There is often a large misconception around "change". How to make it happen, and if it can in the first place. 

What am I getting at? If it's one thing that we should learn from science it is that we don't know everything and keeping an open mind is of paramount importance.

Let's take body cell generation & regeneration for example. It was once thought that your heart does not have the ability to reproduce cells. Well, that's not the case. Although it does this slowly, it was recently discovered that our heart does have the ability to do replace cells, and does so on a regular basis. It does however take much longer for the heart to totally renew all cells (on the order of 20 years) verses say your bones (about 10 years), your skin (2 to 4 weeks), your lungs (2 to 3 weeks) or your intestines (2 to 3 days!).

The good news is that you can take advantage of all this and use it to your benefit!

Often times we are alerted to an oncoming cold with a scratchy or sore throat. Many of us disregard this early warning sign and take little or no action.

What I found that works for sore throat!

I take a zinc vitamin tablet and cut off a portion equal to about 12mg of zinc and suck on it until dissolved. I then take one echinacea tablet and add that - sucking it until dissolved. Now these don't taste great but they do work. After dissolved I take 1K mg of vitamin C in liquid form. If I don't feel like dealing with a slightly bitter taste I track down cough drops that contains zinc and echinacea (they will likely contain sugar and flavor also - not a big fan of either - especially when I'm trying to heal.) One brand I know of is Halls Zinc and Echinacea cough drops. Here I take one Halls and 12mg of zinc and suck on them together.

But speaking of the taste of zinc, the simplest form of deficiency testing is the zinc taste test . If it has no taste or is just slightly bitter you need more, if it taste absolutely bitter, your ok.  

How important is zinc? Here is a short list of zinc deficient indicators: 

• White spots on finger nails.
• Skin lesions, slow healing or persistent skin problems like rashes or seborrheic dermatitis.
• Slow healing of wounds.
• Atherosclerosis.
• Hair loss or brittle.
• Chapped lips
• Immune system weak and impaired.
• Diarrhea.
• Acne.
• Deteriorating eyesight, taste, smell or memory. Night blindness.
• Poor digestion of proteins, weak stomach acid.
• Being gaunt and wasted.
• Poor appetite.
• Depression, cognitive decline, abnormal behavior.
• Low birth weight, poor mental and physical development in children.
• Dysmenorrhea (or - dysmenorrhoea) - pain during menstruation.
• Long term chronic zinc deficiency causes dwarfism and delayed sexual maturation.
• Decreasing testosterone

For more information Google "zinc deficiency" and you'll quickly learn how being zinc deficient will impact your immune system (and so much more!)

You may also find these two links helpful:

http://www.growyouthful.com/remedy/zinc-sulphate.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinc_deficiency  

I'd like to point out some very simple but much misunderstood concepts around rest.

Signs of not enough:
You don't have to wait for the dark circles or worse getting sick. The simple rule is - If you're waking up to an alarm clock or hitting the Jo for that early morning (or late in the day) pick-me-up then you're simply not getting enough rest. Address it at this level and the rest comes easy.

How do you know when to hit the sack?
When you start to yawn! Yes, it's that easy.

How to do it right?
Simple again.

Yes, this is not new news, but it's not very well known.

Your body requires fat for almost all bodily functions. Your brain relies on fat heavily, your blood clotting ability relies on fat, your skin elasticity relies on fat, etc, etc, etc....

Yet - we are constantly told to eat less fat or, worse, replace our natural fat with new designer fats. From Crisco to Olestra to Canola oil. The first two fats I personally consider poison and the third simply is not as healthy as a natural oil.

Crisco - known by many as hydrogenated vegetable oil or "Pure Vegetable Shorting"- is now, after many years and billions of dollars spent convincing the American public of it's virtues, considered a poison by cardiologists around the globe. This is a fat which your body simply can not fully metabolize. In fact, once cleansed from your diet the next time you accidentally consume a product containing it you will quickly notice the greasy indigestible film it leaves in your mouth. BUT, it is cheap to manufacture and products made with it have a much extended shelf life - unlike the people consuming them.

Olestra - Well, this is a completely indigestible fat. It offers your body nothing - nothing at all - expect it's negative attributes - such as diarrhea, vomiting and inhibiting vitamin absorption. So, if you are really trying to be healthy, why eat something that will strip your body of much needed nutrients?

When I was young adult I traveled through Italy and noticed that the women (and men) more than twice my age looked as young as I did? This was very intriguing to me so being a big believer in "you are what you eat" I decided to learn more about their little secret. What I learned was quite astonishing.

They eat everything and fear nothing - Meats, whole cheeses, whole milk, pastries and they don't fear the sun - you name it. BUT, the most youthful consumed zero unnatural fat. They literally consumed at least 1/8 of cup of olive oil each day. No margarines, no shortening, no new fats. It was either butter, whole dairy, olive oil or peanut oil. That's it!

From that point on I increased (yes - increased) the amount of oil I consumed under the following three rules.

1) No hydrogenated fat.
2) Fear not the "natural fat (butter & coconut included) that will melt to a liquid in my hand.
3) No new oils.

Ok, so what's a new oil? I'll expand on that in my next posting.

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White vinegar and alcohol - 50/50 - three drops in each ear. That's all I do!

I hate it when you read those natural healing guides and they force you through pages of text before they tell you (if they tell) what the remedy is!

My story - I've battled ear infections numerous times each year until a took a ocean water dive class where the instructor told me of a simple solution they use in the US Navy for divers. What is it? - Mix in a small dropper bottle 2 tablespoons of white vinegar and 2 tablespoons of rubbing alcohol. When you complete a dive (or feel any itching in your ears) put 3 drops of this mixture in each ear by - tipping your head to the side, placing three drops in the ear, pulling gently on the top and bottom of your ear lobe and then tip to the other side to drip out the excess.

What's the science here? First, your ear wax is naturally acidic. Second, the alcohol dries the dampness (leaving an unfriendly space for bacterial growth). Lastly, the vinegar aids your ear wax in killing off the current bacteria responsible for the itching or swelling.

When ever I feel some itching in my ears I do this twice a day for three days. I have not had one ear infection in 26 years.

Be well - it's fun!

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Nothing is better for your body than natures original design.

The body is a complex puzzle and the universe (regardless of your thoughts on how it all came to be) has given us the best of the best to continually complete and compliment this complex system we call our body. Current science refers to this as DNA. And even the most inexperienced scientist will tell you that even a slight alteration in the DNA of an organism will result in some form of unexpected results.

From fats, to proteins to sugars. Nature has given us all the necessary puzzle pieces. These perfectly designed organisms will do what needs to be done upon entrance to your body. Use them as nature has delivered them and your body will return the most incredible results you could ever imagine.

Remember - what enters your body attempts to complete your puzzle. If the pieces fits perfectly your in the grove, if they don't the results could be anywhere from undesirable to catastrophic.

Ciao for now!
Cozmo

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