swine flu

Below is an article reprinted from CNN.com. It's discussing the potentially "pandemic virus" that has recently popped up seemingly out of nowhere, the Swine Flu Virus. While I don't think it's a cause for panic, it surely indicates we need to educate ourselves on the possibility it could visit our respective neighborhoods. I'm interested in hearing what you think.

More cases of swine flu reported; WHO warns of 'health emergency'
(CNN) -- A potentially deadly new strain of the swine flu virus cropped up in more places in the United States and Mexico on Saturday, in what the World Health Organization called "a public health emergency of international concern."

The most recent reports Saturday afternoon were of two confirmed cases of the virus in Kansas -- bringing the number of confirmed U.S. cases to 11.

Those joined nine confirmed cases in Texas and California and an apparent outbreak at a private school in New York City, where officials say eight children likely have the virus.

Mexican health officials say 81 deaths are now "likely linked" to the swine flu virus.

President Felipe Calderon on Saturday issued an executive decree detailing emergency powers of the Ministry of Health, according to the president's office.

The order gives the ministry with the authority to isolate sick patients, inspect travelers' luggage and their vehicles and conduct house inspections, the statement said.

The government also has the authority to prevent public gatherings, shut down public venues and regulate air, sea and overland travel.

The WHO's Gregory Hartl said the strain of the virus seen in Mexico is worrisome because it has mutated from older strains.

"Any time that there is a virus which changes ... it means perhaps the immunities the human body has built up to dealing with influenza might not be adjusted well enough to dealing with this new virus," Hartl told CNN.

In Mexico, otherwise young and healthy people have been hit by the virus -- "one of the pieces of the puzzle that is worrying us," he said.

Mexico City has closed all of its schools and universities because of the virus, and the country's National Health Council said all Saturday's soccer games would be played without public audiences.

WHO has sent experts to Mexico at the request of the country's government, Chan said.

Dr. Jason Eberhart-Phillips, director of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, was expected to officially announce the two cases later Saturday, a written statement from the state said.

All of the eight U.S. patients in Texas and California have recovered, Dr. Richard Besser, the acting director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday. Two of the cases were in Texas, near San Antonio, and six of the cases were in southern California, the CDC said.

More than 1,000 people have been sickened in Mexico, and officials are trying to determine how many of those patients have swine influenza, the country's health minister, Jose Angel Cordova Villalobos, said.

U.S. health officials said Friday that some cases of the virus matched samples of the deadly Mexican virus.

On Saturday, New York's Bureau of Communicable Diseases said preliminary tests from a Queens school suggest that eight out of the nine cases of the virus found there are probably swine flu.

Dr. Don Weiss said the samples will be sent to the CDC in Atlanta, Georgia, to determine the subtype of the strain. The results will likely come back either Sunday or Monday.

He said the samples, which were taken from oral and nasal swabs from nine students at St. Francis Preparatory School, came back positive for "Type A" flu and the tests will need to determine the samples' subtype -- which could be swine flu.

He said up to 200 students at the school reported feeling ill.

"What's concerning about this is, first, that it's likely swine flu; second is that at this time it is spreading from person to person," Weiss said.
When the flu spreads person-to-person, instead of from animals to humans, it can continue to mutate, making it a tougher strain that is harder to treat or fight off.

The people sickened in Kansas are a man who traveled to Mexico on business and his wife, Eberhart-Phillips said. The man had flu-like symptoms when he returned and went to his doctor, and his wife got sick about three days later, officials said.

Neither of them was hospitalized, and one is still sick, he said.

The United States had not issued any travel warnings or quarantines by Saturday afternoon.

The Canadian Public Health Agency had issued a travel health notice, saying, "The Public Health Agency of Canada is tracking clusters of severe respiratory illness with deaths in Mexico."

Symptoms of swine flu include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, the CDC said.

Besser advised people with flu-like symptoms to stay home from work or school and to see a doctor.

Antibiotic Threat

There was a time when the question, "When will infectious disease be wiped out?" was a realistic, seemingly achievable question.

Now the new realistic question seems to be, "When will the next deadly plague occur?"

We have read about and feared AIDS and MRSA. Super bug is now a part of our vocabulary as often as the "24 hour bug" was twenty years ago. We find E. coli and Salmonella in our produce and peanuts and who knows what else on an alarmingly regular basis. Old diseases like tuberculosis are "making a come back".

Many infections are able to withstand most, if not all antibiotics. We, however, continue to take antibiotics for the most minor ailments thus causing a plethoa of bacteria and viruses to develop immunity to the drugs that were ironically created to eradicate infections in the first place.

According to the NY Times, there is a "new" bacteria to add to the list. It is Clostridium difficile, an infectious bacterium that attacks as a stomach bug. It causes an estimated 350,000 cases per year in hospitals alone and kills an estimated 15,000 to 20,000 people per year.

The disturbing problem with this bacteria is that antibiotics can actually trigger this bacteria to strike. Because antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria in the body, often times upon completion of an antibiotic our immune system is missing the healthy bacteria. If we come in contact with C. difficile, it can create an opportunity for this bacteria to flourish.

The article further states that in some cases the only treatment for C. difficile is to remove the patients colon, and relapses are not uncommon once a patient has recovered.

To read the article in it's entirety, please click here.

Stories like this continue to reinforce to me the importance of a healthy immune system, in addition to thinking twice about taking antibiotics as well as any other pharmaceutical drug unless absolutely necessary.

It also provides yet again incentive to explore the many choices available to us for alternative antibiotics and many other products that help us live healthy and naturally.

7 Rules For Healthy Eating

7 Rules for Eating

Choose Food Over Food-Like Substances,
Food Writer Michael Pollan Tells CDC

By Daniel J. DeNoonWebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

March 23, 2009 -- We Americans suffer a national eating disorder: our unhealthy obsession with healthy eating.

That's the diagnosis delivered by food author Michael Pollan in a lecture given last week to an overflow crowd of CDC scientists.

As part of an effort to bring new ideas to the national debate on food issues, the CDC invited Pollan -- a harsh critic of U.S. food policies -- to address CDC researchers and to meet with leaders of the federal agency.

"The French paradox is that they have better heart health than we do despite being a cheese-eating, wine-swilling, fois-gras-gobbling people," Pollan said. "The American paradox is we are a people who worry unreasonably about dietary health yet have the worst diet in the world."

In various parts of the world, Pollan noted, necessity has forced human beings to adapt to all kinds of diets.

"The Masai subsist on cattle blood and meat and milk and little else. Native Americans subsist on beans and maize. And the Inuit in Greenland subsist on whale blubber and a little bit of lichen," he said. "The irony is, the one diet we have invented for ourselves -- the Western diet -- is the one that makes us sick."

Snowballing rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease in the U.S. can be traced to our unhealthy diet. So how do we change?

7 Words & 7 Rules for Eating

Pollan says everything he's learned about food and health can be summed up in seven words:

"Eat food, not too much, mostly plants."

Probably the first two words are most important. "Eat food" means to eat real food -- vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and, yes, fish and meat -- and to avoid what Pollan calls "edible food-like substances."

Here's how:

1. Don't eat anything your great grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. "When you pick up that box of portable yogurt tubes, or eat something with 15 ingredients you can't pronounce, ask yourself, "What are those things doing there?" Pollan says.

2. Don't eat anything with more than five ingredients, or ingredients you can't pronounce.

3. Stay out of the middle of the supermarket; shop on the perimeter of the store. Real food tends to be on the outer edge of the store near the loading docks, where it can be replaced with fresh foods when it goes bad.

4. Don't eat anything that won't eventually rot. "There are exceptions -- honey -- but as a rule, things like Twinkies that never go bad aren't food," Pollan says.

5. It is not just what you eat but how you eat. "Always leave the table a little hungry," Pollan says. "Many cultures have rules that you stop eating before you are full. In Japan, they say eat until you are four-fifths full. Islamic culture has a similar rule, and in German culture they say, 'Tie off the sack before it's full.'"

6. Families traditionally ate together, around a table and not a TV, at regular meal times. It's a good tradition. Enjoy meals with the people you love. "Remember when eating between meals felt wrong?" Pollan asks.

7. Don't buy food where you buy your gasoline. In the U.S., 20% of food is eaten in the car.

Tainted Vaccines - A Conspiracy?

This article is reprinted from Mercola.com
Were Tainted Vaccines a Conspiracy to Provoke a Pandemic?

Last month vaccine maker Baxter International sent a mix of flu vaccine and unlabelled H5N1 virus (the human form of bird flu) to an Austrian research company. Expecting the shipment to contain only flu vaccine, the Austrian company then sent portions of the contaminated product to the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Germany.

It was only when researchers at a Czech Republic laboratory injected ferrets with the vaccine, and they unexpectedly died, that the contamination mistake was discovered.

But is “mistake” really an accurate term to describe this?

If this batch of live bird flu and seasonal flu viruses had reached the public, it could have resulted in dire consequences. Even though H5N1 doesn’t easily infect people, the flu virus does. So if people were exposed to both of these viruses, they would have become hosts for the combined viruses, and would have become highly contagious and able to transmit the deadly bird flu virus to others.

There is actually a name for this mixing of viruses; it’s called “reassortment,” and even The Canadian Press has pointed out that it is one of two ways pandemic viruses are created.


Could the Contamination Have Been a Plot to Start a Deadly Pandemic?


A spokesman for Baxter said the virus material was supposed to contain a seasonal flu virus and was contaminated after “human error.”

Yet, other sources say Baxter International adheres to something called BSL3 (Biosafety Level 3). This strict set of laboratory safety protocols is in place to prevent the cross-contamination of materials, and according to some may have made it virtually impossible for the live bird flu virus to contaminate a flu vaccine by accident.

Czech newspapers are among those questioning whether this was a deliberate act to start a pandemic, and there’s even been talk of plans to use the vaccines to carry out a form of population control.

But then there’s the issue of motive. Would Baxter have had any reason to carry out such a malicious and deadly scheme?

Well, if a bird flu pandemic suddenly broke out, the demand for bird flu vaccines would certainly skyrocket … and the profits from such a mass vaccination program would be astronomical.


Does the Past Give us Any Clues?


You may be thinking that such a conspiracy is too far-fetched to be accurate. But it is worth mentioning that some scientists say the most recent global outbreak -- the 1977 Russian flu -- was started by a virus leaked from a laboratory.

Further, drug companies are certainly not best known for their sterling moral values.

In 2006, for instance, it came out that the drug company Bayer sold millions of dollars worth of an injectable blood-clotting medicine to Asian, Latin American, and some European countries in the mid-1980s, even though they knew it was tainted with the AIDS virus.

So while it is unthinkable that a drug company would knowingly contaminate flu vaccines with a deadly bird flu virus, it is certainly not impossible.


How to Prevent All Flu’s, Even the “Deadly Ones,” Without Vaccinations


Whether or not the conspiracy theory is true, this whole scenario brings up two very important points:


1. Vaccines can be contaminated with dangerous substances (even above and beyond their already dangerous components)
2. Vaccines are not the answer to protecting yourself from flu outbreaks of any kind


Remember back in 2005, when headlines warned that the U.S. was facing a cataclysmic extermination event, with a calculated 2 million Americans succumbing to the bird flu, and the best-case scenario taking only 200,000 lives?

The case of “the impending pandemic of the Avian Flu” might as well have been a fictional mini-series, as it never materialized. What was really going on was a scenario filled with greed and political corruption.

By igniting fear in the public and massaging some key statistics, the powers-that-be were able to justify the expense of a massive vaccine stockpile to ward off the bird flu.

At $100 per dose, the United States used taxpayers’ dollars to purchase some 20 million doses of the highly questionable Tamiflu, lining the pockets of then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld who was president of Gilead Sciences when they created the drug.

But I digress. If you want to read more about all the lies and corruption surrounding the avian “super-flu” that never was, read my book The Great Bird Flu Hoax.

For now, my point is that there are always going to be threats of flu pandemics, real or created, and there will always be potentially toxic vaccines that are peddled as the solution.

But you can break free of that whole drug-solution trap by following some natural health principles.

I have not caught the flu in 20 years, and you can avoid it too, without getting vaccinated, by following these simple guidelines, which will keep your immune system in optimal working order so that you’re far less likely to acquire the infection to begin with.


• Optimize Your Vitamin D Levels. Getting appropriate amounts of sunshine (or taking a vitamin D supplement when you can’t get healthy amounts of sun exposure) is one of my KEY preventive strategies against the cold and flu, as it has such a strengthening effect on your immune system.

• Avoid Sugar and Eat Right for Your Nutritional Type. Sugar decreases the function of your immune system almost immediately, and as you likely know, a strong immune system is key to fighting off viruses and other illness. Be aware that sugar is present in foods you may not suspect, like ketchup and fruit juice.

• Get Enough Rest. Just like it becomes harder for you to get your daily tasks done if you're tired, if your body is overly fatigued it will be harder for it to fight the flu.

• Deal With Stress. We all face some stress everyday, but if stress becomes overwhelming then your body will be less able to fight off the flu and other illness.

If you feel that stress is taking a toll on your health, consider using the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), which is remarkably effective in relieving stress associated with all kinds of events, from work to family to trauma.

• Exercise. When you exercise, you increase your circulation and your blood flow throughout your body. The components of your immune system are also better circulated, which means your immune system has a better chance of finding an illness before it spreads.

• Take a Good Source of Omega-3 Fats Like Krill Oil. Increase your intake of healthy and essential fats like the omega-3 found in krill oil, which is crucial for maintaining health.

• Wash Your Hands. Washing your hands with plain soap and water will decrease your likelihood of spreading a virus to your nose, mouth or other people. But don’t overdo it. Washing your hands too much can actually remove much of the protective layer on your skin and increase your changes of acquiring an infection.

• Eat Garlic Regularly. Garlic works like a broad-spectrum antibiotic against bacteria, virus, and protozoa in the body. And unlike with antibiotics, no resistance can be built up so it is an absolutely safe product to use.

FDA Reform

My last post discussed the growing need to reform the FDA. While the majority of the media does an adequate job of supplying us with current news about the FDA, it's often fleetingly vague, then off to the next story.

There are organizations, however, that do a thorough job of supplying us with information that is not glossed over. Some organizations have dedicated themselves to just this subject and are focusing on bringing about the reform that is desperately needed.

Below are some links to articles and websites that will provide you with information to educate yourself on this growing issue.

Please take a few minutes and visit these informative sites. Your life may depend on it.

http://www.reformfda.org/FDA_Reform

http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2009/mar2009_FDA-Ending-the-Atrocities_01

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123142562104564381.html

http://www.naturalnews.com/News_000554_melamine_infant_formula_FDA.html

My Story

I began blogging to share my frustration with the health care system here in our country. My first post on my other blog, Angellviews, was about a health nightmare I experienced. While never life threatening, it was none the less a major ordeal and something that I believe was entirely preventable, perhaps without the need for prescription drugs, definitely never to the degree I was prescribed. Since no health care provider could determine my situation, I decided to give it a name, Mad Dog Itch. To read more about my dilemma and the simplicity of the "cure", please pay a visit here.

So began my need to express myself; hence the blogs, as well as embarking on a career in the Wellness Industry. I've learned much this past year or so, and have even more knowledge to gain. That part will never end, the need for education and knowledge. There is so much we are told in this country that pertains to our health that is either half truths or far too often just outright lies. What concerns me is the shear number of people who are living with blinders on. I surely was. These same people often are heavily medicated with prescription drugs, frequently drugs they don't need or the wrong drugs prescribed in error. The reasons behind this are many, but one common thread prevails, greed. Greed usually at the hand of pharmaceutical and insurance companies, but they wouldn't be there without the helping hand of the FDA.

The FDA was founded to protect you and I, to determine what was safe for us to take as far as prescription drugs, over the counter drugs, as well as the food we eat every day. They were to be our big brother, our check and balance system. Unfortunately that is no longer the case. They have become fat, incompetent and yes, even corrupt. It is time, actually past time, for the FDA to reform.

Please click on this link to educate yourself about the state of the FDA, your life seriously could depend on it. Sign the petition that will put this necessary action into motion. Health care reform needs to happen in many different ways.

This is one where you can easily do your part.

Splenda in the News

I recently posted about the dangers of artificial sweeteners. Following is an excerpt from an article with yet more information, particularly pertaining to the artificial sweetener, Splenda, which is commonly used in many products consumed by you and I each day.

Chairman of Citizens for Health Declares FDA Should Review Approval of Splenda
New Study of Splenda and Sucralose Reveals Shocking New Information About Potential Harmful Effect on Humans
MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 22, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- James Turner, chairman of the national consumer education group Citizens for Health expressed shock and outrage after reading a new report from scientists at Duke University. "The report makes it clear that the artificial sweetener Splenda and its key component sucralose pose a threat to the people who consume the product. Hundreds of consumers have complained to us about side effects from using Splenda and this study, published this past week in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Part A, confirms that the chemicals in the little yellow package should carry a big red warning label," said Turner.

Among the results in the study by Drs. Mohamed B. Abou-Donia, Eman M. El-Masry, Ali A. Abdel-Rahman, Roger E. McLendon and Susan S. Schiffman is evidence that, in the animals studied, Splenda reduces the amount of good bacteria in the intestines by 50%, increases the pH level in the intestines, contributes to increases in body weight and affects the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in the body in such a way that crucial health-related drugs could be rejected. Turner noted that the P-gp effect "could result in crucial medications used in chemotherapy for cancer patients, AIDS treatment and drugs for heart conditions being shunted back into the intestines rather than being absorbed by the body as intended."

Turner said, "This report followed accepted policies and procedures and the results make clear the potential for disturbing side effects from the ingestion of Splenda. It is like putting a pesticide in your body. And this is at levels of intake erroneously approved by the Food and Drug Administration. A person eating two slices of cake and drinking two cups of coffee containing Splenda would ingest enough sucralose to affect the P-glycoprotein, while consuming just seven little Splenda packages reduces good bacteria."

To read this article in it's entirety, please go here.

If you are like me, reading, educating and making positive strides to improve your health, please think about putting artificial anything into your body. While difficult to eliminate everything bad from our diets, small steps will make big improvements over time.

Another Apple Cider Vinegar Testimonial

I am compelled to provide a left handed testimonial for Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV). I have previously posted about the wonders of ACV and feel the need to do so again.

My daughters and I were having our hair done a couple of days ago. The lady who takes care of us asked me if I knew any alternative ways to take care of acid reflux as she knows about my "natural" obsession. She told me she has struggled with acid reflux for years with no good solution to correct the misery created by this chronic condition. She has taken both over the counter as well as prescription medication. While both would give her some relief after a period of time, she had to take the medication all the time to prevent occurrences and didn't like the side effects of either medication.

I told her about ACV and she told me about a friend who sent her to the grocery store to buy some. When she did, she told me the taste and resulting burn confirmed she would never try that again. I explained the difference of organic versus the distilled, pasteurized grocery store variety. The organic version is alkaline versus acidic with all the natural health miracle's of the "mother" due to not being pasteurized.

She seemed skeptical so while she was attending to my daughter's hair, I scurried to a nearby health food store and picked her up a bottle. Yes, I am that cool and thoughtful, but that's another post.

Today, two days later, I was near the salon so I dropped in and guess what? Her acid reflux is gone, not a hint of it remains. She hugged me and declared her amazement.

It really feels good to help someone. I hope this post reaches someone who is suffering from the same condition. If you are that person, I too, was one who felt the burn of acid reflux as well as my husband and we can both tell you ACV definitely stops it in it's tracks.

To read more about the wonders of ACV go here.

Or here.

In The News

Docs seek gag orders to stop patients' reviews

Lindsey Tanner, Ap Medical Writer – Wed Mar 4, 12:14 am ET

CHICAGO – The anonymous comment on the Web site RateMDs.com was unsparing: "Very unhelpful, arrogant," it said of a doctor. "Did not listen and cut me off, seemed much too happy to have power (and abuse it!) over suffering people." Such reviews are becoming more common as consumer ratings services like Zagat's and Angie's List expand beyond restaurants and plumbers to medical care, and some doctors are fighting back.

They're asking patients to agree to what amounts to a gag order that bars them from posting negative comments online.

"Consumers and patients are hungry for good information" about doctors, but Internet reviews provide just the opposite, contends Dr. Jeffrey Segal, a North Carolina neurosurgeon who has made a business of helping doctors monitor and prevent online criticism.

Some sites "are little more than tabloid journalism without much interest in constructively improving practices," and their sniping comments can unfairly ruin a doctor's reputation, Segal said.

Segal said such postings say nothing about what should really matter to patients — a doctor's medical skills — and privacy laws and medical ethics prevent leave doctors powerless to do anything it.

His company, Medical Justice, is based in Greensboro, N.C. For a fee, it provides doctors with a standardized waiver agreement. Patients who sign agree not to post online comments about the doctor, "his expertise and/or treatment."

"Published comments on Web pages, blogs and/or mass correspondence, however well intended, could severely damage physician's practice," according to suggested wording the company provides.

Segal's company advises doctors to have all patients sign the agreements. If a new patient refuses, the doctor might suggest finding another doctor. Segal said he knows of no cases where longtime patients have been turned away for not signing the waivers.

Doctors are notified when a negative rating appears on a Web site, and, if the author's name is known, physicians can use the signed waivers to get the sites to remove offending opinion.

RateMd's postings are anonymous, and the site's operators say they do not know their users' identities. The operators also won't remove negative comments.

Angie's List's operators know the identities of users and warn them when they register that the site will share names with doctors if asked.

Since Segal's company began offering its service two years ago, nearly 2,000 doctors have signed up. In several instances, he said, doctors have used signed waivers to get sites to remove negative comments.

John Swapceinski, co-founder of RateMDs.com, said that in recent months, six doctors have asked him to remove negative online comments based on patients' signed waivers. He has refused.

"They're basically forcing the patients to choose between health care and their First Amendment rights, and I really find that repulsive," Swapceinski said.

He said he's planning to post a "Wall of Shame" listing names of doctors who use patient waivers. Read More..........

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Since doctors run their practices as businesses, shouldn't we, the consumers, be free to voice our opinion good, bad and otherwise, regarding the service we received? We are not tracked down by any other type of business and demanded to retract our statements; are doctors exempt and if so for what reason? The only reason sited in the article is that bad comments could potentially ruin a practice. Yes, I suppose if you continually provide shoddy service, perhaps you are in the wrong business.

The Diet That Works.....Really

I have never been a believer in diets. The Adkins, South Beach, grapefruit, low fat, low carb, no carb, this pill, that pill. Find me the diet that is both effective and SAFE.

Well, it appears the New England Journal of Medicine and Frank Sacks of the Harvard School of Public Health actually agree with me (that's a joke in case it slipped by you).

The study led by Frank Sacks followed 800 overweight adults for two years. The group was placed on four different diets ranging from low-fat/high-carb to low-carb/high-fat diets. Regardless of which diet group members were placed into, they all lost the same amount of weight, which was 13 pounds the first year and 8 pounds the second year.

One could conclude from reading this study that the common sense approach of Consume Fewer Calories Than You Burn really works.

Just think of all the money that can be saved not to mention the self deprivation from foods truly enjoyed that we can still consume on a moderate basis.

To read more about common sense diet strategies that really work, click here.

One final bit of advice that is key to weight loss: don't forget to exercise.

Sugar, Oh Sweet Sugar

One of the components I have focused on in achieving ideal health as naturally as possible is to reduce the amount of sugar that myself and my family consumes. Now taking away sugar from children who have always had a love for it has not been easy. Please keep in mind I'm not eliminating anything, just reducing in practical amounts. Sugar is in everything they like it seems. In fact sometimes there is a look in their eyes that translates into something like the need to inflict bodily harm on me. But I still push forward, brave in my quest to get us healthy. Even if they hate me. At least I have more quiet, "me" time while they think they are punishing me. Everyone wins, right? I have had some success, the youngest with the largest sugar dependency now compares cereal boxes and chooses the one with the least amount of sugar...baby steps but we are going in the right direction. The oldest has almost eliminated soda and "energy drinks" from his diet and he was an addict, however his choice is because his football coach told him to, not his all knowing mother......sigh, I guess whatever works.

Here are just a few of the effects sugar has on our bodies. It is devoid of minerals and vitamins and interferes with the absorption of calcium and magnesium. It raises insulin levels, depresses the immune system, provokes mood swings, feeds nervous disorders, contributes to weight gain, osteoporosis, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and can help bring on depression. It has the power to aggravate asthma, and is a major contributor in bringing on diabetes and heart disease. And these are just a few of it's favorite things......

Here’s what happens in your body when you assault it with a Coke, the epitome of sugar intake:

Within the first 10 minutes, 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. This is 100 percent of your recommended daily intake, and the only reason you don’t vomit as a result of the overwhelming sweetness is because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor.

Within 20 minutes, your blood sugar spikes, and your liver responds to the resulting insulin burst by turning massive amounts of sugar into fat.

Within 40 minutes, caffeine absorption is complete; your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream.

Around 45 minutes, your body increases dopamine production, which stimulates the pleasure centers of your brain – a physically identical response to that of heroin, by the way.

After 60 minutes, you’ll start to have a sugar crash.

Sources:
Nutrition Research Center October 24, 2007

Wow. Let's face it, sugar is a real bad guy who invades our lives and health more and more. I recently read where twenty years ago the average American consumed approximately 26lbs of sugar per year. The amount of sugar consumed now has risen to 135 lbs per year.

I salute and applaud those of you who eat completely healthy. You are the leaders, the setters of the standard I hope to live up to one day. But what about those of us who are evolving from a certain degree of unhealthy to becoming better at managing our health? Do we pull the plug on our bad habits and switch it up overnight? I don't know about you, but I would be somewhere between a mutiny and a full blown strike in my house. I guess it all comes back to the Balance.

For myself and my family that means no more soda, buying healthier cereal while reading boxes for sugar content, eating more fresh fruits and vegetables and eating less processed and boxed foods. Will I give up my homemade brownies and cheesecake? Never!

hold the diet in my soda

We are led to believe as consumers that diet soda's are a healthy alternative to their sweeter sugar laden cousins. If it's approved by the FDA, then the it must be both safe and healthy. Guess again.

Diet soda is sweetened with artificial sweetener, and depending on the brand of soda, the type of sweetener varies, but not necessarily the hazards to our health.

Splenda

A common sweetener is Splenda. Splenda is made from sucralose, a chemical that was "discovered" by British scientists in 1976 looking to create a new pesticide. Yummy. Part of sucralose's chemical make up is chlorine. Chlorine is safe when used accordingly, but not recommended to be ingested in large doses. A major concern of Splenda is that no long term studies were performed on the harmful side effects of Splenda before it was approved by the FDA. Approximately 110 studies were performed before FDA approval however only two of these studies were performed on humans with the longest study lasting a mere four days.

The short term studies concluded that Splenda causes enlarged livers and kidney's and shrunken thymus glands. Studies also found that Splenda can reduce the amount of good bacteria (probiotics) in the intestines by 50% which can lead to a host of health issues and disease.


Actually a long term study is currently going on, all of us consumers who are buying and using products containing Splenda are the lab rats for determining the dangers of Splenda for the companies manufacturer, McNeil Nutritionals. How cost effective for McNeil.

So despite marketing slogans that claim Splenda is a sugar, it is not, it's an chlorinated artificial sweetener. Not only is it found in soft drinks, but is commonly used in juices, chewing gum, baked goods and much more.


Nutrasweet

Another artificial sweetener is aspartame, AKA Nutrasweet, used in Pepsi products. Aspartame has been in the news for some time and has a villanous reputation for causing a plethora of diseases including cancer and neurological diseases. For sixteen years, the GD Searle Group attempted to get FDA approval for aspartame with no success. In fact, the FDA's own toxicologist, Dr. Adrian Gross testified before congress that:

“without a shadow of a doubt, aspartame can cause brain tumors and brain cancer…”

Even with that, in 1981 a new FDA commissioner, Arthur Hays, was appointed by Donald Rumsfeld and before you know it this proven sweet poison had the coveted FDA approval stamp on it. So what has this deception cost us, the unknowing consumer?

For many years, there has been an increasing number of diseases on the rise, some being previously relatively unheard of. Diseases such as, fibromyalgia, MS, lupus, ADD, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, chronic fatigue, and depression. You see, studies have shown that the toxin, aspartame heads straight for cells within the nervous system and attacks them. Aspartame also likes to interact with a number of other chemical substances, like insulin, antidepressants, vaccines and even other artificial sweeteners, to name a few. Also, aspartame, like it's cousin Splenda, is found in a large variety of other products like dairy, juices, baked goods, candy and so on.

And guess what else? Studies have shown that artificial sweeteners cause us to feel hungry and crave sweets. It is believed that those who regularly use products containing artificial sweeteners actually gain weight as a result. Isn't that defeating the purpose?

What are sugar lovers to do?

The truth is sugar is bad period. Especially large amounts on a regular basis. Some experts agree that plain old sugar is better that chemically produced, artificial sweeteners. It seems to me the real deal is certainly the lesser of two evils. Eating healthier overall will reduce those sugar cravings, once your body becomes more balanced.

There is a natural sweetener called stevia that comes from the stevia plant. It is said to be 300 times sweeter than sugar. It can be found at your local health food store and is considered a dietary supplement and opposed to an artificial sweetener. That even sounds healthier to me.

sources:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/02/10/New-Study-of-Splenda-Reveals-Shocking-Information-About-Potential-Harmful-Effects.aspx

http://www.womentowomen.com/nutritionandweightloss/splenda.aspx

http://www.douglasreport.com/

Baby Steps to Better Health

Have you been meaning to start working out....tomorrow? How about those extra pounds, been thinking about that too? Sometimes just following simple basic principles can go along way to improve and ensure better health.

While a full out assault is a great way to approach an exercise program or improved eating habits, for some lifestyle changes can be so overwhelming that we quit before we begin.

Following are some common sense practices that can start us on a path to ideal health.

Eating Healthier

• Introduce new, healthier foods into your diet gradually.


• What we eat is often times a habit and habits take time create. Begin by eliminating chips for lunch and instead adding one fruit or vegetable. Once this habit takes hold introduce another healthy item while banning an unhealthy one. Over time you will realize you really don't miss those chips and cookies after all.

Portion Control

• Used to seconds on the mashed potatoes? Don't want to give them up? Then don't. Limit yourself to one serving and eat some extra vegetables. You are reducing some of your calorie intake and increasing your vegetable servings all at once.

Hydrate with Water and Only Water

• It really works. If you are not drinking the recommended eight glasses per day, start today.

Soda Junkie?

• Do yourself a favor and research what the stuff does to you. Also don't kid yourself and think about switching to diet soda, it's just as bad if not worse. Many so called "energy drinks" are just sugar in a bottle. Think water and start gradually eliminating soda, sugary juices and "energy drinks" from your daily drinking habits. You will see results fast.

Exercise

Whoever said "getting started is the hardest part" was absolutely right.

Whoever said "I'll start tomorrow" was telling a lie!

If this is you, and so many of us fall into this category, start slow, but start NOW.

• Can't touch your toes? Keep trying until you do.


• Can't make it to the mail box without getting out of breath? Take two trips a day, then challenge yourself to do more.


• At every parking lot you go, park in the last parking place and walk.


• Walk around the block. Then walk around the neighborhood.


• Start an exercise routine, anything at all for 10 minutes at a time and increase that by 5 minutes increments over time.

Reward Yourself

With every accomplishment, no matter how small, celebrate your victory. Keep your rewards healthy!

Of course you have taken baby steps, but the steps have all been in a forward direction. Before you know it, you will see and feel the results. You'll be running full speed ahead in no time.

Antibiotic Overkill

After contracting the Mad Dog Itch and the resulting futile trips to various doctors who shook their heads and gave me a variety of ineffective prescription drugs, I made a commitment to take the correct vitamins and supplements, eat better, and make my body healthier to prevent illness from striking. In the event I got sick, however, I surmised would still go to the doctor and get an antibiotic. I have since thought otherwise. First let me say we are completely overwhelmed by antibiotics. We run for one at the first sign of a symptom. We demand one for every infection and every perceived infection, ear, throat, respiratory, tooth, cut, you name it. Then there are viruses, we want antibiotics for those too, but the reality is antibiotics do nothing for viruses. Now here's the scary part, many doctors will give you one, (just ask, you'll see) even when you have a virus....."just in case" they will say.

Allow me to share a little scenario on the vicious cycle of antibiotics. First of all, antibiotics kill bacteria, not viruses. This statement in and of itself is vitally important due to the major overuse and misuse of antibiotics. Let's say you scurry to the doctor in panic mode because your throat is sore and you had strep throat two years ago and you certainly don't want to go through that again. The doctor sees no sign of infection, but gives you a "just in case" prescription of antibiotics and after a few days of taking them you feel better. The reality is you actually had a virus that came and went all by itself. The antibiotic you pumped in your body had to do something, so off to work it went eagerly killing good bacteria right and left. So now you are enjoying a yeast infection because good bacteria that naturally corrects the overproduction of yeast has met it's untimely demise from the antibiotic. While you are busy fighting that nasty yeast infection, you realize you feel bad, downright awful. Before you know it you have a cold that turns ugly and evolves into a sinus infection. Since your body was depleted from good bacteria, it's worn out and just doesn't have the fight it used to. Ironically this is the same fight a healthy body would have to kill off this infection. So of course off you go to the doctor to get yet another antibiotic and this time it has to be bigger and badder than the last one because the first one is no longer effective as your body is now immune to it. And so on and so on.

Do the drug companies care? Heck no, they are selling you multiple drugs and after all that's what they are in business for, to sell lots of drugs. The more the better for them. Does the doctor care? Perhaps, but if we were all healthy and didn't run to his office for every little bug, how long would he continue to have enough customers to sustain the nice, cushy lifestyle he has become accustomed to?

So what to do? If you are sick, really truly sick and there is a drug that will save your life, will you take this drug? Of course you will, I will too. However, to back up a few dozen steps, the ideal scenario is to prevent your body from becoming sick in the first place. Build your body into a fortress of ideal health that bacteria and viruses can not penetrate. Rid your body of toxins to build up your immune system. A strong immune system is your first line of defense to combat bacteria and viruses. In the event you need to fight a virus or infection, educate yourself and consider some natural treatments before resorting to drugs. Alternatives are out there.

Milestones

I want to give kudos and a shout out to my BFF, otherwise known as my husband.

He took the BIG STEP and quit smoking. He is on Day 11 and going strong. I am an ex-smoker, having quit almost twelve years ago and even though it's been a minute, I can well remember what it's like taking the BIG STEP. Like many people, it took me several failed attempts before I quit for good. The key to successfully quitting, in my opinion, is you have to be ready and in your mind know you are going to succeed. You can't do it because someone else is nagging you to do it, or giving you an ultimatum. You do it for you.

So my BFF after mentioning hundreds of times that "it's time to quit", but continued to purchase that last pack, casually asked me to pick up a box of "the patches" during my weekly grocery outing. And he quit. Just like that, because he was ready.

If you are a smoker, you too will know when your time has arrived. I truly hope that day comes for you. The health benefits and rewards are endless.

Read more........

MRSA In The News

Click here to view a CNN Video about the Superbug, MRSA

Once again MRSA (staphylococcus aureusis) is in the news. CNN tells us that MRSA could soon kill more people annually than AIDS. Currently MRSA affects over 100,000 people annually in the US alone.

MRSA, a strain of staph infection, is resistant to antibiotics, therefore earning the title of Superbug. MRSA is typically contracted in hospitals and is highly contagious.

To prevent the spread of MRSA, health care professionals recommend washing hands often and to eliminate sharing anything that can transfer bacteria to others, for example soda cans, water bottles, wash cloths etc.

An alternative choice, colloidal silver, is available and has been clinically proven to kill staph infections including MRSA. Following is a portion of an article about a study that proved colloidal silver's ability to eliminate MRSA:

March 31st, 2006 - Brigham Young University, Salt Lake City, UT Noted Molecular Biologist and Microbiologist Dr. Ron Leavitt, Ph.D. has recently conducted tests to determine the ability of American Biotech Labs' nanoparticulate Silver Solution to destroy pathogenic microorganisms. His testing results against many of the world's most virulent pathogens were outstanding, including the scourge of institutional infections, staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcus aureusis the bacteria that causes infections in millions of Americans annually, killing more than 100,000 every year. The nano-silver product killed this highly contagious bacteria in minutes. Dr. Leavitt's findings were so definitive that he stated, "There are no potentially pathogenic bacteria tested that this nano-particulate engineered Silver Solution has not killed."

To read the rest of this article, click here.

Silver Solution has been tested at 200 times the normal dosage rate and has not been found to be toxic even at this extreme dosage. This, combined with the bodies resistance to conventional antibiotics as well as the side effects experienced by some, makes colloidal silver a growing alternative choice to many people opting to live their lives more naturally.


Click here to read another article referencing studies on colloidal silver.

Antibiotic Alternatives

Antibiotic's and more specifically antibiotic alternatives are of particular interest to many of us. We keep hearing about MRSA and it's resistance to conventional antibiotics as well as all the stories about salmonella and E-coli food poisoning in the news lately. It is becoming clear that we need to establish new treatments, not just for the likes of MRSA and food contamination, but the more common everyday bacteria like ear infections, strep throat, UTI's and candida to name just a few. I found the article below on the FDA's website:

Facts About Antibiotic Resistance

Disease-causing microbes that have become resistant to drug therapy are an increasing public health problem. Tuberculosis, gonorrhea, malaria, and childhood ear infections are just a few of the diseases that have become hard to treat with antibiotic drugs.
Other facts:
Though food-producing animals are given antibiotic drugs for important therapeutic, disease prevention or production reasons, these drugs can cause microbes to become resistant to drugs used to treat human illness, ultimately making some human sicknesses harder to treat.
About 70 percent of bacteria that cause infections in hospitals are resistant to at least one of the drugs most commonly used to treat infections.
Some organisms are resistant to all approved antibiotics and must be treated with experimental and potentially toxic drugs. Some research has shown that antibiotics are given to patients more often than guidelines set by federal and other health care organizations recommend. For example, patients sometimes ask their doctors for antibiotics for a cold, cough, or the flu, all of which are viral and don't respond to antibiotics. Also, patients who are prescribed antibiotics but don't take the full dosing regimen can contribute to resistance.
Unless antibiotic resistance problems are detected as they emerge, and actions are taken to contain them, the world could be faced with previously treatable diseases that have again become untreatable, as in the days before antibiotics were developed.

http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/antiresist_facts.html

It's very nice the FDA recognizes we have a serious problem resulting from the overuse and misuse of antibiotics. What's unfortunate is that there are effective ways to treat infectious bacteria and even viruses (which antibiotics are powerless to treat) and the FDA won't approve these alternatives or allow those that offer them the ability to sell them unless they attach a disclaimer indicating the product is not approved by the FDA. This doesn't mean a product isn't effective, it just means the FDA doesn't have their stamp of approval on it, which could translate to the fact there isn't enough money to be made from these products and more specifically the products can't be called drugs and marketed as such. And if there isn't mega money to be made, well it just doesn't fit into the grand scheme of things.

It's unfortunate that in order to find an effective natural treatment for bacterial infections as well as plenty of other ailments, we are on our own to find good reputable resources. Alternative natural treatments don't have the over saturation of TV commercials, print ads and even Internet advertising that we constantly see for conventional drugs. That leaves those of us who are searching for alternative choices wading through all the thousands of products and information out there in order to make an educated decision.

Another Great Home Remedy

My youngest daughter is one of those little kids who immediately acquires a runny nose and nasty cough the minute the weather cools off. It drags on and on. One bout of flu like crud is almost gone and presto, there it is again. Bigger and badder than it's predecessor. And so we go, on and on.

A couple of weeks ago I was reading a blog, Heart Failure Solutions Carrie, the blogs author wrote a very informative post on the harmful effects of using cough medicine. When we cough, it is our bodies way of getting all the nasty stuff out. We then turn around and suppress it with cough medicine and defeat the bodies purpose of naturally curing itself. To read more about the harmful effects of cough medicine and more useful information, visit Heart Failure Solutions

Now back to my hacking daughter. In her post about cough medicine, Carrie recommends applying Vicks Vapor Rub to the bottom of your feet, putting socks on and getting a good nights sleep. We tried this and incredibly her cough was much improved after the first night and completely gone after the second night.....and hasn't returned. This child who has drug a runny nose and cough around with a box of Kleenex for as long as I can remember is now cough free.

No doctor visit, no prescriptions for drugs with multiple, harmful side effects and a healthy child at last. This home remedy is going to remain on my Top Ten Favorite List of Home Remedies for a very long time!

Cell Etiquette 101

I talk and text literally thousands of minutes a month to my BFF, otherwise known as my husband, as he travels extensively with his job. Even with all this talking and texting, I am extremely considerate of others and exhibit proper Cell Phone Etiquette at all times. I have unofficially dubbed myself the "Miss Manners of Cell Phone Etiquette". OK, at least for today's post because poor cell phone etiquette drives me crazy.

Let me share some recent Cell Phone Scenarios. Please be honest with yourself and admit if you are guilty, even in part, of these inconsiderate cell phone behaviors. Remember, the first step to getting help is admitting you have a problem. Read More........

The Truth And The Next Big Killer

I just read an article about the dangers of cell phones. Geez, I quit smoking, dramatically changed my diet, take vitamins and supplements, am trying to exercise more and now I have to quit talking on my cell phone? I know this isn't new news, but as time goes on and the cell phone generation gets older, I am certain we will hear about this more and more.

I'm afraid I am a cell phone addict. Now I practice extremely proper cell phone etiquette. Don't get me started, that is a whole other post in itself. No I'm an addict in that my BFF, also known as my husband, travels for his job. He is on the road all the time and we talk......all the time. When he pulls out of the driveway we are often already talking. It's how our relationship began as we lived indifferent states and it has always continued in that manner. So now I'm discovering the potential dangers of cell phone use and am in a stage of denial. Obviously, I don't want our relationship to change, it's what BFF's do. Talk and text. Literally thousands of minutes each month. But I only get one body in my life, so ignoring this subject isn't a good option.

The concern is of course that cellphones send out electromagnetic radiation that can penetrate the brain, thus causing brain cancer. There is debate to this as scientist's say that there have not been enough studies performed to found this as truth. However, an argument to that is there was a time when cigarette smoking was claimed to be safe by scientists. That was prior to performing those valuable studies that incriminated the tobacco companies as well as those same scientists who were often on the payroll. Oh yes, the truth.

Which leads me right to another point and that is, much like the drug companies and tobacco companies, telecommunication companies are making far too much money on cell phones to allow any truth to be told on the dangers. After all there are 3 billion of us using them and that number grows steadily each year.

So where does one obtain this education needed to make a choice about this important health issue? Can we find enough truthful information to make an educated decision? It's a tough question, but like so many other issue's concerning our health and the truth, the responsibility falls to us as individuals.

To begin, you can go to one of my favorite websites about alternative health: Mercola.com or click here to go directly to the article.

Now, if you will excuse me, I have to go call my BFF to tell him about this concern. Well maybe, I'll write a letter or send up smoke signals.