Everyone is talking about the New Health Care Plan that is in congress now. If you are concerned about health care and where it is going, you should sign up for ChiroVoice. Its a simple on line registration which allows the American Chiropractic Association to email you with informational updates and who to contact in your representatives office to stand for your rights in the health care arena.
Its free and there are no commitments required. Please go to chirovoice.com and sign up for this grassroots effort. Stay informed on whats going on with your future health.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Cholesterol is it good or bad?
CHOLESTEROL is a waxy, fat-like substance that is necessary for life. Your liver makes enough cholesterol to meet the body's needs.
There are two kinds of cholesterol, a "good" kind and a "bad" kind. The good kind, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), helps remove the bad kind, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and bring it back to the liver. LDL cholesterol transports cholesterol to the body’s cells. It’s like an oil truck that delivers fat to the cells. The cells have receptors that serve as docks for the LDL trucks. When the cells contain an excess of cholesterol from too much animal and dairy fat in the diet, the dock space is no longer available and the undeliverable cholesterol piles up in the blood. Hypertension and smoking are the two prime causes of "breaks" in the (endothelial) lining of the arterial walls. The LDL cholesterol trucks drive through these cracks and deposits their cargo into the tissue spaces. In time, these deposits thicken and harden causing a narrowing of the blood vessels. If these deposits break away, they are called clots and can cause heart attacks, strokes, pulmonary embolisms, etc. When the arteries around the heart become clogged, the blood supply is restricted to the heart causing angina pectoris.
Eating foods with saturated fat will cause the liver to make more cholesterol, especially LDL. A saturated fat is any fat that is solid when refrigerated (such as butter, lard, or margarine). Animal foods that supply saturated fat (such as red meat) are worse than eating a food that is high in cholesterol but virtually free of saturated fat (boiled shrimp and crab legs are good examples of foods that are high in cholesterol but free of fat. Boiled eggs are also high in cholesterol but low in fat). The cholesterol content in beef and turkey is about the same, but saturated fat is much higher in the beef, making turkey the desirable choice. Plants contain no cholesterol, but some are extremely high in saturated fats. Coconut, palm, palm kernel oil, and cocoa butter are saturated fats used in many processed foods. These vegetable fats can be worse for you than animal fats, so beware of products labeled "cholesterol free," or "made with 100 percent vegetable shortening." Unrefined beans, grains, vegetables, seeds, and nuts contain mostly unsaturated fats. The favored unsaturated oils include; olive oil, safflower oil, and sunflower oil.
97 PERCENT OF ALL HEART AND CIRCULATORY DISEASES CAN BE AVOIDED AND AN ESTIMATED 80 PERCENT CAN BE REVERSED with proper diet, nutritional therapies, lifestyle changes, and exercise.
Your "CORONARY RISK FACTOR" is calculated by dividing your HDL cholesterol into your total cholesterol. Ideally the ratio should be less than 3.0 and certainly less than 4.0.
TOTAL CHOLESTEROL
---------------------------------------- = IDEALLY LESS THAN 4.0
HDL
The higher the number, the greater the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
REMEMBER: MAINTAINING A GOOD HDL TO CHOLESTEROL RATIO WILL NOT ONLY PREVENT CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, BUT CAN ALSO REVERSE THIS CONDITION EVEN IN ITS ADVANCED STAGES.
There are two kinds of cholesterol, a "good" kind and a "bad" kind. The good kind, high-density lipoprotein (HDL), helps remove the bad kind, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and bring it back to the liver. LDL cholesterol transports cholesterol to the body’s cells. It’s like an oil truck that delivers fat to the cells. The cells have receptors that serve as docks for the LDL trucks. When the cells contain an excess of cholesterol from too much animal and dairy fat in the diet, the dock space is no longer available and the undeliverable cholesterol piles up in the blood. Hypertension and smoking are the two prime causes of "breaks" in the (endothelial) lining of the arterial walls. The LDL cholesterol trucks drive through these cracks and deposits their cargo into the tissue spaces. In time, these deposits thicken and harden causing a narrowing of the blood vessels. If these deposits break away, they are called clots and can cause heart attacks, strokes, pulmonary embolisms, etc. When the arteries around the heart become clogged, the blood supply is restricted to the heart causing angina pectoris.
Eating foods with saturated fat will cause the liver to make more cholesterol, especially LDL. A saturated fat is any fat that is solid when refrigerated (such as butter, lard, or margarine). Animal foods that supply saturated fat (such as red meat) are worse than eating a food that is high in cholesterol but virtually free of saturated fat (boiled shrimp and crab legs are good examples of foods that are high in cholesterol but free of fat. Boiled eggs are also high in cholesterol but low in fat). The cholesterol content in beef and turkey is about the same, but saturated fat is much higher in the beef, making turkey the desirable choice. Plants contain no cholesterol, but some are extremely high in saturated fats. Coconut, palm, palm kernel oil, and cocoa butter are saturated fats used in many processed foods. These vegetable fats can be worse for you than animal fats, so beware of products labeled "cholesterol free," or "made with 100 percent vegetable shortening." Unrefined beans, grains, vegetables, seeds, and nuts contain mostly unsaturated fats. The favored unsaturated oils include; olive oil, safflower oil, and sunflower oil.
97 PERCENT OF ALL HEART AND CIRCULATORY DISEASES CAN BE AVOIDED AND AN ESTIMATED 80 PERCENT CAN BE REVERSED with proper diet, nutritional therapies, lifestyle changes, and exercise.
Your "CORONARY RISK FACTOR" is calculated by dividing your HDL cholesterol into your total cholesterol. Ideally the ratio should be less than 3.0 and certainly less than 4.0.
TOTAL CHOLESTEROL
---------------------------------------- = IDEALLY LESS THAN 4.0
HDL
The higher the number, the greater the risk of developing cardiovascular disease.
REMEMBER: MAINTAINING A GOOD HDL TO CHOLESTEROL RATIO WILL NOT ONLY PREVENT CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, BUT CAN ALSO REVERSE THIS CONDITION EVEN IN ITS ADVANCED STAGES.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Beating Viruses with Monolauric Acid
Monolauric acid is an important natural agent that possesses a wide-spectrum activity against fungus and many viruses. It was first discovered in human breast milk when microbiologists studied the antiviral substances which protect infants from microbial infections. Monolauric acid is a natural, non-toxic antiviral agent that has shown no unwanted side effects in humans.
While some viruses are known to contribute to certain diseases (e.g., chicken pox, whooping cough, shingles, AIDS, etc.), others are thought, but not proven to contribute to other health problems. For instance, many studies have tried without success to link Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and some cancers to viral infections.
There are three major problems in the search to discover a drug that can effectively arrest viruses. One problem is the fact that antibiotics have absolutely no effect against viruses. The second is that the numerous drugs which have been investigated are so toxic they harm the body’s own cells. The third problem is the emergence of new and more resilient viruses.
Monolauric acid is an alternative solution for assisting our bodies to safely destroy viruses. It’s name comes from the fact it is derived from the fatty acid “laurate.” Laurate is normally produced by our bodies (as well as by many animals and plants) and is part of our natural immune system. Actually, fatty acids have long been known for their anti-viral activities but only recently have they been used in a supplement.
Viruses cannot live outside of a host except for a very short period of time. This means that once they are expelled by one host (e.g., a sneeze or cough), they must be taken in by a new host almost immediately or they will die. Once a virus is transferred to a new host, it must avoid detection by the immune system to survive. A common way is for the virus to hide in the new host’s body fat. That way it is camouflaged from the immune system.
The way monolauric acid works is pretty simple. Nature designed monolauric acid specifically for melting the fat away from viruses so the immune system could recognize and destroy them. Furthermore, it enhances other immune defenses against both fungus and viruses.
In studies performed at the Respiratory Virology Branch, Center of Disease Control, in Atlanta, Georgia, while monolauric acid was very effective for a number of viruses, it had no effect on rotaviruses, polio virus, and some viruses thought to be associated with encephalitis
While some viruses are known to contribute to certain diseases (e.g., chicken pox, whooping cough, shingles, AIDS, etc.), others are thought, but not proven to contribute to other health problems. For instance, many studies have tried without success to link Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and some cancers to viral infections.
There are three major problems in the search to discover a drug that can effectively arrest viruses. One problem is the fact that antibiotics have absolutely no effect against viruses. The second is that the numerous drugs which have been investigated are so toxic they harm the body’s own cells. The third problem is the emergence of new and more resilient viruses.
Monolauric acid is an alternative solution for assisting our bodies to safely destroy viruses. It’s name comes from the fact it is derived from the fatty acid “laurate.” Laurate is normally produced by our bodies (as well as by many animals and plants) and is part of our natural immune system. Actually, fatty acids have long been known for their anti-viral activities but only recently have they been used in a supplement.
Viruses cannot live outside of a host except for a very short period of time. This means that once they are expelled by one host (e.g., a sneeze or cough), they must be taken in by a new host almost immediately or they will die. Once a virus is transferred to a new host, it must avoid detection by the immune system to survive. A common way is for the virus to hide in the new host’s body fat. That way it is camouflaged from the immune system.
The way monolauric acid works is pretty simple. Nature designed monolauric acid specifically for melting the fat away from viruses so the immune system could recognize and destroy them. Furthermore, it enhances other immune defenses against both fungus and viruses.
In studies performed at the Respiratory Virology Branch, Center of Disease Control, in Atlanta, Georgia, while monolauric acid was very effective for a number of viruses, it had no effect on rotaviruses, polio virus, and some viruses thought to be associated with encephalitis
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Alpha Lipoic Acid and Diabetes
Eighty percent of all diabetics are classified as type 2, or non-insulin dependent diabetics. While type 1 diabetics must take insulin injections to live, type 2 diabetics commonly produce as much insulin as ever. The problem in type 2 diabetics is they have lost the ability to utilize their insulin.
In order for type 2 diabetics to recover their ability to utilize insulin, three steps are essential:
- Dietary modification: Saturated (trans) fats and refined sugar must be avoided while consuming foods that are easily metabolized (vegetables and fruits).
- An adequate exercise program: It must be vigorous enough to cause the body to better utilize its insulin.
- Adequate nutrition through proper diet and supplements: Even though most diabetic patients are overweight, they are malnourished.
The most common problem for diabetics is nerve damage closely followed by cardiovascular disease.
Alpha lipoic acid is indispensable in improving utilization of insulin and reversing nerve damage.
Nerve damage from diabetes causes muscle weakness which leads to an irregular heart rate and numbness with burning and extreme pain, especially in the feet. The first symptom of nerve damage from diabetes may be foot drop caused by weakening muscles. Blindness, kidney failure, and amputations are all expected diabetic complications which are caused by arteriosclerotic disease and nerve damage.
There are no effective medicines for treating diabetes. However, there is now hope. Recent studies report that the antioxidant nutrient, alpha lipoic acid, can begin restoring nerve function after only four months of high dose treatment.
The first clear evidence that nutritional treatment can reverse the nerve damage done by diabetes was produced by a German team. Seventy-three type 2 diabetics from seven German medical centers were ultimately selected and randomly assigned to receive either 800/mg of alpha lipoic acid or a placebo (sugar pill). At study’s end (four months), there was appreciable improvement in those taking alpha lipoic acid while no change was noted in the placebo group.
In 1993, Diabetes Care reported that gamma-linolenic acid from borage, black currant seed, or oil of evening primrose would reduce the always-present inflammation in diabetes. Yet, so far it has not gained favor with traditional medicine. It is probably safe to assume alpha lipoic acid will meet the same fate.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Vitamin C
The “C” in vitamin C stands for citrus. It was first discovered in oranges, lemons, limes, tangerines, and grapefruit (which are the best sources). Other good fruit sources of vitamin C are rose hips, cherries, cantaloupes, and strawberries. Vegetable sources include red and green peppers (the best), broccoli, brussels sprouts, tomatoes, asparagus, parsley, dark leafy greens, and cabbage.
“C” also stands for collagen. Collagen is necessary to keep our skin from wrinkling. It is also important to keep ligaments, cartilage, vertebral discs, joint linings, and the walls of blood vessels elastic. Important for bones and teeth, vitamin C is also essential to repair spinal discs, cartilage, wounds, and for blood vessel strength.
Vitamin C is a complex and basic nutrient that is required for almost all functions in the body. Since our bodies cannot make vitamin C, this essential nutrient must be obtained exclusively from our diet. Vitamin C is found only in fruits and vegetables and in small amounts in grains. The ideal diet would consist of at least 2,000 - 5,000 mg daily. Stress increases the need for vitamin C. However, it is a very unstable vitamin and is easily destroyed by heat (cooking) and the numerous preservatives put in our foods. This essential nutrient is also eliminated by most medications (antibiotics, aspirin and other pain medications), tobacco smoke and smokeless tobacco, alcohol, and environmental toxins (industrial solvents, pesticides, petroleum products, carbon monoxide, lead, cadmium, etc).
Vitamin C is a very important antioxidant. On the other hand, salt is an oxidant. Oxidation on cars results in rust. Oxidation in our bodies leads to a host of health problems including hardening of the arteries, cancer, infectious diseases, wrinkling of the skin and loss of vitamins A, B and E. These are conditions that cannot be reversed without vitamin C.
Linus Pauling lead the research of vitamin C and reported that in high doses it has the potential to strengthen the immune system, prevent and treat the common cold, as well as flu, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Authorities in alternative health care agree with Dr Pauling’s assessment of vitamin C. Now vitamin C is used to treat many viral conditions besides colds and flu. Hepatitis, herpes simplex infections, mononucleosis, measles and shingles, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and some skin conditions often report improvement with vitamin C. Many have reported the positive benefits of high doses of vitamin C in both preventing cancer and helping boost the immune system of patients with cancer.
It is often impossible or impractical to acquire therapeutic doses of vitamin C from our diet. Many doctors supplement with ascorbic acid (vitamin C). However, high doses (over 5,000 - 10,000 mg) may cause diarrhea. This diarrhea is only one time and the first indication that the body’s tissues are saturated with vitamin C. Unlike most medications, there are no dangerous side effects from this essential nutrient.
“C” also stands for collagen. Collagen is necessary to keep our skin from wrinkling. It is also important to keep ligaments, cartilage, vertebral discs, joint linings, and the walls of blood vessels elastic. Important for bones and teeth, vitamin C is also essential to repair spinal discs, cartilage, wounds, and for blood vessel strength.
Vitamin C is a complex and basic nutrient that is required for almost all functions in the body. Since our bodies cannot make vitamin C, this essential nutrient must be obtained exclusively from our diet. Vitamin C is found only in fruits and vegetables and in small amounts in grains. The ideal diet would consist of at least 2,000 - 5,000 mg daily. Stress increases the need for vitamin C. However, it is a very unstable vitamin and is easily destroyed by heat (cooking) and the numerous preservatives put in our foods. This essential nutrient is also eliminated by most medications (antibiotics, aspirin and other pain medications), tobacco smoke and smokeless tobacco, alcohol, and environmental toxins (industrial solvents, pesticides, petroleum products, carbon monoxide, lead, cadmium, etc).
Vitamin C is a very important antioxidant. On the other hand, salt is an oxidant. Oxidation on cars results in rust. Oxidation in our bodies leads to a host of health problems including hardening of the arteries, cancer, infectious diseases, wrinkling of the skin and loss of vitamins A, B and E. These are conditions that cannot be reversed without vitamin C.
Linus Pauling lead the research of vitamin C and reported that in high doses it has the potential to strengthen the immune system, prevent and treat the common cold, as well as flu, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Authorities in alternative health care agree with Dr Pauling’s assessment of vitamin C. Now vitamin C is used to treat many viral conditions besides colds and flu. Hepatitis, herpes simplex infections, mononucleosis, measles and shingles, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and some skin conditions often report improvement with vitamin C. Many have reported the positive benefits of high doses of vitamin C in both preventing cancer and helping boost the immune system of patients with cancer.
It is often impossible or impractical to acquire therapeutic doses of vitamin C from our diet. Many doctors supplement with ascorbic acid (vitamin C). However, high doses (over 5,000 - 10,000 mg) may cause diarrhea. This diarrhea is only one time and the first indication that the body’s tissues are saturated with vitamin C. Unlike most medications, there are no dangerous side effects from this essential nutrient.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Cancer Talk
Cancer can be likened to a fire on a mountain; even though half the mountain may now be blazing, the fire originally began from just one tiny spark. If the fire is discovered while still very small it can be put out very easily with damage so minimal it can hardly be detected. Cancer begins in much the same way, from one abnormal cell. A cell that, under normal circumstances, a competent immune system would have quickly identified and eliminated. However, a compromised immune system can allow a cancer cell to begin dividing until a tumor can be identified. Like a fire that is discovered and put out early, cancer caught and eliminated early does little damage. Unfortunately, most cancers are silent until they are well advanced. However, most cancers are preventable. The National Cancer Institute has long reported that 60 percent of all women’s cancer and 40 percent of all men’s cancers are directly related to the diet. Some authorities suggest that up to ninety nine percent of all cancers are preventable.
IMMUNE SYSTEM VERSUS CANCER
Think of our immune system as being like the police force of our bodies. The way the police and judicial system protect society is to confine individuals who show tendencies to disrupt civilization. Unlike our immune system, police cannot simply destroy a bad guy. Our immune system is designed to seek and exterminate all foreign material, including cancer cells. If our immune system cannot destroy all the cancer cells it then attempts to keep them contained. This contained group of cancer cells is then called a tumor. All tumors are very small to begin with. If the immune system becomes strong enough it will then destroy the tumor. If the immune system does not get strong enough to destroy this small tumor, the tumor can continue to grow until the cancer cells can overpower the immune system and escape. After escaping they are then swept to distant locations via the blood and lymphatic systems. The dreaded metastasis is when the cancer is allowed to travel from its original location to set up a colony in its new location.
WHAT IS TRUE CANCER PREVENTION???
True prevention is not allowing a condition to begin in the first place. But how can it be proven that a healthy lifestyle and proper diet had actually prevented a disease process from occurring? This can only be proven by statistics. For example, it has been well established that a far greater percentage of individuals who smoke tobacco will develop cancer than those who do not. Over the years it has been proven that individuals who consume the most fruits and vegetables are at a lower risk for most cancers. Regular exercise has also been proven through statistics to reduce the risk of several cancers. So, true prevention is avoiding the disease in the first place.
Most of what is referred to as cancer prevention is not true prevention, it is simply discovering the tumor at the earliest possible time so treatment can begin.
Chemoprevention is a new buzz word circulating in the health care world. Since prevention of disease has become more fashionable than treating disease traditional medicine has come up with this new expression. For the most part chemoprevention is associated with dietary modification, nutritional supplementation and following a healthy lifestyle in general.
However, once cancer has begun the best treatment is surgical removal before it has had a chance to metastasize. Once the cancer has metastasized and surgery “can’t get it all”, then chemotherapy and/or radiation is often called on to destroy the cancer cells. Unfortunately, both chemotherapy and radiation also destroy much of our own good tissue.
Some of the tissue more vulnerable to chemotherapy produces hair. However, more importantly tissues essential for maintaining our immune system and absorbing nutrition from our intestinal tract are also easily destroyed by chemotherapy. This places us in double jeopardy. Not only are the tissues that produce our immune system damaged, but also the ability of our digestive tract has been diminished to the point that absorption of nutrients necessary to produce our immune system has also been reduced.
DIAGNOSING CANCER:
The only way to diagnose cancer is from the history and by taking a biopsy of the suspected tissue and examining it under a microscope. A pre-cancerous lesion is where the cells being examined are not healthy, they have not yet turned to cancer. This is where traditional medicine takes “wait and see” attitude. If and when it does turn to cancer then a treatment program will be instituted of either surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation.
On the other hand, alternative practitioners would evaluate the lifestyle and dietary habits and prescribe orthomolecular nutritional supplementation according to the individual needs. While it cannot be clinically proven to reverse pre-cancerous lesions, there is substantial analytical evidence that it most likely will.
IMMUNE SYSTEM VERSUS CANCER
Think of our immune system as being like the police force of our bodies. The way the police and judicial system protect society is to confine individuals who show tendencies to disrupt civilization. Unlike our immune system, police cannot simply destroy a bad guy. Our immune system is designed to seek and exterminate all foreign material, including cancer cells. If our immune system cannot destroy all the cancer cells it then attempts to keep them contained. This contained group of cancer cells is then called a tumor. All tumors are very small to begin with. If the immune system becomes strong enough it will then destroy the tumor. If the immune system does not get strong enough to destroy this small tumor, the tumor can continue to grow until the cancer cells can overpower the immune system and escape. After escaping they are then swept to distant locations via the blood and lymphatic systems. The dreaded metastasis is when the cancer is allowed to travel from its original location to set up a colony in its new location.
WHAT IS TRUE CANCER PREVENTION???
True prevention is not allowing a condition to begin in the first place. But how can it be proven that a healthy lifestyle and proper diet had actually prevented a disease process from occurring? This can only be proven by statistics. For example, it has been well established that a far greater percentage of individuals who smoke tobacco will develop cancer than those who do not. Over the years it has been proven that individuals who consume the most fruits and vegetables are at a lower risk for most cancers. Regular exercise has also been proven through statistics to reduce the risk of several cancers. So, true prevention is avoiding the disease in the first place.
Most of what is referred to as cancer prevention is not true prevention, it is simply discovering the tumor at the earliest possible time so treatment can begin.
Chemoprevention is a new buzz word circulating in the health care world. Since prevention of disease has become more fashionable than treating disease traditional medicine has come up with this new expression. For the most part chemoprevention is associated with dietary modification, nutritional supplementation and following a healthy lifestyle in general.
However, once cancer has begun the best treatment is surgical removal before it has had a chance to metastasize. Once the cancer has metastasized and surgery “can’t get it all”, then chemotherapy and/or radiation is often called on to destroy the cancer cells. Unfortunately, both chemotherapy and radiation also destroy much of our own good tissue.
Some of the tissue more vulnerable to chemotherapy produces hair. However, more importantly tissues essential for maintaining our immune system and absorbing nutrition from our intestinal tract are also easily destroyed by chemotherapy. This places us in double jeopardy. Not only are the tissues that produce our immune system damaged, but also the ability of our digestive tract has been diminished to the point that absorption of nutrients necessary to produce our immune system has also been reduced.
DIAGNOSING CANCER:
The only way to diagnose cancer is from the history and by taking a biopsy of the suspected tissue and examining it under a microscope. A pre-cancerous lesion is where the cells being examined are not healthy, they have not yet turned to cancer. This is where traditional medicine takes “wait and see” attitude. If and when it does turn to cancer then a treatment program will be instituted of either surgery, chemotherapy, or radiation.
On the other hand, alternative practitioners would evaluate the lifestyle and dietary habits and prescribe orthomolecular nutritional supplementation according to the individual needs. While it cannot be clinically proven to reverse pre-cancerous lesions, there is substantial analytical evidence that it most likely will.
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