Category Archives for "Good Fuel"

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Best 7 Diets Overall

DASH Diet

#1 in Best Diets Overall | Overall Score 4.1/5

Overview

The aim:

Preventing and lowering high blood pressure (hypertension).

The claim:

A healthy eating pattern is key to deflating high blood pressure – and it may not hurt your waistline, either.

The theory:

Nutrients like potassium, calcium, protein and fiber are crucial to fending off or fighting high blood pressure. You don’t have to track each one, though. Just emphasize the foods you’ve always been told to eat (fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean protein and low-fat dairy), while shunning those we’ve grown to love (calorie- and fat-laden sweets and red meat). Top it all off by cutting back on salt, and voilà!

Balanced Diet

These diets fall within accepted ranges for the amount of protein, carbs, fat and other nutrients they provide.

Pros & Cons

  • Heart healthy
  • Nutritionally sound
  • Lots of grunt work
  • Somewhat pricey

 

MIND Diet

#2 in Best Diets Overall | Overall Score 4.0/5

Overview

The aim:

Preventing Alzheimer’s disease with brain-healthy foods.

The claim:

You may lower your risk of mental decline with this new hybrid of two balanced,heart-healthy diets – even without rigidly sticking to it – early research suggests.

The theory:

The MIND diet takes two proven diets ­­– DASH and Mediterranean – and zeroes in on the foods in each that specifically affect brain health.

The emphasis is on eating from 10 brain-healthy food groups: green leafy vegetables in particular, all other vegetables, nuts, berries, beans, whole grains, fish, poultry, olive oil and wine. Meanwhile, MIND adherents avoid foods from the five unhealthy groups: red meats, butter and stick margarine, cheeses, pastries and sweets, and fried or fast food.

The MIND diet, which stands for “Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay,” was developed by Martha Clare Morris, a nutritional epidemiologist at Rush University Medical Center, through a study funded by the National Institute on Aging and published online February 2015. Morris’ team followed the food intake of 923 Chicago-area seniors. Over 4.5 years, 144 participants developed Alzheimer’s disease. The longer people had followed the MIND diet patterns, the less risk they appeared to have. Even people who made “modest” changes to their diets – who wouldn’t have fit the criteria for DASH or Mediterranean – had less risk of developing Alzheimer’s. The study found the MIND diet lowered Alzheimer’s risk by about 35 percent for people who followed it moderately well and up to 53 percent for those who adhered to it rigorously.

Two previous, large U.S. studies have found significant slower cognitive decline in people who ate at least two servings of vegetables per day, with the strongest effect seen with at least six weekly servings of leafy green vegetables. Several animal studies show that eating a variety of berries is tied to better memory performance. And population studies suggest eating a single fish meal a week is related to Alzheimer’s prevention.

Morris emphasizes that findings on the diet are not definitive, with more long-term, randomized comparison studies needed. Her team’s second paper on the MIND diet has found the MIND diet superior to the DASH and Mediterranean diets in preventing cognitive decline.

Balanced Diet

These diets fall within accepted ranges for the amount of protein, carbs, fat and other nutrients they provide.

Pros & Cons

  • Blends two proven healthy diets
  • May boost brain power
  • Details not fleshed out
  • Recipes, resources lacking

 

TLC Diet

#3 inBest Diets Overall| Overall Score 4.0/5

Overview

The aim:

Cutting high cholesterol.

The claim:

You’ll lower your “bad” LDL cholesterol by 8 to 10 percent in six weeks.

The theory:

Created by the National Institutes of Health’s National Cholesterol Education Program, the Therapeutic Lifestyle Changes Diet (TLC) is endorsed by the American Heart Association as a heart-healthy regimen that can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. The key iscutting back sharply on fat, particularly saturated fat. Saturated fat (think fatty meat, whole-milk dairy and fried foods) bumps up bad cholesterol, which increases the risk of heart attack and stroke. That, along with strictly limiting daily dietary cholesterol intake and getting more fiber, can help people manage high cholesterol, often without medication.

Balanced Diet

These diets fall within accepted ranges for the amount of protein, carbs, fat and other nutrients they provide.

Pros & Cons

  • Heart healthy
  • Not a fad diet – it’s government-endorsed
  • On your own
  • Must decode nutrition labels

 

The Fertility Diet

#4 inBest Diets Overall| Overall Score 3.9/5

Overview

The aim:

Boost ovulation and improve fertility.

The claim:

Changes to diet, weight and activity can increase ovulation and help you get pregnant faster.

The theory:

Research from the Nurses’ Health Study – which began in 1976 and grew to include 238,000 female nurse participants ages 30 to 55 – has shown that tweaking aspects of your diet, from fats to beverages, can increase ovulation and improve your chances of getting pregnant. In “The Fertility Diet: Groundbreaking Research Reveals Natural Ways to Boost Ovulation and Improve Your Chances of Getting Pregnant,” Drs. Jorge Chavarro and Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health created a diet plan based on the study, which showed that women who consumed “good” fats, whole grains and plant protein improved their egg supply, while those who ate “bad” fats, refined carbohydrates and red meat may make fewer eggs, thereby increasing the risk for ovulatory infertility. They also suggest that full-fat dairy products are good for fertility compared with skim milk and sugary sodas. The doctors recommend a 10-step approach to improving fertility.

Balanced Diet

These diets fall within accepted ranges for the amount of protein, carbs, fat and other nutrients they provide.

Pros & Cons

  • Promotes fertility
  • Encourages healthy pregnancy
  • Discouraged for those with blocked fallopian tubes
  • Strictly for women

Mayo Clinic Diet

#5  inBest Diets Overall| Overall Score 3.9/5

Overview

The aim:

Weight loss.

The claim:

You’ll shed 6 to 10 pounds in two weeks and continue losing 1 to 2 pounds weekly until you’ve hit your goal weight.

The theory:

You recalibrate your eating habits, breaking bad ones and replacing them with good ones with the help of the Mayo Clinic’s unique food pyramid.

Balanced Diet

These diets fall within accepted ranges for the amount of protein, carbs, fat and other nutrients they provide.

Pros & Cons

  • Nutritionally sound
  • You shape your diet
  • Lots of grunt work
  • Somewhat pricey

Mediterranean Diet

#6 inBest Diets Overall| Overall Score 3.9/5

Overview

The aim:

May include weight loss, heart and brain health, cancer prevention and diabetes prevention and control.

The claim:

You’ll lose weight, keep it off and avoid a host of chronic diseases.

The theory:

It’s generally accepted that the folks in the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea live longer and suffer less than most Americans from cancer and cardiovascular ailments. The not-so-surprising secret is an active lifestyle, weight control and a diet low in red meat, sugar and saturated fat and high in produce, nuts and other healthful foods.

Balanced Diet

These diets fall within accepted ranges for the amount of protein, carbs, fat and other nutrients they provide.

Pros & Cons

  • Nutritionally sound
  • Diverse foods and flavors
  • Lots of grunt work
  • Moderately pricey

Weight Watchers Diet

#7  in Best Diets Overall| Overall Score 3.9/5

Overview

The aim:

Weight loss.

The claim:

You’ll drop up to 2 pounds weekly.

The theory:

There’s more to weight loss than counting calories – if you make healthy choices that fill you up, you’ll eat less. Weight Watchers’ new Beyond the Scale Program, launched in late 2015, assigns every food a SmartPoints value, based on its nutition. (Higher amounts of saturated fat and sugar increase the point value; higher amounts of protein bring the point value down.) Choices that fill you up the longest “cost” the least, and nutritionally dense foods cost less than empty calories. So if you’re wavering between a 200-calorie fruit smoothie and a 200-calorie iced coffee, the smoothie is the smarter choice. A backbone of the plan is multi-model access to support from people who’ve lost weight using Weight Watchers and kept it off.

Balanced Diet

These diets fall within accepted ranges for the amount of protein, carbs, fat and other nutrients they provide.

Pros & Cons

  • Eat what you want; no foods off-limits
  • Flexibility to shape your own diet
  • Tedious point-tallying
  • Pricey

SOURCE…health.usnews.com

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Top 5 Ugly Truths the Meat Industry Hopes You Never Find Out

What we put in our bodies in the way of food makes a difference in every single level of our lives. It affects how we feel, how we look, how we reproduce, and even how we think. These things will then make a difference in how we relate to each other as a society, which then translates into how we will relate as a society to the entire world. Food is just as relevant and important to us and our survival as air and water.When we started changing where our food source came from is when the trouble seems to have started. We stopped getting our food from people (neighborhood farmers, friends, our own backyard gardens) and started getting it from corporations.  This was a huge mistake and it shows in every aspect of our lives.

Unfortunately, many of us live so far removed from farms and dairy production that we have little or no idea what is going on, what is in our food, or how the animals we are eating are being treated. You would never consider eating meat from a cow that was obviously sick when it was alive, but since you aren’t there when this cow is slaughtered; you could very well be eating meat from sick animals. We are what we eat, friends, so in this case, the sickness the animal had while it was alive can be transferred to you when you eat it.

This isn’t to say that we all need to be standing by, personally approving every animal that is killed before we eat it. That is completely unrealistic. But everyone should be aware of the facts behind factory farmed meats and why you should NOT be consuming those.

Take a look at the top 5 facts behind factory farmed animals and why the meat industry hopes you never find out.

1. Factory farmed means extreme density problems

Thirty eight states in the US admit to having extreme density levels at least at some their factory farms. California is perhaps the worst offender with more than 25 percent of their counties saying that they have extreme density levels. What does this mean exactly?

Corporate run farms edge out the average family farm by undercutting meat prices so that they cannot survive and end up selling their farms to these corporations. Corporate farms are able to make their money in numbers, raising huge amounts of animals in crowded, inhumane conditions and increasing the speed at which animals grow through growth hormone injections.

Pigs and chickens are often kept in completely enclosed buildings where these animals never see the sun. EVER.

Factory farms avoid disease by constantly injecting their animals with antibiotics or putting antibiotics in the feed. They need to do this because the animals themselves are kept in unbelievably crowded, unclean conditions. Animals are packed in so tightly that sometimes they cannot turn around. If they want to lie down, they must do so in their own waste.

Even with these antibiotics, which are being passed on to you via the meat, by the way,  think of how many salmonella and E.coli outbreaks there have been in the past 20 years.

The waste from these animals, which is often sold as fertilizer, puts all those growth hormones and antibiotics into the soil, which leeches into our food and water supply.

 

2.  Ammonia Reigns

If you have ever gotten a whiff of strong ammonia, you most likely pulled back quickly. Ammonia is a powerful chemical that is used to clean things such as windows and toilets.

Ammonia is used in processing plants as it sterilizes the meat and kills some pathogens, but apparently not salmonella and E.coli as these are still problems in the meat supply in America.

Ammonia actually changes the DNA cell structure and warps cells, which can fuel the development of cancer, especially in organs that try to remove ammonia from the body, such as your liver and pancreas.

Although you won’t see ammonia on the list of ingredients, but if you have ever seen the words “processing agents” on a package of hamburger, then you know they used ammonia to clean it.

 

3.  Hormone Heaven

In addition to the antibiotics that must be given due to overcrowded conditions, hormones are given to many animals, such as pigs and cows, to help make them grow bigger and gain weight faster so they can be butchered more quickly.

Unfortunately, those hormones don’t know if they are fattening up a cow or YOU.

In America, two out of every three cows are given hormones because it will make the corporation more money. That’s it. They don’t care if these hormones cause you problems such as prostate cancer or breast cancer. They don’t care if these hormones make you gain weight; they only care about making more money

Hormones such as zeranol, verall, and progesterone, interrupt the human body’s natural hormone balance. Fewer women in Europe have breast cancer because the European Union has banned these types of hormones in their meat. Read more about foods Americans eat that are banned in other countries.

4. Antibiotics and You

Ever wonder why so many people and bacteria are becoming more and more resistant to antibiotics?

Part of the reason is because animals in the US are being fed huge overdoses of antibiotics and these stay in the meat, which you consume.

 

5.  Bleaching Your Meat

It’s well known that the meat industry also uses bleach rinses in order to clean meat. Now you might be asking, if they use bleach, why isn’t the meat white?

This is because the corporate meat industry uses nitrates to give meat that fresh, red color.

Everyone knows that the healthy flesh of recently killed meat is a flush of red. However, since many meats, especially processed meats such as bacon and hot dogs, were killed quite a while back, and then processed with bleach, they need to be made to look “fresh” again. Companies use nitrates and nitrites to make meat look red and fresh, and also to preserve its shelf life. If only nitrates could preserve us! Instead, nitrates are carcinogens that kill.

No one is suggesting that you need to give up meat entirely. Meat can be healthy for you when it is kept and killed correctly. Make a commitment today to only buy organic, grass fed meats. Cattle and chickens that walk freely about outside in the sun (which why you will sometimes see meat labels that say “Free Range”) and eat normal animal diets, such as seeds, grass, and insects, have healthy levels of many important vitamins and minerals. No one can say that about factory farmed meats.  Eat smart and always eat organic. It’s well worth the price.

SOURCE..www.naturalon.com

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What You Eat Affects Your Productivity

Think back to your most productive workday in the past week. Now ask yourself: On that afternoon, what did you have for lunch?

When we think about the factors that contribute to workplace performance, we rarely give much consideration to food. For those of us battling to stay on top of emails, meetings, and deadlines, food is simply fuel.

But as it turns out, this analogy is misleading. The foods we eat affect us more than we realize. With fuel, you can reliably expect the same performance from your car no matter what brand of unleaded you put in your tank. Food is different. Imagine a world where filling up at Mobil meant avoiding all traffic and using BP meant driving no faster than 20 miles an hour. Would you then be so cavalier about where you purchased your gas?

Food has a direct impact on our cognitive performance, which is why a poor decision at lunch can derail an entire afternoon.

Here’s a brief rundown of why this happens. Just about everything we eat is converted by our body into glucose, which provides the energy our brains need to stay alert. When we’re running low on glucose, we have a tough time staying focused and our attention drifts. This explains why it’s hard to concentrate on an empty stomach.

So far, so obvious. Now here’s the part we rarely consider: Not all foods are processed by our bodies at the same rate. Some foods, like pasta, bread, cereal and soda, release their glucose quickly, leading to a burst of energy followed by a slump. Others, like high fat meals (think cheeseburgers and BLTs) provide more sustained energy, but require our digestive system to work harder, reducing oxygen levels in the brain and making us groggy.

Most of us know much of this intuitively, yet we don’t always make smart decisions about our diet. In part, it’s because we’re at our lowest point in both energy and self-control when deciding what to eat. French fries and mozzarella sticks are a lot more appetizing when you’re mentally drained.

Unhealthy lunch options also tend to be cheaper and faster than healthy alternatives, making them all the more alluring in the middle of a busy workday. They feel efficient. Which is where our lunchtime decisions lead us astray. We save 10 minutes now and pay for it with weaker performance the rest of the day.

So what are we to do? One thing we most certainly shouldn’t do is assume that better information will motivate us to change. Most of us are well aware that scarfing down a processed mixture of chicken bones and leftover carcasses is not a good life decision. But that doesn’t make chicken nuggets any less delicious.

No, it’s not awareness we need—it’s an action plan that makes healthy eating easier to accomplish. Here are some research-based strategies worth trying.

The first is to make your eating decisions before you get hungry. If you’re going out to lunch, choose where you’re eating in the morning, not at 12:30 PM. If you’re ordering in, decide what you’re having after a mid-morning snack. Studies show we’re a lot better at resisting salt, calories, and fat in the future than we are in the present.

Another tip: Instead of letting your glucose bottom out around lunch time, you’ll perform better by grazing throughout the day. Spikes and drops in blood sugar are both bad for productivity and bad for the brain. Smaller, more frequent meals maintain your glucose at a more consistent level than relying on a midday feast.
Finally, make healthy snacking easier to achieve than unhealthy snacking. Place a container of almonds and a selection of protein bars by your computer, near your line of vision. Use an automated subscription service, like Amazon, to restock supplies. Bring a bag of fruit to the office on Mondays so that you have them available throughout the week.

Is carrying produce to the office ambitious? For many of us, the honest answer is yes. Yet there’s reason to believe the weekly effort is justified.

Research indicates that eating fruits and vegetables throughout the day isn’t simply good for the body—it’s also beneficial for the mind. A fascinating paper in this July’s British Journal of Health Psychology highlights the extent to which food affects our day-to-day experience.

Within the study, participants reported their food consumption, mood, and behaviors over a period of 13 days. Afterwards, researchers examined the way people’s food choices influenced their daily experiences. Here was their conclusion: The more fruits and vegetables people consumed (up to 7 portions), the happier, more engaged, and more creative they tended to be.

Why? The authors offer several theories. Among them is an insight we routinely overlook when deciding what to eat for lunch: Fruits and vegetables contain vital nutrients that foster the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in the experience of curiosity, motivation, and engagement. They also provide antioxidants that minimize bodily inflammation, improve memory, and enhance mood.

Which underscores an important point: If you’re serious about achieving top workplace performance, making intelligent decisions about food is essential.

The good news is that contrary to what many of us assume, the trick to eating right is not learning to resist temptation. It’s making healthy eating the easiest possible option.

 

SOURCE…hbr.org

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Why Fitness Pros Are Obsessed With Apple Cider Vinegar

Check out this powerful tid bit of knowledge ! Now we all know they say  an apple a day may keep the proverbial doctor away, but a daily splash of apple cider vinegar may be just what your trainer ordered. Fitness pros are gung-ho on the ingredient’s better-body powers, and for good reason. Here’s why:

How It Helps: “Apple cider vinegar has a positive impact on gut health because it’s anti-microbial. It helps to break down bad bacteria and feed the good,” say New York City-based master trainer Josh Stolz.

“My digestion improved when I added it to my diet so I started recommending it to clients. One had chronic bad breath that may have been linked to an imbalanced digestive system, so I got her on a daily apple cider vinegar protocol and her breath, digestion, and skin improved within weeks.” Consistent ingestion of apple cider vinegar has been tied to moderate weight loss as well. “Some studies suggest the acetic acid in it can boost satiety between meals so you may eat less,” says Brian St. Pierre, R.D., a fitness and nutrition coach with Precision Nutrition.

How To Try It: Stir a couple teaspoons into a glass of water and sip before meals. Another trick: Add 1 to 2 tablespoons to seltzer water then add stevia to taste (optional). “It’s like drinking a non-alcoholic, non-caloric sparkling cider,” says Stolz, who advises keeping your daily ACV dose to 2 to 3 tablespoons max.

Some advocates favor the pungent tonic first thing in the morning, but pairing it with your starchy meals may be your best bet. “Research shows apple cider vinegar can help prevent blood sugar spikes because it interferes with starch and carbohydrate absorption,” says Stolz. Pros agree that reducing the glycemic response in the body is especially important if you’re diabetic or have insulin resistance, but anyone can benefit. Notes St. Pierre: Ingesting it with a higher carbohydrate meal can decrease post-meal blood glucose levels, which can also lower inflammation and protect blood vessel linings.

Yet another super-worthy stat: Apple cider vinegar enhances the nutrition of bone broth. “Add it to the bones, water, and seasonings—1/8 cup for 1 pound bones, ¼ for 2 pounds of bones, and so on—about a half an hour before boiling. This helps pull more minerals from the bones,” says Stolz.

Why fitness pros are obsessed with apple cider vinegar
SOURCE..http://news360.com

Nutrition As Medicine

Most people truly do not understand the concept of nutritional medicine and fewer yet understand the concept of cellular nutrition.  This article will give you a better understanding of how I approach my patients as a specialist in Nutritional Medicine. Hopefully, this will give you a better understanding of how and why you can better protect your health or even regain your health by applying these concepts to your own life.

Concept of Oxidative Stress

Even though oxygen is necessary for life itself, it is inherently dangerous for our existence.  In the process of utilizing oxygen within your cells to create energy, you also create a by-product referred to as free radicals.  Free radicals are charged oxygen molecules that are missing at least one electron and desire to get an electron from the surrounding area.  If it is not readily neutralized by an antioxidant, which has the ability to give this free radical the electron it desires, it can go on to create more volatile free radicals, damage the cell wall, vessel wall, proteins, fats, and even the DNA nucleus of the cell.  So the same process that turns a cut apple brown or rusts metal is causing you to rust inside.  In fact, the medical literature now shows us that over 70 chronic degenerative diseases are the result of this process.  Diseases like coronary artery disease, cancer, diabetes, Parkinson’s, arthritis, macular degeneration, MS, lupus, among others are the result of small oxidative changes that occur over a long period of time.

It is all about Balance

The number of free radicals you produce is not steady.  In other words, some days you produce more than others.  Because of our stressful lifestyles, polluted environment, and over-medicated society, this generation must deal with more free radicals than any previous generation that has ever walked the face of the earth.  If you want to prevent oxidative stress, you need to have more antioxidants available along with their supporting nutrients than the number of free radicals you produce.  You see, we are not defenseless against this process.  Antioxidants are the answer.  The question is whether or not we are able to get all the antioxidants we need from our food.  This was the question I had to answer for myself and the reason that I wrote my book What Your Doctor Doesn’t Know about Nutritional Medicine.   After spending over 2 years reviewing the medical literature, I concluded that the only way you have a chance of preventing oxidative stress is by taking high quality, complete and balanced nutritional supplements that provide, what I refer to as, cellular nutrition.  If you have not read my book or listened to any of my CD’s on this subject, I would certainly encourage you to do just that.  The medical references are detailed in my books and provide the medical evidence that demands a verdict—should you be taking nutritional supplements?

History of Nutritional Medicine

            Over the past half century, nutritional medicine has been practiced with the belief that you had to determine what nutrients in which you were deficient and then supplement that particular nutrient.  It became very obvious to me early on in my research that the underlying problem most of us are facing is not a nutritional deficiency, but instead, the result of oxidative stress.  It was also apparent to me that medication, which actually increases the production of free radicals, would never be the answer to preventing any of these diseases.  Also if this was the case, the goal had to be to provide the nutrients that were necessary to build up our body’s natural antioxidant defense system so that you did not develop oxidative stress.  It became so apparent to me that our bodies, not the drugs I could prescribe, were the best defense against developing any of these diseases.  The problem is NOT a nutritional deficiency.  The problem is oxidative stress.

Modern Nutritional Research

Today’s research is focused on trying to find the magic bullet in regards to a particular disease.  For example, there were many studies that showed that those smokers who had the highest antioxidant levels in their blood stream had a significantly lower risk of developing lung cancer than those smokers who had the lowest level of antioxidants.  Most of the researchers felt that it was primarily due to the high levels of beta carotene.  So they decided to do a study and supplement a large number of smokers with just beta carotene.  They were dismayed when they found that the group that received the beta carotene alone actually had a higher incidence of lung cancer than the control group.  This led researchers and the media to actually claim that beta carotene was dangerous and should not be taken in supplementation in smokers.  A review of the same data reported a couple of years later showed that those smokers who had the highest levels of total antioxidants in their blood stream had a significantly decreased risk of developing lung cancer compared to those who had the lowest levels of antioxidants.

Beta carotene is NOT a drug.  It is merely a nutrient that we get from our food; however, because of supplementation we are now able to get it at levels you cannot obtain from your food.  Beta carotene works in only certain parts of the body and against only certain kinds of free radicals.  Beta carotene needs the other antioxidants along with the antioxidant minerals and B cofactors in order to do its job effectively.  However, researchers are focused on trying to find the magic bullet instead of stepping back and understanding the basic principles and concepts of cellular nutrition.  The amazing thing is how so many of these studies that look at just one or possibly two nutrients actually show a health benefit.  What would the health benefit be if you would put all of these nutrients together at these optimal levels?  Enter in the concept of cellular nutrition.

Concept of Cellular Nutrition

There are over 180 epidemiologic studies (studies that involve a very large number of people) that all show the very same thing.  Those individuals who have the highest levels of total antioxidants in their body compared with those who have the lowest levels have a 2- to 3-fold decrease risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and even Alzheimer’s dementia.  Obviously, those individuals who consume more of the fresh fruits and vegetables, which contain a large amount of these antioxidants, had the highest levels of antioxidants in their body.  This only makes logical sense when you understand the concept of oxidative stress as being the root cause of over 70 of these chronic degenerative diseases.  Therefore, a physician would conclude the best thing that they could advise their patients to do is to be consuming at least 8 to 12 servings of fresh whole fruits and vegetables each and every day.  The second best thing would be to recommend high quality, complete and balanced nutritional supplements that provided cellular nutrition.

Cellular nutrition would be defined as providing ALL of the micronutrients to the cell at these optimal or advanced levels that have been shown to provide a health benefit in our medical literature.  In other words, you would want your supplementation to be balanced and complete, much like a healthy diet is. The only difference is the fact that, unlike today’s food supply, supplementation can provide all of these nutrients at optimal levels.  We all need to be supplementing a healthy diet; however, because of our stressful lifestyles, polluted environment, and over-medicated society we do need to be supplementing.

Cellular nutrition has been shown in our medical literature to build up our body’s natural immune system, antioxidant system, and repair system.  You not only replenish any nutritional deficiency within 6 months of supplementation, but you also optimize all of the body’s micronutrients.  You are given the absolute best chance to reverse or prevent any oxidative stress and protect your health.  You see, nutritional supplementation is really about health—not disease.  Nutritional supplements are natural to the body and the nutrients the body requires to function at its optimal level.

Every man, woman, and child needs to be supplementing a healthy diet and be involved in a modest exercise program.  This is the key to protecting and maintaining your health.  However, what if you have already lost your health and have developed one of these chronic degenerative diseases?  Does supplementation provide any hope?  This is the question that I had to answer for myself and for my patients.  This has been the focus of my practice for the past 11 years and why I have developed my online practice located at www.raystrand.com.

The Concept of Synergy

The medical literature had showed me over and over again that those patients who were already suffering from a chronic degenerative disease like rheumatoid arthritis, MS, or diabetes actually had significantly more oxidative stress than the normal, healthy patient.  Cellular nutrition is generally adequate to help someone who is in excellent health; however, it would not be enough supplementation to bring oxidative stress under control in someone who is already suffering from a major disease.

It became very apparent to me early on that if you were going to be able to have any effect on improving the health of someone who was already suffering from cancer, heart disease, macular degeneration, diabetes, macular degeneration, and the like that you would have to truly optimize every aspect of the body’s natural defense systems.  I quickly began to realize that by placing all of my patients on basic cellular nutrition, I was able to create a synergistic effect.  Vitamin E is a great antioxidant within the cell membrane.  Vitamin C is a great antioxidant within the plasma.  Glutathione is the best intracellular antioxidant.  However, all of these antioxidants needed the antioxidant minerals and B cofactors to do their job well.  Also, vitamin C was able to replenish vitamin E so it could be used over and over again.  Alpha lipoic acid, another great antioxidant, was able to regenerate both vitamin E and glutathione.  I found that 1 plus 1 was no longer 2, but instead, 8 or 10. This powerful approach allowed me a much better chance of bringing oxidative stress back under control.

Once my patients were consuming my recommendations of cellular nutrition, I simply began adding enhancers to their nutritional supplement regime.  I began looking for the most potent antioxidants that were available.  Grape seed extract was found to be 50 times more potent than vitamin E and 20 times more potent than vitamin C at handling oxidative stress.  CoQ10 was not only a very important antioxidant but has been found to significantly boost our natural immune system and help provide increased energy for the cell to function at its optimal level.  Other nutrients like glucosamine sulfate, saw palmetto, phytonutrients, additional vitamin E, calcium, magnesium in various illnesses produced amazing results.

Over the past 12 years, I have learned how to best support my patients’ natural defenses and allow them the best chance to take back control of their health.  Again, it is all about balance.  I want my patients who are already suffering from an illness to also bring oxidative stress back under control.  This is my entire goal.  Then and only then do they have a chance to see their health improve.  By combining cellular nutrition with specific enhancers, I give all my patients the best chance of bringing oxidative stress back under control.  The results that I have seen in my medical practice using these principles have been nothing short of amazing and something that I had never witnessed in my first 20 plus years of medical practice.

Now, I want to share a couple of precautions that I have learned along the way.  First, nutritional medicine is not like taking drugs.  It takes a minimum of 6 months to build up the body’s natural defenses and many of my patients did not even begin to see any improvements in their health until after 6 months.  Not everyone responds to my recommendations; however, I feel the majority of my patients have had significant health improvements when they followed these recommendations.  None of my patients were cured of their underlying illness.  Nutritional supplementation is not an alternative or substitute for traditional medical care.  You should never quit taking any medication prescribed by your doctor without his or her consent and direction.  Many of my patients have been able to decrease their dependence of medication and in some cases even discontinue some of their medication.  However, this is always because of a significant positive improvement in their health and under the direction of their personal physician.

 

 

 

 

 

SOURCE…www.raystrand.com

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Nutrition and Diet Trends

Overall diets have changed dramatically over the past century. Food selections, availability and science are constantly evolving, and new trends are emerging for foods that we consume. Some of the current and most prominent diet trends include flexitarian, organic, functional/value, and gluten-free diets. Knowing the facts about these nutrition trends can help you make more informed diet decisions.

The Good, the Bad and What You Need to Know

The Flexitarian Diet

Designed for those who aren’t ready to embrace a full vegetarian diet, the flexitarian diet balances a decreased consumption of meat with more produce. This diet is receiving positive feedback by the nutrition community as it encourages eating more healthful vegetarian foods such as beans, nuts, whole grains, and fresh produce while being flexible in the amount of meat eaten.

The diet plan has three levels:

• Beginner – 2 meatless days a week with 5-6 oz. of meat-based protein consumed on each of the other 5 days

• Advanced – 3 or 4 meatless days a week with 6 oz. of meat-based protein consumed on each of the other 3 days

• Expert – 5 meatless days a week with 9-10 oz. of meat-based protein consumed per week

One of the benefits of this diet is the ease of reducing the consumption of meat while enjoying more produce. It also provides a smooth transition for those who do not care for the taste of protein replacements but want to slowly wean themselves from meat.

Another positive: this diet encourages more complete whole grains as protein complements. New research suggests that people who consume several servings of whole grains per day, while limiting daily intake of refined grains, appear to have less fat tissue thought to trigger cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

One area of concern, however, is that the flexitarian diet may not contain enough complete proteins for growth and maturation or provide enough protein for athletes. If one is not fully committed to the responsibility of obtaining proteins; this diet can cause health complications.

Organic Diets

Influenced by the seasonality and the locality of foods, these diets focus on sustainable consumerism and choosing foods that are good for you as well as for the Earth. Among these foods are organic and raw foods. Often debated, organic foods are not exposed to pesticides and other chemicals thought to be harmful when consumed and bad for the environment. Organic livestock farmers do not use antibiotics or hormones, thought to cause different types of cancer, to prevent disease and spur growth in animals. Raw foods are not prepackaged or cooked, keeping them rich in flavor and nutrients.

Because organic foods can be 50 to 100 percent more expensive, experts encourage consumers to spend their food dollars wisely by carefully choosing between organic and conventional items. Produce and foods that a family eats most often are most important to spend extra on. The Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., recommends choosing organic at least for produce with the highest pesticide residues. These selections include produce with thin or no skin such as apples, pears, peaches, berries, all leafy greens, peppers, celery and potatoes. Raw food sales are on the move. Susan Baker, marketing leader at Whole Foods Market–Greenlife Grocery agrees and notes an emerging trend towards a completely raw foods diet and the nutritional benefits.

Experts all agree that a diet high in fresh foods, including fruits and vegetables, is good for one’s health. However, there is some concern for diets based entirely on raw foods. Andrea N. Giancoli, M.P.H., R.D., a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association in Los Angeles, says in the journalEatingWell, “There’s no doubt that plant-based diets have been linked with a lower risk of obesity and other chronic diseases, but because the raw-foods diet is so restrictive, its followers are at risk for deficiencies of vitamin B12 and omega-3 fatty acids. And the diet isn’t based on science: cooking destroys some nutrients, but it makes others (like the lycopene in tomatoes) more absorbable.”

Functional/Value Diets

According to Cornell University, decreasing consumption volume and placing a focus on eating healthy foods is the cornerstone of the functional or value diet. The consumer is motivated to build a meal plan around foods that offer more than just taste and calories, thus getting more nutrient value from foods. The focus of this diet is on the function of the foods and benefits they provide.

A functional diet might include foods with added bioflavonoid and probiotics such as yogurt and dairy products to regulate intestinal health. This diet often includes exotic fruits (or “superfruits”) such as mangosteen, goji berries, and noni that have a high nutrient and antioxidant content. Research supports that adults can increase their chances of maintaining healthy brain activity by adding certain functional foods and beverages to their diets. For example, dark chocolate provides natural stimulants like caffeine to enhance concentration, and nuts and seeds provide good sources of vitamin E, an antioxidant associated with preventing cognitive decline. Coldwater fatty fish is an excellent functional food as omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are linked to lower dementia and stroke risks; slower mental decline; and are thought to play a vital role in enhancing memory.

No one challenges the benefits of this type of diet other than to advise that foods are balanced across meals.

Gluten-Free Diet

The gluten-free craze is another diet trend that’s becoming hard to ignore. This diet has increased in popularity over the last few years partly as a result of greater awareness and improved diagnosis of celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder triggered by exposure to gluten. Additionally, there has been a mass movement toward gluten-free products by those who have self-diagnosed gluten intolerance, believe a gluten-free diet is a healthier way of eating, or believe that it can help to help reduce weight. Since 2004, the gluten-free market has experienced an average annual growth rate of 28 percent. Today, less than one percent of the population has celiac disease; however, marketers believe that between 15 and 25 percent of consumers want gluten-free products.

The good news is that consumers who are following a gluten-free diet are usually eating less white and processed foods, and more fruits and vegetables. Another positive is that the trend has motivated manufacturers to provide more high-quality, gluten-free foods that the truly intolerant would normally not have access to. In the past, many gluten-free foods have been based on nutrient-poor ingredients, such as potato and corn starches, with xanthan and guar gum to improve texture.

The bad news is that people who have diagnosed themselves as gluten intolerant are missing an exact diagnosis from a doctor and could be incorrectly treating symptoms related to another health issue. Unless carefully managed, gluten-free diets can be deficient in vitamins and minerals. Gluten-free foods can also be very expensive and some can have high values of fat and sugar added by manufacturers to make them more appealing. Dieticians are increasingly advising true gluten intolerant sufferers to follow a naturally gluten-free diet.

Be Informed, Be Balanced

There is one thing on which experts agree: regardless of the diet you choose, eat plenty of produce and maintain a balanced diet. National guidelines recommend eating a variety of fruits and vegetables to take advantage of their diverse nutritional benefits. A balanced diet is important, no matter what trend you may choose to follow.

 

 

 

 

SOURCE…www.healthscopemag.com

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The Truth Behind The Meat Industry

 

Our food system is in dire need of change in order to protect human health, but it’s a system that is difficult to change. It’s not impossible, but it will require more people to change their shopping habits in order to drive up demand, and hence the industry’s resolve to address the shortcomings.

Multi-Faceted Problems Stemming from Industrial Farming Practices

Industrial-scale farming has wide-ranging problems. Typically, the focus is on deteriorating food quality and safety. Certainly, the factory farm model directly contributes to Americans’ increasing reliance on processed junk foods the very same foods that are making us obese and riddled with chronic disease.Emerging diseases in livestock, wildlife, and humans are also traceable to industrial farming practices. This includes antibiotic-resistant diseases, mad cow disease in cows, and chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer and elk.

Infectious proteins causing mad cow and CWD have also been implicated in Alzheimer’s disease in humans—the only differentiating factor being the time it takes for symptoms and death to occur.According to one estimate, up to 13 percent of all Alzheimer’s victims may actually have mad cow infection , acquired from eating contaminated CAFO meat.The USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) also attribute nearly 133,000 illnesses each year to contaminated chicken parts. The agency has set a goal to reduce illness by 34 percent.

As for salmonellosis cases, the USDA estimates contaminated chicken and turkey cause about 200,000 illnesses a year. FSIS’ goal is to reduce that number by at least 25 percent by 2020. Factory farmed chicken is by far the greatest culprit when it comes to food poisoning.Beef is also frequently tainted, and a USDA rule requiring labeling of mechanically tenderized beef has been under consideration for six years already, for the fact that the procedure compresses pathogens from the surface down into the meat, where it can more easily thrive and survive cooking. Mechanically tenderized beef has been blamed for at least five E.Coli outbreaks between 2003 and 2009.

But like a multi-headed hydra, the adverse effects of industrial farming sprout in many other directions as well. For example, large-scale factory farming is also responsible for:

  • Loss of water quality through nitrogen and phosphorus contamination in rivers, streams, and ground water (which contributes to “dramatic shifts in aquatic ecosystems and hypoxic zones”)
  • Agricultural pesticides also contaminate streams, ground water, and wells, raising safety concerns to agricultural workers who use them
  • A decline in nutrient density of 43 garden crops (primarily vegetables), which suggests possible tradeoffs between yield and nutrient content
  • Large emission of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide
  • Negative impact on soil quality through such factors as erosion, compaction, pesticide application, and excessive fertilization

Industrial Farming Is Destroying Food Quality

“How do you alert people to the problems of industrial-scale farming?” a recent article in National Geographic asks.

“The issues are urgent, but they are also difficult to confront: The indifference to animal welfare, the strip-mining of poor countries’ resources to feed the rich, the environmental damage and antibiotic overuse can be so hard to face that many people just turn away.”

Philip Lymbery, an animal-welfare activist and author of the book Farmageddon: The True Cost of Cheap Meat, notes that one of the techniques used to perpetuate factory farming is secrecy. For example, in Europe, eggs from caged hens are marked “battery eggs,” whereas in the US, those same eggs are labeled as “farm fresh” or “country fresh.”

If you don’t know there’s a problem, you won’t root for change, and that is exactly why the food industry is fighting tooth and nail to prevent labeling of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the US, as well as legislation that would prevent them from fraudulently labeling GMOs as “Natural.”It is imperative for the food and chemical technology industries that currently monopolize agriculture to keep you in the dark about how your food is produced.

They’ve even lobbied for gag laws that make it a felony to video tape animal cruelty or other heinous activities occurring on factory farms, lest sympathy start upsetting the proverbial apple cart… When asked if he’s opposed to animal farming for food altogether, Lymbery replies:

“This is not, in any way, a call to vegetarianism. This is a call to put animals back on the farm. Pasture is one of the most ubiquitous habitats on the planet, covering 25 percent of the ice-free land surface.

This is about using that ubiquitous habitat to produce great food in a way which is environmentally friendly and kinder to animals, leaving much-scarcer arable to grow crops directly for people…Three times a day, through our meal choices, we have an opportunity to change our lives and thereby help change the world.

It’s as simple as buying free-range eggs, pasture-raised beef and chicken, and looking for milk that has come from cows that have been able to graze… We’ll start to support family farms, will help to support a better environment, and will help to feed the world in a more humane and efficient way.”

The US Meat Racket

Most all conventional meat and poultry (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, etc.) is raised in CAFO’S It’s a corporate-controlled system characterized by large-scale, centralized, low profit-margin production, processing, and distribution systems.This is the cheapest way to raise meat, for the largest profits. But the ultimate price is high, as there’s a complete disregard for human health, the environment, and ethical treatment of animals and plant workers alike.

A series of recent articles, listed on NewAmerica.org delve into the various aspects of the monopoly that is America’s meat market. In one, titled “The Meat Racket,” Christopher Leonard reveals how the US meat industry has been seized by a mere handful of companies, and how this tightly controlled monopoly drives small livestock farmers out of business.Other articles detail the drugs used in CAFO farming, and the risks this drug based farming poses to human health. One side effect is the creation of  antibiotic -resistant superbugs , which I’ve addressed on numerous occasions.

Martha Rosenberg also recently highlighted a USDA Inspector General Report,which revealed that beef sold to the public have been found to be contaminated with a staggering 211 different drug residues, as well as heavy metals.

Hazardous growth-promoting drugs like Zilmax and Ractopamine are also routinely used in American CAFOs, and as much as 20 percent of the drug administered may remain in the meat you buy. Their use is disturbing when you consider that side effects in cattle include brain lesions, lameness, heart failure, and sudden death. Salon Magazine also recently ran an article on the subject of factory farming, penned by Lindsay Abrams, in which she discusses journalist Ted Genoways’ new book,The Chain—an expose of the American pork industry. She writes in part:

“What journalist Christopher Leonard recently did for Tyson and the chicken industry, Genoways… does for pork, recounting the history of Hormel Foods… as it evolved from humble beginnings to an industrial giant with a nearly myopic focus on expansion and acceleration, regardless of the costs.

And boy, are there costs… a mysterious neurological disorder linked to a machine that has workers breathing in a fine mist of pork brains… abuse suffered by the animals on whom workers’ frustrations are instead taken out; and a decline in food safety that, unbelievably, is set to become the new industry standard.”

Genoways book reveals how societal issues “fan out in all directions,” as he puts it, from the way our pork is produced. Sure, there are many disturbing safety issues, but it doesn’t end there. According to Genoways, another hidden issue is that many of the health hazards that affect plant workers affect already exploited immigrant workers to a disproportionate degree.

Agricultural Subsidies Fleece America