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April 25, 2022

The Mystery of Spring

So you think you know when Spring arrives.

 

Maybe, maybe not.

 

We all casually watch the news every year in late March to see when Spring begins based on the Vernal Equinox, which is usually on March 21 or 22.

 

But that is the scientific Spring, when the days are equally long and short, no matter where you are on earth.

 

But what about cultural Spring, Spring as defined by local customs?

 

Spring in England is defined as March 1 to May 31. In Ireland, based on the Gaelic calendar, Spring is February 1 to April 30, India mid-February to mid-April, Japan from February 1 when southerly winds begin to the end of May, China March through May, Canada mid-March to mid-June.

 

Ron had a friend from Toronto who defined the beginning of Spring as the first day the Winter snow accumulation did a major melt and the whole city smelled like dog doodoo.

 

And of course, our southern hemisphere friends are meteorological and cultural opposites.

 

Regardless of cultural customs, Spring whenever it is observed, finds us at our healthiest both mentally and physically as we embrace renewal.

 

 

Blueberry Bombs

 
Swing into Spring with these easy-to-make and tasty Blueberry Bombs, a perfect healthy snack for your whole family. This yummy snack delivers 13g of plant-based protein and ingredients like blueberries, cashews, dates and a superfood blend of essential nutrients found in our Dutch Chocolate shake mix!

1 scoop JP+ Dutch Chocolate Complete
1⁄2 cup cashews
1⁄2 cup gluten-free quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup dried blueberries
1⁄4 cup Medjool dates, pitted
1 Tbsp. cacao powder
1⁄2 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

  • Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend to create a soft dough. The consistency will vary depending on the softness of your dates and blueberries.
  • Add a few drops of water or plant-based milk if the dough is too dry and crumbly.
  • Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
  • Using 1 tablespoon of the mixture at a time, roll to form 1-inch balls.
  • Store in the refrigerator, for up to 1 week in an airtight container, or in the freezer. Enjoy!

 

 

How Juice Plus+ Capsules Are Made

 
One of the questions we get all of the time: how are your capsules made? Who grows the fruits, veggies and berries? Are they really picked at the peak of ripeness?

 

Click on the image above for these answers and more.

 

 

Sorry to Spring This On You

 
Bemer pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy devices are manufactured in Germany, not China.

They are not stuck in LA/Long Beach Harbor or not arriving at all.
But they are subject to the same supply chain and inflationary issues plaguing the global economy.

Effective May 1, the price of Bemer products worldwide will be 5% higher across the board.

if you are interested in a Bemer PEMF product and want to beat the price increase, contact Donna this week.

 

 

Happy Spring!

 

March 17, 2022

NO Luck of the Irish

Any of you smarties out there know the derivation of the phrase “Luck of the Irish”?

 

Its source is the gold mining fields of California of all places.

 

The Irish potato famine (1845-1852) overlapped the California gold rush (1848-1855) in such a way that about a third of the early California miners came either directly from Ireland or were recently arrived Irish immigrants already living in eastern American cities.

 

Being many of the first also meant greater success than immigrant miners who came from other places (notably China) in later waves.

 

A number of early arriving Irish did well, including Sam Brannon, the first California millionaire. And their reputation as “lucky Irish” soared.

 

But that luck only went so far. While they may have had money, they didn’t have health. No luck there.

 

Their life expectancy was age 42, and it’s not likely whole food nutrition in place of their steady diet of bacon, corn, beans, sludge coffee, gritty pancakes and occasional wild game would have helped much when the predominant causes of death were gunshots, mining accidents and cholera.

 

We live in different times, with a healthy diet and good nutrition promising us “luck” the Irish miners could not have.

 

 

Luck of the Healthy Shamrock Shake

JP+ Complete shake mix with 17g sugar, 13g protein, 7g fiber and full of lots of whole food nutrition

 

versus

 

93g sugar and no nutrition in a McDonald’s McCafe shamrock shake.

 

Your choice.

 

 

Tea-time

Along with the English, the Irish are known for loving their teas. And rightly so, as the research on tea has shown them to be full of healthy components. Click the button below and educate yourself on the power of tea in your diet.

 

READ

Give Love – To Your Immune System!

Is your immune system in the best shape it can be? Do you want to be more intentional about your diet and lifestyle and give it the love it needs to thrive? This article provides many reasons to care about your immune system.

 

Nikola Tesla Knew the Bemer Was Not Luck

Nikola Tesla, famous scientist and Albert Einstein associate who invented the Tesla coil using magnets to generate electrical conductivity back near the beginning of the 20th Century, predicted the evolution of pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy.

 

A Classic Irish Blessing for You

 

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face;
the rains fall soft upon your fields, and until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

February 28, 2022

You Gotta Have Heart

 

🎵 “You Gotta Have Heart”🎵 Remember that song from 1958?

 

It was a song in the Broadway play Damn Yankees of that same year.

 

Remember Eddie Fisher who made a huge hit of that song back when we had record albums?

 

If you do, consider yourself grizzled but wise.

 

If you don’t, hopefully you have the cognitive wherewithal to recollect Princess Leia, who was Eddie Fisher’s real life daughter from his marriage to Debbie Reynolds.

 

Had to have heart in 1958. Still gotta have heart today, but with a more supportive environment for keeping our heart healthy than we had 63 years ago.

 

 

Heart Health

 
What does the data say about our Heart Health? Have people in the U.S. made significant improvements in the past few years? Unfortunately, the most recent statistics published by the CDC show that heart disease and stroke are still among the most widespread and costly health problems facing the nation today.

The statistics:

 

  • -Approximately 1.5 million heart attacks and strokes occur every year in the United States.
  • -1 in every 3 deaths in the U.S. is from cardiovascular disease.
  • -Click below for more information.

 

A MILLION HEARTS WEBSITE

 

Do fruits & veggies help our hearts?

 
With this month’s spotlight on heart health, let’s review how Juice Plus+ can help our hearts. Juice Plus+ has 12 published clinical studies on Heart Health, so you can be assured that Juice Plus+ has a firm foundation to stand on.

For example, one of our clinical studies showed that people who consumed Juice Plus+ were better able to maintain the normal, healthy elasticity of arteries, even after a high-fat meal, and maintain normal levels of homocysteine, a waste product associated with heart health. These studies also demonstrated positive effects on several other measures of vascular health.

If it’s been a while since you’ve checked out our clinical research, click the link below.

CLINICAL RESEARCH

 

Overexposed?

 
Eating fruits & veggies, drinking more water, and in general, living a healthy lifestyle can be just as effective as medicine. Do you believe that? If yes, do you think we’ve been overexposed to this idea (and are now not hearing this message)? “Overexposure can turn liking into hostility” — quote by Roman writer Publilius Syrus, about 43 b.c.

Too many of us hear only white noise instead of seriously considering the good that can result from changing diet and lifestyle. In other words, changing what we can control can have a massive impact on our quality of life.

 

One potent example of the power of lifestyle change comes from North Karelia, Finland. A study done in this cold country found that when they improved their diet and lifestyle, the Finns realized impressive results in only one generation. A dedication to lifestyle as medicine for all has slashed heart disease rates by over 80%, and added fully ten years to life expectancy. No white noise there!

 

You Gotta Have Heart Here Too

 

 

Pulsed Electromagnetic Field (PEMF) therapy is yet another contributor to heart health.

ARTICLE

 

We Can Do Better, Right?

January 24, 2022

Do You Have Holicovid Syndrome?

Holicovid?

 

Many of us have suffered from this syndrome in increasing degrees of severity over the last two years.

We ate more and exercised less in 2020 and 2021, and then this past holiday season we re-engaged with our families and friends to a greater degree because it was “time”.

We took our two years of excess weight and topped it with varying degrees of seasonal splurge, and, wallah….holicovid.

Because of holicovid, many of us weigh more now than we have in a long while.

 

Holicovid Be Gone!

 

We’re starting our annual 10-day post-holiday Complete shake shred, as we have done for many years before holicovid. But we, as many, need more help this year. So we’re going to do it twice…maybe three times?

 

It is an easy and satisfying way to reduce your waistline safely and reasonably expeditiously. The shake provides great nutrition and also fills you up, so your appetite is diminished.

 

Check out Donna’s personal recipes in the link below. These are the result of several years of experimentation. She’ll introduce you to powered peanut butter as a powerful add-in ingredient, available on Amazon with just a few clicks.

 

 

 

Donna’s Simple Chocolate or Vanilla Shred Recipes

 

HOW TO JOIN US ON OUR NEXT 10-DAY SHRED STARTING 2/1

 

 

Dehydration, Avoid It

It may seem counterintuitive to think about dehydration when we’re not in the heat of summer, but dehydration is very real all year-round.

Six Signs of Dehydration:

1. Bad Breath
Saliva has antibacterial properties, but dehydration can prevent your body from making enough saliva. “If you’re not producing enough saliva, you can get bacterial overgrowth in the mouth, and one of the side effects of that is bad breath,” says John Higgins, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of Texas in Houston and the chief of cardiology at Lyndon B. Johnson General Hospital in Houston.

It’s the same reason you may wake up with “morning breath”: Saliva production slows down during sleep, notes the Mayo Clinic, leading to an unpleasant taste in the mouth as bacteria grow. So the next time your mouth seems dry and your breath smells less-than-fresh, it may be time to rehydrate …

 

CONTINUE READING

 

Your Brain on Food

“Molecules that are responsible for inflammation influence things like your mood and energy levels,” says Drew Ramsey, an associate professor of psychiatry at Columbia University. “For example, inflammation gets in the way of the brain’s self-repair process. Many antidepressant medications are also powerful anti-inflammatories that spur brain growth.” Your diet may also improve your gut microbiome, which research suggests influences depression.

CONTINUE READING

 

 

Maybe not Michael Strahan

 

Our U.S. astronauts have been using Bemer pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) in their space flights since 2016.

Consider This

What will your new beginnings look like in 2022? New career, new hairstyle, new car, new pet, new exercise plan … oh, the places you’ll go!

December 23, 2021

Lights, Cameras….PERFORM

The holiday season is upon us, and its time to PERFORM.

 

 

Introducing Juice Plus+ Perform

The Juice Plus+ company keeps current with consumer trends and those trends indicate there is an increased demand for functional food and drinks that support fitness performance.

 

With that in mind, Juice Plus+ has introduced this month a brand new high-protein shake, Juice Plus+ Perform.

 

Perform does not replace the popular COMPLETE line of Juice Plus+ plant-based protein shake products available for many years.

 

Rather, it is unique mix of plant-based and whole food-based ingredients, vitamins, and minerals tailored to the very active of us with special needs to elevate our fitness and mental performance. ​

 

Donna and Ron have both begun a Perform regimen as the holidays approach. As most all of us, our schedules are extra busy this time of year, and with a high-protein shake, we’re looking forward to a boost.

 

 

Ditch Grandma’s Lard-Based Recipe and Go for a Healthy Holiday Apple and Honey Pie

 

Pumpkin pie maybe your favorite, but Christmas also begs for a good apple pie. Here’s one with a 21st century health rating but a traditional pie taste.

 

RECIPE

Yeehaw! Microcirculation. What a Horse Would Wish for Christmas

 
No horsin’ around. The best gift horse owners can give to their horses is the same pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (pemf) humans use to promote microcirculation and better health. See trainer Martha Josey share how uses pemf microcirculation therapy to rodeo equine champions.

While We Are On The Topic of PERFORMING….

 

November 23, 2021

Something Fishy to Share

Thanksgiving is upon us. Strange time to be talking about fish.

The Results: On Our Way to Mesa AZ

       

We shared with you last month we were on our way to Mesa AZ to visit True Garden, one of the largest Tower Garden industrial farms and seedling suppliers in the U.S.

 

Our visit brought good news for those of us with outdoor Tower Gardens in more temperate winter climates.

 

Add an inexpensive fish aquarium heater to the bottom of your Tower Garden tank and have another “summer” season during winter months.

 

See the picture of our backyard Tower Garden below, and notice how many tomato blossoms in the images after just six weeks (four with the heater).

 

       

 

 

Best Split Pea Soup

Ron’s favorite soup can be a simple addition to your Thanksgiving – or any day – meal. This is the easiest and best Vegan Split Pea Soup Recipe. It is rich, hearty, and delicious, and made with everyday ingredients. The flavor is outstanding, and it can easily be made in a slow cooker.

 

RECIPE

Reminder: Antioxidants Rock!

The eight laws of learning are explanation, demonstration, imitation, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition, repetition. ~ John Wooden

We cannot repeat enough how powerful antioxidants are to establishing and maintaining good health. This article explains what antioxidants are, how they work, and the best sources for them.
Take a moment to refresh your antioxidant knowledge! Spoiler alert: fruits and veggies figure prominently in all discussions of antioxidants.

 

READ

Can Bemer Pulsed Electromagnetic Field Therapy (PEMF) Help Reduce Your Post-Thanksgiving Waistline?

 

Let’s go through the list:

 

·       PEMF therapy improves your mood and your overall health.

 

·       It improves flexibility and range of motion.

 

·       It reduces recovery time.

 

·       It increases strength and endurance.

 

·       It reduces pain, swelling, and inflammation.

 

·       It increases cellular metabolism.

 

·       It improves circulation and blood flow.

 

·       It oxygenates the cells and promotes healthy cell function.

 

·       It also helps the body remove toxins and cellular waste.

 

Sorry, but PEMF can’t directly help with weight loss. Weight loss requires commitment to a healthy lifestyle full of exercise and healthy eating habits.

 

Coming in December!

 
On December 15th, Juice Plus+ is introducing a new product, one that is designed for anyone with an active lifestyle. This new product is tailored to elevate fitness and mental performance. STAY TUNED 🙂

 

 

 

Happy Thanksgiving to All! Thank You

October 19, 2021

Pump(kin) It Up

Our favorite month of the year is here along with the beginning of pumpkin season.

 

Pumpkin Recipes… of course!

Now that you understand why you need a variety of plants in your diet, here are a couple of recipes to encourage your exploration of our delicious plant kingdom. We’ve got you covered for breakfast and lunch with these two recipes.

           
Spiced Pumpkin Porridge                      Roasted Pumpkin & Quinoa Salad

RECIPES

 

Drink Quinoa + Pumpkin

 

That heading is intriguing!

 

But how do I drink, not eat, these plant-based foods? And can you make it really simple for me?

 

We can! Quinoa is a standard ingredient in our delicious Juice Plus+ Complete powders. When you make this shake, you’ll also get all of the orange nutrition of pumpkin!

 

 

 

 

 

PEMF Good, Frankenstein Bad

 

 

On Our Way to San Jose (Oops)Mesa AZ

 

We’re heading to Mesa Arizona this coming week for a tour of True Garden, our supplier of choice for Tower Gardens, accessories and seedlings.

 

Yes, seedlings and produce are grown in the middle of the Sonora Desert on an indoor commercial farm.

 

We’ll share the nuggets we bring away from our visit next month.

 

 

Don’t eat too much candy this month!

September 28, 2021

Oh, It’s September

September, a very good month (next to our personal favorite, October).

Hopefully We Are in the September of the Pandemic

 

It’s been a bear of a year-and-a-half. All of us have been impacted in some way.

 

Even as we are nearing the end of the pandemic, many of us continue to harbor anxiety, even depression.

 

The physician community has prescribed more anxiety and depression medication per capita in the United States in 2020 and 2021 than anytime in history.

 

While prescription medication has been helpful in coping with the current times, there are alternative treatments, a notable one being pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF).

 

The accompanying article from a recent BioBalance Newsletter explains how PEMF works to reduce anxiety and depression on a daily basis, both with medication and as a substitute for it.

 

Dr. Bill Sears Speaks

 
With immune health top of mind for many of us, let’s listen to one of our favorite docs: Dr. Bill Sears. In this video, he talks about how to preload your immune system with fruits, veggies and omega fatty acids. Tune in to listen to this doctor with over 50 years of experience in pediatric medicine and learn simple ways you can bridge the gap in your family’s diet that can lead to positive, long-term effects.

The Research Tells The Truth

 

We’re thrilled to announce the recent publication of two new clinical studies conducted on JP+ Capsules.
The first paper, from researchers at Universidad Católica de San Antonio in Murcia, Spain, studied the impact of JP+ Fruit, Vegetable, and Berry Blend capsules on cognitive function in healthy young adults.

 

The investigators found that JP+ capsules improve several key cognitive processes, including working memory, attention, and processing speed. This paper was published in the peer-reviewed journal Antioxidants.

 

In the second study, investigators at the University of Memphis examined the effect of JP+ products on the gut microbiome in overweight women. The researchers found that:

 

JP+ Capsules support digestive health, as demonstrated by increased levels of butyrate, a compound that supports digestive health, and by improved glucose clearance.

 

JP+ Capsules – in combination with JP+ Complete shakes – positively impact the composition of the gut microbiome.
This paper was published in the peer-reviewed journal Microorganisms.

 

September Recipe

In honor of September, below is an autumn-colored, delicious salad for you … it’s super easy to make!

Roasted Pepper Salad

 

7 different colored peppers
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp EVOO
3 TBS vinegar
salt
parsley, chopped

 
 

Roast the peppers in a 425F oven until the skin is blistered and blackened.

 

Remove the peppers from the oven and immediately place the peppers in a bowl and cover. Cool for about 20 min. Peel and discard the skin. Remove the seeds and stems.

 

Cut the peppers into thin strips and place them in a medium bowl. Add olive oil, vinegar, garlic and salt. Mix and cover the salad. Refrigerate for at least one hour.

 

Serve at room temperature or chilled. *Optional – add chopped parsley before serving

August 13, 2021

Mocktail Anyone?

We left town for a once-in-a-year-and-half break last month. We’re sure you missed us.

Mocktails anyone?

 

Special drinks are for everyone! Regardless of what you’re celebrating, these mocktail recipes will add a bit of zing to any occasion. And there’s no need to mock our alcohol-free mocktails: they’re fun, sometimes fizzy, and always 5-star refreshing.

 

Be sure to save this cookbook for the Holidays and enjoy the Misteltoe Mocktail!

 

Healthy Mocktail Recipe

 

 

 

Grow Something New!

 

Time for a new pepper for your grill: the shishito pepper. In Japan, it’s known as the “Lion Head Pepper” and these peppers are thin-walled, small, and slender. They turn from green to red when ripe, but are most commonly harvested when green.

 

Shishito peppers are inexpensive and easy to make. Their thin skin blisters and chars easily, which makes them easy to cook. It only takes a few minutes in the pan or on the grill, with a bit of salt and pepper, to taste delicious. In addition, the fact that one in 10 peppers is spicy adds an extra element of chance that’s hard to match in other foods. In other words, eating shishito peppers with a group can become a minigame. Who’s going to bite into a hot pepper first?

 

 

20-5-3

 

According to a UNLV Professor, you can use this three-number formula to break out of your comfort zone and make yourself healthier and happier. The article is an excerpt from the new book by Michael Easter, The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self. He is a leading voice on how humans can integrate modern science and evolutionary wisdom for improved health, meaning, and performance in life and at work.

 

All of us can benefit from periodically shaking things up a bit and there’s no better time than now!

 

Read Article

 

 

Just Sharin’

 

We’re here to inform and not sell. But occasionally it seems of purpose to share about a promotion which could be of interest to you.

 

We’ve informed about pulsed-electromagnetic field therapy (PEMF) regularly in our posts. Everyone in our household makes time for a PEMF session for a few minutes daily to gain a physiotherapeutic benefit as a complement to good nutrition.

 

The PEMF provider we use and share is produced by a European company called Bemer.

 

Bemer PEMF devices rarely are marketed below manufacturer’s standard retail price. But through the end of August, Bemers, as they are colloquially known, are being sold at a discounted bundle price of $4,990, a $630 savings.

 

If you have an interest in exploring how this device might benefit you, call, text or email Donna 949.463.0520 donna@heightenedhealth.net. You need more than pictures to understand a PEMF device. She can help you experience it.

 

 

 

Colorful Reminder

 
Juice Plus+ capsules and chewables are colorful and full of life-giving nutrition! This visual is an excellent reminder of all the fruits, veggies, berries, and omegas that Juice Plus+ provides. Think about it – on your best food days, do you come close to eating this impressive variety of plants?