Warning Readers! The following is a rant--I am not a big fan of rants, because I think they are a stylistic cliche, but I am so shocked that my blog, which I consider to be relatively "non-technical" sometimes has more depth and often sites more references than the posts on the Mayo Clinic blog. I am not even a health professional! (I'm a writer and interpreter of holistic health trends.)
Say it isn't so! A freelance writer friend of mine suggested that if I ever wanted to become a freelancer and sell articles, I would have to make one major change to my writing--dumb it down to a sixth grade level! He said that, unfortunately, freelance writing that is geared to the general public and hence needs to be dumbed down. I guess that explains the Mayo Clinic's "Expert Blog."
I was reading the Mayo Clinic "Expert Blog" today, and most of the articles are brief summaries of general Western medicine ideas--with no research done on the part of the Mayo Clinic! Their posts are written by Doctors, and an article on raw milk sites a reference as "fans of raw milk."
The Mayo Clinic raw milk blog reads, "Fans of raw milk assert that it tastes sweeter and fresher. They also claim that it fights allergies, digestive problems, eczema, autism, arthritis and learning disabilities, and boosts immunity — properties that they say are removed by pasteurization. The FDA and other public health officials, however, point out that these claims aren't supported by research." Actually, there is research that supports these health claims about the benefits of raw milk, which I will include in a future post.
The same authors wrote another about soup--Thinking Outside the Can. They mentioned the health concerns about sodium in canned soup, but never even mentioned that MSG is in most canned soups, and that MSG, by law, doesn't have to be listed as an ingredient. MSG may be listed as a "natural flavoring," or many other innocuous terms other than MSG. As I talked about in an earlier post, I was tested for food sensitivities, and I am sensitive to MSG, and should not eat it. I am really disappointed that an intuition as prestigious as the Mayo Clinic wouldn't even mention the prevalence of MSG in canned soup in an article about soup.
Yikes! This is Mayo Clinic! I want to hear results from THEIR OWN research on raw milk! But apparently they haven't done any! A quick, shallow summary is all there was from of the leading medical pioneers in the world! (By the way, I don't drink raw milk, because of the rare cases of contamination, but I am glad to have access to all the information about it, as non-raw milk coalitions lobby against small farmers for financial reasons because larger companies are not equipped to produce raw milk.)
The Mayo Clinic blog on raw milk sites resources such as "FDA and "other public health officials" without tackling the subject of politics at the FDA that prevent unbiased findings. (I will do a future post on mercury amalgam--the FDA head of this amalgam study was a former high level employee of the amalgam industry!!!)
These are Doctors affiliated with the Mayo Clinic, and the article is simpler than something I could have watched on Dr. Oz! Actually Dr. Oz seems to be a little more progressive than the "Expert Blog" from the Mayo Clinic.
A Votre Sante (Here's to Your Health), Alix
Monday, October 31, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
The "No-Diet" Diet (Paul Chek on Metabolic Typing)
I was a bit disenchanted when I read an article on the Dr. Oz website today about losing weight. The article talked about eating low fat foods, as well as low fat dairy, and avoiding refined carbohydrates depending on which area of the body carries the weight. This article did not mention reducing sugars, including sugar from fruit. Mercola recommends eating under 25 grams of fructose a day. It also did not mention that many people have a food sensitivity to pasteurized milk or mention the alternatives of raw dairy.
A different kind of "diet," Metabolic Typing, makes a lot more sense to me, in fact I currently eat according to my metabolic type. The title of this post, The "No-Diet" Diet, is the title from chapter 3 of Paul Chek's book How to Eat, Move and be Healthy. As I am the Facility Coordinator of a holistic gym in Chicago that employs Paul Chek trainers, I am going to do a series of posts summarizing information from his book, and talking about my experience with it.
By the way, I am not personally affiliated in any way with Paul Chek, and I do not get any type of monetary "kickback" for mentioning his name. I am not a Chek Trainer or Practitioner, and I am in no way financially linked with Paul Chek's organization. I'm merely sharing my experience, as I am currently being helped by a Chek Practitioner. Also, as you may notice, many of my other posts are based on varying sources.
As you might remember from earlier blogs, Kristie Yaakoby, Chek Trainer and Functional Nutritionist is helping me with "clean," organic eating to alleviate the exhaustion and imbalance from Adrenal Fatigue and Estrogen Dominance. I am on this eating plan for my health, but it also helps many people lose weight.
Metabolic typing is a way of eating that is based on the studies of Dr. Weston Price, who investigated indigenous groups of people. Some groups ate high protein, high fat diets. Others ate a mostly plant based diet. All of these groups ate primarily organic, whole foods. When Eskimos began to eat a modern western diet of processed and pasteurized milk, their sickness and death rates began to rise markedly. All of these indigenous diets were at least four times as nutrient rich as the modern diet.
The idea is that, depending on what food was available in that climate zone, each group physically adapted over many generations to that type of that diet--plant or protein based. If I recall correctly, I remember reading an article by Paul Chek online that talked about our varying lengths of intestines, depending on ethnicity. This influences digestion and what foods a person metabolizes well and therefore what foods people need to eat.
For example, people from polar regions need more protein and fat, because of many generations adapting to eating a lot of fish. People with ancestry form the Equator benefit more from plant-based diets, because many generations adapted to an environment with more plant sources of food and less meat sources. All cultures studies did have some meat in their diet.
You don't have to know your ancestry to understand what metabolic type you have. Just ask yourself how you feel when you eat certain types of foods: Do you feel better after a meal of mostly protein and fat or a meal of mostly carbs, or a mixed meal? You can take a free test at www.ppssuccess.com. This is the site for Paul Chek's Mastery Center, and you can click on Food for Thought, and then click on What is the Primal Pattern (this is the metabolic typing test). If you google metabolic typing test, there are several on the internet, although taking this test from a holistic health practitioner is best.
Until I started eating for my type (protein type), I was hungry all the time, I could not get full, and meals weren't satisfying. In fact, in the past when I was a vegetarian, I lost so much weight and could not gain it back, I eventually had to reintroduce meat. By the way, when I was younger and wanted to loose weight, I tried the low-fat diet, which didn't work. I function at my best when I eat a protein type diet:
Protein Type: 45% protein, 20% Fats/Oils, 35% Carbohydrates (from vegetables not refined carbs--also, Chek practitioners recommend that all types avoid gluten--many people who are overweight, loose weight immediately when they do this.
Carbohydrate Type: 70% Carbohydrates, 20% Protein, 10% Oils/Fats (Avoid fatty meats and fatty dairy--this type may do well eating only 2 meals a day. Focus on eating light meals.)
Mixed Type: 40% Protein, 50% Carbs, 10% Oils/Fats
These ratios must be balanced accurately--if I don't eat all three food groups in the correct ratio, I still end up being hungry all the time--eg, skipping the carbs (even though I'm a protein type.) By the way, I often eat butter and fatty meats, and I am slender, because I am a protein type. I really need to avoid sugar--this kind of carb overload totally gets my body out of whack, and I become light headed and tired.
It is my personal view that "white sugar" is poison, and I will rarely eat things like junky-birthday- cake-icing when I am at a birthday party, and as soon as I reduced my sugar intake to below 25 grams a day, I immediately stopped craving it.
This is a very simplified, brief summary of Metabolic Typing from How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy. Hopefully, if you have read this far, you might consider buying the book, which is much more detailed and really well researched. Chek'swww.eatmoveandbehealthy.com, www.chekinstitute.com and www.paulcheksblog.com.
Knowing what I know now, having read the book, and being helped by Kristie Yaakoby (www.balancemethods.com), I will never go back to eating an "Average American Diet"--now I cringe when I think of that phrase. Before I was diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue, I thought I was impervious to any negative influence that an "above average diet" might have (by this is mean eating some organic foods, some processed foods, and sugar whenever I wanted becasue I was not overweight.) But unfortunately, the more I educate myself about whole, organic foods, the more I realize, "above average" is absolutely not going to cut it.
By the way, Dr. Oz had another article on his website about the "Prehistoric Diet." It said people only need 10% of their calories from meat. Apparently he is either not familiar with or doesn't adhere to metabolic typing, which has helped me immensely. Dr. Oz's "Prehistoric Diet" also included a smoothie recipe with a lot of fruit, and hence a whole lot of sugar from fruit. I look forward to the time when mainstream practitioners are educating people about the issue of too much sugar, regardless of the source. He also recommends soy milk, which acts as a xenoestrogen--some studies link it to breast cancer, "man boobs," and hermaphrodite babies. I'll do a post on soy milk later, but it is fermented soy that is recommended, while advertisers push people to guzzle soy milk.
After learning from Paul Chek's book and from holistic health practitioners, I'm really "underwhelmed" by Dr. Oz's show, and I rarely see anything helpful on it.
A Votre Sante (Here's to Your Health), Alix
A different kind of "diet," Metabolic Typing, makes a lot more sense to me, in fact I currently eat according to my metabolic type. The title of this post, The "No-Diet" Diet, is the title from chapter 3 of Paul Chek's book How to Eat, Move and be Healthy. As I am the Facility Coordinator of a holistic gym in Chicago that employs Paul Chek trainers, I am going to do a series of posts summarizing information from his book, and talking about my experience with it.
By the way, I am not personally affiliated in any way with Paul Chek, and I do not get any type of monetary "kickback" for mentioning his name. I am not a Chek Trainer or Practitioner, and I am in no way financially linked with Paul Chek's organization. I'm merely sharing my experience, as I am currently being helped by a Chek Practitioner. Also, as you may notice, many of my other posts are based on varying sources.
As you might remember from earlier blogs, Kristie Yaakoby, Chek Trainer and Functional Nutritionist is helping me with "clean," organic eating to alleviate the exhaustion and imbalance from Adrenal Fatigue and Estrogen Dominance. I am on this eating plan for my health, but it also helps many people lose weight.
Metabolic typing is a way of eating that is based on the studies of Dr. Weston Price, who investigated indigenous groups of people. Some groups ate high protein, high fat diets. Others ate a mostly plant based diet. All of these groups ate primarily organic, whole foods. When Eskimos began to eat a modern western diet of processed and pasteurized milk, their sickness and death rates began to rise markedly. All of these indigenous diets were at least four times as nutrient rich as the modern diet.
The idea is that, depending on what food was available in that climate zone, each group physically adapted over many generations to that type of that diet--plant or protein based. If I recall correctly, I remember reading an article by Paul Chek online that talked about our varying lengths of intestines, depending on ethnicity. This influences digestion and what foods a person metabolizes well and therefore what foods people need to eat.
For example, people from polar regions need more protein and fat, because of many generations adapting to eating a lot of fish. People with ancestry form the Equator benefit more from plant-based diets, because many generations adapted to an environment with more plant sources of food and less meat sources. All cultures studies did have some meat in their diet.
You don't have to know your ancestry to understand what metabolic type you have. Just ask yourself how you feel when you eat certain types of foods: Do you feel better after a meal of mostly protein and fat or a meal of mostly carbs, or a mixed meal? You can take a free test at www.ppssuccess.com. This is the site for Paul Chek's Mastery Center, and you can click on Food for Thought, and then click on What is the Primal Pattern (this is the metabolic typing test). If you google metabolic typing test, there are several on the internet, although taking this test from a holistic health practitioner is best.
Until I started eating for my type (protein type), I was hungry all the time, I could not get full, and meals weren't satisfying. In fact, in the past when I was a vegetarian, I lost so much weight and could not gain it back, I eventually had to reintroduce meat. By the way, when I was younger and wanted to loose weight, I tried the low-fat diet, which didn't work. I function at my best when I eat a protein type diet:
Protein Type: 45% protein, 20% Fats/Oils, 35% Carbohydrates (from vegetables not refined carbs--also, Chek practitioners recommend that all types avoid gluten--many people who are overweight, loose weight immediately when they do this.
Carbohydrate Type: 70% Carbohydrates, 20% Protein, 10% Oils/Fats (Avoid fatty meats and fatty dairy--this type may do well eating only 2 meals a day. Focus on eating light meals.)
Mixed Type: 40% Protein, 50% Carbs, 10% Oils/Fats
These ratios must be balanced accurately--if I don't eat all three food groups in the correct ratio, I still end up being hungry all the time--eg, skipping the carbs (even though I'm a protein type.) By the way, I often eat butter and fatty meats, and I am slender, because I am a protein type. I really need to avoid sugar--this kind of carb overload totally gets my body out of whack, and I become light headed and tired.
It is my personal view that "white sugar" is poison, and I will rarely eat things like junky-birthday- cake-icing when I am at a birthday party, and as soon as I reduced my sugar intake to below 25 grams a day, I immediately stopped craving it.
This is a very simplified, brief summary of Metabolic Typing from How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy. Hopefully, if you have read this far, you might consider buying the book, which is much more detailed and really well researched. Chek'swww.eatmoveandbehealthy.com, www.chekinstitute.com and www.paulcheksblog.com.
Knowing what I know now, having read the book, and being helped by Kristie Yaakoby (www.balancemethods.com), I will never go back to eating an "Average American Diet"--now I cringe when I think of that phrase. Before I was diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue, I thought I was impervious to any negative influence that an "above average diet" might have (by this is mean eating some organic foods, some processed foods, and sugar whenever I wanted becasue I was not overweight.) But unfortunately, the more I educate myself about whole, organic foods, the more I realize, "above average" is absolutely not going to cut it.
By the way, Dr. Oz had another article on his website about the "Prehistoric Diet." It said people only need 10% of their calories from meat. Apparently he is either not familiar with or doesn't adhere to metabolic typing, which has helped me immensely. Dr. Oz's "Prehistoric Diet" also included a smoothie recipe with a lot of fruit, and hence a whole lot of sugar from fruit. I look forward to the time when mainstream practitioners are educating people about the issue of too much sugar, regardless of the source. He also recommends soy milk, which acts as a xenoestrogen--some studies link it to breast cancer, "man boobs," and hermaphrodite babies. I'll do a post on soy milk later, but it is fermented soy that is recommended, while advertisers push people to guzzle soy milk.
After learning from Paul Chek's book and from holistic health practitioners, I'm really "underwhelmed" by Dr. Oz's show, and I rarely see anything helpful on it.
A Votre Sante (Here's to Your Health), Alix
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Oh no, not Burt's Bees! Topical toxins
I read the ingredients on my Brut's Bees lip gloss, and they include titanium dioxide and rosemary. I wrote about titanium dioxide as an ingredient to avoid in the post on vitamins. Most people don't know that rosemary is a topical xenoestrogen (foreign estrogen), as well as sage, pomegranate, lavender, and tea tree oil.
There is a great video about xenoestrogens at www.womhoo.com. Dr. Eckhart explains xenoestrogens (foreign estrogens or chemicals that mimic estrogen) very well, and he sites study after study showing their effects. I've written a lot about estrogen dominance, but this post really explains why avoiding chemicals topically is a good idea. Topical chemicals come from laundry detergents, shampoos, lotions, soaps, dryer sheets, and topical products including sage, rosemary, lavender and tea tree oil. Lavender and tea tree oil were put in test tubes with cancer cells, and they increased cell growth of breast cancer.
Absorption of topical ingredients is ten times that of those that are ingested. This is extremely important to people who have estrogen dominant related conditions such as endometriosis, major p.m.s., mood swings, or have been diagnosed as estrogen dominant or with breast cancer. According to Eckhart, people who are sensitive to xenoestrogens usually are bothered by smells (they can get headaches from perfume) and are sensitive to caffeine, which indicates that the body doesn't excrete chemicals well. Therefore, the body will not excrete foreign estrogens well, either. Those who are sensitive will be affected by chemicals in parts per billion.
Women sensitive to xenoestrogens have reported bloating from mascara and breast tenderness from shampoo. Unfortunately, I am one of these people sensitive to smell and chemicals. I use some products with chemicals (makeup and salon quality shampoo), but not regular soap, laundry detergent, perfume, lotion, and I certainly do not use lavender oil, because that was actually causing me to bloat.
Other conditions linked to estrogen dominance and xenoestrogens are fibroids, early puberty, and "man-boobs"--even in boys. Chemicals coming from pesticides, herbicides, birth control pills, pharmaceuticals and detergents are inundating the waterways. All major waterways in the U.S. have hermaphrodite fish, and some waterways have no male fish at all because of the chemicals coming from the sewage system (via our homes and industrial sources.) A government organization, the U.S. Geological Survey is a study in 2009 showing that 42% of the male bass in the Potomac produce eggs.
Stress also plays a major factor in hormonal imbalance as well. Chronic stress causes a cascade of maladaptive hormonal responses that lead to estrogen imbalance, according to Eckhart.
Dr. Elizabeth Smith talks about the dangers of chemicals/xenoestrogens at www.nobreastcyst.com. Here she recommends avoiding BPAs in plastic and cans, parabens, sunscreen, baby lotions.
Smith also suggests avoiding caffeine. Eckhart explains that premenstrual chocolate cravings are indicative of magnesium deficiency, and taking magnesium supplements will eliminate chocolate cravings, since chocolate contains magnesium. He says chocolate should be avoided, because it contains a chemical that is a xenoestrogen.
Well, I don't think I can avoid chocolate, but xenoestrogens are definitely a problem for me, so I am gradually going to replace my makeup with natural cosmetics. Currently, I don't use laundry detergent with any chemicals or lavander/tea tree oil. I really had to look carefully at the labels at Whole Foods, because many of their cleaning products are not free of xenoestrogens--including natural ones like rosemary and sage.
Coconut oil was recommended to me for my face by Elizabeth Wallish (www.DaretoCareNow.com). Cured sesame oil is used in Ayruvedic health (heat the oil with several drops of oil, when the water pops, the oil is cured.) But I am attached to a certain kind of shampoo with chemicals, this brand now offers paraben-free shampoo, but I should probably go to natural shampoo.
A Votre Sante, (Here's to Your Health), Alix
There is a great video about xenoestrogens at www.womhoo.com. Dr. Eckhart explains xenoestrogens (foreign estrogens or chemicals that mimic estrogen) very well, and he sites study after study showing their effects. I've written a lot about estrogen dominance, but this post really explains why avoiding chemicals topically is a good idea. Topical chemicals come from laundry detergents, shampoos, lotions, soaps, dryer sheets, and topical products including sage, rosemary, lavender and tea tree oil. Lavender and tea tree oil were put in test tubes with cancer cells, and they increased cell growth of breast cancer.
Absorption of topical ingredients is ten times that of those that are ingested. This is extremely important to people who have estrogen dominant related conditions such as endometriosis, major p.m.s., mood swings, or have been diagnosed as estrogen dominant or with breast cancer. According to Eckhart, people who are sensitive to xenoestrogens usually are bothered by smells (they can get headaches from perfume) and are sensitive to caffeine, which indicates that the body doesn't excrete chemicals well. Therefore, the body will not excrete foreign estrogens well, either. Those who are sensitive will be affected by chemicals in parts per billion.
Women sensitive to xenoestrogens have reported bloating from mascara and breast tenderness from shampoo. Unfortunately, I am one of these people sensitive to smell and chemicals. I use some products with chemicals (makeup and salon quality shampoo), but not regular soap, laundry detergent, perfume, lotion, and I certainly do not use lavender oil, because that was actually causing me to bloat.
Other conditions linked to estrogen dominance and xenoestrogens are fibroids, early puberty, and "man-boobs"--even in boys. Chemicals coming from pesticides, herbicides, birth control pills, pharmaceuticals and detergents are inundating the waterways. All major waterways in the U.S. have hermaphrodite fish, and some waterways have no male fish at all because of the chemicals coming from the sewage system (via our homes and industrial sources.) A government organization, the U.S. Geological Survey is a study in 2009 showing that 42% of the male bass in the Potomac produce eggs.
Stress also plays a major factor in hormonal imbalance as well. Chronic stress causes a cascade of maladaptive hormonal responses that lead to estrogen imbalance, according to Eckhart.
Dr. Elizabeth Smith talks about the dangers of chemicals/xenoestrogens at www.nobreastcyst.com. Here she recommends avoiding BPAs in plastic and cans, parabens, sunscreen, baby lotions.
Smith also suggests avoiding caffeine. Eckhart explains that premenstrual chocolate cravings are indicative of magnesium deficiency, and taking magnesium supplements will eliminate chocolate cravings, since chocolate contains magnesium. He says chocolate should be avoided, because it contains a chemical that is a xenoestrogen.
Well, I don't think I can avoid chocolate, but xenoestrogens are definitely a problem for me, so I am gradually going to replace my makeup with natural cosmetics. Currently, I don't use laundry detergent with any chemicals or lavander/tea tree oil. I really had to look carefully at the labels at Whole Foods, because many of their cleaning products are not free of xenoestrogens--including natural ones like rosemary and sage.
Coconut oil was recommended to me for my face by Elizabeth Wallish (www.DaretoCareNow.com). Cured sesame oil is used in Ayruvedic health (heat the oil with several drops of oil, when the water pops, the oil is cured.) But I am attached to a certain kind of shampoo with chemicals, this brand now offers paraben-free shampoo, but I should probably go to natural shampoo.
A Votre Sante, (Here's to Your Health), Alix
Vitamin Research Newsletter: More on Estrogen Dominance
I receive the Vitamin Research Newsletter in the mail free, and there is also a link to this newsletter at www.vrp.com. This is a great resource, and the information is very research oriented. Just go to the link--the newsletter is under the heading "Research Center."
The first article today on the VRP website is about Women's Hormonal Health (Estrogen Dominance.) This piece echos everything my Functional Nutritionist, Kristie Yaakoby, has told me about my own condition of hormonal imbalance.
A "pregnenolone steal" happens when cholesterol is converted to pregnenolone (the mother hormone), which is converted to progesterone, which is then converted to cortisol. In other words, under stress, cortisol is "gobbling up pregnenolone like crazy" through a domino effect. [my simplification]
This inevitably results in very low progesterone (since the cortisol is "gobbling up progesterone" as well) and results an imbalance called estrogen dominance where estrogen is much higher than the progesterone. This can cause fatigue, mood swings, abnormal menstrual cycles, and even reduced libido. Not everyone experiences all of these, and my symptoms are mainly of fatigue. (I also have Adreanal Fatigue--becasue my cortisol levels are imbalanced due to the "pregnenolone steal.")
The progesterone (the mother hormone), under normal circumstances, will produce DHEA, which in turn, produces sex the hormones testosterone, estradiol, or hormones that break down estrogen, such as estrone and estriol. Therefore, when pregnenolone is "stolen" to make extra cortisol, there isn't enough DHEA being produced, which leads to more hormonal imbalance. These imbalance can lead to low melatonin levels, which can affect sleep also.
Hence I take bio identical hormones, which are natural and non-cancer causing--pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA. I currently take 10 drops of pregnenolone 3x daily, 3 drops of DHEA, and progesterone for part of the month. These have improved my energy level, and I will be retested using a saliva test in a few months to measure my progress.
As you know, in this blog, I share my experience and site studies, but I am not publishing a scientific journal as this is not "reference-heavy" forum. The Vitamin Research article on Women's Hormone's sites twenty three references and they are a great reference that is science-based if one is more interested in obtaining specific studies that back up a variety of general holistic health philosophies.
There is a really great video on estrogen dominance at the www.womhoo.com. Go to the site and look at the bottom left corner for videos. I will talk a little about their xenoestrogen video in my next post. This is a site that sells natural progesterone cream, which I don't use (I use drops), but Dr. Eckhart does a great job explaining estrogen dominance in these videos.
I do site references often but assume that if the reader wants technical detail, that the links in this blog will be helpful for locating specific references on the topics I cover. Overall, the concepts in this blog are considered to be general knowledge in the holistic health field, so I am referencing general information and posting links that are more heavy on research.
A Votre Sante, (Here's to Your Health), Alix
The first article today on the VRP website is about Women's Hormonal Health (Estrogen Dominance.) This piece echos everything my Functional Nutritionist, Kristie Yaakoby, has told me about my own condition of hormonal imbalance.
A "pregnenolone steal" happens when cholesterol is converted to pregnenolone (the mother hormone), which is converted to progesterone, which is then converted to cortisol. In other words, under stress, cortisol is "gobbling up pregnenolone like crazy" through a domino effect. [my simplification]
This inevitably results in very low progesterone (since the cortisol is "gobbling up progesterone" as well) and results an imbalance called estrogen dominance where estrogen is much higher than the progesterone. This can cause fatigue, mood swings, abnormal menstrual cycles, and even reduced libido. Not everyone experiences all of these, and my symptoms are mainly of fatigue. (I also have Adreanal Fatigue--becasue my cortisol levels are imbalanced due to the "pregnenolone steal.")
The progesterone (the mother hormone), under normal circumstances, will produce DHEA, which in turn, produces sex the hormones testosterone, estradiol, or hormones that break down estrogen, such as estrone and estriol. Therefore, when pregnenolone is "stolen" to make extra cortisol, there isn't enough DHEA being produced, which leads to more hormonal imbalance. These imbalance can lead to low melatonin levels, which can affect sleep also.
Hence I take bio identical hormones, which are natural and non-cancer causing--pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA. I currently take 10 drops of pregnenolone 3x daily, 3 drops of DHEA, and progesterone for part of the month. These have improved my energy level, and I will be retested using a saliva test in a few months to measure my progress.
As you know, in this blog, I share my experience and site studies, but I am not publishing a scientific journal as this is not "reference-heavy" forum. The Vitamin Research article on Women's Hormone's sites twenty three references and they are a great reference that is science-based if one is more interested in obtaining specific studies that back up a variety of general holistic health philosophies.
There is a really great video on estrogen dominance at the www.womhoo.com. Go to the site and look at the bottom left corner for videos. I will talk a little about their xenoestrogen video in my next post. This is a site that sells natural progesterone cream, which I don't use (I use drops), but Dr. Eckhart does a great job explaining estrogen dominance in these videos.
I do site references often but assume that if the reader wants technical detail, that the links in this blog will be helpful for locating specific references on the topics I cover. Overall, the concepts in this blog are considered to be general knowledge in the holistic health field, so I am referencing general information and posting links that are more heavy on research.
A Votre Sante, (Here's to Your Health), Alix
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Monsanto, lies and coverup? Readers, what do you think???
I usually don't summarize articles in this forum, but I do so today, ending the summary with some questions for the reader. Mercola recently published a couple posts about Monsanto, and I will summarize one of them here. (More info on this topic can be gained via the search bar at his website, Mercola.com.) I am not as focused on expose as Mercola is--I just try to avoid unhealthy food, and farm fresh food tastes better. I think Mercola's voice is really important, even if he may be a bit "overly-entrepreneurial" at times on his site.
This blog is for the readers--the most important part of this blog are your comments at the end...(otherwise you could go to Mercola and just read his posts.) I invite all comments including opposing views.
Mercola states, "When it comes to products with the potential to devastate the planet, Monsanto takes the cake. This company has single-handedly created some of the most destructive products know to man, including polychlorinated biphenyls, knows as PCBs, and dioxin (Agent Orange). They are also the world leader in genetically modified (GM) seeds--and if we don't take action soon, the entire planet could soon become contaminated with these toxic seeds, leading to the complete destruction of the natural food supply...Monsanto insists that GM foods are no different from conventionally grown varieties, but the research does NOT support this claim. Here is just a sampling of the unsavory findings associated with GM foods."
He goes on to list research findings of GMOs being linked to "lung damage in mice, cancer in rats, bacteria in the gut taking up DNA from GM food, significant organ disruptions in rats and mice, specifically the kidney, liver, heart and spleen, a wide variety of immune responses in mice, commonly associated with diseases such as arthritis, Lou Gehrig's disease, osteoporosis, and inflammatory bowel disease...offspring of rats fed GM soy showed a fivefold increase in mortality, lower birth weights, and the inability to reproduce, male mice fed GM soy had damaged young sperm cells, the embryo offspring of GM soy-fed mice had altered DNA functioning, several US farmers reported sterility or fertility problems among pigs and cows fed on GM corn varieties, and investigators in India have documented fertility problems, abortions, premature births, and other serious health issues, including deaths, among buffaloes fed GM cottonseed products."
"First came Agent Orange and PCBs, and now we have glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's nonselective broad-spectrum herbicide roundup." These lead to superweeds that can choke out crops and poison soil, water and possibly kill plants and wildlife. "Monsanto's own tests showed that only two percent of the herbicide broke down after 28 days, which means it readily persists in the environment! This chemical is now showing up in air and rain samples across the United States." Glyphosate is linked to 40 different crop diseases, and the EPA is now seriously looking into the damage it does to humans.
Monsanto now produces seeds that self-destruct, and of they contaminate other crops, the seed sterility could be passed along. "If allowed to continue, every farmer in the world could come to rely on Monsanto for their seed supply!"
Mercola continues to write about "Monsanto's History of Deception and Drive for Power...suing small farmers...secretly discharging PCB-laden toxic waste into an Alabama creek, and dumping millions of pounds of PCBs into open-pit landfills for decades after the PCBs were banned in the US for being a possible carcinogen, being found guilty of bribery to bypass Indonesian law requiring an environmental assessment review for genetically engineered cotton...In 2007, the South African Advertising Standards Authority also found Monsanto guilty of lying when advertising that no negative reactions of Genetically Modified food have been reported. According to one EPA scientist, Monsanto doctored studies and covered-up dioxin contamination of a wide range of it's products. She concluded that the company's behavior constituted "a long pattern of fraud."
This was a pretty dry summary, but I think relevant. I am curious about what people think about GMs and Mercola's accusations against Monsanto. What makes some people continue to buy GM foods? Do they just not have access to this type of information? Or maybe they disagree with the view that GMs are unhealthy? Are many people too busy with life to have to worry about the hassle and cost of organic shopping? Or have they been totally free of health issues and just don't see a need to avoid GMs? This particular post is really dedicated to the readers, and I look forward to hearing the comments... be as honest as you want; I may use some of your comments to spark more story ideas for this blog.
My answer to the above questions is that I didn't start eating all organic until a year ago when I was diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue. Until then, I thought I was totally healthy and that "small amounts of toxins found in food and water didn't affect me." As I have begun consulting holistic health practitioners, associating with holistic health professionals at the holistic gym where I work, and doing research, I have come to be more specific about choosing foods that I eat, opting for organic rather than going for conventional foods. And yes, in the past, I would eat some organic foods, but not all organic because of the cost. In the past, I also didn't know much about GMOs. I had a vague understanding that GMOs were "undesirable," but was pretty busy with my life and didn't think about them much. (Regarding Monsanto, I am from St. Louis, it's headquarters, and have read and heard a couple rumors about shady stuff going on there, so I never really take Monsanto's word on anything at face value without scrutiny--especially since, for years, they said Roundup was harmless....)
A Votre Sante (Here's to Your Health), Alix
This blog is for the readers--the most important part of this blog are your comments at the end...(otherwise you could go to Mercola and just read his posts.) I invite all comments including opposing views.
Mercola states, "When it comes to products with the potential to devastate the planet, Monsanto takes the cake. This company has single-handedly created some of the most destructive products know to man, including polychlorinated biphenyls, knows as PCBs, and dioxin (Agent Orange). They are also the world leader in genetically modified (GM) seeds--and if we don't take action soon, the entire planet could soon become contaminated with these toxic seeds, leading to the complete destruction of the natural food supply...Monsanto insists that GM foods are no different from conventionally grown varieties, but the research does NOT support this claim. Here is just a sampling of the unsavory findings associated with GM foods."
He goes on to list research findings of GMOs being linked to "lung damage in mice, cancer in rats, bacteria in the gut taking up DNA from GM food, significant organ disruptions in rats and mice, specifically the kidney, liver, heart and spleen, a wide variety of immune responses in mice, commonly associated with diseases such as arthritis, Lou Gehrig's disease, osteoporosis, and inflammatory bowel disease...offspring of rats fed GM soy showed a fivefold increase in mortality, lower birth weights, and the inability to reproduce, male mice fed GM soy had damaged young sperm cells, the embryo offspring of GM soy-fed mice had altered DNA functioning, several US farmers reported sterility or fertility problems among pigs and cows fed on GM corn varieties, and investigators in India have documented fertility problems, abortions, premature births, and other serious health issues, including deaths, among buffaloes fed GM cottonseed products."
"First came Agent Orange and PCBs, and now we have glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto's nonselective broad-spectrum herbicide roundup." These lead to superweeds that can choke out crops and poison soil, water and possibly kill plants and wildlife. "Monsanto's own tests showed that only two percent of the herbicide broke down after 28 days, which means it readily persists in the environment! This chemical is now showing up in air and rain samples across the United States." Glyphosate is linked to 40 different crop diseases, and the EPA is now seriously looking into the damage it does to humans.
Monsanto now produces seeds that self-destruct, and of they contaminate other crops, the seed sterility could be passed along. "If allowed to continue, every farmer in the world could come to rely on Monsanto for their seed supply!"
Mercola continues to write about "Monsanto's History of Deception and Drive for Power...suing small farmers...secretly discharging PCB-laden toxic waste into an Alabama creek, and dumping millions of pounds of PCBs into open-pit landfills for decades after the PCBs were banned in the US for being a possible carcinogen, being found guilty of bribery to bypass Indonesian law requiring an environmental assessment review for genetically engineered cotton...In 2007, the South African Advertising Standards Authority also found Monsanto guilty of lying when advertising that no negative reactions of Genetically Modified food have been reported. According to one EPA scientist, Monsanto doctored studies and covered-up dioxin contamination of a wide range of it's products. She concluded that the company's behavior constituted "a long pattern of fraud."
This was a pretty dry summary, but I think relevant. I am curious about what people think about GMs and Mercola's accusations against Monsanto. What makes some people continue to buy GM foods? Do they just not have access to this type of information? Or maybe they disagree with the view that GMs are unhealthy? Are many people too busy with life to have to worry about the hassle and cost of organic shopping? Or have they been totally free of health issues and just don't see a need to avoid GMs? This particular post is really dedicated to the readers, and I look forward to hearing the comments... be as honest as you want; I may use some of your comments to spark more story ideas for this blog.
My answer to the above questions is that I didn't start eating all organic until a year ago when I was diagnosed with Adrenal Fatigue. Until then, I thought I was totally healthy and that "small amounts of toxins found in food and water didn't affect me." As I have begun consulting holistic health practitioners, associating with holistic health professionals at the holistic gym where I work, and doing research, I have come to be more specific about choosing foods that I eat, opting for organic rather than going for conventional foods. And yes, in the past, I would eat some organic foods, but not all organic because of the cost. In the past, I also didn't know much about GMOs. I had a vague understanding that GMOs were "undesirable," but was pretty busy with my life and didn't think about them much. (Regarding Monsanto, I am from St. Louis, it's headquarters, and have read and heard a couple rumors about shady stuff going on there, so I never really take Monsanto's word on anything at face value without scrutiny--especially since, for years, they said Roundup was harmless....)
A Votre Sante (Here's to Your Health), Alix
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