The acidity or alkalinity of foods can be classified by how we process them. Our bodies transform nearly all foods we eat into acid or alkaline bases. Though we need a balance of different foods for good health, most people eat far more acid-producing foods than alkaline-forming foods.

Too many acid-producing substances cause a chronic condition called acidosis, which means the body has become too acidic. Additionally, acid is produced in the body whenever we experience stress or strong emotions such as anger or fear.

As you can see, the typical Western diet and lifestyle moves us in the opposite direction of optimal health. Indeed, cancer cells thrive in an acidic environment. They do not do as well in a slightly alkaline body.

When your blood is optimally pH balanced, it carries oxygen more efficiently. Oxygen contributes to a strong metabolism, gives you energy, and keeps you healthy. It helps to destroy cancer cells because they are anaerobic.

They do not do well in a body that has plenty of oxygen. It also plays a key role in how well you sleep. Blood cells tend to clump together in a more acidic environment. Healthy red blood cells are spaced apart from each other.

Consequently, the blood can move freely throughout the body and get into even the small capillaries. As a result, you feel like your whole body is in harmony. During deep sleep, proper blood flow is important for healing and repair of the body.

When the blood is healthy, your sleep is energizing, rejuvenating and you need less of it. Conversely, research confirms that when we don’t sleep well, we are tired and lack energy; we tend to eat more food, especially the fattening, high-carb fare that packs on the pounds; and we don’t have the optimal chance of healing from disease, illness, or injury.

Also, without ample oxygen, the metabolism slows down and food digests more slowly, causing weight gain, sluggishness, and food fermentation. Fermented food contributes to yeast overgrowth, fungus, and mold throughout the body. 

Too much acid impairs thyroid and adrenal function, meaning there’s a drop in the hormones needed for a fired-up metabolism. With slow hormone activity, the body won’t turn fat and calories into energy as easily. Many people in this condition say they don’t eat much and should be losing weight, but just can’t seem to drop even a pound or two with a very strict diet.

Foods that are acidic in the final metabolism:

• Meat, poultry, fish, eggs
• Dairy
• Sweets
• Grains
• Alcohol (wine, beer, liquor)
• Coffee
• Black tea
• Soda pop
• Sports drinks
• Junk food

(Also, negative emotions)

Alkaline Foods

• Vegetables & veggie juices
• Fruit
• Nuts
• Seeds 
• Sprouts
• Legumes (beans, lentils, split peas)

About 75 percent of your diet should be alkaline, and 25 percent can come from the acid-promoting foods category. Vegetable juicing is one way to greatly increase the alkaline foods in your diet. Also, raw food dishes are alkaline.

These “live foods” also give us biophotons, which feed the mitochondria of our cells—the energy units that produce ATP, our energy fuel. Dehydrated foods are considered live food if you dehydrate them at a temperature below 118 degrees. With all the fresh vegetables available in the summer, its easy to eat plenty of raw dishes and bring the body back into pH balance.

Brenda’s Story of Hope

The following is a letter written to Cherie Calbom from a reader:

When my husband began reading the January, 2013 issue of Charisma, he said to me, “You might be interested in this article.” It was “Get Juiced!” by my new-favorite-person-in-the-whole-wide-world, Cherie Calbom!!

As soon as I read her article, I ran to my laptop to Google the Juice Lady.  I promptly ordered five of her books and a juicer.  I devoured a couple of the books as soon as they arrived.  But one book—The Complete Cancer Cleanse—just sat on my desk unread. I wasn’t even sure why I had ordered it. I was not dealing with cancer and no one in my family had cancer either. I would soon find out why.

In early March, my son called with a diagnosis of Stage 3 cancer in his lymphatic system. At that point, I knew why I had ordered “The Complete Cancer Cleanse” from Cherie. I over-nighted it to my son and he immediately made a dramatic lifestyle change to juicing and raw foods. Soon after, he interviewed Cherie for his radio show. She recommended a visit to a health retreat for a week of juicing and raw foods.

I am convinced the chain of events from Charisma to juicing to the raw foods and juice cleanse week played a major role in my son’s recovery. All the glory and praise to God for that!

I was so inspired by Cherie’s own story that I had a “juicing” party last month and challenged the ladies to consider juicing.  By then I had seven of her books and spread them all out on the counter for my girlfriends to review. They all loved the various juice recipes.  Some went out the next day to purchase a juicer.

One lady said she was going to retrieve her dusty juicer from the top shelf and use it!  I am juicing twice a day, and I feel energized and have lost 2 dress sizes.—Brenda

If you you or someone you know has cancer or any other health concern, juicing and dietary changes can make a big difference in healing. You may want to attend one of Cherie’s Health & Wellness Raw Foods and Juice Cleanse Retreats. For more information, go to .

The weak economy and lack of savings means baby boomers are staying longer in the workforce before retiring.

But there could be a bright side to that reality. New research says the longer you work, the less likely you are to develop Alzheimer’s disease.

The recent study of 5,000 people shows that for each additional year a person worked, the risk of contracting Alzheimer’s was reduced by 3 percent.

That’s because working is more physically, mentally and socially demanding than retirement.

Stimulation in all three areas leads to a healthier brain by increasing blood flow in the brain and also the production of chemicals that protect the brain and slow its deterioration.

In addition to those activities, a healthy brain also depends on a good diet, a study at the Oregon Health and Science University revealed.

“We’re interested in things that might have a role in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease, but also looking for things that actually might be causing the disease,” lead investigator Dr. Gene Bowman told CBN News.

Bowman and his colleagues studied 104 seniors with an average age of 87 and found people who ate trans fats scored lower on thinking and memory tests.

Trans fat is in processed food. It’s called hydrogenated oil on nutritional labels. It’s also in fast food, margarine and vegetable shortening.

“Trans fats are—they’re kind of all over the place,” Bowman said.

On the other hand, seniors who ate diets rich in Vitamins B, C, D, E and omega-3 fats scored higher.

“So it’s a combination of staying away from the bad and getting the good,” Bowman explained. “If you just do one, you may not get the bonus effect.”  

Some Alzheimer’s patients exhibit tremendous improvement after taking coconut oil.

Steve Newport’s Alzheimer’s was so advanced, he couldn’t draw a picture of a clock. But then his wife, who is also a doctor, started giving him coconut oil and two weeks later, his clock drawing improved dramatically.

“I thought at the time was it just good luck,” Dr. Mary Newport said. “Was it a lot of prayer, was it the coconut oil? And I thought, ‘Well, we’re going to keep the coconut oil going.’”

Three weeks later, Steve Newport’s clock drawing demonstrated even healthier brain function. Dr. Newport wrote a book about Steve’s success with coconut oil and has since heard from readers with similar stories.

“Some of these responses have been quite dramatic,” she said. “I do have a collection now of almost 220 reports, mostly from caregivers and some from the person themselves, reporting that they saw improvement after they started taking coconut oil.”

So there are lots of things you can do to improve your brain’s health: stimulate your mind with work and puzzles, challenge your body with cardiovascular and strength training, and connect emotionally with others.

Also, eat a diet rich in vitamins, omega-3 fats and coconut oil while avoiding trans fats.

For the original article, visit .

In 2009, in a hotel room in Lagos, Nigeria, I had a revelation. I was on my way home to Tel Aviv from a mass outreach campaign. I had the rare privilege of being able to attend as an observer Reinhard Bonnke’s team ministering in Mubi, Nigeria.

I wasn’t even sure why I had gone, but I knew the Lord had led me on this journey. On the last day, one of the local leaders invited me to return and hold a mass outreach campaign.  I was initially excited, but sitting in my hotel room I had no peace.

Confused, I asked the Lord: “I have been praying about Africa for a year and now a great door has opened. Why don’t I have peace?” 

Immediately, He put in my spirit, “Ron, if you come back here by yourself, you will be a blessing to Nigeria, but it won’t touch Israel. However, if you come back with a team of Israelis and let them minister, it will not only bless Nigeria, but Israel as well.”

From that word, we birthed the Isaiah 2 Initiative. Isaiah speaks of the word going forth from Zion to the nations. Maoz was involved from the very beginning. We gathered a team of on-fire Israelis and made two trips to Nigeria, reaching tens of thousands with the gospel, and one trip to Ukraine, where several hundred Jews professed faith in Yeshua.

America Too?

However, when Ari and Shira Sorko-Ram asked me to lead a team of Israelis to America, I didn’t initially see it as part of the Isaiah 2 Initiative. I guess because I am a native of the U.S. and in light of the prosperity in America, I was blinded to the fact that God speaks of the gospel going forth from Israel “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8)—including America!

With two successful conferences already behind it this year, Promise Keepers (PK) is setting its sights on searing the hearts of men in the Cedar Falls, Iowa, area this weekend. The two-day event will be held at the McLeod Center, with doors opening at 5 p.m.

The lineup of speakers includes coach Bill McCartney, the founders of Promise Keepers, as well as PK President and CEO Raleigh B. Washington, who will enlighten men on how to defend their homefront from the enemy. Coach McCartney will speak on “The Warrior’s Weapon: Hearing and Obeying God’s Word.”

Also included on the weekend agenda are Mike Silva (“The Epic Battle of the Heart: Salvation”), Mark Gungor (“Winning the Battle Within: Purity”), Larry Jackson (“Waking the Warrior Within: Masculinity”) and Larry Acosta (“A Band of Brothers: Unity”). International recording artist Lincoln Brewster will lead worship, and Brad Stine will bring his brand of Christian comedy to the program.

With the growing culture of immorality and indifference, America needs Promise Keepers more than ever. Washington says conferences held in Phoenix and Nashville in 2013 already have made a big impact.

“Attendance at our first two conferences have more than doubled that of last year, averaging more than 4,000 men,” Washington says. “Altar calls have been super. More than 80 decisions for Christ were made at both events, as well as several hundred men responding to altar calls to turn away from Internet pornography, to protect their families and to refuse to compromise biblical principles.

“We are receiving numerous comments from attendees that PK is better than ever. The speakers have been superb, and Jeremy Camp and Lincoln Brewster leading worship is just what young men are looking for.”

The next Promise Keepers conference is set for Battle Creek, Mich. (Aug. 23-24). Two more remain in Tulsa, Okla. (Sept. 20-21), and Daytona Beach, Fla. (Oct. 25-26).

“We are greatly burdened by the state of our nation, where Jesus Christ has been almost entirely omitted from public life, and the gay agenda is magnified,” Washington says. “We are troubled by the random mass violence committed almost exclusively by young men. We are challenged by the biblical illiteracy and lack of power we see in the church. Even worse, the body of Christ remains incredibly divided.

“On the other hand, we are excited. When we hear a national leader say the ills that run rampant in our world can be laid at the feet of men, we also know the solution to these problems are godly men who would get up and get back in the game of life as godly, bold, yet sensitive warriors.”

This year’s theme for Promise Keepers is “Awakening the Warrior,” while the vision is “Men Transforming the World.” Cost for the events is $69 for individuals, $59 for men in groups of 2-10, and $49 for groups of 10 or more.

My wife, Susan, came home the other day to find a special present our dogs left for her. The dogs found a dead rat in the backyard and brought their prize into our house. Susan pleaded for me to come home and get rid of the rat.

So I came to her rescue and disposed of our dogs’ not-so-thoughtful gift. I didn’t mind stopping what I was doing to help Susan. In fact, I was pumped up about tossing that dead mouse in the trash because I love being my wife’s hero whenever I can.

One of the best ways to be a hero to your wife is simply to be there for her. Being there allows you to rescue your wife from the “rats” in life.  Here are some “rats” that you can get rid of:

1. Fearsome rats. Nothing makes us men feel more heroic than being able to give our wives a feeling of safety and security. Whether it is holding her close during a wicked thunderstorm or getting rid of those nasty rodents and roaches, be the one she turns to for physical safety. Also, when ferocious financial challenges flare up or sparks of anger start igniting between your kids, be the one to help her feel secure by taking the lead to put those fires out.

2. Troublesome rats. Some of us are handymen. We can fix anything around the house that breaks. Others are better at problem-solving—dealing with the dilemmas of everyday life. We can help our wives deal with those troublesome problems by being Mr. Fix It. On the other hand, sometimes our wives don’t need us to fix something, they just need a sympathetic and a listening ear.

3. Tiresome rats. We all live busy lives. We all get overwhelmed. We all get tired. When Susan gets worn out from life’s challenges, I know I need to step up and take care of some of those rats so that Susan can get some rest. Whether it’s doing the laundry, dishes, vacuuming, cleaning or cooking, I need to do whatever it takes to give her some temporary rest.

Rescuing our wives from the “rats” in their lives is just one way that we can be heroes to them. Please check out other ways to be a hero to your wife by reading All Pro Dad’s 10 Ways to Be Your Wife’s Hero.

I’d also like your comments on what “rats” you rescue your wife from and how you do it.

Mark Merrill is the president of Family First. For the original article, visit .

One of the best definitions of character we’ve ever heard goes something like this: “Character is what you do when no one else is looking.”

This is one reason golf is such a great life-lesson game. It’s the only professional sport where the participants call penalties on themselves.

But men of integrity value what is honest, true, noble, trustworthy, kind and right ahead of personal gain. Once integrated into our foundational operating system, integrity ceases to be optional or “add-on,” but instead becomes a way of life.

Here are some suggestions that will help once we decide to make integrity a foundational value:

1. Root yourself in a moral foundation. It’s been said that everyone has a god; the question is only “What god do we choose?” But many of us fail to even address the issue. Once considered, this question can give us a firm place to anchor.

2. Look for the positive. Load your consciousness in a positive direction by scanning the news for examples of integrity. Then talk about those with friends and family rather than the latest scandal. Make endorsing integrity a stronger value in your life than criticism and scorn.

3. Resist the temptation to compartmentalize your life. Too many of us are different people in different places. Determine to be a man of integrity; then practice at home, at work, at play—wherever you are.

4. Determine to live for others ahead of yourself. The root enemy of integrity is selfishness. The Golden Rule requires treating others the way we would like to be treated. It is impossible to follow the Golden Rule without boosting personal integrity. 

5. Participate in an active accountability group. There’s a great story about the great leader Moses, when his friends Aaron and Hur stood with him to hold his arms up high until the battle was won. We all need friends to hold our arms up, to help keep us strong.

6. Partner with a friend where you need to make progress. Take accountability to the next level by asking another man to hold your feet to the fire where necessary. This can be a mutual arrangement. We know a man who asks his friend to call several times a week and ask point-blank if he’s been looking at porn. The promise of a pointed question can help any area of weakness.

7. Be in the habit of sharing everything with your wife. When we don’t keep any secrets from our spouse, it tends to have an impact on who we are.

8. Practice the habit of imagining the presence of someone whose opinion you value. Ask yourself questions like, What if my father was present at this business meeting? I wonder how grandpa would enjoy being part of this foursome? Would I tell this joke in the presence of my wife? How would my kids feel if they listened in on this conversation?

9. Hold your children accountable. It’s cliché to say that “to teach is to learn.” But the truth is, every lesson we bring to our children is something we need to hear too.

10. Incorporate a “principle of the week.” Elaborate the teaching equation to highlight a “principle of the week” at home—a week devoted to conversations about honesty; another week highlighting trust. Then a week where everyone in the family pledges one act of selflessness per day, then shares over dinner.

All Pro Dad is Family First’s innovative and unique program for every father. Their aim is to interlock the hearts of the fathers with their children and, as a byproduct, the hearts of the children with their dads. At , dads in any stage of fatherhood can find helpful resources to aid in their parenting. Resources include daily emails, blogs, Top 10 lists, articles, printable tools, videos and eBooks. From , fathers can join the highly engaged All Pro Dad social media communities on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

For the original article, visit .

A couple of years ago, I was in the grocery store waiting in the cash register line about to pay. As I was waiting, I looked to my right and there it was: the candy bar rack.

Normally, I glance at it and turn away. That day, my eyes lingered.

I wondered if my favorite chocolate was there. Yep, there it was. Ferrero Rocher.

I stood there looking at the gold-wrapped Ferrero Rocher. My mind was whispering, “You know, some chocolate would really be good right now. You haven’t had one of those in a long time. Go on, buy it.”

I smiled at the thought. Then I said to myself, “Thanks for the suggestion, but I think I’ll pass.”

I left the candy bar where it was, paid for my purchases and left.

As I drove home, I thought about what happened. How was I able to pass up the candy bar so easily now when 10 years ago, the candy bar would have been in my buggy so fast it would have made your head spin?

What had changed?

Then it hit me. The difference is that now I think of my thoughts as suggestions, not commands.

Before, I would have automatically taken my previous thought as a command that I must obey. When I thought, “Wow, a candy bar sure would be good. Go ahead and buy it,” my actions would have said, “Yes, Master,” and I would have bought it.

Now I question my thoughts. I want to maintain a healthy weight for life and live with purpose, energy and vitality. Because of that, I question any thought that opposes my goal.

I recognize it is up to me to decide whether to obey my thoughts or not. Self-discipline springs from that knowledge.

Now, in case you are wondering, I do have a small piece of chocolate when I really want it. But the truth is, I didn’t really want it that day. I recognized it was just an automatic fallback into my old habits and ways of thinking.

I don’t forbid myself to have anything. But the majority of my diet is healthy, and I save the less healthy stuff for special occasions. On those occasions, chocolate is good!

If I had the chocolate, I would have eaten half the package to get a good taste of it, eaten it slowly to savor it and enjoy it, and then thrown the rest away. So even that is different from the way I used to do things! Before I would have felt like I had to finish it all.

By viewing your thoughts as suggestions and not commands, you have the freedom to question those suggestions and make a decision based on what is best for you and your ultimate wellbeing.

You are able to make most of your food choices ones that will heal, energize and nourish your body while still enjoying the less healthy ones in moderation. It is the best of both worlds.

Kimberly Taylor is the author of The Weight-Loss Scriptures and many other books. Once 240 pounds and a size 22, she can testify of God’s goodness and healing power. Visit and receive more free health and weight-loss tips.

I must say I know nothing about football—except that it’s played with a pig skin—and I couldn’t care less about watching the Super Bowl. The commercials are quite amusing, although I wouldn’t endorse many of the products.

OK, now I’m about to de-endorse Hormel ham and Jimmy Dean sausage links and patties, so prepare yourselves.

I wrote recently that I, by no means, think it’s sinful or rebellious to eat foods prohibited by God via the 3,000 year-old Mosaic law. We’re freed from the law of “sin and death” (Rom. 8:2), and we’re not to judge one another based on what we eat and drink (Col. 2:16).

However, I think it’s worth pointing out that just as every Old Testament sacrificial law and ordinance was rife with symbolism pointing to the fulfillment of the law through Christ, surely there is nothing arbitrary or insignificant about the dietary rules God gave His people.

Now, about pigs.

Leviticus 11:3 makes it clear that creatures with split hooves that chew “the cud” (regurgitated food) may be eaten. Pigs, though they have split hooves, do not re-chew their food. Similarly, cud-chewing camels are off-limits because their hooves are undivided. The reason pigs do not re-chew their food is due to their limited anatomy.

They, unlike cattle, only have one stomach available to process and refine its contents. Their simply made stomachs and excretory organ systems were not designed to cleanse themselves of all the putrid and polluted matter entering into them. In other words, when we eat barbecued ribs, we are actually consuming more than we realize. Pigs are the antithesis of picky eaters; they’ll eat anything they can get their snouts on, from a fellow swine’s droppings to dead, diseased animals.

Besides their toxic diets, pigs also possess large amounts of sulfur in their connective tissues, which can lead to increased blood acidity and osteoporosis. Research has even found that 56 percent of all pork samples are contaminated with salmonella!

I don’t know about you, but I think I’ll switch to turkey bacon. Oh, and flip open a cookbook and you’ll discover a heavy emphasis on fully cooking pork to a well-done state. What these warnings fail to mention is that the reason to do this is to guard against the trichinia worms that only unclean animals host. Gross!

Animals OK for consumption—aka those that chew their cud and have split hooves—include cows, buffalo, goats, sheep, and so forth. These vegetarian critters, whose diets consist of grasses and hay, use their secondary stomachs to thoroughly digest food and eliminate waste. Grass-fed versions of these meat sources have been found to have substantially less fat than their grain-fed counterparts. Not only is grass-fed better for you, but it’s also much tastier.

This is my understanding: These ol’ bodies of ours are all we have to serve God with ’til Jesus comes for us or calls us home. God’s health laws do not add or subtract from our salvation, which comes only through belief and faith in His Son, Jesus Christ, but they do make for a cleaner dwelling place for His Spirit.

Diana Anderson-Tyler is the author of Creation House’s Fit for Faith: A Christian Woman’s Guide to Total Fitness. Her popular website can be found at , and she is the owner and a coach at CrossFit 925. Diana can be reached on Twitter.

For the original article, visit .

For seven years, two pornographic shops operated right outside the doors of our Pavilion worship center. Imagine that—our children forced to pass by that half-open red curtain before entering the house of the Lord!

We knew we had to do something about this curse, but one owner could not be found and the other told us he would never sell. Then we remembered what the Lord said about demonic strongholds: “This kind can come out by nothing but prayer and fasting” (Mark 9:29).

So that’s what we did. It was in the midst of a season of prayer and fasting that the breakthrough happened. The owner we could not find actually came to us by surprise and decided to sell and move out. We purchased the first shop and closed it down.

And now the latest news: This week, the second pornographic shop shut its doors and is gone. Praise the Lord!

The keys are now in our hands, and we’re about to turn another curse into a blessing. In place of the red curtain of addictive bondage, we’re opening a door of freedom and hope. Together we will open the Anchor of Hope Family Counseling Center.

In these last days, “The Lord is building Jerusalem … He is healing the brokenhearted and binding up their wounds” (Ps. 147:2-3). He is the “wonderful Counselor” (Is. 9:6).

We’ve had unusual challenges recently, including accidents and illnesses. We are taking more territory from the enemy, and he doesn’t like it. Please cover us in your prayers.

Along with his wife, Ann, Wayne Hilsden has served as lead pastor of King of Kings Community in Jerusalem, Israel, since 1983.

With the growing culture of immorality and indifference, America needs Promise Keepers (PK) more than ever. During its first two events in 2013—in Phoenix and Nashville—president and CEO Raleigh Washington says PK has already made a big impact.

“Attendance at our first two conferences have more than doubled that of last year, averaging more than 4,000 men,” Washington says. “Altar calls have been super. More than 80 decisions for Christ were made at both events, as well as several hundred men responding to altar calls to turn away from Internet pornography, to protect their families and to refuse to compromise biblical principles.

“We are receiving numerous comments from attendees that PK is better than ever. The speakers have been superb, and Jeremy Camp and Lincoln Brewster leading worship is just what young men are looking for.”

Washington says that 50 percent of the men in attendance during the first two PK events were age 30 and below.

The next Promise Keepers conference is set for July 19-20 in Cedar Falls, Iowa, followed by events at Battle Creek, Mich. (Aug. 23-24), Tulsa, Okla. (Sept. 20-21), and Daytona Beach, Fla. (Oct. 25-26).

Billy Graham’s son, Franklin, has been quoted as saying, “Promise Keepers has won more men to Christ than my father.” However, statistics convey that men in America are in deep emotional and spiritual trouble these days:

• Divorce in the Christian community is competing with the 50-percent rate of divorce in the secular community.
• Two of every 5 Christian marriages experience physical abuse at the hands of the man.
• Only 4 percent of the Millennial generation (age 15-30) have a biblically based faith in Jesus Christ.
• Nine of 10 young adults who grow up in the church leave the church when they graduate high school.

This year’s theme for Promise Keepers is “Awakening the Warrior,” while the vision is “Men Transforming the World.” A powerful lineup of speakers is scheduled for the events, including Coach Bill McCartney, Miles McPherson, Sam Rodriguez, Dr. Raleigh Washington, Crawford Loritts, Gary Rosberg, Derwin Gray, Brad Stine, Dan Seaborn, Rick Rigsby and more.

Cost for the events is $69 for individuals, $59 for men in groups of 2-10, and $49 for groups of 10 or more.