The greatest wealth is health!
Monday, February 20, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
The Anti-Allergy Diet
Like Dr. Mercola, Dr. Weil and Dr. Oz, Dr. Hyman has been someone I hold in high regard, as his sharing of his knowledge about overall health and wellness has made a huge impact on improving my health.
Today's question is whether hidden food allergies may be the cause of your weight gain. Mark Hyman, MD, has a 3-week anti-allergy diet to help get your system back on track so you can start shedding pounds. Although weight gain isn't the "only" issue a food allergy can cause, it certainly is one that causes distress.
You may be doing all the right things yet you are still unable to lose weight. If this is the case, a hidden food allergy could be the culprit.
Dr. Mark Hyman, New York Times best-selling author an An advocate for functional medicine, supports groundbreaking research linking food allergies to weight gain.
Sudden-onset vs. Slow-onset Food allergies
Most people think food-related allergic reactions are sudden and fast acting – such as peanut or shellfish allergies which can cause immediate inflammation (an IgE immune response), resulting in swelling or difficulty breathing and can be life-threatening. On the other hand, dairy, which can be hidden in many everyday foods causes a far less acute allergic reaction, creating inflammation hours or even days later (an IgG immune response). Up to 60% of the population could be affected by hidden sensitivities to foods such as dairy.
I made the decision to give up dairy for awhile when I went 100% Raw (since raw dairy isn't legal in my state, or available for me). But my decision to remain pasteurized dairy free was validated when I learned more about pasteurized dairy products. I do however consume raw whey powder. I don't know if I'm particularly sensitive to dairy, I didn't pay much attention to its absence as I turned a leaf and went full on "healthy", raw and toxic free all at once, so all my healthy decisions were contributing to my well being simultaneously. But I've learned enough about it along the way to gladly giving it up.
Dairy Allergy and Weight Gain
Foods with dairy can cause unhealthy bacteria to overgrow and produce toxins that cause systemic inflammation that swells the intestines and prevents normal digestion, causing weight gain, among other conditions such as irritable bowel. In fact, you can gain up to 30 pounds a year due to a dairy allergy.
Lastly, a dairy allergy is tied to inflammation in the gut, as opposed to lactose intolerance, which is an inability to digest the milk sugar called lactose.
The first step to finding out if a dairy allergy is making you gain weight is to identify both the main and hidden sources of dairy in your diet.
Dr. Mark Hyman, New York Times best-selling author an An advocate for functional medicine, supports groundbreaking research linking food allergies to weight gain.
Sudden-onset vs. Slow-onset Food allergies
Most people think food-related allergic reactions are sudden and fast acting – such as peanut or shellfish allergies which can cause immediate inflammation (an IgE immune response), resulting in swelling or difficulty breathing and can be life-threatening. On the other hand, dairy, which can be hidden in many everyday foods causes a far less acute allergic reaction, creating inflammation hours or even days later (an IgG immune response). Up to 60% of the population could be affected by hidden sensitivities to foods such as dairy.
I made the decision to give up dairy for awhile when I went 100% Raw (since raw dairy isn't legal in my state, or available for me). But my decision to remain pasteurized dairy free was validated when I learned more about pasteurized dairy products. I do however consume raw whey powder. I don't know if I'm particularly sensitive to dairy, I didn't pay much attention to its absence as I turned a leaf and went full on "healthy", raw and toxic free all at once, so all my healthy decisions were contributing to my well being simultaneously. But I've learned enough about it along the way to gladly giving it up.
Dairy Allergy and Weight Gain
Foods with dairy can cause unhealthy bacteria to overgrow and produce toxins that cause systemic inflammation that swells the intestines and prevents normal digestion, causing weight gain, among other conditions such as irritable bowel. In fact, you can gain up to 30 pounds a year due to a dairy allergy.
Lastly, a dairy allergy is tied to inflammation in the gut, as opposed to lactose intolerance, which is an inability to digest the milk sugar called lactose.
The first step to finding out if a dairy allergy is making you gain weight is to identify both the main and hidden sources of dairy in your diet.
Hidden Dairy Sources:
Desserts: Cakes, muffins, cookies and chocolate may contain basic dairy ingredients along with “hidden” dairy derivatives such as casein or whey, both milk proteins. Be sure to look for these ingredients on labels and avoid them.
Deli Meats and Fish: Processed meats often contain dairy products such as lactose, casein and caseinates that act as emulsifiers or flavor enhancers. Meats labeled “kosher” will be dairy-free. Be aware that some brands of canned tuna contain casein.
Bread: Both white and wheat bread often contain casein, whey or milk powder. Freshly baked yeast breads are sometimes prepared in buttered pans or brushed with butter as they bake. Ask your baker if this is the case.
Energy Bars: Countless brands of protein and energy bars consist primarily of whey protein. As with all of the above, remember to read these food labels very carefully as well.
The 3-Week Anti-Allergy Plan
To find out if you could be allergic to dairy, follow this plan based on the 3 “Rs”: Remove all dairy, Repair your digestive tract, and Reboot your body.
Week 1: Remove All Dairy
Remove all the dairy from your diet for an entire week, which is how long your system needs for internal inflammation to settle down. Replace dairy milk with almond milk, which tastes good and has high quality protein and fat in it. In addition, replace butter with olive oil, a great source of good fat that contains oleic acid and anti-inflammatory properties.
Week 2: Repair Your Digestive Tract
If your gut is damaged by dairy, repair it with healthy bacteria found in probiotics. Choose a probiotic supplement that contains both bifidobacterium and lactobacillus bacteria. Select a product in pill or powder form that has 10-50 billion colony-forming units (CFUs) and take that amount daily. Be wary of liquid-based products, which may not be as active, along with food products with added probiotics. Click here for a smart guide to purchasing probiotics.
Week 3: Reboot Your Body
Now that you have a clean digestive slate, it’s time to reboot and see if dairy was causing your weight gain. Start by adding one dairy food back at a time and keep a food log of your body’s reactions. Ask yourself: Am I more tired? Am I bloated? Do I have fluid retention? All of these potential factors could be clues that you have a hidden food sensitivity to dairy.
If you think you’re allergic to dairy at the end of three weeks, see your doctor for a blood test, which can help determine if you have elevated levels of a certain antibody that could be causing inflammation. If you are indeed allergic, you can use the above plan stay allergy- and inflammation-free.
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Help Make a Change!
Help make a difference today. It may seem impossible to make significant change as one person, but when we band together to petition against wrongful doings we can make a difference with a united front!
Mondays Feb 15th was a phenomenal day for four huge campaigns on Change.org that you should know about:
- After hearing from more than 82,000 people, Chase Bank called off foreclosing on 78-year-old grandmother and civil rights activist Helen Bailey. "I feel like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders," says Ms. Bailey. "I am so thankful for the support of my neighbors and the nation."
- Last week Apple customers visited stores on four continents to deliver 250,000 petition signatures demanding better working conditions at factories making iPads and iPhones. (The delivery made news on CNN, the BBC, Al Jazeera, and NPR). Yesterday, Apple CEO Tim Cook announced immediate factory inspections, showing that the pressure is working! But experts doubt how reliable the monitoring group’s findings will be and there are still no worker-protection plans for new product releases (when workers are forced to work so hard to meet deadlines that some die of exhaustion -- and others commit suicide). Click here to sign Mark's petition and keep up the pressure on Apple.
- McDonald's finally responded to the 100,000 people (and groups like the Humane Society of the United States) who told the fast food giant to stop sourcing pork from factory farms using inhumane "gestation crates," (cages so small that pigs can’t move or turn around). McDonald's told all of its suppliers yesterday to start phasing out the cages -- an earthquake for the food industry.
- And some big news from last week! More than 141,000 banded together to save the life of Jesus Navarro, a father who was reportedly denied a life-saving kidney transplant, despite having insurance to pay for surgery, a volunteer donor, and a benefactor to help pay for his follow-up care. But an ABC News headline gives the good news: "Dying Dad, Jesus Navarro, to Get Kidney Transplant."
With hundreds of people winning campaigns on Change.org, the pace of change is growing unbelievably quickly.
Have something you want to change? Click here to start your own petition -- and we bet you’ll find that you’re more powerful than you ever imagined.
Excited to help you win,
- Patrick and the Change.org team
P.S. 2/14/2012 Baltimore Sun highlighted Change.org, declaring, "Consumers are starting to flex their newfound muscle." "How the revolution became digitized" was the lead story on CBS Sunday Morning. And if you missed last Sunday’s New York Times column on the power of Change.org, read it here.
Friday, February 17, 2012
Life's Sweeter
Start today! Take on the Life’s Sweeter Challenge!
Limit soda and other sugary drinks in your home, your workplace, and your community.
Join the Challenge to protect our children, our families, our co-workers, and ourselves from the harmful effects of soda consumption, one of the biggest contributors to obesity
in America.
Join the Challenge to protect our children, our families, our co-workers, and ourselves from the harmful effects of soda consumption, one of the biggest contributors to obesity
in America.
Support a realistic goal to help reduce consumption of soda and other sugary drinks from 10 cans per week to a maximum of three per week by 2020, a healthy target proposed by the
American Heart Association.
HERE ARE A FEW IDEAS TO GET STARTED:
Your Organization/Company/Institution Can:
• Stop or limit serving sugary drinks, such as colas, energy drinks, sweetened teas, and sports drinks at meetings and events.
• Remove or limit sugary drinks from on-premise vending machines, cafeterias, and other snack-sale outlets.
• Set the price of soft drinks in cafeterias and vending machines higher than other beverages.
• Provide healthy drink alternatives and access to drinking water.
• Educate employees on the negative effects of soda and other sugary beverages.
• Educate employees on the benefits of choosing healthier drinks.
• Encourage public officials to mount programs to reduce consumption of sugary beverages.
You & Your Family Can:
• Drink fewer sugary drinks, such as colas, energy drinks, sweetened teas, and sports drinks.
• Stop serving sugary drinks, carbonated or not, to children under 6, limit them for older children, and provide healthy drink alternatives for children of all ages.
• Educate your children and family on the negative effects of sugary beverages and encourage them to choose healthier alternatives.
• Join with neighbors, friends, and parents’ groups to urge schools, child-care settings, after-school programs, parks, recreational facilities, pools, zoos, and other youth venues
in your community to stop selling carbonated and non-carbonated sugary soft drinks and to provide access to fresh drinking water.
• Drink fewer sugary drinks, such as colas, energy drinks, sweetened teas, and sports drinks.
• Stop serving sugary drinks, carbonated or not, to children under 6, limit them for older children, and provide healthy drink alternatives for children of all ages.
• Educate your children and family on the negative effects of sugary beverages and encourage them to choose healthier alternatives.
• Join with neighbors, friends, and parents’ groups to urge schools, child-care settings, after-school programs, parks, recreational facilities, pools, zoos, and other youth venues
in your community to stop selling carbonated and non-carbonated sugary soft drinks and to provide access to fresh drinking water.
WHY JOIN THE CHALLENGE?
• More than two-thirds of American adults and one in three children are overweight or obese.
• Health-care costs related to obesity total about $150 billion per year.
• Sugary drinks, few of which have any nutritional value, account for half of all added sugars in the average American diet.
• Research has demonstrated a direct relationship between consumption of sugary drinks and an increase in the risk of overweight and obesity, which in turn promote diabetes,
heart disease, stroke, and many other health problems.
• Consumption of calories from sugary drinks doubled between 1977 and 2002; in the mid-1990s, consumption of sugary drinks began to exceed the intake of milk.
• Sugary drinks’ empty calories displace calories from foods, such as low-fat milk, that are rich in nutrients.
• The sizes of standard sugary drink containers have exploded in the past decades, expanding from Coca-Cola’s 6.5 ounces in the 1950s to 20 ounces today. That size serving contains about 16 teaspoons of sugar. Many fast food restaurants offer even larger portions (with convenience stores offering half-gallon cups) and unlimited free refills, which promote excessive consumption.
• Each additional sugary drink consumed per day increases the likelihood of a child’s becoming obese by about 60 percent, according to one study.
• According to the FTC, in 2006, the carbonated beverage industry spent $492 million marketing directly to youth.
Joining our challenge to reduce the consumption of sugary
drinks is as easy as 1-2-3!
drinks is as easy as 1-2-3!
1. VISIT FEWERSUGARYDRINKS.ORG
2. SIGN UP FOR THE CHALLENGE
3. SHARE THE CHALLENGE
WITH SOMEONE YOU KNOW
"I have found that most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."
— Abraham Lincoln
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Yerba Mate/Chanca Piedra/Hibiscus Tea
1 teaspoon Organic unsmoked Yerba Mate
1 teaspoon Raw Wildcrafted Chanca Piedra
1 teaspoon dried Organic Hibiscus Flowers
Recipe:
Boil water on the stove in a ceramic pan until it comes to a boil. Place one teaspoon of each tea into the teapot infuser, and slowly pour in the hot water. Slowly, it's a process as the tea steeps and slowly fills the pot. You can either leave the tea leaves in the infuser to increase the strength or remove it, as I did. It was at the perfect strength for me by the time I filled the pot. Sip and enjoy!
Yerba Mate
Drinking Yerba Mate throughout the day will help keep your energy levels up without the jitters.
In addition to Yerba Mate's pleasant taste, it is consumed to boost immunity, cleanse and detoxify the blood, tone the nervous system, restore youthful hair color, retard aging, combat fatigue, stimulate the mind, control the appetite, reduce the effects of debilitating disease, reduce stress, and eliminate insomnia.
Traditionally, the dry leaves are placed in a cup, or gourd called a mate, then cold water is added to moisten the leaves and protect the nutrients and flavor. Next, hot water is added until all the leaves are covered. Rather than removing the leaves, you sip the tea through a straw called a bombilla which has a filter or strainer at the bottom to prevent the leaves going through the straw. As you drink the tea, you add more water to the cup.
Yerba Mate contains xanthines, chemicals that boost your metabolic rate by 10% and is rich in pantothenic acid, which prevents overstimulation of the nervous system. Yerba Mate has a host of anti-oxidants that boost immunity and protect against colds and flu. Furthermore, researchers say that Yerba Mate is a rich source of magnesium that has been proven to ease anxiety.
In addition to Yerba Mate's pleasant taste, it is consumed to boost immunity, cleanse and detoxify the blood, tone the nervous system, restore youthful hair color, retard aging, combat fatigue, stimulate the mind, control the appetite, reduce the effects of debilitating disease, reduce stress, and eliminate insomnia.
Traditionally, the dry leaves are placed in a cup, or gourd called a mate, then cold water is added to moisten the leaves and protect the nutrients and flavor. Next, hot water is added until all the leaves are covered. Rather than removing the leaves, you sip the tea through a straw called a bombilla which has a filter or strainer at the bottom to prevent the leaves going through the straw. As you drink the tea, you add more water to the cup.
Yerba Mate contains xanthines, chemicals that boost your metabolic rate by 10% and is rich in pantothenic acid, which prevents overstimulation of the nervous system. Yerba Mate has a host of anti-oxidants that boost immunity and protect against colds and flu. Furthermore, researchers say that Yerba Mate is a rich source of magnesium that has been proven to ease anxiety.
Chanca Piedra
The remedy normally comes in the form of a standard infusion or weak decoction of the whole plant or sometimes its aerial parts. In the main it is used are for any type of biliary and urinary condition including kidney and gallbladder stones.
It is also for hepatitis, cold, flu, tuberculosis, and other viral infections. It is also widely used for liver diseases and disorders including anaemia, jaundice and liver cancer and is now also thought to be an ideal liver detox, particularly helpful in detoxing "Western excess".
Traditionally is has also been used for bacterial infections such as cystitis, prostatitis, venereal diseases and non specific urinary tract infections.
It is also for hepatitis, cold, flu, tuberculosis, and other viral infections. It is also widely used for liver diseases and disorders including anaemia, jaundice and liver cancer and is now also thought to be an ideal liver detox, particularly helpful in detoxing "Western excess".
Traditionally is has also been used for bacterial infections such as cystitis, prostatitis, venereal diseases and non specific urinary tract infections.
It is also widely employed for diabetes and hypertension as well as for its diuretic, analgesic, stomachic, antispasmodic, febrifugal, and cell protective properties in many other conditions. Tome and again Chanca Piedra has proven effective to the indiginous peoples who use it, so is it any wonder that chanca piedra is now used for so many purposes in herbal medicine...and is becoming morer widelty available in "the West".
In clinical research over the years, the plant has demonstrated antihepatotoxic, antilithic, analgesic, hypotensive, antispasmodic, antiviral, antibacterial, diuretic, antimutagenic, and hypoglycemic properties.
As far as Western medicine is concerned, drug companies have been researching Chanca Piedra Since the mid-1960s, where they have been looking closely at phytochemical make up of the plant to try and ascertain what the active ingredients are.
Chanca Piedra is certainly hugely rich in phytochemicals, and the trick is that many of these important phytochemicals are only found in Chanca Piedra or the wider Phyllanthus genus.
As far as Western medicine is concerned, drug companies have been researching Chanca Piedra Since the mid-1960s, where they have been looking closely at phytochemical make up of the plant to try and ascertain what the active ingredients are.
Chanca Piedra is certainly hugely rich in phytochemicals, and the trick is that many of these important phytochemicals are only found in Chanca Piedra or the wider Phyllanthus genus.
These “active” constituents are attributed to biologically active lignans, glycosides, flavonoids, alkaloids, ellagitannins, and phenylpropanoids found in the stem root and leaf of the herb. Common lipids, sterols, and flavonols are also found in abundance.
Hibiscus Flowers
The flowers of the hibiscus plant are used all over the word in making herbal teas that are very healthy and aid the digestive system. The tea made from hibiscus is a natural diuretic and consumed by people with kidney disorders and high blood pressure all over the world. Hibiscus tea is also very high in vitamin C and very good to drink if you are suffering from the flu.
Hibiscus tea is a very versatile tea with many well-proven health benefits. It can be sipped hot or cold and mixed with other beverages and tea flavors. Hibiscus tea is made from the red hibiscus flower, which is native to warm, temperate regions such as Jamaica, Australia, and parts of Africa. Many studies have shown that the hibiscus lowers blood pressure, but like any other floral tea, it is a delicious drink as well. In one particular study, those who drank 3 cups of hibiscus tea per day for 6 weeks had a significant drop in blood pressure compared to the placebo group. Many tout hibiscus tea for its positive effect on hypertension and blood pressure. In Egypt it is commonly used as a medicine to treat high blood pressure.
Livestrong claim that hibiscus tea can aid in weight loss and reducing bloating, and many claim it is a diuretic as well. While these claims have not been studied in as much depth in the West, hibiscus tea has been used as various types of medicine around the world for centuries. To see the health benefits, it must be taken in large quantities, as in the study mentioned above. Since it is not caffeinated, drinking around 3 cups of tea or juice per day is perfectly healthy.
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Tea Pot
I was so excited to get my glass teapot! I visited a store called Teavana and saw the glass teapot as the salesman shared samples of the tea in it. He then showed me why it was glass...to display the gorgeous blooming flower tea buds. I have yet to get some blooming flower tea balls, but I really loved the teapot! So I purchased it first thing when I got home...like always, saving money getting it on Amazon.com.
I ended up purchasing the Sun's Tea (TM) 41oz Ultra Clear Heat Resistant Borosilicate Glass Teapot & Infuse for $25.99 with free shipping, and the Grosche Cairo Premium Teapot Warmer for $17.44, also with free shipping.
Tea, to me is so much more appealing being able to see the gorgeous color of it. It motivates me to drink more tea too. I always wanted to get a teapot pot that would infuse my loose tea leaves, and now I have one:) Another thing I love about the whole teapot being clear glass is that I can see that it is clean at all times!
The first tea I made was a mix of 3 amazingly healthy teas. Well, 2 teas and Hibiscus flowers. The color was a gorgeous red color...sipping on my 3rd teacup today. It's so nice to be able to have the teapot close by too, heated by the tea-candle warmer. One thing I don't tolerate well is hot drinks not being hot...just warm doesn't cut it with me.
View tomorrow's blog for more information, and health info on the tea I prepared
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Defective Genes & Disease
Take Control of your DNA
Defective Genes "Cause" Less Than 1% Of All Disease
by Sayer Ji
In the mainstream media (and the popular consciousness programmed to consume it) defective genes are spoken about as if they were "disease time bombs," fatalistically programmed to go off inside of us, thanks to flawed genetic contributions of our ancestors. And yet, despite common misconceptions, monogenic diseases, or diseases that result from errors in the nucleotide sequence of a single gene are exceedingly rare. In fact, less than 1% of all diseases fall within this category...
Following the completion of the Human Genome Project (HGP) in 2003 it is no longer accurate to say that our genes “cause” disease, any more than it is accurate to say that DNA is sufficient to account for all the proteins in our body. Despite initial expectations, the HGP revealed that there are only 20,000-25,000 genes in human DNA (genome), rather than the 100,000 + believed necessary to encode the 100,000 + proteins found in the human body (proteome). Did you follow that?
There are not even enough genes in the human body to account for the existence of the basic protein building blocks that make it possible, much less explain the behavior of these proteins in health and disease states!
The “blueprint” model of genetics: one gene → one protein → one cellular behavior, which was once the holy grail of biology, has now been supplanted by a model of the cell where epigenetic factors (literally: “beyond the control of the gene”) are primary in determining how DNA will be interpreted, translated and expressed. A single gene can be used by the cell to express a multitude of proteins and it is not the DNA itself that determines how or what genes will be expressed. Rather, we must look to the epigenetic factors to understand what makes a liver cell different from a skin cell or brain cell. All of these cells share the exact same 3 billion base pairs that make up our genetic code, but it is the epigenetic factors, e.g. regulatory proteins and post-translational modifications, that make the determination as to which genes to turn on and which to silence, resulting in each cell’s unique phenotype.
Moreover, epigenetic factors are directly and indirectly influenced by the presence or absence of key nutrients in the diet, as well as exposures to chemicals, pathogens and other environmental influences. Thoughts and emotions also play a role in how these epigenetic factors are articulated, indicating that the flow of genetic information, once thought to be strictly vertical (passage of genetic information from one cell or individual organism to its progeny by conventional heredity mechanisms), also flows horizontally and bi-directionally, opening the door back up for the human soul to return to biological science, having been reduced to a mere "ghost in the machine," since René Descartes (1596-1650), the French philosopher and mathematician, split body and soul asunder, almost five centuries ago.
In a nutshell, what we eat and what we are exposed to in our environment directly affects our DNA and its expression.
Within the scope of this new perspective even classical monogenic diseases like Cystic Fibrosis (CF) can be viewed in a new, more promising light. In CF many of the adverse changes that result from the defective expression of the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) gene may be preventable or reversible, owing to the fact that the misfolding of the CFTR gene product has been shown to undergo partial or full correction (in the rodent model) when exposed to phytochemicals found in turmeric, cayenne, and soybean Moreover, nutritional deficiencies of seleniun, zinc, riboflavin, vitamin e, etc. in the womb or early in life, may “trigger” the faulty expression or folding patterns of the CFTR gene in Cystic Fibrosis which might otherwise have avoided epigenetic activation. This would explain why it is possible to live into one’s late seventies with this condition, as was the case for Katherine Shores (1925-2004). The implications of these findings are rather extraordinary: epigenetic and not genetic factors are primary in determining disease outcome. Even if we exclude the possibility of reversing certain monogenic diseases, the basic lesson from the post-Genomic era is that we can’t blame our DNA for causing disease. Rather, it may have more to do with what we choose to expose our DNA to, and even more surprisingly: how we choose to think and feel about our embodiment.
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