18 Homemade Sugar, Sea Salt & Oatmeal Scrub Recipes

Scrubs are a luxurious way to pamper skin since they exfoliate and moisturize at the same time and will leave skin feeling smooth and soft.

There’s no need to buy expensive stuff, make it yourself for a quick and easy way to have a spa experience right at home. They make great gifts too!

Here’s a bunch of recipes to get started with, I’ve sorted them into separate groups for easier browsing.

First a few tips:

Mix and store ingredients in glass bowls and jars to prevent reactions with other materials.

Shelf life is only a couple weeks or so (if kept cool in an airtight container) unless a preservative of some sort is added. You’ll find more information and preservative suggestions here: fromnaturewithlove.com (info on using T-50 Vitamin E Oil, Rosemary Oil Extract, Grapefruit Seed Extract and more).

Refrigerate any unused portion in a sealed container.

For something different, try adding a bit of gentle liquid soap to scrubs before using.

Use a loofah or bristle brush when applying, will give a nice massage while exfoliating.

When using the salt recipes, some believe that those from the Dead Sea are the most therapeutic since they help relieve pain from arthritis and bring a glow to skin.

Note: Substitutions used in the ingredient lists below:

C = cup

TBS = tablespoon

tsp = teaspoon

G-W-S = Granulated White Sugar

B-S = Brown Sugar

EO = Essential Oil

EVOO = Extra Virgin Olive Oil

sugar scrubs.......

Almond Oil & Vanilla

1/2 C of B-S

1/4 C of almond oil

1/4 C of liquid Ivory hand soap

1/4 tsp of vanilla

Lemon

1 C G-W-S

1/2 C EVOO

1 TBS lemon zest (grated)

Tea

2 C G-W-S

1 C honey

2 TBS tea

5 drops vanilla

Lavender & Rosewood

1 C B-S

1/4 C almond oil

1/2 tsp vitamin E

6 drops rosewood EO

4 drops lavender EO

Yogurt

3 TBS baby oil

1 TBS yogurt

1 TBS G-W-S

Aloe Vera

1 C G-W-S

1 C EVOO

2 TBS aloe vera gel

8 drops EO (of your choice)

Coffee

1/4 C packed B-S

1/4 C G-W-S

3 TBS fresh coffee grounds

5 tsp almond oil

5 tsp jojoba oil

2 tsp honey

1 tsp vitamin E

1 tsp vanilla

With Powdered Milk

1 C B-S

2 C powdered milk

1 C EVOO

10 drops EO

To make: Mix the dry ingredients first then pour the EVOO slowly, stirring the whole time. After it’s at the desired consistency, mix in the essential oils. This was sent in by Charlotte, thanks!

For Hands & Dry Trouble Spots

2 tsp chopped rosemary

1/8 C EVOO

4 tsp almond oil

1 tsp lemon oil

B-S (or raw sugar)

Directions: Mix chopped rosemary with the oils first then add sugar to make a paste.

 sea salt scrubs.................

Exfoliating

1/2 C fine sea salt

1/4 C oatmeal (ground, uncooked)

1/4 C flaxseed oil

1/4 C EVOO

8 drops geranium oil

Lavender

1/4 C fine sea salt

1/4 C EVOO

3 to 5 drops lavender EO

Tip: Add a bit of water or liquid soap while using.

Favorite Scent

3 C fine sea salt

3/4 C EVOO

3/4 C sweet almond oil

choice of EO

Mix ingredients together then use after showering, store in a sealed glass jar.

Peppermint (for feet)

1 1/2 C fine sea salt

1/3 C EVOO

3 drops peppermint EO

Exfoliate soles and heels with this mixture after a bath or foot soak.

oatmeal scrubs.......

With Yogurt

1 C oatmeal

1 C plain yogurt

With Honey

1/2 C oatmeal

1/4 C honey

2 tsp aloe vera gel

Yogurt & Honey

1 TBS oats

2 TBS yogurt

1 tsp honey

Strawberry

1/4 C rolled oats

4 to 5 fresh strawberries

milk

Trim the berries of their leaves then mash, mix in the rolled oats then add enough milk to make a paste.

Lavender

2 C oats

1/4 C dried lavender buds

Mix then grind in a blender until it’s a powder, store in a sealed glass jar and keep in a dark location. To use: mix about a tablespoon of powder with enough water to make a paste. Gently massage into skin then rinse with clear water.

5 Homemade Foot Soak Recipes

One way to soothe and pamper tired, achy tootsies is to soak them in a hot foot bath. Here are a handful of recipes to try, each are easy to make using simple ingredients.

IngredientsThey can be whipped up in large batches if preferred so you have a stock on hand or package nicely and give away as gifts (sealed in glass jars).

Directions: Unless otherwise noted, mix together all ingredients thoroughly then store in an airtight container.

Use 2 to 3 tablespoons per gallon of water used.

Water temperature is at personal preference, but I find the hottest my feet will comfortably tolerate gives the most relief.

Basic

1 part Epsom salts

1 part Baking soda

drops of choice EO (optional)

Chamomile Tea: #2

4 bags chamomile tea

1/8 cup dried parsley

4 drops EO of choice

Steep in 1 gallon of hot water for 10 minutes before using.

#3

2 cups Kosher salt

1 cup Epsom salts

drops EO of choice (optional)

#4

1 1/4 cups Epsom salts

1 1/4 cups Kosher salt

1/4 cup baking soda

1/4 cup cornstarch

#5

1 cup lemon juice

3 TBS olive oil

1/4 cup milk

Tips

Single Ideas: (added to 1 gallon of water)

1 cup honey

1/2 cup Epsom salts

2 cups brewed coffee

Essential Oils To Try: peppermint, lavender, lemon, orange, eucalyptus, mint

Marbles or smooth river rocks can be added to the bottom of the basin to rub feet over while they’re soaking, quite soothing!

Why Low-Fat Diets Make You Fat

Governments here and abroad have been cautioning the public for decades on the dangers of high fat diets. Their claims based on “their science” concluded that it’s best to avoid fat because of its extra calories – and saturated fats raise the risk of heart disease. You’ll still see this on most food pyramids regulated by government policy on diet and nutrition. However, just as mandated healthcare policies fail at the federal level, so do those related to nutrition. This low-fat mantra has been questioned for years by clinicians and nutritional scientists – not least because it has failed to halt the obesity epidemic. The fact is, contrary to official advice by our diet dictocrats, high-fat diets lower blood sugar, improve blood lipids, and reduce obesity.

High-Fat Diets Have Better Effects on Blood Sugar

One of the problems is that there is consistent inverse association in the percentage of energy coming from fats and sugars. Research published in the journal Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition shows why people find it hard to follow government guidelines to cut their fat and sugar intake at the same time — a phenomenon known as the sugar-fat seesaw.

That’s no surprise as previous studies such as a two-year dietary studypublished in the journal Diabetologia showed that food with a lot of fat and few carbohydrates has a better effect on blood sugar levels and blood lipids. Despite the increased fat intake with a larger portion of saturated fatty acids, their lipoproteins did not get worse. Quite the contrary — the HDL, or ‘good’ cholesterol, content increased on the high fat diet.

Research from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem shows that a carefully scheduled high-fat diet can lead to a reduction in body weight and a unique metabolism in which ingested fats are not stored, but rather used for energy at times when no food is available. The results were published in The FASEB Journal under the title “Timed high-fat diet resets circadian metabolism and prevents obesity”.

Outdated Understanding of Science 

Professor David Lawrence, an expert in nutrition and obesity data analysis, said recently in the journal BMC Medicine that the idea the idea of all calories being equal is flawed and based ‘on an outdated understanding of the science’.

Calories from different sources have different effects on the body, with calories from carbohydrates more likely to encourage weight gain.

Calories from different sources have different effects on the body, with calories from carbohydrates more likely to encourage weight gain.

Not only is the calorie theory under attack, but evidence is also emerging to show that lowering fat might not cut heart-disease risk after all.

A major study published in the authoritative New England Journal of Medicine compared the clinical benefits of a conventional low-fat diet with two types of Mediterranean diet, which are naturally considerably higher in fat.

The study had to be stopped early because the heart attack and stroke rate in the Mediterranean options was so much lower it was deemed irresponsible to keep patients on the conventional diet.

Relevance of Glycemic Load 

A study led by Cara Ebbeling, PhD, associate director and David Ludwig, MD, director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center Boston Children’s Hospital, found diets that reduce the surge in blood sugar after a meal–either low-glycemic index or very-low carbohydrate-may be preferable to a low-fat diet for those trying to achieve lasting weight loss. Furthermore, the study found that the low-glycemic index diet had similar metabolic benefits to the very low-carb diet without negative effects of stress and inflammation as seen by participants consuming the very low-carb diet.

Weight re-gain is often attributed to a decline in motivation or adherence to diet and exercise, but biology also plays an important role. After weight loss, the rate at which people burn calories (known as energy expenditure) decreases, reflecting slower metabolism. Lower energy expenditure adds to the difficulty of weight maintenance and helps explain why people tend to re-gain lost weight.

The study suggests that a low-glycemic load diet is more effective than conventional approaches at burning calories (and keeping energy expenditure) at a higher rate after weight loss.

“We’ve found that, contrary to nutritional dogma, all calories are not created equal,” says Ludwig, also director of the Optimal Weight for Life Clinic at Boston Children’s Hospital. “Total calories burned plummeted by 300 calories on the low fat diet compared to the low carbohydrate diet, which would equal the number of calories typically burned in an hour of moderate-intensity physical activity,” he says. 

Though a low-fat diet is traditionally recommended by the U.S. Government and Heart Association, it caused the greatest decrease in energy expenditure, an unhealthy lipid pattern and insulin resistance.

“In addition to the benefits noted in this study, we believe that low-glycemic-index diets are easier to stick to on a day-to-day basis, compared to low-carb and low-fat diets, which many people find limiting,” says Ebbeling. “Unlike low-fat and very- low carbohydrate diets, a low-glycemic-index diet doesn’t eliminate entire classes of food, likely making it easier to follow and more sustainable.”

Some Governments Are Making a U-Turn

Faced with mounting evidence, Swedish dietary experts recently made a dramatic U-turn, recommending a low-carb, rather than low-fat, diet for weight loss.

The bombshell came from the Council on Health Technology Assessment, which advises the Swedish government. Based on a review of 16,000 studies, it said the best sorts of food for losing weight were high fat foods which could include anything oils like olive and coconut.

So the rules are being rewritten: to lose weight, cut down on carbs and eat more fat.

So what, precisely, is behind this new thinking? It comes down to the effect different foods have on your hormones.

The most important of these hormones, and the one that’s crucial for weight loss, is insulin.

Insulin is the hormone that controls fat storage. A high-carb diet increases the amount of glucose in the bloodstream, which in turn means you produce more insulin. The more insulin the body produces, the more fat gets stored. When the body is exposed to a high-carb low-fat meal, the pancreas works hard at overshooting the secretion of insulin which then causes the excess to be stored as fat. A low-carb and high-fat diet means less insulin, making it easier to lose weight because less fat is then stored.

More Calories But More Weight Loss

Dramatic new evidence for this has come from a unique experiment conducted by a personal trainer. As Sam Feltham explains: ‘My business is helping people to lose weight, and if all calories aren’t equal, that could make a real difference.’

A few months ago, Sam upped his intake to a massive 5,000 calories every day. For three weeks he got these calories from a low-fat, high-carb diet; for another three, he ate more fat and cut right back on carbs.

He did exactly the same, moderate exercise regimen each time.

Now, according to the conventional wisdom, the weight gain would be the same on both regimens. After all, a calorie is just a calorie.

In fact, on the low-fat diet Sam stacked on 16lbs around his waist.

But when he ate more fat and cut his carbs, he added just 2.5bs and lost 1in (2.5cm) from his waistline.

‘I’m sure I eat more calories than I burn, yet my weight and waist measurement normally remain the same.’

Sam, who survived childhood cancer (Hodgkin’s lymphoma), wondered if his usual low-carb diet was the key, and set about his experiment to find out.

For the low-carb, high-fat part of the experiment, Sam got his 5,000 calories from foods such as eggs, mackerel (which is very fatty), steak, green veg and coconut oil, interspersed with three snacks of nuts – walnuts, pecans or almonds (which are naturally high in fat).

While 72 percent of his total calorie intake came from fats, 22 percent came from protein and just 5.9 percent from carbs. Each meal was exactly the same every day.

With the high-carb diet, most of his calories (63 percent) came from carbohydrates, 13 percent from protein, and 22 percent from fat.

He ate garlic bread, low-fat lasagna, crumpets, low-fat yogurts and rice pudding, chocolate muffins and wholewheat bread.

Admittedly the types of fat on his high-fat diet weren’t your usual fatty foods, such as cream and butter. And his high-carb diet wasn’t exactly ‘healthy’.

But the point was not comparing the health benefits of the two, says Sam. ‘It was an experiment to test the idea that different foods affect your body’s biochemistry differently. ‘If it is true that cutting calories is the key to weight loss, then excess calories should put on the same amount of weight whether they come from a “healthy” diet full of fat or a poor diet full of carbs.’

He says he was ‘really surprised’ at how little weight he put on with the low-carb/high-fat diet, while on the high-carb/low-fat diet his body fat increased from 12.7 percent of his body weight to 16.9 percent.

Degrading Health On Low-Fat High Carb Diets

While Sam’s experiment was by no means a scientific one, as well as the weight gain, what was even more striking was what an unhealthy effect the high carbohydrate regimen had on standard markers for heart health.

For when Sam had his blood tested after his three weeks on high carbs, ‘the diet effectively gave him metabolic syndrome which is a precursor to heart disease and diabetes.

Particularly worrying was that his triglycerides (fats in his blood) had gone up four times, while his so-called ‘good’ (HDL) cholesterol had dropped.

What’s more, a level of inflammation in his liver had doubled, which is also linked with diabetes and heart disease. “If someone came into my clinic in that state, I’d make it clear they needed to make some serious changes to their diet and start eating a diet low in carbs. I was really surprised that the damaging changes had happened so quickly,” stated Dr. Aseem Malhotra, a cardiologist at the Royal Free Hospital in London.

Did the fact that, as a personal trainer, Sam was obviously very fit at the start of his trial make a difference?

“Absolutely,” says Dr Malhotra. “It is alarming to think that if a high-carb diet can have that effect on him in three weeks, what is it doing to people who don’t exercise and eat like that for years?” 

Standard Dietary Advice is Wrong!

“This is a vivid illustration of the fact that the conventional idea of what causes weight gain is back to front,” says Dr Malhotra. “We’ve been told for years that eating fat will make you fat because it contains twice the calories that are in carbohydrates. That is to misunderstand how fat storage works.”

Research has already shown that if you are eating a high-carb diet, and so have high levels of insulin, you are likely to have more fat in your blood than someone on a high-fat diet.

“This is what happened to Sam.”

Fat Does Not Clog Up Arteries

But doesn’t eating extra fat clog up your arteries? No, insists Dr Malhotra. In fact, he says, it’s too many carbs that are the problem.

He argues that – as seen with Sam – a high-carb diet tends to lower the good HDL cholesterol that helps keep arteries clear.

At the same time, as glucose from carbs is turned into fat for storage in the body, fatty acids are also produced.

It is this combination of fatty acids and low HDL, not saturated fat, that “clogs your arteries,” says Dr Malhotra.

Recent research supports the idea that warning about saturated fat in the diet has probably been a mistake.

“The influence of dietary fats on serum cholesterol has been overstated,” say the authors of a review in Advances In Nutrition in May. “The lack of any clear evidence that high-fat foods lead to adverse health effects makes one wonder how they got such a bad name.”

Demonizing fat and encouraging people to eat more carbs can be harmful to people with heart disease, says Dr Malhotra. “I see patients who have had a heart attack and are trying to lose weight on a low-fat diet and are puzzled because they are gaining weight.”

“When I investigate, it is usually because they are eating lots of low-fat supermarket foods which are also high in carbs such as sugar.” 

“When I get them eating real foods and not worrying about fat, their weight starts to come down.”

Those eating low-carb these days are much more flexible about the amount of fat they get. Research is still needed to sort out the best ratio of carbs to fat.

Western governments have yet to acknowledge the Swedish style U-turn in healthy eating advice. I’ve personally been on many of these public policy and procurement programs investing hundreds of hours of my time trying to convince officials that food pyramids have to be thrown out the window along with many recommended foods they hold praise to. As soon as these recommendations are forwarded to the highest levels, they are dismissed.

We are spending billions trying to cope with metabolic diseases such as diabetes, cancer and obesity and the emphasis on low-fat diets is only promoting the metabolic pathways which encourage these diseases.

The bottom line is to commit to educating yourself on the healthiest nutritional strategies for your health and not follow any recommendations by government, unless perhaps if you live in Sweden.

Way to Groom your EyeBrows

FIND YOUR PERFECT BROW SHAPE

Not sure where your brows should start and end? Rach's buddy Gretta has a trick. Just find a chopstick or pencil and get started.

1. Place the chopstick vertically along the nose until it meets the eyebrow. Tweeze anything that falls before this line.

2. To find the arch, slant the chopstick upward from the outer edge of your iris.

3. Slant the chopstick just beyond the outer corner of the eye.

BROW FIXES

See how Gretta tackles these common brow blunders.

1. BUSHY

The Plan

Trim and shape hairs while lengthening the brow. Use a brow pencil to fortify and extend brows at ends.

The Tools

Eyebrow pencil, eyebrow brush, mini scissors and slanted tweezer

How to Groom

1. Brush all hairs upward with an eyebrow grooming brush or dry toothbrush, then use tiny scissors to trim any tips that stick out.

2. Using a slanted tweezer, pluck strays from beneath your brow to help elongate and slim the face. Grab hairs at the base to avoid painful tugging. Follow the natural curve of your eyebrow.

3. Sharpen the shape: Your eyebrow should arch at a spot above the outer edge of your iris. Carefully remove only the stray hairs below the peak -- never dig into its middle.

2. OVERPLUCKED

The Plan

Fill in overplucked areas. Focus on the uppermost part of brows to create a natural eye-lift effect.

The Tools

Eyebrow stencil, eyebrow pencil and mini scissors

How to Groom

1. Use an eyebrow stencil -- the Anastasia Brow Express kit ($38, anastasia .net) comes with four options -- to shape an arch with a brow pencil or powder, applying color in small, upward strokes. Press lightly to avoid a drawn-on look, and keep stepping back from the mirror to check your work.

2. Superskinny brows may still have areas to trim. Cut the spiky innermost part of the brow (closest to the nose) to make an even line. Keep up with this technique while growing brows out, too.

3. BARELY THERE

The Plan Deepen sparse or light-colored brows to frame the face.

The Tools

Angled brush, eyebrow powder and eyebrow gel

How to Groom

1. For a natural look that doesn't seem drawn on, dip an angled brush -- it helps with precision -- in a powder shade that closely matches your hair color (for superlight hair, you can go one shade darker). Apply it over the existing hairs to better define brows, then continue to fill in any gaps in the shape.

2. Highlight your work with a clear brow gel or cream.

The Rich Benefits of Eating Chocolate

New research has emerged proving that chocolate is good not only for the soul, but for your mind and body as well.

According to a video released by the American Chemical Society (ACS), chocolate contains hundreds of compounds, and many of them come with benefits that go far beyond a few delicious moments of sweetness.

Studies have already established that chocolate contains a number of beneficial ingredients. For instance, resveratrol, an important compound in chocolate, may not only protect your brain and nervous system, but actually prolong your life.

Dark chocolate is also an inflammation fighter, listed along with turmeric and following a Mediterranean-style diet as one of the healthiest, most natural ways to reduce the inflammatory processes underlying the chronic, degenerative diseases that afflict most of the developed world.

Five pieces of evidence highlighted in the ACS video show that other factors enhance the sweet, smooth goodness of chocolate, and those involve naturally occurring chemicals. Read on.

Antioxidants – The Not-So-Sweet Things Chocolate Has to Say about Free Radicals

One of the most compelling reasons to make chocolate a part of your regular diet may be for the antioxidants it provides.

Few foods, and certainly not dessert foods, have as much therapeutic potential as this “candy” aisle treat, as evidenced by a wide range of accumulating scientific research linking its consumption to over 40 distinct health benefits.

While most of us have heard about the importance of antioxidants, a primer might help, beginning with the explanation that the formation of free radicals – atoms, ions and molecules with unpaired electrons – in your cells can damage your DNA to the point that your risk of developing diseases like Alzheimer’s, heart disease and cancer are elevated.

This is why the antioxidant polyphenols in chocolate are so valuable, as they have the ability to stop free radical mediated oxidation. This helps to decrease your risk of those and other diseases by directly interfering with one of the major preventable causes of chronic degenerative diseases.

A factoid from ACS’s Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry indicates that naturally occurring polyphenols in cocoa, the fundamental component in chocolate, actually boost levels of HDL, the “good” cholesterol, while at the same time reducing the atherogenicity of so-called “bad” variety – LDL – by preventing its oxidation. Supporting evidence from the Cleveland Clinic study noted:

“Antioxidants are believed to help the body’s cells resist damage caused by free radicals that are formed by normal bodily processes, such as breathing, and from environmental contaminants, like cigarette smoke. If your body does not have enough antioxidants to combat the amount of oxidation that occurs, it can become damaged by free radicals. For example, an increase in oxidation can cause low-density lipoprotein (LDL), also known as ‘bad’ cholesterol, to form plaque on the artery walls.”

Chocoholics Aren’t Weak-Willed – They Just Know What Makes Them Feel Good

If you’re one of these individuals who gets a nice mood boost whenever you sink your teeth into a bar of pure, unadulterated chocolate, it is not happenstance. There’s actually a chemical reason called anandamide, a neurotransmitter produced in the brain that temporarily blocks feelings of pain and depression.

It’s a derivative of the Sanskrit word “bliss,” and one of the great things about chocolate is that it not only produces this compound, it also contains other chemicals that prolongs the “feel-good” aspects of anandamide.
But there’s more to this brain chemical than just how it makes us feel.

As a scientist on the topic, Daniele Piomelli, from the University of California, Irvine, put it:

“Anandamide is also synthesized in areas of the brain that are important in memory and higher thought processes and in areas that control movement. That implies that anandamide’s function is not just to produce bliss.”

Anandamide has been compared to the sensation derived from marijuana, but Piomelli says “We are talking about something much, much, much, much milder than a high.” There’s also evidence that this compound has the ability to help “sweeten” up your love life as well.

Need a Brain Boost? A Surge of Energy? Reach for Chocolate!

Natural stimulants in chocolate produce a boost in both physical and brain energy, primarily from caffeine and theobromine. But one clinical study involving 24 healthy female subjects showed “synergistic” effects on cognition and mood, which incidentally translated into improved blood pressure. Everyone knows chocolate contains caffeine, a stimulant that can help heighten physical energy and alertness, but studies also show that it can inhibit inflammation in the brain that causes migraines.

Also regarding brain health, a Johns Hopkins study found that dark chocolate may shield the brain from damage after a stroke by increasing cellular signals. Mice which had ingested epicatechin, a compound found in dark chocolate, suffered significantly less brain damage after undergoing induced stroke than mice which had not been given this compound. What this means for ischemic stroke victims (related to clot obstructions in the vessels supplying blood to the brain, a condition known as antherosclerosis) is that the epicatechin in dark chocolate may actually protect the brain.

Flavonols are the main flavonoids found in cocoa and chocolate, as a British study found. A pilot study evaluated the relationship between cerebral blood flow and a dose of flavanol-rich cocoa, which showed a marked increase in the cerebral blood flow to gray matter. The study results indicated that the flavonols in cocoa have the treatment potential against vascular impairment, which leads into the next point…

Raw Chocolate = Improved Heart Health… and Other Life-Saving Benefits

According to that same study, cocoa flavonols could be used to treat problems with vascular impairment, including dementia and strokes. Additionally, the ACS studies found that the polyphenols and catechins in chocolate may lower the stroke risk in men. More specifically epicatechins, which help prevent not only clotting but inflammation, is helpful, researchers say, in preventing some types of strokes.

What’s interesting is that a 7-study meta-analysis sought to find a link between chocolate consumption and certain cardiometabolic disorders, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. Along with those disorders are related problems like hypertension, elevated fasting glucose and triglycerides, and high cholesterol, abdominal obesity. But rather than negative effects, scientists found that chocolate – specifically the dark unprocessed raw cacao kinds – actually reduced the risk of such disorders.

Don’t Worry – Eat Chocolate

Beyond the fact that chocolate contains the feel-good anandamide compound, there are additional clinically-confirmed reasons why chocolate has been referred to as “the new anti-anxiety drug.” Another ACS study (in the Journal of Proteome Research) revealed that one-and-a-half ounces of dark chocolate a day for 2 weeks reduced stress hormone levels. Volunteers for the study, categorized as “highly stressed,” were found at the end of the two-week period to have lower levels of the “figh-or-flight” stress hormone cortisol.

But remember that many chocolate brands are high in sugar, calories and unhealthy saturated fats, so buyer beware. First, be sure that the chocolate you’re eating is dark chocolate. There is also a big difference in chocolates’ health effects, depending onhow much you eat. As mentioned in the Cleveland Clinic study:

“’…Be careful about the type of dark chocolate you choose: chewy caramel-marshmallow-nut-covered dark chocolate is by no means a heart-healthy food option.’ Be aware that milk chocolate does not have the same healthy effect as unadulterated dark chocolate, because milk often prevents absorption of polyphenols.

It’s also important to remember the word moderation. There’s a measured and tested amount of chocolate – 6.7 grams a day (or one small square of chocolate two or three times a week) – that provides the best health benefits. While it undoubtedly comes as a pleasant surprise that chocolate is actually good for you, eating the right amount is crucial if you want it to be a benefit and not a liability.”

If you’re craving a decadent chocolate treat but want to avoid the downsides, take a look at this video so you can make your own organic chocolate bars. Also, please be aware that many popular and seemingly artisan-quality chocolate companies are now owned by multinational corporations who use GMO ingredients, disregard fair trade standards, and otherwise are not interested in supporting organic and sustainable production methods.

As examples, Cadbury Schweppes bought Green & Black in 2005, who in turn was bought by Kraft Foods in 2010. Dagoba was bought by Hershey’s in 2006. You will find this pattern recur quite often if you peek beneath the “wrapper” of the chocolate industry. So, please remember to choose carefully, and consider whether the companies you support are supporting you back.

Sweden Becomes First Western Nation to Reject Low-fat Diet Dogma in Favor of Low-carb High-fat Nutrition

Sweden has become the first Western nation to develop national dietary guidelines that reject the popular low-fat diet dogma in favor of  low-carb high-fat nutrition advice.

The switch in dietary advice followed the publication of a two-year study by the independent Swedish Council on Health Technology Assessment. The committee reviewed 16,000 studies published through May 31, 2013.

Swedish doctor, Andreas Eenfeldt, who runs the most popular health blog in Scandinavia (DietDoctor.com) published some of the highlights of this study in English:

Health markers will improve on a low-carbohydrate diet:

…a greater increase in HDL cholesterol (“the good cholesterol”) without having any adverse affects on LDL cholesterol (“the bad cholesterol”). This applies to both the moderate low-carbohydrate intake of less than 40 percent of the total energy intake, as well as to the stricter low-carbohydrate diet, where carbohydrate intake is less than 20 percent of the total energy intake. In addition, the stricter low-carbohydrate diet will lead to improved glucose levels for individuals with obesity and diabetes, and to marginally decreased levels of triglycerides.” (Source.)

Dr. Eenfeldt also translated an article from a local Swedish newspaper covering the committee’s findings:

Butter, olive oil, heavy cream, and bacon are not harmful foods. Quite the opposite. Fat is the best thing for those who want to lose weight. And there are no connections between a high fat intake and cardiovascular disease.

On Monday, SBU, the Swedish Council on Health Technology Assessment, dropped a bombshell. After a two-year long inquiry, reviewing 16,000 studies, the report “Dietary Treatment for Obesity” upends the conventional dietary guidelines for obese or diabetic people.

For a long time, the health care system has given the public advice to avoid fat, saturated fat in particular, and calories. A low-carb diet (LCHF – Low Carb High Fat, is actually a Swedish “invention”) has been dismissed as harmful, a humbug and as being a fad diet lacking any scientific basis.

Instead, the health care system has urged diabetics to eat a lot of fruit (=sugar) and low-fat products with considerable amounts of sugar or artificial sweeteners, the latter a dangerous trigger for the sugar-addicted person.

This report turns the current concepts upside down and advocates a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet, as the most effective weapon against obesity.

The expert committee consisted of ten physicians, and several of them were skeptics to low-carbohydrate diets at the beginning of the investigation. (Source.)

One of the committee members was Prof. Fredrik Nyström, from Linköping, Sweden – a long-time critic of the low-fat diet and a proponent of the benefits of saturated fat, from sources such as butter, full fat cream, and bacon. Some quotes from Prof. Nyström translated into English from Dr. Eenfeldt:

“I’ve been working with this for so long. It feels great to have this scientific report, and that the skepticism towards low-carb diets among my colleagues has disappeared during the course of the work. When all recent scientific studies are lined up the result is indisputable: our deep-seated fear of fat is completely unfounded. You don’t get fat from fatty foods, just as you don’t get atherosclerosis from calcium or turn green from green vegetables.”

Nyström has long advocated a greatly reduced intake of carbohydrate-rich foods high in sugar and starch, in order to achieve healthy levels of insulin, blood lipids and the good cholesterol. This means doing away with sugar, potatoes, pasta, rice, wheat flour, bread, and embracing olive oil, nuts, butter, full fat cream, oily fish and fattier meat cuts. “If you eat potatoes you might as well eat candy. Potatoes contain glucose units in a chain, which is converted to sugar in the GI tract. Such a diet causes blood sugar, and then the hormone insulin, to skyrocket.”

There are many mantras we have been taught to accept as truths:

“Calories are calories, no matter where they come from.”

“It’s all about the balance between calories in and calories out.”

“People are fat because they don’t move enough.”

“Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.”

“Of course these are not true. This kind of nonsense has people with weight problems feeling bad about themselves. As if it were all about their inferior character. For many people a greater intake of fat means that you’ll feel satiated, stay so longer, and have less of a need to eat every five minutes. On the other hand, you won’t feel satiated after drinking a Coke, or after eating almost fat free, low-fat fruit yogurt loaded with sugar. Sure, exercise is great in many ways, but what really affects weight is diet.”