Whole Food And More: 9/1/08

Flower Essences - Healing Your Emotions

If you believe in the mind-body connection, you're going to love flower essences. This unique healing system was developed by an English physician, Edward Bach. During the 1930s he discovered that many of the nonpoisonous wild plants, bushes and trees in the English countryside exerted genuine therapeutic effects on the emotions, which in turn promoted physical balance in the body. He believed that by correcting emotional dysfunction, you could help heal physical dysfunction.

Bach identified and developed applications for 38 individual English flower essences and the well-known five-flower combination called Rescue Remedy. Each individual remedy relates to a specific mental and emotional state. Bach once declared that disease is a kind of consolidation of a mental attitude--- and that behind all disease lies our fears, our anxieties, our greed, our likes and dislikes.

Flower remedies have been used for humans, where stressful and negative emotional states are known to weaken the immune system and contribute to the disease process. Flower essences work to correct a negative emotional state by flooding the person with the opposite, positive quality that is the particular essence of that plant. For example, the essence of Holly is love so you would use Holly in situations where there is a lack of love, as in times of jealousy, anger or hatred.

With flower essences you are not treating specific behaviour, you are working on a subtle emotional level instead, trying to create a new mental state. Flower essences are generally considered energy medicine, as are homeopathic remedies. Essences are not prepared in the same way as homeopathic. Part of the essence processing involves infusion of the liquid extract with sunlight.

Experts say flower remedies enhance the effectiveness of any form of medicine without any interference. They cannot be overused or misused. If you use the wrong remedy, it will simply have no effect. Essences are safe and nontoxic.

Next article will explain the 38 Bach flower remedies.

Thank you for reading WholeFoodandMoreBlog.com!

Real food adds value to health visit Whole Food And More website

Full Disclaimer, There may be affiliate links on this page. In some cases, I will be compensated if you decide to purchase a product based on my recommendation. In some cases, I receive free product for review purposes. I only include those links for products and services that I use myself. I work hard with researching in addition to trying-testing all the products-services before publishing to my visitors.

When Food Can Heal Instead of Drugs - Are We Doing it Backwards?

Usually, when a person has an ailment, e.g. fatigue, digestive problems, here's what they do to get relief, in this order.

FIRST. Drugs (pharmaceuticals). That's the speeding bullet...But because of side effects, or because some people's bodies cannot take the drugs, they go to 2...

SECOND. Nutraceuticals. Those can have good effects, although also with some side effects. Often the effects may not last.

THIRD. Medicinal herbs, whole food supplements, synthetic supplements.

LAST, if anyone thinks of it at all, is their food. What they put on their plates three or more times per day.

Here's Dr. Heidi's surprising finding with the ER Fat Burn participants. (They came to lose fat and inches, but most folks also had other little ailments, from digestive troubles to mood swings to zip energy and flakey skin.)

"When I begin people with a real food plan, there's really very little more I have to add. Sometimes I add whole food supplements, sometimes I add nutraceuticals and sometimes I say, 'Go to your doctor and get a prescription for bio-identical hormones or what-have-you'.

"But," she adds, "that's only after they've done a real food plan that is directed at their ailments."

The implication of this finding, if it holds up with other people (about 69 in ER Fat Burn so far) is quite stunning:

To address an ailment, try real food first. Everything else (1-3) second.

Could one, by trying real food first, save enough on 1-3 above, especially 1, for a new place in Hawaii or the Hamptons?

More about real food here.

Thanks Kim and Dr. Heidi for helping our fast food nation learn about real food!

Real food adds health value visit Whole Food And More website.

Surprise source of vitamin D

Top Health Concerns For Children

Obesity tops the latest Nation Poll on Children's' Health, which asks adults to rate concerns for children in their communities. Here are the ten most-cited issues.

1. Childhood obesity
2. Drug abuse
3. Smoking
4. Bullying
5. Internet safety
6. Child abuse and neglect
7. Teen pregnancy
8. Alcohol abuse
9. Attention Deficit Disorder / Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
10. (tied with #9) Chemicals in the environment

SOURCE "Obesity is #1 Health Concern for Kids in 2008," www.health.med.umich.edu, 7/14/08

What are your top 10 concerns for children in your neighborhood?

Mine are,

1. drugs (including tobacco and alcohol)
2. chemicals exposed to daily
3. poor health related to Standard American Food
4. obesity
5. children not being supervised so they are free to get into all kinds of trouble

These are the first 5 off the top of my head.

What about yours? Please share.

Real food adds health value visit Whole Food And More website.

Surprise source of vitamin D

Good Meat - Bad Meat - How to buy good meat...

For most of my life I've been mostly vegetarian. I'm an animal lover and couldn't stand how feedlot animals were treated but the biggest reason for me not eating meat was the taste, it was gross.

Real Food News You Can Use: How to buy meat.
Dr. Heidi 5 min AUDIO here (5 mins).

For my vegetarian friends - I'm not saying you need to change anything, this is for the Omnivores looking for the Healthy Meat (yes even RED meat is healthy!)

I've read the stories about red meat. And more here. To balance it all out I've also read books like Pasture Perfect, by Jo Robinson and realized eating meat might take care of some of my health problems but "How do I buy the good red meat?"

Here's the definition of good red meat.

Good red meat comes from grass-fed animals. Grass-fed animals are pastured. [NOT pasteurized - but pastured.] This, my omnivore friends, you CAN eat. I do.

Grass-fed animals are allowed to forage and graze in pastures - on grass and other stuff on the grounds. Eating what they eat naturally. They're not force fed corn and soy, and not shot full of antibiotics and growth hormones. Because they're not sick like most of the feedlot cows in America are.

If not, find a local farmer. They'll have grass fed beef. Google local farmers in YOUR CITY or check for local farmers online:
U.S. Wellness Grass Fed Meat
Eat Wild
Local Harvest
Weston A Price Foundation

If you can't find pastured meat near you, there are resources online.
U.S. Wellness - Grass Fed Meat

Until you find a farmer or grass-fed beef source, at the very minimum, to preserve your body, ask for meats from animals that have not been fed antibiotics and hormones. Ask at the meat counter.

AUDIO: Dr. Heidi describes how to recognize and buy good red meat here (5 mins).

P.S. For the story on good meat, bad meat Please see here.

Related articles:
My experience with grass-fed beef
America's feedlots
How to read meat labels
Whole Foods recalls beef
Downer cows in our food supply
Mad cow disease in genes of cattle

Beef recall

Surprise source of vitamin D

REV- Life Contest - For Supermoms...

You know here at Whole Food And More blog we keep our attention on whole food foods and more (duh---) while passing info along to our loyal readers, right? I found a site with a common interest if not audience.

This group is coordinating a community-outreach effort for the REV Spokesperson Contest. After looking at their site, I feel lots of Moms would be interested in knowing about them and their little contest!

The idea is simple: They are looking for healthy, active moms who can tell their story, give advice and empower moms who aspire to “do it all” without neglecting themselves.

Moms out there - you know you're already a Super Mom!!!

REV. just wants to give you a cape.
Five moms who make a difference in the lives of their families and in their communities will be selected to be REV.'s spokespeople for 2009.

Entering the 2009 REV. contest brings you into a community of other Super Mom's, sharing stories, difficulties and triumphs -- in addition it gives you a shot to be one of 5 Super Mom's that will be chosen as REV.'s spokespeople.

Submit as many entries as you like. Then check the site regularly, since we'll be posting new entries here all the time.

Enter REV. Contest here

Mothers: tell your story and win $1,000.00 cash, a 6-month supply of REV, and free bragging rights!

Five winners will be awarded throughout US.

Enter now and show us what you’ve got.

Wanted: Healthy, active moms, who can tell their story, give advice and empower moms who aspire to “do it all” without neglecting themselves.

How do you do it all?

Get creative! Send in a video, photo, or text submission describing why you should be REV.’s next spokesperson. Sing a song, write a poem, make us laugh, make us cry, we want to hear all the ways you find energy for life.

Good luck and I'll be reading the stories on REV- Life

Real food adds health value visit Whole Food And More website.

Surprise source of vitamin D

Candy From China Recalled - Melamine Discovered

September 26, 2008 -- QFCO, Inc. of Burlingame, California is recalling White Rabbit Candy because it may be contaminated with Melamine.

Product was distributed to the states of CA, GA, HI, IL, MN, NY, OR, TX, WA through wholesale distributors to retail stores.

The White Rabbit Creamy Candy is sold in 8 or 16 oz packages. All other flavors of White Rabbit Candy, including Assorted (Chocolate, Coconut, and Coffee), Red Bean, Coffee, Corn, Lychee, Mango and Strawberry are sold in 7 oz. packages. All packaging has a logo of a white rabbit on the front with the words "White Rabbit".

No illnesses associated with this product have been reported to date.

The recall was initiated after it was discovered that product was contaminated with Melamine.

Consumers who have purchased White Rabbit Candy are urged to return it to the place of purchase for a full refund or discard it in their trash. Consumers with questions may contact the company at (650) 697-6633.

Real food adds health value visit Whole Food And More website.

Surprise source of vitamin D

Your Health Reflects Your Grocery Cart

I would look in others grocery carts and see boxed meals, frozen pizza, low-fat snacks and sugar laden foods. Since I didn't buy these things I thought I was eating better than most people.

If I'm eating right, why do I have these health issues?
I don't always sleep well
I often wake with night sweats
My stomach is upset often (I take Alka Seltzer a few times a week)
I'm constipated often
I can't keep up with my son on bike rides (he has to stop for me!!!)
I'm crabby
My skin is dry and flaky

Okay so what gives, I eat lots of fresh veggies, fruits, reduced fat milk, cheese, whole grain everything, chicken, cut back on all oils, no butter, little or no red meat, etc.

These are the recommendations I've read in the vast collection of health food books I have. How could I eat all the right things and still feel so crappy? Help!!!

One solution, not tied to any ideology (nor to any pills, drinks or packaged food program): I went back to real food. I got back to real food on my own, with a little guidance. Just know it is definitely the path less traveled.

What I know now.
I wasn't eating the "right" kinds of the healthy foods and the foods I avoided was what my body needed the most.

I've been eating real food for two months and have none of the problems I wrote above. I did have to change everything with food but first I had to change my thinking about food. What we read and hear from the media is not always going to be right and there will never be a one size fits all about the food "your" body needs. So this means the food pyramid will not work for everyone. It looks good and can be a good guide if you eat the foods in their real form.

Recap:
How did I improve how I feel and my health?

Not drugs. Not pills.

It started with ONE change: Going back to real food. I got on an ER real food program. (with 40 other folks)

Want to see what an ER real food program can do for you?

Dr. Heidi is offering a special "ER real food plan" for you if you are one of these:

Low energy, exhausted adrenals, cold hands or feet
Digestive or elimination troubles
Depressed, mood swings, brain fog
Pre-pregnant, pregnant and nursing moms

Real food is not as easy to define as you might think. And not as easily available, either. She'll tell you how different folks are foraging for real food and loving it(!)

Real Food Plan

In Dr. Heidi's ER Fat Burn program, based on real food, 95% of the participants have 1) lost weight and so far, kept it off and 2) have watched with surprise their daily harmful habits kind of fade away...without the usual suffering and feelings of deprivation to go with and 3) feel like new people from the inside out."Everything I believed (about the industrial food they sell us) was a lie."

I'm adding value and protecting my family's health by becoming a junk food snob! Dr. Heidi did this for me and 40 others - because she cares passionately about helping us live a long healthy life with REAL FOOD.

Go here to learn how your family really can eat real food. And no, she doesn't sell the real food...

Real food adds health value visit Whole Food And More website.

Surprise source of vitamin D

Local Harvest Starts Grass-Roots Research Project - Is local food more expensive?

How would you like to be part of a grass-roots research project with Local Harvest? It's a project to show price difference in local food and grocery store food.

Here's what Local Harvest has in mind:

"Local Harvest gets this question a lot: "Is it more expensive to eat local food?" Usually we try to work our way around the question, speaking with enthusiasm about the quality and flavor of fresh local food, its healthfulness, its contribution to the local economy, etcetera. Sometimes we convince the questioners that they can't look at price alone, because the quality of stuff that's picked green and trucked in can't be compared with that of the fresh, vine-ripened produce. Other times the person hears us out and then says, "So it is more expensive then, huh."

"The truth is, we don't know the answer to the question. As with so many substantive issues, the real answer is, "It depends." It depends on the product and the season and the vendor. Depends on whether its organic and how much of it the farmer or grocer is trying to move that week. Lots and lots of variables. Still, with the economy looming large in many people's minds, it seems a good time to try and find out."

"A few days ago I took a notebook to my local supermarket, made a list of the prices for various fruits and vegetables, and then compared notes at my farmers market. The organic produce section at the grocery store was completely cleared out on this particular day, so I gathered conventional produce prices at the store and "low spray" at the market. Small watermelons (the ones they're calling "mini" or "personal size" this year) were $2 at the farmers market and $4.49 at the store. Local tomatoes at the grocery store were $2.49 a pound, and $1.50 a pound at the market. Peppers were less expensive at the market. Winter squash was about the same. Onions were cheaper at the store."

"This small foray into price comparisons made me want to know more. I would like to have a good answer the next time a reporter calls to ask me whether 'local' is more expensive. Not that price is the only measure of value, but it is one, and sometimes an important one. Moreover, the perception about the relative price of buying local is also very important."

I'd like to ask for your help.

"What I have in mind is a kind of collective research project. This newsletter will go out to about 50,000 people. Certainly a few dozen of you might be interested in doing a little comparative shopping over the next couple of months and maybe again in the spring? I have a spreadsheet that I will send to anyone who is interested. You can fill out the portions of it that apply to the foods that are in season where you live, and send it back to me. We'll compile all the data and report the findings back to the group. If you are interested in learning more about participating in this grassroots research, please contact me."

---Erin Barnett
---Director, LocalHarvest

Real food adds health value visit Whole Food And More website.

Surprise source of vitamin D

Be a Food Snob to Lose Weight or Be Healthy

If you really want to be healthy or lose weight and keep it off you have to become a food snob. This post will focus on weight loss but the principles work for being healthy as well.

Calories are not making people overweight, fake food is the cause. Fake food assaults your body, desensitizes your tastes while sensitizing our skin, zapping your energy and creating imbalances and cravings that can't be satisfied.

Start turning your nose up at fake food.

Empty your kitchen of these empty fake foods:
Sugar
White flour
Hydrogenated fat
Additives, preservatives and Excitotoxins - Russell L. Blaylock
Fat-free foods
Processed foods
Most white foods
Irradiated foods
Pasteurized dairy
Instant - heat and serve meals

How not to lose weight (or yo-yo with weight):
Count calories
Eat fat free foods
Starve yourself
Drinking diet sodas
Eat diet foods
Exercise too much
Count points (whatever that means.. I didn't know food came with points)
Don't learn what to eat for life (this is why diet foods like Jenny Craig don't keep working, at some point you will stop eating the food they require you to buy and eat)

Follow the above trends and you will stay overweight or regain fat lost.

What do food snobs eat? (a small sample)
Meats from grass-fed animals (even RED meat)
Fish (wild caught)
Pastured eggs (the eggs from the lucky hens living outdoors in pastures or grass)
Coconut oils - Flax oil - Fish oil - Chicken fat
Raw dairy
Organic fruits and vegetables
Select Raw nuts

Americans are so far away from real food and it shows with kids growing up as picky eaters, health care costs, obesity, disease, and the physical -- emotional problems that are becoming common.

I'm adding value and protecting my family's health by becoming a food snob! Dr. Heidi did this for me and 40 others - because she cares passionately about helping us live a long healthy life with REAL FOOD. Go here to learn how your family can be food snobs. And no, she doesn't sell the real food..

Real food is not as easy to define as you might think. And not as easily available, either. She'll tell you how different folks are foraging for real food and loving it(!)

Surprise source of vitamin D

Real food adds health value visit Whole Food And More website.

Experts Say Energy Drinks Need Warning Labels

Caffeine experts at Johns Hopkins call for warning labels for energy drinks - Caffeinated energy drinks may present health risks.

Johns Hopkins scientists who have spent decades researching the effects of caffeine report that a slew of caffeinated energy drinks now on the market should carry prominent labels that note caffeine doses and warn of potential health risks for consumers.

"The caffeine content of energy drinks varies over a 10-fold range, with some containing the equivalent of 14 cans of Coca-Cola, yet the caffeine amounts are often unlabeled and few include warnings about the potential health risks of caffeine intoxication," says Roland Griffiths, Ph.D., one of the authors of the article that appears in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence this month.

The market for these drinks stands at an estimated $5.4 billion in the United States and is expanding at a rate of 55 percent annually. Advertising campaigns, which principally target teens and young adults, promote the performance-enhancing and stimulant effects of energy drinks and appear to glorify drug use.

Without adequate, prominent labeling; consumers most likely won't realize whether they are getting a little or a lot of caffeine. "It's like drinking a serving of an alcoholic beverage and not knowing if its beer or scotch," says Griffiths.

Reports to U.S. poison control centers of caffeine abuse showed bad reactions to the energy drinks. In a 2007 survey of 496 college students, 51 percent reported consuming at least one energy drink during the last month. Of these energy drink users, 29 percent reported "weekly jolt and crash episodes," and 19 percent reported heart palpitations from drinking energy drinks. This same survey revealed that 27 percent of the students surveyed said they mixed energy drinks and alcohol at least once in the past month. "Alcohol adds another level of danger," says Griffiths, "because caffeine in high doses can give users a false sense of alertness that provides incentive to drive a car or in other ways put themselves in danger."

Griffiths notes that most of the drinks advertise their products as performance enhancers and stimulants – a marketing strategy that may put young people at risk for abusing even stronger stimulants such as the prescription drugs amphetamine and methylphenidate (Ritalin). A 2008 study of 1,253 college students found that energy drink consumption significantly predicted subsequent non-medical prescription stimulant use, raising the concern that energy drinks might serve as "gateway" products to more serious drugs of abuse. Potentially feeding that "transition" market, Griffiths says, are other energy drinks with alluring names such as the powdered energy drink additive "Blow" (which is sold in "vials" and resembles cocaine powder) and the "Cocaine" energy drink. Both of these products use the language of the illegal drug trade.
SOURCE: Eurekalert

Related article: Energy Drinks Are Not For Kids

Real food adds value to health - visit Whole Food And More website

Dark chocolate: Half a bar a week to reduce risk of heart attack

An Italian study, the first outcome of a large epidemiological investigation, finds new beneficial effects of chocolate in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

6.7 grams of chocolate per day represent the ideal amount for a protective effect against inflammation and subsequent cardiovascular disease. A new effect, demonstrated for the first time in a population study by the Research Laboratories of the Catholic University in Campobasso, in collaboration with the National Cancer Institute of Milan.

The findings, published in the last issue of the Journal of Nutrition, official journal of the American Society of Nutrition, come from one of the largest epidemiological studies ever conducted in Europe, the Molisani Project, which has enrolled 20,000 inhabitants of the Molise region so far. By studying the participants recruited, researchers focused on the complex mechanism of inflammation. It is known how a chronic inflammatory state represents a risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease, from myocardial infarction to stroke, just to mention the major diseases. Keeping the inflammation process under control has become a major issue for prevention programs and C reactive protein turned out to be one of the most promising markers, detectable by a simple blood test.

The Italian team related the levels of this protein in the blood of examined people with their usual chocolate intake. Out of 11,000, researchers identified 4,849 subjects in good health and free of risk factors (normal cholesterol, blood pressure and other parameters). Among them, 1,317 did not use to eat any chocolate, while 824 used to have chocolate regularly, but just the dark one.

"We started from the hypothesis says Romina di Giuseppe, 33, lead author of the study that high amounts of antioxidants contained in the cocoa seeds, in particular flavonoids and other kinds of polyphenols, might have beneficial effects on the inflammatory state. Our results have been absolutely encouraging: people having moderate amounts of dark chocolate regularly have significantly lower levels of C-reactive protein in their blood. In other words, their inflammatory state is considerably reduced." The 17% average reduction observed may appear quite small, but it is enough to decrease the risk of cardio-vascular disease for one third in women and one fourth in men. It is undoubtedly a remarkable outcome".

Chocolate amounts are critical. "We are talking of a moderate consumption. The best effect is obtained by consuming an average amount of 6.7 grams of chocolate per day, corresponding to a small square of chocolate twice or three times a week. Beyond these amounts the beneficial effect tends to disappear".

From a practical point of view, as the common chocolate bar is 100 grams, the study states that less than half a bar of dark chocolate consumed during the week may become a healthy habit. What about the milk chocolate? "Previous studies the young investigator continues have demonstrated that milk interferes with the absorption of polyphenols. That is why our study considered just the dark chocolate".

Researchers wanted to sweep all the doubts away. They took into account that chocolate lovers might consume other healthy food too, as wine, fruits and vegetables. Or they might exercise more than others people do. So the observed positive effect might be ascribed to other factors but not to cocoa itself. "In order to avoid this researcher says we "adjusted" for all possible "confounding" parameters. But the beneficial effect of chocolate still remained and we do believe it is real".

"This study says Licia Iacoviello, Head of the Laboratory of Genetic and Environmental Epidemiology at the Catholic University of Campobasso and responsible for the Molisani Project is the first scientific outcome published from the Molisani Project. We consider this outcome as the beginning of a large series of data which will give us an innovative view on how making prevention in everyday life, both against cardiovascular disease and tumors".

"Maybe Giovanni de Gaetano, director of the Research Laboratories of the Catholic University of Campobasso, adds time has come to reconsider the Mediterranean diet pyramid and take the dark chocolate off the basket of sweets considered to be bad for our health".
Source: Eurekalert

Real Food adds value to health - visit my site www.wholefoodandmore.com

Obesity May Be Factor In Mens Fertility

Being obese may dim a man's chances of becoming a father, even if he is otherwise healthy, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that among 87 healthy men ages 19 to 48, those who were obese were less likely to have ever fathered a child. More importantly, they showed hormonal differences that point to a reduced reproductive capacity, the researchers report in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

Compared with their thinner counterparts, obese men had lower levels of testosterone in their blood, as well as lower levels of luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) -- both essential to reproduction.

According to the researchers, these relatively low levels of LH and FSH are suggestive of a "partial" hypogonadotropic hypogonadism. This is a condition in which the testes do not function properly due to signaling problems in the hypothalamus or pituitary gland, two brain structures involved in hormone secretion.

The findings suggest that obesity alone is an "infertility factor" in otherwise healthy men, write Dr. Eric M. Pauli and his colleagues at the Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine in Hershey.

When the researchers assessed the men for several reproductive hormones, they found that the more obese a man was, the lower was his LH and FSH levels. On the other hand, increasing obesity correlated with increasing estrogen levels.

Excess body fat, Pauli's team explains, may increase the conversion of testosterone to estrogen in a man's blood. Such hormone alterations could, in turn, signal the brain to suppress FSH and LH production.

Past studies have linked obesity with a dampened libido and increased risk of erectile dysfunction, the researchers note. Those effects, they say, along with the hormonal alterations seen in this study, could act together to decrease an obese man's fertility.

SOURCES: Fertility and Sterility, August 2008.
Reuters Health - full report

Did the Surgeon General Get It Wrong About Weight? Free Report

Children With MS Have Low Vitamin D

Children later diagnosed with multiple sclerosis had far lower levels of vitamin D than other youngsters, Canadian researchers reported on Friday in studies showing more links between the "sunshine" vitamin and disease.

These were the first studies to show the effects in children, although others have shown that adults who live in northern latitudes, who get less sun exposure, may have a higher risk of MS.

They also support a growing body of studies that link low vitamin D levels with disease, including breast and colon cancer, heart disease, diabetes and tuberculosis.

Vitamin D, made when skin is exposed to sunlight and found in fatty fish like salmon, is added to milk and other foods in many countries. Evidence suggests it helps lower blood pressure, reduce inflammation and boost the immune system.

Several studies presented at a meeting on MS in Montreal showed that children had low levels of the vitamin when they began to show evidence of the disease.

"Three-quarters of our subjects were below the optimal levels for vitamin D," said Heather Hanwell, a graduate student in nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto, who led one study.

Hanwell's team studied 125 children who had what is known as a demyelinating event -- evidence of damage to myelin that causes symptoms such as numbness. Blood was taken at the time.

Twenty of the children were diagnosed with MS within the next year, Hanwell said. Tests of the blood showed that 68 percent of those children had vitamin D insufficiency.

On average, the children with MS had much lower levels of the vitamin than children who did not experience any other MS-like symptoms.

Another study led by Dr. Brenda Banwell of Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children showed similar results.

"Seventeen of 19 children who had been diagnosed with MS had vitamin D levels below the target level," Banwell said in a telephone interview.

The next step is to see if giving vitamin D supplements prevents MS or helps relieve symptoms, Banwell said. She said it was not clear how lacking vitamin D might be linked with MS.

"Vitamin D acts as an immune modulator. On our immune cells there are what are known as receptors, a docking mechanism, for vitamin D," Banwell said. "In MS, there are many lines of evidence that immune cells are not regulated properly. One of the things that influences that balance is vitamin D."

Canadians have one of the highest rates of MS in the world, according to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. "In Canada for six months of the year the sun is not intense enough for us to manufacture vitamin D in our skin," Hanwell said. Source: Reuters Health

Did you know about this Surprise Source of Vitamin D?

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When a passion guides your life, it becomes your true north.

Plums Help Spider Veins and More

Eat plums for spider veins - get smarter - help digestion and maybe flush fat-packing toxins - and because they taste great!

Just one cup of plums has 248 grams of Vitamin K, more than any other fruit. This vitamin reduces the appearance of spider and varicose veins by stimulating the body's production of thrombin. In a recent study, this clotting protein was shown to obstruct blood circulation to damaged veins, causing them to shrink and fade in as little as six weeks.

Plums are rich in chlorogenic acid and neochlorogenic acid. These antioxidants fight off superoxide anion radical (a toxin by-product of a normal immune response). Shutting down this free radical halts brain-cell damage, thus safeguarding memory, enhancing reasoning skills and supporting new neuronal growth.

Plums are a top source of the natural sugar sorbitol and are packed with the insoluble fiber hemicellulose. Research shows that this healthy duo improves the digestive tract's food-shuttling efficiency, slashing heartburn and constipation risk by 36%. Bonus: Once consumed, gel-like hemicellulose fuels bloat-fighting probiotic bacteria in the large intestine, rapidly flattening the belly.

Eating plums might prevent fat accumulation in the belly, hips, and thighs. Plums are acidic and high in vitamin C, two factors that trigger bile production. This digestive fluid traps dietary fat molecules before they can be absorbed, speeding their elimination from the body. And acidic, vitamin C rich fruit helps flush fat-packing toxins from the lymphatic system.

A powdery haze on a plum, known as its bloom, indicates that the fruit has not been over handled - so it's less likely than a shiny plum to be bruised on the inside.

More about health and plums: WHFoods

Fast Food Junkie? Pop A Green

Did the Surgeon General Get It Wrong About Weight? Free Report

Surprise Source of Vitamin D

Thank you for reading WholeFoodandMoreBlog.com!

When a passion guides your life, it becomes your true north.

Industrial Food Syndrome and Americans

Are you suffering from IFS - Industrial Food Syndrome?

What Americans eat is likely the biggest cause of us feeling sick, tired and stressed. I know quite a few people who fall under the following categories, in other words they feel like crap.

Low energy, exhausted adrenals, cold hands or feet
Digestive or elimination troubles
Depressed, mood swings, brain fog

Weight problems

We all know that pills are not enough... They might be a catalyst, and provide nutrient reserves. And that's a good thing. But a daily real food plan you can stick to, will really take your body to the next level. Even though I take a whole food multivitamin I know if I eat junk the supplement alone will not work to give me good health.

When I changed my diet and cut the industrial food my energy came back, I slept better and didn't need Alka Seltzer. Feelings of stress were gone and I was more productive with work.

Take a few minutes to learn why so many people feel miserable.
How did I get so sick and tired?
What's the Tip?

If you are tired of feeling sick, not having energy, not sleeping well and feeling stressed read more from Inside Whole Food Nation.

Related article: Real Food plan with Dr. Heidi Dulay

Surprise Source of Vitamin D
Did the Surgeon General Get It Wrong About Weight? Free Report

Thank you for reading WholeFoodandMoreBlog.com!

When a passion guides your life, it becomes your true north.

3 Poison Plants- Ivy, Oak and Sumac - Outsmart them...

My family and I camp often and always have to watch out for poison ivy. Don't let these plants spoil your outdoor time. Outsmart them.

First comes the itching, then a red rash, and then blisters. These symptoms of poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac can start from a few hours to several days after exposure to the plant oil found in the sap of these poisonous plants.

Poison Ivy: Found throughout the United States except Alaska, Hawaii, and parts of the West Coast. Can grow as a vine or shrub. Each leaf has three glossy leaflets, with smooth or toothed edges. Leaves are reddish in spring, green in summer, and yellow, orange, or red in fall. May have white berries.

Poison Oak: Grows as a low shrub in the eastern United States, and in tall clumps or long vines on Pacific Coast. Fuzzy green leaves in clusters of three are lobed or deeply toothed with rounded tips. May have yellow-white berries.

Poison Sumac: Grows as a tall shrub or small tree in bogs or swamps in Northeast, Midwest, and parts of the Southeast. Each leaf has clusters of seven to 13 smooth-edged leaflets. Leaves are orange in spring, green in summer, and yellow, orange, or red in fall. May have yellow-white berries.

Not Contagious
Poison ivy and other poison plant rashes can't be spread from person to person. But it is possible to pick up the rash from plant oil that may have stuck to clothing, pets, garden tools, and other items that have come in contact with these plants. The plant oil lingers (sometimes for years) on virtually any surface until it's washed off with water or rubbing alcohol.

The rash will only occur where the plant oil has touched the skin, so a person with poison ivy can't spread it on the body by scratching. It may seem like the rash is spreading if it appears over time instead of all at once. But this is either because the plant oil is absorbed at different rates in different parts of the body or because of repeated exposure to contaminated objects or plant oil trapped under the fingernails. Even if blisters break, the fluid in the blisters is not plant oil and cannot further spread the rash.

Tips for Prevention
Learn what poison ivy, oak, and sumac plants look like so you can avoid them.

Wash your garden tools and gloves regularly. If you think you may be working around poison ivy, wear long sleeves, long pants tucked into boots, and gloves.

Wash your pet if it may have brushed up against poison ivy, oak, or sumac. Use pet shampoo and water while wearing rubber gloves, such as dishwashing gloves. Most pets are not sensitive to poison ivy, but the oil can stick to their fur and cause a reaction in someone who pets them.

Wash your skin in cool water as soon as possible if you come in contact with a poisonous plant. The sooner you cleanse the skin, the greater the chance that you can remove the plant oil or help prevent further spread.

Tips for Treatment
Don't scratch the blisters. Bacteria from under your fingernails can get into the blisters and cause an infection. The rash, blisters, and itch normally disappear in several weeks without any treatment. But you can relieve the itch by using wet compresses or soaking in cool water applying OTC topical corticosteroid preparations or taking prescription oral corticosteroids applying topical OTC skin protectants, such as calamine, labeled to dry oozing and weeping or to relieve itching and irritation caused by poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac.

See a Doctor
if you have a temperature over 100 F
if there is pus, soft yellow scabs, or tenderness on the rash
if the itching gets worse or keeps you awake at night
if the rash spreads to your eyes, mouth, genital area, or covers more than one-fourth of your skin area if the rash is not improving within a few days

Source: Minnesota Poison Control System

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Melamine Found in China Dairy Products

Hong Kong has ordered the recall of a Chinese company's products after milk, ice cream and yoghurt were found to be contaminated with melamine, the compound responsible for killing four children in a China health scandal.

Tainted milk powder produced in China has made thousands ill, and triggered sackings and detentions and rocked public trust already battered by a litany of food safety scares involving tainted eggs, pork and seafood in recent years.

Now the scandal has spread to milk, ice-cream and yoghurt ice-bars. Hong Kong ordered the recall of a Chinese company's products on Thursday after tests found that eight of 30 of its products, including milk drinks, were tainted with melamine.

The company, Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co Ltd, was a Beijing Olympic Games sponsor and is one of 22 Chinese firms implicated in the scandal.

A regional Chinese health authority said on Thursday a fourth child had died at a hospital in remote northwestern Xinjiang. The report on the authority's website (www.xjwst.gov.cn) gave no further details.

Milk tainted with melamine, a compound banned in food, has killed three other babies, two in China's northwestern Gansu province and one in eastern Zhejiang.

The health scare erupted after Sanlu Group last week revealed it had produced and sold melamine-laced milk, and a subsequent probe found a fifth of 109 Chinese dairy producers were selling products adulterated with the substance.

At the latest count, 6,244 children have become ill with kidney stones after drinking powdered milk laced with melamine, with three deaths and 158 suffering "acute kidney failure".

Full report: ReutersHealth.com

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Pasture Perfect Book Giveaway

I've spent the past year searching for help about eating right. I think I spent too much time watching the news and reading media based reports telling me eat this, not that. Lucky for me I've gotten acquainted with Dr. Heidi Dulay from Little Spa she's also the creator of this whole food multi that my family takes everyday (that I shamelessly promote.)

Anyway, I want to share a book with one reader. It's written by Jo Robinson, titled Pasture Perfect. This book answered so many questions for me and opened my eyes to how animals live a miserable life in the feedlots. My 10-year-old son has read part of this book and told me we can never buy or eat that kind of meat again, we haven't! Pasture Perfect Book

As much as I would enjoy giving more than one copy away, that's all I have. This is not a promotion for the book author or the publisher, it is a gift from me to help get even one person away from eating feedlot meat.

Please leave a comment here saying why you want to learn more about grass-fed meat. If you are already following the grass-fed movement and know a lot about the benefits (for us and the animals) of grass-fed animals - please feel free to comment and share your thoughts on eating grass-fed meat.

I will pick the book winner in a week so stay tuned to see if you won and can start to have better health.

Related articles:
My experience with grass-fed beef
America's feedlots
How to read meat labels
Whole Foods recalls beef
Downer cows in our food supply
Mad cow disease in genes of cattle
La Cense grass-fed beef
Beef recall

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Why I Started Eating (and liking) Beef After 30 + Years...

My experience with grass-fed beef surprised me. First, you should know that I've never been a meat eater, especially beef. It wasn't because I'm an animal lover, though I am, it wasn't any more than the fact that I didn't like the taste of beef. I would push the meat out of spaghetti or chili until I finally stopped putting it in all together. This post and here tells how I'm learning the benefit of real food and the importance of adding meat to my diet.

I've been converted - I had my first grass-fed hamburger steak last night. It was delicious.

I ate this without any bread or other toppings. It was so juicy when I cut it and had a wonderful taste, nothing like the beef I've eaten in the past (the beef I couldn't eat before).

What made this beef taste so different than what I've always had?
Maybe it was cooking with cast iron?
Maybe it was the organic black pepper, organic onions, coconut oil, Himalayan salt, raw cheese?

Or, maybe it was because of what my food ate his whole life. Cows are meant to eat grass, not corn and other grains. Cows are supposed to live outside in pastures, not crammed on top of each other living in their own toxic waste like they do in feedlots.

The grass-fed beef I ate (and enjoyed immensely) was from La Cense Ranch. Their beef is raised on grass (100% grass) in Montana. They never finish on grain so the cows are naturally healthy, the way cows are supposed to be.

The La Cense beef arrived completely frozen, packed in dry ice. They enclosed recipes but I decided to go plain and simple. By the way, I'm not affiliated with this company and get nothing from doing a post, except the satisfaction I always get when sharing some real food tips. If this article gets even one person started on the grass-fed path, I'm happy.

Visit Grass-Fed Party and see if you are ready to join the grass-fed movement and maybe win one of the La Cense promotions. Please think about feedlot cows before you discard this message and if that doesn’t bother you think about your own health when eating feedlot meat. You are what they eat so that makes us mostly corn and lots of things too gross to mention. Watch new video on YouTube.

Thank you very much for considering this movement. Grass fed is the healthiest for animals and people.

Related Articles:
Personalized Food Plan For Health
Eating Veggies Shrinks The Brain
Coconut Oil, the truth
Himalayan Salt
Teflon Dangers
America's Feedlots
Meat Labels
Whole Foods Recalls Beef
Downer Cows In Food Supply

Check back tomorrow for a Grass-Fed Meat book giveaway...

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Eating Veggies Shrinks The Brain

Scientists have discovered that going veggie could be bad for your brain-with those on a meat-free diet six times more likely to suffer brain shrinkage.

Vegans and vegetarians are the most likely to be deficient because the best sources of the vitamin are meat, particularly liver, milk and fish. Vitamin B12 deficiency can also cause anaemia and inflammation of the nervous system. Yeast extracts are one of the few vegetarian foods which provide good levels of the vitamin. Full Times of India article here...

I've been close to being a vegetarian most of my life. It wasn't because I'm an animal lover, though I am, it was simply that I didn't like the taste of meat. I always believed not eating meat was healthier.

I have started eating meat now, but not just any meat. It has to be grass-fed from good ranchers. I like the taste of this real meat and found I have more energy, sleep better, concentrate better and don't want any junk food anymore. I have to give credit to Dr. Heidi Dulay for helping me figure out what real food does for overall health and helping me shape my family's real food plan. This is not a one size fits all or a fad "diet" of any kind, it is a lifestyle change based on real food.

Get your ER personalized food plan...

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Personalized Food Plan Teaches How To Eat Real Food

Are you are like me and want to eat right but get overwhelmed with all the new "research" saying eat this not that? There's a way to learn how to eat real food and it's not based on fads - it's the "old school" foods. Your ER personalized food plan...

We all know that pills are not enough... They might be a catalyst, and provide nutrient reserves. And that's a good thing. But a daily real food plan you can stick to, will really take your body to the next level.

Got energy? Time for your ER Personalized Food Plan?

If you're:

*Low energy, exhausted adrenals, cold hands or feet
*Digestive or elimination troubles
*Depressed, mood swings, brain fog
*Pre-pregnant, pregnant and nursing moms

Consider a daily real food plan you can stick to so you can DO the things you want.
NOT $595 or $445. WAY less.

WARNING: The Personalized Daily Real Food Program is offered by Dr. Heidi, whose incredibly effective and delightful eating programs I am shamelessly promoting because I use them all.

Here's a way to get your own daily personalized ER food plan, designed by Dr. Heidi. Depending on the group you're in above, it's directed at enabling your body to better deal with your situation.

First 10 people in each group only.

The initial consultation includes your individual biochemical and metabolic profiles.

Here's the one-time deal for your ER personalized food plan: "First 10 people in each group only."

First 10 people in each group only!

ER Food Plan Special info at Inside Whole Food Nation.

First 10 only in each category. If you ever wanted a taste of ER with a personal touch from Dr. Heidi, (or check this out) here's your chance.

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Mad Cow Disease In Genes Of Cattle - Research

New findings about the causes of mad cow disease show that sometimes it may be genetic. "We now know it's also in the genes of cattle," said Juergen A. Richt, Regents Distinguished Professor of Diagnostic Medicine and Pathobiology at Kansas State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. (Source Kansas State University)

Until several years ago, Richt said, it was thought that the cattle prion disease bovine spongiform encephalopathy -- also called BSE or mad cow disease -- was a foodborne disease. But his team's new findings suggest that mad cow disease also is caused by a genetic mutation within a gene called Prion Protein Gene. Prion proteins are proteins expressed abundantly in the brain and immune cells of mammals.

The research shows, for the first time, that a 10-year-old cow from Alabama with an atypical form of bovine spongiform encephalopathy had the same type of prion protein gene mutation as found in human patients with the genetic form of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, also called genetic CJD for short. Besides having a genetic origin, other human forms of prion diseases can be sporadic, as in sporadic CJD, as well as foodborne. That is, they are contracted when people eat products contaminated with mad cow disease.

"Our findings that there is a genetic component to BSE are significant because they tell you we can have this disease everywhere in the world, even in so-called BSE-free countries," Richt said.

An article by Richt and colleague Mark Hall of the National Veterinary Services Laboratories in Ames, Iowa, was published online in the journal PLoS Pathogens. Richt conducted the research while working at the National Animal Disease Center operated in Ames, Iowa, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service.

Richt said that prion diseases including mad cow disease are referred to as "slow diseases."

"It's a slow process for infectious prion proteins to develop," he said. "That's why the disease takes a long time -- as long as several years -- to show up."

Richt said mad cow disease caused by genetics is extremely rare. A recent epidemiological study estimated that the mutation affects less than 1 in 2,000 cattle. The study was done in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture-U.S. Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Neb., which is operated by the Agricultural Research Service.

Richt said the upside of knowing that mad cow disease has a genetic component is that it offers ways of stamping out the disease through selective breeding and culling of genetically affected animals. Therefore, Richt and his colleagues developed high throughput assays to offer the possibility for genetic surveillance of cattle for this rare pathogenic mutation.

"Genetic BSE we can combat," Richt said. "We have submitted a patent for a test system that can assess all bulls and cows before they're bred to see whether they have this mutation."

Source Kansas State University

My question, should we really be cloning animals and feeding their meat - milk to humans? Your thoughts?

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Buy Organic For Babies and Kids - protect them now, protect their future

Why choose natural and organic foods for your little ones? The reasons are compelling - from helping to protect our planet to supporting healthy development in our children. Organic tastes great, too!!!

More than one million children between the ages of one and five ingest in excess of a dozen pesticides daily from conventional fruits and veggies. It's the accumulation of exposures to these toxins that is concerning. For a list of the foods containing the highest and lowest levels of dangerous pesticides refer to this article.

The foods your infant may enjoy the most are often at high risk for pesticide contamination. Baby food is typically made of condensed fruits or veggies, which can concentrate pesticide residues from non organic produce. Because children consume more of these foods per body weight than adults do, they are at greater risk.

If you can't find organic baby food it's easy to make your own from fresh organic foods. A good blender like Vita-Mix will make healthy first foods for baby and entire family. It was easy for me to make my son's baby food and freeze in ice trays for single servings.

USDA - certified organic foods are grown according to strictly regulated standards. Organic products contain only foods grown without toxic and persistent pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, synthetic growth hormone and genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Related Articles:
Read labels on fruits and veggies
What to buy organic on a budget
9 reasons to buy local organic

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These Foods Should Always Be Organic - if pesticides matter to you

We've all heard how eating organic food is healthier than conventional grown foods. Even if you are still on the fence about organic you can still start slow and reap the benefits. If nothing else, you can see if the organic real food tastes better to you.

There are a few clean fruits and veggies so if you can't afford to go 100% organic choose these non-organics:

The research used to compile the following list was from extensive independent tests run by the FDA and the USDA from more than 100,000 samples of food. The chemical pesticides detected in these studies are known to cause cancer, birth defects, nervous system and brain damage, and developmental problems in children. If you are trying to protect your family and eat "clean food" don't buy it if it isn't organic.

Beef, Pork and Poultry
The EPA reports that meat is contaminated with higher levels of pesticides than any plant food. Many chemical pesticides are fat-soluble and accumulate in the fatty tissue of animals. Animal feed that contains animal products compounds the accumulation, which is directly passed to the human consumer. Antibiotics, drugs, and hormones are a standard in animal husbandry, all of which accumulate and are passed on to consumers as well. Ocean fish carry a higher risk for heavy metals than pesticides, though many freshwater fish are exposed to high levels of pesticides from contaminated water.

Milk, Cheese and Butter
For reasons similar to those for meat, the fat in dairy products poses a high risk for contamination by pesticides. Animals concentrate pesticides and chemicals in their milk and meat. Growth hormones and antibiotics are also serious concerns and are invariably found in commercial milk, cheese, and butter.

Strawberries, Raspberries and Cherries
Strawberries are the crop that is most heavily dosed with pesticides in America. On average, 300 pounds of pesticides are applied to every acre of strawberries. Thirty-six different pesticides are commonly used on strawberries, and 90% of strawberries tested register pesticide contamination above safe levels. Raspberries trump strawberries with the application of 39 chemicals: 58% of the raspberries tested registered positive for contamination. Cherries are almost as bad with 25 pesticides and 91% contamination.

Apples and Pears
With 36 different chemicals detected in FDA testing, half of which are neurotoxins (meaning they cause brain damage), apples are almost as contaminated as strawberries. Ninety-one percent of apples tested positive for pesticide residue. Peeling non-organic apples reduces but does not eliminate the danger of ingesting these chemicals. Pears rank hazardously near apples with 35 pesticides and 94% contamination.

Tomatoes
It's standard practice for more than 30 pesticides to be sprayed on conventionally grown tomatoes. The thin skin does not stop chemicals from infiltrating the whole tomato, so peeling won't help you here.

Potatoes
Potatoes are one of the most popular vegetables, but they also rank among the most contaminated with pesticides and fungicides. Twenty-nine pesticides are commonly used, and 79% of potatoes tested exceed safe levels of multiple pesticides.

Spinach and Other Greens
The FDA found spinach to be the vegetable most frequently contaminated with the most potent pesticides used on food. Eighty-three percent of the conventionally grown spinach tested was found to be contaminated with dangerous levels of at least some of the 36 chemical pesticides commonly used to grow it.

Coffee
Most coffee is grown in countries where there are little to no standards regulating the use of chemicals and pesticides on food. The United States produces and exports millions of tons of pesticides, some of which are so dangerous that they are illegal to use on American farmland. Foreign countries import these chemicals to cultivate food, which is sold back to the United States. Coffee is an unfortunate culprit in this vicious cycle of malevolent agriculture. Purchasing "Fair Trade" coffee provides insurance that the premium price paid for this treasured beverage supports farms and workers with more equanimity and reward.

Peaches and Nectarines
Forty-five different pesticides are regularly applied to succulent, delicious peaches and nectarines in conventional orchards. The thin skin does not protect the fruit from the dangers of these poisons. Ninety-seven percent of nectarines and 95% of peaches tested for pesticide residue show contamination from multiple chemicals.

Grapes
Because grapes are a delicate fruit, they are sprayed multiple times during different stages of growth. The thin skin does not offer much protection from the 35 different pesticides used as a standard in conventional vineyards. Imported grapes are even more heavily treated than grapes grown in the United States. Several of the most poisonous pesticides banned in the United States are still used on grapes grown abroad. Eighty-six percent of grapes test positive for pesticide contamination; samples from Chile showed the highest concentration of the most poisonous chemicals.

Celery
Conventionally grown celery is subjected to at least 29 different chemicals, which cannot be washed off because, of course, celery does not have any protective skin. Ninety-four percent of celery tested was found to have pesticide residues in violation of safe levels.

Red and Green Bell Peppers
Bell peppers are one of the most heavily sprayed foods, with standard use of 39 pesticides. Sixty-eight percent of bell peppers tested had high levels of chemical pesticide residues. The thin skin of peppers does not offer much protection from spraying and is often waxed with harmful substances.

Full data sheet for pesticides in food.

Whole Food And More website

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Exercise With Your Dog, You Both Get Fit...

As all dog lovers know, dogs make wonderful companions and are usually content to do whatever their owners are doing, from taking a ride in the car to lounging around on the sofa on a lazy Sunday afternoon. However, having a dog gives you great excuse to get out and exercise! Whether that means taking a brisk walk or running along a park trail, you and your dog can both benefit.

Besides getting in better cardiovascular and physical shape, walking or running with your dog can also help:

* Boost your mood
* Lower your blood pressure
* Strengthen your bond with your dog
* Keep you motivated to exercise regularly (you dog will bug you to stay on your routine)

Running or walking with your dog isn't just good for you; it's also good for your dog. Exercise keeps his heart, lings, joints, and digestive and circulation systems healthy, and it helps him control weight and expend energy. If you've ever noticed your dog racing extra fast around your house or yard (sometimes referred to zooming), you've witnessed him trying to burn up excess energy.

Regular exercise can also prevent your dogs destructive chewing, biting, and digging and can calm hyperactivity and anxiety.

Dogs are like people, they need to build up to distance gradually. A 30-minute run should be plenty for most dogs. Less for puppies, older dogs or dogs recovering from illness. Swimming is also a great way to exercise with your dog, if he enjoys the water.

Running or walking with your dog can keep you motivated to stay on track and get healthy together. Plus, what could be better than spending quality time with your best dog friend?

Gotta go now, I have two dogs ready for their run!

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Healthy Food Makes Thyroid Sluggish

Are your healthy food choices making you chronically tired? If you suffer from extreme fatigue and any of the following conditions, it may be from an under active thyroid due to not enough iodine in your body.

One in three women is tired, heavy and blue as a result of poorly operating thyroid. "Millions of women don't know their diet is deficient in iodine," says Ann Haiden, D.O., an internist in Kentfield, CA. "This mineral enables thyroid hormones that regulate cellular metabolism."

Healthy choices are contributing to the epidemic. Women are limiting their intake of table salt, consuming more soy and cruciferous veggies (which contain iodine-flushing compounds) and eating more leafy salads (a source of the iodine-blocking toxin perchlorate).

Doctors are increasingly prescribing thyroid medicine, but in many cases their patients could be cured simply by consuming more iodine.

For most women, aiming for the RDA of 150 mcg of iodine will restore energy, says Dr. Haiden. She advises taking a multivitamin (most contain this dose) and eating iodine-rich foods like eggs, unpeeled baked potatoes, shrimp, tuna and cod.

"Vitamin A enhances the absorption of iodine and its ability to synthesize thyroid hormones," says Dr. Haiden. Sources include eggs, pork, and turkey, as well as foods rich in carotenoids (which the body converts to vitamin A), such as oranges, carrots, red peppers, pumpkin, squash and yams.

A note about how switching cooking oils can rev a sluggish thyroid:
Polyunsaturated oils such as soybean, corn and safflower are long-chain triglycerides (LCTs, a kind of fat that blocks absorption of iodine by thyroid cells. In addition to cooking oils, LCDs are in processed foods like some low-fat dressings and crackers. To limit LCT intake, check labels for soybean oil, corn oil, safflower oil, hydrogenated oil or partially hydrogenated oil. Also, switch to cooking oils that don't block iodine absoption, such as coconut, avocado and flaxseed. Bonus: "These oils are powerful weight-loss tools," says Ann Louise Gittleman, Ph.D. "They enhance satiety and nourish the liver for optimal fat burn."

All eggs are not equal, watch this short video to learn more about eggs.

Source for virgin coconut oil Tropical Traditions. You can get the expelled coconut oil for cooking, it has no taste.

Always try to eat wild caught fish and shrimp, not farmed. The farmed fish is fed corn and grains so it won't offer healthy benefits like the wild caught. Look for fish labeled "wild caught".

My sister is on thyroid medicine so I shared this info with her. She is testing this to see if she can get off the meds.

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Her First Week At The Gym

A WOMAN'S WEEK AT THE GYM - Thanks, Gwen!

This is dedicated to everyone who ever attempted to get into a regular workout routine.

"Dear Diary,

"For my birthday this year, my daughter (the dear) purchased a week of personal training at the local health club for me. Although I am still in great shape since being a high school cheerleader 43 years ago, I decided it would be a good idea to go ahead and give it a try.

"I called the club and made my reservations with a personal trainer named Brad, who identified himself as a 26-year-old aerobics instructor and model for athletic clothing and swim wear. My daughter seemed pleased with my enthusiasm to get started! The club encouraged me to keep a diary to chart my progress.

"_____ MONDAY: Started my day at 6:00 a.m. Tough to get out of bed, but found it was well worth it when I arrived at the health club to find Brad waiting for me. He is something of a Greek god - with blond hair, dancing eyes and a dazzling white smile. Woo Hoo!!

"Brad gave me a tour and showed me the machines. I enjoyed watching the skillful way in which he conducted his aerobics class after my workout today. Very inspiring! Brad was encouraging as I did my sit-ups, although my gut was already aching from holding it in the whole time he was around. This is going to be a FANTASTIC week-!!

"_____ TUESDAY: I drank a whole pot of coffee, but I finally made it out the door. Brad made me lie on my back and push a heavy iron bar into the air then he put weights on it! My legs were a little wobbly on the treadmill, but I made the full mile. Brad's rewarding smile made it all worthwhile. I feel GREAT-!! It's a whole new life for me.

"_____ WEDNESDAY: The only way I can brush my teeth is by laying the toothbrush on the counter and moving my mouth back and forth over it. I believe I have a hernia in both pectorals. Driving was OK as long as I didn't try to steer or stop. I parked on top of a GEO in the club parking lot.

"Brad was impatient with me, insisting that my screams bothered other club members. His voice is a little too perky for early in the morning and when he scolds, he gets this nasally whine that is VERY annoying.

"My chest hurt when I got on the treadmill, so Brad put me on the stair monster. Why the hell would anyone invent a machine to simulate an activity rendered obsolete by elevators? Brad told me it would help me get in shape and enjoy life. He said some other stuff too.

"_____ THURSDAY : Brad was waiting for me with his vampire-like teeth exposed as his thin, cruel lips were pulled back in a full snarl. I couldn't help being a half an hour late, it took me that long to tie my shoes. Brad took me to work out with dumbbells. When he was not looking, I ran and hid in the restroom. He sent some skinny gal to find me. Then, as punishment, he put me on the rowing machine -- which I sank.

"_____ FRIDAY : I hate that Brad more than any human being has ever hated any other human being in the history of the world. Stupid, little #@*.

"If there was a part of my body I could move without unbearable pain, I would beat him with it. Brad wanted me to work on my triceps. I don't have any triceps! And if you don't want dents in the floor, don't hand me the barbells or anything that weighs more than a sandwich.

"The treadmill flung me off and I landed on a health and nutrition teacher. Why couldn't it have been someone softer, like the drama coach or the choir director?

"_____ SATURDAY : Brad left a message on my answering machine in his grating, shrilly voice wondering why I did not show up today. Just hearing him made me want to smash the machine with my planner. However, I lacked the strength to even use the TV remote and ended up catching eleven straight hours of the Weather Channel.

"_____ SUNDAY : I'm having the Church van pick me up for services today so I can go and thank GOD that this week is over. I will also pray that next year my daughter will choose a gift for me that is fun -- like a root canal or a hysterectomy. I still say if God had wanted me to bend over, he would have sprinkled the floor with diamonds."
To the gym, anyone?

Thanks Kim - Inside WFN and especially Gwen for sharing this!

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