Statistics shows that Americans drink more soda than ever before. They account for more than 25 percent of all drinks consumed in the United States. More than 15 billion gallons were sold in 2000 — about one 12- ounce can per day for every man,
woman and child. But here’s some information that may keep you away
from opening the can:
1. Extra pounds Soda is a significant contributor to obesity. Drinking a single can a day of sugary drinks translates to more than a pound of weight gain every month. And diet soda is just as likely to cause weight gain as regular, or even more — it may sound counterintuitive, but people who drink diet soft drinks actually don’t lose weight. Artificial sweeteners induce a whole set of physiologic and hormonal responses that actually make you gain weight.

2. Liver damage Soda damages your liver. Consumption of too many soft drinks puts you under increased risk for liver cirrhosis similar to the increased risk faced by chronic alcoholics.

3. Tooth decay Soda dissolves tooth enamel. Soft drinks are responsible for doubling or tripling the incidence of tooth decay. Soda’s acidity is even worse for teeth than the solid sugar found in candy.

4. Kidney stones and chronic kidney disease Colas of all kinds are well known for their high phosphoric acid content, a substance that changes the urine in a way that promotes kidney stone formation. Drinking one quart (less than three 12- ounce cans) of
soda per week may increase your risk of developing kidney stones by 15 percent.

5. Diabetes Anything that promotes weight gain increases the risk of diabetes. Drinking soda also stresses your body’s ability to process sugar. Some scientists now suspect that this may explain why the number of Americans with type 2 diabetes has tripled from 6.6 million in 1980 to 20.8 million today.

6. Heartburn & acid reflux Heavy consumption of soda is a strong predictor of heartburn. Many carbonated beverages are very acidic. They also deliver a lot of air in the form of carbon dioxide, which can cause distension of your stomach. And that distension appears to be associated with more reflux.

7. Soft drinks = Soft Bones = Osteoporosis Soft drinks containing phosphoric acid are definitely linked to osteoporosis (a weakening of your skeletal structure) because they lead to lower calcium levels and higher phosphate levels in your blood. When phosphate levels are high and calcium levels are low, calcium is pulled out of your bones.

8. Hypertension (high blood pressure) Experts have reasons to believe that overconsumption of soda leads to an increase in blood pressure. It doesn’t matter
if the soda is regular or diet.

9. Heart disease Heavy soda drinkers are more likely to develop risk factors for heart disease. Research shows that drinking more than one soft drink a day is associated with an increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome — a group of symptoms such as central obesity, elevated blood pressure, elevated fasting blood sugar, elevated fasting triglycerides, and low levels of HDL or “good” cholesterol. Having three or more of the symptoms increases your risk of developing diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

10. Impaired digestion (gastrointestinal distress) Gastrointestinal distress includes increased stomach acid levels requiring acid inhibitors, and moderate to severe gastric inflammation with possible stomach lining erosion. Drinking sodas, especially on an empty stomach, can upset the fragile acid-alkaline balance of your stomach and the gastric lining, creating a continuous acid environment. This prolonged acid
environment can lead to inflammation of your stomach and duodenal lining.

In addition to the ten health problems above, there is one more that is not discussed as often: drinking soda also increases your cancer risk!
Article obtained from Dr. Mercola

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 22, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —
James Turner, chairman of the national consumer education group Citizens for Health expressed shock and outrage after reading a new report from scientists at Duke University.
“The report makes it clear that the artificial sweetener Splenda and its key component sucralose pose a threat to the people who consume the product. Hundreds of consumers have complained to us about side effects from using Splenda and this study, published this past week in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health Part A, confirms that the
chemicals in the little yellow package should carry a big red warning label,” said Turner
Among the results in the study by Drs. Mohamed B. Abou- Donia, Eman M. El-Masry, Ali A. Abdel-Rahman, Roger E. McLendon and Susan S. Schiffman is evidence that, in the animals studied, Splenda reduces the amount of good bacteria in the intestines by 50%, increases the pH level in the intestines, contributes to increases in body weight and affects the P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in the body in such a way that crucial health-related drugs could be rejected.
Turner noted that the P-gp effect “could result in crucial medications used in chemotherapy for cancer patients, AIDS treatment and drugs for heart
conditions being shunted back into the intestines rather than being absorbed by the body as intended.”
The study was conducted using male rats over a period of twelve weeks. The manufacturers of Splenda also used a rat study when they applied for and received approval to market the product from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. At the time, the findings from their rat studies were extrapolated as to possible effects on humans. This is standard FDA practice and this study is consistent with that practice.
Turner said, “This report followed accepted policies and procedures and the results make clear the potential for disturbing side effects from the
ingestion of Splenda. It is like putting a pesticide in your body. And this is at levels of intake erroneously approved by the Food and Drug Administration. A person eating two slices of cake and drinking two cups of coffee containing Splenda would ingest enough sucralose to affect the Pglycoprotein, while consuming just seven little Splenda packages reduces good bacteria.

.” Although the effect of consuming Splenda does not result from a one
time use, the side effects do occur after accumulated use. Turner also noted unmistakable evidence that Splenda is absorbed by fat, contrary to the claims of Johnson & Johnson.
Turner announced, “We are calling today on the FDA to immediately accept our petition filed over a year ago and initiate a review of its approval of
sucralose and to require a warning label on Splenda packaging cautioning that people who take medications and/or have gastrointestinal problems avoid using Splenda. The new study makes it clear that Splenda can cause you to gain weight and lose the benefits of medications designed to improve and protect your health. The FDA should not continue to turn a blind eye to this health threat.”
Abstract of the study can be found on PubMed.

Since the Women’s Health Initiative Study several years ago, the masses have been scared to death of taking hormones. Let’s think about this for a minute from a biological and evolutionary perspective. Our bodies make and use many different hormones which perform vital functions. Could it be that we are evolving to have our hormones turn against us? I doubt it. That wouldn’t make much sense. Could it be that the exponential increase in the incidence of disease over the last 20 years is due to accumulating environmental toxins, poor nutrition, inactivity, and increased stress? You bet!

It’s very unfortunate that most traditional doctors equate bio-identical hormones with synthetic ones. This is primarily due to lack of education, as we don’t learn about
prescribing bio-identical hormones in medical school. They are vastly different and should never be confused. I use bioidentical hormones in my practice to undo what synthetic hormones have done to my patients. Is it a coincidence that99+% of my female patients (self-included) have all, at some point, taken birth control pills? Maybe, but I doubt it. Also, keep in mind that the hormones used in the Women’s Health Initiative study were ALL synthetic. Go figure.

Bio-identical means that the chemical structure matches that of our own hormone structure. Bio- identical progesterone, for example, is manufactured by the body, and therefore, the body knows how to use it, where and when to use it, and has the enzymes to metabolize it and dispose of it when it’s done using it. Your body already has the perfect progesterone receptors to bind perfectly with progesterone that circulates in the blood. Synthetic progestins, however, aren’t quite the perfect match. Its structure is similar enough to bind to progesterone receptors, but the molecular changes made in the laboratory in order to patent this product and sell it for profit likely are having an array of negative effects. Synthetic hormones interfere with natural progesterone and can create and exacerbate hormone related health problems, and be a primary contributor to the condition referred to as Estrogen Dominance. (You can read more about Estrogen Dominance on our website www.TWIHW.com). Studies have been published that reveal evidence that taking synthetic hormones actually inhibits production of one’s natural progesterone. It’s no wonder that synthetic hormones are known to have side effects such as blood clots and migraines, where as bioidentical progesterone actually has been shown to normalize clotting, and is also used as a treatment for migraines.

I think it’s important that everyone understands the importance of nutrition in maintaining good health. Many people are so quick to blame ‘bad genes’ for their health
problems. Did you know that 75-80% of breast cancers are NOT genetic? When women tell me how afraid they are of developing breast cancer from taking hormones, I first
explain the differences between synthetic and bio-identical hormones. I then usually say, you shouldn’t be afraid of replacing what’s been lost in the body over the years. Poor
dietary habits, stress (which leads to adrenal fatigue and immune system dysfunction), environmental toxins, and lack of adequate nutrition (i.e. vitamins and supplements)
are far more likely to cause cancer and other diseases. That’s why, in my practice, we place such enormous emphasis on nutrition and immune system optimization.

Moreover, hormones are a small piece of the puzzle with respect to breast cancer. And, it’s not the absolute presence of hormones, but rather the balance of these hormones that affect your health.

I attended the anti-aging conference this past December where MANY studies were presented about the safety and efficacy of bio-identical hormones. The most memorable one was that in the International Journal of Cancer 2005, 54000 women were studied and found that the relative risk for breast cancer in women using typical HRT (e.g.,
Prempro) was 1.4, and the relative risk for breast cancer in women using estrogen alone was 1.1, while the relative risk of breast cancer in women using bio- identical estrogen AND progesterone was only 0.9! A relative risk of 1.0 means average risk. So having 0.9 relative risk means LESS than average risk.

Q: Are Bio-identical hormones FDA-approved?

A; Why, yes, indeed, they are. Examples would be estrace and prometrium and synthroid and Armour thyroid. The confusion about whether or not they are FDA-approved comes from the fact that the compounding itself is what’s not FDA-approved. But the beauty of compounding is the ability to customize doses. For instance, Prometrium (a bio-identical progesterone) comes in only 2 doses, 100mg and 200mg, but there are many patients who only need 10mg, or 25mg. With compounding, we can order whatever dose we want. With bio-identical hormones, we are fine tuning what the body wants by replacing what’s lost. With synthetic hormones, it’s more of a one-size-fits-all. A teenager and menopausal woman can take the same birth control pill for example.

Q: What’s the difference between ‘natural’ and ‘bio- identical’?

A: I try to avoid using the term ‘natural’ since it’s used very loosely and can mean a lot of things. Premarin is ‘natural’ because it’s simply isoloated horse hormones from horse
urine; however, Premarin is NOT bio-identical. It does have 2 hormones in it that are bio-identical to ours, but also has 30+ other horse hormones that are not. It’s much
more important, in my opinion, that a medicine is bioidentical rather than ‘natural’. Even the bio-identical hormones aren’t really ‘natural’. Yes, they are derived from soy and yams, but the chemical taken from soy and yams is still converted in the laboratory to become bio-identical hormones.

Q: A recent study was published saying that hormones double the risk of breast cancer. What does this mean?

A: it’s important to understand that this study was done using fake, synthetic hormones that are NOT bio- identical. It would be comparing apples to oranges to make the same
statement about using bio-identical hormones. One last thing I’d like to make note of in this article is something I heard from a prominent wellness doctor in Houston who stated on his radio show that he’s got an epidemiologist studying his patient population and initial results are indicating that the incidence of breast cancer in his patient population is about 1/10th of what would be expected! And let’s not forget that most, if not ALL of these patients are taking bio- identical hormones.

Article By Dr. Mila McManus

With the temperatures plummeting this time of year, many of us tend to hibernate inside our homes. But, hibernating is for bears. As humans it’s important to stay active through all four seasons. Yet, a poll of 5,000 people found that 30 percent get no exercise at all during the winter months

Just because it is cold outside doesn’t make it open season for an excuse not to exercise. There are multiple exercise options one can choose to participate in regardless of what the outdoor thermometer reads. Depending on your location and likes, you can choose to workout inside or outside.

All that is required for Winter workouts is some planning and employing all safety precautions. If you prefer to workout outside, keep the following tips in mind.

• Get warm first. A proper warm-up is critical. Cold temperatures can make your muscles tight and therefore they are more prone to injuries. So, it’s important to get them warmed-up prior to engaging in intense physical activity.

• Insulate your body. The best approach to dressing for outdoor exercise is with layers. Layering provides the most effective heating method, plus it allows you to remove the top layer if you get too hot. The layer closest to your skin should allow moisture to be wicked away. The top layer should be both
wind and water resistant.

• No sweat. Don’t assume that you have to sweat in order to get a good workout. You should avoid sweating that causes the clothing layer closest to your skin to get wet and cause you to be chilled. Instead monitor your intensity through a heart rate monitor or the Rating of Perceived Exertion.

• Don’t strip when you get inside. While you may be tempted to immediately remove your layers when returning inside, give your body time to adjust. Post exercise hypothermia is possible. This happens when your body rapidly loses its heating stores.

• Drink up. It’s just as important to stay hydrated when exercising in winter as it is in summer, even though you might not feel as thirsty.

• Lighten up. If possible, it’s best to exercise outdoors during daylight hours. If you exercise outdoors when it is dark, wear reflective materials to ensure that you can be seen.

If the thought of getting outside to exercise makes you dive under the covers, instead choose one of the many indoor workout options. Below are just a few of the many choices.

• Walk at an indoor location, like a mall. If you need extra motivation to get yourself to the mall, join a walking group. This will help you stay accountable to someone other than yourself.

• Join a health club. This will allow you a large variety of physical activities to choose from every week.

• Create a home gym. This doesn’t have to be expensive. You can easily set-up a great workout routine with just a set of dumbbells, an exercise ball and a jump rope. Get all of this for around $50.

• If you have stairs where you live or close by, spend as little as 20 minutes at a time climbing up and down the stairs for a very intense and efficient workout.

• Get wet. Find a local indoor pool you can use. Try swimming, water aerobics, or even just walking or running laps in the water.

• Visit a library. Usually local libraries offer exercise videos you can check-out for free. Pick-up a new one to try out every time you return the previous video.

By staying fit during winter you’ll be able to avoid gaining weight, have a head start on swimsuit season, and avoid losing strength and stamina caused from inactivity. Just as tulips need winter nourishment from the Earth to strongly bloom in spring, humans need to continue to nourish their bodies during winter so they too can bloom come spring. www.sideroad.com

Women can help combat hot flashes by eating more calcium-rich foods, magnesium-rich foods and foods rich in vitamin E — like cold-pressed oils, green leafy vegetables, nuts and almonds, as well as plenty of mineral- and fiber-rich foods, like whole grains and fresh vegetables. Janet Zand, Allan N. Spreen and
James B. LaValle — authors of “Smart Medicine for Healthier Living” — suggest women who suffer from hot flashes add sea vegetables to their diets. “The minerals in these foods replenish necessary electrolytes lost through perspiration,” they write.

During menopause, it is also important for women to get plenty of water. “One of the best things you can do during this time is to be sure to drink plenty of quality water — at least 2 quarts daily,” writes Phyllis
A. Balch, author of “Prescription for Dietary Wellness.” “Drinking water replaces fluids lost to perspiration during hot flashes and can even prevent or minimize the hot flashes themselves.”

Foods to avoid to prevent hot flashes

Perhaps as important as which foods women should eat to prevent hot flashes are those foods they should avoid. Many foods are thought to contribute to or worsen discomfort from hot flashes. Alcohol, caffeine,
excess sugar, dairy products, meat products and spicy foods rank among the top aggravators of severe hot flashes as well as mood swings.

In Prevention Magazine’s “New Choices in Natural Healing,” Eve Campanelli, a holistic family practitioner in Beverly Hills, Calif., says, “Hot flashes often flare up when women drink wine or coffee, which acidifies the blood and strains the liver. One way to avoid this acidification is to cut down on these beverages and to drink more fresh vegetable juices, which counteract the effect by alkalinizing the system.”

Certain lifestyle changes can also help ease hot flashes. For example, regular exercise can help alleviate some women’s discomfort. Also, it pays to quit smoking. According to “Natural Cures and Gentle
Medicines” by the editors of FC&A Medical Publishing, “A recent study at the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center found that women who smoke have significantly more hot flashes than nonsmokers.”

The good news here is that if you are a woman going through menopause, hot flashes are within your control. It may take some diet and lifestyle changes on your part, but you don’t have to suffer through
hot flashes and accept them as a “normal” part of that time in your life. You can fight back with food, and, best of all, the foods you eat to help curb hot flashes will benefit your overall health as well.

Article obtained from Natural News

Retain Your Youth!
Now there’s some evidence that interval training can actually slow down aging. Scientists know that regular aerobic exercise can decrease biological age by 10 years. The reason is that exercise improves mitochondrial function – if you’ve forgotten your biology lessons, mitochondria live in your cells and are responsible for producing energy. Improved mitochondria means that your cells function at a
higher level for a longer period of time.

The harder you exercise, the better your cells work, but working at a high enough intensity (or going all out) to improve cells and slow the aging process for every workout isn’t feasible (or recommended) for most of us. That’s where interval training comes in, allowing you to work at high levels of intensity for long enough that you get the benefits, but short enough that you don’t hurt yourself or start hating exercise.

There are a number of ways to set up interval workouts. You can add short bursts of high intensity exercise to your regular workouts like speedwalking, sprints, hills, higher resistance or incline, plyometric exercises or anything that speeds up your heart rate. You then slow down and recover completely before going into another interval. You’ll find a sample workout below.

Interval Training for Beginners – Level 1

The following workout is a beginner interval workout lasting 21 minutes. Interval workouts involve alternating higher intensity exercise with low intensity recovery periods. Interval workouts involve alternating higher intensity exercise with low intensity recovery periods. By adding higher intensity intervals, you can build endurance and burn more calories. The workout is shown using a treadmill with changes in speed and incline, but you can use any machine of your choice or take the workout outside.

• For each ‘work set’, use the settings on your machine (incline, speed, resistance, ramps, etc.) to increase intensity. You should be working out of your comfort zone, but not so hard that you feel dizzy or lightheaded.
• For each ‘rest set’, lower those same settings until you’re back to a moderate pace. You should be completely recovered before the next work set.
• Modify according to your fitness level.
• The RPE levels listed (Rate of Perceived Exertion) help you keep track of your intensity on a scale of 1 – 10. During rest sets, stay around 4-5 RPE. During work sets, stay around 5- 6 RPE. There isn’t a huge difference between the work and rest sets, you simply want to work a little harder during the work sets.
• See your doctor if you have any injuries or conditions. You can also use a Target Heart Rate Calculator to monitor your exercise intensity. Ready, Set, Exercise!
• Warm up 5 Minutes: RPE 3-4: Warm Up at an easy pace
• Rest Set 3 Minutes: RPE 5: Increase speed from warm up and increase incline 1%. Keep a moderate pace
• Work Set 1 Minute: RPE 6 – Increase incline 1-3% to raise the intensity level. You should be working harder!
• Rest Set 3 Minutes: RPE 5 – Decrease speed and incline to lower your heart rate back to a comfortable level
• Work Set 1 Minute: RPE 6 – Increase speed 3-5 increments and increase incline 1-2% to raise intensity
• Rest Set 3 Minutes: RPE 5 – Decrease speed and incline to lower your heart rate back to a comfortable level
• Cool down 5 Minutes: RPE 3-5 – Decrease speed/incline to lower your heart rate back to a comfortable level and cool down

Please remember to always consult your doctor when making changes to your exercise program.
Article obtained from about.com

You might want to stand up while you read this, especially when you find out what some scientists have discovered about sitting. We all know that sitting can contribute to weight problems and common sense tells us that’s because sitting doesn’t burn as many calories as, say, standing or walking. But,
that isn’t the only issue with sitting. In a study published in Diabetes, scientists found that when we sit
for long periods of time, the enzymes responsible for burning fat actually shut down. Not only that, but sitting too much can also lower HDL (‘good’ cholesterol) and lead to a slower metabolism. Even if you exercise later in the day, that won’t necessarily undo the damage done by sitting.
The question these scientists are asking, and maybe the question some of us are wondering is: “Can the average adult who already does not follow the public health policy prescribing regular moderate-vigorous exercise become even more unhealthy in the coming years if they sit too much and do not maintain sufficient daily nonexercise physical activity?” The answer to that is probably a yes, unless we do something about it. The good news is that just standing up can kick your fat-burning enzymes into gear. With a little creativity, you may find there are simple ways to get your behind out of the chair:

• Try software that reminds you to move. There are a number of applications available (like StretchWare) that offer break reminders and stretching exercises you can do right in your office.
• Set an alarm to go off every 45-60 minutes and stand up, stretch or take a short walk
• Stand up for certain tasks like talking on the phone or opening the mail
• Take the stairs to another floor to use the restroom or visit a friend

(NaturalNews) With vegetarianism gaining increasing popularity from the 1970’s, reaching its peak in the 1990’s, soy has emerged as a ‘near perfect’ food, with supporters claiming it can provide an ideal source of protein, lower cholesterol, protect against cancer and heart disease, reduce menopausal symptoms, and prevent osteoporosis – among many other things. It seems like a good thing – or is it really? How did such a ‘healthy food’ emerge from a product that in 1913 was listed in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) handbook not as a food but as an industrial product?

According to lipid specialist and nutritionist Mary Enig, PhD, “The reason there’s so much soy in America is because the soy industry started to plant soy to extract the oil from it and soy oil became a very large industry.” There was a lot of soy oil and with it came a lot of soy protein residue as a left over by-product, and since they couldn’t feed it to the animals, except in small amounts, they had to find another big market which, of course, was human consumption.

This excess soy production and its protein residue was the motivation for the multi-million dollars spent on advertising and intense lobbying of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which resulted in about 74 percent of U.S. consumers believing that soy products are healthy. Australia has traditionally prided itself as being a dairy consuming nation, due to the fact that they have such an abundant supply of cattle. However, lactose intolerance is becoming a health concern recognized by the medical profession; accordingly, soy is becoming very popular as an alternative to dairy, following in the footsteps of US consumers in believing that all soybased products have health benefits. In reality, the research
that has concluded that all soy products are healthy is far from accurate, and very much skewed by economic motives.

So what is wrong with unfermented soy products? Soy belongs to the family of legumes. Other members of the legume family include beans – such as adzuki, red kidney, navy, barlotti, etc., as well as chickpeas. Peanuts are included as well, as they are technically not a nut but a legume. All legumes and whole- grains – such as rice, barley, oats, wheat and rye- contain amounts of phytic acid. Being a legume, soy contains a high amount of phytic acid. So, what’s wrong with phytic acid? A number of things – yet, in some cases, phytic acid can also be beneficial. Phytic acid’s structure gives it the ability to bind minerals, proteins and starch, and results in lower absorption of these substances. Hence, phytic acid, in large amounts, can block the uptake of essential minerals, like calcium, magnesium, copper, iron , and especially zinc in the intestinal tract. Soy also inhibits the uptake of one of the most important mineral needed for growth and metabolism, iodine, which is used by the thyroid gland in the production of thyroid hormones. However, for non-vegetarian men, phytic acid may prove to be quite helpful due to its binding/chelating ability with minerals. Since a large percentage of non- vegetarian adult males
have excess iron, phytic acid would be helpful to them by binding the excess iron. But we need to bear in mind phytic acid will simultaneously bind other minerals, such as calcium, magnesium and zinc. In the case of children and menstruating women, the phytic acid in soy can be a serious negative, as women and children need iron. In women, iron is needed to replace the loss during their menses and in children iron is required for growth and development.

Apart from the phytic acid-related phenomena, there are additional factors that make soy an unhealthy choice.

• Contributes to thyroid disorder, especially in women
• Promotes kidney stones
• Weakens the immune system
• Contributes to food allergies and digestive intolerance

Perhaps the most disturbing of soy’s ill effects on health has to do with its phytoestrogens, which can mimic the effects of the female hormone, estrogen. These
phytoestrogens have been found to have adverse effects on various human tissues, and drinking only two glasses of soy milk daily for one month has enough of the chemical to alter a
woman’s menstrual cycle.

Soy is particularly problematic for infants and it would be very wise to avoid giving them soy-derived products, since it has been estimated that infants who are exclusively fed soy formula receive the equivalent of five birth control pills worth of estrogen every day. Check out (www.westonaprice.org) to find some alarming research and statistics on what can go wrong when infants and children are regularly fed soy formula.

In order to derive some benefit from soy, consuming only fermented soy products – such as organic miso (mugi barley and genmai miso are the best), organic tempeh, soy sauce or tamari and natto – is the way to do it. This is because the phytic acid, which is inherent in soy beans, has been neutralized in the process of fermentation. Consuming fermented soy is very beneficial in recolonizing the friendly bacteria in the large intestines, which neutralizes the ‘unfriendly’ bacteria and allows for greater general assimilation of
foods and nutrients.

So, organic fermented soy is of benefit and unfermented soy is not. It is not only soy that needs to be fermented but whole-grains as well. In fact, grains (apart from millet, buckwheat and couscous) and legumes are best consumed after soaking them for 48-72 hours prior to cooking, which allows fermentation to take place. The soaking of grains and beans is also advocated in the principles of macrobiotics, which is very popular amongst vegetarians. Yet many vegetarian restaurants do not have time or forget to incorporate this very important process in their vegetarian cooking and thus people who regularly eat out at vegetarian restaurants might develop severe mineral deficiencies due to the large consumption of phytic acid in their diet.

Another common fallacy is that soy foods couldn’t possibly have a downside because Asian cultures eat large quantities of soy every day and consequently remain free of most western diseases. In reality, the people of China, Japan and other Asian countries eat very little soy. The soy industry’s own figures show that soy consumption in China, Indonesia, Korea, Japan and Taiwan ranges from 10-90 grams per day. That is grams of soy food, not grams of soy protein along. Compare this with a cup of tofu (250 grams) or
soy milk (240 grams). Many Americans and Australians today would be consuming a cup of tofu and a couple of glasses of soy milk every day. They might also add veggie burgers to this, thinking they are getting their much needed protein intake. Infants on soy formula are probably the most disadvantaged, as that is their main source of nutrition and they ingest large amounts of soy relative to their body weight. Often the side effects are not noticed but, as they are growing up, runny noses, frequent colds, irritability, severe sugar cravings and food intolerance develop.

The summary below outlines the adverse effects of unfermented soy products:

Do you know which dangerous food ingredients to watch out for in your groceries? These can directly promote heart disease, migraines, obesity, outrageous food cravings, osteoporosis, diabetes and even birth defects.
The top three most dangerous
ingredients:
• Sodium nitrite — causes cancer, found in processed meats like hot dogs, bacon, sausage. Used to make meats appear red (a color fixer chemical).
• Hydrogenated oils — cause heart disease, nutritional deficiencies, general deterioration of cellular health, and much more. Found in cookies, crackers, margarine and many “manufactured” foods. Used to make oils stay in thefood, extending shelf life. Sometimes also called “plastic fat.”
• Excitotoxins — aspartame, monosodium glutamate (MSG) and others. These neurotoxic chemical additives directly harm nerve cells, over-exciting them to the point of cell death, according to Dr. Russell Blaylock. They’re found in diet soda, canned soup, salad dressing, breakfast sausage and even many manufactured vegetarian foods. They’re used to add flavor to over-processed, boring foods that have
had the life cooked out of them.

Grocery Warning!
• Feeding children hot dogs increases their risk of brain cancer by 300%
• Strawberry yogurt, fruit punch and other red- looking grocery products are often colored with dead, ground-up cochineal beetles. The ingredient is called “carmine,” and it’s made from insects. It’s listed right on the label of many of your favorite foods.
• Food companies now “hide” MSG in safe- sounding ingredients like yeast extract or torula yeast.
• Many Florida oranges are actually dipped in an artificial orange dye in order to make them more visually appealing. It’s the same dye that’s been banned for use in foods because of cancer risk.
• Girl Scout cookies are still made with hydrogenated oils that contain trans fatty acids.
• Many so-called “healthy” or vegetarian foods also contain the very same offending ingredients as conventional groceries.
• Eating just one serving of processed meats each day increases your risk of pancreatic cancer by 67%.
• One artificial color additive causes behavioral disorders in children. And that 80% of children diagnosed with ADHD can be outright cured of the condition in two weeks by avoiding certain ingredients?
• The #1 ingredient in Slim Fast meal replacement shake (powder form) is sugar.
• Some guacamole dips don’t even contain avocado? Instead, they’re made with hydrogenated soybean oil and artificial colors.

The ingredients “stacking” trick. Food companies also use the ingredients stacking trick to intentionally leave you with the wrong impression about what’s really in their food products. For example, one company makes a nutrition bar that’s absolutely loaded with sugar, but they way they’ve arranged the ingredients prevents sugar from appearing as the #1 ingredient. Instead, the first ingredient is rice. But looking down the label, you’ll find all the following forms of sugar, all in the same nutrition bar:
• Sugar
• High-fructose corn syrup
• Corn syrup solids
• Dextrose
Add all these up, and the #1 component in the bar is, indeed, sugar (or sugary substances). But the manufacturer has used ingredients stacking to make you think the top ingredient is actually rice.
It’s a clever, dishonest technique used by food companies to lie with food labels. Remember, the longer the ingredients label, the less healthy the food. Read those ingredients lists before buying foods, and if you discover chemical names that you can’t pronounce, don’t buy the food!
Article obtained from Natural News

You are probably thinking this is a nobrainer. But we are not talking about the yeast used to make bread and other baked goods. We are talking about yeast in your body that can cause a host of problems starting with a yeast infection.

Yeast is a single-celled living organism capable of causing infection or disease. Yeast is a fungus and requires a specific environment in which to grow. A moist, dark place, with a constant food supply allows yeast cells to thrive and flourish. Yeast cells feed on any form of sugar and multiply in the presence of vinegar or other fermented products such as alcohol, soy sauce, store-bought salad dressings, etc. The only way to rid the body of yeast is to remove its food source and actively destroy it. One treatment without the other will not be effective. Diet alone may help to prevent proliferation of yeast, but will not destroy what’s already present. Certain prescription medications, as well as some over-the-counter supplements are fungicidal, and are used in conjunction with a yeast-free eating regimen to rid the body of disease-causing yeast.

Yeast is normally controlled by the immune system and by beneficial bacteria in the GI tract. However, if the normal flora in the colon is altered, yeast can overgrow. When antibiotics are taken to kill harmful bacteria, they also kill beneficial bacteria in the GI tract, as antibiotics do not discriminate. Therefore, use of antibiotics is enough to disrupt the delicate balance of the body’s normal flora. This balance can also be disrupted by the use of birth control pills, steroids, alcohol, environmental factors, and
high carbohydrate diets that include simple sugars such as breads, pasta, cereal, and candy.

Yeast is harmful to the body in the following ways:
• Taxes the adrenal glands and immune system, leading to adrenal fatigue and immune dysfunction
• Often results in the body developing an allergy to yeast, thereby causing the person to be allergic to foods containing yeast, such as beer, wine, and bread.
• Yeast produces a toxin that absorbs into the body from the gut and may cause a host of symptoms, including fatigue, joint pains, behavior changes, rashes, allergy symptoms, and decreased mental sharpness.
• Coats the lining of the gut, leading to malabsorption of important nutrients, and leading to irritable bowel symptoms such as heartburn, gas, bloating, stomach cramps, and diarrhea. The presence of yeast is best determined by symptoms, the patient’s history of antibiotic use and other factors, as well as by testing for blood levels of yeast (candida) antibodies.

The presence of yeast antibodies is helpful, but absence of them does NOT rule out a yeast problem.

To remain free of yeast, it’s important to continue with healthy eating habits. In addition, we recommend taking Nystatin and a probiotic while taking any antibiotics, and for a week thereafter.

Once you have successfully eliminated yeast, you can safely add certain foods back into the diet (milk products, salad dressing etc.) Overall, resolution of symptoms is the best indicator that yeast has been successfully eradicated.