Let’s face it: I’m sure you’ve heard people talk about the wonders of seaweed before. Whether it’s in the spa and therapeutic arena or just in your local health food store, seaweeds have been creating a buzz in the natural and alternative health realms for quite some time. Why all the buzz? What are people talking about here?

The most critical point you can pick up about seaweed is that it’s wild. It’s a group of completely natural plants that thrives in the oceanic environment – which, by the way, means that these plants are grown with ALL minerals in the “soil”. Besides some of the more common minerals we get here, we’re getting all of the trace minerals that are depleted in today’s modern agriculture. Think 30 minerals is healthy? Try getting all 92.

While this gives you some insight into why the plants may be so therapeutic in spa treatments and alternative therapies, what we’re going to focus on here and now is eating seaweed. Now, I know what you’re probably thinking: “I don’t know if I really want to eat seaweed…” but the truth is, you don’t have to turn this into a meal at all…or even a chore. Two easy ways to get this powerful group of foods into your diet regularly are by sprinkling a powdered/flake form (think salt container and low-sodium salt alternative) over your salads and other meals, or by adding a bit to a healthy smoothie (so you don’t even notice the taste, but reap all of the health benefits).

Before we get too far into the how, I’d like to really get back into why again. We know that “sea veggies” are highly-mineralized, but let’s consider just how potent and concentrated they are as well. You can get some of the highest-quality nutrition out there just from a teaspoon full of the flaked form – easy! This is because dried seaweed is so much more compact than the original wet seaweed. This gives you an awesome advantage – not to mention a better texture than the original slimy leaves!

Another reason to consider taking a closer look at seaweed is their alkalinity. Seaweeds are generally extremely alkaline, which can help balance out the acidic imbalance of most common diets today. This allows your blood to move more smoothly and can dramatically enhance the amount of energy you have available to yourself in your daily life. Having a strong acid-alkaline balance (closer to 7.0) means more energy for you, but also vastly improved health. Improved health means a better body, mind and lifestyle – and, more often than not, longevity…being able to stick around and see the wonders of life for a few more years than you would’ve had you not taken care of yourself.

I’ll add in one more bit, too: the glyconutrient profile of seaweed is astounding. While commonly termed glyconutrients, these long-chain sugars are also referred to as polysaccharides – you may know them by any one of these descriptions. What’s important is that these long-chain sugars give us steady, long-term energy to run off, as well as boost our immunity and restore elasticity to our joints and tissues. By cycling in various common types of seaweeds (such as kelp, nori, dulse and sea lettuce), we’re able to get all 8 essential glyconutrients into our diet – and thrive as a result.

I’d like to thank you for sticking with me through one of the tougher topics for people to wrap their heads around; seaweed can be one of those “mental blocks” for some people, and they simply won’t allow in important information that could change their lives for the better. I personally enjoy small amounts of kelp, dulse, laver and sea lettuce on a regular basis and it couldn’t be any simpler! Take advantage of the mineralization, alkalinity and glyconutrient profiles of these wild, vital plants and let me know how it goes!

Unleash Your Vitality,

John Brackett

P.S. If you’re one of the people wondering where they can find this stuff, it’s commonly right around the corner at your local health food store! If you’d rather not have to take the trip or can’t find one nearby, you can pick it up online for cheap anytime over at Sunfood.com.

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Magnets? …And health?

I don’t have to tell you twice that diet and exercise play absolutely critical roles in your health and well-being. But here’s something most people DON”T know: that certain types of magnets have been proven – time and time again – to be incredibly effective at healing and revitalizing the body!

Actually, let’s take a look at a handful of the documented, proven benefits of magnetism that most people have absolutely no idea about:

=> Neural Regeneration
=> Quickened Healing of Fractures
=> Assistance With Joints and Rotator Cuffs
=> Nerve Vitality
=> Anti-Depressant
=> Enhanced Ability To Utilize Oxygen
=> Increased Production of Youth Hormones
=> Higher Blood Alkalinity

The story goes that in ancient times, there were masters who would find this rare, magnetic earth at certain key locations and do their life-enhancing practices there…for they knew the true benefits of magnetism. These were some of the “masters of old” who were known for their incredible longevity and depth of life. And magnetism was an important part of it?

Consider that today, many elite athletes have found that the proper use of magnets has been able to drastically increase strength while simultaneously reducing recovery time – a critical advantage in any peak performance athlete. But don’t gloss over this if you don’t consider yourself an athlete – the principles are the same. Don’t you think that if it improved strength and recovery time for elite athletes that it’d do something for you too?

Naturally, I’m fascinated by magnetism and the connection between us as humans – walking, biomagnetic beings – and the magnetism of the earth. What I discovered some time ago is that there is research suggesting the earth may have formerly been at a level of 4.0 gauss thousands of years ago (gauss being a measurement of magnetism).

The interesting part?

Most research puts us at a level of 0.3 to 0.6 gauss today. That’s it?!? Consider the difference between 4.0 gauss and 0.3-0.6 gauss. It’s significant. What’s even more significant is this insight I can’t stop wondering about: when we tie together the incredible health and longevity benefits that are being seen in the application of rare earth magnets WITH the fact that the magnetic field of the earth is declining, we come to the conclusion that we as a civilization may be missing out on what used to be an important piece of the health and vitality puzzle thousands of years ago.

But how does magnetism affect the human body?

It is well established that the human body naturally has its own bio-electric field, which is also associated with a magnetic field. We know that we’re bio-magnetic beings! Doesn’t it make sense, then, that we would be strongly affected by other magnetic fields (think the magnetic field of the earth)? Here’s something that may blow your mind: the positive magnetic field you experience during the day is associated with your serotonin production, and the negative magnetic field you experience at night is tied in with your melatonin production. Have you heard of problems with these two hormones? You can count on it!

But what’s interesting to me is what happens when you reconnect with the earth’s magnetic field again. Your body starts to get in-sync and produce the youthful hormones that keep you looking and feeling great…for years to come. As an added bonus, you’re able to feel alive and revitalized during the day and fall asleep at night…like we’re supposed to.

One last note for you here: the magnetic field also alkalizes your blood and allows red blood cells to better utilize oxygen. If you’ve ever studied the acid-alkaline balance and its implications on health and energy levels, you know that increasing your level of alkalinity is a significant benefit. Because disease thrives in an acidic environment, it’s so important to maintain a healthy pH balance in your body.

We’re continuing to learn more and more about magnetism as we move forward in natural health and alternative therapies, and I hope this post has done a great job on bringing you up to speed and has given you some new insights and ideas on what possibilities are waiting for you.

I’m posting a link below to someone who I consider to be an insightful teacher and an active problem-solver in the world – who’s also got some incredible innovations in the field of magnetism. He’s the one who has taken the rare earth magnets – the type used in healing and natural health as talked about above – and made them available to the public in the form of magnetic exercise balls, magnetic mattress pads, and much more. They’re fascinating, and if this is something that interests you I’d highly recommend checking out his website for more information – he’s got some incredible research and personal stories to share with you (click the picture below and then find “magnetic products” or “magnetic pads” on the left menu):

Unleash Your Vitality,

John Brackett

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