Research shows that making small changes can add up to a big difference in your health over time. By doing a little every week to improve your health,
you will notice a big improvement in your overall sense of well-being.

When selecting hygiene products (lotions, soaps, shampoos etc.) read the labels. Look for 100% natural ingredients. If you can't pronounce the name you probably do not want to put it on your skin. Your skin absorbs what you put on it.

How the beauty industry preys on uninformed consumers to push their petrochemicals (which damage your skin and cause premature aging!)
Modern Skin Care which is mainly chemically based, brings issues with destroying the top layer of skin. Chemical peels and or other facial procedures are just some examples ruining your skin! Won't get into too much more detail as there is so much I could say! Leave you with one positive thought...

Try Forever's Sonya Skin Care and see the benefits in more ways than one!

Wishing you ultimate wellness,

Sonia <3

The best time to drink water is 15-30 minutes before a meal or 2 hours after a meal.  Too much liquid with meals will wash out the hydrochloric acid, digestive juices and enzymes in your stomach and intestines and delay digestion.

Cheers,
Sonia

Dark chocolate is very high in antioxidants. To ensure you receive the most benefit from dark chocolate purchase bars that are low in sugar, contain at least 60% cocoa, organic ingredients and no dairy products.

Dark chocolate -- but not milk chocolate or dark chocolate eaten with milk -- is a potent antioxidant, report Mauro Serafini, PhD, of Italy's National Institute for Food and Nutrition Research in Rome, and colleagues. Their report appears in the Aug. 28 issue of Nature. Antioxidants gobble up free radicals, destructive molecules that are implicated in heart disease and other ailments.

"Our findings indicate that milk may interfere with the absorption of antioxidants from chocolate ... and may therefore negate the potential health benefits that can be derived from eating moderate amounts of dark chocolate."

Translation: Say "Dark, please," when ordering at the chocolate counter. Don't even think of washing it down with milk. And if health is your excuse for eating chocolate, remember the word "moderate" as you nibble.

A healthy digestive system begins with a good diet. Eat the right stuff and improve digestion. Eat badly and you feel like a human garbage can. How you eat can affect the way you feel too.

The gastrointestinal (GI) tract is also home to our most precious disease-fighting resource: the immune system.

Your digestive system is vital to your health and happiness. So how do you keep it working well? For starters, avoid these 5 gut enemies.

5 Worst Foods for Your Gut

1. Red meat: The more red meat you eat, the higher your risk of colorectal cancer risk. That’s because it’s typically high in saturated fat, which is tied to cancer of the small intestine, according to a 2008 Cancer Research study.

How to avoid it: Choose lean cuts of beef, lamb and pork. Eat more protein- and iron-rich legumes in place of red meat. Grill a portobello mushroom instead of a burger; it’s meaty flavor will fill you.

2. Processed meat: Lunch meats, hot dogs, sausages and other processed meats are packed with saturated fat, sodium and nitrates. Processed meats have been linked to colon cancer, possibly because they are cooked at high temperatures, which can increase carcinogens.

How to avoid it: Stick to fresh, lean cuts and eat other forms of protein (legumes and grains) as much as possible.

3. Hydrogenated oils: Trans fats, created when liquid oils are hydrogenated (so they become solid at room temperature), aren’t found in nature. They’re an inexpensive way to make fats last longer on supermarket shelves, but your body pays a high price: they’re tough to digest and have been linked to many health problems, including increased bad (LDL) cholesterol, decreased good (HDL) cholesterol and colon cancer.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires trans fats to be labeled on food products. But the federal agency also allows manufacturers to claim zero trans fats if there are fewer than 0.5 grams per serving.

Don’t be fooled: If a food lists hydrogenated oils as an ingredient, it contains trans fats.

How to avoid it: Get nutrients in foods that are fresh, whole and natural, and ditch the packaged, processed stuff.

4. Gluten: About 2 million Americans suffer from gluten intolerance, says the National Institutes of Health

(NIH).Gluten is a protein found in barley, rye, spelt, wheat and countless other foods such as processed meats, soy sauce, ice cream, cheese, cookies, pasta, ketchup, salad dressings and more.

Food sensitivities affect 10%-20% of us, and can cause lots of digestive complaints and stomach aches (gas, cramping, bloating, heartburn, indigestion) and other symptoms, including chronic headaches, aching joints and muscles, depression, concentration, memory problems and poor energy levels, Lipski says.

How to avoid it: A gluten-free diet is the only solution to this food sensitivity; it’s a challenge but possible.

5. Lactose: Another cause of stomach aches is lactose, the principal sugar found in milk. Lactose intolerance affects 30-50 million Americans, according to the NIH.

Avoiding milk will help, but you don’t have to give up all dairy. Some lactose-intolerant people do fine with small amounts of milk.

How to avoid it: Drink lactose-free milk and eat cultured dairy products, like yogurt, which break down lactose. Aged cheeses (like Cheddar and Swiss) have less lactose and may be easier to digest.

5 Best Foods for Your Gut

1. Dietary fiber

Fiber keeps things moving through your digestive system and out. Otherwise, your colon is stuck with toxins that can build up and cause major health problems. Your body then begins reabsorbing toxins, hormones and other substances.

“If you don’t have regular bowel movements, you’re retaining wastes that your body has finished with,” Lipski says. “It’s like not moving a stinky garbage bag out of your kitchen.”

A diet rich in fiber protects against colon cancer and cancers of the small intestine, according to a 2008 study in the journal Gastroenterology.

Fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes are all packed with healthy fiber. But when it comes to staying regular, prunes, because of their mild laxative effect, is the go-to fruit. They’re also a great source of energy, nutrition and disease-fighting phenolic compounds.

2. Probiotics

Probiotics are those “good bugs” you hear health nuts raving about. Why would anyone willingly eat bacteria? Because our intestinal flora is made up of trillions of good bacteria that aid in digestion and promote immunity and health. In fact, four pounds of our body weight comes from the bacteria that live in the digestive tract.

The No. 1 probiotic food is yogurt. Yes, it’s a dairy product – the bane of millions of lactose intolerant people – but eating yogurt or kefir calms digestive complaints. That’s because it contains live cultures, typically Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, which help lactose digestion. When choosing a yogurt, make sure the cultures are listed as “live” or “active.” Yogurts with added fiber are even better.

But steer clear of yogurts with a lot of sugar, which hurts digestive health because it feeds the bad bacteria in your GI tract. Plain, unsweetened yogurt is best. Add some fiber-rich berries or honey, which has prebiotic properties, if you need to sweeten it up.

3. Prebiotics

Prebiotics are food for probiotics. Prebiotics help good bacteria thrive while driving down the number of disease-producing bacteria trying to invade the digestive tract. They also promote a more acidic intestinal environment, which helps the body absorb nutrients in food such as the minerals calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium.

Fortunately, prebiotics are found in many of the foods we already eat.

Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) and inulin are two naturally occurring prebiotics in onions, garlic, leeks, legumes, bananas, asparagus, sunchokes (Jerusalem artichokes) and more.

4. Gluten-free grains

Gluten – a protein found in grains such as wheat, barley and rye – isn’t necessarily bad for you. But it does cause stomach aches for many people. About 30% of people poorly digest gluten-containing grains.

Expanding your grain repertoire is a good idea whether or not you’re gluten intolerant. Quinoa (pronounced “keen-wah”) is an excellent option. This gluten-free grain is a complete protein, meaning it provides all eight essential amino acids. It’s also fiber-rich and bursting with minerals.

It cooks up like rice (two parts water to one part grain) and adds a unique texture (chewy yet crispy) to side salads, casseroles, soups and more.

5. Fermented foods

Sometimes your GI tract just needs a break. Fermented foods are the solution. Fermenting or culturing makes food more digestible and increases our absorption of the other nutrients in the food. Pickles, sauerkraut, kefir, miso, tempeh and Japanese tamari or soy sauce are all easy-to-digest fermented foods. Sourdough is also a good option as it’s a sub for wheat bread if you’re sensitive to gluten. It is made with wheat flour but the fermentation weakens the gluten.