May 31

If you have a brain, you will want to read this Top 5 list. ;)

The top 5 foods for brain health, to keep you smart and prevent diseases such as Alzheimer’s:

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1. Wild Salmon
Wild salmon an incredible food for brain health!It is extremely healthy in just about every area of human health and is one of the healthiest foods that you can eat!Wild salmon (not farm-raised) is one of the best sources of Essential Fatty Acids (such as the all-important Omega-3), a rich source of high-quality animal protein, low saturated fat and is generally among the lowest amounts of contaminants (such as mercury) among seafood.Other health properties of wild salmon include improving your brain matter, your mood, your synaptic connections, your arteries, reducing your risk of stroke , Dementia and Alzheimer’s.

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This is where I get ALL my Vitamins & Minerals!
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2. Cacao Beans

No, I don’t mean milk chocolate candy bars! Sorry.

The cacao bean, when minimally processed is one of the world’s longest-revered foods (back to the ancient Aztecs) and has in recent years been shown to be a veritable powerhouse of cognitive enhancement, mood and bliss-enhancement.

It is loaded with Theobromine, antioxidants, flavonoids, catechins and many other brain & body-enhancing elements. In fact, chocolate has been very recently cited by some top health professionals and researchers to be THE single most exciting health food.

Chocolate is now being hailed as beneficial to everything from brain health to skin elasticity to cardiovascular health to anti-cancer and pretty much everything in between!

So if you want the real benefits your best bet is to either use 100% organic non-alkalized cocoa powder from a high-quality maker who minimally processes the cocoa to ensure that the health properties are retained, or, second best, choose only high cacao percentage dark chocolate bars (typically at least 75% cacao content or higher) also from a high-quality provider.

It’s easy to mix a large spoonful of 100% organic cocoa powder with a bit of espresso, organic unsweetened soy milk and some cinnamon, even a sprinkle of cayenne red pepper (you all know how much I love using cayenne) in the morning. It’s one tasty, brain & body-fueling drink that gives you your pure cacao bean dose without the sugars and milk fat, you get your protein from the soy milk, brain-enhancing (and blood sugar-stabilizing) cinnamon, a little brain-enhancing caffeine from the espresso and theobromine (plus more) from the chocolate, and a digestion, brain-enhancing and respiratory-enhancing kick from the cayenne pepper.

Yes: chocolate is a brain health food. Specifically, the cacao bean is.

3. Matcha (Tencha-grade green tea powder)

Matcha is finely-ground powder of the highest-quality, most revered part of the shade-grown green tea plant. They are carefully grown, selected, dried, stone-ground, processed and prepared according to ancient Japanese traditions. This stuff does not come in tea bags and you certainly do not brew it or boil it.

When you drink real stone-ground Japanese Matcha, you’re not only drinking the arguably highest-quality, most carefully cultivated green tea variety, you’re actually eating the whole thing, you’re drinking the green tea leaf itself, whole, in powdered form mixed with hot (Not Boiling!) water.

The powder itself is so rich in chlorophyl that it’s literally bright green, and when mixed with water it becomes a rich, bitter-sweet concoction whose effects you can actually FEEL almost immediately after drinking a cup.

Perhaps best known as the traditional, ceremonial drink tightly interwoven with the Buddhist ceremonies and tradition, Matcha’s unique effects on the brain were a perfect fit for those monks in Japan preparing to endure 12-hour straight meditation sessions: calming and focusing while stimulating at the same time, it’s no wonder that Matcha became integrated into the monks’ meditative practices (thanks in large part to the amino acid L-Theanine).


When you drink real Matcha yourself, you too will…understand.Matcha has 10X times the health benefits of normal green tea in general, because you’re drinking an extremely concentrated, ultra-high quality form, Antioxidants, catechins, vitamins and all with the meditatively calming yet focusing effects of L-Theanine.

EGCG: Epigallocatechin Gallate, a compound found uniquely in green teas which has been shown to possess almost unbelievable anti-cancer, anti-aging and overall health benefits…so much so that ‘EGCG’ has become a health marketing buzzword for tea companies. Here’s where Matcha is really unprecedented: Matcha contains exponentially higher amounts of EGCG than regular brewed green tea (including high-quality fresh Sencha green tea). Matcha also has over 33 times the antioxidant levels of antioxidant powerhouse blueberries!!

So if you’re looking for a great way to get a veritable blast of antioxidants (not to mention EGCG, vitamins, minerals, etc.), boost your brain with Zen-like concentration and physical benefits, it’s hard to beat Matcha. And you can’t get that with a tea bag.

Good deal ond premium Matcha: Matcha Powdered Green Tea, Premium Thin Grade, 20g

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4. BlueBerries

These “brain berries” are a well known, easy to find, super food that should be part of your daily diet!

In laboratory animal studies, researchers have found that blueberries help protect the brain from oxidative stress and reduce the effects of age-related conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease or dementia. Researchers found that diets rich in blueberries significantly improved both the learning capacity and motor skills of aging animals, making them mentally equivalent to much younger ones.

Recently, researchers at Tufts University analyzed 60 fruits and vegetables for their antioxidant capability. Blueberries came out on top, rating highest in their capacity to destroy free radicals.

They are also packed with antioxidant phytonutrients called anthocyanidins, blueberries neutralize free radical damage to the collagen matrix of cells and tissues that can lead to cataracts, glaucoma, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, peptic ulcers, heart disease and cancer. Anthocyanins, the blue-red pigments found in blueberries, improve the integrity of support structures in the veins and entire vascular system. Anthocyanins have been shown to enhance the effects of vitamin C, improve capillary integrity, and stabilize the collagen matrix (the ground substance of all body tissues). They work their protective magic by preventing free-radical damage, inhibiting enzymes from cleaving the collagen matrix, and directly cross-linking with collagen fibers to form a more stable collagen matrix.

In summary, they are good for your heart, eyes, veins, joints and may prevent cancer, and they taste good too!

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  • 5. Coffee beans

Yet another suprise on this list, at least it was for me. Coffee is as misunderstood as chocolate, because the coffee bean, much like the cacao bean, is incredibly rich with antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Fresh-ground gently roasted coffee bean powder has numerous brain and body health benefits.

Regular coffee consumption has been shown to actually reduce the risk of mental decline and diseases such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s.

So does that mean coffee is healthy? The problem comes when coffee is combined with other unhealthy things, such as sugar, artificial sweeteners and cream. If you want a cup of quick death, try a Carmel, butterscotch, high fructose corn syrup with splenda, cool whip mocha creme.

If you want the health benefits, try a high-quality organic coffee freshly ground into an Espresso-grade powder and served as a shot or two of fresh espresso. Nothing else added. Don’t let your taste buds lead to your early demise. ;)

Many people still view coffee a ‘vice’ or something ‘naughty’ that should be avoided. Generally speaking, the coffee bean is a safe, true superfood. When properly consumed in ideal forms (such as pure Espresso), it’s one uniquely enjoyable beverage that also packs a host of brain and health-friendly properties to boot!

Be sure to look below for the link where you can buy ME a cup of coffee!!

written by John Derrick

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May 25

One of the joys of working at home is that you get to be your own boss. But if you are like me, being my own boss means that I am a bit of a pushover. I let myself get away with far to much and I have to put my foot down and tell my employee (me) that it’s time for some rules.

Nah, not really, but here are five tips that really have helped me out.

1) Have a schedule. Start working at the same time each day. I know, we all began working from home to have the freedome to work whenever we want. You have the freedom, and you will use it to set your work schedule, just make sure you stick with it. Having some sort of schedule has helped me out tremendiously. If you work with the public or you telecommute, it’s good for others too, because they will know what hours you are available.

2) Create a work area. I have a room of my house which is dedicated to my office. When I start “work” each day, I have a place to show up to. Also, keep your work area for work. Don’t put a TV in your office or you wont get anything done.

Work At Home With John Derrick
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3) Take breaks. Leave your work area and take a break. Hop outside for some fresh air once and awhile. Enjoy your day and be sure to get out of that office for a few minutes every couple of hours. If you work at home for yourself, you’ll find your boss will allow for as many breaks as it takes to make you happy. :)

4) Limit distractions. This is a big one for me. Let your friends know that you are working or else you will have 3 or 4 phone calls from others who want to chat for hours. If you are in your work area, you are at work. This can be very difficult if you have children at home, but this is when your schedule comes in handy. Schedule time for your children and make them part of your workday. It can be great fun.

5) Keep your focus. This will be different for everyone, but you have to keep clear goals and objects and spend your time working on these goals. It’s easy to spread yourself too thin and work in twenty different directions. If you already work at home you will know what I mean.

I wrote an aricle about the Top 10 reasons I love working from home. It really is a dream come true.

written by John Derrick

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May 24


1) Achievements: Wayne Dyer Quotes
A non-doer is very often a critic-that is, someone who sits back and watches doers, and then waxes philosophically about how the doers are doing. It’s easy to be a critic, but being a doer requires effort, risk, and change.

2) Abundance: Wayne Dyer Quotes
Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.

3) Belief: Wayne Dyer Quotes
Within you is the divine capacity to manifest and attract all that you need or desire.

4) Action: Wayne Dyer Quotes
Go for it now. The future is promised to no one.

5) Ambition: Wayne Dyer Quotes
Heaven on Earth is a choice you must make, not a place we must find.

6) Expectation: Wayne Dyer Quotes
I am realistic - I expect miracles.

7) Control: Wayne Dyer Quotes
If you’re always in a hurry, always trying to get ahead of the other guy, or someone else’s performance is what motivates you, then that person is in control of you.

8 ) Happiness: Wayne Dyer Quotes
You have everything you need for complete peace and total happiness right now.

9) Love: Wayne Dyer Quotes
Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you.

10) Enthusiasm: Wayne Dyer Quotes
Love what you do. Do what you love.

11) Attitude: Wayne Dyer Quotes
The state of your life is nothing more than a reflection of your state of mind.

12) Commitment: Wayne Dyer Quotes
There’s no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love. There is only a scarcity of resolve to make it happen.

13) Character: Wayne Dyer Quotes
When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.

14) Character: Wayne Dyer Quotes
Circumstances do not make a man, they reveal him.

15) Health: Wayne Dyer Quotes
You can set yourself up to be sick, or you can choose to stay well.

16) Self Esteem: Wayne Dyer Quotes
You cannot be lonely if you like the person you’re alone with.

17) Excellence: Wayne Dyer Quotes
It’s never crowded along the extra mile.

18) Character: Wayne Dyer Quotes
Your reputation is in the hands of others. That’s what a reputation is. You can’t control that. The only thing you can control is your character.

written by John Derrick

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May 17

While I did write about a magic weight loss pill that is coming soon, these Holistic approaches to weight loss may seem simple, but they have been proven over time to be very effective.

I am not a doctor or holistic practitioner, and to protect my rear-end from any lawsuit, I must advise everyone to consult their physician of choice before undergoing any weight loss program. With that said, let’s take a look at some of the easy time proven holistic weight loss remedies:

1) Visualization. Hold an image of yourself in your mind for 3 – 5 minutes, where you look the way you want to look. Feel the body changes in your body. If you cannot visualize yourself at your ideal weight, you will be undermining your weight loss efforts. You simply can not get thin if you feel fat all the time. At the bare minimum do this when you first wake up and right before you go to sleep. Preferably do it as often each day as you remember. Why not? It’s free, it feels good and you can do it at work and no one will have a clue. Don’t stress it, just let it come natural.

I found a great website if you need help to visualize yourself: My Virtual Model

2) Drink Water I know everyone is going to say you need 8 glasses of water each day, but that formula may be way off. Stick with this plan: If your urine is coming out pale yellow you are drinking enough water. If it is coming out dark yellow, you need to drink more water. If it looks like coffee, you need to drink a LOT more water. If it looks clear as water, you may want to cut back on the water you are drinking.

3) Drink Hot Water Drinking hot water is an Ayurvedic technique that cleanses your lymphatic system and hastens fat loss. Traditionally, you are not supposed to put anything in the water, even lemon, as you want clean water molecules flushing your system. With that said, I like to put some Cayenne Pepper in the water to get all the benfits of cayenne, including a boost to my metabolism. Sipping hot water is also supposed to help you combat food cravings and snack attacks.

4) Eat Greens Eat greens, greens, and more greens with every meal. Spinach is my favorite green, and lucky for me it’s also hosts the most vitamins and minerals of any green. Be sure to mix it up and have some romaine lettuce, dandelion greens, kale, watercress, and bok choy. Greens are the most missing ingredient in American meals and we as a nation are suffering for it.

Have you ever heard a study that says any green vegetable is not good for you? No, and you never will. The reason you have all those fairly flat teeth in the rear of your mouth is to chew fibrous materials, like green vegetables. That fiber will flush the system of fat and toxins—while making you feel full.

You simply cannot consider yourself nourished if you don’t regularly absorb the vitamins and phytochemicals in greens–and when you are malnourished, you have food cravings.

Lastly, they increase your energy and this burns calories. Try greens with garlic and a splash of oil, with lemon, in sauces, or in smoothies. All traditional menus included lots of greens—testament to this healing and slimming food.

5) Exercise for 30 minutes I know, it’s a hard thing to do for most people, but exercise for 30-60 minutes a day is proven to shed the pounds. Nothing can promote weight loss, especially fat loss, like daily exercise.

Ayurvedic principles dating back thousands of years teach us that our bodies are primed for exercise primarily in the mornings. Modern science now knows that exercising in the morning, before breakfast, burns fat extremely well, as you fuel your exercise from fat stores and not from the morning meal.

If you have anything to ad to this top 5 list, leave your comment below.

written by John Derrick

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