WARREN KING, L.Ac.

When I received a postcard inviting me to a 2 hour talk on inflammatory bowel disease I thought “I treat lots of inflamed bowels, let’s see what the experts have to say.” There was free valet parking and free food. I was surprised at the number of people, I thought there would be a few dozen, it was closer to 250, with three large screens. The first speaker specialized in using drugs for inflamed bowels. There were about 5 levels of drugs, each with more severe side effects than the last and there was no way to know who would get what side effects. The only natural approach they mentioned was that using tobacco seems to help people with Chrone’s disease, but to protect their lungs the nicotine patch is often used. They have to to do many many tests to determine what kind of intestinal disease they have. Some people who swallow the camera in a capsule need surgery to remove the stuck camera.

 

The second doctor was the surgeon. He steps in when the drugs fail to work over time, which not surprisingly is quite often. He was very pleased that intestines can now be removed with very little cutting of the abdomen. He showed samples of really gross and inflamed removed colons. He said once you have one surgery, you would often have to come back for more. Many need colostomy bags, but some can have the small intestine hooked up to the rectum, then you just have to have soft stools about 6 times a day.

 

When they collected questions for the doctors at the end I wasn’t disappointed as mine was actually read. I asked why there was no talk on alternatives such as special diets, probiotics and alternative approaches such as acupuncture. He said that was a very common question. He said using bacteria to change the gut inflammation is exciting future research. And he wishes there were studies on diet, but the drug companies haven’t yet put in the big bucks in order to do a study. And there is just no research on acupuncture and other modalities. And he actually said that probiotics are untested and are expensive so not to waste your money until it is proven. Seriously, they sell tens of thousands of dollars of tests, drugs and surgery and have no clue about probiotics.

 

I have been using diets, herbs, homeopathics and probiotics for over 20 years. I specialize in digestive disorders. None of my patients have had to have their colons removed after working with me. There are plenty of studies on probiotics and acupuncture but none sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry. I think that every one in that room, if told the truth, would rather try an effective alternative non-toxic, non-invasive, inexpensive approach first, before taking dangerous and even life-threatening drugs and surgery.

 

I would love to be an a study where 20 people with the first symptoms of inflammatory bowels are split into two groups, 10 get and alternative approach and 10 get a medical approach and then in 1 year see how people have fared and how much the care has cost. Until that time I will rely on my experience and work with those open enough to give it a try.

 

Are You Mercury Toxic?

Mercury exposure and toxicity is a prevalent and significant public health threat. A well-established neurotoxin — a substance that is damaging to the brain and nervous system — mercury has been linked with brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and is potentially linked to autism.

Research shows that people with Alzheimer’s disease often have blood levels of mercury up to three times higher than people who are not suffering from the disease. In another study, researchers added small amounts of mercury to cultured neurons in a laboratory and found seven cell features that are used in the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Once it makes its way into our bodies, mercury can be difficult to eliminate. The symptoms of mercury excess, according to neurologist, Dr. David Perlmutter, are similar to severe brain aging, because in a sense mercury is aging the brain. In his book, The Better Brain Book, Dr. Perlmutter states that “mercury does its dirty work by promoting free radical production and inflammation; this is the same process that causes normal brain degeneration, but mercury does it much faster.” Essentially, mercury exposure speeds the aging of the brain.

Infants are particularly vulnerable because they are unable to excrete mercury, so it accumulates in the brain cells, nerves, gut, and liver, and can cause the symptoms of poisoning.

Research links mercury exposure to heart arrhythmias and disorders. It has also been associated with neurological problems like tremors, insomnia, polyneuropathy (a degenerative disease of the nerves caused by toxins), paresthesias (prickling or tingling sensations of the nerves usually resulting from nerve damage), emotional instability or changeability, irritability, personality changes, headaches, weakness, blurred vision, dysarthria (difficulty communicating due to central nervous system disease), slowed mental response, and unsteady mobility.”

Symptoms of Mercury Excess:

• Allergic tendencies

• Confusion

• Convulsions

• Depression or uncontrollable crying

• Diabetes

• Difficulty chewing or swallowing

• Facial and back pain

• Fatigue

• Food cravings

• High blood pressure

• Inflamed gums

• Irritability

• Loss of ability to speak

• Loss of appetite

• Loss of self-confidence

• Memory loss

• Mental disturbances or personality changes

• Metallic taste in the mouth

• Poor memory

• Tremors or poor coordination

Of course, many of these symptoms can also be linked with other health conditions, so it is important to work with a qualified health professional. Conversely, it is possible to experience no symptoms of mercury toxicity. Typically, however, one or more of the above symptoms will be present.

Primary Sources of Mercury:

• Dental fillings (amalgam, or silver-looking fillings)

• Fish

• Immunizations

Mercury is emitted into the environment from coal-fired power plants, through medical waste incinerators, and trash incinerators. Once mercury makes its way into the air, it falls as rain into oceans, lakes, rivers, and streams. Bacteria in the water break the mercury down into an organic form called methyl mercury, which is highly toxic. We may ingest this mercury through our water supply or from the fish found in these mercury-laden waters.

A diet high in fish, especially halibut, king mackerel, shark, swordfish, tilefish, white albacore tuna (both canned and fresh), and farmed salmon, makes it easy to exceed the EPA’s allowable amount of mercury in the body. As a result, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a warning advising pregnant women not to eat the fish with the highest levels of mercury because of the potential harm to their fetuses. Fish typically containing the lowest levels of mercury include sardines, haddock, wild or Pacific salmon, and tilapia.

Food sources are not the only culprits. There are two other common sources of mercury. One of the worst sources of mercury sits right beneath your nose. All those silvery-metallic dental fillings known as amalgams in your mouth contain mercury.

In the Journal of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine, Dr. Mercola and Dr. Klinghardt state that people with amalgam fillings exceed all occupational exposure allowances of mercury in all European and North American countries. Adults with four or more amalgams run a significant health risk from the amalgam, while in children, as few as two amalgams will contribute to health problems.

Mercury is used as a preservative, called thimerosal, in vaccines. Of the vaccines that still contain mercury, the flu vaccine is the biggest concern. About 80 percent of flu vaccines contain as much as 25 micrograms of mercury per dose. The Environmental Protection Agency’s safe limit for mercury exposure is 0.1 micrograms per kilogram, so only a 550-pound person could receive a flu vaccine and fall within the EPA’s safe exposure limits for mercury.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended in 2004 that infants and pregnant women should be vaccinated with the flu shot. Yet, when a pregnant woman is vaccinated with the flu shot, her unborn child receives several hundred times more mercury than U.S. federal agencies claim is safe for adults. Even the vaccine manufacturers who profit from the sale of flu shots state that the vaccine hasn’t been adequately tested.

I believe in 15 years people will look back on all the drug company ads and commercials with the same disbelief that we have in seeing these old soda ads.

If you can’t read the small print, it says:

How soon is too soon?  Not soon enough. Laboratory tests over the last few years have proven that babies who start drinking soda during that early formative period have a much higher chance of gaining acceptance and “fitting in” during those awkward pre-teen and teen years. So, do yourself a favor. do your child a favor. Start them on a strict regimen of sodas and other sugary carbonated beverages right now, for a lifetime of guaranteed happiness.

This one says:

Why we have the youngest customers in the business. This young man is 11 months old-and he isn’t our youngest customer by any means.

For 7-up is so pure, so wholesome, you can even give it to babies and feel good about it. Look at the back of a 7-Up bottle. Notice that all our ingredients are listed (That isn’t required of soft drinks, you know-but we’re proud to do it and we think you’re pleased that we do.)

By the way, Mom, when it comes to toddlers-if they like to be coaxed to drink their milk, try this. Add 7-Up to the milk in equal parts, pouring the 7-Up gently into the milk. It’s a wholesome combination-and it works! Make 7-Up your family drink. You like it…it likes you!

(NaturalNews) A diet including unlimited amounts of junk food can cause rats to become so addicted to the unhealthy diet that they will starve themselves rather than go back to eating healthy food, researchers have discovered.

In a series of studies conducted over the course of three years and published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, Scripps Florida scientists Paul Johnson and Paul Kenny have shown that rats’ response to unlimited junk food closely parallels well-known patterns of drug addiction — even down to the changes in brain chemistry.

“What we have are these core features of addiction, and these animals are hitting each one of these features,” Kenny said.

In their first study, the researchers fed rats on either a balanced diet or on the same diet plus unlimited access to junk foods purchased at a local supermarket, including processed meats and cakes. Within a short time period, the rats on the junk food diet began to eat compulsively and quickly became overweight.

“They’re taking in twice the amount of calories as the control rats,” Kenny said.

The researchers hypothesized that the rats were eating compulsively because, like drug addicts, they had become desensitized to smaller amounts and needed more and more for the same rush of pleasure.

Many recreational drugs work by directly stimulating the brain’s pleasure centers, particularly the dopamine receptor known as D2. Overstimulation of this receptor causes the body to start producing less dopamine, leading the addict to compensate by taking more of the drug.

Since dopamine can also be released by pleasurable activities such as food or sex, Kenny and Johnson speculated that food addiction could develop in the same way. To test whether the rats had, in fact, become habituated to dopamine, the researchers took the rats from the first experiment and hooked their brains up to a device that would directly stimulate their D2 receptors when they ran on a wheel.

Rats eating a junk food diet ran on the wheel significantly longer than rats fed a normal diet, suggesting that their receptors had indeed become desensitized. This “profound” desensitization occurred after just five days on a junk food diet.

“They’re not experiencing rewards the way they should,” Kenny said. “When you experience that, one way of feeling better is to go back to the junk food.”

“They lose control. This is the hallmark of addiction.”

In another test of their addiction hypothesis, the researchers used a virus to block the D2 receptors in healthy rats. All those rats soon became compulsive eaters.

“This is the most complete evidence to date that suggests obesity and drug addiction have common neurobiological underpinnings,” Johnson said.

Having established that the junk food rats had become addicted, Johnson and Kenny wanted to know how far this addiction would push them. So they took both junk-food addicted rats and rats that had not previously been exposed to such food, and exposed them to electrical shocks whenever they ate junk. Rats that had just been introduced to junk food quickly stopped eating it, while the addicted rats ignored the discomfort and kept eating.

Perhaps the most shocking finding came when the researchers took away the addicted rats’ access to junk food and started feeding them only healthy rat chow again — the same diets the rats had eaten as pups. When junk food was no longer available, the rats simply refused to eat for two weeks.

“They actually voluntarily starved themselves,” Kenny said.

“It’s almost as if you break these things, it’s very, very hard to go back to the way things were before. Their dietary preferences are dramatically shifted.”

The research strongly suggests that many modern humans also suffer from junk food addictions. Kenny notes, however, that unlike the rats, all humans with access to junk food do not become obese. He attributes this difference to the influence of health knowledge and social pressure in moderating people’s natural eating habits.

“The rats don’t suffer from the same social pressures that we do,” he said.

The idea of junk food addiction is not a new one, and the dopamine-junk food connection was actually put forward by former FDA Commissioner David Kessler in his best-selling book, The End of Overeating.

“Certainly, we see this addictive pattern in humans,” nutritionist Sandy Livingston said. “They know they shouldn’t overeat, but they do it anyway.”

Livingston expressed hope that better knowledge about the biochemical side of food addiction might result in lessened guilt and judgment surrounding obesity.

“A lot of people blame themselves — ‘Why don’t I have any willpower?’” she said.

“Food can be highly addictive,” said author and nutritional supplement producer Jordan Rubin. “When people describe overeating and weight loss as a battle, this is why.”

He called for more research into which individual components of junk food, such as MSG, might be behind its addictive effects.

Obesity researcher Ralph DiLeone of Yale University noted that more research is needed into the long-term effects of such addiction, even if an animal later switches its diet and loses weight.

“They might be a normal weight, but how they respond to food in the future may be permanently altered,” he said.

I have been pondering lately on why Americans are become so large so quickly. I think it is much more than we are eating more quantity of food and not exercising enough. It is true that we are what we eat, we take on the energy of the food we eat, it’s consciousness.  The chickens we eat mature in 42 days, half the time it took decades ago, cow’s are fattened on corn and given antibiotics to fatten them up. Now salmon has been genetically engineered to double in size and farmed fish are like couch potatoes, eating food not made for fish and with hardly room to move. Eggs are mostly made from chickens that are trapped in cages and can never move around. Milk has growth hormone to force the poor cows to produce an extra 10% more of milk. Even our vegetables and fruits have gotten larger with hybrids but more tasteless with less life force energy than they had in the past. Everything is big and fast, and we are getting fast big!  We need to get back to eating organic food mostly raised locally by loving and caring farmers.

Teflon fumes may be dangerous to your health

Non stick pans seem nice as the food doesn’t stick. There is just one drawback; non-stick pans may be hazardous to one’s health — not, as you may think, due to chipping, but to fumes.

When non-stick pans are heated to high temperatures, the coating breaks down and vaporizes, releasing toxic substances into the air. DuPont, the maker of Teflon, admits as much, only the company claims that temperatures must exceed 500° F for “deterioration” to occur, and 660° F for “significant decomposition.” According to DuPont, temperatures don’t even get to 500° F in the course of “normal” cooking, except in the broiler.

Au contraire, says the Environmental Working Group. Non-stick pans do get that hot when preheated on high — a practice many cooks follow. It doesn’t take much time either for temperatures to climb. In tests conducted on ordinary gas and electric stoves, Teflon and other non-stick pans topped 700° F in three to five minutes.

With food cooking in the pan, temperatures stay lower. So people who don’t preheat their pans wouldn’t usually experience temperatures in the danger zone, unless, of course, they left the kitchen for a few minutes and the food burned — say, when a neighbor knocked or a child called.

Bird-owners have known about the dangerous fumes for years. There are many documented cases of birds dropping dead from exposure to “offgases” from non-stick products (including toaster ovens and heat lamps). Significantly, some occurred when the non-stick temperature was in the 400-500° F range. While it’s not surprising that birds, with their sensitive respiratory systems, would be affected at these low temperatures, the fact that it happens does suggest that non-stick coatings can disintegrate below 500° F.

Though people are less susceptible to the fumes than birds, they can still sicken from polymer fume fever — a flu-like condition with symptoms that include chest tightness and a mild cough. In severe cases, lung injury may result. More worrisome is the possibility of long-term damage from several of the toxins found in the fumes. Of particular concern is PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid), also known as C8, which causes liver, pancreatic, testicular and mammary gland tumors in rats, as well as immune system problems, reproductive problems and birth defects. According to an independent EPA scientific advisory board, PFOA is a likely human carcinogen. It has been found in the blood of more than 90 percent of Americans — and animals around the globe. In terms of persistence in the environment, it is unrivaled. As far as can be determined, PFOA never breaks down.

Of course, we don’t all have PFOA in our bloodstreams solely as a result of cooking with non-stick pans — or using other consumer products that are made with, or break down to, PFOA, of which there are many. In fact, scientists are rather mystified about how this synthetic chemical has come to be so pervasive, but suspect that manufacturing processes as well as consumption may be to blame.

A skeptical person might point out that Teflon has been in use for 50 years. If it was so dangerous, why was it ever allowed on the market in the first place? The answer is simple. When it comes to approving chemicals used in consumer products (as opposed to food), our regulatory system is relatively toothless. Basically, there are no federal requirements that the chemicals be proven safe for human health or the environment prior to being manufactured or sold. Essentially, the government has to wait till there’s evidence that the substance does harm before it can act. That’s where we are with PFOA right now. The evidence of harm is trickling in and the EPA is finally beginning to study the matter.

It’s the same pattern we’ve seen before. Chemicals — such as PCBs or DDT — are introduced, gain widespread usage, and then are found to be harmful. At that point, the government steps in and bans or controls use of the substance. With persistent chemicals that degrade slowly in the environment, we’re stuck with the ill effects for years. In the case of an indestructible chemical like PFOA, we may be stuck forever.

You may already be breathing air, drinking water and eating vegetables contaminated with PFOA. Until serious study, monitoring and regulation of this chemical occurs, you wouldn’t know it or be able to do anything about it. One thing you can do, however, is to avoid buying products made with it, such as non-stick pans.

And if you already have a non-stick pan in your kitchen, be sure to use it carefully. Never preheat it or use with high heat, and always keep your eye on it while cooking. Watching a pot won’t keep it from boiling, but will ensure it doesn’t burn.

Naturally non-stick . For a great non-stick alternative, try a seasoned cast iron pan. Except for weight (it’s heavy!), it is superior in every respect. It heats evenly, browns food beautifully, keeps cooked food warm in the pan, enables low-fat cooking, can be used with metal utensils and lasts a lifetime, literally. To season: wash with warm soapy water, rub with solid vegetable shortening, and heat in a 300° oven for an hour. Cook high-fat foods in it the first few times to lock in the seasoning. After that, anything goes.

To care for your pan: wash in hot water with a stiff brush. Dry thoroughly and store with the cover off so air can circulate. Do not store food in it. You’ll know it’s time to reseason if rust appears, food acquires a metallic taste or food sticks.

Repellent packaging? PFOA- based coatings are used to repel grease on a variety of fast food packages, including pizza boxes, microwave popcorn packages and french fry containers. There is concern that if the coatings break down when exposed to heat, PFOA might migrate to the food and be ingested. This is one of many PFOA questions requiring research.

To preheat or not to preheat . NEVER preheat non-stick pans, but DO preheat other types for better cooking results — especially cast iron. To preheat, use a medium heat setting, never high.

The Dark Side of Unfermented Soy

Writings about the soybean date back to 3000 B.C., when the Emperor of China listed the virtues of soybean plants for regenerating the soil for future crops. His praises centered on the root of the plant, not the bean. These ancient writing suggested that the Chinese recognized the unfitness of soybeans for human consumption in their natural form. Now 5000 years later, we are once again catching on to the anti-nutritive qualities of the soybean, and realizing that the only soybean worth eating is one that has been fermented.



The key to releasing the nutrients of the soybean has been known for thousands of years.

About 1000 B.C. some smart person in China discovered that a mold, when allowed to grow on soybeans, destroyed the toxins present and made the nutrients in the beans available to the body. This process became known as fermentation and led to the creation of the still popular foods tempeh, miso, and natto.

A few centuries later, a simpler process was developed to prepare soybeans for consumption. After lengthy soaking and cooking, the beans were treated with nigari, a substance found in seawater. The end product was tofu. During the Ming dynasty, fermented soy appeared in the Chinese Materia Medica as a nutritionally important food and an effective remedy for diseases.


Unfermented soybeans contain potent anti-nutrients.

In their natural form, soybeans contain phytochemicals with toxic effects on the human body. The three major anti-nutrients are phytates, enzyme inhibitors and goitrogens.
These anti-nutrients are the way nature protects the soybean plant so that it can live long enough to effectively reproduce. They function as the immune system of the plant, offering protection from the radiation of the sun, and from invasion by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. They make the soybean plant unappetizing to foraging animals. All plants have some anti-nutrient properties, but the soybean plant is especially rich in these chemicals. If they are not removed by extensive preparation such as fermentation or soaking, soybeans are one of the worst foods a person can eat.

Unfermented soy has been linked to digestive distress, immune system breakdown, PMS, endometriosis, reproductive problems for men and women, allergies, ADD and ADHD, higher risk of heart disease and cancer, malnutrition, and loss of libido.

Groups most at risk of experiencing negative effects from the anti-nutrient properties of soy are infants taking soy baby formula, vegetarians eating a high soy diet, and mid-life women going heavy on the soy foods thinking they will help with symptoms of menopause.



Soybeans contain high levels of phytates

All legumes contain phytate (also known as phytic acid) to some extent, but the soybean is particularly rich in this anti-nutrient. Phytate works in the gastrointestinal tract to tightly bind minerals such as zinc, copper, iron, magnesium and calcium. It has a particularly strong affinity for zinc, a mineral that supports wound healing, protein synthesis, reproductive health, nerve function, and brain development. It is believed that people living in developing countries are shorter than those in developed countries because of zinc deficiency caused by eating too many legumes. There is also evidence that mental development can be negatively impacted by a diet high in phytate.

In most legumes such as other varieties of beans, soaking is enough to break down most of the phytate content. However the soybean requires that the enzymes be released in the fermentation process to reduce its phytate content to the point where it becomes fit for consumption. This means that fermented soy foods like miso and tempeh have the lowest levels of phytate and are the best choices for anyone wishing to eat soybean products. Tofu is also a good choice, as long as care is taken to replenish loss nutrients.

Whole soybeans, soy milk, soy chips, soy protein isolates, soy flour and all the other myriad of products made from processed soybeans and advertised as health foods have much higher levels of phytate and are not worth eating.



Unfermented soy products are rich in enzyme inhibitors.

When food is eaten, digestive enzymes such as amylase lipase and protease are secreted into the digestive tract to help break it down and free nutrients for assimilation into the body. The high content of enzyme inhibitors in unfermented soybeans interferes with this process and makes carbohydrates and proteins from soybeans impossible to completely digest. When foods are not completely digested because of enzyme inhibitors, bacteria in the large intestine try to do the job, and this can cause discomfort, bloating, and embarrassment. Anyone with naturally low levels of digestive enzymes such as elderly people would suffer the most from the enzyme inhibiting action of soy.



Soybeans can block production of thyroid hormone

Soybeans have a high content of goitrogens, substances that can block the production of thyroid hormone as well as cause goiter formation. Low thyroid activity plagues women in America, particularly middle-aged women. Thyroid hormone stokes the cellular furnaces, known as mitochrondia. When thyroid production is low, energy levels as well as body heat are also low. Low thyroid level is what makes old people move so slowly and seem like every action is a huge chore. Low thyroid means the action of the heart is reduced, resulting in lack of oxygen to the cells, a prime condition for cancer.

Genistein, an isoflavone found in soybeans, can also block thyroid production. Phytate can accentuate these effects because it binds up zinc and copper, leaving little of these important minerals available to make thyroid hormone.

A transport protein called GLUT1 is shut down by genistein. This protein sends glucose into the cells where it is used to generate energy. Slowing the transport of glucose means less energy production not only of thyroid hormone, but of every other action in the body.

Another way in which soy isoflavones reduce energy in the body is by inhibiting tyrosine kinases, enzymes involved in the transfer of energy from one molecule to another. These enzymes drive cell division, memory consolidation, tissue repair, and blood vessel maintenance and regeneration.

It is this action of regulating cell division that made genistein a popular substance for fighting cancer. When research on this anti-cancer effect of genistein became know, the soy industry feverishly developed products that would appeal to Western women looking for genistein. In the middle of all this excitement, little attention was paid to how the energy reducing effects of genistein lowered cellular energy in normal cells.

The benefits of genistein come at a high cost

Women have been encouraged to use high genistein soy products to alleviate symptoms of menopause and as a guard against bone loss and breast cancer. But given the full range of effects of genistein in the body, high consumption could result in age-related memory loss. Commercial soybean products offer genistein levels as high as 20 to 60 mg per serving. Asians are presented as an example of the benefits of eating soybean products because their incidence of breast cancer and osteoporosis is low. However, the Asian diet of fermented soybean products such as miso and tempeh includes only around 5 mg of genistein a day.

Genistein slows the growth of blood vessels to tumors, another action that makes it popular as a cancer fighter. However, it has the same effect on blood vessels serving normal cells. Eating a regular diet high in genistein could result in the starvation of healthy blood vessels, resulting in a reduced supply of oxygen to cells, setting up a cancer promoting situation.

In a graphic example of how genistein slows cellular energy, a study found that eating high levels of it slowed hair growth by 60 to 80 percent

A decade ago a study of 8,000 Asian men showed that those consuming the highest amounts of tofu had smaller brain size and nearly three times the rate of senile dementia as those who ate the lowest amounts. These results suggest that eating foods high in isoflavones such as soy protein isolates may accelerate the aging of the brain.



Fermentation releases nutrients and transforms soybeans into nutritious food

People filling up their shopping carts with raw or cooked soybeans, soy milk, and other non-fermented soybean products do not realize that the isoflavones they contain will not be available to their bodies. Most of the isoflavones in soy products are bound to carbohydrate molecules called glucosides. In this form genistein is actually called genistin. It is fermentation that transforms genistin into genistein. Many products in the U.S. do not distinguish between genistin and genistein on their labels.

Even with fermented soy foods, a little goes a long way. The nutrients found in miso, tempeh, and natto can be beneficial in the moderate amounts found in the typical Asian diet, but have the potential to do harm in higher amounts. In China and Japan, about an ounce of fermented soy food is eaten on a daily basis.

When fermented soy foods are used in small amounts they help build the inner ecosystem, providing a wealth of friendly microflora to the intestinal tract that can help with digestion and assimilation of nutrients, and boost immunity.

Dr. John Lee, author of several books on the health of women, recommended that women wishing to consume soy production eat only miso, tempeh, natto. Tofu can also be eaten provided it is accompanied by fish or some other protein source and some seaweed or kelp to replenish bound minerals. Eating small amounts of these foods will provide the cancer protective effects of genistein without causing the other potential problems of genistein. Dr. Lee recommended avoiding genistein and isoflavone supplements, and soy protein isolates.

If a child eats conventionally grown produce, will it affect his or her health? Recent research revealed that pesticides do show up in the urine of children after consuming non-organic foods. Though the study did not look at whether or not some of the chemicals stay in the tissues and cause damage, other research says they do.

Researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle and Emory University in Atlanta, headed by Chensheng Lu, tested urine samples from 21 children in the Seattle area who ate conventionally grown foods and then ate similar organic varieties for five days, before returning to seven more days of conventional foods. To be extra certain, the organic foods were tested and found to be free of chemicals.

Urine samples were collected twice daily for a period of 7, 12, or 15 consecutive days during each of the four seasons. It was found that levels of organophosphates, a family of pesticides resulting from the creation of nerve gas agents in World War II, could be identified in the urine during the time conventional produce was eaten. Within eight to 36 hours after switching to organic versions, the pesticides in the urine disappeared.

Previous studies have found a correlation between pesticides and neurological problems in the brains of rats. Dr. Theodore Slotkin of North Carolina’s Duke University has written up the results of several such studies. He found that brain development and behavior were both negatively impacted after exposure to organophosphates, especially chlorpyrifos, one of the pesticides in the recent study.

Andrew Schneider, writing in the Seattle P.I. quotes Lu, who says “more research must be done into the harm these pesticides may do to children, even at the low levels found on food… In animal and few human studies, we know chlorpyrifos inhibits an enzyme that transmits a signal in the brain so the body can function properly. Unfortunately, that’s all we know.

“It is appropriate to assume that if we – human beings – are exposed to (this class of) pesticides, even though it’s a low-level exposure on a daily basis, there are going to be some health concerns down the road,” said Lu, who is on the Environmental Protection Agency’s pesticide advisory panel.

We do know that toxins affect children differently than adults, as they are still developing and are thus more fragile neurologically. Some pesticides contain potent neurotoxicants, which work by disrupting an organism’s nervous system. There are studies which have found that exposure to pesticides affects growth and neurological development. So it would seem very likely that ingestion of pesticide residue in young children especially would lead to negative effects on health and development. At the very least, there must be an effect to the liver and kidneys for the extra work they are forced to do.

Consider what a teacher’s curriculum guide from Yale University states:

“-A young child’s renal system is not fully developed. For example, a newborn’s kidneys are immature compared to an adult’s, making it more difficult for the infant to eliminate toxic waste. This can lead to a greater buildup and increases their vulnerability.

-A young child’s brain, nervous system, immune system, and other organ systems are still developing and are therefore most susceptible to abnormalities and malfunctions.

-When children are exposed to toxins, there is more time for resulting damage to occur than when adults are exposed. To elaborate, if a series of events have to occur before the toxic effects of chemicals present, then it is more likely that those events will occur someday if the children are exposed early in life as opposed to exposure much later.

-Due to the rapid cell growth in children, they appear to be more susceptible to some carcinogens than adults are.”

Because of such concerns, the Food Quality Protection Act required that by 2006, the EPA was to complete a comprehensive reassessment of the 9,721 pesticides permitted for use. They were to determine safe levels of pesticide residues for all food products.

Even though this law’s passage resulted in a lowering of pesticide amounts applied to foods intended for children, many critics still consider the levels too high for safety. The other concern is that there are no restrictions on imported foods.

This effect was born out by the study, as higher levels of pesticides were found in the children’s urine in the fall and winter, when consumers rely more on imported fruits and vegetables.

Other critics point out that because of this and the EPA’s too lenient restrictions, more needs to be done. They state that it only makes sense to strengthen the limits on such exposure to pesticides at a time when children are evidencing more behavior, learning and neurological problems.

According to Schneider, Lu does not believe children should only eat organic. For Lu’s family, which includes two sons, about 60 percent of the diet is organic. “‘Consumers,’ he says, ‘should be encouraged to buy produce direct from the farmers they know. These need not be just organic farmers, but conventional growers who minimize their use of pesticides.’”

To help consumers make choices as to which foods to buy as organic, the Environmental Workers Group produced a ranking. In this list, the higher the item is ranked, the lower the amount of pesticides to be found in that item. So if a family can only buy some organic produce, the priority would be peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, celery, nectarines and strawberries, etc.

The Full List: 43 Fruits & Veggies

RANK FRUIT OR VEGGIE SCORE

1(worst) Peaches 100 (highest pesticide load)

2 Apples 96

3 Sweet Bell Peppers 86

4 Celery 85

5 Nectarines 84

6 Strawberries 83

7 Cherries 75

8 Lettuce 69

9 Grapes – Imported 68

10 Pears 65

11 Spinach 60

12 Potatoes 58

13 Carrots 57

14 Green Beans 55

15 Hot Peppers 53

16 Cucumbers 52

17 Raspberries 47

18 Plums 46

19 Oranges 46

20 Grapes – Domestic 46

21 Cauliflower 39

22 Tangerine 38

23 Mushrooms 37

24 Cantaloupe 34

25 Lemon 31

26 Honeydew Melon 31

27 Grapefruit 31

28 Winter Squash 31

29 Tomatoes 30

30 Sweet Potatoes 30

31 Watermelon 25

32 Blueberries 24

33 Papaya 21

34 Eggplant 19

35 Broccoli 18

36 Cabbage 17

37 Bananas 16

38 Kiwi 14

39 Asparagus 11

40 Sweet Peas-Frozen 11

41 Mango 9

42 Pineapples 7

43 Sweet Corn-Frozen 2

44 Avocado 1

45 (best) Onions 1 (lowest pesticide load)

Note: A total of 44 different fruits and vegetables were ranked, but grapes are listed twice because they looked at both domestic and imported samples. – Pesticides in Produce by Environmental Working Group

I think anything above a 28 score should be eaten organically.

How Intestinal Bacteria Can Cause Weight Changes

(and how sugar can change intestinal bacteria)

 

A high-fat, high-sugar diet does more than pump calories into your body. It also alters the composition of bacteria in your intestines, making it easier to gain weight and harder to lose it, research in mice suggests. And the changeover can happen in as little as 24 hours, according to a report Wednesday in the new journal Science Translational Medicine.

 

Many factors play a role in the propensity to gain weight, including genetics, physical activity and the environment, as well as food choices. But a growing body of evidence, much of it accumulated by Dr. Jeffrey I. Gordon of Washington University in St. Louis, shows that bacteria in the gut also play a key role.

 

Humans need such bacteria to help convert otherwise indigestible foods into digestible form.

 

Ninety percent of the bacteria fall into two major divisions, or phyla: the Firmicutes and the Bacteroidetes. Previous research had shown that obese mice had higher levels of Firmicutes, and lean ones had more Bacteroidetes.

 

Analyzing the genomes of the bacteria, Gordon and graduate student Peter Turnbaugh concluded that the Firmicutes were more efficient at digesting food that the body can’t.

 

Animals that have a higher proportion of Firmicutes convert a higher proportion of food into calories that can be absorbed by the body, making it easier to gain weight.

 

When the researchers transferred bacteria from obese mice into so-called gnotobiotic mice, which were raised in a sterile environment and had no bacteria in their guts, the mice gained more weight than did those receiving a similar amount of bacteria from lean mice, even though they were fed the same diet.

 

Gordon and Turnbaugh found that they could transfer bacteria from human intestines into gnotobiotic mice, which were fed a low-fat, plant-rich diet in the weeks before the bacteria were transplanted and for a month afterward.

 

After the bacteria were transplanted from a lean human donor, the colonies in the mice had a high proportion of Bacteroidetes and a low proportion of Firmicutes. But within 24 hours after the mice were switched to a high-sugar, high-fat diet, the proportions of the two phyla were reversed.

 

With time, the mice also grew fatter than their littermates who did not receive the human bacteria.

Toxic Flame Retardants and Children’s Health

A Hidden & Growing Danger!

 

Flame retardant chemicals are in almost everything: Not only in our TV’s, clothing, furniture, carpets and electronic equipment; they are also in our air, water, food and our own bodies. Their levels are especially high in our babies and children, because children eat, drink and breathe more than adults. These chemicals disrupt our thyroid function, immune systems, brain development and can possibly cause cancers. Human blood and tissue levels of these toxins have been doubling every two and a half years in the USA. What are these chemicals and what can you do to protect yourself and your family from their effects?

 

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE’s), also known as brominated flame retardants, have been added to many common products found in the home. Plastics and textiles are usually treated with PBDE’s before being made into carpeting, furniture, casings for electronic equipment, circuit boards and clothing. PBDE retardants have been in use since the 1970′s when their counterpart, PCB’s, were BANNED from production due to their undeniable negative effects on human health. PBDE’s are very similar to PCB’s in many ways, particularly in the damage they do to our thyroid function, immune system, brain development and in our growing cancer rates.

 

PBDE contamination is most prevalent in the USA. New York, New Jersey, Denver, Austin, Chicago and California areas have the highest observed levels of PBDE’s in women’s breast milk in the world. San Franciscan and New York women have levels up to 25 times higher than their European counterparts. Animals both wild and domestic have PBDE levels from 2,000 to 47,000 parts per billion. THIS IS A HUGE Problem! The highest concentrations are in freshwater fish downriver from industrial plants using these chemicals, however PBDE’s have been found in marine life as far away as the Northern Arctic Sea. Significant levels of PBDE’s are present in both outdoor and indoor air environments, particularly in homes where PBDE-treated products can be found, such as carpeting, furniture and clothing (such as most children’s pajamas), plastics and electronics. {TV’s, Computers, Stereos}

 

What can you do to protect yourself and your family from the growing threat of PBDE contamination? The use of PBDE’s was cut significantly in Sweden and Europe in the late 1990′s due to their increasingly strict indoor air quality laws. Since then the level of breast milk contamination in those countries has declined. They have also developed a number of products that use alternative flame retardants. Here in the USA we can follow their example by demanding PBDE-free products and by telling our political representatives how important this issue is. Until the indoor air quality laws change for the better in the United States, we need to clean up and reduce these contaminates in our immediate environments by using alternative fire retardant products, eating more consciously and by cleaning our own contaminated indoor air quality with proper HEPA air cleaners and HEPA filtered vacuum cleaners. Be Pro-Active! Keep your family and employees healthy!