'health' Posts
Did you know that inflammation is a major factor in numerous medical conditions and could very well be the primary cause of coronary disease? This natural body process is designed to protect tissues (especially skin and ligaments) from certain kinds of injury. But when inflammation is excessive, it can lead to a variety of problems, including:
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Cardiovascular disease
- Prostate disorders
- Many types of cancer, including colon cancer
- Certain respertory problems
- Arthritis
- Back pain
- Some types of tumors
Traditionally, inflammation is treated with anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), including aspirin and Ibuprofin, but have some unfortunate side-effects, including erectile disfunction (caused by the inhibition of nitric oxide, an inflammatory substance essential for erection) and decreased immune response. As usual, you’re better off using natural treatments to reduce inflammation. Thankfully, nature has provided quite a few plants and herbs for us to try:
- Omega-3 fatty acids are among the best anti-inflammatory substances, especially those found in oily fish. The omega-3 fatty acids produce resolvins (a type of fat) that have powerful anti-inflammatory properties.
- White Willow bark extract is what aspirin originally came from. Taking the pure, herbal form has the same effects effects as taking aspirin, but without the chemical processing agents and additives. Aspirin is an effective anti-inflammatory and helps prolong the effects of other herbal remedies. It also has antisceptic and antispasmotic properties and helps reduce fever.
- Lobelia extract is used for all types of inflammation, especially those associated with the broncules, such as coughs and asthma. It has mild sedative qualities (relaxes broncules).
- Black walnut hull or extract is also an anti-inflammatory agent and helps purify the blood. It is commonly used in natural colon cleanse products due to its laxative and anti-parasitic qualities.
- Tumeric is one of nature’s best anti-inflammatory herbs. It works both topically and internally and has been found to fight cancer cells. It also has antidepressant qualities and helps the liver and gallbladder produce bile, which aids digestions. If you are suffering from gallstones, you should first cleanse the gallbladder of stones before using tumeric.
There are many other anti-inflammatory herbs besides these. You can look into wild yam oil, milk thistle, ginger oil and vitamin C to name a few of the more noteworthy possibilities. With all these choices for anti-inflammatory herbs and remedies, nature has made it pretty easy for us to keep inflammation under control.
Fish photo by http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Jewgienij_Bal
December 9th, 2006
Canadian Law allows up to 2g of Trans fat per serving to be labeled as Zero Trans Fat
Do you ever wonder who creates these food laws and how they get written up? They end up being so confusing that most consumers would never be able to figure them out. One law refers to the second condition in paragraph 3 of another law, which applies when a third law is not in effect…it’s a nightmare of double-speak that appears to be designed with confusion as its principal goal.
Take the Canadian regulations on declarations of Trans fat. It is now law in Canada that food packagers list the Trans fats contained in a product under the Fats heading in the nutritional value table on their labels.
Good idea, you say? Well it would be if the definition of zero were obvious (last I checked, zero meant nothing or zilch). But it turns out that labels can claim zero Trans fat if:
- the product contains less than 1/2 gram of Trans fat per serving, or…
- the sum of Trans fats and all other saturated fats combined is 2 grams or less.
Wait a minute! What’s that second option all about? It means that if there are no saturated fats in the product, then the product can have up to 2 grams of Trans fat and still qualify as a “zero trans fat” food.
Now lets look at the real world and how this works out. A “serving size” of butter or margarine is generally one tablespoon, which is 14 grams. If margarine makers substitute all of their saturated fats for Trans fat, then they can have up to 2 grams of Trans fat per serving, or 2g in every 14g of margarine. That makes the product as much as 14% Trans fat…a far cry from zero in anyone’s book.
A serving of Ritz crackers is five crackers. That’s 16 grams, or a potential of 12.5% Trans fat in their “zero trans fat” product.
It’s clear that when laws are drawn up to protect consumers, the lawmakers are adept at turning any good idea into a benefit for the large food and drug manufacturers. The bottom line? Don’t trust the labels. If you see a product with partially hydrogenated oils, do your arteries a favor…steer clear.
December 8th, 2006
Losing weight does not have to be a struggle. Nature provides all kinds of herbs and foods that help you feel full, increase energy and metabolism, and process fats and sugars more efficiently. Here is a list of some of the best herbal supplements that you can add to a weight control program. Mix and match for best results, depending on your needs.
- Fucus Extract is a type of seaweed that is especially good for weight loss. First, its high fiber and bulk help with a feeling of fullness and decreased appetite, while it’s iodine content stimulates the Thyroid and, consequently, increases metabolism.
- Artichoke Extract helps reduce cholesterol while supporting the blood and liver by reducing blood fat. It aids the digestive system by increasing bile production and is high bulking to help reduce appetite.
- Garlic extract is known to purify the blood and liver while regulating cholesterol (increasing the good and decreasing the bad). It also thins the blood, which helps to increase metabolism and extend the life of other supplements.
- Omega-3 supplements with flaxseed oil help control cholesterol and remove bad cholesterol from the body.
- Mushroom cordyceps help increase energy, while decreasing blood pressure, cholesterol and plaque. They have many other healthy attributes not related to weight control.
- B-Complex vitamins, especially B2, which helps metabolize fat and carbohydrates and B3, which lowers cholesterol.
- Spirulina is a superfood that gives your body so much nourishment that it craves less food. It is rich in digestible protein, vitamins and minerals, including trace minerals. This is a food that actually helps you lose weight.
- Dandelion extract is another weight reducing food that you can eat as much as you like. Its nutritional value (high in calcium, potassium, iron, beta-carotene, and vitamins C and E) helps feed your body to reduce hunger sensations while enhancing your immune system. It also helps in digestion and reduces blood pressure.
- Probiotics replace the healthy flora in your digestive system, so that foods are digested more completely, and waste is eliminated more quickly and efficiently.
- Olive leaf extract helps metabolize fat, extends the life of vitamins C and E, lowers blood sugar, regulates blood pressure, and increases circulation.
- Green tea extract is known to increase metabolism and help burn energy. It also lowers cholesterol levels and aids in digestion. Many report that it reduces hunger.
- Guar gum is a natural appetite suppressant due to its high bulking properties when mixed with water. It also helps with elimination.
- Unha de gato from the Amazon region is a circulation and metabolism enhancer used for years in South America for dieters. It also provides energy and suppresses the appetite.
- Guarana, which is also from the Amazon, specifically Brazil, is a natural stimulant that includes caffeine and other substances to suppress the appetite and increase energy and metabolism. This one is effective if used in small amounts along with other supplements.
There you have it, a sampling of natures arsenal for helping control and maintain healthy weight by decreasing appetite, increasing energy and metabolism, improving blood and liver health, reducing fats, sugars and cholesterol from the blood and body, improving digestion and helping with elimination. By adding one or more of these to your healthy diet and exercise program, you are practically guaranteed to feel better, lose weight and keep it under control.
Dandelion photo by BenHur: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:BenHur
December 3rd, 2006
Coca-Cola introduces a natural “high” while Pepsi hopes to get your “calm” dollars
Following a trend in consumer health consciousness, extracts from natural ingredients are finding their way into mainstream beverage products by the Coca-Cola Company and PepsiCo. Both companies, however, are refraining from calling their products “natural” or from even using the names of the plant sources of their “healthy” ingredients. Are they responding to customer cries for healthier products, or are they just after those dollars lost to the energy drink makers?
What’s your best guess?
The Coca-Cola Company will introduce a product made with green tea extract, called Enviga, that they claim helps burn calories. What it most certainly does is boost your energy, metabolism and heart rate. By combining green tea extract with caffeine and sugar, company scientists claim that the drink helps increase metabolism and burn energy faster–most likely, the energy that comes directly from the sugar content of the beverage. Will it make you thin? Unlikely. Is it better for you than Coke? Probably.
Rather than add yet another energy drink to the market, PepsiCo hopes to cash in on the “calm” market, offering their new beverage to stress-concerned adults. The beverage, called NutriSoda, contains an ingredient derived from Ashwaganda, an Ayurvedic herb used for centuries in India for calming the nervous system, increasing male libido (are they cashing in on the Viagra market too?), and reducing cholesterol. The processed Ashwaganda is being called Essentra, and may find its way into other foods and beverages before too long.
Is this a sign of a more healthy future, where big processed food manufacturers are crafting products according to public demands? Or are these just gimmicks for cashing in on big money markets with pseudo health products?
As natural health finds its way into the mainstream, these are the questions we will undoubtedly continue to ask ourselves. Here’s another: How much should good health cost?
November 22nd, 2006
Whatever ails you, there’s a tea treatment you can try
Tea time anyone? The varieties of herbal teas is astounding and so are their healing qualities. It seems there is a tea for nearly anything that ails you. The Chinese have known this for millennia. Their strange and wonderful herbal concoctions are carefully constructed to combat illness. Not to mention their daily consumption of green tea, which is a natural anti-inflammatory, antiviral and full of antioxidants. Here are a few other possibilities:
- Corn silk, horsetail herb, olive leaves, and avocado leaves are all natural diuretics, helping to clean the liver and kidneys and rid the body of excess sodium and toxins.
- Green tea, olive leaves, and pine bark all contain powerful antioxidants, which help support the immune system and fight off free radical damage from oxidation. In short, they help keep you young.
- Olive leaves, mistletoe, and oregano have antiviral qualities, helping to stave off viral infections.
- Chamomile, spearmint, passion fruit, St. Johns wort flowers and valerian root make a calming, antianxiety tea.
- Peppermint, spearmint and chamomile will help with asthma, since they all help dilate the bronchial tubes.
- Bergamot, mint, geranium, St. Johns wort and rosemary are all antidepressants and can help you maintain a balanced outlook. All are available as tea infusions.
- Bilberry, olive leaves and cinnamon help reduce blood sugar, helping to keep diabetes in control.
- Yerba Mate, ginger and licorice root help with digestion and regularity. Yerba Mate is excellent after a large meal with lots of meat and greasy food.
These are just a few of the roots, barks, leaves, vines, and fruits that can be added to hot water to create a healing tea. In most cases, you can mix these substances with a simple green tea base. Remember, when you make herbal teas, don’t boil the herbs. Instead, bring the water to a boil, remove from the heat, then add the herbs and let site for 10-15 minutes. If necessary, you can heat the mixture again, but don’t bring it to a boil.
Tea photo by: http://www.flickr.com/photos/david_wilmot/
November 13th, 2006
Remember Willard Water? Back in 1980, Dr. Willard appeared on 60 Minutes, demonstrating his special Catalyst Activated Water (CAW), which, he said, was water that had been altered on a molecular level (through a natural process) to be more absorbent…in lay terms…wetter water.
His water was said to be more effective in quenching thirst, fighting dehydration, treating burns, and is just better water in most applications. But as much as Willard may want to get a lock on the activated water market, the fact is, nature has been altering the molecular structure of water since the beginning of our planet. And the secret of manually “activating” water by adding a natural catalyst has been around for thousands of years. The main substance used in enhanced water is activated carbon.
Yes carbon. Like the carbon from burnt wood. In fact, wood carbon is one of the many carbons commonly used to activate water for purification and enhancement. Another common carbon source is lignite, which is a carbon that comes from fossilized plant and animal matter. This is said to be one of the worst carbon sources due to its high ash content and relatively low “surface area” of the molecules. The best carbon sources for water activation come from coal and coconut shells.
The idea is that the carbon adds particles to the water that increase the surface area of the molecules, thereby adding more absorptive powers. This means that the water can bring into the body more minerals and other elements, giving you a cleaner water and a more potent source of nutrients.
Carbon Activated Water (CAW) is used by most large livestock producers for healthier animals and it has been found to stimulate the growth of plants. Seems our feed animals get better treatment than we do. So far, only a handful of municipalities in the United States have started using CAW for water treatment. But you can find carbon sources for your own water enhancement. Just look around on the Internet…and be prepared to buy enough for a large herd.
Water photo by http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benutzer:W.J.Pilsak
October 30th, 2006
The number of Americans suffering from thyroid imbalance is reaching epidemic proportions. An estimated 15 million individuals are living with this imbalance, but the number is probably much higher. The most common imbalance is Hypothyroidism, which is an under-active thyroid. Symptoms include low energy, sensitivity to cold, slow digestion and elimination, weight gain, slow heartbeat, and even depression.
Sound like you?
Maybe you should pamper your thyroid a bit. The first step is to stop drinking caffeinated beverages. The caffeine causes your adrenal gland to secrete adrenaline, which increases blood sugar levels and therefore energy. But this has negative effects on the thyroid. With the increased energy, the thyroid re-regulates the metabolism and, if repeated every day (from your daily pot of coffee?) then the thyroid goes into hibernation. Take Panax ginseng to help counter this. Ginseng is reported to mitigate the effects of caffeine and stress on the system, including the adrenal gland and thyroid.
Another way to support the thyroid is with sea kelp. Kelp is rich in natural iodine, which supports your thyroid. Another excellent source of natural iodine is in walnuts.
The thyroid is the regulator of metabolism, which is like the gas pedal of the car. No matter what kind of fuel you put into the car, it won’t go well if the throttle is broken. Use kelp, ginseng, and walnuts to help it out…and go easy on the caffeine.
walnut photo by http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Fir0002
Kelp phot by http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Lyzzy
October 13th, 2006
Colds are caused primarily by inhaled germs and bacteria. These airborne molecules first come into contact with the tissues in your throat, which is why most colds begin with minor itching or soreness in the throat. From there, the bacteria grows and descends to your chest and lungs…or rises up to the mucus membranes in your nasal cavities. By then the game is over. You lose.
If you eradicate the bacteria when it first attempts to take hold in your throat, you can avoid colds before they start. Here is a recipe for an antiseptic, antibacterial throat spray. Keep it handy at all times and spray the back of your throat the minute you begin to feel itching or irritation. Continue applications every few hours until the sensation disappears. You may also want to spray before you go to sleep.
Natural Antiseptic Throat Spray
1 fluid ounce St. John’s Wort
½ fluid ounce liquid Echinacea extract
20 drops Grapefruit Seed Extract
5 drops tea tree oil
Combine all these ingredients into a 2-ounce tincture bottle with a pump spray top. Shake well before using. If you can’t find a pump spray top, then use an eye dropper to apply four or five drops onto the back of your throat and use your tongue to spread the solution around.
October 7th, 2006
Researchers have found that papaya pulp not only tastes good, but has curative powers for minor wounds like blisters, burns and bee stings. The powerful papain enzymes in the fruit have antisceptic properties while helping break down poisons in bee stings and bug bites. For burns, the pulp also cleans the burned area and hydrates the wounded skin tissue, which speeds healing and minimizes blistering and scarring. Doctors in Africa and Indonesia have been using papaya with success in cleaning and dressing open wounds.
Putting the fruit into your mouth isn’t so bad either. Papaya is rich in beta carotine, a powerful antioxidant, vitamins, and enzymes to help with digestion.
October 3rd, 2006
There are many great foods that are high in nutrients, antioxidants, or other substances and they all deserve their day in the sun. But these are my all-time favorites, foods that are really special—not just for health, but for many reasons. Check up on these power foods:
Bee Pollen 
Pollen is one of the natures most amazing products. These little globules contain more nutrients than almost any other food source. They have many times more protein than meat, being almost 30% protein. Pollen contains over 16 different vitamins and minerals (including trace minerals), and is rich in enzymes and amino acids. It is also extremely low in fat. In fact, pollen enhances the production of HDL cholesterol (the good fat) and decreases the production of LDL cholesterol (the bad fat). It acts as a powerful antioxidant (containing flavonoids, rutin in particular), has antibacterial and antiviral qualities, and helps to increase the production of blood cells (both white and red), while balancing white/red blood counts. Is it even necessary to go on?
Continue Reading September 27th, 2006
- Everyone has gallstones! They are essentially hardened bile caused by too much cholesterol in the diet. They obstruct the normal production of bile in the liver and gallbladder, which results in impaired digestion, reduced ability to process fats and proteins, poor elimination, and poor blood health. They generally go unnoticed until they present a major problem. But the “minor” problems they cause include low energy, allergies, low immunity, weight gain, IBS, and other bowel problems.
- One of the best detoxifying foods is raw garlic, which is high in methionine (helpful for cleansing) and selenium (an excellent antioxidant).
- Combine a salad of alfalfa (loaded with vitamins, minerals, and enzymes and helps remove toxins from the liver), milk thistle leaves (you can eat the fresh leaves, an excellent liver tonic and antioxidant), spinach (a source of lipoic acid, known for its chelation properties), broccoli, and tomatoes. Use olive oil, minced garlic, apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper as a dressing. Your liver will love you for it.
- Lipoic acid is one of natures great antioxidants. But what’s more, studies show that it helps chelate (bind to and remove) certain heavy metals from the liver, including copper and iron and improves the body’s metabolism of glucose to the cells by activating insulin receptors, good news for Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 patients.
- EDTA is recognized by many medical professionals as the best chelation around. It is available as a dietary supplement and is found to remove heavy metals from the body with no side effects and without the high cost of normal chelation. Many doctors are reluctant to accept it because it poses a challenge to conventional wisdom on chelation.
September 23rd, 2006
Research indicates that masturbation may be the single best preventative medicine for prostate disorders, such as infection and prostatitis, which can lead to prostate cancer. Not only will masturbation NOT make you go blind, it serves as the best and cleanest way to cleanse the prostate of toxins. Frequent ejaculation is known to enhance prostate health, since the prostate empties itself of fluids (including toxins) upon ejaculation. But ejaculation through sexual intercourse exposes the prostate to bacteria. Studies show that in terms of bacteria, the mouth is the “dirtiest” of the three main cavities. The anus is the second cleanest and the vagina is the cleanest. But all of these contain bacteria that can enter the urethra and infect the prostate. Only masturbation provides bacteria free cleansing of the prostate—and an excellent “do it yourself” preventative treatment.
September 22nd, 2006
With all the noise about the immune system and its importance to our health and longevity, it can be difficult to boil things down to the best practices, therapies and supplements for giving our immunity a bump and keeping it healthy. So I’ve compiled this little list of best practices to make it easier. Remember that these are just a few of the most noteworthy practices and supplements I’ve come across in my studies and that these should probably be done in concert to assist the immune system on various levels.
Immune system support has a few main components: Insuring proper nutrition, assisting the thymus, restoring proper homone levels, stimulating blood health (especially the production of T-cell and B-cells), and combating damage to cells from excess oxidation. So here are some great ways to do those things:
- Increase the antioxidants in your diet by taking vitamins C and E and by eating plenty of deeply colored berries, fruits and vegetables.
- Supplement your diet with one or more superfoods, such as pure, unsweetened cocao; spirulina with chlorella; and bee pollen with royal jelly.
- Take DHEA supplements to restore hormone depletion from excess cortisol (caused by stress, and stimulants like caffeine).
- Take one or more of these herbal remedies: Echinacea/goldenseal; olive leaf extract; Panax ginseng; astragalus; mistletoe extract.
Well, that really boils it down to the essentials, doesn’t it? That’s what I’m here for.
Next topic.
September 19th, 2006
Margarine producers would love for you to think that the butter vs. margarine debate is still alive and well. But the debate was over some time ago. The discovery of trans fatty acids in margarine (which coat your arteries with fat deposits) delivered the final blow. Even if you once thought it was worth eating a semi-plastic hydrogenated oil (and all the poinsonous yellow dye added to it to mask its normally dark color) in order to save a whopping 3 grams of fat per tablespoon over butter, it should now be clear that since 2 of those 5 grams of fat in margarine are trans fats (responsible for all kinds of horrible stoppages in the body), you’re better off just getting the flavor and fat of butter.
But the margarine chemists have now come out with “zero-trans-fat margarine.” What up with that? Should we go back to eating soft plastic? Well, not if you consider how they achieve the zero mark for their labels. In short, they dilute the hydrogenated oil with water or liquid oil, thus reducing the amount of trans fats per tablespoon. If you were to dilute your butter with olive oil in the same way, you could reduce its percentage of saturated fat per tablespoon too. And keep the taste.
But here. Let’s just remove ourselves from this debate with the following all-natural, great tasting butter substitute. Ok, it doesn’t taste exactly like butter, but give it a chance. You might actually prefer it to butter after you get over your butter withdrawal.
Flaxseed Butter Substitute
1/2 cup flaxseed oil
1/8 cup brewer’s yeast flakes
1/4 cup lecithin granules
1/2 teaspoon honey
Mix the yeast in a spice grinder or coffee grinder until it turns to a powder, then stir it into the flaxseed oil and lecithin. Mix in honey. Use as a spread, just like butter. It works especially well on steemed veggies (cabbage, mmmm!). Store in the refrigerator.
NOTE: If you don’t like the taste of flaxseed oil, experiment with walnut and sesame oils — perhaps mixed with olive oil.
September 17th, 2006
Scientific studies into the causes of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) remain inconclusive as to a neurological origin for the disorder. Although allergic reactions to environmental and food toxins continue to warrant study in their connection with ADD and other behavioral and cognitive disorders in children (and adults for that matter), there is still some mystery as to why some children exhibit ADHD symptoms and others do not. We remain with no conclusive evidence that food allergies or heavy metal poisoning actually cause ADHD.
Many researchers conclude, therefore, that ADHD is not a neurological disorder, but a psychological one, stemming from dysfunction in a primary environment, such as school, home, or church. Hyperactivity can be diagnosed as a coping mechanism for certain children to deal with fear or anxiety caused by their environments. Sometimes the dysfunction is clear, such as in the case of violence or substance abuse. In other cases, children may be magnifying a specific fear or anxiety that parents may not be fully aware of.
In any case, one of the brain’s mechanisms for coping with stress is to slow down, thus “shutting out” the stressful input. The brain enters the low, theta wave ranges. These slow brainwave patterns mirror brainwave frequencies of ADHD children. Some experts see hyperactivity and ADHD in children as a cry for “peace” and recommend quality time, sanctuary and even therapy in the place of medications, like Ritalin.
September 13th, 2006
Did you know that drinking excess caffeine can cause your adrenal glands to over-produce and wear themselves out? Excessive caffeine intake causes the adrenal glands to react much like they do with chronic stress – by producing adrenalin. If you don’t give your adrenal glands a break, you’re likely to require more and more coffee to get the same energy effects. In other words, you are in a state of adrenal depletion.
Studies now show that intake of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) can help balance out the adrenal over production. DHEA assists in proper cardiovascular, immune system, and nervous system functioning and it counter-balances the hormone imbalance caused by excess cortisol in the system.
September 8th, 2006
Antioxidants are not just for older adults trying to slow the aging process. Antioxidants combat the negative effects of oxidation in your system — a chemical process that occurs when your body converts food into energy. The negative effects include the production of free radicals, electrons that fly off of atoms and into cell walls, causing diminished cell functioning which leads to aging, sickness, heart disease, and countless types of ailments. If you smoke, drink, eat too much, or consume or breathe harmful toxins (such as those in many food products and household chemicals), you increase the amount of free radicals and speed up the damage they do.
Antioxidants buffer the cell walls from free radicals and even inhibit the creation of certain free radicals. Used in combination, they are perhaps the single most important natural cure in existence. Everyone should increase their intake of antioxidants! Here’s how:
- Drink more green tea.
- Drink an antioxidant-rich juice. You can make your own from berries and carrots or buy one of the pre-mixed concoctions, such as “Berry Young Juice” from Young Living. There are others.
- Eat more antioxidant-rich foods, such as tomatoes, dark green leafy vegetables, deep-colored fruit, nuts (especially walnuts and hazelnuts), and pure cocoa powder (not sweetened or processed). An excellent pre-mixed antioxidant-rich food is “Maharishi Amrit Kalash.” Other combinations of Indian and Ayurvedic herbs are also available.
September 7th, 2006
Next Posts
