Curiously Awesome

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Seattle-area store PCC Natural Markets has stopped selling all products containing high-fructose corn syrup. They have announced that they will no longer carry any product sweetened with corn syrup.

High-fructose corn syrup has drawn criticism both as a sweetener in general and also due to its specific biochemical properties. Studies have indicated that high-fructose corn syrup may be worse for the body than similar sweeteners, and that it may interfere with the brain’s ability to tell when it is full.

Food manufacturers have long been attracted to corn syrup because it is so cheap to produce. This has enabled them to add sweetness to just about anything very inexpensively.

PCC has also banned trans fats and milk produced from cows treated with growth hormones and does not provide plastic bags for shoppers.

To lose weight, try not counting calories and start counting nutrients or super foods instead.

Companies like Weight Watchers come out with these low calorie bars and ready made meals… but how many nutrients do they have? Are they really going to help people lose weight? And how long will this weight stay off? As soon as they stop counting the calories the weight will return.

The secret to losing weight and truly experiencing optimum health is to count the nutrients in the food you are eating. Love the food you eat because you know it will nourish your body and in turn make you look and feel gorgeous.

Imagine how effective forgetting the calories might be. Enjoy a healthy smoothie for breakfast. Who knows how many calories it has… and who cares? Every ingredient is nourishing the body and mind. It is literally filling the body with the fuel it needs to do its job.

Vow to never count a calorie again!

We eat a huge amount of wheat. Unfortunately, the majority of the wheat products that we consume are highly refined and processed to the point where they are worthless and actually harmful to our bodies.

Vegan, Vegetarian & Raw Foods products are something worth researching.

Did you know that the nutritional powerhouse of the wheat product is in the seed (or berry) itself…NOT in the refined flour products? If you were to sow wheat berries, in approximately two weeks you would have access to wheatgrass, which contains all of the vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and nutrients that your body needs every day.

The health benefits of wheatgrass are numerous and amazing, as is the list of foods you can create with this unique ingredient. From breads to cookies to pizza to desserts…you can even use wheatgrass to treat a variety of physical ailments!

I have just convinced myself that I need a wheatgrass kit. Not only will this be very beneficial for my family’s health, a growing kit like this will be an activity my whole family will enjoy.

There are some new studies recently published in the American Journal of Infection Control demonstrating how important hand washing is in preventing the transmission of disease in a household setting.

This is new because the majority of prior studies on the importance of hand washing have implicated touch as the single most important disease transmission route but have focused on workers in the food and health industries.

In one study researchers tested various household surfaces for traces of the polio virus in homes where infants had recently been vaccinated against the disease. The weakened virus from the vaccine is shed in infants’ feces for a short time afterwards so traces of the disease would indicate exposure to the infants’ feces. Researchers found that 13 percent of bathroom, kitchen and living room surfaces tested positive for polio.

In another study, researchers tested toilet bowls in homes where at least one person had been diagnosed with a salmonella infection. As much as three weeks after the infection, toilet bowls were still found to be contaminated with the bacteria. This suggests that even long after an infection has passed, it still has the capability to spread throughout a house.

In a third study a volunteer touched a door handle that had been contaminated with a virus and then shook hands with a number of other volunteers. Tests later determined that this spread the virus to six other people.

The main results show us that people should focus on cleaning key disease transmission surfaces in the home like doorknobs, faucets and toilet flush handles. In addition to washing their hands after sneezing or using the toilet, or before eating, people also need to do so after changing diapers, cleaning up after pets, touching trash cans, or cleaning any surfaces or utensils that might have come into contact with waste or raw food.

Using a pedometer to track daily walking goals leads to an increase in how much people walk.

Researchers examined the results of 26 studies on a total of 2,767 people. They found that people who set daily walking goals for themselves or who used pedometers to track their walking went approximately 2,000 steps farther per day than people who did not use pedometers or set goals.

The researchers suggested that pedometers may help people quantify their walking .

Pedometers are small, matchbook-sized devices that are usually worn at the waist. The devices cost between $5 and $50 and record how many steps a person takes as measured by the impact of the foot upon the ground.

People who use pedometers also show a slight improvement in weight and systolic blood pressure.

Did you know that the processed food industry spends over $33 billion per year in advertising to lure people to consume sugar-laden, fast, junk foods? These processed foods are loaded with hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, and trans fats. The main ingredients of processed foods are empty sugar, water, fat, flour, starch, artificial colorings and flavors.

America has become a nation of wide spread obesity and chronic disease. The predictable outcome we are seeing is that now a huge number of Americans are sent on to the highly profitable pharmaceutical industry.

Over fifty percent of the people with severe weight problems have diabetes. At this time it’s been estimated that over 7% of our population has a form of diabetes. This makes a total of over 21 million people (but nearly a third are undiagnosed). In 2007, indirect and direct medical cost of diabetes is estimated at over $174 billion. These numbers are exploding daily and tangible statistics are difficult to obtain to keep up with the reality of the diabetes epidemic.

It is so regrettable that the American society has chosen this lifestyle. About 20 years ago there was publicized research that revealed populations that consume more fruits, vegetables, and high fiber foods experienced lower disease rates. Two of these examples are the whole grains, nuts, seeds, fresh fruits and vegetables, and olive oil rich Mediterranean diet, and the South Pacific diets with large amounts of coconut oil. Even something as simple as water has a big affect on health. Last year, Loma Linda University research revealed that drinking 5 glasses of water per day reduces the risk of our number one cause of death heart attack by 50%.

The result of all this is our nation has a completely out of balance health care and agricultural economics policy which is now affecting the rest of the planet.

When Tim Russert suffered a fatal heart attack and died Friday at the age of 58 he was taking prescription medications to control coronary artery disease.

The mainstream media is reporting that Russert died from a “heart attack…but why?

Almost 100,000 Americans die every year from FDA-approved pharmaceuticals (according to the American Medical Association). Almost none of these deaths are reported as actually being caused by pharmaceuticals. Instead, the media reports that the victim died of whatever biological malfunction was most at issue at the time of death.

Instead of healing health conditions, pharmaceuticals “control” the symptoms of disease by artificially affecting numbers on a blood test. This then creates an illusion of health when no fundamental health improvements have happened at all.

Pharmaceuticals that are used to treat heart disease really just promote the continuation of the disease. They discourage patients from taking more proactive steps to resolve their health problems.

Unfortuantely, Tim Russert believed in using pharmaceuticals and did not make changes to his diet and lifestyle in a way that would have eliminated his need for that medication. According to Russert’s internist, Michael A. Newman, Russert knew he had been diagnosed with coronary artery disease but erroneously though he was “controlling” it with medication and exercise.

In looking at Russert we can see he wasn’t really controlling much with exercise. This means he was relying mostly on medication to solve his coronary heart disease problems. This may have been a fatal mistake.

Tim Russert learned the hard way what four generations of Americans are also learning.

You cannot medicate yourself to good health. When you try to do so, you may end up dying from the very medicine you thought was saving your life.

Unfortunately, Tim Russert was not heart attack proof. And we need to realize that his medication did not make him heart attack proof either.

Two young women died shortly after receiving Merck’s Gardasil, a vaccine against several varieties of human papillomavirus (HPV).

Gardasil and Glaxo SmithKline’s Cervarix protect against the two strains of HPV that are responsible for 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. Gardasil also protects against two HPV strains that cause 90 percent of genital warts.

The names and ages of the women who died and the cause of death were not released. Their deaths were described as “sudden and unexpected.”

These deaths mark the fourth and fifth to occur shortly following vaccination with Gardasil and the first in Europe. Previously, three young women, aged 12, 19 and 22, died in the US within days after receiving a Gardasil shot. Also, 1,700 cases have been reported of patients suffering non-lethal adverse reactions.

It is believed that adverse effects of this medication are widely underreported.

In the United States, three states have passed laws mandating HPV vaccines for school-age girls, and 38 others have considered similar laws.

I will just say that personally, as a mother of four girls, three of which are still minors…I will NEVER encourage my daughters to receive the HPV vaccine. In fact, I will go blue in the face discouraging them from receiving it.

Here are the top reasons why your battle with weight might be getting the best of you.

1. Insufficient Exercise and Poor Eating Habits

Adequate exercise and healthy eating habits go together for weight loss. Most Americans simply don’t get enough exercise. Just consuming calories without burning them equals weight gain.

A healthy individual wanting to maintain their weight needs about 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise a day. If you want to lose weight, 60 minutes of cardio a day is recommended until you reach your target weight. Then you can go down to 30 minutes a day.

Keep a diary of what, when and how much you are eating. After a week, evaluate your list and identify the problem areas and make adjustments accordingly.

A healthy eating program will be high in fruits, vegetables and whole grains and low in saturated fats, sugar and salt. Determine what your daily caloric intake should be and don’t eat more.

2. Syndrome X

Syndrome X is a metabolic disorder that affects one out of every four Americans and can lead to cardiovascular disease and diabetes if left untreated. Syndrome X is chiefly characterized by insulin resistance. When food is consumed by a healthy individual, the body releases insulin to escort glucose into the cells where it can be burned efficiently. When insulin resistance is present, the cells fail to recognize the glucose and deny it entry. The glucose is then left to build up in the bloodstream. The liver detects that the cells are not getting enough glucose and pumps more out to remedy the situation. This further clogs the bloodstream with sugar. Eventually all of this glucose makes its way to the liver where it is converted to fat and stored throughout the body.

While weight gain due to insulin resistance is not necessarily caused by overeating, insulin resistance is caused by obesity and lack of exercise. If you suspect that you might be insulin resistant, see your doctor for a simple test.

3. Stress

Stressors have the ability to add unwanted pounds to your body because of a physiological response called “fight or flight”. Immediate danger signals the body to produce adrenaline. After the danger is passed the adrenaline dissipates but the body continues to pump out cortisol. The cortisol served to stimulate insulin release and maintain the blood sugar levels resulting in an intense hunger.

Every time your workload becomes too much to handle or your children drive you nuts your body responds as if it was in mortal danger. Stressful events on a daily basis tells your adrenal glands to pump out the calming hormone cortisol on a regular basis.

Many people eat in response to stress. This makes sense since the cortisol pumping through your body is effectively telling you to eat. The food you consume in response to a stressful event is not necessary - it’s likely extra calories.

The simplest way to overcome this type of “overeating” is to find a way to manage your stress more effectively. When you feel a stressful situation coming, go for a walk or engage in some other type of exercise. Since your body is expecting a physical response, give it what it wants in a healthy way.

4. Hypothyroidism

Have your thyroid tested. The thyroid gland is located at the base of your skull and regulates your body’s metabolism. If thyroid hormone levels decrease, everything in your body slows down. This is a condition called hypothyroidism. As a result, your cells need less calories. While you may feel like you’re eating normal your body will no longer need that much energy to keep going. All of the “extra” calories that you are consuming become stored as fat resulting in weight gain. Hypothyroidism can be treated by your doctor by supplementing with thyroid hormones.

Obesity is a very complex medical problem in our society and achieving an ideal weight requires a complex approach oftentimes. Losing weight is not an easy task. If it was, we would all be thin!

There are many religious traditions that have long believed that burning frankincense incense (made out of resin from the Boswellia plant) is good for the soul. There is now a new study that says it apparently is good for the brain.

The research (published on-line in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Journal) concludes that burning frankincense activates specific ion channels in the brain. The result? Incense appears to quell anxiety and depression.

According to the National Institutes of Health, major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability in the United States for people ages 15 to 44. This affects about 14.8 million American adults. Anxiety disorders affect 40 million Americans.

To study frankincense’s psychoactive impact, the researchers administered incensole acetate to mice and discovered that it significantly impacted areas in the brain that are intricately involved in emotions. Nerve circuits that are targeted by modern-day drugs were also affected.

The discovery of how incensole acetate (purified from frankincense) works on specific targets in the brain should also help us understand diseases of the nervous system. This study also provides an explanation for ancient spiritual practices that have persisted across time.

Burning incense really does make you feel better.