With the current constant push to reduce the intake of fats
in the diet, it is easy to forget certain fats are essential for
health. Likewise, as pointed out in a previous [April 2012 Food:
Combining and Timing For Health] article on food combining,
fats often are blamed for what are, in fact, the consequences
of the consumption of sugars, especially fructose, and refined
carbohydrates. A number of cultures around the world defy the
American paradigm that eating fat makes one fat.
For instance, the French in general show the diseases of excess and of age both less and at a later point of their lives than do their American counterparts; they are healthier and they live longer despite smoking far more. Why?
The month of May is Celiac Awareness Month and the focus of my column on www.totalhealthmagazine.com
will be on the naturopathic approach to diagnosing
and treating celiac disease and grain sensitivities.
Celiac disease is one of the most commonly overlooked medical conditions in North America. In fact, the average celiac has dealt with the disease for up to 10 years before accurate diagnosis is made. Grain sensitivities are even more likely to be neglected and overlooked. The purpose of this series is to raise awareness for celiac disease and grain sensitivities so that people suffering from these conditions can seek appropriate medical support.
Headache Facts:
- Headaches are so common Americans dish out more than $1.5 billion annually to get relief – especially from migraines.
- More than 30.5 million Americans suffer from migraines –women being affected three times more than men.
- Conventional medicine focuses on symptom-care, not causes.
- Most migraines seem to have a food-based reaction relating to wheat, dairy, sugar, artificial preservatives or chemicals.
Headaches signal the body something is wrong!
Is a Calorie a Calorie? This question was posed not long ago
in a column in the New York Times and it is well worth asking.
The answer from the nutrition establishment, with some
notable exceptions, long has been to paraphrase the Second
Law of Thermodynamics (conservation of energy) and then,
with great gravitas, explain that calories are calories and that
reducing their intake while increasing their expenditure leads
to weight loss. It is as simple as that.
A personalized plan to target your stubborn fat stores.
Based on my original Fat Flush soup recipe, a “new and
improved” Fat Flush Soup Diet is back — right in time for the
2012 weight loss season! The mouth-watering recipe — with
four new delicious variations — was originally featured as a
cover story in a major national women’s magazine and we
have been receiving rave reviews from all over the country ever
since.
10 Tips for Great Digestion
Written by Elson M Haas, MD
Our digestive track is at the core of our health. This of course begins
with a good balanced diet and healthy eating habits, which are reviewed
below. It can be very simple. Best of health to you.
1. Eat in a relaxed way in a pleasant setting, and take your time. CHEW your food well until it is liquid. If you are under emotional pressure or in a hurry, take simple food, such as fresh juices, fruit, yogurt, some sunflower seeds, or a healthy protein bar.
Affordable Nutrition
Written by Jonny Bowden, PhD, CNSThere’s no getting around it. The ugly truth is, it costs more to eat well than it does to eat junk.
Let’s first understand why. In heavily industrialized and populated nations, especially those without a history and tradition of loving and respecting food, food is just another “product.” The manufacturers of food products, like producers of other mass market goods, need to make a product that meets three conditions in order for it to be profitable: 1) it has to reach a wide market 2) it has to have a long shelf life and 3) it has to be relatively inexpensive to produce. Add to this, of course, that it has to taste and look good enough for you to want to buy it.
Stevia, sold as a “dietary supplement,” is no stranger to the
health food world and under this heading one finds extracts
of quite varying composition and purity. More narrowly, stevia
also is used to indicate an extract consisting only of stevioside.
The leaves of stevia rebaudiana Bertoni are the primary source,
but related species are native from Mexico to throughout South
America and known by names such as sweetleaf, sweet leaf and
sugarleaf, as well as stevia. The leaves of the plant are 30–45
times as sweet as table sugar and stevioside is 200–300 times
as sweet as sucrose. In Paraguay the plant has been used for
centuries as a medicinal herb and as a sweetener for mate and
other beverages. Stevia extracts of varying composition have
been used widely as sweeteners in Japan since 1971 without
restriction or reported health hazards. Indeed, there are both
animal and human data that suggest that stevia extracts may
increase insulin sensitivity and improve blood glucose control
without side effects. Most health food shoppers no doubt
assume that stevia is officially accepted as a natural, calorie
free herbal extract that can be used as a sugar substitute or as
an alternative to artificial sweeteners. After all, stevia in all of
its forms can be purchased freely as a dietary supplement.
It is easy to say, "Stop eating sugar." It is another thing to enjoy life without it. Having "broken my sweet tooth" many years ago, I can honestly say that once you get past the withdrawal period, and bring the body into biochemical balance, you will not miss sugar. In fact, you will feel so "out of order" by eating sugar, your body balance becomes self-regulating. You do not indulge in sugary sweets simply because you feel better without them.
STAYING HEALTHY with NUTRITION
Written by Elson M Haas, MDWhen I first began looking at the relationship of Nutrition to Health, I was a new doctor way back in 1975. At that time I could find very few medical doctors who would agree with my ideas and interests. Now, 30 years later, you would have to be in blind denial not to know the importance of this basic relationship. Our body, and how we look and feel, is a result of our lives. And what we feed ourselves is the basic building block. Mind you, it may take 20 to 30 years to see the adverse effects of poor dietary choices.
Diet and Nutrition