Cranberry Juice vs. Antibiotics for UTI Prevention

This is an excerpt from an article I wrote when I was sending out newsletters a couple of years ago.  I thought it was worth re-visiting.

July 26, 2011 — Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) is more effective than
cranberry capsules for prevention of recurrent urinary tract infection (UTI) in
premenopausal women, according to the results of a double-blind trial reported in the July 25 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
"I must admit that I was truly amazed that a medical study was even done
comparing cranberry juice capsules to a gut-tearing antibiotic and that the
drug supposedly helped to prevent these infections more effectively. I'm going
to let you mull over that idea for a few minutes. When, my readers, did we
decide to use medication as the gold standard for preventative medicine? Truly
amazing.

The primary reason that the drug companies have had to develop stronger and
stronger antibiotics is the result of over prescribing this group of drugs for
most every ailment under the sun...flu, other viruses, ear infections (when
European doctors had stopped using that for kids decades, yes, decades ago),
coughs and generalized infections. Now, they appear to want us women who have
chronic urinary tract infections to take antibiotics on a regular basis. Does
anyone see a problem with this?"

I have found, over the years, that prevention means balance.  If the body is balanced, it isn't susceptible to sickness and disease.  To a person, every woman who has come to me with symptoms of a UTI, has been helped by simply re-balancing the pH of her urine.  Keeping the body in balance will prevent future infections.  The thought of taking antibiotics as the recommended method of preventing infections is one approach.  In light of the information contained in my previous few blogs about the importance of intestinal health, I wonder how many of us think that approach to be a good idea?

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To Eat Soy or Not To Eat Soy? That is the question.

I frequently am asked about whether or not soy is a good replacement source of protein, or at least a good way to augment one's diet.  Many of you know that I am not a fan of soy, but I do understand that it is the essential ingredient in just about every vegan product offered, today.  I also like to think that I can keep an open mind when it comes to assessing any nutritional information.  To that end, I decided to do some "perusing" of the recent literature.  The author of the following excerpt is a vegetarian and has included soy as his primary source of protein.....

"Soy is controversial. Some say it is a healthy source of protein, nutrients, and fiber. Others think it can cause problems like hormonal imbalance, low thyroid output, and allergies, not even considering the new worry some have about how common genetically modified soy now is. I do think it may be a problem in some people, the most common problems being decreased metabolism and possible weight gain and lowering libido in men. If adequate iodine is taken in the diet or by supplement (2 kelp capsules per day, e.g.), thyroid function may not decrease so this problem could be easily circumvented.

Another problem may be, and certainly is according to Hulda Clark, the chemicals used in processing to create products like soy protein isolates and tofu. See Hulda Clark's Diet Suggestions for more information. My first surprise regarding soy, long before I knew about the estrogenic effects, was from reading Roger Cathey's articles on enzyme therapy for cancer. In them, he often mentioned dietary "trypsin inhibitors" as being counterproductive. I was amazed that he noted soy as a potent one. One website states: "While soybeans are relatively high in protein compared to other legumes, scientists have long recognized them as a poor source of protein because other proteins found in soybeans act as potent enzyme inhibitors. These "antinutrients" block the action of trypsin and other enzymes needed for protein digestion. In test animals, diets high in trypsin inhibitors depress growth and cause enlargement and pathological conditions of the pancreas, including cancer."

A Testosterone magazine article had this to say: " We first published an article about how soy protein is estrogenic, can lower testosterone counts, and can even kill testicular cells in January of 2000. We then published new research on the matter in February of 2001. But you know something? The national media still won't touch the story. You can pick up the "Food" section of practically any local newspaper and see glowing reviews of the healthy attributes of soy protein, complete with yummy, testosterone-lowering recipes."

While I was aware of most of this information, I, too, was surprised to learn about how soy protein is a dietary trypsin inhibitor.  Basically, if you eat soy protein, your body cannot utilize it.  And, worse,it may even cause great harm to your body.  

Biochemistry is a science that can, and often does, change very frequently as technology changes.  I believe I have said before that much of what I learned over 25 years ago is no longer completely accurate.  As a result, I do my best to read as much new research as possible.  I hope this information is helpful for any of you who might be using soy as their dietary protein source.

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The Importance of Pro-Biotics to Our Health

Yesterday, we talked about the relationship between intestinal health and mental health.  We know that how the digestive tract evolves in the first few years of life influences the health of the brain.  We know that maintaining a healthy intestinal bacterial environment is vital not only to bowel function, autoimmune balance and inflammation causing an antigen response (this mitigates allergic reactions), but to neural function and the normal growth of a child.  What is the best way to ensure intestinal health?

The other day, I was asked if giving a child yogurt would help balance the intestinal tract while taking anti-biotics.  Stonyfield Farms was mentioned.  Now, while this brand is probably the best of the yogurts, as it contains a few strains of bacteria, yogurt is of little help in this instance. Additionally, yogurt contains sugar...the medium in which yeast flourishes, so, that's simply counterproductive.  One needs to take a full spectrum probiotic in order to reestablish and maintain intestinal health.

Their are a few high  quality probiotics on the market that I have seen.  There are, also, a number of very, very expensive ones, too.  I have seen as much as $100.00 per bottle charged for some of these.  That cost is excessive and unnecessary.  We handle a whole food, organic,  full spectrum probiotic (meaning, it contains all 14 strains of normally occurring intestinal flora) for a very reasonable price.

We recommend that everyone take one capsule of a full spectrum probiotic everyday.  I was listening to an interview of a celebrity speaking about how he has never had a cold or flu since taking probiotics.  I was really pleasantly surprised to hear that.  It's a wonderful testament to the importance of good bacteria for overall health.  I have seen the health of so many patients improve dramatically after taking probiotics, regularly.  After reading the research that was the basis of yesterday's blog, I am, now, recommending that any children who have been on even one course of antibiotics, begin taking the i-Flora, as well as adding this to every child's daily supplementation.

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Intestinal Health and Depression: The Link Explained

I've just been reading some fascinating information about the very real connection between the health of the gut--brain function---and, mental health.  This research puts together some missing pieces as to why we have seen such a significant increase in mood disorders in both adults and children, the past 20 years, at least for me.

Most of us understand that stress causes many and varied symptoms--from inability to sleep to chronic intestinal problems.  What we haven't realized is how negatively prolonged stress impacts our nervous system.  I did explain some of this in my series about stress and how the sympathetic nervous system reacts when exposed to prolonged periods of emotional stress.  However, we now see that it's the inflammatory changes, affecting our neural circuitry, that affect behavior.  Where are the origins of this imbalance?  The Gut.

How the digestive tract develops in the first few years is vital to our physical and mental health.  A healthy GI population positively influences the neuron function involved in motor control and behavior.  Infants have a bacterium in their gut that mitigates the stress response: bifidobacterium infantis.  If this bacterium is destroyed, the child's stress response will be affected.  The hypothesis is that if the good bacteria in the gut are diminished, the child is set up for anxiety or depression as the years progress because the development of parts of the autonomic nervous system is impeded.  Did you know that the number of prescriptions for depression in children has skyrocketed?  How many children are suffering from hyperactivity and learning disorders?  It appears that the origins of anxiety and mood disorders are systemic inflammation and autoimmune imbalance.

Only in the United States are babies that have ear infections regularly given antibiotics.  European doctors don't prescribe antibiotics to children, as the first course of treatment, because their decades-old studies showed that these infections spontaneously resolved without any medication, just nutritional support.  Antibiotics destroy the good bacteria along with the bad.  We see that destroying the good bacteria in the gut of an infant or young child directly affects their stress response, neural circuitry, their levels of anxiety and even their immune system.  We had a little girl come into our office with the diagnosis of, "failure to thrive."  She had a systemic candida infection, the result of repeated courses of antibiotics for ear infections.  When the yeast infection was corrected, she immediately put on weight and resumed growing.

This research has serious and wide-ranging implications for the health and welfare of our children as well as adults.  There appears to be a correlation between the explosion of anti-depression medication prescriptions and
repeated antibiotic therapy. 

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Please, Don't Buy Any More Diet Books or "What was that doctor thinking when he wrote this book?"

I seldom comment on specific diet books as they all have their bad and good points.  I'm not a fan of specific ways of eating, except that the diet be 75% carbohydrates ( 55-60% complex carbohydrates, 5% simple carbs, 10-15% anti-oxidant rich fruits) and 25% protein (about 50% of which should be non-animal protein, also making certain that 30% of the protein contains or is accompanied by cis- essential fatty acids).  Also, I have always stressed that eating organic, as much as possible, is vital to our health.  However, I just had to comment on the latest "craze."

I don't know the MD's name, but one has written a diet book entitled, "The Caveman Diet."  Really.  We should all eat the way the Neanderthals ate:  raw vegetables and grains and red meat.  Does anyone else see the pitfalls, here?  The vegetables and fruits are super, but I wouldn't recommend raw vegetables (except juiced, and, we have learned,  kale) to many modern people because of the intestinal inflammation that many people have, most without knowing it.  But, the most ridiculous part of this diet recommendation is the eating of red meat because ancient man ate red meat.

All animals thousands of years ago were wild and never subjected to the ravages that mass production causes, both upon the animals and us.  It is true that wild animal muscle contains high amounts of fatty acids that are protective to our cardiovascular system....farm raised animals do not.  Those of you who have been my patient know that I only recommend eating wild caught salmon for this very reason.  Farm raised salmon contain very little of the omega fatty acids that their wild counterparts contain and, as such, should not be eaten with the expectation of those health benefits.  What was the average life expectancy of ancient man?  If you were lucky, about 30-35 years.  Death by wild animal,  savage environment or disease took these people well before atherosclerosis, heart attack or stroke had the time to develop.

 If you'd like to read, what I consider to be, the definitive book about diet and health, that would be:  Health at Every Size, by Linda Bacon, PhD.  This is a remarkable book, written by a renowned scientist, containing over 400 references substantiating her research and conclusions.

In my opinion, the caveman and his diet need to be allowed to, "rest in peace," not emulated.

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Are You Drinking Enough Water, or Are You Dehydrated?

The past few weeks, I have read a number of articles concerning just how much water one needs to drink to stay hydrated.  These articles contained conflicting opinions.  When one gets right down to it, I think it's more important to see if we are drinking a sufficient amount of water each day by, "reading our body."  Here are some things you can check to see if your body is actually "thirsty."

1.  Are you thirsty?
     If you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated....your body is crying for water!

2.  Do you awaken each morning with a dry or sticky mouth?

3.  Is your skin cracked or dry? (That can also indicate insufficient oil in the diet)

4.  Is your urine a dark yellow color?  (It should be very light yellow)
     Dark urine indicates concentrated urine.  That means that the kidneys are working overtime as well as being potentially problematic for the blood.  Stickiness or clumping of the red blood cells can occur with dehydration and can lead to some very serious illnesses.

5.  When you make a fist and pick up the skin around your knuckles, does the skin bounce right back?

6.  Do you snore?
     I know this sounds odd, but, if there are no other physical problems, frequently, we snore because our mouths are dry from dehydration and not the other way around.

If you have any of these symptoms, especially if you have more than one, you are dehydrated.  How much water one needs to drink may vary, somewhat, but a good rule of thumb is to drink 1/2 your weight in ounces.  120 pounds=60 ounces of water per day.  (If you are very active, you will most likely need more water than that.)  If you are following that rule and are still noticing some of the above mentioned symptoms, you may need more water OR you may be drinking too much water at one time.  We should be drinking small amounts of water throughout the day, totaling the optimum amount of ounces at day's end.

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If You're Taking Statin Medication, Please, Read This!

For some twenty years I have been telling patients (and, anyone who would actually listen) about the potential dangers of cholesterol-lowering drugs, the primary group being Statins.  Over thirty years ago a cardiologist told me that it was not the cholesterol in foods that was dangerous, but cholesterol that was produced in response to stress that we had to worry about.  Now, we also know that it's sugar, not cholesterol, that is the primary culprit that causes inflammation, which, we know leads to vascular damage,  (We talked about that in my blog about depression and inflammation.) or atherosclerosis.

The latest information that cardiology studies, published in peer review journals, show is that just having your LDL levels tested is not enough.  Total cholesterol levels should never be used as the reason for prescribing medication.  Cholesterol is comprised of three different types of lipids:  HDL, LDL and VLDL.  If you have an unusually high level of HDL-2 lipids, that can skew the total cholesterol level results.  HDL-2 lipids are protective of the entire cardiovascular system and, the higher, the better. A new cholesterol test, now, appears to show how likely you are to develop heart and vascular problems.  It's called, "LDL particle size test."  Simply put, the smaller the LDL particles and the greater the number of these small particles, the greater the chance that these will burrow into the vessels and cause clot formation and atherosclerosis.

We know that some of the side effects of Statin drugs may be heart disease, diabetes, some cancers and increased blood clot formation (that will eventually cause strokes).  This is especially true in women, who appear more susceptible than men to develop those disease states.  We also know that we need to strengthen the heart and its vasculature as our primary goal instead of just prescribing medications that have not been shown to prevent cardiovascular disease.  Just read the disclaimers about the effects of Statin drugs on the inserts and on the TV advertisements.

The idea that fat in the diet causes fat deposits in our body as well as cholesterol in the diet causes high cholesterol levels may be intuitive, but it is, in fact, just plain wrong. Truly, you don't have to believe me, but I would recommend you believe the cardiologists who have found this to be true.  Go onto Dr. Oz's website and read about what he learned from fellow doctors about this subject.  He's a pretty famous cardiologist and he didn't know about these problems with the Statin drugs.  That's why we doctors all need to keep abreast about the latest valid, peer reviewed research.  I know that's why I do so much reading.  I want to keep people informed about the facts.  I want people to question and read and learn so they can be in charge of their health.  Insist that your doctor run the LDL particle size test.  It's fairly inexpensive and just might save your life.

Did you know that vegetables and fruits contain over 4,000 phytochemicals that are known to protect your heart, decrease inflammation and protect you from the ravages of aging?
That's what I encourage people to think about.  We have been scared into "needing" drugs to prevent heart attacks or strokes, although there are no studies that show that these medications prevent anything. The most that can be said about some of these drugs is that they lower cholesterol levels to a certain degree.  The problem is that it's not cholesterol that is causing the vascular disease, it's a particular lipid constituent that is causing it.  And, the Statin drugs do not affect the small LDL particles...diet does.  I believe it's time to be proactive about your health and learn how to heal your way into wellness.

There's a book called, "Heart 411," written by two cardiologists who say that most of the medications that doctors are prescribing that claim to prevent heart attacks, have no basis in scientific fact.  They do not recommend Statin drugs and do not recommend the taking of an aspirin a day. 


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We Have an "Internal" Pharmacy that is far superior to the "External" One

I like the following quote from Michael Stanclift, N.D.

"Many of us don't realize it, but our bodies are constantly organizing and carrying out complex operations to maintain our health. Nearly all our internal functions occur outside our awareness. For instance, we don't put in much effort to digest our food, or filter our blood. And under most circumstances our bodies easily manage blood clots, fight infections, repair organs and kill cancer cells using their own natural chemicals. In fact, the world's best 'pharmacy' exists inside each and every one of us. Taking full advantage of this internal 'pharmacy' is the most effective way to care for our health."

In order to take advantage of the hard work that our body undergoes on our behalf, each day, we need to help it out.  Eating healthy foods, drinking adequate water for our body size and activity levels, performing daily de-stressing exercise (including meditation) and getting adequate sleep, are all vital to our well being or "wellness" and have been subjects of earlier blogs.  Without doing all of these things on a daily basis, we cannot expect our bodies to continue to regenerate and rebalance themselves to help us remain healthy and avoid illness and disease.

I had an out-of-state patient contact me about some health concerns she had.  I recommended that she have blood work done that her medical doctor didn't normally order for a woman her age.  "You look healthy, why do you want these tests done?" she was asked. The patient insisted and the tests were run. The results confirmed my suspicions; her body was not functioning, optimally, at all.  

We need to work at becoming healthy and maintaining that state, each day.  We need to stop relying upon appearance to determine our state of health.  Health is not predicated upon how we look; it is not the absence of sickness, disease or death; it is the presence of vitality and vigor and balance, which is "wellness."   My job is to help people like this patient to return to the state of wellness.

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Does Anyone You Know Have These Symptoms? It May be a Matter of Life or Death

The following symptoms may indicate a hidden heart problem that can lead to stroke and death:

shortness of breath
fatigue with minimal exertion
racing heart or chest pains

These symptoms can be associated with a heart condition known as, atrial fibrillation.  This is an irregular heart beat that results in only partial blood emptying from the atrium into the ventrical.  When this continues to occur, a  blood clot or clots will eventually form and move with the flow of blood, circulating in the body until it reaches a vessel that it cannot pass through.  The blood flow to the area that the clogged vessel supplies is then cut off and ischemia results.  All too frequently, the vessels that the clot forms in supply the brain, resulting in a stroke.  We have personal experience with this condition in my family as the atrial fibrillation was diagnosed too late.

According to Dr. Benjamin Steinberg at Duke University Medical Center, the problems associated with irregular heart rhythm occur all too frequently because people with this condition do not receive adequate therapy.  Even though "a-fib,"(the abbreviated name for atrial fibrillation in the health care community) affects an estimated 2.7 million people in the U.S., Dr. Steinberg says that a good number of physicians treat an irregular heart rate more frequently than an irregular heart beat.

Steinberg's team used a registry of 10,061 patients treated for a-fib between 2010 and 2011 and concluded that patients were being under-treated for heart rhythm and stroke. Only one in three patients reveived treatments meant to control their arrhythmia. Controlling a patient's heart rate is fairly simple, but controlling heart rhythm is more difficult as it requires more sophisticated heart monitoring and drugs that can cause severe side effects.

The only symptom that my family member ever showed was shortness of breath when climbing stairs.  She died very suddenly of a massive stroke not long after stating that she had this problem.  I tell you about this to encourage anyone you know who exhibits any of the above mentioned symptoms to insist their doctor check for irregular heart beat and treat them for this condition and not just for irregular heart rate.

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Should You Avoid Certain Vegetables if You Have Thyroid Dysfunction?

A couple of weeks ago, I read an article written by a naturopathic doctor stating that individuals with a low functioning or dysfunctional thyroid should avoid cruciferous and dark green leafy vegetables.  I had to admit that I just couldn't understand that and needed more facts before making a judgement about that statement.

We all know that broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, as well as kale and other dark green leafy vegetables are a fabulous source of phytonutrients that are anti-carginogens and anti-oxidants.  Therefore, this doctor's caution simply didn't make sense.  As biochemistry is a science that can, literally, change overnight, I decided to see if there were, indeed, studies supporting this idea.  Much to my relief, this is what I found:

Broccoli does not contain the harmful substance once thought to affect thyroid function. The substance is progoitrin and is abundant only in raw kale. Cooking destroys the enzyme that produces progoitrin.  So, be certain never to juice kale. 

The harmful affect on thyroid function only occurs when the individual does not have adequate iodine in their body. Iodine is found mostly in seafood, including seaweed, and in alfalfa and sun chlorella.  Ironically, an imbalance of iodine in the body appears to be a contributing factor to thyroid dysfunction, in the first place. 

I hope this information is helpful.  I think this situation illustrates just how important it is to dig deeper when any doctor tells us something that gives us reason to pause.

Another study I was reading claims that a substance in broccoli, called sulforaphane, kills cancer cells without killing healthy cells.  Unfortunately, this study is an example of how bias causes misleading conclusions.  Pure sulforaphane was injected into cancer cells in a petri dish...not exactly something that doctors are able to do for us.  Additionally, there is no amount of broccoli or supplement containing sulforaphane that one can consume that would even begin to approximate the amount the lab people introduced to the cancer cells.  I think the message, here, is what we can eat to help us avoid getting cancer, in the first place.

Just another bit of information.  I like to watch cooking shows.  I have been noticing a number of them including the use of raw kale as a "new" salad ingredient.  In light of the above information about raw kale, I wouldn't recommend it raw, but I do love it, cooked, in soups.

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Sucralose (aka, Splenda) vs. Stevia: Which Would You Choose?

Sucralose, also known as SPLENDA(r), is a totally artificial substance manufactured by Johnson & Johnson and is made by adding three atoms of chlorine to a starting substance, which may be extracted from various compounds, including sucrose(sugar) or raffinose (a substance found in beans and onions). The manufacturing process involves the use of many chemicals, including trityl chloride, acetic anhydride, thionyl chloride in the presence of dimethylformamide, 4-methylmorpholine and methyl isobutyl ketone. The end product, sucralose, is a man-made chlorocarbon chemical that has a sweet taste. This is a far cry from the manufacturer's premise that sucralose is really a 'no-calorie sugar.'The fact is, the chemical composition of sucralose more closely resembles pesticides than natural sugar. Although the FDA claims that sucralose is safe at normally consumed dose levels, there are many concerns and unanswered questions about its safety, especially for long-term use. Very few human trials have been done to examine the effects of sucralose; the longest trial lasted only three months. In addition, most of the research was done by the manufacturer. Individuals have reported symptoms after ingesting sucralose that include skin rashes, shortness of breath, sneezing, swelling, headaches, bloating, nausea, joint pains, anxiety and depression. It is prudent to avoid using sucralose until studies are done on the potential for adverse effects after long term use.

     Better choices for calorie free sweeteners include stevia and xylitol. Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is a plant native to Paraguay and Brazil, although it grows easily in many areas of the world. It has been used for its sweet taste for centuries and is a traditional medicinal herb for obesity and blood sugar disorders. Stevia is 200 to 300 times sweeter than table sugar, does not effect blood glucose levels and is considered safe for diabetics. In Japan, stevia has been the sugar-free sweetener of choice, over saccharin, aspartame and other artificial sweeteners, in soft drinks and foods since 1977. It has been enjoyed by millions of people worldwide with no reports of toxic effects in adults or children. Stevia has an interesting political history in the United States. In 1996, right around the same time that the artificial sweetener aspartame was proposed for FDA approval, the FDA indicated that stevia could not be used as a sweetener, calling it an "unsafe food additive." This was an unusual move by the FDA, because under FDA guidelines natural substances used before 1958 with no reports of adverse effects are considered to be generally recognized as safe (GRAS). There were also dramatic reports of FDA personnel raiding warehouses containing stevia and confiscating it, and even threatening to burn books that were about how to use it as a sweetener! Shortly after stevia was banned as a sweetener, several FDA board members left for higher-paying positions with Monsanto, the company that promoted Nutrasweet (aspartame) as the sugar-free sweetener of choice in the U.S. market.

     Studies have uncovered additional attributes of stevia, beyond imparting a sweet flavor; stevia has ben shown to decrease blood sugar in patients with type 2 diabetes and improve insulin resistance, anti-inflammatory and immune supportive actions. Stevia is available as a dietary supplement but cannot be listed as a sweetener in the US. It is available in many forms, including the whole leaf (green), a liquid extract (brown), and a powder (white). The white powder is also sold in convenient little packets that make it very user-friendly, since it is used the same way as artificial sweeteners such as saccharin and aspartame. Be aware that the green and brown preparations use the whole leaf, while the white powder may contain isolated compounds such as stevioside. Caution: There are some reports that the isolated component, stevioside, can adversely affect fertility in rats.

     Xylitol occurs naturally in some vegetables, fruits, mushrooms and cereal grains and in corncobs. For commercial purposes, it's usually extracted from birch tree wood chips or corn. Although xylitol has a very sweet taste, it does not raise blood sugar or insulin levels. Research has shown that xylitol also has antimicrobial actions that decrease bacteria associated with tooth decay and ear infections. Cautions: Although xylitol is recognized by the FDA as a safe food additive, ingesting large amounts (over 30 grams per day) can cause gastrointestinal symptoms.

I have had  patients who have exhibited side effects from manufactured xylitol.  Most likely, they occurred as the result of chemical changes from the manufacturing process.  Remember, all "ol" endings mean that the substance is an alcohol derivative.  I highly recommend either the stevia or coconut palm sugar, which has a glycemic index of 35. You cannot cook with stevia, but you can with the coconut palm sugar.

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GMO Food Protection or How Big Farma Rides, Again...This Affects Us ALL

"In a move that has stunned and angered many Americans, President Barack Obama recently signed into law a spending bill that included a devastating provision that puts Monsanto above the law. As reported by Salon Magazine:

“That bill, the HR 933 continuing resolution,⁴ was mainly aimed at averting a government shutdown and ensuring that the federal government would continue to be able to pay its bills for the next six months. But food and public safety advocates and independent farmers are furious that Obama signed it despite its inclusion of language that they consider to be a gift to Monsanto Company and other firms that produce genetically modified organisms (GMOs) or genetically engineered (GE) seeds and crops.

The protests come on the heels of a massive petition campaign organized by the advocacy group Food Democracy Now, which gathered the signatures of more than 200,000 people who wanted Obama to veto HR 933 in order to stop Section 735 — the so-called 'Monsanto Protection Act' — from being codified into law. But Obama ignored it, instead choosing to sign a bill that effectively bars federal courts from being able to halt the sale or planting of GMO or GE crops and seeds, no matter what health consequences from the consumption of these products may come to light in the future.”

The provision, innocently called the “Farmer Assurance Provision,” which opponents have dubbed the “Monsanto Protection Act,” limits the ability of judges to stop Monsanto and/or farmers growing their genetically engineered seeds from growing or harvesting those crops, even if courts find evidence of potential health risks. In essence, it strips judges of their constitutional mandate to protect you and the environment, and permits biotech companies unrivaled freedom to plant untested GE crops regardless of the risks, and leaves victims — be it farmers or consumers — without legal recourse.

“...those who are angry at Obama for signing the bill are also incensed with Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who is accused of failing to give the amendment that inserted the language a proper hearing,” Salon writes.

“In this hidden backroom deal, Sen. Mikulski turned her back on consumer, environmental and farmer protection in favor of corporate welfare for biotech companies such as Monsanto,” Andrew Kimbrell, executive director of the Center for Food Safety, said in a statement. “This abuse of power is not the kind of leadership the public has come to expect from Sen. Mikulski or the Democrat Majority in the Senate.”

Not surprisingly, Monsanto’s fingerprints are all over this. One of the rider’s biggest supporters, Senator Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) allegedly worked with Monsanto to craft the language in the bill. Blunt recently told Politico:⁵

“What it says is if you plant a crop that is legal to plant when you plant it, you get to harvest it. But it is only a one-year protection in that bill.”

While that may lull some back into apathy, you should be aware that a “mere” one-year protection can equate to millions of dollars worth of profit for Monsanto and other biotech companies. And that’s not even addressing the more disturbing aspect of it, which is the suspension of constitutional principles in favor of corporate benefit."

The article, above, has been written by Dr. Mercola.  You can find the entire article at his website: http://articles.mercola.com

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Do You eat Red Meat? You Better take This, Then.

You'll have to forgive me for the, "I told you so," following information.  For two decades, I have been telling patents that it isn't the fat and cholesterol in our diets that are the primary cause for cardiovascular disease.  Finally, researchers are just now getting around to officially (meaning, if it's not published in  "their" kind of journals, it isn't worth considering) acknowledging that fact.

(I need to digress, just a moment.  I would ask that those who only eat egg beaters because of the cholesterol, please take special note of this blog.  Whole organic eggs are a fabulous source of protein and essential fats as well as vitamins.  Cholesterol is NOT the problem in cardiovascular disease...oxidized cholesterol is the problem as well as the bad cholesterol that is circulating in the blood in response to emotional/mental stress.  I have written many articles about this subject, but wanted to include a reminder, here, about that.)

Researchers from the Cleveland Clinic have come to the conclusion that it's not the fat and cholesterol in red meat and pork that is shown to have a direct causal relationship to cardiovascular disease...it's a chemical, called carnitine, produced by bacteria in the intestines, that is the culprit.  Simply put, eating red meat causes  "unnamed" bacteria to build up in the intestines.  Those, then, produce carnitine which, in turn, results in the liver converting it into TMAO.  It's the TMAO which appears to cause the inflammation and damage to the heart and its vasculature....i.e. cardiovascular disease.
Interestingly enough, vegans who ate the red meat did NOT produce any of this carnitine.  Why?  Because their gut did not contain any of the bacteria which produces the chemical.  One must conclude that these bacteria are not normally occurring in the intestine.

One has to conclude that red meat is really not something that the body handles at all well.  If foreign bacteria are being produced by eating meat, then, just like an invasive non-native species can destroy native vegetation in our environment, foreign bacteria appear capable of  over-running normally occurring intestinal bacteria (flora) and producing damaging chemicals in response to the presence of "foreign" foods.

The medical researchers concluded that taking antibiotics could destroy the offending bacteria.  I would like to point out that taking these results in the destruction of the good bacteria contained within the intestines, too...resulting in some pretty significant unintended consequences.  My suggestion is that if you or your loved ones insist upon eating red meat, please, please take a full spectrum probiotic on a daily basis. You all know that I recommend only a whole food, organic probiotic.

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Depression and Inflammation

I read the following written by a naturopathic doctor:

"The most exciting research in depression now is finding that the immune system is central to nervous system function. And until the inflammatory process that is disrupting neurotransmission is stemmed, depressive patients are swimming against a strong tide. Unfortunately, clinical approaches to depression rarely consider this critical component."

For those of you who read my series on "stress," you'll be able to understand just how and why this is true.  What's so interesting to me is that many of us alternative healthcare providers have known about this vital link between the immune system (mitigated by the adrenals) and the nervous system for quite some time. The adrenals are compromised under stress and systemic inflammation occurs because naturally-occurring steroid hormone production  is compromised. The resulting inflammatory process interferes with neurotransmitter production, a necessity for normal brain function.  This is why many people find little help for their depression from anti-depressive medication; the emphasis is centered upon treating the symptoms and not the cause.

Perhaps, this information may be of interest to any of those you know who are struggling with depression.

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What kind of Vitamins Should I Buy?

One of our patients asked me this question, today.  I do have a more in-depth answer on my website, but I thought I'd post part of my answer to her on my blog.

As far as nutrient absorption goes, I look to whether the body is utilizing, not absorbing, a nutrient to determine the parameters of necessity.  We all can and do absorb heavy metals like mercury or lead, for instance.  The determining factor as to whether or not we can utilize a nutrient is the health of our gut,  as the majority of nutrients are absorbed by the small intestines.  If there is an inflammatory process present in any portion of the gut, we not only cannot absorb and utilize nutrients, we will be prone to allergies and gut diseases as a result.

My first approach with patients who are interested in taking supplements, is to give them a complete pro-biotic to restore the health of the entire gut--both small and large intestines.  There are 14 naturally occurring bacteria within the gut and products like yogurt or commercially made pro-biotics are insufficient to meet the needs of reestablishing the normal intestinal flora.  Unless that is done, no amount of supplements, of any kind, will be able to be utilized by the body.  That is why we only carry Innate products; they are whole food, organic, contain all the phytonutrients specific to those supplements and are completely utilized by the body, including their pro-biotics.

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We're Running out of Clean Water

Most of us take it for granted that when we turn on the tap, we'll have all the clean water we need.  We also know that many people in other countries aren't so fortunate.  But, did you know that by the year 2050, two-thirds of the world's population will lack clean, or potable, water?

Part of the problem is overpopulation, especially in poorer nations.  An even larger part of the problem is what we eat.  Surprised?  Here are some eye-opening statistics:

Worldwide, 70% of the potable water is used for agriculture.  Breaking down what that actually means for our everyday life, the livestock industry in the US is the largest consumer of fresh water. Not only does livestock consume most of the water, it also leads to the compaction of the soil, the degradation of river and stream banks and the clearing of forests/woods for expanded grazing.

We also have to look at how much water is needed to raise the animals and feed and to process the animals for consumption.  Research shows that 2400 liters of water go into the production of ONE hamburger.  1200 liters are needed to make a cheese pizza.  Yet, only 25 liters are needed to produce a potato and 300 liters are needed to produce a tomato pizza.  It takes 5,300 liters of fresh water for every dollar's worth of grain fed to cattle.  One cup of coffee requires 55 gallons of water.

We can see that if we all were to become vegans, the water consumption in our country would be slashed, considerably.  But, let's face it, that's not going to happen.  People love beef and love their burgers.  If we were simply to switch from grain/corn fed beef (cows are allergic to corn, by the way...that's why they produce methane gas) and buy grass-fed beef, there would be virtually no ground water needed to feed that cow.  We'd also virtually eliminate agriculturally produced methane.  If we could cut down on the amount of animal protein, we'd also decrease the impact on potable water.  Would it be possible to replace one or two animal-based meals a week?  Children love spaghetti...how about making it vegetarian?  I have a recipe on my website.  Eating organic foods also helps decrease the amount of water pollution created by the application of synthetic pesticides and herbicides by the conventionally-grown agricultural industry.

There are so many little changes that we as individuals could make that, taken together, could make a tremendous difference for the world our children and grandchildren will inherit.  Let's just do it!

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To drink or Not to drink Soda?

I thought those of you who drink soda or have loved ones who do, whether diet or regular, might be interested in the following facts and statistics.  Soda causes:

1.  A 140%  increase in the deposition of fatty deposits in the liver (aka cirrhosis)
2.  A 30% increase of fat deposited around organs (the most dangerous type of fat=white fat)
3.  A 170-240% increase in skeletal muscle fat
4.  Bromide poisoning from a chemical in vegetable oil, named BVO, that is present in soda...why this oil is in soda, I do not know.  Bromide causes nerve inflammation that has led to skin rashes and memory loss.
5.  Breast and other cancers as the result of a chemical film that lines the cans...called, BPA.  This chemical mimics the effects of D.E.S.  (diethlystilbesterol), a chemical that was banned in the US many years ago.  It used to be injected into meat and caused lactation in girls as young as 9 months of age.  I believe we exported this chemical to unsuspecting or uncaring foreign nations.

Of course, most of these effects are seen after a period of time, but we have had patients come to us who drank 6, 1 liter bottles a week.  They were worried about the effects of caffeine, probably the least of their problems in light of this latest research.

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More about our Memory and "Senior Moments"

In addition to our understanding that short term memory is connected to our reaching delta sleep and to  healthy-functioning adrenal glands (see my previous blogs about these topics), there is another component of memory that neuro-science has identified--"intentional memory."  Let me explain.

I was listening to a neuro-scientist from Harvard speaking about short term memory.  He and his fellow neurologists were studying about short term memory loss and what we like to call, "senior moments."  I'm certain most of us have experienced walking into a room to get "something," and standing, looking around, and not being able to remember what we wanted or even why we walked into the room, in the first place.  Many chalk this up to the brain simply aging.  It appears that this is not necessarily the case.
Try to remember back when this happened to you.  How many other things were going through your mind, at the time?  Was anything else occurring?  The point being that, frequently, we aren't really "present" when we think about doing something that, a few seconds later, we can't even remember.

What has happened is that we truly didn't register what we intended to get or do, with our brain.  Distractions, of any sort, will cause the brain to not be able to identify and process the activity.  In effect, our intention never made it to our brain.  Therefore, we didn't "forget" what we wanted because it was never processed, in the first place.

We now know that "multi-tasking" doesn't work...even if we think it does.  Our brain is constructed in such a way that it truly processes only one task at a time.  We are not fully present when texting, talking on the phone, actively listening to a radio program, trying to discipline the children or trying to read a map,  while driving.  So, the next time you think about getting something in another room, stop, for just a moment, and intentionally say to yourself what it is that you need to get.  When you take off those glasses or keys, take a split second to tell yourself what you are doing and where you are putting those items.  I think you'll see a difference.  You may be able to decrease or even eliminate those, "senior moments," from your life.

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