According to the USDA the average North American eats at least 2 snacks daily. This accounts for nearly a quarter of daily calorie intake. The average daily caloric intake for adults ranges between 1,500 – 2,000 calories. If snacking makes up a quarter of this, snacks alone are responsible for approximately 500 calories. Because snacking contributes to a large portion of caloric intake, it is important to choose healthy, nutritious items to ensure adequate if not optimal nutrient intake. CNN’s Health.com reports the average person is overeating by about one-third of the daily caloric need. Lead author of the study, Barry Popkin, Ph.D., a professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill expresses concern over the frequency of eating. The study attributes the rise in caloric intake to the rising number of snacks and meals being consumed.

Approximately 4,000 years ago, the cacao plant was discovered by the Olmec people of Southern Mexico. At this time, however, the cacao was not being processed to make the chocolate bars we know today. Instead, the beans were roasted, ground up, and mixed into a paste with spices to drink as a warm beverage. While this may sound a lot like the present-day hot chocolate drink we know and love, there were no additives like sugar, caking agents, or powdered milk. Instead, the drink was very bitter and arguably not even enjoyable. So why did they choose to consume this bitter and astringent drink? According to the Olmec people, cacao was the food of the gods. It was celebrated for its medicinal qualities and reserved for the people of higher social status, such as rulers, priests, and warriors. About 2,500 years later, the Mayans discovered cacao and through trade, introduced it to the Aztecs, too. The Aztecs even began to use this as a form of currency! Fast forward to the 1500s, and Spanish explorers discovered chocolate in the “New World.” These beans were, then, transported to Europe. Chocolate traveled throughout the continent, gradually increasing in popularity. Through its expansion, different variety and methods of preparation were being explored. Going forward, the first box of chocolate candies was sold by John Cadbury in 1875. As you can tell, chocolate has changed quite a bit throughout its history. Now with the plentiful varieties, brands, and sources, it is easy to misunderstand where chocolate can be beneficial to our health while still being aware of the issues with chocolate consumption. Join me at Chocolate 101 to learn how the various types of chocolate differ from one another and the ways certain chocolate can boost your health!

Protect Yourself from the Dangers of Electromagnetic Fields In 2011, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the cancer research arm of the World Health Organization, declared cellphones a Group 2B “possible carcinogen.” Researchers have found that male rats were more likely to develop heart tumors, while female rats and newborns exposed to high levels of radiation during pregnancy and lactation were more likely to have low body weight. DNA damage and damage to heart tissue were also observed in both male and female rats, but not mice. Other types of tumors did occur in both types of animals, though, including brain, prostate, liver and pancreatic tumors. According to the researchers, if these results can be confirmed, then cellphone radiation may indeed be a "weak" carcinogen. The animals in these studies were exposed to cellphone radiation for nine hours a day for two years (basically the full life span of a rat). According to the researchers, this level of exposure is far greater than what humans are exposed to, making it difficult to extrapolate the impact cellphone radiation might have on humans.

Start Your Day Off Right! What if you could manufacture a perfect day? You CAN! And it’s easier than you think. Setting the tone for your day begins the moment you wake up. No matter what happened the day before, you get a new start each morning. Pretty incredible, right? We all know this, but get so busy that we tend to forget each new day brings new opportunities. One bad habit indeed leads to another. The good news is one good habit has the same effect! When you make a conscious choice to begin your day with a positive attitude and healthy habits, you’re setting yourself up for success! Crafting a morning routine is a personal thing. Not every routine will be appropriate for everyone, and that’s okay! When creating YOUR ideal morning routine, it’s vital to take into account what you value and what your needs are. Sure, it may be tempting to follow in another’s footsteps. However, just because someone’s success lies within their personal routine doesn’t mean that it will also work for you. What if the most successful person in the world wakes at 5 am every day and goes for a 10-mile jog? If you hate to run, this isn’t going to get your day off to a good start. Together, we can create a morning routine that WILL work for YOU! During this webinar, I have tons of ideas to help you establish a morning routine that will lead you to healthier, happier, and more productive days.

Worldwide, strokes are the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of disability. One in six people worldwide have a stroke in their lifetime, and stroke claims a life every six seconds. According to the World Health Organization and other leading stroke experts, stroke kills more people each year than AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria combined. These are some scary statistics to face because many people don’t realize just how prevalent and dangerous strokes are. The good news is, 80 percent of all strokes are preventable, treatable, and beatable. Our goal for this Stroke Prevention and Education facilitation is to equip you with the information and perspective you need to understand the signs and symptoms of stroke and take measures to get medical help before it’s too late. Additionally, we want to give you the tools to understand what preventative measures are necessary to combat your risk of stroke and keep your body working in an optimal state.

Fit Fasting Into ANY Lifestyle Have you heard about the incredible health benefits of fasting but are clueless as to how to get started? Not to worry! I’m hosting an educational webinar to help you do just that. Too many people jump into drastic diets without understanding the impact it will have. I want to help you incorporate fasting into your lifestyle SAFELY. Fasting has been practiced for centuries. In fact, science shows that, like animals, we have a fasting instinct that extends through the ages: Hippocrates prescribed and championed fasting while using apple cider vinegar. Religions around the world developed fasting independently as a practice and the Greeks not only prescribed it for illness, but required it in preparation for many rituals to contact supernatural forces. Fasting has also been used as a means of political protest. Fasting may seem daunting and a challenge, but can provide long-term benefits and helps your body remove toxins. Join me for How to Safely Add Fasting to Your Busy Life on Tuesday, August 30th at 7:00 pm MDT.

Don’t Be Misinformed! When it comes to misinformation, not all come from the intent to mislead people. Some myths grow because they seem to make sense. Others because they are portrayed from a reliable source. We’re all guilty of assuming things to be fact without doing any research. After all, who has time for that? That’s why I’m launching Common Fitness Myths Debunked. I took the time to research common fitness myths, so you don’t have to. Join me on Tuesday, June 28th to learn the truth about the 15 most common myths that may be holding you back from achieving your fitness goals. My number one goal is to help you get to the TRUTH, so you can succeed in your efforts to be healthier and achieve the body you work so hard to maintain. All you have to do is sign up and share the experience with others.

Living With Asthma? Managing your asthma from day-to-day is essential in staying healthy, active, and keeping symptoms at bay. All over the world, asthma is a big problem. In the United States, it affects 8.4 percent of the population, that's over 25 million Americans. On top of that, diagnoses are on the rise. Whether you’ve been living with asthma all your life, or you’ve just been diagnosed, chances are that you’re always on the lookout for methods to ease your symptoms and make everyday life a little bit easier. Our goal for this experience is to help you find strategies and tools to help you improve your health for the better. All of the methods and tactics we’ll be discussing are natural alternatives designed to address the root cause of your symptoms which can be used alongside your current treatment plan. If you’re looking to discover how specific lifestyle changes may affect your health and wellness for the better, you don’t want to miss out on this opportunity!

Shopping for produce is easy and fun, especially if you’re at a farmers market with a wide variety to choose from - but making sure to eat all those veggies before they go bad is the hard part! If you’re trying to expand your palate or experimenting with new fruits and vegetables, it can be hard to know whether to store these foreign goods in the fridge or on the counter, and improper storage can lead to poor taste or texture. I’m facilitating Produce Storage 101 so that you can learn helpful tips and get answers to questions like, ‘How do I store fresh herbs?’ ‘Do tomatoes go in the fridge?’ and ‘Why are my potatoes sprouting?’