Healthy Sugar Substitutes

My kids have sweet tooths and so do I and my husband. Still we all know how sugar is supposed to be bad for you.
The first thing that you have to do is cut the level of refined sugar that you take on board every day. This means that you must cut right back on sugar rich foods such as cakes, cookies, candies, chocolate, jellies and the like and if you currently ladle sugar all over your breakfast cereal in the morning, stop doing it right now.
In addition, if you take sugar with your tea or coffee, try to wean yourself off sweetening your drinks or if this is something that you cannot imagine doing, try a natural sweetener like stevia or sucanat as alternative.
The first of these natural sweeteners is somewhat controversial in that it is approved by the FDA as a dietary supplement but not as a sweetener. Nevertheless, even though it is a little expensive, the extreme sweetness of stevia means that a little goes an awful long way, so the cost per cup of tea or coffee is probably no different to cost of the sugar you are currently buying.
On the other hand, sucanat is a one-for-one direct replacement for processed sugar and as always, there are plenty of places on the net where you can obtain both of these substances.
The point about having too much sugar in your diet is that not only does all of that instant energy tend to get piled on as fat if it is not used, processed sugar is bad for your immune system and particularly for your skin. Consequently, if you consume too much processed sugar or products made from sugar, it is pretty much a given that you are going to suffer boils and other skin problems.
Of course, this does not necessarily mean that you have to cut all sweet foods from your diet, but what you should do is replace the sweets that you used to use with natural sweet substances wherever possible. For example, eating plenty of fruit and vegetables is an essential of any well-balanced diet, and if you want to boost your immune system, then you can replace some of the sweetness that you have lost with the sweetness of fruit.
Furthermore, there are lots of other entirely natural sweet substances that you can use to satisfy your sweet tooth. The sweet syrup that is commercially extracted from Agave comes in three different variations, ranging from a ‘light version' that has little traceable taste of the plant (just sweetness) to the version that carries a noticeable taste of the plant itself.
You then have reliable old standbys like maple syrup as well as less known but entirely natural sweeteners such as barley malt, date sugar, fruit juice concentrate and sorghum syrup.
There is also honey with some varieties such as manuka honey from New Zealand having acknowledged antibacterial qualities as well as being stunningly sweet as well. Indeed, as you can read on the website, the antibacterial qualities of this particular honey are so pronounced that you can even apply it to wounds for its antibacterial qualities!

Exercise Boost the Immune System

The importance of enhancing your immune system in your fight against flus and colds cannot be overstated. Kids with healthy immune symptoms simply get sick less.
Everyone knows that taking regular exercise is good for your overall health and it therefore follows that taking regular exercise also benefits your immune system too.
After all, if by taking regular exercise, you improve your energy levels and your muscle strength, it naturally follows that those improvements will be reflected throughout your body.
As an example, 30 minutes of reasonably brisk walking 3 or 4 times a week is going to strengthen your heart, lungs and all of the major muscle groups in the lower half of the body at the same time.
At the same time, exercise helps to optimize your digestive system, meaning that less harmful toxins and bacteria will lodge in your gut as the process of peristalsis (passing the food and then waste materials through your system) gradually becomes increasingly efficient.
Toxins and harmful bacteria ‘stuck' in your system can often be one of the reasons why your general, all-round health suffers and such poor health is often reflected in poor skin quality as well. Take this to its logical conclusion and with poor quality skin (and blood circulation), you have exactly the right kind of breeding ground for staph bacteria to thrive on your skin.'
one of my favorite ways of taking exercise is by taking the stairs whenever possible instead of using an elevator or even an escalator. I do this as part of my normal daily working routine, and even when there are several flights of stairs to be climbed, it never takes more than a minute or two to complete the climb.
After all, the elevator hardly ever arrives the minute you press the button so you can be halfway up the stairs by the time it does eventually make an appearance.
There is nothing sadder than a ten year old that does not have time to exercise. It's pathetic because it happens all the time. Even if you don't have 30 minutes available four times a week to go for a brisk walk, there are plenty of different ways you can find the time in any average day for enough exercise for your immune system to benefit. I make this a game with my kids when we are out.
Don't let you or your kids fall into the 'I don't have enough time for exercise' trap! What you have to change that to is 'I don't have enough time to get the flu!'