Month: March 2012

75 Minerals

Coconut water is found inside the cavity of a young, unripe coconut (in contrast with coconut milk, found inside the mature fruit). The balance of electrolytes in coconut water is nearly the same as that in the human blood — so close, in fact, that coconut water is the only natural non-blood substance that can be safely injected into the human bloodstream. Ancient peoples knew this, and sometimes used it as an emergency intravenous fluid.

Most of the time there's no need to go to such lengths: just drink it, and you'll be rewarded with 15 times as much potassium as a typical sports drink, along with potent antioxidants. And unlike sugary sports drinks or coconut milk, coconut water is low in calories and fat free.

Grape Seed Extract

Epigenetics refers to the way that diet, toxins and other environmental contributors can change which genes get activated, or "expressed" within our genetic code to guide the accurate replication essential to cellular metabolism and repair. This can play a powerful role in preventing and promoting many chronic illnesses from cancer to heart disease and other health issues. Consuming broccoli raw or lightly steamed several times each week can supply a potent dose of sulforaphane to help prevent many types of cancer.

Broccoli and cruciferous vegetables directly influence genetic expression to inhibit cancer
In past research bodies, scientists have documented the pathway utilized by sulforaphane to inhibit the action of an enzyme known as histone deacetylase (HDAC inhibitor) that helps restore proper balance and helps prevent the development of cancer. Researchers at the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University have uncovered a second mechanism, DNA methylation, that works in concert with HDAC inhibitors that work to maintain proper cell function. Sulforaphane from broccoli and other crucifers stimulates both HDAC and DNA methylation pathways in a synergistic fashion to prevent cancer development.

The lead study author, Dr. Emily Ho commented regarding the sulforaphane-cancer connection "Cancer is very complex and it's usually not just one thing that has gone wrong… it's increasingly clear that sulforaphane is a real multi-tasker. The more we find out about it, the more benefits it appears to have."

DNA methylation controls the healthy expression of genes. When this pathway is blocked scientists have found a significantly increased risk of conditions including cardiovascular disease, immune function, neurodegenerative disease and even aging. Foods that provide sulfur groups necessary for proper DNA methylation include onions, garlic, nuts and seeds. Sulforaphane from broccoli is found in this research to stimulate the methylation path to enable normal gene expression to thwart cancer cell genesis.

Nutrition experts recommend consuming one to two servings of broccoli (or other members of the crucifer family such as cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts or kale) several days of the week. A rapidly growing body of evidence demonstrates that the natural, active compounds found in these vegetables help to prevent cancer and other chronic disease by dealing a two-step knockout blow to influence gene expression.

Researchers from the Jackson Hole Center for Preventive Medicine in Wyoming and the Scripps Clinic Viterbi Family Sleep Center in California evaluated and analyzed data on more than 33,000 patients for their study, of which nearly one third were taking sleeping drugs like temazepam, zopiclone, zolpidem, or zaleplon for their insomnia. After adjusting for other risk factors, the team found that within roughly two years after beginning sleeping pill drug regimens, one in 16 sleeping pill patients died, while only one in 80 patients not taking these drugs died.

Depending on how often insomnia patients took their sleeping drugs, the overall death risk was as much as 530 percent higher than the death rate for non-users, which clearly illustrates a definitive and causal link between sleeping pills and increased mortality. And besides having an increased risk of suffering sudden death, sleeping pill users were also found to have a roughly 35 percent elevated risk of developing cancer compared to non-users as well.

"The meager benefits of hypnotics, as critically reviewed by groups without financial interest, would not justify substantial risks," said the researchers. "Rough order-of-magnitude estimates at the end of the supplemental files suggest that in 2010, hypnotics (sleeping pills) may have been associated with 320,000 to 507,000 excess deaths in the USA alone."

You can review the full study for free here:
http://bmjopen.bmj.com

While patients with insomnia have a number of alternative treatment options available at their disposal that do not involve dangerous hypnotic drugs, many of them are unaware of this. A 2006 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, for instance, found that simple cognitive behavior therapy is more effective than hypnotic drugs at alleviating insomnia (http://www.naturalnews.com/019492.html).

There are also a number of dietary and herbal remedies that can help remedy sleeping problems, including valerian root, peppermint, chamomile, passionflower, lavender, the amino acid L-glutamine, 5-hydroxytryptophan, and the hormone melatonin, to name just a few.

Detox Protocol

Most quitting methods, like the pills, the patch, and nicotine gum address only nicotine, but behavior modification is the only way to ensure permanent cessation.

(1) Breathing pattern: Smokers take between 9 and 14 drags off one cigarette. If you smoke a pack a day (about 20 cigarettes), that means you are inhaling, holding, and exhaling over 200 times a day in a particular way (two packs a day = 400). Although the smoke contains over 700 toxins, the breathing pattern is relaxing and meditative. When smokers quit, they fail to replace this ritual, which leads to stress and builds anxiety, especially when they feel the urge to smoke. Try pretending you have a cigarette and breathe the same way as often as you smoke. This also aids in digestion.

(2) Change of environment: At least 90% of smokers change their environment every time they have a cigarette. That means leaving an office, restaurant, factory, home or party to step outside. This change of scenery is an escape from the hustle and bustle, or the stress of work. Add to the fresh air a glance at the sun or stars, and you've built in some stress relief. Take "fake smoke breaks" after quitting.

(3) Replace nicotine with natural stress relievers and motivators: Hundreds of chemicals in cigarettes disrupt the central nervous system, creating and heightening anxiety, nervousness, doubt and frustration. Nicotine provides just enough kick to make smokers feel normal for 20 to 30 minutes. Ex-smokers must replace and replenish the body's capacity to produce normal hormones that defeat anxiety and motivate them into action (http://addictions.about.com/od/overcomingaddiction/f/vitamin_B.htm).
Specific natural foods, vitamins and supplements boost dopamine and serotonin production, and balance the central nervous system. Vitamin B complex, mucuna, and cabbage are great examples(http://www.serotune.com).

(4) Hand to mouth habit: Multiply a dozen drags of a cigarette by a pack a day, and that's about 250 hand- to-mouth motions a day, a ritualized behavior that must be replaced by something productive and mood enhancing. Eating raw mixed nuts, sipping a healthy drink, nibbling on dark organic chocolate or chewing licorice replaces cravings and converts a bad habit into a productive one.

(5) Shift your acid heavy system to alkaline: Most smokers have given up on nutrition and exercise. Common food for smokers includes meat, dairy, processed foods, alcohol, sugar, salt, and possibly artificial sweeteners. In order to defeat stress, the body must be more alkaline than acid, which means consuming mostly fresh vegetables, fruit, and spring water. This balances the system and detoxifies it, driving away the urge to smoke(http://www.findaspring.com/).

After breaking the nicotine addiction in 3 to 4 days, a new non-smoker must face the facts that there are at least 5 major ritualistic behaviors they've created and fostered that must be replaced somehow with productive ones. Without addressing behavior modification, attempting any smoking cessation program is like running a marathon with a broken foot.

Moreover, the discovery that obesity actually has health-related conditions like diabetes has jump-started a million-dollar industry on weight loss products. From popular diets to supplements and even exercise accessories, the customer only has to look around to find a variety of fad options to choose from. This is not even counting the medical procedures available for the very obese and those who have not lost weight through medicine, exercise or diet.

Healthy options
In the face of all the expensive weight loss programs, it is still possible to lose weight without having to resort to all the fad diets, supplements and drastic measures such as liposuction that may do more harm than good in the long run. Fortunately, abdominal obesity can be easily lost through proper diet and exercise.

In 2004, a study published in The New England Journal of Medicine revealed that liposuction removal of subcutaneous fat on 15 obese subjects had no effect on the levels of their blood sugar, blood pressure, response to insulin or cholesterol. However, it was discovered that weight loss through exercise and diet triggered positive health changes.

Moreover, losing fat by starving yourself may not be the best idea either. Starvation, ironically, induces the body to store fat because it slows down the metabolism. If you have been reading up on weight loss, you would have stumbled upon the idea of a low calorie diet. Low-calorie diets are effective in losing abdominal fat; however, once the hunger pangs become a regular occurrence, the diet becomes difficult to maintain and at the first possible opportunity, binging can occur.

Furthermore, low calorie diets are not without inconvenient side effects such as mood swings, poor memory and hair loss to name a few. The symptoms worsen over time and can develop into illnesses or diseases, totally defeating the purpose of why it was necessary to lose weight for health in the first place.

Knowing what to eat
To eat generously does not have to mean to eat irresponsibly. The important thing to remember is to eat natural and nutrient-dense foods as well as whole foods that the body understands how to use to properly. Below are some examples:

1. Apples – There is wisdom to the saying, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. In a Brazilian weight study, subjects who ate three apples a day while dieting lost more weight than those who didn't. This fruit contains pectin, a compound that is known to inhibit colon cancer. Apples are packed with nutrients and are a rich source of vitamin C, beta-carotene, dietary fiber, phytosterol, flavonoids, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals.

2. Watermelons – In a study conducted by the University of Kentucky, watermelon was found to have a significant effect on artery plaque deposition because it altered blood lipids and lowered the risk of developing belly fat. The researchers in the study observed that animal subjects in the experiment who had diet-induced high cholesterol were given a supplement of watermelon juice while another group was given a typical diet with water. Eight weeks later, the animals given watermelon juice had lower body weight than those who were just given water. It appeared that there was no decrease in muscle mass and the weight loss was due to abdominal fat loss.

3. Tomatoes – A large tomato contains only around 33 calories. Moreover, a recent study identified a compound extracted specifically from the fruit called 9-oxo-octadecadienoic (9-oxo-ODA) which was shown to influence the amount of blood lipids in circulation.
According to Dr. Teruo Kawada, the study leader, "finding a compound which helps the prevention of obesity-related chronic diseases in food stuff is a great advantage to tackling these diseases, and tomato allows people to manage the onset of dyslipedemia through their daily diet." According to Wikipedia, Dyslipedemia is a condition where there is too much lipid in the blood. This normally caused by diet and lifestyle.

4. Bananas – This is a fruit you can enjoy as a nutritious snack without ever worrying about gaining weight. Like apples, it contains a fiber called pectin that is known to inhibit colon cancer. It also contains vitamin A, C, E, B6 as well as potassium, calcium and magnesium. Bananas, depending upon the size, contain calories between 75 calories to 135 calories only.

5. Seafood – Seafood, when included in the diet, could result in a slimmer waist and better health. For those enjoying excellent health and ideal body weight, having seafood on a regular basis may even prevent possible future poor health and weight gain. Studies have shown that seafood has been found to contain monounsaturated fat (MUFA). Studies have also shown that having a regular diet with foods containing MUFA can prevent belly fat.

6. Lamb – Lamb contains vitamin B, protein, zinc and trytophan. This is certainly a better option to processed or canned meat, and is a healthy source of protein. Lamb contains conjugated linoleic acid. According to Dr. James Howenstine, author of "A Physician's Guide to Natural Health Products That Work," low levels of conjugated linoleic acid in the body can lead to obesity since dietary fat cannot be used as energy and is moved into cells resulting in fat storage. Editor's note: I cannot condone eating lamb due to humanitarian reasons. Lambs are mammals, and it would be far less damaging to living beings if you chose to eat a simpler lifeform instead, such as fish.

7. Tart cherries – In a study conducted by the University of Michigan, it was found that a diet containing tart cherries may help lower symptoms of heart disease and metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome is a term used to refer to a group of symptoms which increase the risk of a host of heart diseases, diabetes and belly fat. In the study, the animal subjects had reduced cholesterol levels and a fat content of only 54 percent compared to the non-cherry fed group of 63 percent belly fat. Tart cherries have also been identified to have antioxidant properties.

8. Celery – Celery is a negative calorie food containing only eight calories. It is high in vitamin C, calcium and is best enjoyed raw. Enjoying fresh celery juice before a meal can even help you lose weight. It contains apigenin, an active compound that slashes the risk of ovarian cancer.

9. Avocados – This fruit has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. It contains the amino acid lecithin – which helps in preventing liver overload – and aids the memory and helps balance weight. In one study, it was discovered that people who ate a considerable amount of avocados showed clear improvement in health. It balances cholesterol levels and prevents heart attacks and strokes.

10. Kelp noodles – According to NaturalNews.com, kelp noodles are a good alternative for those who love traditional noodles. They are made from seaweed and contain only six calories. They are raw and mineral rich and can be used like any regular noodles.

It's time to reconsider the low-calorie dieting theory and recognize that only natural foods can properly nourish the body and help it rebuild itself. Food can actually help us in attaining good health and proper weight management. When coupled with exercise, it can help us achieve sustainable weight loss, avoid obesity, prevent a host of other chronic diseases and increase health benefits that directly improve our quality of life.

If this is all true, then why doesn't the GMO industry want credit for all this effort on food labels? Shouldn't the industry leap at the opportunity to have foods labeled with things like:

• Fortified with extra GMOs!
• Genetically Modified to grow strong bones!
• Now with GMO technology in every delicious bite!

If GMOs are so wonderful, in other words, then why wouldn't the industry tout all its amazing technology right on the labels of the foods containing GMOs?

The reality? GMOs are poison
But no, instead of the industry begging for regulatory permission to place GMO bragging rights on food labels, the industry has done exactly the opposite: It has demanded that consumers be kept in the dark about GMOs!

• They don't want consumers to even know they're eating GMOs!
• They believe consumer ignorance is preferable to consumer choice.
• They want consumers kept in the dark, uninformed and unable to avoid GMOs.

The GMO industry, in fact, is already viciously fighting a proposed GMO labeling mandate in California — a law that would merely require foods to be truthfully labeled when they contain genetically modified ingredients. What could be wrong with that? But in an age when consumers want to know more information about what they're buying, not less, the GMO industry somehow believes consumer ignorance is victory!

So when GMO pushers like Bill Gates say they want to "feed the world," what they really mean is they want to secretly force-feed the world mystery ingredients that are not listed on the labels so that consumers won't even be aware of what they're eating. (Such as the deadly insecticide found in every kernel of GM corn…)

Commonsense food rule: Beware of anything the food companies don't want to put on the label
If the ag giants and food companies don't want to put something on a food label, that's a pretty strong sign that you probably shouldn't eat it.

If it was good for you, they would obviously want to brag about it on the label. All natural! Fortified with minerals! Low in sodium!

So how come the industry doesn't want to claim, "High in GMOs!" on every food box?

Want some flaked corn breakfast cereal? It's on sale for $1.99 a box, and it's high in GMOs!

How about some corn tortillas for your Mexican fiesta dinner? Those corn tortillas are fortified with extra GMOs, too!

Thirsty? Grab yourself a 12-pack of that famous brand sports drink — it's sweetened with genetically modified corn syrup! Plus, it's got electrolytes!

Or how about a super-sized box of Genetically Modified Corn Flakes for breakfast? You can even eat it with a bowl of pasteurized, homogenized, Bovine Growth Hormone-contaminated, pus-filled factory-processed cow's milk! Yumm!

But you don't see any of this marketing material at the grocery store, do you? GMOs remain the dirty little secret of the food industry — even at places like Whole Foods, which sort of try to imply they're against GMOs, but then they turn around and sell all sorts of GM foods anyway.

GMOs are worse than skeletons in the closet
GMOs are to the food industry what gay public toilet sex is to a pro-family Republican candidate. Or hidden camera photos of the naked choir boys and the Catholic priest. GMOs are the bones buried under the basement slab of a mass murderer who's also running for Governor. They're the prostitution ring records that reveal one very busy repeat customer named "Eliot Spitzer."

GMOs are the leaked Stratfor emails that reveal the U.S. is already on the ground working to destroy Syria's infrastructure. GMOs are the proof of election fraud in a so-called "free nation." GMOs are not just Big Ag's skeletons in the closet; they are the skeletons in a closet full of beaten, gagged children who have been kidnapped by CPS officials and sold into "white slavery" to the local community's business leaders who run the children's foundations.

GMOs are the dirty food secret that's so dirty, virtually no one would buy any food known to contain GMOs. They are worse than the plague. They are anti-food. Labeling foods with GMOs is essentially the same as slapping a large skull and crossbones on the package, and that's exactly why the death-worshipping, profit-sucking corporate whores who work for the biotech industry are fighting so hard to prevent GMO labels from appearing on foods. "Holy crap! We can't have consumers knowing the TRUTH, can we?"

Isn't it fascinating that the GMO industry depends entirely on hiding its products in order to stay in business? What other industry is so steeped in destructive, hateful products that it has to actively seek to HIDE THEM from consumers? Biotech is an industry whose products are sold entirely through trickery and deceit, not honest labeling and full disclosure.

Why we will win this fight for the right to know what we are eating
But make no mistake, my friends, for the People shall be victorious against this insidious brand of agricultural imperialism. As I publicly shared just the other day, I had a vision (or was it a dream?) of a massive army of American farmers and consumers who marched on Monsanto, arrested all its employees and burned its buildings to the ground.

I believe that day may very well come true in the near future, and I can only hope it will be followed by a series of very public trials where the GMO scientists, corporate CEOs and top marketing executives are all charged with crimes against humanity and tried by a jury of their peers. The genetic modification of seeds and the open planting of those seeds in the natural world should, I believe, be a crime against nature met by a most severe punishment such as life in prison for anyone found guilty of those crimes in a Constitutional court that abides by due process. Almost no punishment is too great against these criminals, because those who sow genetically modified seeds upon our natural world risk the death of billions of people in their careless arrogance. Some might even argue that the death sentence would be justifiable in such cases.

"Mystery" food?
Just remember: the next time you go shopping at the grocery store, take a closer look at the label of a food product and ask yourself, "What are they NOT telling me about what's in this product?"

Because much of the time, you're actually buying "mystery food" containing all sorts of toxins, poisons or horrifying ingredients that are never listed on the label (by design, of course).

And that's the way Big Ag and Big Food like it — keep consumers in the dark! The less they know about how processed food is made, where it comes from and what it contains, the better! And the more ignorant consumers can be kept, the more GMOs the biotech industry can shove down their gullible little throats.

Detox Protocol

Despite the dismissive stand of aspartame producers that aspartame is safe for human consumption, various studies over the years have shown that aspartame is actually linked to headaches, migraines, dizziness, tumors and even cancer. The U.S. FDA made public 92 symptoms attributed to aspartame from submitted complaints. Despite its questionable effect, aspartame was approved for use in 1981 and still continues to be so today. Ironically, aspartame was never tested in humans before its approval. Its use in over 6,000 products and by 250 million people has made the public its unwitting guinea pig in a grand experiment 40 years in the making.

Stocking up on diet foods is the best way to gain weight. Latest research on aspartame has revealed that it actually increases the risk of weight gain. Being 200 times sweeter than sugar, aspartame appears to be the perfect answer to dieting since it contains only a few calories while still having the sweet taste of sugar. Unfortunately, phenylalanine and aspartic acid, major components of aspartame, trigger the release of insulin and leptins. The latter are hormones that stimulate storage of body fat.

Moreover, large doses of phenylalanine lower serotonin levels and lead to food cravings. Since both real and artificial sweeteners stimulate the taste buds, they affect the same taste and pleasure pathways in the brain. Artificial sweeteners, however, merely activate but do not satiate the pleasure-related region of the brain, proving to be an inferior system in preventing sugar cravings. In the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, researcher Qing Yang – a faculty at the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology – published findings that revealed artificial sweeteners more likely to cause weight gain than weight loss.

This is over and above the fact that aspartame is also highly addictive. The phenylalanine and methanol components increase the dopamine levels in the brain and cause a certain high. This further creates an addiction that is only made worse by the release of methyl alcohol or methanol, which is considered a narcotic. Keeping this in mind, it's time we reconsider the "health benefits" aspartame is supposed to give.

The following are well-known products that use aspartame:

• Diet sodas
• Yogurts
• Chewing gum
• Cooking sauces
• Crisps
• Tabletop sweeteners
• Drink powders
• Flavored water
• Sugar-free products
• Cereals

The above mentioned popular products are just a few of many that contain aspartame. Despite the rising reports of aspartame's toxicity, a re-investigation by the FDA as well as of key regulatory bodies worldwide doesn't seem to be coming anytime soon. We can only protect ourselves by making a conscious choice to check the label of every product we buy at the grocery store.

If you have complaints regarding aspartame, don't be shy in making your complaint known. The last thing you want to be is a face in a crowd lining up before a government office that doesn't have your interest at heart.