1 HEALTH CARE IN THE WORLD.- When I had my first bout of colon cancer one of the doctors that came so highly recommended in Miami told me I had gas and prescribed some tablets that when I came back to Jamaica a pharmacist friend of mine on seeing me swallowing these things like sweets told me they were given to terminal cancer patients.
That's just three of many.

BARBARA LULICH

Special people are hard to take leave of,and now i know why my friends were so depressed in 2006.
Its always harder on the loved ones.yes we feel the pain but you are looking on unable to help.
I met her in mr. Kerrs office Barbara meet pat pat Barbara and there we instantly bonded as she told me she loved my locks a red flag to mr. kerr ,i instantly loved her as she in no uncertain terms told him how my look was perfect for the spa.
I had heard about her from the moment i arrived at ssb but had yet to meet her as she had left before i arrived but her name lingered on as the person reponsible for us never to know an empty day.
They were trying to get her to come back and that she did to SJG.
I quickly realized that if you wanted anything done she was the person to go to and my brochures suddenly srtarted looking like brochures as they got a makeover,courtesy of ms. B
She has a son a dark haired version of her and she, her partner and son,nothing but a riot,funny is not the word.
The pain came a good while before the DIAGNOSIS.
We ate everyday that we were at work at SJG together.The three directors they called us. We laughed and the other 2 prevented me from eating things like brisket which she devoured and then had a smoke to finish the meal,making sure she stayed far from me.
When i think of those things now i just cringe.........
she wanted to stop smoking so there came my holistic practitioner who told us her that her body was just too acidic........(take note of that people thats when all kinds of things creep in diseases can`t come in if your body stays alkaline.)
she took nothing that he gave her,i inherited them months later ..fast forward to late 2008 and she stopped smoking.....meanwhile the pain came she thought she had sciatica but after weeks of pain and trying everything in the world the diagnosis came lung spread to bone with tumours in the stomach walls.
Massive doses of chemo at the Mayo clinic did nothing.......diagnosis came 13th jan death came 23rd april.....
Missing her started during the Inauguration as things like that we watch with phone blackberries and computers going..........
It seems as if this desease is going to claim us all if we dont start preventing!

'WHAT IS A RAMPIN' SHOP?'

It's a controversial song about 'rampin' but that is the mildest part of it....the name . The one thing everybody agrees on , that is a positive , is that the rhythm sounds very good... but guess what ? It's not original! - just a take off of Neo's 'Independent Woman' - UTUBE is full of comments decrying the lack of creativity of our local deejays - this rampin' slackness beat all cock (pardon the pun) fight - Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Dennis Brown et al must be turning over in their graves.
We are now unable to write lyrics or make a rhythm. The HOME of reggae.....unable to make reggae music that one and all can enjoy. Wow!
Why are people even debating the banning of this slackness on the airways ? It should have happened long ago. If we had taken a stand years ago we wouldn`t have reached the stage where any artist could have released a whatever (as I can`t even find the word to call it as it's not a song )and think they could get it played on the air or anywhere for that matter.
Do these artists have children?
Do they realize that children repeat everything they hear and mimic everything they see?
One of the "daggering" dj`s Aidonia says he would never allow his children to listen to "daggering" songs and he thinks its a parenting problem not a dancehall problem.
He says his "daggering" music has one fit for airplay and one that is not, when asked why bother to make 2 why not just do the one that is fit for airplay he said the demand is greater for the other one. I gather you also have a dance that goes with these songs - simulated sex in clothes - if what some women wear nowadays can be called clothes.
The video, nothing but sex.....the lyrics, RAW is the only word for it.....Why were we allowed to reach here ?
Why wasn`t it stopped before we reached rock bottom ?
We saw that our music has been going nowhere for years.
The 3 artists that's keeping our flag alive Shaggy, Sean Paul and Damion Marley......they don`t sing nastiness.....Why if the international market doesn`t want nastiness do we Jamaicans want nastiness ? As make no mistake about it, we are the ones to blame especially the women who go to these shows and sing word for word the lyrics that belittle them....Do they know what that word 'belittle' means ?
When our sons grow up to disrespect women do we wonder where it comes from ?
My 19 year old son thinks its the norm to listen to 'pussy' 20 times in a song that lasts 2 minutes and 40 seconds. He is monitored but his Ipod is attached to his ears 24 hours a day and I am certainly not with him 24 hours a day and it's only when I hear the music do I shriek and break CD`s and delete the nastiness off the computer etc. What happens to the children whose parents do not monitor ? His choice of what he thinks is music means that he and I will never enjoy music as my older son and I do.
Can any young person enjoy good music anymore?
Is this nastiness what they mean by "sex sells"?
Beres Hammond has never been nominated for a Grammy!! Can anybody say why? Is his music too "soft" as the young people like to say?

Recession proofing Jamaica

I was in Kingston for the weekend and trust me they haven`t got the memo that there is a global recession going on...everywhere I look things are bubbling....houses being built, all kinds of fabulous new cars Audi Q7`s, BMW530`s and the new Mercedes Benz 200 C E or S...everybody out having a great time on Valentine's day. Young people out enjoying shows some with 3 children all under the age of 6. Young people coming home in droves even those that went as far as Dubai coming home due to what's happening there and they are back with first world ideas and first world energy to get the job done. As Butch Stewart one of our leading hoteliers said recently, Jamaica is not going to roll over and die....it certainly is not by the looks of things.
This will be a true test of spirit - if belief kills or belief cures we will find out using Jamaica as the guinea pig.
This is one time we are refusing to follow in America's path.
While out and mixing with the young entrepreneurs they tell me they think that the cancer stats are down in first world countries because of life style changes , the stats they say may be up in third world countries like Jamaica because of all the fast foods and insecticides and pesticides that have been exported here.
Families get their meals at fast food joints sometimes several times per week.
We have abandoned eating yam and other local produce for eating fast food........
We need to go back to growing our own food and realizing that all those American apples and grapes that have been sent here are no good for us......soak them and see what comes off them and look at them while soaking and freak.
We have our own apples and other fabulously delicious fruits, why buy those ?
We have our own cherries our own berries and our own plums, we just need to step up production and cut back on imports.
Bill Maher says 'PEOPLE DON`T CATCH A COLD THEY HATCH A COLD'
Amen!

ARE WE OUR BROTHERS KEEPERS?

I`m so sad because I realize that everyday there is a new sadness in my life...I wonder when will it stop and I have come to the conclusion that as long as people live in this world for themselves it will continue just as how we have reckless drivers on the road,the same way we eat the junk and think it's doing no harm, we cough without covering our mouths and pass the germs in the air, we don`t wash our hands and fix food not only for us but for others.......A friend just told me that her mother who I consider one of the brightest women I`ve ever met, suffers from constipation and yesterday told her that the reason she doesn`t drink water is because she doesn`t like the taste, therefore she has to take laxatives and suppositories to use the bathroom. Now she must know how upsetting this is to her daughter but that is not foremost in her mind , I`m sure if you pinpoint it to her she would feel badly and maybe think about it but she would continue same way as bottom line is, we think of ourselves first.
I see somebody commented on yesterday's blog that we are all ending up at the same place but using different paths to get there so maybe we need to hold our corner and not be our brother's keeper, but that's my problem.
Some of us really don`t know.....we do better when we know better.
So do we ignore those that do know but continue to not care or do we try to be our brother's keepers always trying to help so people can help themselves.....
Another question is because of how we think ....are we drawn to like-minded people? I always thought we are drawn to people we may have known in a previous life. In other words a close friend may have been a sister or mother before and if I walk into a room and my spirit immediately doesn`t take to someone, I always think they were an ex-husband in a past life,but that's for another blog.......
I believe the help path is the right path because if we leave people to their own devices like strewing garbage and ....they will destroy the planet and that's where all of us reside, not only them. Killing themselves is one thing ,I don`t want them to kill me too while I`m fighting to live.

PRIORITIES ?

As i told you in my previous blog, we cannot wait on the storms to pass we really HAVE to learn to dance in the rain and quickly !
We have to set our priorities and now.....they say cancer stats are going down but to those of us that are in the battle it seems to be going up..... my husband says it's because we are at the age where every one we know is dying anyway.
I ask him what age is that as I`m a young girl !
I spoke to a friend this morning and just as she told me she could not work with her manager, she caught herself and said but what's that ? My friend is dying and I`m talking about not being able to work with someone...what's that ?
Living in the now means being able to catch ourselves quickly, to hear ourselves and know immediately that we are chatting crap so we wheel and turn again mid-sentence.......Life is not only about us, life is about relationships, about caring, about love, about passion, about stopping to smell the roses yes indeed as cliche as it might sound and if what you are smelling is buttercups not roses, it's still what you are smelling, your reality.
You hear about people who die and they died not stopping to tiptoe among the tulips, always pushing, no family life, AND WE ASSUME THEY DIED A SAD AND BROKEN LIFE. Believe me for some of us that is our roses, that's what makes our heart sing, that's our cliche of smelling the roses, our passion, our adrenaline rush.
Some of us really do not want to stop and smell anything we really only want to leave our houses in the dark and go home in the dark. A lot of us if we stopped to enjoy the home we spent so much money for, wouldn`t know what to do there.
The family and the marriage aren`t for us anyway.
The reason we ate badly and had no time for the children is the same reason why we do so well at work.
When we focus we focus.....
I look around at my smoker friends, my friends that only eat processed food, no time to fix anything else or have it fixed although they can more than afford it......their reality, their happiness, their love for life comes from the not stopping, not even caring if roses exists or not.
These are the people who tell you that they are going to die anyway so let them be. I have been wondering what makes one way right and the other way wrong ? Who decides ?
Who are we to tell them to stop and smell the roses if that is not their reality.
They say when people are dying they regret time not spent with family not leaving behind the big mansion and the several cars, but would they have done it differently if they had it to do all over again?
Have you ever tried to stop a smoker smoking?
My father was one who said clearly if he had to stop smoking or drinking to live, he would rather die.....so die he did....quickly and efficiently, but what about the grieving wife he left behind who was so wrapped up in him that she lived the rest of her life like a shadow even though she remained a healthy, beautiful woman for over 40 years after my father's death ?
I`m confused today. Which way is up?

LEARNING HOW TO DANCE IN THE RAIN

See......... there is going to be a boycott of Kelloggs because they dropped Phelps....life is so interesting. On the other side Chris Brown has been dropped from the 'Got milk' campaign and faces 9 years in prison..........
All this crap that's going on makes me shudder, especially after watching the octuplets' mom looking like a pumped-up lip version of Angelina Jolie, I need something pleasant for my nerves and here is a great story .....it makes you believe in the goodness of life instead of the crap that distracts us minutely......I like to stay focused and in the now.
Here is the most beautiful story from Mac Anderson founder of SIMPLE TRUTHS :

The date was July 16, 2008. It was late in the afternoon and I was sitting in my hotel room in Louisville, Kentucky. I was scheduled to speak that evening for the Kentucky Association of School Administrators (KASA). I was a little "down in the dumps." I hadn't gotten to exercise lately because of my traveling schedule and recently I'd experienced some mild bouts of vertigo (that inner ear condition that can cause the room to start spinning.) You got it...speaking and "spinning" are not good partners!

My keynote presentation was scheduled for 7:00 PM, but I had been invited to show up at 6:00 to see a performance they said I'd enjoy. Little did I know that I was about to see something I would never forget.

They introduced the young musician.......Welcome...Mr. Patrick Henry Hughes. He was rolled onto the stage in his wheelchair, and began to play the piano. His fingers danced across the keys as he made beautiful music
He then began to sing as he played, and it was even more beautiful. For some reason, however, I knew that I was seeing something special. There was this aura about him that I really can't explain and the smile...his smile was magic!

About ten minutes into Patrick's performance, someone came on the stage and said..."I'd like to share a 7-minute video titled, The Patrick Henry Hughes story." And the lights went dim.

Patrick Henry Hughes was born with no eyes, and a tightening of the joints which left him crippled for life. However, as a child, he was fitted with artificial eyes and placed in a wheelchair. Before his first birthday, he discovered the piano. His mom said, "I could hit any note on the piano, and within one or two tries, he'd get it." By his second birthday, he was playing requests (You Are My Sunshine, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star). His father was ecstatic. "We might not play baseball, but we can play music together."

Today, Patrick is a junior at the University of Louisville. His father attends classes with him and he's made nearly all A's, with the exception of 3 B's He's also a part of the 214 member marching band. You read it right...the marching band! He's a blind, wheelchair-bound trumpet player; and he and his father do it together. They attend all the band practices and the half-time performance in front of thousands. His father rolls and rotates his son around the field to the cheers of Patrick's fans. In order to attend Patrick's classes and every band practice, his father works the graveyard shift at UPS. Patrick said..."My dad's my hero."

But even more than his unbelievable musical talent, it was Patrick's "attitude of gratitude" that touched my soul. On stage, between songs, he would talk to the audience about his life and about how blessed he was. He said, "God made me blind and unable to walk. BIG DEAL! He gave me the ability...the musical gifts I have...the great opportunity to meet new people."

When his performance was over, Patrick and his father were on the stage together. The crowd rose to their feet and cheered for over five minutes. It gave me giant goose bumps!

My life was ready to meet Patrick Henry Hughes. I needed a hero, and I found one for the ages. If I live to be a hundred, I'll never forget that night, that smile, that music, but most importantly, that wonderful "attitude of gratitude."

I returned to Chicago and shared Patrick's story with my wife, my friends, and our team at Simple Truths. About two weeks later, I received a letter from a friend. He said, "Mac, I don't know who said it, but I think you'll love this quote."

"Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass...it's about learning how to dance in the rain!

Life NOW is about learning to DANCE IN THE RAIN.

CHRIS BROWN vs MICHAEL PHELPS

I told u 'puss and dog don`t have the same luck' and look how quickly it has come to pass.
Check out the following news story posted ONE DAY AFTER Chris Brown's pre-Grammy fiasco :

Wrigley suspends Chris Brown's ad campaign
Wrigley says it's suspending ad campaigns featuring Chris Brown as its spokesman for Doublemint gum.
The company stopped short of saying they will drop the troubled R&B star completely.
A company statement expresses concern about what it calls "serious allegations made against Chris Brown." Wrigley said it would suspend any current advertising or any related marketing until the situation is resolved, adding that the 19-year-old should be "afforded the same due process as any citizen."

Chris Brown was arrested Sunday night for an alleged battery on a woman, sounds like alleged threats if I`m hearing right..bite marks?
ITS ALLEGED!... ALLEGED!
Chris Brown allegedly assaulted Rhianna (his girlfriend),the details have not been made public,he was booked on 'suspicion of making a criminal threat' and yet Wrigley's has already dropped his ad campaign..........to date I think only Kelloggs has dropped Michael Phelps for his bad behaviour (for which the evidence was photographed for all the world to see) yet he is still a spokesman for all the other companies he has deals with including Speedo, Subway, Visa, Hilton Hotels to name a few.........I told you if it was Usain Bolt, he would have lost all his endorsements.
Although America has a black president it's still not advisable to behave badly as a black man and think you will get away with it.....
YOU WON`T.
It is not advisable to put yourself in a position to have to admit or deny anything.....see what is happening with Alex Rodriquez? He ain't white, he`s only cute, re: steroids.....also look at Barry Bonds, how came they never hounded Mark McGuire the home-run king like that? They say his was done when steroids were legal...... so Barry is suffering because his was done when the baseball fraternity decided steroid use is illegal..... I SEE!
HE`S NOT WHITE!

BILL GATES GETS A LAUGH

Bill Gates not joking as he says more money being spent on baldness remedies than trying to cure malaria in poor countries and there is no reason why only poor people must suffer so he lets mosquitoes free in the technology conference during his presentation and people go crazy.
Really now ... what were they afraid of ? Is it only poor people that must get malaria ? I think the point was well made..........they were relieved to find out the mosquitoes were malaria free........but were not impressed with Bill Gates at all.
Well I think he is so frustrated he felt he had to jerk them into action.....Diane Sawyer is on TV talking about the left-behind people who live in the Appalachian mountains and of course it's back to poor people again. These people are so poor they have nothing but cavities or no teeth. These are bright people , they mine for a living those who have work, or they work at Walmart or in the 'fast food' industry.
It's not only poor black like the Katrina story, it's poor white too.
When I first heard the Bill Gates story, it made me burst out laughing at the thought of all those hoi poloi people having a hissy-fit when the swarm of mosquitoes started buzzing around, only to find out I was doing good for my health.
CNN did a programme on laughter recently and how sickness is related to sadness.
They say laughter helps us heal, it helps high blood pressure and helps us sleep better.
Children laugh on an average 200 times per day.....we laugh 4 times per day. Why?
We need to activate our laugh-button so we can improve our immune systems.
We here in the Caribbean have mosquitoes buzzing in our ears every day of life, they are our reality and are not going anywhere anytime soon.
SO WE NEED TO LIGHTEN UP AND LAUGH MORE OFTEN WE JUST MIGHT HAVE MORE AMMUNITION TO FIGHT WHEN WE NEED TO.

HEALTHY FOOD

Most people will agree that the question is not WHY we should eat healthy food, but HOW do we eat healthy food.
When you're starting out with any new type of cuisine, it takes a while to learn the "tricks of the trade"--the little shortcuts and strategies that save time and make food preparation a breeze. The following 12 tips will help you become faster and more efficient in the kitchen, so you have time for all the other things that are important to your life , they have been adapted from The Raw Gourmet by Nomi Shannon one of the foremost raw food teachers .

Twelve Steps to Living Foods Success
1. Always keep at least two jars of sprouted items in your refrigerator. Whether they're radish sprouts, clover sprouts or green pea sprouts, you'll be glad to have them on hand for tossing into salads or placing at the bottom of a soup bowl.
2. Always have sunflower sprouts (and buckwheat lettuce if growing your own) on hand. The most economical way to have them on hand is to grow them yourself. But, if that is not possible,consider buying them at a health food store.
3. Keep a jar of almonds or other favorite nuts soaking in the refrigerator. Change the water daily and they will keep, ready to use, for five days. (On the fifth day use them up in a salad, eat as is, as a crust or in a nut loaf, then begin the soaking process again.)
4. Make up a big batch of your favorite Pâté each weekend, and add different flavors to vary the taste during the week. Remember to begin the sprouting process on Thursday or Friday night. A pate made up of sprouted sunflower seeds (soak 8-12 hours and sprout 4 hours or less. Rinse well.) will last the longest.
5. Keep salad dressing ingredients on hand like tahini, oil, lemons, garlic and onions so that you can whip up salad dressings quickly.
6. Keep sauerkraut in your refrigerator. Once made, this tasty food will last for many weeks. It is a healthy addition to many recipes and makes a great condiment or side dish.
7. Always have assorted greens, root vegetables, red peppers and parsley in your refrigerator so that you can "throw together" a meal quickly. Keep a large bowl of seasonal fruit ready to eat on your counter or in your refrigerator. Whether you shop each night on your way home from work, or go to the farmer's market twice a week, buy the best, freshest organic produce that you can find that day and use it very soon after purchasing. (If you do not have the luxury of being able to obtain organic produce wash your conventional produce thoroughly, and don't worry about it-it is still far better to eat all fresh raw ingredients than to eat processed or prepared foods even if you can't have organic. There are lists online that will tell you the most sprayed/pesticide laden foods and the least so that you can have an idea of the more important foods to buy organic).
8.If you can, pre-wash all your produce before putting it away. Having to wash and dry your vegetables for each meal is time consuming. For one or two people, purchasing bags of pre-washed organic baby lettuces that contain a variety of greens is convenient and waste-free. Be sure all washed produce is thoroughly dried before refrigerating.
9. Make a large salad every night for dinner. Prior to putting dressing on, remove enough to use for lunch the next day. Store in an airtight container with a dressing on the side so the salad will stay fresh and crisp. (Or bring a small container of pate on the side to put atop the salad next day at work, or a small bag of your soaked nuts plus some dressing.)
10. Keep a piece of fresh ginger-root in your refrigerator and a backup piece in a plastic bag in the freezer. You can flavor foods and make tea by grating in a little ginger. Note that you should never let frozen ginger thaw.
11. Keep about a dozen peeled bananas in the freezer. Choose very ripe fruit, peel, and freeze them in plastic bags. They make wonderful "ice cream" and other frozen treats, including great morning smoothies like Vanilla Bliss.
12. To maintain freshness and for convenience, keep the following foods stored in your freezer: shelled nuts and seeds, dried coconut, grains, all dried herbs and spices. If you do not have room in your freezer, store the shelled nuts and seeds and bananas in the freezer, and the rest in the refrigerator. (Nuts and seeds still in their shell have a long shelf life and do not require refrigeration.)
By creating habits based on the above 12 suggestions you will find that you can arrive home at 6pm and be eating a fine dinner by 6:30pm

Here are some of my own "tricks of the trade"-
I drink a glass of vegetable juice before I go to bed......sometimes if I`m going in late to work or I`m on the road I have vegetable juice (usually green)about 11am.
If almonds are around I get a glass of fresh almond milk with papaya in it - nothing is as good.
I eat fruit until midday and I find that most people who say they are hungry eating fruit,eat A fruit and say they are eating fruit.
When I say I eat fruit for breakfast, I start from 7 a.m. and eat my grapefruit as I always start with citrus if I`m eating any that morning...If I don`t have any grapefruits, I eat a papaya,blueberries, sweet-sop,what ever is around, then I`ll eat melon around 10:00 a.m. or I`ll eat some pineapple which means a plateful not a slice. I don`t like bananas but raw foodists that eat bananas eat minimum 3 at a time. When its mango season I`ll eat mangoes all morning. Remember you have to eat lots of raw food to get the proper nutrition .
Just like how greens is not A lettuce-leaf, fruit is not A banana.

GLYCONUTRIENTS FOR WELLNESS

They had said that now there are fewer cancer deaths but that must be in the first world as here in the third world it seems to be at epidemic proportions.
Is there anyone who cancer has not touched ?
A family member ? A friend? Your spouse, a child? It just gets unbearable, it is as if no one is spared...You just wonder where it's going to touch down next and with whom.
Even some of us that thought we had survived are getting a recall, and not surviving this time.
Scary scary scary, I stood in the supermarket today and UNDERSTOOD WHY as the man beside me unpacked his trolley....there he had a bun, a harddough bread, a sliced "wholewheat "bread, I put it in quotes because it's just wheat coloured (most of the cheap bread on the market has neither whole or any kind of wheat in it )3 tins of condensed milk, a huge box of corn flakes, corn oil, a bag of white sugar and then I stopped looking as no vegetable was there, no fruit and I consoled myself saying that he would be going to the market or those things were home and he didn`t need to buy more, but his children were sucking lollipops so I hold out little hope for that.
But people what are we going to do ? We don`t have a 'WHOLE FOODS' here but we have the market, we seem not to have changed our lifestyles either.
Guinea Hen Weed, graviola......all the latest herb treatments are they working ? We have all those things growing wild here but yet we are all chemo bound. They say graviola is stronger than chemo and unlike chemo kills cancer cells not all cells.........give thanks as even now almost three years later I have little or no memory, I call it chemo brain - I know what I want to say but it can`t come out.
Anyway I`m in the GLYCONUTRIENTS club, it comes from edible plants.
Your body can make them but isn`t designed to do this regularly because it takes energy from other vital processes -sounds familiar?
If you don`t get these foods in your diet, you may have a dietary deficiency of these carbohydrates.
Your body maintains, protects and regulates 60 trillion cells everyday - it replaces 150-500 billion cells daily.
An important concept for every one of us to learn is that there are key nutrients that every cell can benefit from to be healthy and function optimally.
No single product or juice can provide everything the body requires so we need supplementation especially in these times of poor soil and processed foods.
When we think we are eating well we have so much going against us from fake foods to all the free radicals in the air.
We need so much antitoxidants to fight that sometimes we need help. When you look at people who use antitoxidants to protect and multivitamins and minerals to nourish themselves, they look and feel great.....It's as if you can see that their old cells are being replaced with healthy new cells.
I know that for years manufacturers have produced supplements containing synthetically processed vitamins and minerals.
New research suggests that some synthetic vitamins may not be utilized and absorbed as well as those from natural sources, similarly, minerals not bound in a food matrix are mostly insoluble and may not be effectively utilized.
Although all of us want energy and youthful vitality we can`t expect it to happen over night, so since it typically takes 3-6 months of good nutrition to really see and feel improvements,I recommend you put yourself on Mannatech Glyconutrients, it's a great optimal nutritional wellness programme and I am a living example that it improves your quality of life!
YES I KNOW......... SHAMELESS PLUG!

Steele so wrong/Phelps with Bong !!!

Michael Steele was just elected the first African-American chairman of the RNC. Here are five facts about this new leader of the Republican party from Judd Legum:

1. Steele compared stem cell research to Nazi experiments during the Holocaust.
2. Steele bused in homeless African Americans from Philadelphia to distribute literature in inner-city Baltimore that featured a "Sample Democratic Ballot" with votes for Steele and former Gov. Bob Ehrlich, along with photos of prominent black Democrats.
3. Steele once described that "R" next to his name as a "scarlet letter," complaining that being a Republican was hurting his electoral chances.
4. Steele was endorsed by Mike Tyson during his run for Senate. When Tyson, who used to be married to Steele's half sister, pleaded no contest to assault in Montgomery County in 1998, Steele was on hand to support him.
5. Steele defended former Gov. Bob Ehrlich's decision to hold a $100,000 fundraiser at a country club that did not allow non-white members, saying that the club's membership's policies were "not an issue" because "I don't play golf."

NOW IS THIS THE MAN THEY THINK CAN COMPARE WITH BARACK OBAMA?
They had better think again..........the similarity ends at their skin colour .....He can`t hold a candle to BO; plus he wears too many stripes at the same time. He has to wheel and come again.
Speaking of wheeling and coming again.....Michael Phelps WHAT WRONG WID YOU ? YOU HEAD KNOCK ?
YOU can`t be sitting on top of the world and do something like this ? Which sponsor going to have you as a role model now ? It's the time of change, bad behaviour not cute anymore, no matter your complexion. Although feedback on the web shows that a lot of young people find nothing wrong with it,that's even more reason we really need change!
Can u imagine if that was USAIN BOLT ?
Whether young people agreed or not the media furor would have been something else, in fact the Phelps story broke from across the pond in a UK newspaper. I`m sure the Americans would have continued covering it up forever if they could.
'Member mi tell all a you sey........ the black boy head stronger...... watch how the years play out.

CHILDREN'S HEALTH

A hotel owner recently asked me why I don`t open a treatment center, become a life coach re: preventable illnesses.I told her people don`t listen unless they get a big diagnosis and even when that happens they try to wiggle out of doing the right thing. No one moves till they get a time limit otherwise known as, "you have 2 months to live" then the panic sets in and everybody is ready to drink anything, sometimes by the time you get the time limit IT'S TOO LATE as you are so caught up with "woe is me" , you don`t realize that only YOU control how long you have on this earth as God is the only one that controls and since we are all made in the image and likeness of God..YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF YOU.
As the ad says on TV there is no expiry date stamped on the soles of your feet.
So try and repent before the event.....I heard the story of a manager at a hotel who said that he can`t do night duty as that's when his allergies act up. Really.....
Try eating properly and go do your duty-manager shift. That's total crap.
Too much mucus people..too much white bread,too much white rice ,too much white sugar, cheese, milk, ice cream, butter, too much fast food with ingredients that you know not what. Instead of saying you can`t do this or that you need to find out what is wrong then do something about it.
Then can I ask you parents who claim they are eating healthily.......why are you feeding children pork,and all this fried foods?
Why are you feeding children sodas?
Why are you feeding children 'Pringles'?
When children of 3 & 4 chew bubblegum what are they doing to their teeth and their immune system ? Why do we wonder why they have allergies? Have u ever read what bubble gum is flavoured with?
Do we ever think maybe we have given our children too much pasta? (when did pasta turn into a health food?) Too much "mac and cheese"? What kind of cheese comes in powder form? Plastic cheese of course!
Why do we wonder why they come down with every virus that passes? All these babies with eczema.Do u think that during your pregnancy u should watch what u eat mothers-to-be?
Think carefully the next time you give your child a burger, fries and soda........the next time you give your child fried dumplings made from white flour as we in Jamaica like to call it 'johnnie cake' or 'festival'. What oil was it fried in?
Notice how obese these children get.....no one plays hopscotch anymore, they play the on-line game version. Check these birthday parties and look at the food. What is cotton candy? Spun WHITE sugar my dear, simply delicious....BUT..... but a child that doesn`t eat broccoli or any form of vegetable cannot eat spun sugar and harddough bread.I say all things in moderation but CHEESE TRIX ,COTTON CANDY,PRINGLES,ICECREAM, CAKE,FRIED CHICKEN, FRENCH FRIES,HOT DOGS,PEPSI, thats the menu at a recent party i attended...WOW,where is the moderation in that?
Parents we are all responsible and a 7 year old who grows up on soda is going to find it VERY difficult to start drinking green juice and eating 'live' food if problems arise, so try don`t let their taste buds get used to sweet and MSG....... DO A BEG U!