Yikes, more bad news about GMO foods

Dr. Mercola has been on a roll lately, so I included another synopsis from his site.  I really appreciate all the money he gave to the California campaign to label GMO foods.  This proposition lost due to the large amount funding going into commericals that Monsanto was pumping out before the vote-- including commercials that intentionally tried to discredit Mercola.  Here is the blurb from www.Mercola.com that reviews a documentary :

The documentary film "David versus Monsanto” details the groundbreaking victory of a lone farmer against one of the most powerful companies on the planet

The world’s first lifetime feeding study discovered that rats fed a diet containing 11 percent GE corn developed massive breast tumors, kidney and liver damage and other serious health problems in the 13th month of life.

To put this into human perspective, if the average lifespan of a person is 80 years, these health problems would start rearing their ugly head somewhere during the 43rd year of life, provided your diet contained just over 10 percent GE foods and you began eating them in early childhood

According to a report released by the Environmental Working Group, Americans are eating their weight and more in genetically engineered food every year—an average of 193 pounds of GE foods annually

No thanks for me, I'll avoid GMO foods...especially the hidden ingredient of Canola oil (there is no such thing as a canola plant) and soy lecithin, as most soy is GM.

A Votre Sante, (Here's To Your Health) Alix

More dangers of GMO foods

This is an excerpt from Dr. Joseph Mercola's newsletter (www.Mercola.com.) I thought it apropos because of the vote in California on November 6th to label GMOs statewide.  If this vote to label GM foods passes in California, many other states will eventually follow suit, and people tend not to buy GM foods when they are labeled---so this is a huge vote for the health of this country.  Mercola gave a lot of money to the campaign to label GMOs in California, and I have also given some money as well.  If this vote passes, the general public will finally be privy to the real dangers of these genetically modified foods. 

"Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Monsanto's herbicide Roundup, which is sprayed in large quantities on genetically engineered, so-called "Roundup Ready," crops. Such crops are genetically engineered to withstand otherwise lethal applications of the herbicide.

According to the German journal Ithaka,¹ every single urine sample collected from city dwellers around Berlin tested positive for glyphosate, with values ranging from 0.5 to 2 nanograms per milliliter (ng/ml) – that's between five and 20 times the permissible upper limit for glyphosate in German drinking water, which is set at 0.1 ng/ml. According to the featured article:²

'Glyphosate probably entered human populations over the past 10 years through its increasing presence in daily foods such as meat and dairy products, vegetable and fruit produce and grains products. Glyphosate-laced genetically modified Roundup soya which enters the animal food chain, is only one of the risk factors.
Even more dangerous now is the increasing use of herbicides in the EU over the past several years for the desiccation of entire stocks of harvestable crop.
'Spraying crops to death,' as desiccation should be more aptly called, means that herbicides are being sprayed directly on the crops shortly before they are to be harvested to facilitate the harvest by uniformly killing off all living plants (including the crops) on the field.
If crops cannot fully mature due to excessive rain, as was the case in the summer of 2011, herbicides are used to bring the crops to maturity by means of a 'death-spray.' The method facilitates the drying of the crops as well as removing all weeds for the next sowing period, and has become common for the harvest of potatoes, cereals, canola and pulses.
For potatoes, spraying herbicides on the field immediately before harvest (2.5 l / ha), hardens the skin and reduces its susceptibility to late blight and germination, which improved the potatoes shelf life. Active compounds of the herbicide directly enter the potato through the leaves; however, decomposition of the poison takes place in the body of the consumer.'"
 

A Votre Sante (Here's to Your Health), Alix

Adrenal Fatigue Update with great links

The ongoing protocol for adrenal fatigue/estrogen dominance has me frustrated.  After 2 years of bio identical hormones, supplements, eating basically a paleo diet (actually the metabolic typing protein type diet) of all organic foods, I am still sleeping 10+ hours a night.  Some nights 11-12 hours.  I am totally exhausted.  This is definitely not something I would wish on anyone, as Western Medicine all but denies the existence of  these conditions--however, Dr. Oz and Christine Northrup did a show on estrogen dominance, so this condition (which often occurs in tandem with adrenal fatigue) is becoming more widely known.  

I really try to hold back on telling very many people about the exhaustion because past responses from non-professionals have not been very helpful.  Common remarks are, "well you probably sleep too much so you're tired,"  "yeah, I'm really tired too, but I tough it out," "it's all in your head," "you're lazy," and "all you do is sleep on weekends."  I discovered a lot of ignorance basically because our culture is based on the "plow-through-it" sleep-deprivation model.  Americans used to make fun of the Japanese for working so hard, but now we are the most workaholic country.  Elaine Aaron in her books about high sensitivity explains that many people are not in touch with/sensitive to their bodies, so this results in a culture of "burning the candle at both ends."

I had a series of acupuncture treatments and was supposed to be sleeping around 9 hours now.  However, I am still exhausted.  I intend to talk to another acupuncturist, and explore more options--possibly more supplements or seeing a naturopath.  I am currently on the Kalish method doing natural hormone replacement--many women, especially those over 35, are estrogen dominant and don't know it.  Each holistic specialist has a slightly different take on how to treat the body, but what I like is that, in the holistic field, all these natural treatments tend to mesh well together.  So looking for more solutions is always an option to add onto my current protocol, which I have discussed in prior posts.

Dr. Bob Marshall specializes in supplements and recommends healthy digestion.  There are free recordings of his health radio show at www.healthline.cc

The wonderful Norm Shealy has free protocols for different diseases on his website, including acupuncture points regimens that one can do on their own.  www.normshealy.com

A Votre Sante (Here's to Your Health), Alix

Dr. Mercola warns against GMOs and vaccines

Here are some direct quotes from Dr. Joseph Mercola's latest articles (www.Mercola.com)  I think he does a great job at speaking out about GMOs and vaccines:



[GMOs]  A two-year long French feeding study designed to evaluate the long-term health effects of a genetically engineered corn found that rats fed Monsanto’s maize developed massive breast tumors, kidney and liver damage, and other serious health problems.

According to results from a 10-year long feeding study on rats, mice, pigs and salmon, genetically engineered feed causes obesity, along with significant changes in the digestive system and major organs, including the liver, kidneys, pancreas, genitals and more.

The EPA admits there’s “mounting evidence” that Monsanto’s insecticide-fighting YieldGard corn is losing its effectiveness in the Midwest. Last year, rootworms resistant to the toxin in the genetically designed corn infested fields in Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota and Nebraska

[Vaccines] Data collected from Canada and Hong Kong during 2009-2010 showed that people who received the seasonal flu vaccine in 2008 had twice the risk of getting the H1N1 “swine flu,” compared to those who hadn't received a flu shot
 

Remember? H1N1 Vaccine was Not Only Ineffective, But Unusually Dangerous...

As you may recall, the fast-tracked pandemic 2009-2010 H1N1 swine flu vaccine turned out to be particularly reactive – far more reactive than previous seasonal flu vaccines. Will this season's trivalent flu vaccine – containing two swine origin influenza A viruses – pandemic H1N1 and H3N2 – usher in a repeat performance?

One of the most disturbing side effects of some of the marketed pandemic H1N1 vaccines was narcolepsy; a very rare and disabling neurological disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness. About 70 percent of narcolepsy cases also involve cataplexy – the sudden loss of voluntary muscle control – along with vivid hallucinations and total paralysis at the beginning or end of the narcoleptic attack.

In the case of the H1N1 pandemic vaccine, the adverse events were so serious, and so widespread that the tragic reality could not be ignored. There's no discussion about whether or not narcolepsy was caused by the vaccine; it's been proven to be a vaccine injury by experts in multiple countries.

For example, according to Swedish findings, children and adolescents vaccinated with Pandemrix during the 2009-10 season had a close to 660 percent increase in risk for narcolepsy! Finland also noticed a dramatic increase in the condition following vaccination with Pandemrix. There, an interim report issued in January of last year found that the H1N1 vaccine increased the risk of narcolepsy by a staggering 900 percent in children and adolescents below the age of 19.⁷ France, Germany and Norway also reported cases of the rare sleeping disorder, causing the EU to launch an investigation as well.
 

Well, I won't be getting the flu vaccine this year...and as always, I will be avoiding genetically modified foods.

A Votre Sante (Here's to Your Health), Alix



 

60 Minutes recently did a segment called "Is Sugar Toxic?"  It's great that this information is spreading beyond the holistic health niche and becoming mainstream.  This segment talks about how a "calorie is not just a calorie," meaning that eating sugar prompts the production of small dense LDL by the liver (contributing to heart disease,) and it also feeds certain kinds of cancer cells. 

Obviously, over consumption can lead to diabetes as well.  High fructose corn syrup became an additive in foods as the low-fat trend eliminated flavor.  This clip shows that sugar is addictive, triggering dopamine in the same brain center as drugs or alcohol.  People then build up a tolerance and want to eat even more sugar to get a kick of dopamine. 

It is recommended in this segment that men limit their sugar caloric intake to 150 calories a day and that women limit theirs to 100.

Check out the following link:  www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7403942n

Holistic Living Saves Money on Health Costs

As the recession continues, grocery store stocks tend to do well, especially organic chains like Whole Foods Market, which has become a Wall Street darling.  This is not only because of their savvy business practices and the fact that people tend to buy food rather than eat at restaurants in times of economic downturn, but also because of the emerging “green market trend.”  More people are trying to save money on expensive medical costs through use of vitamin and mineral supplements, eating organically, and with preventative holistic living.

According to health expert Dr. Joseph Mercola, a person’s diet accounts for 80% of the health benefits for longevity.  Holistic health practitioners all agree that eating whole, organic foods is best.  Many natural health practitioners recommend a comprehensive exercise program, high-quality animal-based Omega-3 fats from organic, grass fed meat, and avoiding as many chemicals as possible.  This includes avoiding pesticides and added hormones in non-organic foods/meat, in cleaning products, and pharmaceutical medications whenever possible.

Mercola and other holistic health practitioners give health tips such as avoiding gluten to eliminate “sweets cravings,” and limiting sugar, including natural sugars and chemical artificial sweeteners.  Fructose is now understood to be a big contributor to heart disease.  Refined sugar weakens the immune system, and eating too many grains and sugars releases too much insulin and adrenalin, causing the body to respond in a state of emergency stress.  Eating 4-6 small meals a day will help the body balance blood sugar, avoid hypoglycemia, and prevent stress on the body thereby enhancing health and longevity.

With all the debate about national health care, it is timely that Holistic Life Style Coaches are cropping up all over Chicago.  Chicago’s first holistic gym, Whole Body Fitness houses only holistic trainers that are CHEK certified, meaning these fitness professionals have undergone extensive training through the distinguished Paul Chek Institute in California that includes expertise in Holistic Life Style Coaching.  Paul Chek is nationally acclaimed in the fitness/holistic health industry, and his philosophy is similar to Mercola’s.

Chek’s methods support optimum health through fitness, practical nutrition, and holistic lifestyle coaching.  CHEK trainer and Holistic Lifestyle Coach, Daneille McLaughlin, who trains out of Whole Body Fitness, talks about the emerging trend of holistic living and further explains how holistic living can prevent disease and enhance health.

She says “Food in our supermarkets is not being grown or prepared the way it used to be.  We now use enhanced technology to sustain our food for longer.   And these food preparation methods are harmful to our body.  Reverting back to whole foods and organic foods will bring our bodies back to health.”

McLaughlin continues, “In each decade things are changing, and I feel in this decade, we’re starting to realize the mistakes we made in past decades of convenience foods and processed foods.”  With Holistic Health Coaching, “You’re going to learn about the foods that you need to take out of your diet and the foods that you need to add into your diet in order to prevent disease.”

Danielle goes into more detail saying “Gluten in general is not being made and processed the same way it used to be 10,000 years ago.  Our body is not recognizing the gluten and it’s causing allergies and sensitivities.  Sugar is addictive, and if we are already living in a state of illness, sugar will make the symptoms worse.  All the chemicals and pesticides that are being used on our crops are not being recognized by the body and are causing us to become more toxic, to retain more weight, and more prone to diseases.”

“I have numerous clients that have removed gluten from their diet and removed allergies and symptoms of fatigue. Since we focus on the mental, emotional and physical aspects as well as diet, you are getting the full package, you’re going to improve your health overall, which saves on medication costs in the long run.”

Danielle explains the reason she started personal training/health-coaching with the CHEK method.  “The information Paul Chek  gives on diet and exercise is much different than what I’ve ever heard from modern society…when I heard the information that Paul Chek was teaching it automatically set off a light bulb in my head.  And it just made sense.”

The CHEK method works because “Our body is a system of systems, and there are many different aspects of the body to look at, when we are looking for health.  We need to look for what causes the problem, the root of the problem, and correct the body from the inside out.”

Her Personal Training and Holistic Health Coaching embrace the physical, mental and emotional, meaning, “We look at your lifestyle, eating habits, sleeping patterns, physical movement, stress-load.  Diet and exercise are made out to be so difficult and ‘tricky’ in society, but Paul Chek really gets back to the basics.  I like the basics because they’re simple, they make sense and they work.”

Danielle trains out of Whole Body Fitness in Chicago (I94 and Peterson, www.wbfchicago.com, 773.481.9830), and her website is www.theelemntsoffitness.com. 

Mercola Myth-Busters

Here is a synopsis of some really great articles by Dr. Mercola that he has recently published in his newsletter.  I like to quote Dr. Mercola from time to time because he is a trailblazer and "myth-buster"not afraid of challenging the status quo.  The following post is an synopsis of articles from his free newsletter at www.Mercola.com

“Reading the Labels Won't Always Help

I always advocate reading the labels on the foods and cleaning products you buy, but in the case of household cleaners even the most meticulous eye for labels won't get you very far.

Why?

Because many of the most dangerous chemicals will not even be on the label. The manufacturers have conveniently lobbied the government to exempt them from this requirement and can omit any ingredient that is considered a secret formula from its label. Many of these non-disclosed ingredients are actually toxic and carcinogenic.

Household goods are still very much an unregulated market. And, cleaning product manufacturers -- even those that claim to be "green" -- are not required by law to disclose all of their ingredients on their labels. So while it's still better to read the label than not, be aware that a lack of ingredient on a label doesn't necessarily mean it's not in the product!

But most "green" cleaning products like Simple Green are still loaded with glycol ethers, which are anything but good for your health when inhaled or when they touch your skin. Folks, the simple truth is that if a substance cuts through grease and dirt any faster than soap and water, then there are chemicals in there that most likely aren't very good for your health.

Many large corporations are chomping at the bit, eager to reach into the wallets of modern, environmentally concerned consumers...as more and more consumers are learning about the dangers of the products they use in their homes, "green" environmentally friendly options have sparked an industry revolution with a growing number of companies offering their own versions of eco-friendly cleaners. Some examples are Clorox Green Works Natural All-Purpose Cleaner, Simple Green, and Purex Natural Elements.  Unfortunately, the terms "green" and "natural" are nothing more than marketing terms…

If you want a real treat, please pick up and read a highly recommended book on this subject called Subliminal Persuasion: Influence & Marketing Secrets They Don't Want You To Know. This book reveals the systematic techniques used to form opinions or ideologies, in ways that we never suspect. Multinational corporations, like big drug companies, are using these techniques all the time to deceive you.”

Mercola goes on to list toxins as glycol ethers, phthalates, perfumes, phosphates, and nonylpheno ethoxylates (NPEs), [which are banned in Europe because they are thought to be xenoestrogenic, causing male fish to become female fish in the world’s waterways.]  Other toxic chemicals found in cleaning products are formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), petroleum solvents, bultyl cellosolve, ammonia, chlorine, ethanolamies, and sodium lauryl sulfate.”

Some of these chemicals are potentially carcinogenic, and some are irritants, exacerbate asthma, and may damage the kidneys and nervous system.  Safe cleaning products are listed as baking soda, white vinegar, lemon juice, hydrogen peroxide, liquid castile soap—a stronger cleaning agent is vinegar combined with hydrogen peroxide.  I have done several posts that talk about chemicals causing estrogen dominance, a new health concern for many women, which is a hormonal imbalance leading to fatigue, low thyroid hormone, and even possibly cancer."

Mercola has also cited research about cardiovascular exercise that challenges the status quo that I find interesting.  Check out Part II of this post that talks about the dangers of overdoing cardio and for more abbreviated articles from Mercola.


A Votre Sante, (Here's to Your Health), Alix