Recipes and Nutrition:
Gazpacho

By Kelley Lunsford

This famous cold soup is a refreshing summertime treat. And, it's packed with lycopene--a phytonutrient that fights heart disease and helps to guard against several cancers, including prostate cancer.

Serves: 8

Time to Table: 1 hour

Healing Nutrient Spotlight

. Lycopene, phytoestrogens
. Excellent source of vitamin B6, folate
. Good source of protein, magnesium, potassium, copper

Ingredients

6 medium organic tomatoes
1 1/2 cups organic tomato juice
2 medium cucumbers, peeled
2 whole shallots
2 medium organic yellow bell peppers
1/2 cups organic red wine vinegar
1 16-oz can organic garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1/3 cup organic extra virgin olive oil
1 whole organic lemon, juice
2 medium organic yellow onions

Preparation

Wash and prepare the vegetables. Core and finely chop the tomatoes; save the juice. Core, seed and finely chop the peppers, onions and shallots. Peel the cucumbers and slice them into quarters.

In a bowl, whisk together the vinegar, olive oil, reserved tomato juice, canned tomato and lemon juice. Place all the ingredients in a nonreactive (nonmetal) bowl. Cover and chill. Serve cold.

Nutritional Information

207 calories, 9.9 g total fat, 1.4 g saturated fat, 0 g trans fat, 6.7 g monounsaturated fats, 1.4 g polyunsaturated fats, 0 mg cholesterol, 205 mg sodium, 26 g carbohydrate, 5 g fiber, 7 g sugars, 5 g protein

[Ed. Note: Kelley Lunsford is the Founder & CEO of Healing Gourmet, a multimedia company that educates on how foods promote health and protect against disease. She is also the creator of Healing Gourmet's Personalized Nutrition Software and Editor-in-Chief of the Healing Gourmet book series published by McGraw-Hill, including Eat to Fight Cancer, Eat to Beat Diabetes, Eat to Lower Cholesterol and Eat to Boost Fertility. For more information click here to visit her website.]
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Exercise and Fitness:
A Total Body, No-Equipment Workout

By Craig Ballantyne

Traveling is the ultimate excuse for skipping workouts. From insufficient hotel gyms to tight time schedules, it's easy to justify laziness.

Not anymore.

Here are three kick-butt bodyweight exercises you can do anytime, anywhere to burn fat, stay energized and keep you in the fitness mindset so you'll avoid overeating.

Do each exercise 6 to 20 times, depending on your fitness level. Rest as little as possible between exercises. Rest 1 to 2 minutes after completing the entire circuit. Repeat the circuit 2 to 4 times, depending on your fitness level and the amount of time you have for exercise. Take 2 seconds to lower your body and 1 second to return to the start position.

1. Prisoner Squat
Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart and place your hands behind your head, like an arrested suspect in a cop drama. Keep your elbows back and draw your shoulder blades together to work your upper back muscles, which is otherwise impossible without equipment.

Push your hips back, as if you were sitting into a chair. (You can even set a chair behind you for guidance.) Lower until your butt reaches seat level, squeeze your butt and stand back up. Keep your elbows back and chest up to exercise your upper back and strengthen muscles weakened by poor posture.

2. Close-Grip Pushups
Just like you did in high school, but with a shoulder-width grip. If you are a beginner, do them from your knees.

3. Plank
Lie chest down on the floor. Raise yourself up, supporting your body on your elbows and your toes. Keep your hips in line with your body and brace your abs as if preparing for a punch in the stomach. Maintain your normal breathing pattern. Hold this position for 10 seconds per repetition.

For a once-a-month challenge, do each exercise to failure in your final round through the circuit.

[Ed. Note: Craig Ballantyne is an expert consultant for Men's Health magazine.]
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Healthy Healing:
Helping Women Avoid Hair Loss

By Blossom Kunnel, D.O.

As we age, our bodies change. For some women, these changes include hair loss and/or hair thinning. However, as technology and medical science continue to progress, more and more innovative alternatives have been developed. I have had many successful results treating women with this condition.

Hair thinning and hair loss is an ever-growing concern affecting aging women from all ethnic backgrounds. It is estimated that at least 21 million women in the United States suffer from hair thinning or loss. Thinning most often starts around the forehead and the crown of the scalp - a condition that generally develops as women approach the age of 40. While approximately 13 percent of women experience hair thinning before menopause, that percentage reportedly increases to 37 percent after entering menopause.

Though it is believed that hair loss is a caused by genetics, stress and poor diet, the most common cause of hair loss is brought on by declining estrogen levels. This is indeed common as women age. The steroid hormone responsible for hair loss is a derivative of testosterone called dihydroxytestosterone or DHT.

Once a woman enters menopause, her estrogen levels will decline. With this, more testosterone is bio-available. It is converted to DHT in the root bulb and stem cell regions. This will result in a shorter hair-growth cycle, which will unavoidably lead to finer hair and hair shedding.

However, hair shedding and thinning can be stopped and healthy re-growth can occur when the hormones are balanced.

This is the solution for hair loss in women. In my practice, I have seen countless numbers of women dramatically reduce hair loss and profoundly improve hair growth using my two-step approach:

1. Have your estrogen levels checked by an anti-aging physician who specializes in bio-identical hormone replacement. If your estrogen levels are low, replace them with bio-identical estrogens and progesterone. Progesterone is important -- one should NEVER take unopposed estrogen by itself.
2. Have your DHT levels measured. If your DHT levels are high, start a regimen of saw palmetto. Saw palmetto is an inhibitor of the enzyme 5 alpha reductase, which converts testosterone into DHT.

[Ed. Note: Dr. Blossom Kunnel is an expert in integrative medicine specializing in women's health, hormone replacement, diabetes and hypertension, and is an avid researcher in Ayurvedic medicine and western integration.]
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These articles appear courtesy of Early to Rise’s Total Health Breakthroughs [Issue 08-17-07]which offers alternative solutions for mind, body and soul. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.totalhealthbreakthroughs.com