Upmarket concession shop shopping in Fort Lauderdale where I bought my coveted John Galliano dress
The champagne basket table setting gift I was happy to take home from my lunch
A loving husbands present for his wife who was recovering from a serious illness. He had the roof made completely retractable so she could enjoy the lovely weather from her bedroom.
Foreclosures Sightseeing Tours in Style!
Here in this little part of paradise the housing has taken a beating so what better way to sell a property than to tell it how it is. You can now witness a zebra-striped Hummer limousine taking people round the foreclosures. A front page picture in the local paper shows them in this mirror-roofed sumptuous limo sipping champagne and ready to snap up a bargain in the form of repossessed houses and apartments. With a bagged lunch included, the buyers enjoy the day's outing and maybe pick up a house or two.
I had my annual boat trip in this land of paradise with plenty of fun and sun but with less money on show than normal. Fewer mega yachts are sailing through these manmade waterways due escalating oil prices and the downturn in the economy. However, they can still be seen just moored sedately in front of the fantastic luxury homes making a good show. Our guide on the tour said that even people from the most exotic places in the world drop their jaw when they witness the sheer beauty and the 'no expense spared' style of the incredible homes and perfectly landscaped gardens on display with the idilic backdrop of spectacular blue sea and clear skies.
A little treasure shop to dress expensive - cheaply:
Despite the economy, people still have to buy clothes and the up-market concession shops are now coming into their own. These are the shops where you can buy second hand designer clothes with many worn only once. I visited one on Los Olas, our main shopping area in Fort Lauderdale, and found a wonderful John Galliano gown from the original catwalk in his early days with Christian Dior. Being my absolute favorite designer I was ecstatic! The shop sent a link to youtube.com where I could see the dress being modelled at a Galliano fashion show in 1995. Carol, who owns Bohemian Style concessions boutique, showed me her favorite piece - a fabulous original prototype Coco Chanel bag. She told me, "One of my customers' grandmother, Dora Noble, now ninety years old, lived in Hampstead in London for the past 55 years. She has always been somewhat of a fashionista and portrait artist by profession. She gave my customer this Chanel bag with love, she bought it on Bond Street from a little fashion boutique in the early 1950s. then an exorbitant £250. It's one of the very first Coco Chanel prototypes and authenticated by Sothebys." Carol customers call her from all over the world to check what's in.
'Grey Goo' Chemicals hidden in food.
Now toxic chemicals are being incorporated into food packaging and health supplements. Manufacturers claim that nanoparticles can deliver drugs or vitamins more easily. But some scientists are afraid that the technology is being introduced into our food and diets without proper safety checks.
Nanoparticles are 80,000 thinner than a human hair so little is known about them but that doesn't stop them being used. Some critics say that if the nanoparticles mutate and reproduce out of control they could end up consuming all life on earth creating what is called a 'grey goo' effect and I thought I only had to worry about pollution...
Another warning was to check Chinese rice imports thought to have an illegal genetic modified strain. The Food Standards Agency issued an alert to food manufacturers and trading standards departments saying any contaminated rice products must be withdrawn from sale immediately.
The Bt63 experimental variety of rice produces an insecticide and has not been approved for human consumption. With plastic bottles that make up some of the Chinese garments I tend to try and buy UK goods.
Additives Do Harm Children
Yes, it has finally been admitted additives are harmful to children and the number of hyperactive children could be cut by a third by banning suspect food additives. The British scientists are putting pressure on the Food Standard Agencies to stop manufacturers using the E-number chemicals. It is claimed that reducing the chemicals could also lessen anti-social behavior. So take the 'E's' out of your diet.
The Pregnant Man Beware:
A pot belly in middle age can triple the risk of Alzheimer's. Both men and women with large bellies in their 40's are three times more likely to suffer a serious mental decline when they reach their 70's.
In a study in the US scientists measured levels of abdominal fat in 6,583 people aged 40 to 50 in the late 1960s and 1970's. Now after 36 years 16% of the volunteers had been diagnosed with dementia. Those with the largest waistlines were almost three times more likely to have developed dementia.
I have to say that it is a sign of the overweight person coming into their own when they now have the first beauty queen a size 16. With this generation we can definitely say that the food is to blame. Not the amount we eat but the chemicals in it. What more proof do we need to watch what we eat? I am 80% organic now and the 20% is because there is nowhere organic here to eat out. California and San Francisco is another story but here in Florida it is very difficult to eat out healthily. It will be interesting to see what it's like this summer in the UK and France. I hope I can keep my health by finding organic places to eat out.
Wash off the chemicals from Fruit and Veg – not likely. Its first cheap then costly
Scientists warn washing vegetables may not be enough to get rid of dangerous bacteria. Since 42,000 deaths a year are linked to not eating enough fruit and vegetables it would be prudent to search out organic and pay the extra price. It is cheaper in the long run. For some reason the super rich don't like to pay more for food. As Prince Charles said, "Food is too cheap." It is a fact that real food 'costs' to grow, chemically contaminated food is really cheap but could be very expensive for your health in the long run with heart disease, obesity, tumors, cancer and diabetes being just some of the illnesses that are now being linked with conventional food.
You get what you pay for when you buy 'organic' food and here's some proof.
Studies show that organic milk has 60%-80% more nutrients than conventional milk in the summer and 50%-60% more in the winter. Organic milk also has higher levels of vitamin E.
Organic cheese can have up to twice as many nutrients with organic tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, onions and wheat containing 20-40% more antioxidants than conventional food and vegetables. Organic spinach and cabbage also have more minerals.
Not only is organic food full of nutrients and antioxidants that conventional food is lacking but it can help prevent cancer and heart disease. The biggest study of its kind challenges official Food Standards Agency (FSA) advice that there is no difference between organic and conventional food when it comes to health.
The £12 million project also found that the massive increase in antioxidants substantially reduce the risk of tumors and other life-threatening problems. Organic produce has higher levels of iron and zinc - vital nutrients lacking in many people's diets. The natural fertilizers used are clover and manure.
Professor Carlo Leifert, an expert in organic Food, is conducting this four-year study at Newcastle University funded by the EU and food companies. This should embarrass the FSA, who said they would review the study.
I thought it was really only a matter of common sense. People are fatter and many are now obese. That was not so 10 years ago before the food producers started using chemicals for shelf life. Professor Leifert said that the health benefits were so striking that switching to organic food was the equivalent to of eating an extra portion of fruit and veg a day.
He admitted being puzzled why the FSA has not changed its advice to tell the public that organic is far better and wondered if the decision was political.
TIPS:
It you are a meat eater ensure the meat you buy is from cows that don't eat corn. These cows have to have massive amounts of antibiotics to stop them from being ill from the corn. It makes their meat fatty and bad for digesting. You are also ingesting the anti bionics.
Watch out for the teenage contraceptive pill for girls. European Regulators are investigating the 'sudden and unexpected' deaths of women who took Gardalil.
The stop smoking pill Champix has now been linked to depression and suicide. The papers report that there is no research to show hypnosis can stop smoking, probably politics. This is so ridiculous as in fact hypnosis is known to have the highest success rate of stopping smoking on the market (New Scientist 31 Oct 92) and it still is. I have plenty of scientific studies to prove it.
I have a specially designed website to carry more detailed information on what you are eating and where to eat. I will be adding to it each month www.organicfoodforhealth.com
Thank you for reading my page. You can e-mail me at: valerieaustinhyp@aol.com
Valerie Austin Training (founded 1989)
Validated (GHR, GHSC) Hypnosis Training courses at foundation & practitioner level in business and medical hypnotherapy.
Valerie Austin is author of six successful self-help books including SELF HYPNOSIS published by Thorsons
Founder of UKRAH (1992) The UK Register of Advanced Hypnotherapy.
Eds Note: VALERIE AUSTIN is an author, journalist and trainer with an international reputation in the field of hypnosis. Her best selling books and training help people achieve their full potential. She founded the Austin Corporate Stress Management Company focusing on reducing stress and anxiety amongst executives and CEO's. She also worked as a consultant in hypnosis at the Priory Hospital, the UK's equivalent to The Betty Ford Clinic, which specialises in food addiction and alcohol abuse. Valerie's work in the film industry (Hollywood) interviewing movers and shakers, producing TV news segments and publishing celebrity magazines in London gave her invaluable experience for her current Harley Street practice.
Her books and packages can be bought on line at: www.hypnosisinlove.com
Her website: www.valerieaustin.com |
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