HEALTH, FOOD, NUTRITION, and SUPPLEMENTS

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10 Sports Supplements That Actually Work

Walk the aisles of any nutrition or health food store, and you’re bound to be overwhelmed in less time than it takes to chug a protein shake. But not all supplements are bunk: Research shows that some can help you work out longer or harder, recover better, and facilitate a host of other benefits. Here are 10 that are worth your time.

1. Creatine monohydrate
Bodybuilders have taken creatine powder for years to help them grow bigger and stronger. But it’s not just for muscle heads: An analysis of 10 studies published earlier this year found that older adults following a strength training program gained about three extra pounds of muscle over three months when they took creatine powder. Creatine occurs naturally in your body and fuels muscle cells during short bursts of energy, such as lifting heavy weights. A creatine supplement makes more of this fuel available for your muscles, allowing you to complete more reps, said study author Michaela Devries, of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
Who it’s for: Anyone who strength trains regularly and is looking to gain muscle.
How to take it: Start with 10 grams of creatine monohydrate powder twice a day, recommends Charlie Seltzer, MD. After five days, lower your dose to 2 to 5 grams per day.

2. Betaine
The muscle-building compound betaine (beet-ah-een) is naturally found in spinach and whole grains. Men who took betaine as part of a 6-week strength program gained muscle size and lowered their body fat percentage, according to a 2013 study. (The placebo group didn’t see any significant effects.) The compound works by increasing protein synthesis in the body, which helps build muscle after touch workouts.
Who it’s for: People who are looking to build bigger muscles, who strength train regularly and aren’t dieting, says Mike Roussell, a former nutrition researcher and the author of The 6 Pillars of Nutrition.
How to take it: Twice a day, take a pill with 1.25 grams betaine.
Related: 5-Minute Meals That Blast Fat

3. Fish oil
You’ve surely heard of fish oil’s heart-health benefits. Turns out, the popular supplement may also help you exercise harder, leading to greater weight loss. A landmark study in the American Clinical of Nutrition found that overweight people who took a daily omega-3 fish oil supplement lost more weight than those who took a placebo. “When that research first came out, people talked a lot about fish oil being a weight-loss supplement, but that’s not quite what was going on,” Roussell said. So what happened? “The exercise regimens in the study were heart rate-based, so the subjects had to hit certain heart rate targets during their sessions. The fish oil artificially lowered their heart rate, so they needed to work harder to hit their targets—and thus burned more calories and lost more weight.” You can get the benefits without a heart rate monitor as long as you make sure to work out at your usual effort level, Roussell told Yahoo Health.
Who it’s for: Everyone
How to take it: Recommendations vary, but the study subjects took 2 grams of the omega-3s EPA and DHA. Look for a fish oil that’s at least 50 percent EPA and DHA, which suggests it was processed in a way that makes the fatty acids easier for the body to absorb, Roussell said.

4. Quercetin
This powerful antioxidant improves oxygen delivery to muscles, which may help you exercise longer than you would be able to otherwise, Roussell said. Quercetin has a small but significant effect on endurance exercise performance, an analysis of 11 studies published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise concluded. Recent rodent studies also show that quercetin helps protect the body’s cellular powerhouses, called mitochondria, from exercise-related fatigue.
Who it’s for: Endurance athletes who exercise for an hour or more at a time
How to take it: Most studies examined a dose of 1,000 mg per day. Many brands sell quercetin pills and powders. The brand FRS also makes quercetin sports drinks, chews, and liquid concentrates.
Related: Why Being Sore After Your Workout Isn’t Always a Good Thing

5. ATP
As you probably learned in the first week of eighth grade biology, ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the most basic unit of cellular energy. It’s almost seems too simple to be true, but taking an oral ATP supplement can impact muscle strength. “I never actually thought this would work,” Roussell admitted. “But apparently it doesn’t get degraded during the digestive process.” Supplementation with ATP boosts strength gains from weightlifting and increases the number of reps you can do during a workout, studies show. Research released last year in Nutrition and Metabolism also found that ATP may help with muscle recovery. ATP supplementation reduced the strength losses that athletes experienced during a 2-week period of hard training, researchers discovered.
Who it’s for: Serious strength athletes—the research is still very new, and most studies have been conducted on healthy men who strength-train regularly.
How to take it: Peak ATP manufactures the patented form of ATP used in most research; take 400 mg per day.

6. Whey protein
Whey protein is “the supplement that should be on top of everybody’s list,” Seltzer told Yahoo Health. It has been shown to speed recovery from workouts, build muscle, reduce muscle soreness following exercise, and suppress appetite. “Whey protein is more rapidly absorbed by the body compared to other forms of protein, and it creates more of an insulin response. Insulin is an anabolic (muscle-building) hormone,” Selzer explained. “Exercise inherently breaks muscle down. But whey protein will help reverse that and allow for faster recovery.” In fact, a 2014 study showed that consuming 20 grams of whey protein following a workout increased muscle protein synthesis by nearly 50 percent.
Who it’s for: Anyone
How to take it: Mix 20 to 40 grams (about a scoop) into water or a shake after a strength workout. If you’re watching your weight, be sure to include the calories from the protein powder in your daily total. Whey isolate has less fat and calories than other forms, but it’s generally more expensive.
Related: Get the Protein, Hold the Meat

7. Beta-alanine
Racehorses were the first competitors to benefit from beta-alanine supplementation. Later, research showed that it benefits human athletes as well. How? Intense exercise—an Insanity DVD, a soccer game, or a 400-meter run—increases the pH of your cells, making them more acidic. It sounds strange, but don’t worry—it’s a completely normal reaction, albeit one that can grind your workout to a halt. That’s where beta-alanine comes in. Your body converts it to a substance called carnisine, which buffers cellular pH. “When you get accumulation of lactic acid, you get fatigue and burning, so when you have extra beta-alanine or extra carnisine, you can work longer and harder without the acid buildup,” Dr. Seltzer said.
Who it’s for: People who do competitive, vigorous exercise
How to take it: A dose of 1.2 grams per day is most effective, according to a July 2014 study.

8. Caffeine
One of the most effective sports supplements available is probably in your kitchen cabinet right now. “When taken before exercise, we know that caffeine helps improve performance and power output, decreases symptoms of fatigue, helps you work longer and stronger, and acts as a mental focusing agent,” Dr. Seltzer said. Caffeine may be most effective for morning workouts, suggests a small Spanish study published earlier this year. The researchers found that a.m. caffeine ingestion improved bench press and squat speeds—but only to the levels athletes could normally hit in the afternoon without the supplement. Taking caffeine in the afternoon didn’t improve performance, though it did hurt the subjects’ sleep that night.
Who it’s for: Anyone who has a doctor’s clearance; caffeine can increase heart rate and blood pressure
How to take it: Caffeine pills are best since you can control the amount of the drug, Dr. Seltzer says. Start with a low dose of 50 milligrams, and increase up to 300 milligrams depending on the benefits and side effects you notice.

9. Branched chain amino acids (BCAAs)
Amino acids are the building blocks of protein. The three branched chain amino acids, leucine, isoleucine and valine, work together to prevent muscle breakdown. Whey protein does contain some BCAAs, but not enough to meet the needs of most people, Dr. Seltzer said. BCAAs don’t have any calories and are easier on the stomach than protein powders, which is why he recommends taking both protein and BCAA supplements. “There’s also some independent evidence that BCAA supplementation can help decrease post-workout muscle soreness and improve muscular recovery,” he added.
Who it’s for: Anyone
How to take it: Look for a 3:1:1 ratio of leucine to isoleucine to valine. Take 5 to 10 grams both before and after workouts.

10. Casein protein
Casein protein is known as a “slow protein” because it forms a gel in the stomach, releasing the protein to the body slowly over time. This makes it an ideal protein to take before bed, Dr. Seltzer said, to stimulate muscle repair while you sleep.
Who it’s for: Anyone, provided you can fit it into your daily calorie count.
How to take it: Stir 25 to 40 grams of casein protein powder into water or milk before bedtime.

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Happiness.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QTVv9tAlIE

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Baking Soda Cancer Studies and pH Medicine

University of Arizona Cancer Center member Dr. Mark Pagel will receive a $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the effectiveness of personalized baking soda cancer treatment for breast cancer. In other words, clinical trials on the use of oral baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) for breast cancer treatments are about to start![1]

Obviously there are people in the know who have understood that sodium bicarbonate, that same stuff that can save a person’s life in the emergency room in a heartbeat, is a primary cancer treatment option of the safest and most effective kind.


Of course I feel vindicated for everything I wrote in Sodium Bicarbonate – Rich Man’s Poor Man’s Cancer Treatment, which still stands as the only full medical review on the subject of using simple baking soda in the practice of medicine.

When taken orally with water, especially water with high magnesium content, and when used transdermally in medicinal baths, sodium bicarbonate becomes a first-line medicinal for the treatment of cancer, kidney disease, diabetes, influenza and even the common cold. It is also a powerful buffer against radiation exposure, so everyone should be up to speed on its use. Everybody’s physiology is under heavy nuclear attack from strong radioactive winds that are circling the northern hemisphere.


Actually it is no surprise that a University of Arizona researcher received this grant because there has been cancer research going on for years there. Dr. Robert J. Gillies and his colleagues have already demonstrated that pre-treatment of mice with baking soda results in the alkalinization of the area around tumors. The same researchers reported that bicarbonate increases tumor pH and also inhibits spontaneous metastases in mice with breast cancer.[2] It also reduces the rate of lymph node involvement.


I recently published about fungal infections, and breast cancer has been found to be associated with increased frequency of mold-fermented cheese consumption.[3] Fungi produce toxic metabolites called mycotoxins[4] that can cause cancer.

Aflatoxin is a mycotoxin with carcinogenic potency that is found in inferior peanut butter and other nut and dairy products. Researchers in 1993 examined human breast cancer tissue and found significant carcinogenic aflatoxin within the cancer tissue implicating aflatoxin and thus fungus as a cause of breast cancer.[5]
The pH level of our internal fluids affects every cell in our body. Chronic over-acidity corrodes body tissue, and if left unchecked will interrupt all cellular activities and functions. In other words, over-acidity interferes with life itself. It is at the root of cancer.
Sodium bicarbonate medical treatments are the time honored method to “speed up” the return of the body’s bicarbonate levels to normal. Sodium bicarbonate happens to be one of our most useful medicines as it treats the basic acid-alkaline axis of human physiology.
Baking Soda and PH Medicine

The pH of our tissues and body fluids is crucial and central because it affects and mirrors the state of our health or our inner cleanliness. The closer the pH is to 7.35-7.45, the higher our level of health and wellbeing. Staying within this range dramatically increases our ability to resist acute illnesses like colds and flues as well as the onset of cancer and other diseases. Keeping our pH within a healthy range also involves necessary lifestyle and dietary changes that will protect us over the long term while the use of sodium bicarbonate gives us a jump-start toward increased alkalinity.


The pH scale is like a thermometer showing increases and decreases in the acid and alkaline content of fluids. Deviations above or below a 7.35-7.45 pH range in the tightly controlled blood can signal potentially serious and dangerous symptoms or states of disease. When the body can no longer effectively neutralize and eliminate the acids, it relocates them within the body’s extra-cellular fluids and connective tissue cells directly compromising cellular integrity.

Conversely when the body becomes too alkaline from too much bicarbonate in the blood, metabolic alkalosis occurs, which can lead to severe consequences if not corrected quickly.[6]


Jon Barron presents a way of looking at pH that opens up one of the major benefits of alkaline water:
Hydrogen ions tie up oxygen. That means that the more acid a liquid is, the less available the oxygen in it. Every cell in our body requires oxygen for life and to maintain optimum health. Combine that with what we know about hydrogen ions and we see that the more acid the blood (the lower its pH), the less oxygen is available for use by the cells. Without going into a discussion of the chemistry involved, just understand that it’s the same mechanism involved when acid rain “kills” a lake.

The fish literally suffocate to death because the acid in the lake “binds up” all of the available oxygen. It’s not that the oxygen has gone anywhere; it’s just no longer available. Conversely, if you raise the pH of the lake (make it more alkaline), oxygen is now available and the lake comes back to life. Incidentally, it’s worth noting that cancer is related to an acid environment (lack of oxygen)—the higher the pH (the more oxygen present in the cells of the body), the harder it is for cancer to thrive.


Understanding this is important for two reasons: (1) it reveals one of the primary benefits of alkaline water—more “available” oxygen in the system and (2) it explains why alkaline water helps fight cancer.
The ocean, the mother of all life, has an average pH of about 8.1. The ideal pH for blood sits at about 7.4, slightly alkaline—not acidic.


- Jon Barron Barron concludes:
If you’re eating well and living cleanly, then yes, you want to drink water with a naturally occurring pH only slightly above neutral. However, if you are eating the typical Western diet, high in meat, grains, sodas, and sugars that acidify the body, then you have a different problem. Your pH balance is now so far out of normal that you must go beyond normal in the other direction to counter it. My recommendation for daily drinking water pH is about 7.5-8—depending on how acid forming your diet is. Long-term consumption of higher pH water should be reserved for special circumstances. The most famous mountain waters in the world, waters renowned for their healing properties, are highly alkaline. I’m referring to the waters coming down from the Himalayas, and specifically to the waters of the Hunza Valley, which have a pH that runs between 9 and 11.


One does not have to be a doctor to practice pH medicine. Every practitioner of the healing arts and every mother and father needs to understand how to use sodium bicarbonate. Bicarbonate deficiency is a real problem that deepens with age so it really does pay to understand and appreciate what baking soda is all about.

[1] Baking Soda Might Have Potential Against Cancer: http://digitaljournal.com/article/323645
[2] http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19276390
[3] One sample study is by Le, et al. (1986), in a French case-control study of 1,010 breast cancer cases and 1,950 controls with nonmalignant diseases, found that breast cancer was found to be associated with increased frequency of mold fermented cheese consumption.


[4] Going, et al. (1990) found that weddellite (calcium oxalate) crystals are present in calcifications found in the breast tissue of patients with breast cancer. Calcium oxalate crystals are formed when calcium binds with oxalic acid. Oxalic acid is a mycotoxin that can be produced by a number of different fungal species. Some fungi produce such large amounts of oxalic acid that they are used for commercial production of chemicals. Aspergillus niger fungal infection in human lungs produces large amounts of oxalic acid.


[5] Researchers examined human DNA from a variety of tissues and organs to identify and quantify aflatoxin DNA-adducts. Such adducts are considered to be proof of the mycotoxin’s presence in a particular tissue.Their finding? “Tumor tissues had higher aflatoxin-adduct levels than did normal tissue from the same individual.”
[6] http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001183.htm

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The Good, The Bad And The Better


Nutrition is a key component of any muscle building or fat loss phase. It still amazes me how many people do not take nutrition seriously. That is why I think that it is important that I share with you some of the choices that are available to you today. By knowing what foods to include in one's diet, you will begin to have a better understanding and start to see better results in your muscle building or fat loss goals.

The majority of people do not have a problem with following a nutrition plan but simply do not know what foods to choose. After all, there are so many different opinions out there today. Who do you listen to? I mean at the end of the day we all know the proteins are good for building muscle, carbs are the main source of the body's energy and everyone knows to avoid high saturated fat diets.

However, it doesn't stop there. You see the amount that you consume of each nutrient is simply one factor of the equation. What's more important are the foods we choose to consume in our everyday diets. Of course, if you are just starting to get on the healthy lifestyle baseline diet, then watching your consumption as well as focusing on getting in lean proteins, complex carbs and healthy fats may just be enough for you to see results.

If you have been following a healthy lifestyle diet for some time now, it may be time to do some upgrades in your food choices to continue to see better results, more muscle gain and faster fat loss. Whether you're trying to build muscle or lose fat you still need to maintain a healthy diet. More often than not your food choices should remain the same regardless of your goal. What should change is the total amount that you consume.

Just because you embark on a muscle building phase does not mean that you can fill your body with junk food. Instead you should just be consuming a surplus.

In order for you to make the right choices you first have to be presented with choices.

I want to take this opportunity to share with you different food options available to you for each macronutrient including proteins, carbs and fats. After reading this list you should be able to better understand which food is bad, good and better to include in your everyday diet. Granted this is only a small list but nevertheless it will help get you on track.


Proteins:


We will start with analyzing some of the common sources of protein choices out there today. Proteins are the building blocks for repairing muscle tissue. For example, one of the most common sources of protein is chicken. Chicken comes in many different forms and although it is a healthy protein, it can turn into an unhealthy protein very fast if you choose the wrong source.

The Bad:

The bad sources of protein that you should be avoiding are any type of fast food proteins. I'm talking McDonald's, Kentucky fried chicken and any form of chicken that is deep fried in saturated oils and butters. These should be avoided completely.

The Good:

The good sources of protein include lean cuts of red meat, lean cuts of pork, cottage cheese and other dairy products. Frozen chicken breasts also make the good list of protein but are not considered the better source of protein simply because frozen chicken breasts are marinated in saltwater and contain a high of mount of sodium per serving.

The other sources listed in the good category, should only be consumed in moderation.

The Better:

The better sources of protein include fresh chicken breasts, fresh Turkey breasts, egg whites, omega 3 whole eggs, lean sources of fish and pure quality protein powders. All of these choices are the lean as types of protein available. The only ones you should consume in moderation are the whole eggs.

Aside from the eggs, the other sources listed in the better category should be consumed on a regular basis.

Eggs Are One Of The Better Sources Of Protein, But Don't Eat Whole Eggs Too Often.


Carbohydrates:


Carbohydrates are the main source that the body draws energy from. The body requires carbohydrates each and every day but should only be consumed in moderation to avoid excessive fat gain.

The Bad:

The bad sources of carbohydrates include chips, doughnuts, French fries, white bread, white pasta, pizza and an unlimited list of other foods. Once again, anything deep fried or anything prepared at a restaurant should only be consumed on rare occasions.

The Good:

The good sources of carbohydrates include oats, brown rice, whole grain bread, sweet potatoes, fruits and vegetables. These choices of foods should make up the prime area amount of your carbohydrates.

The Better:

For some the list of good carbohydrates sources may be enough, but for those of you who want to see even better results, this list is for you. The better sources of carbohydrates include organic and rolled oats, organic sprouted bread, organic brown rice and of course organic fruits and vegetables.

Good Carbohydrates Like Brown Rice Can Be Made Even Better By Getting Organic Sources.

Fats:


Fats have a pretty bad reputation nowadays but the truth is when you consume healthy fats in moderation your body's hormone levels are in a much happier place.

The Bad:

The list of bad fats should not be a surprise to anybody. This list includes ice cream, chocolate bars, butter, doughnuts (yes and doughnuts make the list twice both carbohydrates and fats) and high fat cheese sources.

The Good:

The good sources of fats include olive oil, avocados, assorted nuts, peanut butter and fats found in fish and omega 3 eggs.

The Better:

The even better sources of fats include flax seed oil, Udo's oil, organic peanut butter, and Krill oil. When it comes to fats getting enough of the good sources will be sufficient in maintaining the path to achieving the body you deserve. The better fats list can be considered a highly advanced alternative.

The Bad Forms Of Fats Should Be Obvious To Anyone.

Conclusion


Now that you know the different choices that you have for each food you will now be able to include better food choices in your everyday meals. That is not to say that you should never consume food choices out of the back category but rather to say you should at the very least make the best attempt to limit the consumption of those particular foods.

Choosing the good sources of each macronutrient will get you great results. Including better sources will accelerate your results. This is of course just a small list to help get you on your way. Next time you are at the grocery store, restaurant or a way from your own kitchen you will be better prepared at choosing the right types of foods.

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10 Rules Of Clean Eating: Live By Them And Live Long And Lean

Take a good, long look at that fast-food cheeseburger. Every item on it, from the bun to the sauce, was processed in a factory and created in a laboratory. It's packed with enough artificial colors and preservatives to make it look as pretty as a picture.

But does it qualify as "eating clean?" Yeah, right. So what is clean eating? It doesn't refer to washing the nectarine you bought on clearance at the fruit stand—though you should do that, too. It is taking the time to know what your food is made of, and choosing to eat it in its most natural state. Clean eating is about more than just getting lean; it's about making choices that promote optimum long-term health for your body.

Getting clean might just mean tweaking what you're doing now, or it might require you to turn over a whole new leaf. In either case, here are 10 solid rules to keep in mind while you consider the change.

1 / Approach Your Meals As A Lifestyle

Want to get serious? Then forget the D-word entirely. Clean eating is not a fat-loss diet. This is a lifestyle that you're going to sustain from this day forward.

You don't need to get obsessive or throw out everything you love. You're allowed to enjoy your food—you'll need to, if you want to be able to stick with this. So consider yourself warned: You might have to take this as your push to (finally!) learn how to cook for yourself.

What's the other choice—leaving it up to the world to feed you? Forget it. Take control of your life, because once you fall off your clean-eating plan, you'll revert back to feeling low in energy, hungry, and irritable multiple times every day.

2 / Load Up On Fresh Produce
No matter if you're a carb-cutter, carb-loader, paleo warrior, or intermittent faster, your golden rule of clean eating should be to include as much fresh produce in your daily diet as possible.

Vegetables make every dietary system better and healthier. They provide the vitamins and nutrients to keep you feeling as good as you look, and the soluble fiber to make sure you suck every last bit of nutrition out of everything else you eat.

Think you can get all that from a simple greens supplement? You can try, but more than likely, you'll find yourself using this expensive supp as an excuse to cheat when you get hungry later on. So get familiar with the best-tasting in-season fruits and vegetables (and the frozen ones in a pinch), and become a master of seasons and spices. Read recipes like they're great literature and you're on your way.


3 / Shop The Perimeter Of The Grocery Store
Every store is different, but as a general rule, the periphery is the natural habitat of the fresh vegetable, meat market, whole-grain baked goods, and the nuts and dried fruits in the bulk bin. Get comfortable here; it is now your territory.

You'll probably have to venture into the interior for some staples like olive oil, but keep your blinders on. You're entering a museum of extravagant packaging and manipulative slogans. Few of the items you see in the store's interior promote good health; it's a stretch to call most of it "food."

The perimeter is also usually the home of the dairy case and the beer and wine display, so stay strong. Of course, if these are your biggest offenses, you could do a lot worse.


4 / Eliminate Added Sugars
Generally speaking, eating right isn't about avoiding anything in particular. It's about choosing simple, unrefined things and enjoying them. But if you feel more comfortable having an enemy, then fine: Declare war on sugar.


Foods in their most natural state do not contain added sugar—that's why it's called "added sugar." Fruit can still be your friend, but in the case of sweeteners that have been mixed into your food during the manufacturing process, it's best to just say no.

This can be a tough rule to master for some people—probably the toughest—but the day will come when the cravings don't come any more. After that day, a candy bar will taste like what it is: A painfully sweet and unsatisfying pile of mystery ingredients. Try one, and you'll find your energy level crashing and hunger level soaring, just like in the old days.


5 / Drink More Water
You probably got your fill of being commanded to "drink 8-10 glasses of water each day" years ago. Still, the benefits are real—especially if you're in training. Hydrated muscles grow and perform at a higher level, and they are better protected against catabolism (breakdown) than muscles that are a quart low.

"But all that water!" you say. If you really can't take it, then it's time to start experimenting—just try to keep it clear. Drinking herbal teas or green tea can help you naturally cleanse, aside from many other benefits. Flavoring water with lemon or other flavors, or mixing in sugar-free electrolytes or aminos, could also make for healthy sipping during a long work day.

Notice I didn't mention that swimming pool of flavored coffee you drink every day. Black coffee has its place, but there's a point where it crashes into "clean eating," like a speeding cement truck full of sugar and cream.

6 / Sit Down
Part of making healthy eating your lifestyle is setting aside the time to do it right. This means sitting down to a meal whenever possible, preferably at a table, with the people you care about.


If you've been living alone in an apartment for the last five years, this may sound like a giant pain in the neck. But just try it: Invite your friends over for dinner, sit around, and have a conversation. You'll find that it helps you to actually get excited about what you're cooking or serving. Like an athletic competition, it helps you raise your personal training to the next level. The same can't be said for scarfing down pre-fab junk food on the couch or in the car.

Even if you're not sharing your table with anyone in particular, try to clear out a dedicated space in your schedule—and in your stuff—for eating, particularly breakfast and dinner. These are important rituals that you'll be doing for the rest of your life, so the better you are at them, the more you'll enjoy them.

7 / Balance Your Diet
Two of the central ideas behind clean eating are balance and moderation. Don't avoid carbs or dietary fats entirely on your clean diet approach, or you'll find yourself dreading your meals. Get them in, adjusting the portion sizes to fit your particular nutrient and body goals.

Depending on your dietary system or lack thereof, your macronutrient ratio could break down any number of ways. Favor complex, unprocessed carbs and unsaturated fats, and you're on the right track. Your grandmother was right: There's nothing like sitting down to a plate with a protein, a vegetable, and a carb source all arrayed on the plate.

When it comes down to it, the key is to be mindful of your food and what it's made of. If you don't know, that's a problem. You're putting this stuff in your body, after all!

8 / Use Smart Flour Substitutes
Yes, you can enjoy baked goods and eat clean at the same time. The secret is to open yourself to the world beyond refined white flour. This might require that you try out some new recipes and make a few mistakes, but that's all part of the fun, right? Stick with me here.


Almond flour, coconut flour, brown rice flour, and oat flour are all excellent ways to reduce the simple carbs of any recipe and still create delicious treats. Try baking with new flavors like pumpkin, dried fruits, or even savory breads and muffins flavored with meat, garlic, or chives.

Different flours have different nutritional profiles, so make sure to read up on them to find the ones that are best suited to your dietary approach. There's a nearly unlimited variety to choose from.


9 / Don't Eat Foods With Ingredients You Can't Pronounce
Once you've been eating clean for a little while, you'll inevitably begin to see the food industry as the giant machine that it is. It's so much bigger than you, and it has its hands in so many different pockets, that it's impossible for it to have your best interests at heart.

Need evidence? Look at the label of a box of cookies, a children's lunch pack, or even a bottle of "natural" juice. You'd need a chemistry degree to read it, and even then, you couldn't say what those substances are doing to you in the long run.

A good general rule: If you can't state the name of a particular ingredient in the food you're about to dine on, then consider passing. If you're afraid that this rules out your favorite Ethiopian restaurant, consider making an exception for good, simple ethnic foods. Many times, these will pass the "the fewer ingredients the better" test while still giving you the culinary adventure you desire.

10 / Focus On Nutrients, Not Just Calories
Last but not least, as you launch your clean-eating plan, don't get too caught up in the numbers game. In our bodyweight-conscious world, it's easy to measure everything in terms of calories-in, calories-out. While this approach can help make you thin, it's not enough to make you healthy.

The calorie-counting diet guru of the 70s and 80s is a relic of the past. Today, we know that getting the proper nutrients is far more important to an overall health than simple caloric balance.

Think of it this way: One approach leaves you feeling grumpy, ravenous, and guilty about simple pleasures. The other leads you to more energy, stable blood sugar, and a world of new foods you never considered in the past. The choice is easy.

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Storm, wind and rain..

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The leaves of the moringa trees may be the world's most nutritious green—and they're coming to a health-food store near you.
Remember the moment when every runway regular suddenly became a supermodel? Now every healthy edible wants to be called a superfood. Which is why even that term likely doesn't do justice to moringa, a tree leaf that contains more nutrients and natural remedies than your body knows what to do with. Ancient warriors fueled for battle with the leaf extract, hot for the stamina and strength it gave them; and legend has it that Egyptian Pharaohs were buried with it to sustain them in the afterlife. Health-savvy Americans are the latest followers, thanks to the energy, immunity, and metabolism boosts moringa delivers.
"Moringa has incredibly nutritious qualities—it has 3.5 times the calcium of milk and 4 times the vitamin C of oranges," says David Wolfe, author of Superfoods. All you have to do is open the bag and let the good nutrients roll.

http://shopping.yahoo.com/news/the-next-superfood-is-here-and-it-s-called-moringa-225902026.html

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Sharing food

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Sharing food

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Sharing food

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60 SECONDS TO RAW FOOD - MEDICINAL CANTALOUPE

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60 SECONDS TO RAW FOOD - CORNY ARUGULA SALAD

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60 Seconds to Raw - SUPER SIMPLE HEALTHY SALAD DRESSING RECIPE

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SAVORY VEGGIE WRAPS ~ 60 SECONDS TO RAW

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60 SEC TO RAW - TACOS

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Just insane..

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5 HEALTH BENEFITS OF KALE


Kale is a dark green leafy nutritional powerhouse! It contains vitamin A, C, E, K as well as calcium, magnesium, B6, potassium, iron, omega 3 fatty acids and many more. It truly is one of the healthiest vegetables on earth! What are the best ways to consume kale? You can make kale juice, kale chips, steam kale, sauté kale or eat it raw in salads.

Here are 5 health benefits of Kale:

1. Anti-inflammatory

Omega 3 fatty acids are essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids are not produced in your body therefore you need to get them from your diet. Research shows that omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation and lower the risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, arthritis, and autoimmune disorders.

2. Cancer Prevention

Kale contains antioxidants including carotenoids and flavonoids. Antioxidants protect our cells from unstable molecules called free radicals. Antioxidants are associated with many of the anti-cancer health benefits. Kale has been shown to ward off breast, colon, ovarian, prostate and bladder cancer.

3. Lowers Cholesterol

Kale contains dietary fiber, which has been shown to help reduce cholesterol. Fiber reduces the absorption of the bad “LDL” cholesterol into your bloodstream.

4. Prevents Bone Loss

One cup of kale contains more than 90 mg of calcium. Studies have shown that calcium helps prevent osteoporosis, osteomalacia, and rickets. Vitamin D is required to absorb calcium so enjoy a delicious kale salad with salmon.

5. Reduces the Risk of Macular Degeneration

Kale is rich in lutein which is a carotenoid that protects against macular degeneration. Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss in people over 60.

[dbleagl]

Not only that but it taste great.

beets, apple, & ginger is my fave juice during my juice fasts.

[fuagf]

thanks, SPARK .. wonderful to see ..

http://www.akshayatrust.org/

Narayanan Krishnan (born in 1981 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu) is an Indian chef-turned-social worker.

Early life

Krishnan was an award-winning chef with Taj Hotels, Bangalore and was short-listed for an elite job in Switzerland. After witnessing a distressing incident in 2002, he quit his job and began feeding the homeless and mentally disabled in his hometown. He said, "I saw a very old man, literally eating his own human waste out of hunger. I went to the nearby hotel and asked them what was available. They had idli, which I bought and gave to the old man. Believe me, I had never seen a person eating so fast, ever. As he ate the food, his eyes were filled with tears. Those were the tears of happiness."
Career

Krishnan founded his outfit Akshaya Trust in 2003, which helps to feed the homeless and mentally-disabled in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. He serves breakfast, lunch and dinner to 425 indigent and elderly people in Madurai.

He also provides haircuts and shaves to give extra dignity to those he serves. He was selected as one of the Top 10 in "CNN heroes 2010" list.

The character Narayanan Krishnan played by Jayaprakash in the 2012 Malayalam film Ustad Hotel is based on him.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narayanan_Krishnan

======



http://www.akshayatrust.org/

really appreciate knowing of them .. t/y

[StephanieVanbryce]

I believe there is so many more Good people than the others in the world and I think it's crazy that WE don't hear more of them .. OR I'm just reading the wrong websites .. I mean .. .there's something wrong .. . the last great thing I read about ........and this was a long time ago .. on ihub though... was when they started KIVA ... remember? ... Giving a women 400 or so hell even three hundred so they could buy material for their products which they were making in their homes and selling anyway ... and that small amount of money was changing women's lives all over Afghanistan .. heck I can't remember now all the places .. I think If I remember right they call it micro lending ... sumtin like that ... but that was at least seven years ago or so ... Thanks so much AGAIN for posting that .......It's so Beautiful to see the BEST side of humanity... ..

[SPARK]

arizona1 and Steph am not surprised this video touched you like it did me..people have such promise..anyway you know the rest~

S

[StephanieVanbryce]

Thank You Spark! it's the VIDEO of Forever ... ;)

[arizona1]

Very special and beautiful.

[SPARK]

GIVING..

[dbleagl]

'Organic' from China exposed: The shocking truth about 'organic' foods grown in the world's worst environmental cesspool

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/039195_organic_foods_China_pollution_nightmare.html#ixzz2LZG5whUd

(NaturalNews) When it comes to foods, superfoods and even nutritional supplements from China, "organic" is largely a hoax. This is my opinion, of course, but I've been researching the issue quite extensively as the key decision maker for new products in the Natural News Store. And I've come to the conclusion that "organic" from China is largely a fraud. Here's why...

First off, you're going to be shocked to learn that there is no limit to how much mercury, lead, cadmium, arsenic and aluminum is allowed in "organic" products.

It's a fact: USDA organic standards place NO LIMITS on levels of heavy metals contamination of certified organic foods. Even further, there is no limit on the contamination of PCBs, BPA and other synthetic chemicals that's allowed in certified organic foods, superfoods and supplements.

At this point, you're probably shaking your head in disbelief and thinking, "No, that can't be true. Organic standards must check for heavy metals and chemical contamination, right?"

No! "Organic" certifies a process of how food is grown or produced. It certifies that the farmer doesn't add pesticides, herbicides, petroleum-based fertilizer, metals or synthetic chemicals to the crop (among other things), and it certifies that the soil must be free from such things for a certain number of years before organic certification is approved.

But organic certification does nothing to address environmental sources of pollution such as chemtrails, contaminated irrigation water, and fallout from industrial or chemical factories that might be nearby. A certified organic farmer can use polluted water on their crops and still have the crops labeled "organic."

For this reason: the environment in which organic foods are produced is critical to the cleanliness of the final product.

Organic farming in a clean environment produces clean, organic foods. But organic farming in a polluted environment produces contaminated organic foods. And China is one of the most polluted chemical cesspools on the planet. The pictures on the right show some scenes from China, a country suffocating under a pollution nightmare.

As you view these pictures, ask yourself: Would you eat food grown there? Even if it were sold by Whole Foods and labeled "organic?"

China is an environmental nightmare
China is a nation that has virtually no environmental regulation enforcement. In China, anything goes: You can dump mercury into rivers. You can spray raw human sewage sludge on crops. You can produce factory-made chemicals and blow the waste products right into the air through smokestacks. In China, many rivers are so toxic that, from time to time, they actually catch on fire and burn.

It's so bad that a Chinese environmental official was recently offered over US$30,000 to take a 20-minute swim in a local river.

He DECLINED. Why? Because the river there is so polluted that swimming in it would mean certain death.

It is this water that's often used in "organic" food and superfood production in China. So even though the farmer is following organic process standards, he may be using irrigation water that's wildly contaminated with metals, chemicals and even pesticide residues. He may be spraying hormone drugs on the crops because there's a pharmaceutical factory upstream.

Here's the kicker: In a country with virtually no environmental laws, "organic" food production is largely a fraud because environmental sources contaminate the foods or superfoods being produced there.

There are some exceptions to this, by the way. Notably goji berries are grown at high altitude, far away from the pollution of China's cities and rivers. Goji berries sourced from China tend to be very clean and have very low levels of contamination. There are no doubt other exceptions to the rule, but the difficulty is in knowing what to trust that comes out of China.

In North America, "organic" is legitimate precisely because North America has far more strict environmental standards. Organic is clean food, responsibly produced, and consistently less contaminated than conventional food. The same is true across Europe, where organic standards are also strict. But in China, "organic" is often a joke. Almost a hoax, in my opinion.

And the laboratory tests bear this out. For example, we just published an investigative story on chlorella showing that "organic" chlorella from China is polluted with nearly ten times the aluminum level of "organic" chlorella from Taiwan. And the cleanest chlorella we found in terms of metals contamination was actually a non-organic chlorella produced in Korea.

China is a nation that lacks ethics
Remember, too, that China is a communist regime. It is a country where all religion has been outlawed and the people are never taught ethics or morality. They have no moral compass. Across China, the majority of the population believes that the best way to get ahead is to CHEAT, lie and steal, even if it means harming someone else in the process.

Remember: China is the country where they put melamine in infant formula, knowing that it will kill little children. China is the country where the paint on children's toys contains obscene levels of brain-damaging lead. China is a nation of shortcut-takers who will do anything to cheapen a product as long as they can cover it up and trick the buyer. This is why "made in China" has, for decades, been synonymous with "crap quality."

Here's a little note that will interest pet owners: If you buy pet treats made in China, you are murdering your pet with the most insane chemicals imaginable. The stuff that goes into some pet treats made in China is highly toxic and causes cancer. This is one of the main factors behind the alarming rise of cancers among dogs and cats in North America.

All this isn't just secondhand information, by the way: I lived in Asia for two years and traveled extensively throughout the region. I speak a fair amount of Mandarin (Chinese), and I've interacted with lots and lots of people from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. I can tell you that Taiwan is a country with much greater honesty, integrity and quality than China. In Taiwan, religion is allowed and openly practiced (Buddhism, mostly). In Taiwan, there is a sense of responsibility to customers. There is a philosophy of striving for quality. Taiwan is to China like revolutionary America was to the British Empire. Taiwan is a island nation of hard-working, creative, innovative entrepreneurs, and when I look to import products from Asia, I always try to find it in Taiwan first because I know Taiwan means quality.

But in China, it's exactly the opposite: There is no sense of responsibility to customers. The overriding philosophy is to screw the customer, even on the very first order, knowing that the customer will never buy from you again! In China, the idea is to CHEAT people rather than make them happy. You see this all the way to the top of the government which is, of course, a police state communist regime where laws are enforced at gunpoint against a completely disarmed and helpless population that has no rights. China is a culture of corruption, deception and exploitation.

Now, of course, there are people in China who rebel against all this. There are exceptions to the rule, and there may even be some honest organic food producers in China that buck the trend. Not all mainland Chinese are bad people. Many wish to overthrow the corrupt government and restore freedom, liberty and justice to the country. But because they are all disarmed (China has no Bill of Rights), they are powerless against a dictatorial government. They are slaves to the system.

Health Ranger Select brand BANS all foods, superfoods and ingredients from China except for goji berries
I made a decision months ago to ban anything produced in China from my own label, with the exception being goji berries. If a food, superfood or supplement has my name on it, I will not use ingredients sourced from China unless I know and can VERIFY the end-product cleanliness of the product.

So if you see the "Health Ranger Select" brand or the "Storable Organics" brand, know that it's clean and very carefully sourced.

We source from the USA, Canada, European countries, Peru and even Thailand for some ingredients. Mexico is acceptable for some ingredients as well. But China is a big red flag. I simply can't trust that most foods, superfoods or supplements from China are going to be consistently clean and honest.

China is the kind of country where you order a sample of a raw material -- say pomegranate juice powder -- and the first batch you receive is really clean and passes all the lab tests. So you order 5000kg of the stuff, and when it arrives, it's all full of lead and pesticides.

Chinese medicine herbs from China are notoriously contaminated with lead. The same is true for green tea and many other ingredients that naturally absorb heavy metals.

All sorts of products at Whole Foods, by the way, are grown in China but certified "organic." What a joke.

Given that China has virtually no environmental enforcement whatsoever, the very idea that something grown in China can be certified "organic" is absurd. Without a clean environment, you can't product clean food even if you follow organic growing standards.

So why do so many formulators and food companies in the USA still buy ingredients from China? Because they're CHEAP.

Buying from China means higher profit
Here's the dirty little secret of the natural products industry... and yes, the "dirty" is quite literal in this case: Raw materials from China are cheap! Across the board, raw materials (foods, superfoods, supplements) from China are about 1/4th the cost of materials grown in North America or Europe.

This means getting your ingredients from China grants your product a lot more profit in the marketplace. For those selling through Whole Foods -- whose product shelves are littered with ingredients made in China -- this profit margin is essential to economic survival.

If you're buying a superfood powder sold at Whole Foods and paying $50 at retail, the actual ingredient cost that goes into that superfood canister is often as little as $5. So sourcing those materials from China is crucial to having the margins. Whole Foods might only pay your company $22 or so for a product they sell at $50. So your company has to buy the materials, pay for shipping, insurance, labor, packaging, formulations and everything else and still somehow make a profit to stay in business. So you source from China. You make a really nice-looking label, you get it "certified organic" with a nice USDA logo on it, and you sell it to Whole Foods which adds another layer of legitimacy to the product.

But inside the bottle, there could be mercury hiding in there. Or pharmaceutical residues. Or pesticide residues. Or just about anything, including melamine.

Now, obviously Whole Foods has a level of quality control in place, and they do require C of A's for products they carry. But China is expert at FAKING these documents and tricking importers, formulators and manufacturers.

In China, the idea of forging a laboratory analysis document is no big deal. Fabricating fake documents is routine. You have to understand the philosophy of these people living without any code of ethics, surviving under a police state communist regime: There are no ethics. No values. No moral compass. Forging a fake lab report is no different to them than planting seeds: it's just one more step needed to make money. There is no moral difference in their minds between telling the truth and lying. It's a "relativistic" morality philosophy.

I'm not saying all people in China are liars and deceivers. But a lot of them are. Anyone who has actually lived there for any length of time knows exactly what I'm talking about. This is a country where deceptive manufacturers take white sesame seeds and coat them in toxic black ink just to sell them as "black sesame seeds." This is a country where infant formula producers spike their formula with kidney-destroying melamine in order to make an extra five cents a pound, even while killing babies by the thousands. THEY DON'T CARE. China is a nation that has abandoned morality and even attacked it. This is a country where the Falun Gong group of meditation advocates and yoga practitioners is arrested and thrown in prison by an extremely oppressive, dictatorial government.

Look, cultures are different everywhere around the world. You want to hang out with really nice, intelligent and honest people? Get yourself some Dutch friends. They're the most upstanding, moral, educated bunch of folks you'll ever meet.

You want to hang out with highly-innovative rule followers? Get yourself some German friends. They follow the rules. And they're smart, innovative people on top of that. Brilliant minds. Some of the greatest scientists in history came out of Berlin.

You want some friends who are wildly creative? Those are Americans. Americans make the best movies, the best music (well, along with UK musicians anyway), and a lot of the best computer software on the planet. Americans are rebels. They break the rules and forge a new path. America is a nation founded on rebellion.

But if you're looking for people who will stab you in the back in a business deal, go the China. There, you will find the most back-stabbing, dishonest cheaters and liars you'll probably ever meet, short of Nigera's "Prince Nubula" whose emails promise you'll receive a million dollars if you only send them $5,000 first.

Why you won't hear this truth anywhere else
I know that telling the truth is unpopular and not politically correct. I'm not interested in winning a popularity contest. What I'm doing here is flat-out telling the truth that most other people are too afraid to say on their own: The very idea of "organic" coming out of China is a disturbing contradiction.

And organic standards have a huge gap in the fact that they don't require foods to actually be free from mercury or other contaminants. Overall, organic is a wonderful standard and I've been a strong advocate of organic, but when a "USDA organic" label is slapped on a product grown in China, you really have to scratch your head and say, "Yeah, it might be organic, but is it clean?"

It may be, but you just don't know until you test it. "Organic" grown in the USA can be assumed to be clean, but organic grown in China must be assumed contaminated unless proven otherwise.

Until China enforces some really strict environmental standards, "organic" from China is largely a fraud in my opinion. It's a hoax. You can lie to yourself and say, "Well it's ORGANIC so it must be clean!" but you'll be swallowing mercury, lead, pesticides and other synthetic chemicals in various amounts.

Laboratory tests confirm everything I'm telling you here. This is the dirty little secret of the organic food industry that nobody's talking about.

China's environmental nightmare
Just how polluted is China's environment? As I mentioned above, it's so bad that a Chinese environmental official was recently offered over US$30,000 to take a 20-minute swim in a local river. He declined the offer, as would any sane person.

Are these the same rivers that are being used to produce "organic" crops in China? You have to wonder. A river can be so inundated with smelting factory runoff and chemical pollution that even bacteria struggle to survive in it; yet this water can be legally sprayed on crops that are exported to America as "organic."

If you buy "organic" foods, superfoods or supplements grown in China, you need to know about this.

As The Guardian reports:

A recent government study found that groundwater in 90% of China's cities is contaminated, most of it severely. The head of China's ministry of water resources said last year that up to 40% of the country's rivers are "seriously polluted", and an official report from last summer found that up to 200 million rural Chinese have no access to clean drinking water.

By the way, this is another story altogether, but I can tell you with 100% certainty that China is headed for an environmental collapse. The country has polluted itself far beyond the point of long-term sustainable life. Children are being born as mutants. Rivers support no fish life. Soils are building up obscene levels of contaminants and becoming so toxic that crop yields are affected. Cities are so filled with airborne pollution that the mere act of breathing causes cancer. And on top of that, China's one-child policy has resulted in mass gendercide where baby girls are routinely -- and yes, I mean ROUTINELY -- murdered, drowned, suffocated, etc., because the family wants a son, not a daughter.

In its quest for economic power, China has poisoned itself to death, and now it's only a matter of time before the nation collapses in a cesspool of toxicity and lies. The economic "boom" of China is nearly over, and it will be followed by an environmental implosion so huge and disgusting that the world will be absolutely horrified. Remember: China is so corrupt that it won't stop factories from openly dumping toxic waste directly into the groundwater supplies. Instead of acknowledging the source of pollution, Chinese officials simply accept bribes and cover it up. The corruption in China is so deeply rooted in the culture that honesty and accountability can never overcome the deception.

With some exceptions, when you buy food grown in China, you are buying food produced in the most toxic environment on planet Earth, grown by some of the most deceptive and most corrupt liars and back-stabbers on the planet, all ruled by one of the most dictatorial and tyrannical governments history has ever known. That about sums it up.

Ultimately, China has a terminal environmental crisis on its hands, compounded by an eternally corrupt, dictatorial communist regime government that oppresses freedom and outlaws religion while forcing families to kill their own baby girls under its population control mandates.

In summary, China suffers from:

• An environmental nightmare
• An almost complete abandonment of morals and integrity
• A deeply corrupt communist police state political system that mandates the mass murder of baby girls

Is this the vibe you really want to be putting into your body?

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/039195_organic_foods_China_pollution_nightmare.html#ixzz2LZGOTpJa

[SPARK]

Dr. Richard Bernstein On High-Fat, Low-Carb Diets & Diabetes

[SPARK]

Enjoy Eating Saturated Fats: They're Good for You. Donald W. Miller, Jr., M.D.

[SPARK]

Tomatoes Shown To Lower Stroke Risk

In a groundbreaking new study that’s sure to send health-conscious guys running to the produce market, tomatoes now are linked to lower stroke risk in men. Researchers examining the blood levels of more than 1,000 Finnish men ages 46 to 65, found that those whose blood contained the highest levels of lycopene had 55 percent less chance of suffering a stroke.

Those results, published in the October 8 issue of the journal Neurology, held true even after adjusting for the men’s age, health and other risk factors such as smoking and obesity. Because stroke is the third leading cause of death in this country, the fact that simply adding more tomatoes to your diet can add years to their life is big news for men in their middle years. Effects of lycopene on women’s stroke risk was not studied.

The research supports, “the recommendation that people get more than five servings of fruits and vegetables a day,” study author Jouni Karppi, Ph.D. told Healthline.com, “This would likely lead to a major reduction in the number of strokes worldwide, according to previous research.”

Tomatoes and tomato-based products are particularly recommended because they, “contain more lycopene than other fruits and vegetables,” according to Dr. Karppi.

Why Lycopene?

Lycopenes are a powerful antioxidant that reduces inflammation and helps guard against the formation of blood clots that block blood flow to the brain, Jouni Karppi of the department of medicine at the Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition at the University of Eastern Finland and lead author of the study, told ABC News. “Eating tomatoes and tomato-based foods is associated with a lower risk of any stroke,” Karppi said. “This study adds to the evidence that a diet high in fruits and vegetables is associated with a lower risk of stroke.”

The study followed the men for an average of 12 years, during which time 67 of them had a stroke. Lycopene was the only antioxidant associated with a lower risk. While researchers also checked levels of the antioxidants alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, alpha-tocopherol and retinol in the men’s blood, none of those were linked to a reduced stroke risk.


It’s That Flashy Red Color

Tomatoes and other brightly colored fruits and vegetables are full of serum carotenoids, the yellow, orange and red pigments that give produce its vivid color and, scientists already knew, help to prevent heart disease and stroke. The Finnish study affirms that it is lycopene, the powerful red carotenoid found in tomatoes, that is most effective in avoiding strokes.

High levels of lycopene also are found in tomato-based products, such as tomato sauces and paste. “This study supports the recommendation of eating [more] servings of fruits and vegetables a day,” said Nancy Copperman, MS, RD, director of public health initiatives at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, in an interview with MedPage Today. For a break from eating tomatoes, she recommends eating watermelon, pink grapefruit and guava, all rich in lycopene.


Don’t Rely on Tomatoes Alone

Although tomatoes are a terrific boost to your health, they won’t prevent a stroke if your lifestyle is unhealthy. Up to 80 percent of strokes can be prevented. To maximize your chances of avoiding a brain attack, follow these tips from the National Stroke Association:
•Stop smoking. If you smoke, your risk of having a stroke is automatically doubled by raising your blood pressure and making your heart work harder.
•Keep your cholesterol levels in the healthy range. LDL, or “bad” cholesterol, can clog your blood vessels and cause a stroke. If your overall cholesterol level is higher than 200, see a doctor.
•Don’t over-indulge with alcohol. A number of studies link high alcohol consumption to increased stroke risk. Keep your drinking to one or two drinks per day.
•Get some exercise—a pillar of a heart-healthy lifestyle. Even 30 minutes a day of moderate exercise, such as walking, helps keep your circulation healthy.
•Manage your diet. Not sure how much fat, protein and grains is good for your heart? Go to www.ChooseMyPlate.gov for easy pointers.
•Finally, cut out the salt. Most Americans eat about 3,400 mg sodium a day, yet the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend an upper limit of only 2,300 mg—and just 1,500 mg a day if you’re over 51 years of age. Read labels and season your foods with herbs and spices to cut your salt intake.

[SPARK]

Why Athletes Are Turning to Beet Juice

One race morning, I noticed my XC Ottawa teammates Karl and Megan drinking beet juice. I'd read some of the research, but now I was intrigued. Apparently they were tipped off by their friend Dylan Wykes. Dylan, along with Reid Coolsaet and Eric Gillis will be representing Canada in the Olympic Marathon in London, and all of them seem to have incorporated beet juice into their nutrition plans. So have some top pro-cycling teams. The list goes on. Some experts believe doping control will be dealing with many red-colored urine samples from endurance athletes (more on this later . . . .). It was clearly time to investigate further.

The research behind beet juice and performance is compelling. A series of small but mostly well-designed studies have associated beet juice consumption with improved exercise performance. It seems beet juice allows your muscles to perform the same amount of work while using less oxygen, somehow making your body's energy production more efficient. Here are some of the main findings:
•beet juice increased time to exhaustion: cyclists who drank beet juice could ride 16 per cent longer than without beet juice in their diet. The beet juice also allowed them to increase intensity with less oxygen cost.
•beet juice improved performance (1-3 per cent) and power output in 4km, 16km, and 10km cycling time trials. For perspective, if you run a 5 km in 20 minutes, a two per cent improvement is 19:36 - impressive!
•in walkers and runners, beet juice reduced the oxygen cost of walking and moderate and intense running, and increased time to exhaustion
•runners who ate baked beets before running a 5km time trial ran faster (and the last 1.8 km five per cent faster), and had a lower rate of perceived exertion during the first part of the run.
•trained divers could hold their breath almost half-a-minute longer if they drank beet juice before their dive.
•in well-trained rowers, beet juice improved times for a set of 6 x 500m repetitions, especially the later repetitions.

What's the magic ingredient in beets?

Beets contain many health promoting substances, including the antioxidants betalain, resveratrol, and quercetin. But several studies have revealed that nitrates are responsible for the performance benefit of beets. Juice manufacturer "Beet it" now produces a nitrate-free beet juice allowing researchers to have a perfect placebo, and indicating that other compounds in beets aren't responsible for the performance benefits. Although the underlying mechanism is still unclear, recent research has shed light on what's happening.

Our bodies convert the nitrate in beets to nitrite, some of which is converted into nitric oxide. Nitric oxide's role in regulating blood pressure and promoting cardiovascular health is well-established, and research continues to uncover its many health-promoting roles in our body. Nitric oxide regulates vasodilation, relaxing blood vessels and improving blood flow, which could allow more oxygen to reach the muscles. Additionally, it seems that nitric oxide helps muscle mitochondria become more efficient. And a recent study showed that mice on nitrate-rich diets had fast twitch muscles that produced more force than mice on nitrate-free diets.

But aren't nitrates bad?

Until recently, nitrates were considered toxic, and long-term exposure thought to increase cancer risk, which is at odds with the growing body of research highlighting the protective effects of vegetables, many of which are nitrate-rich. In fact, dark leafy greens, which are the richest vegetable sources of nitrates, are all-stars when it comes to promoting health. Many experts question these early studies, and now believe that the naturally occurring nitrates in vegetables may be responsible for some of the cardiovascular benefits of vegetable-rich diets. It's important to remember that nitrates in vegetables occur naturally and come packaged with a host of health-protective compounds (minerals, vitamins, antioxidants).

Do I need to drink beet juice to get nitrates?

Most of the studies used beet juice, likely because it's consistent with other studies, has stable nitrate levels, and has a good placebo (nitrate-free beet juice). Would regular beets (not juiced) have similar effects? Juiced beets allow you to ingest a large quantity of nutrients quickly, and may be more readily absorbed, but evidence suggests that regular beets would have performance benefits as well. Apparently, baked beets improve performance and beet-enriched bread can lower blood pressure, suggesting that nitrates from non-juiced beets also have physiological effects.

What about other nitrate-rich vegetables?

Although not investigated for performance, it's highly possible that other nitrate-rich vegetables would have similar effects to beets. One study found that a diet rich in traditional Japanese foods (plenty of leafy greens) increased plasma nitrite levels and lowered blood pressure, showing that high-nitrate vegetables other than beets may also increase nitric oxide levels.

Vegetables high in nitrates include:
rhubarb, arugula, spinach, celery, cress, chervil, lettuce, beets, chinese cabbage, endive, fennel, kohlrabi, leek, and parsley.

Leafy greens are some of the best nitrate sources. By weight, arugula is the clear winner, boasting 480 mg nitrates/100g (almost twice as much as a cup of beet juice). But that's five cups of arugula. . . so here are some nitrate levels based on more reasonable serving sizes. Note that nitrate values are approximate, since content varies considerably depending on soil, location, time of year, and other variables.

You can get an idea of the nitrate content of other vegetables in this table or this publication. Remember -- a health-promoting diet should include nutrients from a variety of vegetables, so don't limit your vegetable intake to high-nitrate varieties. Consider that broccoli and carrots, which are low in nitrates, offer plenty of disease-fighting nutrients.

How much beet juice did studies use?

Performance benefits were found when study participants either drank 500 ml beet juice for four to six days, and also for a single 500 ml dose 2.5 hours before exercise testing (500 ml juice reportedly contained about 380-500mg nitrate). More recent studies have tested concentrated beet juice shots (70 ml, about 300 mg nitrate), which seem to be more popular with athletes. A recent study found that consuming just 100 mg nitrate reduced blood pressure, but these researchers didn't investigate exercise performance.

Seeing red? Some people notice red urine after eating beets. This condition is harmless, and occurs when beet pigments enter the bloodstream before digestive bacteria break them down

Recommendations


Although beet juice has shown promise at improving exercise performance, larger scale studies in more diverse populations are needed (for example, more studies in highly trained athletes and females -- most studies looked at young male recreational athletes). Also, the safety and effectiveness of ingesting high levels of nitrate from one type of vegetable for extended periods is not known. Do not consume commercially available nitrate or nitrite salts, which can cause potentially life-threatening conditions.

A safe bet is to always include a wide variety of vegetables in your diet (high and low nitrate), which have proven health benefits, and consider increasing the proportion of high nitrate containing vegetables closer to important training blocks or events. For non-beet options, eat pre-race meals that are rich in nitrates (e.g., big salads, greens, tabbouleh, spinach lasagna), or add rhubarb to your morning oats (according to this study, oats might help enhance nitric oxide production too).
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/sheila-kealey/beet-juice-olympics_b_1723807.html?utm_hp_ref=canada&ir=Canada

[SPARK]

On the medicinal side of things, shiitake is a heavyweight mushroom that fights many common health problems. The mushroom contains a polysaccharide called lentinan, and another known as Beta 1.3 glucan, both of which appear to possess powerful anti-viral and anti-tumor powers.

Shiitake also enhances immunity by boosting the production of T cells, macrophages, phagocytes, natural killer cells and other white blood cells. It even helps to fight flu, due to the presence of a polysaccharide known as KS-2. Further clinical studies show that Shiitake even protects against the damaging effects of radiation and chemotherapy.

The healing power of mushrooms

By Chris Kilham

Published April 04, 2012

FoxNews.com

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/04/04/healing-power-mushrooms/#ixzz21YNhmqEY

Mushrooms have always occupied a curious spot in the human psyche. Associated with magic, spiritual power and mystical revelation, mushrooms have been used as foods, healing agents, poisons, ritual artifacts, and hallucinogens. They are hunted by enthusiasts the world over, and play a central role in numerous lavish festivals and museum displays.

Mushrooms comprise a category of nutritional products that have been gaining scientific and medical attention these days. A rapidly expanding body of research worldwide is finding value in the use of mushrooms for the prevention and treatment of health problems - ranging from immune disorders, viral diseases, high cholesterol, coronary disease, liver disease, and cancer. Three particular mushrooms of medicinal value are listed below.

Shiitake, Lentinus edodes

On the medicinal side of things, shiitake is a heavyweight mushroom that fights many common health problems. The mushroom contains a polysaccharide called lentinan, and another known as Beta 1.3 glucan, both of which appear to possess powerful anti-viral and anti-tumor powers.

Shiitake also enhances immunity by boosting the production of T cells, macrophages, phagocytes, natural killer cells and other white blood cells. It even helps to fight flu, due to the presence of a polysaccharide known as KS-2. Further clinical studies show that Shiitake even protects against the damaging effects of radiation and chemotherapy.

Nutritionally, shiitake is very heart healthy and has been shown to lower cholesterol. Studies conducted at the National Institute of Nutrition demonstrated that consumption of shiitake leads to a drop in serum cholesterol of between 7 and 12 percent. Russian and U.S. studies show that shiitake inhibits platelet aggregation in the blood, thereby reducing the buildup of arterial plaque - which is the cause of hardened arteries. This mushroom also inhibits the formation of arterial lesions, and lowers high blood pressure.

Reishi, Ganoderma lucidum

One of the most revered tonic herbs in traditional Chinese medicine, reishi is purported not only to enhance longevity, but to imbue the mushroom eater with spiritual radiance and wisdom. Reishi is presumed to uplift and transform the mind by expunging psychic waste, thereby helping to facilitate enlightenment.

Spiritual realization aside, the mushroom's medicinal properties, however, do explain the high regard in which it is held. Studies conducted around the world show that Reishi mushrooms fight tumors, presumably due to the presence of the polysaccharide Beta 1.3, which occurs in shiitake. Reishi also increases immune-protective T cells and macrophages. The mushroom demonstrates anti-bacterial and anti-viral activity, and accelerates recovery time from infectious Hepatitis.

Reishi protects the liver from damage by chemical toxins such as carbon tetrachloride. The presence of cyclooctasulphur, a histamine-inhibiting compound in reishi, makes this mushroom helpful in the treatment of chronic bronchitis. Reishi is also a valuable source of adenosine, which inhibits platelet aggregation - a contributor to arterial plaque - thus providing significant heart- protective activity.

Maitake, Grifola frondosa

Though this mushroom doesn't carry the same distinguished traditional reputation of shiitake and reishi, it may be valuable in the fight against HIV. At an International Conference on AIDS in Amsterdam, maitake was reported to inhibit the HIV virus in vitro. While the mushroom doesn’t kill the HIV virus in humans, it may help as part of a total integrated medicine program. Some Japanese research even suggests that maitake may provide stronger immune-enhancing properties than the previous mushrooms listed.

Like both reishi and shiitake, maitake contains a wide array of valuable sterols, glycosides, amino acids, enzymes, polysaccharides, vitamins, minerals and other medicinal compounds. Research shows that the compounds in maitake mushrooms (including Beta 1.3 glucan again) fight breast cancer cells and skin cancer cells. These compounds appear to bolster the immune system by stimulating the production of macrophages, killer T-cells, T lymphocytes, and natural killer cells. Maitake mushrooms also reduce high blood pressure, and help to stabilize blood sugar levels.

What’s the best way to take these mushrooms? Eating them as foods is surely the way to go, but you may have a hard time finding fresh or dried maitake or reishi mushrooms at a conventional grocery store. Chinese groceries or traditional Chinese apothecaries typically carry these exotic foods, so if you do find any of these three mushrooms fresh or dried, buy them by the bag and learn to cook them in various dishes.

You can also find mushroom supplements on the market, and they vary widely. Some companies provide special extracts of the medicinal mushrooms described above.

Chris Kilham is a medicine hunter who researches natural remedies all over the world, from the Amazon to Siberia. He teaches ethnobotany at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he is Explorer In Residence. Chris advises herbal, cosmetic and pharmaceutical companies and is a regular guest on radio and TV programs worldwide. Chris is the author of 14 books, including Hot Plants, Tales from the Medicine Trail, Kava: Medicine Hunting in Paradise, The Whole Food Bible, Psyche Delicacies, and the international best-selling yoga book, The Five Tibetans. Richard Branson features Chris in his new book, Screw Business as Usual. His field research is largely sponsored by Naturex of Avignon, France. Read more at www.MedicineHunter.com.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/04/04/healing-power-mushrooms/#ixzz21YNpo3Bf

[SPARK]

Here are five things that research has shown can improve happiness:

1. Be grateful – Some study participants were asked to write letters of gratitude to people who had helped them in some way. The study found that these people reported a lasting increase in happiness – over weeks and even months – after implementing the habit. What's even more surprising: Sending the letter is not necessary. Even when people wrote letters but never delivered them to the addressee, they still reported feeling better afterwards.

2. Be optimistic – Another practice that seems to help is optimistic thinking. Study participants were asked to visualize an ideal future – for example, living with a loving and supportive partner, or finding a job that was fulfilling – and describe the image in a journal entry. After doing this for a few weeks, these people too reported increased feelings of well-being.

3. Count your blessings – People who practice writing down three good things that have happened to them every week show significant boosts in happiness, studies have found. It seems the act of focusing on the positive helps people remember reasons to be glad.

4. Use your strengths – Another study asked people to identify their greatest strengths, and then to try to use these strengths in new ways. For example, someone who says they have a good sense of humor could try telling jokes to lighten up business meetings or cheer up sad friends. This habit, too, seems to heighten happiness.

5. Commit acts of kindness – It turns out helping others also helps ourselves. People who donate time or money to charity, or who altruistically assist people in need, report improvements in their own happiness.

[SPARK]

Alkaline Balance ( Rawfood Superfood )

[SPARK]

Acidic vs Alkaline Foods

[SPARK]

Article: What About A 100% Raw Vegan Diet?
By: Mark Idzik

Recently I noticed a lively conversation over at Kevin Gianni's Renegade Health Blog about thoughts on a completely 100% raw food diet.

Kevin mentioned since he wasn't 100% raw, he couldn't comment on some aspects of the diet and invited others to share their thoughts.

Being 100% raw for over 3.5 years, I thought I could share some insight. Basically, here's what I wrote.

The 100% raw vegan diet is always an interesting topic!

Personally, my research and experience is that you thrive at 100% raw vegan. In today's polluted society, I also believe it's the only way to get close to optimal health. Yes, you can be healthy, for the time being, eating less raw. But in the long run, I believe you want to be at 100% to counteract all the toxins, pollution, processed and cooked food in our world today.

I was vegan for over 12 years and ate about 50-75% raw and had health issues the entire time. I never was able to resolve them until I started to eat more raw (naturally) and then soon after decided to go 100% raw overnight. I've been 100% for over 3.5 years now and most all the health issues I had before have been resolved.

In my experience, going any less than 100% is a compromise... for your health. 80% raw? 20% less vibrant health. When you're at 100% you can tell when you eat cooked and the side effects are normally more obvious when your body has been cleaned out. (note: check out this video of a raw foodist after eating 'normal' food) Most everyone can feel a difference.

100% raw is not about being better or some status symbol, it's all about health in my opinion. It's a lifestyle and not just a diet or the way you eat.

It's a choice that everyone has and I've found that those that don't make it 100% normally had already set their mind against it (knowingly or not). It's quite easy to go 100%... if you want to. You make it work. Again it's a choice and you'll never experience the benefits until you've done it for a while. Not just a few weeks or months, but years. I had a detox almost two years into 100%. Some clear up faster, some take more time. It usually depends on the condition of your system.

Many will say it's not easy to go 100% raw. They'll also say they do better at a lower percentage. Better than what? How do you know you're better if you haven't been 100% for an extended period of time? And how do you know the effects of increased consumption of cooked and processed foods will have on your long term health and longevity? Does it intuitively seem right to eat cooked food?

It's easy to be politically correct and say, yes, it's hard and challenging to go 100% raw. But it's really not if you just decide. Imagine yourself having no other alternative but to eat raw. You figure it out and make it work. You learn and make mistakes along the way until you get there. Just like anything in life, if you want it bad enough you'll get it. You'll attain the goal you set in your mind to achieve. If you have doubts, or surround yourself with others that don't believe in what you're doing, then it's easier to break down and give up. Cooked food is addictive and until you give it up for a while, it, along with emotional issues, will easily seduce you back.

Plus, it's easier as you eat more raw food, and less cooked. Eventually you lose the taste (and addiction) to cooked and processed foods as your body returns to it's natural state and you'll be thoroughly enjoying fresh fruits, vegetables and some nuts and seeds without thinking about cooked foods.

In today?s world, it's easy to slide back and give up. Rush, rush, rush... pressure, deadlines, stress, things to do. All seem to be more important that the one thing we can't live without... our health.

I guess it also depends on why you want to go 100% raw to begin with.

For me, it's simple? I feel best when I've been and am at 100%. Health, mindset, thinking, energy, work, life... it's all near optimal at 100% for me and those that have experienced this.

And it's also so much more than just health. Many changes take place in your body, mind and spirit when going 100% raw. Although you may experience some, you miss out on so much by not being at 100% in my opinion. Your life literally changes... your outlook, priorities, perhaps your employment, friends or relationships can change. Some aren't ready for that, or are afraid of those changes. These emotions can stop you (often unknowingly) from making the decision to go 100% raw.

There have been long term studies on cats that ate raw vs. cooked and the results were quite clear... those that ate raw saw better health and were able to reproduce over many generations. Those that ate cooked suffered and eventually could not reproduce. This actually reminds me of the human race today with all the fertility difficulties and being able to get pregnant. Do you think it could have -anything- to do with how much cooked food we eat, stress and the amount of toxins we're exposed to today? (clue: yes!)

And the reason there haven't been long term studies on humans and specifically on raw foodists is most likely that there probably weren?t enough subjects since there are very few 100% raw foodists even today. The number of those interested in raw food has increased dramatically recently and is a great thing. The more the better and perhaps there will be more people available in the near future to be able to conduct a study like this.

In looking at the research on cooked food, there is no comparison to fresh, ripe, organic living foods. None. All studies show the detrimental effects of cooking. Even the FDA admits that all cooked food contains carcinogens. How could that be considered healthy? I haven?t found one study that shows cooked food benefits over living foods. A few studies show more availability of a specific nutrient in a cooked food, but never analyzes or compares the effects on the other nutrients in the food. It's statistically not even worth discussing since all research points to the overwhelming health benefits of raw, living foods. I mean, what is the main advice of most dietitians, nutritionists, health coaches, trainers and most anyone you speak with? Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables, right?

Knowing this, why would eating cooked foods, in any amount, bring you to better health? Or to a longer life? Or to more energy? It's just counter-intuitive to think so.

Most often it's just emotions, social pressure and addictions that bring us to missing the 100% mark. And believe it or not, going 100% can help you overcome those addictions and emotions. As mentioned by others in the comments above, food isn't everything and eating doesn?t feed the soul. Well said!

It may not be for everyone, although being 100% is an amazing place to be and personally, I don't plan to give up the awesome experiences I have every day. And it just keeps getting better. You could experience them as well if you wanted to.

All the best on your search for health and wellness everyone!


http://rawfoodhowto.com/what-about-a-100-percent-raw-food-diet.cfm

[SPARK]

Persian Mushroom Salad

A delicious blend of soft and tender marinated mushrooms and finely diced onion with a creamy yogurt style dressing. See recipe below.




Eat this salad in romaine leaves, in a chard wrap, on seed crackers, or simply with fresh slices of cucumber

Ingredients



Part 1: Tender Seasoned Mushrooms

3/4 lb of Crimini Mushrooms coarsely chopped = 3 cups packed

1/4 c minced Shallot or White Onion

2 Tbsp Grape seed Oil

1 Tbsp Water

1 tsp Lemon Juice

1/2 tsp unpasteurized Mellow White Miso //or// Nutritional yeast flakes

Salt to taste

Mediterranean Yogurt Dressing:

1/2 c AtV Sour Cream*

2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 tsp minced Garlic

1 tsp minced fresh Mint

1 tsp minced fresh Cilantro (optional)

Salt to Taste

*AtV Sour Cream:

1 and 3/4 cups dry Cashews soaked overnight (roughly 6 to 8 hours)

2 Tbsp plus 1 tsp Unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 tsp Salt

1 and 1/4 cup Water Total

[SPARK]

Two cups of coffee a day cuts heart-failure risk: study review

If you drink coffee regularly in moderation, you're likely reducing your risk of heart failure.

New research published in the American Heart Association's journal Circulation: Heart Failure analyzed five high quality coffee-consumption studies and found that moderate coffee drinking, about two 8-ounce cups of day, is good for the heart.

"While there is a commonly held belief that regular coffee consumption may be dangerous to heart health, our research suggests that the opposite may be true," says Dr. Murray Mittleman, senior study author and director of the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

"We found that moderate consumption — which we define as the equivalent of about two typical American coffee shop beverages — may actually protect against heart failure by as much as 11 per cent," he says.

Also see: Traffic noise ups heart attack risk, but coffee shop noise makes you more creative

The findings are encouraging for Canadian who love coffee. The Coffee Association of Canada reports that the average Canadian coffee-drinker consumes 2.8 cups of java a day.

There can be too much of a good thing, however, with the risk of heart problems increasing with excessive intake, Mittleman warns:

"On the other hand, excessive coffee drinking — five to six commercial coffee house cups per day has no benefit and may even be dangerous. As with so many things, moderation appears to be the key here, too."

Mittleman adds that there's "a good deal of research showing that drinking coffee lowers the risk for type 2 diabetes." Subsequently, "it stands to reason that if you lower the risk of diabetes, you also lower the risk of heart failure."

It should be noted that most coffee chains don't serve you 8-ounce cups of coffee. A typically serving is anywhere from 9 to 20 fluid ounces.

The research didn't account for brew strength or caffeination levels. The studies examined were based in Sweden and Finland where coffee tends to be stronger and almost always caffeinated, ABC News reports.

Also see: Cute kids with cigarettes: Thailand's anti-smoking campaign goes viral

"There is clearly more research to be done," says Mittleman. "But in the short run, this data may warrant a change to the guidelines to reflect that coffee consumption, in moderation, may provide some protection from heart failure."

Health Canada recommends that healthy adults do not exceed 400 mg of caffeine, or about three 8-ounce cups of coffee, per day.

Currently, the American Heart Association recommends people at risk for heart fair limit their coffee intake to one or two cups a day.

How many cups of coffee do you drink per day? Tell us in the comments.

Check out the video below for a crunch-less ab workout.

[DOLLARLAND]

Adia Nutrition, Inc. (ADIA.PK) Announces the Launch of Adia Slim, Which Is Believed to Be the First Probiotic With an Appetite Suppressant

ADIA 0.026

NEWPORT BEACH, CA--(Marketwire -06/27/12)- Adia Nutrition, Inc. (ADIA) is proud to announce the launch of a revolutionary new product called Adia Slim. It is believed to be the first probiotic beverage with an appetite suppressant in the $61 billion diet and weight loss industry.

Adia Slim is a raspberry lemonade flavored beverage powder which contains LuraLean. LuraLean is a fiber from the root of a Japanese plant called Konjac. The fiber expands in your stomach shortly after you drink it, and gives you a feeling of fullness so you eat less.

This fiber is then combined with probiotics to make sure the food you eat is then digested more efficiently.

"Adia Slim is a revolutionary step in weight management," said Adia CEO Wen Peng. "We believe that Adia Slim gives dieters a tool to help control the quantity of food people consume. This tool, combined with diet and exercise should show results. As with any health program, please speak to your doctor in connection with any lifestyle change. Like all our Adia products, Adia Slim contains convenient and shelf stable 'On the Go' probiotics that require no refrigeration together with essential vitamins and minerals. Adia Nutrition are the perfect products for the busy 'on the go' family, from mom and dad to the kids."

Adia Slim can be ordered by calling 1-877-207-6321 or by visiting www.adianutrition.com to order online or find the local retailer near you.

About Adia Nutrition, Inc.

About Adia Nutrition, Inc. (ADIA) is a company specializing in shelf stable probiotics. Currently, Adia offers five flavors of probiotic powder and two flavors of probiotic chews. Adia sells their products across the country in independent pharmacies, health food stores, fitness centers and grocery store chains. In states and countries where Adia does not yet have retail distribution partners you can find Adia online. According to a market research report titled 'Probiotics Market,' published by Markets and Markets (www.marketsandmarkets.com), the global probiotics market is expected to be worth US$ 32.6 billion by 2014. Moreover, the global market is expected to record a CAGR of 12.6%.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "expect," "should," "intend," "estimate," and "projects," variations of such words and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that a statement is not a forward-looking statement. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current expectations and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's filings, which are on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Contact:
Contact
Investor Relations
Adia Nutrition, Inc.
Director of Investor Relations
Michael Matsie
Email Contact
[phone]

[SPARK]

Morning Ginger Lemon Blast



Ingredients

2 big handfuls of Spinach
1/2 cup parsley
1 rib of celery
1 thumb of ginger, peeled
1 lemon
1 medium cucumber
2 apples
ice (optional)



Methods/steps
1.
In a juicer, place all ingredients except optional ice cubes in a juicer until juiced

2.
Serve in your favorite wine goblet or other favorite glass of choice.

[westeffer]

I read your article on flavanoid rich berries and thought I would mention a breakthrough derivative of blueberries resveratrol called Pterostilbene. http://www.chromadex.com has a patented formula that is about to announce results for clinical trials for reduction in cholesterol, triglycerides and blood pressure. The company has four different focused products entering the market currently. Walgreens and GNC already has product on the shelves and Drug Store . Com sells on the internet. I recently purchased shares in Chromadex CDXC.

I began taking Heart Blu from Chromadex recently and also have taken the Pterostilbene product from http://www.biotivia.com
Chromadex claim their product contains the equivalent Petrostilbene of 500 pints of blueberries and Biotivia offers one product that also meets this standard.

Biotivia also offers numerous other resveratrol based products. Their Bio-Span product claims to act on the telomeres as an anti aging product.

[SPARK]

Ever made raw tacos? The flavors of spicy walnut taco mix, fresh tomato salsa and tangy cashew sour cream create an absolute explosion of fresh vibrant flavors in your mouth. And not only that but you will feel refreshed and nourished after your meal. For the taco "shells" try using several varieties of cabbage such as green leaf, purple, or nappa cabbage which all work very well.

This recipe puts greasy meat based Mexican food to shame. As long as you are using fresh seasonal produce and those delicious Mexican spices and herbs such as cumin, cilantro, garlic, paprika, and spicy peppers you will get that authentic flavor.




Ingredients

Walnut Taco Mix

1 cup raw walnuts

1 Tbsp. nama shoyu (raw, unpasteurized soy sauce)

1/8 tsp. ground chipotle pepper (or more if you like it spicy!)

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. extra virgin olive oil


Cashew “Sour Cream”

½ cup raw cashews

juice of ½ lemon

1 tsp. apple cider vinegar

5 Tbsp. water (approx.)


Raw Salsa

1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes

½ red bell pepper, chopped fine

½ orange or yellow bell pepper, chopped fine

½ red onion or 4 green onions, minced

¼ cup chopped cilantro

½ clove garlic, minced

juice of ½ lime

1 tsp. raw honey

1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

pinch of sea salt


Other Raw Taco elements:

ripe avocados (about ½ per person)

cabbage, collard, kale, romaine, or spinach leaves

limes for squeezing

extra cilantro for sprinkling

http://www.rawfoodrecipes.com/recipes/raw-tacos.html

[wow_happens28]

So True


"People are fed by the food industry, which pays no attention to health, and are treated by the health industry, which pays no attention to food." ~ Wendell Berry

82 ingrediients in KFC's chicken pot pie? How many of them are healthful?

This should be one of the most active boards on iHub, sad it is not. But, a new food health conscienceness is emerging. I am a cancer victim, cured, thank God. My thoughts now is that sugar, aspartame and or transfat were the cause. It took cancer to wake me up. Just maybe we make can a difference in others while helping ourselves get healthier.

http://atom.smasher.org/chinese/

[wow_happens28]

Flavonoid-rich berries could halt memory declines: Study

A high intake of flavonoid rich berries can delay memory decline in older women by 2.5 years, according to new research findings.

http://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Research/Flavonoid-rich-berries-could-halt-memory-declines-Study

[wow_happens28]

Special edition: FoodNavigator-USA 2012 trendspotter

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/

[SPARK]

Stolen recipe...Raw Vegan Kale Chips Recipe for 1 Bunch of Kale
1 c cashews (soaked for a few hours)
1 Medium Red Pepper
Juice of half a lemon (2 Tbsp)
1/4 c Nooch (Nutritional Yeast) or more if you’re a fan of nooch. I use 1/3c++
1 Tsp Salt (or to taste)
Optional 1/2 Tsp Agave or 1/2 of a medjool date

Wash the kale & remove tough stalks, de-seed the red pepper, drain off your soaked cashews
Put all the Ingredients into a Vita-Mix or Food Processor & Blend everything together
Apply the coating to the kale
Put on Dehydrator Screens and Dehydrate until done, flipping once after a couple hours.
Or, Bake In a 300F Oven for 20 Minutes, Flipping, and Then Baking Another 10 Minutes or so.
You can also bake in a 200F oven with the door ajar. It will take longer but the results will be closer to that of a dehydrator.
Watch the Kale Chips very closely because if you think broccoli stench is bad, burnt kale is very naassssty. Everyone’s Oven Temps and Desired Kale Chip Crispiness Level differs, so plan on babysitting your oven for about 45 minutes in total. But I promise, totally worth it!
Dehydrate (or bake) til Crispy-n-Crunchy
Look at the cheezy, noochey, cashew-ey goodness just stuck on the kale leaf like price stickers stuck to the bottom of your new dishes.

[SPARK]

The Truth About Kale


By Kathleen M. Zelman, MPH, RD, LD
WebMD Expert Column






Move over Popeye and make room for the "queen of greens," kale. Gaining in popularity, kale is an amazing vegetable being recognized for its exceptional nutrient richness, health benefits, and delicious flavor.

Eating a variety of natural, unprocessed vegetables can do wonders for your health, but choosing super-nutritious kale on a regular basis may provide significant health benefits, including cancer protection and lowered cholesterol.

Kale, also known as borecole, is one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet. A leafy green, kale is available in curly, ornamental, or dinosaur varieties. It belongs to the Brassica family that includes cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, collards, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.

What makes kale so exceptional? Here is why it's a superstar vegetable -- and ways to work it into your diet.

Kale is a Nutritional Powerhouse

One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.

Kale’s health benefits are primarily linked to the high concentration and excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K -- and sulphur-containing phytonutrients.

Carotenoids and flavonoids are the specific types of antioxidants associated with many of the anti-cancer health benefits. Kale is also rich in the eye-health promoting lutein and zeaxanthin compounds.

Beyond antioxidants, the fiber content of cruciferous kale binds bile acids and helps lower blood cholesterol levels and reduce the risk of heart disease, especially when kale is cooked instead of raw.

Super-Rich in Vitamin K

Eating a diet rich in the powerful antioxidant vitamin K can reduce the overall risk of developing or dying from cancer, according to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Vitamin K is abundant in kale but also found in parsley, spinach, collard greens, and animal products such as cheese.

Vitamin K is necessary for a wide variety of bodily functions, including normal blood clotting, antioxidant activity, and bone health.

But too much vitamin K can pose problems for some people. Anyone taking anticoagulants such as warfarin should avoid kale because the high level of vitamin K may interfere with the drugs. Consult your doctor before adding kale to your diet.

Kale might be a powerhouse of nutrients but is also contains oxalates, naturally occurring substances that can interfere with the absorption of calcium. Avoid eating calcium-rich foods like dairy at the same time as kale to prevent any problems.

[SPARK]

Cherries: Tart Cherry Juice Health Benefits and Healing Properties


Recent studies have revealed that cherries contain ingredients that have healing and preventative capabilities, which qualify them as a super fruit. The enormous benefits of cherry nutrition is especially good news for the American consumer because ninety-five percent of cherries consumed in the U.S. are grown in Washington, Oregon, Wisconsin, Utah, New York and Pennsylvania. Most health conscious consumers today understand that locally grown produce(made in America) is fresh produce which tastes better and is more nutritious. Locally grown tart cherries combined with health promoting ingredients makes them one of America's most powerful super fruits.


The deep color found in cherries(especially tart cherries) is an indication of the powerful health promoting flavonoids contained in them. The more abundant the flavonoid, the deeper the red pigment. These flavonoids have been found effective in disease prevention and have the ability to transport toxins out of the body. A 2001 study revealed that concentrated tart cherry juice is ten times more effective than aspirin, at reducing headache pain, pain from gout, arthritic pain and arthritic inflammation. Consuming twenty tart cherries has enough active ingredients to neutralize the enzymes active in tissue inflammation. Cherry juice is a preferable treatment for inflammation to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs because it has no damaging side effects.

Those who suffer from insomnia may be interested to know that tart cherries contain high levels of melatonin. Melatonin is a natural hormone found in the body that regulates the bodies sleep cycles. Taking 2 tablespoons of concentrated tart cherry juice,
(the equivalent of approximately sixty whole cherries), mixed with one cup of water daily, has been found to promote the quality, deep sleep needed for healing and repair of the body. Melatonin has also been found effective at slowing the aging process. Tart cherries may be the only rich source of melatonin found in food.


Recent studies with mice suggest that adding tart red cherry powder to a high fat, moderate carbohydrate diet will result in significant weight loss. Comparisons were done between mice consuming cherry powder with their diet, with those who did not. After twelve weeks, the mice who were fed the cherry powder had fourteen percent less body fat than the mice fed without the cherry powder.

Tart cherries have been found beneficial at lowering several risk factors for heart disease. In 2007, studies were conducted that successfully lowered cholesterol and triglyceride levels in animals. Other health benefits of tart cherries include easing of symptoms associated with Fibromyalgia and protection against cancer.

Making a simple change of adding adequate amounts of tart cherries to your diet is an easy way to help prevent disease and help the body to heal itself of many life threatening ailments.

[SPARK]

Purging Cells in Mice Is Found to Combat Aging Ills

In a potentially fundamental advance, researchers have opened up a novel approach to combating the effects of aging with the discovery that a special category of cells, known as senescent cells, are bad actors that promote the aging of the tissues. Cleansing the body of the cells, they hope, could postpone many of the diseases of aging.


Fat cells of an untreated mouse, at left, where senescent cells remain, are smaller than in a mouse with senescent cells removed.


The findings raise the prospect that any therapy that rids the body of senescent cells would protect it from the ravages of aging. But many more tests will be needed before scientists know if drugs can be developed to help people live longer.

Senescent cells accumulate in aging tissues, like arthritic knees, cataracts and the plaque that may line elderly arteries. The cells secrete agents that stimulate the immune system and cause low-level inflammation. Until now, there has been no way to tell if the presence of the cells is good, bad or indifferent.

The answer turns out to be that the cells hasten aging in the tissues in which they accumulate. In a delicate feat of genetic engineering, a research team led by Darren J. Baker and Jan M. van Deursen at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., has generated a strain of mouse in which all the senescent cells can be purged by giving the mice a drug that forces the cells to self-destruct.

Rid of the senescent cells, the Mayo Clinic researchers reported online Wednesday in the journal Nature, the mice’s tissues showed a major improvement in the usual burden of age-related disorders. They did not develop cataracts, avoided the usual wasting of muscle with age, and could exercise much longer on a mouse treadmill. They retained the fat layers in the skin that usually thin out with age and, in people, cause wrinkling.

“I am very excited by the results,” said Dr. Norman E. Sharpless, an expert on aging at the University of North Carolina. “It suggests therapies that might work in real patients,” he said.

Dr. van Deursen’s work is the first to show that removing senescent cells is beneficial. If confirmed, it “will be considered a fundamental advance by our field,” Dr. Sharpless said.

Aging research is a relatively young field because until 20 or so years ago the prospect of defeating age seemed hopeless. Then researchers found that the lifespan of laboratory animals could be extended by manipulating certain genes, setting off a hunt for drugs that might influence the corresponding genes in people. This line of research remains promising but has produced few tangible results so far. The discovery that senescent cells seem to be the cause of tissue degeneration opens out a new direction for researchers on aging to explore.

Judith Campisi, at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, said the new finding was the first proof that senescent cells can drive the aging process. “So it’s really quite a breakthrough,” she said.

In both mice and people, senescent cells are few in number but have major effects on the body’s tissues. Killing the cells should therefore have large benefits with little downside. The gene-altering approach used on the mice cannot be tried in people, but now that senescent cells appear to be harmful, researchers can devise ways of targeting them.

Drugs already exist to combat some of the inflammatory hormones secreted by senescent cells. The body’s immune system, which probably clears away senescent cells all the time but does so less efficiently with age, could perhaps be trained to attack senescent cells more aggressively. Or researchers could one day develop specific drugs to kill the cells, when the differences between ordinary and senescent cells are better understood.

Dr. van Deursen said he thought it worth trying to eliminate senescent cells after the finding that they reliably switch on a characteristic marker gene known as p16-Ink4a. In his mice, he arranged that the genetic element that switches on the marker gene would also prime a mechanism to make the cell self-destruct. The mechanism fired only when the mice were dosed with a specific drug. The result was that only senescent cells were at risk from the drug, and that they could be purged at any desired time in the mouse’s lifetime.

In a second experiment, the mice were not given the cell-cleaning drug until they were middle-aged. Their cataracts had already developed by then and were irreversible, but aging was delayed in their fat and muscle tissues.

It may be that senescent cells are beneficial in youth but harmful in old age, when the immune system seems to clear them less rapidly from the body. The second mouse experiment suggests that middle age would be an effective time for clinical intervention, assuming humans behave in the same way.

If aging of the tissues is delayed by eliminating senescent cells, the mice should, in principle, have lived longer. Dr. van Deursen said this was not the case in this experiment only because he had chosen a fast-aging strain of mice in order to save himself time. These particular mice succumb to heart attacks at an early age, regardless of the state of their tissues. The Mayo Clinic team plans to repeat its experiment with an ordinary strain of mouse that normally lives three years or more, to see if its life span is extended as expected.

The Mayo Clinic finding “is a really important step forward for the field,” said Dr. Campisi of the Buck Institute.

The purpose of research on aging, she said, is not to let people live a thousand years, as portrayed in science fiction, but to increase health span, the proportion of people’s natural lives that they live in good health.

“People used to see aging as a rusting nail — there’s nothing you can do about it,” Dr. Campisi said. “But we now know that there are processes that are driving aging, and that those processes can be meddled with.”

[westeffer]

Go to http://www.druckerlabs.com and look at intraMax. Absolutely incredible product. My daughter and I are taking it after hearing some testimonials from people.

[arizona1]

The Cancer Time Bomb Sitting in Your Refrigerator - Will You Stop Consuming It?

Posted By Dr. Mercola | October 23 2011 |

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women. If you're a woman, your chance of getting breast cancer in your lifetime is about one in eight.

Researchers at a breast cancer conference stated that up to one-third of breast cancers could be avoided by making different lifestyle choices, such as the foods you choose to eat.

There is one food you may be surprised to learn, that is directly linked to breast cancer—and that is pasteurized dairy in the form of milk or milk products.

The risk lies in consuming milk from cows treated with a synthetic, genetically engineered growth hormone called rBGH, and unfortunately, this applies to about one third of the dairy cows in America.

When you consume dairy products from these cows, every product made from their milk is contaminated with this dangerous hormone—be it cheese, ice cream, yogurt, butter—or just plain milk.

Cows are injected with rBGH to boost their milk production.

But science has proven this practice, although profitable to the industry, comes at a high price to you, as well as to dairy cows. RBGH, or recombinant bovine growth hormone, is a synthetic version of natural bovine somatotropin (BST), a hormone produced in cows' pituitary glands.

Monsanto developed the recombinant version from genetically engineered E. coli bacteria and markets it under the brand name "Posilac."

RBGH is the largest selling dairy animal drug in America.

But it is banned in Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and in the 27 countries of the European Union because of its dangers to human health. Many have tried to inform the public of the risks of using this hormone in dairy cows, but their attempts have been met with overwhelming opposition by the powerful dairy and pharmaceutical industries, and their government liaisons.

Monsanto Lawyers Threaten "Dire Consequences" for Whistleblowers

In 1997, two Fox-affiliate investigative journalists, Jane Akre and Steve Wilson, attempted to air a program exposing the truth about the dangers of rBGH. Lawyers for Monsanto, a major advertiser with the Florida network, sent letters promising "dire consequences" if the story aired.

After attempts by Fox to bribe the reporters to keep quiet failed, the station agreed to air a revised version of the report. An unheard of 83 edits later, the report was shelved and the courts took over. Although a lower court ruled in favor of the reporters for some $425,000, a Florida appeals court denied them whistleblower protection, claiming Fox (and the media in general) have no obligation to tell the truth and have the freedom to report, essentially, fact OR fiction as real news.

They tell their story in an article at PR Watch.

It is stories like this that reignite my determination to bring you factual information about these important issues regarding your health.

Despite decades of evidence about the dangers of rBGH, the FDA still maintains it's safe for human consumption and ignores scientific evidence to the contrary. According to Dr. Samuel Epstein, a well-respected professional in cancer prevention and toxicology and chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, the FDA has responded to evidence that rBGH is unsafe with a wide range of "tenuous and inconsistent claims" based on "highly speculative and misleading calculations…based on a wide range of assumptions," often citing flawed scientific studies that simply are not meaningful.

In 1999, the United Nations Safety Agency ruled unanimously not to endorse or set safety standards for rBGH milk, which has effectively resulted in an international ban on U.S. milk. The Cancer Prevention Coalition, trying for years to get the use of rBGH by the dairy industry banned, resubmitted a petition to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, in January 2010.

They are still waiting for a response. Although the FDA stubbornly sticks to its position that milk from rBGH-treated cows is no different than milk from untreated cows, this is just plain false and is not supported by science.

Differences Between rBGH-Treated and Untreated Milk

According to Dr. Epstein, rBGH milk differs from natural milk nutritionally, pharmacologically, immunologically, and hormonally, and he cites the following differences. RBGH milk contains:

Increased levels of insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1)
Contamination with illegal antibiotics and drugs used to treat mastitis and other rBGH-induced diseases, as well as pus from increased rates of mastitis among the cows injected with rBGH
Increased levels of the thyroid hormone enzyme thyroxin-5'-monodeiodinase
Reduced casein content (a milk protein)
Increased concentration of long-chain fatty acids and decreased concentration of short-chain fatty acids

ALL of the factors above can cause or contribute to health problems for people. But people aren't the only ones suffering—as it turns out, the cows getting injected with these hormones are suffering as well.

RBGH Causes 16 Different Medical Problems in Dairy Cows

As mentioned above, the cows receiving this synthetic hormone suffer massively high rates of mastitis, a painful infection of their udders. Monsanto's own data show up to an 80 percent incidence of mastitis in hormone-treated cattle, resulting in the need for routine administration of antibiotics and other drugs. This increases the frequency of allergic reactions and fuels antibiotic resistance. But mastitis is not the only adverse veterinary effect. The Canadian Journal of Veterinary Research (2003) found 16 different harmful medical conditions resulting from rBGH administration to dairy cattle, including:

40 percent increase in infertility
55 percent increased risk for lameness
Shortened lifespan
Hoof disorders
Visibly abnormal milk

From the data presented in this meta-analysis, I think it's a reasonable conclusion that injecting animals with rBGH is cruel and inhumane treatment, besides producing milk that is not fit for human consumption.

RBGH Raises Levels of IGF-1 in Milk by Up to 70 Percent

IGF-1 is a potent hormone that acts on your pituitary gland to induce powerful metabolic and endocrine effects, including cell growth and replication. Elevated IGF-1 levels are associated with breast and other cancers. When cows are injected with rBGH, their levels of IGF-1 increase up to 20-fold, and this IGF-1 is excreted in the milk.

According to some confidential, unpublished industry studies, IGF-1 levels consistently elevate by 25 to 70 percent in rBGH milk. In reality, it is probably worse than that, since standard calculation techniques used by the dairy industry underestimate IGF-1 levels by a factor of four.

In one study, a six-fold increase in IGF-1 levels in milk were found as early as seven days following rBGH treatment.

Not only are IGF-1 levels elevated in the milk of rBGH-treated cows, but a significant portion of this IGF-1 is in the free, or unbound, form, which may be about 10 times as potent as the IGF-1 in untreated milk. And not only does pasteurization NOT destroy this protein, but studies show it actually increases IGF-1 levels by about 70 percent, presumably by disrupting protein binding. There is a glaring absence of safety margins for IGF-1 in milk, and assurances by industry and government regulators to establish these parameters have been nothing more than empty promises.

Ok, so the levels of IGF-1 are higher in rBGH milk. But does the IGF get absorbed into your system when you drink it, or does your digestive tract break it down and render it inert?

Science tells us unequivocally that you do NOT break this down when you swallow it, but you DO absorb it into your bloodstream, as evidenced by both human and animal studies. Infants and young children absorb IGF-1 in even higher concentrations than adults, because their gut wall is more permeable to proteins. Infants and young children show higher levels of cow's milk protein antibodies. The IGF-1 in dairy products appears to be protected during digestion by casein and by dairy's buffering effects.

How Elevated IGF-1 Levels May Raise Your Breast Cancer Risk

Only one of every 10 breast cancer cases is attributed to genetics—the other nine are triggered by environmental factors, some of which are dietary. The fact that increased IGF-1 levels in hormone-treated milk increase your risk for breast, colon, and prostate cancers as has been documented in about 50 scientific publications over the past three decades. Among them is the 1998 Harvard Nurses Health study, which showed that premenopausal women with elevated IGF-1 levels had up to a seven-fold increase in breast cancer. And women younger than age 35 who have elevated IGF-1 have more aggressive breast cancer.

How does IGF-1 contribute to breast cancer?

IGF-1 regulates cell growth, cell division, and the ability of cancer cells to spread to your distant organs (invasiveness). In other words, IGF-1 has potent mitogenic effects in human breast tissue, especially in the presence of estradiol (a form of estrogen). Growth factors such as IGF-1 are "catalysts" for the transformation of normal breast tissue into breast cancer tissue, and are critically involved in the aberrant growth of human breast cancer cells. The following two findings have direct bearing on this link between elevated IGF-1 levels and breast cancer:

Specific IGF-1 mammary cell receptors are elevated by a factor of 10 in malignant human breast tissue.
IGF-1 plasma concentrations are higher in breast cancer patients than in healthy patients. (As an aside, this is how the breast cancer drug tamoxifen exerts its action—by reducing blood IGF-1 levels.)

According to Dr. Epstein, IGF-1 blocks your natural defense mechanisms against early microscopic cancers—it prevents apoptosis of cancer cells, or programmed cellular self-destruction.

The breast tissues of female fetuses and infants are especially sensitive to hormonal influences and cancer-causing chemicals. Infants and children exposed to high IGF-1 early on may become "sensitized," leading to health problems later in life, such as breast enlargement in infants and young children, and breast cancer in adult women. Yet, despite these elevated risks to children, few schools make rBGH-free or organic milk available, nor do most state governments under low-income food programs. A study authored by Dr. Epstein demonstrated that IGF-1 in rBGH milk is a potential risk factor for both breast and gastrointestinal cancers. And a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention concluded that diet can impact cancer risk by influencing IGF-1 level.

The risks don't end with breast cancer.

Ten studies show that consuming milk from rBGH-treated cows raises your risk for colon cancer, and seven studies document this for prostate cancer. If you want more information on this topic, I recommend reading Dr. Epstein's 2006 book, What's In Your Milk?

Are You Drinking rBGH Milk?

You very well may be drinking rBGH milk, or eating rBGH cheese or yogurt, as no labeling is required. This is despite the fact that surveys show that more than 80 percent of Americans want it labeled, but the government, as usual, continues bowing to industry lobbyists. The good news is, as increasing numbers of consumers and dairies choose to avoid rBGH, you can find labels that say "rBGH-free" or a similar variation. Organic milk is also rBGH-free. According to the Hartman Group, organic milk is now among the first organic product consumers buy.

Organic milk is enjoying an annual growth rate of about 20 percent, while overall milk consumption has dropped by about 10 percent.

Organic milk is certainly preferable to milk that contains this dangerous hormone. However, I still don't recommend drinking any milk that is pasteurized—organic or otherwise. You can avoid the risks of rBGH, as well as pasteurization, by drinking only raw milk that comes from a small farmer you know and trust. The milk issue is really part of the larger problem of genetic manipulation of our food supply. The more you can avoid genetically modified (GM) and highly processed foods, the healthier you and your family will be.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/10/23/rgbh-in-milk-increases-risk-of-breast-cancer.aspx?e_cid=20111023_SNL_Art_1

[SPARK]

What's Really in Your Food?

Food used to be so simple. A 1950s ice cream sundae contained about eight or nine different ingredients. Today, you can walk into any Baskin-Robbins in the country and order a sundae with 50 or more additives, most of them junk-food fillers that you would never stock in your pantry at home—unless of course you cook with polysorbate 80 and hydrogenated coconut oil.

And these newly bloated, calorie-rich foods are at the heart of our obesity problem. And yes, it’s a big problem: Compared with their normal-weight peers, overweight people are 30 percent more likely to have asthma, 44 percent more likely to have high blood pressure, and 64 percent more likely to be hospitalized for diabetes. And the fact is, we're heavier than we've been at any other time in history.

KFC Chunky Chicken Pot Pie

Number of Ingredients: 82!

Gelatin: Hard to believe, but the stuff that gives Jell-O its jiggle comes from the collagen found inside animals’ skin and bones. In this pastry run afoul, it’s used as a gelling agent to give the “sauce” more viscosity.

“Chicken pot pie flavor”: Food processors know that if the flavor isn’t correct, sales will suffer, and that presents a formidable challenge. See, after making room for emulsifiers, stabilizers, thickeners, and preservatives, many of the natural flavors in this pie are muted. To keep from sticking a bland product on the menu, KFC turned to chemists who specialize in what food should taste like. That means that when you take a bite, you’re tasting the result of meetings and e-mails exchanged between the decision makers at KFC and the chemists trying to capture the essence of the dish they’re fabricating. Your taste buds register something like chicken and vegetables, but the driving force is actually an onslaught of chemicals derived from a trio of cheap commodity crops—corn, soy, and wheat—that have been laced with a proprietary “flavor,” steeped in common stock, and thickened with corn-derived sugars like dextrose and maltodextrin. It creates an unsettling picture of how unscrupulous processors approach food: When artificial additives create problems, the solution is to invent more artificial additives.

L-cysteine hydrochloride: Used as a dough conditioner in industrial food production, this nonessential amino acid is most commonly derived from one of three equally surprising sources: human hair, duck feathers, or a fermented mutation of E. coli. Yum.

Red 40 (natural red #40): Red 40 is a crimson pigment extracted from the dried eggs and bodies of the female Dactylopius cocus, a beetlelike insect that preys on cactus plants. It’s FDA-approved and widely used as a dye in various red foods, especially yogurts and juices.

Dunkin’ Donuts Boston Kreme Donut

Number of Ingredients: 64!

Xanthan gum: It’s not dangerous, but it is funky. Xanthan gum is a thickener and emulsifier derived from sugar through a reaction with Xanthomonas campestris, a slimy bacterial strain that often appears as black rot on broccoli and cabbage. Worldwide production of xanthan gum is about 20,000 tons a year, so there’s a decent chance you’ll find some in whatever you eat next today.

Artificial flavor: Denotes any of hundreds of allowable chemicals such as butyl alcohol, isobutyric acid, and phenylacetaldehyde dimethyl acetal. The exact chemicals in flavorings are the propriety information of food processors, and they use them to imitate specific fruits, spices, fats, and so on. Ostensibly every ingredient hiding under the blanket of “artificial flavor” must be approved by the FDA, but because you have no way of knowing what those ingredients are, there’s no way you can avoid something you’d rather not eat.

“Boston kreme filling”: Take notice of the “k” in “kreme.” That’s a not-so-subtle acknowledgement that there’s no actual dairy in this filling. Bavarian cream, the real stuff, is made with milk, eggs, cream, and whipped cream. But those are high-dollar ingredients that require special storage accommodations, so Dunkin’ Donuts stocks its doughnut case with a loose interpretation. Gone are the famous ingredients that make Bavarian cream a deeply satisfying and memorable indulgence, and in their place is a crude sludge made mostly from palm oil, modified food starch, and two types of syrup. If it weren’t for the “natural and artificial flavorings” injected alongside it, your tongue wouldn’t pick up much besides fat and sugar.

McDonald’s Big Mac

Number of Ingredients: 95!

“100% pure USDA inspected beef”: The fact that McDonald’s beef is “USDA inspected” isn’t surprising; it would be illegal to sell it otherwise. By dropping this trivial detail onto the official ingredient statement, McDonald’s seems to be trying to distance itself from the criticisms facing industrially processed beef. What are those criticisms? For starters, the cows killed for industrial beef are routinely treated with antibiotics, a practice that cuts costs for farmers but leads to resistant strains of bacteria that doctors can’t effectively treat. But what’s equally odious—and less acknowledged—is what happens to this antibiotic-fueled beef after slaughter. Before making its way onto the value menu, fast-food beef passes through the hands of a company called Beef Products, which specializes in cleaning slaughterhouse trimmings traditionally reserved for pet food and cooking oil. The fatty deposits in these trimmings are more likely to harbor E. coli and salmonella, so Beef Products cleans the meat with the same stuff the cleaning crew at Yankee Stadium might use to scrub the toilets—ammonia. Every week, Beef Products pumps some 7 million pounds of ground beef through pipes that expose it to ammonia gas that could potentially blind a human being. The tradeoff is that we don’t have to worry about pathogens, right? Wrong. According to documents uncovered by the New York Times, since 2005 Beef Products’ beef has tested positive for E. coli at least three times and salmonella at least 48 times. Yet, despite the obvious flaws in the process, the USDA doesn’t require chains to disclose whether their beef has been treated with ammonia. The inspection is a good start, but we want transparency, too.

Ammonium sulfate: Don’t confuse this with the ammonia gas used to clean meat. Ammonium sulfate is inorganic plant food, otherwise known as fertilizer. Plants require nitrogen to grow, and ammonium sulfate supplies the nitrogen. McDonald’s uses it for precisely that reason. In order for bread to rise, it relies on yeast, which is technically a fungus, and by adding ammonium sulfate, McDonald’s nourishes the yeast and speeds the baking time of its iconic Big Mac bun. Plus, it helps the bun develop a nice, golden hue, so it appears to be more wholesome than a white-bread burger.

Calcium disodium EDTA: This compound is complex, but here’s all you need to know: It’s really good at gathering metal ions in liquid. This gives it many functions, but in food, the trait allows it to prevent microscopic pieces of metals from discoloring or spoiling the liquid.

Big Mac sauce: Mickey D’s so-called “secret sauce” turns out to be more prosaic than years’ worth of myth and mystery suggest. Soybean oil combines with egg yolk to make mayonnaise, which is in turn spiked with mustard, high-fructose corn syrup, and pickle relish. Surprisingly enough, the pink hue appears to come from two relatively nutritious spices, paprika and turmeric, not ketchup as most people assume. While a few of the industrial additives (like propylene glycol alginate, a thickener derived from kelp, and hydrolyzed corn and soy vegetable proteins) creep us out, it’s a relatively innocuous concoction