Good morning.  First, thanks to Liz, who I shared some coincidences with yesterday, for this link which tells a little more about the grounding we talked about yesterday.  Knowing it does a body good, made barefoot gardening (really light gardening) a whole lot more fun, yesterday afternoon.  This morning, I went out to check for fallen mangoes (they are just starting to ripen) and truly embraced the feel of the earth beneath my naked feet.  To learn a little more, check out this short video: http://youtu.be/HUP3icSsiDA

Another beautiful thing about being outside is the dose of vitamin D we get.  There is no supplement that can hold a candle to that big ball of light in the sky.  The thing about the sun is, though, as we all know, is that in order to get enough of it for a tan, we have probably gotten too much.  Did you know, though, that colorful, carotenoid-rich fruits and veggies are nature’s self-tanners?  In research done in Scotland, people who added more fresh produce to their diets found that their skin took on a warm golden glow, which was seen as more attractive by study participants that the skin tone of the people who ate less produce.  Bonus:  eating antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables protects your skin from free radicals and sun damage.  Just one of the many reasons to eat colorful foods!

English: Mother Nature Română: Mama natura (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Mother Nature has done this incredible job of giving us everything we need to be happy, healthy and look terrific.  Thanks, momma N. You always take care of everything.

English: Bare feet running (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This morning I would like to thank Iris for a super interesting article about the poor misunderstood….cholesterol.  While I gleaned tons of info from this article, I would like to focus in and share a couple of sentences from Dr. Mercola*.  This is part of a list of way to optimize your cholesterol profile and prevent heart disease.  Of course, we know, at the top of the list are…exercise and diet.  (Dr. Mercola strongly feels, as many do, that sugar is much more responsible for heart disease than cholesterol.)  Down lower on the list he suggests the following and I love it:

“Walk barefoot to ground yourself to the earth.  Lack of grounding has a lot to do with the rise in modern diseases as it effects the inflammatory process in your body.  Grounding thins your blood, making it less viscous.  Virtually every aspect of cardiovascular disease has been correlated with elevated blood viscosity.  When you ground to the earth, your zeta potential quickly rises, which means your red blood cells have more change on their surface, which forces them apart from each other.  This action causes your blood to thin and flow easier.  By repelling each other, your red blood cells are also less inclined to stick together and form a clot.”

I never heard this before but I can say that I have always been a big fan of walking barefoot and when I donate blood it does flows very, very quickly.  Thinking about all those barefoot runners, and how they may be doing more good for their health than they even know!  Perhaps the best thing we can do for our heart is get out there and take a nice long walk on the beach–barefoot, of course!

*Dr. Mercola is an alternative medicine physician and author and it’s important to note that a good deal of controversy surrounds his thinking, as is the case with most physicians and health care professionals who tout natural remedies.  Big Pharma doesn’t like ANYONE who suggests that there are other, more natural, paths to wellness.  This is especially true with statins, as they are one of the most prescribed drugs on the market and are the NUMBER ONE profit-makers for the industry.  Mull that around in your head for a bit!

Get out there and seize YOUR day!