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(To ensure your long-term success, this is a crucial step throughout this entire nutrition plan, which is why it is the only lesson repeated in each phase.)

There is no greater enemy to your physical health than a negative self-image or high stress. Many people initially succeed at implementing a diet -- whether it is to lose weight, heal a disease, or strengthen their body against sickness -- but then fall back to the old habits... and therefore, the "old" body. Why? Because the emotional barriers were never overcome in the first place.

To truly succeed at this nutrition plan, I highly recommend you work on overcoming your emotional barriers, whether they’re based on life’s anxiety-factors or emotional traumas.

There are a host of techniques to instill positive emotions and thoughts and create a sense of inner-peace, and the best rule is to find the one that works for you, whether it is considered traditional or "alternative," and keep on using it. In my clinical practice, I have tried a variety of methods, and have been exposed to many more (both traditional and alternative) through my medical background, but none have come close to the success rate I have experienced with the "Emotional Freedom Technique," or EFT.

I highly recommend you at least give EFT a try. EFT is a form of psychological acupressure that, while it appears a bit unusual to some at first, can almost seem miraculous in its ability to erase negative emotions and instill positive ones.

With EFT, while mentally focusing on the psychological/emotional issues in a positive manner through the use of affirmations, pressure is applied to the same energy points used for thousands of years in acupuncture (these energy points are finally even being recognized as legitimate by the pharmacy- and surgery-addicted American medical establishment.) These energy points are only tapped, though, not punctured as in acupuncture, as it has been shown that pressure on these points is all that is necessary to activate the body’s bioenergy. This combination of positive mental focus on the issue(s) and physical stimulus to the body’s biochemistry is amazingly effective at eliminating the issue -- be it stress, cravings, trauma, etc. -- quickly.

I routinely use EFT in my practice and I highly recommend it for optimal your emotional health. Although it is still often overlooked, emotional health is absolutely essential to your physical health and healing - no matter how devoted you are to the proper diet and lifestyle, you will not achieve your body's ideal healing and preventative powers if emotional barriers stand in your way.

EFT is very easy to learn, and will help you:

• Remove negative emotions
• Reduce food cravings
• Reduce or eliminate pain
• Implement positive goals

You can learn how to start using EFT on yourself and those close to you right now with my free online EFT Manual. For the most in-depth approach to using EFT routinely in your life, consider my EFT series on DVD or VHS; this series also comes with my complete nutrition plan discussion that includes real-world demonstrations.
 

It's very important to chew your food properly. Try to chew your food to a liquid form and then swallow it. This will predigest your food with the enzymes in your saliva. It will also provide neurological stimulation of your stomach and pancreas to increase their acid and digestive enzyme production. Avoid chewing gum for this same reason. Chewing gum will cause your body to be fooled and you will secrete valuable digestive juices unnecessarily. This will worsen your digestion and your health. It's also helpful not to talk while you are chewing your food as this interferes with optimal digestion.

Lesson 3: Don't drink too much water during your meals.

Don't drink fluids with your meals if possible, as this will dilute the gastric digestive contents and make it more difficult to digest. A few sips of water during the meal would be fine.

Lesson 4: Keep your kitchen clean -- the non-toxic way.

A food scientist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University has worked out the recipe for a sanitizing solution. All you need is three percent hydrogen peroxide, the same strength available at the drug store for gargling or disinfecting wounds, plain white or apple cider vinegar, and a pair of brand new clean sprayers like the kind you use to dampen laundry before ironing.

• Clean your veggies: If you're cleaning vegetables or fruit, spritz them well with both the vinegar and the hydrogen peroxide, then rinse them off under running water. It doesn't matter which you use first -- you can spray with the vinegar then the hydrogen peroxide, or with the hydrogen peroxide followed by the vinegar. You won't get any lingering taste of vinegar or hydrogen peroxide, and neither is toxic to you if a small amount remains on the produce.
  
  
• Get rid of e.coli: The paired sprays work exceptionally well in sanitizing counters and other food preparation surfaces including wood cutting boards. In tests run at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, pairing the two mists killed virtually all salmonella, shigella, and e. coli bacteria on heavily-contaminated food and surfaces when used in this fashion. This spray combination is more effective at killing these potentially lethal bacteria than chlorine bleach or any commercially available kitchen cleaner.
  
  
• Clean your kitchen on a regular basis: Be sure to regularly clean your kitchen countertops, sink drains, refrigerator handles and faucet handles. This should also be done immediately after you handle any raw meat.
  
  
• Clean your sponges and dishcloths: Clean your dishcloth and put your kitchen sponge in the dishwasher. You can also soak your sponge in a 10 percent bleach solution or the solution mentioned above. This will decrease your risk for acquiring food borne infection by over one million fold. If you use the bleach solution, please use gloves to limit your exposure to the toxic chlorine.

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