Tasty Water: Hydrate

I've always had trouble drinking water. I could never stand the taste... except when I was extremely heated from the weather or working out and even then it was not good, just necessary. Thus I've always had a problem with dehydration.
Over the last year, I have drunk nothing but bottled water (following the minimum regime listed in the "Hydrate" post below) but even bottled water was not a remedy.
While looking for a probiotic to replace yogurt (settled on Kombucha) I started re-examining my attempts at increasing my water intake after I stumbled on an article about PH water that said water with a higher than 7 ph taste better. I tried Glaceau Smart Water (ph7.6) and sure enough, it was easier to drink. Over the last week, that's all I've drunk and it is still easy to down it. Going to try other brands with even higher PH levels (up to 10)

• Alkalife TEN=             10
• Essentia                     9.4
• Evamor                       8.8
• Icelandic                     8.4
• Eternal                        8.1
• Real Water                 8.0
• Evian                          7.9*
• Penta                          7.8
• Dear Park                   7.8
• Glaceau Smart Water 7.6
• Voss                            7.6
• Volvic                          7.5
• Fiji                               7.3
• Nestle Pure Life          7.3
• Poland Spring             7.2

I composed this list because most waters don't put their PH level on their bottles.
Some will say their PH balanced, but it is unclear if that means they strive for a certain PH level or strive for an above 'neutral' PH level. So I don't think you can trust the 'balanced' label.
Most waters appear to be neutral or below. Below neutral is considered 'acidic' and above is considered 'alkaline'. Neutral is PH 7.0, so look for PH above that, the higher the better.
There are other advantages to above PH 7 waters besides improved taste. GOOGLE it.

*note: Always check the label. Looked at an Evian bottle and the ones that showed a PH level showed a level below that show in the above chart. Its not uncommon for a brand to have a mixture of waters in their line.
Copyright © 1992-2019 Glenn D. Littrell www.glennlittrell.com

FAKE OLIVE OIL COMPANIES REVEALED – STOP BUYING THESE BRANDS NOW!

Almost 70% of Olive oils found in the local stores in the US are fake! This is a result of the cheaper, nastier oils from which they are produced. Seven of the greatest olive oil manufacturers produce olive oils from cheaper, inferior oils, such as canola or sunflower oil.

This is in order to reduce the production cost and come to a huge profit.

In 2008, the Italian police take part in a crackdown called Operation Golden Oil. Nearly 85 oil farmers were caught who added certain percentages of chlorophyl to canola and sunflower oil and selling such products as virgin olive oil. Also, this oil was colored, perfumed, mixed and flavored in order to look like a virgin olive oil.

For this reason, the Australian government prompted to investigate their olive oil market. After certain testing of the virgin olive oils it turned out that none of them deserved the 2012 certification of pure olive oil.

Also, the University of California has conducted a study on 124 imported virgin olive oil brands and the result was that more than 70% were fake.

The following brands have failed the test:

• Bertolli
• Pompeian
• Star
• Colavita
• Antica Badia
• Sasso
• Carapelli
• Primadona
• Mazola
• Safeway
• Felippo Berio
• Carapelli
• Mezzetta
• Whole Foods
• Coricelli

These brands can be trusted because they passed the test:

• Ottavio
• Corto Olive
• Bariani Olive Oil
• Omaggio
• Lucero
• Kirkland Organic
• Lucini
• California Olive Ranch

• McEvoy Ranch Organic
• Olea Estates
• Cobram Estate

You can make certain tests at your home in order to find out whether the olive oil is fake or not. Place a bottle of olive oil in your fridge for half an hour and see whether the oil is starting to solidify. If solidified, the oil contains a great amount of monounsaturated fat, which indicate it is of good quality. If it does not, the olive oil is fake. Although not the perfect test, it is a good indicator whether the olive oil is of good quality. When you are not sure about certain brands, look for those which are labeled as California Olive Oil Council Certified Extra Virgin and Australian Extra Virgin Certified.

It is high time we oppose and stop supporting such corrupt industry of GMO’s, chemical substances and unhealthy ingredients. Such an action would stimulate an honest trade, an honest industry where people get paid for the honest products they pay for.

from: http://topslowcookers.com/2017/04/11/fake-olive-oil-companies-revealed-stop-buying-these-brands-now/         (warning, their page takes forever to load)

How Your Gut Microbes May Be Thwarting Your Diet:

Health benefits of ACV and honey mix:

10 Amazing Health Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar and Honey

Raw honey and ACV are both praised for their abilities to ward off infections and treat different conditions that have an impact on your quality of life. If you consume them together, you’re likely to experience the following benefits:

1. Better joint health and joint pain alleviation (good for arthritic pain)
2. Acid reflux and heartburn relief
3. Improved digestive health, including help with constipation
4. Weight loss
5. Reduced cholesterol levels and lower blood pressure
6. Sore throat relief
7. More energy
8. Youthful appearance and better condition of the skin
9. Remedy for bad breath
10. Reducing inflammation

What's The Ideal Temperature For Your Refrigerator?

Most of the video is educational information, skip to about the 3 minute mark for the relevant information for you fridge and freezer.

8 Things You Didn’t Know About Decaf Coffee:

Diana Vilibert, March 25, 2015

Whether you switch to decaf in the afternoon or opt for it all the time, you may be surprised to learn these things about decaf coffee:

Decaf doesn’t mean caffeine-free.
The amount of caffeine in decaf coffee varies (a lot).
Not all decaf is made equal.
1 in 10 coffee drinkers reach for decaf.
Decaf is good for your liver.
Decaf reduces your diabetes risk.
Decaf might raise your cholesterol
Decaf cuts prostate cancer risk.  

READ FULL ARTICLE

see also Cleaning your coffee maker:

note: Swiss Water process

Fitness Trackers: Take them on a test run.

With so many fitness trackers on the market -- and more emerging every day -- it's hard to know which one is right for your needs.

10 Myths About Body Fat

by Maria Trimarchi

What's one of the things about body fat that most people believe is true? How about this one: Muscle burns more calories than fat. While yes, our skeletal muscle does burn more calories every day than our body fat does, it's not as notable as you may think. It's really a surprisingly negligible difference when you're talking about how many calories are consumed for energy while you're just sitting around. The calories the body needs just to take care of its survival is called our resting energy expenditure, and when you're not exercising or expending your energy, your fat tissue burns two calories for every pound of your total body weight — but your skeletal muscle burns just six calories per pound [source: McClave].

READ FULL ARTICLE

How long should your naps be? Seriously.

• The Power Nap:
  10-20 minutes, sleep is limited to a lighter sleep that enable you to ‘snap back’ waking up.
• Sleep Inertia:
  30 minutes, leaves you with a nap-hangover for about 30 minutes before you feel any benefits.
• Slow Wave Sleep:
  60 minutes.  Best for remembering facts, faces, and names. A deep sleep with nap-hangover.
• Full Cycle Sleep:
  Lighter & deeper sleep both, REM sleep, dreaming stage. Lead to improved ‘procedural memory’.
  Tends to lessen nap-hangover.

READ ALSO

Top 10 Sleep Mistakes and Their Solutions

• a Care2 favorite by Dr. Frank Lipman

Although we may not like to admit it, many of the sleep problems we experience are the result of bad habits and behaviors. We stay up late or sleep in late. We eat foods that disagree with us or enjoy a drink late at night, oblivious to its disruptive impact on our sleep rhythms. Over time, we teach our body not to sleep. For relief we often turn to sleeping pills, which mask rather than solve the problem, and can lead to addiction. Ultimately for real success, with insomnia as with any chronic problem, one must look for the underlying imbalances and root causes and address those.

Here are the common sleep “mistakes” I see in my practice and their solutions.

Read more