9 More Reasons to Use DAILY Coconut Oil

Posted on January 6, 2015 by admin

I’ve run across some VERY interesting studies recently on the relationship between coconut oil (or any type of coconut fat, includingcoconut milk and cream) and how it can affect your body fat…

The findings may surprise you!

A 2009 study published in the Journal Lipids consisted of testing the effects of either 2 tablespoons of coconut oil or 2 tablespoons of soybean on a group of 40 women over the span of 28 days.

Results showed that the group that ate the coconut oil had a decrease in abdominal fat, while the soybean oil group actually showed a slight increase in belly fat. Additionally, the group that ate the coconut oil showed increased HDL ‘good’ cholesterol levels, while the soybean oil group had decreased HDL cholesterol and increased LDL ‘ bad’ cholesterol.

The Journal of Nutrition published a study where researchers investigated all studies relative to medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs) that are abundant in coconut fat and weight management. The studies showed that diets rich in fats such as those found in coconut oilprompted a boost in metabolism, increase in energy, decrease in food consumption, reduced body weight and lower body fat mass. The study authors highly recommend using oils that contain MCFAs, such ascoconut oil, as a tool to drop extra abdominal fat, manage a healthy weight, and even as a way to treat obesity.

Yet another study that assessed body weight and fat storage relative to three different types of diets including a low-fat diet, high-fat diet with long chain fatty acids (LCFAs) and a high fat diet with MCFAs. In order to bring about weight gain, caloric intakes were adjusted for the diets. At the end of the research period (which lasted 44 days), the low-fat diet group stored an average of 0.47 grams of fat per day, the LCFA group stored 0.48 grams of fat per day, and the MCFA group only stored a mere 0.19 grams per day (despite purposely increasing calories). Those in the MCFA group (coconut fat) had a 60 percent reduction in body fat stored compared to the other diets.

Another added bonus of consuming organic coconut oil (and coconutcream or milk) is that it tends to make us feel fuller for longer. Studies indicate that MCFAs help increase feelings of fullness and lead to a reduction in calorie intake when compared to the same amount of calories from other fats. When MCFAs are metabolized, ketone bodies are created in the liver – these have been shown to have a strong appetite reducing effect helping you to lose fat faster.

If you thought from reading about how using coconut oil daily for helping to reduce abdominal fat is pretty incredible, you’re going to be blown away by the powerful health benefits of coconut oil on the page below…

>> 9 MORE reasons to use DAILY coconut oil (including benefits to thyroid, brain, skin, oral health, heart health, detoxing, cancer, and more)

To Your Optimal Health,

Your Optimal Life

Original Source: The Alternative Daily

Top 10 Ways to Reduce Sugar Intake

Posted on October 30, 2014 by admin

Ever tried to cut back- or even eliminate- sugar? It’s not so easy.

Nature gave us a sweet tooth for a reason- and it wasn’t just to frustrate our diet efforts!

We humans – unlike other animals- don’t make our own vitamin C. Vitamin C is most abundant in fruits. So nature gave us taste buds that would make these relatively sweet tasting foods desirable.

Unfortunately the whole system has become deregulated since just about everything you buy now has sugar in it, and there’s a huge disconnect between the purpose of our original wiring- to make sure we got enough vitamin C- and the way that wiring is used today (to make sure we get enough Krispy Kreme donuts!)

Giving up- or cutting back- on sugar is no picnic. But the rewards are tremendous. Eliminating (or even reducing) sugar can benefit your health in more ways than you can imagine.

Here’s a list of my Top Ten Ways to Start Reducing Sugar……..

Don’t add it to foods. This is the easiest and most basic way to immediately reduce the amount of sugar you’re eating. Biggest targets: cereal, coffee and tea.
Don’t be fooled by “healthy sugar” disguises. Brown sugar, turbinado sugar, raw sugar … it’s all pretty much the same thing as far as your body is concerned.
Make a real effort to reduce or eliminate processed carbohydrates. Most processed carbs — breads, bagels, most pastas and snacks — are loaded with flour and other ingredients that convert to sugar in the body almost as fast as pure glucose. That sugar gets stored as triglycerides, which is a fancy way of saying fat.
Watch out for “fat-free” snacks. One of the biggest myths is that if a food is fat-free it doesn’t make you fat. Fat-free doesn’t mean calorie-free, and most fat-free snacks are loaded with sugar.
Shop for color. The more your grocery basket looks like a cornucopia of color, the better. It usually means you’re getting more fresh vegetables and low-glycemic fruits such as berries and cherries.
Become a food detective. This tip is from the wonderful author and nutritionist Anne Louise Gittleman, who adds, “To reduce sugar, you have to know where it is first.” Start reading labels.
Beware of artificial sweeteners. Unfortunately, they can increase cravings for sugar and carbohydrates. They can also deplete the body’s stores of chromium, a nutrient crucial for blood-sugar metabolism.
Do the math. Look at the label where it says “total sugars” and divide the number of grams by four. That’s the number of teaspoons of sugar you are ingesting. This exercise alone should scare the pants off you.
Limit fruit. (Notice I didn’t say “eliminate.”) Fruit has sugar, but it also has fiber and good nutrients. Just don’t overdo it. For weight-loss purposes, keep it to two servings a day and try to make most of them low-glycemic (grapefruit, apples, berries)
Eliminate fruit juice. It’s a pure sugar hit with none of the fiber and less of the nutrients that are found in the fruit itself.

Original Source

Artificial Sweeteners May Boost Blood Sugar? New Study.

Posted on September 24, 2014 by admin

People might consume artificial sweeteners because they think it will help them curb real-sugar consumption and prevent weight gain, but the chemicals may actually have an opposite effect. A new study has found that zero-calorie sweeteners may alter metabolism and increase blood-sugar levels, at least in mice and some people.

The negative effects of artificial sweeteners on metabolism seen in the study may have to do with how the sweeteners interact with the bacteria living the gut, the researchers said.

The results don’t mean that eating sugar is healthier than consuming artificial sweeteners, study co-author Dr. Eran Elinav, a researcher at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, said at a news conference Tuesday (Sept. 16). However, the study does suggest that artificial sweeteners may be harmful, at least in some people, Elinav said.

Sugar has been around for a loooong time, but it wasn’t until the Europeans brought it to the New World that it became commonplace, and eventually fueled our growing society.

In experiments, the scientists added an artificial sweetener — either saccharin, sucralose or aspartame — to mice’s drinking water, and found the animals ended up having higher blood-sugar levels than the mice that drank sugar water, or just water. Saccharin is sold under the brand name Sweet’n Low, sucralose has the brand name Splenda and aspartame is found in NutraSweet, Equal and Spoonful brands.

The researchers also found that artificial sweeteners seemed to change the function of the gut bacteria in the rodents. When the researchers used antibiotics to suppress the bacteria, the differences in blood-sugar levels between groups of mice on different diets disappeared, according to the study, published today (Sept. 17) in the journal Nature.

Next, the researchers studied about 400 people, and found that the gut bacteria in people who consumed an artificial sweetener were different from the gut bacteria in the people who ate sugar. Participants who used artificial sweeteners also had higher blood-sugar levels than participants who used sugar. [5 Ways Gut Bacteria Affect Your Health]

“Artificial sweeteners were extensively introduced into our diets with the intention of reducing caloric intake and normalizing blood glucose levels without compromising the human ‘sweet tooth,'” the researchers wrote in their study. “Our findings suggest that [artificial sweeteners] may have directly contributed to enhancing the exact epidemic that they themselves were intended to fight.”

Sugar May Boost Risk of Heart Disease, Death

Your personal gut bacteria

There are trillions of bacteria living in human guts. Collectively called the microbiome, these bacteria are crucial for the normal functioning of the intestines, and their composition could potentially influence diverse functions of the body. For example, previous studies have tied the balance of bacterial species in the gut to people’s risk of conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

But people can have different compositions of bacterial species, and that could potentially contribute to how they respond to different foods, the researchers said.

In the study, the researchers also carried out another experiment. They added saccharin to diets of seven people who didn’t normally consume sweeteners. After only four days, four of these participants showed increased levels of sugar in their blood and changes in the composition of their gut bacteria.

The gut bacteria composition of these participants differed from that of the other three participants, even before they consumed saccharin, the researchers found. This finding suggests that people may respond differently to artificial sweeteners depending on their gut-bacteria compositions, the researchers said.

“What was super striking and interesting to us was the fact that [people’s] susceptibility to [the effects] of sweeteners could be predicted ahead of time, even before the individuals consumed the sweeteners,” said study co-author Eran Segal, a computational biologist at the Weizmann Institute of Science.

It’s not clear how, exactly, changes in the bacterial species in the gut could contribute to increased blood-sugar levels, but scientists have some ideas. For example, it could be that the consumption of artificial sweeteners causes people to have more bacterial species that extract fat from the diet, which would contribute to obesity, said Taylor Feehley and Cathryn Nagler, researchers at the University of Chicago who wrote about the new study in the same journal.

Should you ditch the diet soda?

Previous studies have looked at whether people who replace sugar with artificial sweeteners have a lower risk of developing the health problems linked with consuming too much sugar, such as obesity and diabetes.

But although some studies found artificial sweeteners to be beneficial, others yielded mixed results, the researchers said. Some studies even found links between consuming sweeteners and a higher risk of obesity and high blood sugar, but those studies were observational (and didn’t have randomized control groups), and it remains unclear whether artificial sweeteners may cause metabolism changes, or if people who are obese to begin with consume more of the sweeteners, Elinav said.

The new study is not conclusive, either. The results need to be confirmed in future research before recommendations about consuming artificial sweeteners can be made, the researchers said. Still, the findings should provoke discussion among the scientific, medical and public communities.

“By no means do we believe that based on the result of this study are we prepared to make recommendations as to the use and dosage of artificial sweeteners,” Segal said. “We simply point to the immense body of experiments that we carried out both in humans and in mice. In none of these experiments have we seen any beneficial effects for the use of sweeteners.”

Source: Original article: Discovery

Do you still eat artificial sweeteners? Why? Comment below.

How to Lose Weight While Staying Healthy – The Ultimate Eating Plan

Posted on September 22, 2014 by admin

Here are three videos discussing “what you should eat” and general healthy practices by some top experts:

This video talks about why “sugar” is bad for you. Highly recommended if you want to understand the mechanism.

WARNING: Please consult your doctor before any drastic changes to your diet or exercise plan. Also, let your doctor manage any weight gaining problems (hypothyroidism, weight-gaining medications [steroids, antidepressants, etc.], etc.) BEFORE you start this plan.

It appears that a lot of people want to lose weight, but don’t care much for exercise. Although I recommend strength training and cardio as a part of any weight loss plan, these natural supplements can help you lose weight faster with minimal exercise. The key is great self-control in what you eat. I have done this and it works. After researching many theories, listening to many experts, reviewing various diets, and my own experience, I find a clean diet and moderate exercise (with a focus on diet) works best.

Here is what you should AVOID:

1. Basically any white carbohydrate: pasta, potatoes, milk, rice, batter (fried foods), etc.

2. Sugar beverages: soda, juice, sweet tea, gatorade, vitamin H2O (key is to avoid fructose + anything artificial)

Sugar snacks: candy, pastries, desserts, ice cream

3. Oils keep to a minimum (safe ones are olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil)

4. No fast food or eating out as much as possible (not only does it make you gain weight, a lot of chemicals and artificial ingredients are used to cut costs and increase profits). Also, even when you do go out YOU decide what you eat. For example, some people avoid buffets because of all the unhealthy food. No one forces you to eat all of it. Every buffet has a salad bar and healthy selections. I have gone to buffets plenty of times and have eaten as healthy as I can. If you can’t resist the temptation, avoid the situation.

Here is what you should EAT:

1. Meat: chicken, fish (avoid red meat if possible). Hormone free chicken and wild caught fish.

2. Vegetables, mostly green – kale, broccoli, spinach, carrots, peas; some different color vegetables have much more nutritional value (blue corn, purple potatoes, red bell peppers, etc.)

Fruits – if you need sugar, lower sugar fruits are good options (raspberries, blackberries, etc.). Of course, you will get results much faster if you avoid the sugar.

3. Plenty of water; tea (especially green tea as it increases metabolism), coffee is ok with no added sugar and some milk alternative (almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, etc.). If you really need a different taste, I recommend squeezing some lemon juice into your water.

4. Beans – black, red, pinto

5. Nuts – walnuts, almonds, pistachios, pecans

You should follow this diet Monday-Friday and Sunday. Take a break on Saturday and eat what you want within reason, but still try to avoid refined, processed, or artificial ingredients.

Remember, you can’t chose your genetics, but YOU can choose what goes in your mouth! Plus, studies have show that changing your diet can “turn off” some of the genes that express some chronic diseases.

Now, go lose some weight without even exercising. Exercise (cardio and strength training) to maximize results.

Comments? Anything else you do to lose weight?

Post your results below if you try this. You can see results as quickly as 1-2 weeks.

Please SHARE this with anyone your care about. We can make a real change in people’s lives.

2. 3 Veggies that FIGHT Abdominal Fat

The World’s Most PERFECT Food?

Posted on February 25, 2014 by admin

Did You Know that the avocado has been called the world’s most perfect food and has many health benefits? It has achieved this distinction because many nutritionists claim it not only contains everything a person needs to survive — but it has also been found to contribute to the prevention and control of Alzheimer’s, cancer, heart disease, diabetes and other health conditions.

The avocado (Persea gratissima or P. americana) originated in Puebla, Mexico and its earliest use dates back to 10,000 years B.C. Since AD 900, the avocado tree has been cultivated and grown in Central and South America. In the 19th century, the avocado made its entry into California, and has since become a very successful commercial crop. Ninety-five percent (95%) of U.S. avocados are gown in Southern California.

The avocado, also called the alligator pear, is a high-fiber, sodium- and cholesterol-free food that provides nearly 20 essential nutrients, including fiber, is rich in healthy monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats (such as omega-3 fatty acids), vitamins A, C, D, E, K and the B vitamins (thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, pantothenic acid, biotin, vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12 and folate) — as well as potassium.

Foods naturally rich in omega-3 fatty acids, such as avocados, are widely acknowledged as the secret to a healthy heart, a brilliant brain and eagle eyes.

Dr. Daniel G. Amen, a clinical neuroscientist, psychiatrist, brain-imaging expert and author of the New York Times bestseller Change Your Brain, Change Your Life counts avocados as one of the top brain-healthy foods that can help prevent Alzheimer’s Disease.

That’s not only because of the avocado’s health benefits omega-3 fatty acid content but also its…

Vitamin E content — An international journal called Alzheimer’s Disease and Associated Disorders, reported its findings from years of clinical trials — high doses of Vitamin E can neutralize free radicals and the buildup of proteins to reverse the memory loss in Alzheimer’s patients; reverse symptoms of Alzheimer’s in the early stages and retard the progression of the disease;

Folate content — helps to prevent the formation of tangled nerve fibers associated with Alzheimer’s.

The virtues and benefits of the avocado are too numerous to mention.

But Here Are Just a Few More Avocado Health Benefits That Its Nutritional Profile Provides:

•Monounsaturated Fats — These types of fats help control triglycerides in the bloodstream, lower blood cholesterol and control diabetes.
•Folate — This water-soluble B vitamin promotes healthy cell and tissue development. According to the National Institute of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements, “This is especially important during periods of rapid cell division and growth such as infancy and pregnancy. Folate is also essential for metabolism of homocysteine and helps maintain normal levels of this amino acid.”
•Lutein — This is a carotenoid (a natural pigment) that protects against cataracts and certain types of cancer, and reduces the risk of macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in adults 65 years of age and older. Avocados contain 3 or more times as much lutein as found in other common vegetables and fruits.
•Oleic acid and Potassium — Both of these nutrients also help in lowering cholesterol and reducing the risk of high blood pressure.

You can add these avocado benefits to your diet in many ways:
1) The easiest way is to cut the avocado in half and sprinkle it with herbal seasoning or maple syrup.

2) Chop the avocado and add it to a salad, or use it as a topping or side garnish for soup.

3) Mash an avocado and spread it on bread or a bagel (in place of butter or cream cheese).

4) Cut an avocado in half and fill the little hollow (left after you remove the pit) with your favorite healthy topping such as herbed rice or couscous.

5) Make an avocado dressing or the crowd-pleasing guacamole dip to add flavor to raw or steamed vegetables. You can easily find many avocado recipes online.

Blended with fruit, avocados make a rich and delicious snack, side dish or dessert — and produces highly-nutritious baby food which delivers “good fat” for baby’s brain and physical development.

Before you indulge in avocados to your heart’s content, however, remember that they have lots of calories because of their fat content. According to WebMD, “A medium-sized avocado contains 30 grams of fat, as much as a quarter-pound burger”.

That’s why diet experts have long urged Americans to go easy on avocados in favor of less fatty fruits and vegetables. But now nutritionists are taking another look.

They’re finding that most of the fat in an avocado is monounsaturated — the “good” kind that actually lowers cholesterol levels. Thanks to this new understanding, the U.S. government recently revised its official nutrition guidelines to urge Americans to eat more avocados.

No time to eat avocados? Get all the nutirion here:

Avogen Avocado Dietary Supplement

Original article: Underground Health Reporter

11 Biggest Myths of Nutrition

Posted on February 24, 2014 by admin

There is a lot of misinformation circling around in mainstream nutrition.

I have listed the worst examples in this article, but unfortunately this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Here are the top 11 biggest lies, myths and misconceptions of mainstream nutrition.

1. Eggs Are Unhealthy

There’s one thing that nutrition professionals have had remarkable success with… and that is demonizing incredibly healthy foods.

The worst example of that is eggs, which happen to contain a large amount of cholesterol and were therefore considered to increase the risk of heart disease.

But recently it has been proven that the cholesterol in the diet doesn’t really raise the cholesterol in blood. In fact, eggs primarily raise the “good” cholesterol and are NOT associated with increased risk of heart disease. This I learn by visiting websites and reading articles like jenny craig vs Nutrisystem.

What we’re left with is one of the most nutritious foods on the planet. They’re high in all sorts of nutrients along with unique antioxidants that protect our eyes.

To top it all of, despite being a “high fat” food, eating eggs for breakfast is proven to cause significant weight loss compared to bagels for breakfast.

Bottom Line: Eggs do not cause heart disease and are among the most nutritious foods on the planet. Eggs for breakfast can help you lose weight.

2. Saturated Fat is Bad For You

A few decades ago it was decided that the epidemic of heart disease was caused by eating too much fat, in particular saturated fat.

This was based on highly flawed studies and political decisions that have now been proven to be completely wrong.

A massive review article published in 2010 looked at 21 prospective epidemiological studies with a total of 347.747 subjects. Their results: absolutely no association between saturated fat and heart disease.

The idea that saturated fat raised the risk of heart disease was an unproven theory that somehow became conventional wisdom.

Eating saturated fat raises the amount of HDL (the “good”) cholesterol in the blood and changes the LDL from small, dense LDL (very bad) to Large LDL, which is benign.

Meat, coconut oil, cheese, butter… there is absolutely no reason to fear these foods.

Bottom Line: Newer studies have proven that saturated fat does not cause heart disease. Natural foods that are high in saturated fat are good for you.

3. Everybody Should be Eating Grains

The idea that humans should be basing their diets on grains has never made sense to me.

The agricultural revolution happened fairly recently in human evolutionary history and our genes haven’t changed that much.

Grains are fairly low in nutrients compared to other real foods like vegetables. They are also rich in a substance called phytic acid which binds essential minerals in the intestine and prevents them from being absorbed.

The most common grain in the western diet, by far, is wheat… and wheat can cause a host of health problems, both minor and serious.

Modern wheat contains a large amount of a protein called gluten, but there is evidence that a significant portion of the population may be sensitive to it.

Eating gluten can damage the intestinal lining, cause pain, bloating, stool inconsistency and tiredness. Gluten consumption has also been associated with schizophrenia and cerebellar ataxia, both serious disorders of the brain.

Bottom Line: Grains are relatively low in nutrients compared to other real foods like vegetables. The gluten grains in particular may lead to a variety of health problems.

4. Eating a Lot of Protein is Bad For Your Bones and Kidneys

A high protein diet has been claimed to cause both osteoporosis and kidney disease.

It is true that eating protein increases calcium excretion from the bones in the short term, but the long term studies actually show the opposite effect.

In the long term, protein has a strong association with improved bone health and a lower risk of fracture.

Additionally, studies don’t show any association of high protein with kidney disease in otherwise healthy people.

In fact, two of the main risk factors for kidney failure are diabetes and high blood pressure. Eating a high protein diet improves both.

If anything, a high protein diet should be protective against osteoporosis and kidney failure!

Bottom Line: Eating a high protein diet is associated with improved bone health and a lower risk of fracture. High protein also lowers blood pressure and improves diabetes symptoms, which should lower the risk of kidney failure.

5. Low-Fat Foods Are Good For You

Do you know what regular food tastes like when all the fat has been taken out of it?

Well, it tastes like cardboard. No one would want to eat it.

The food manufacturers know this and therefore they add other things to compensate for the lack of fat.

Usually these are sweeteners… sugar, high fructose corn syrup or artificial sweeteners like aspartame.

We’ll get to the sugar in a moment, but I’d like to point out that even though artificial sweeteners don’t have calories, the evidence does NOT suggest that they are better for you than sugar.

In fact, many observational studies show a consistent, highly significant association with various diseases like obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, premature delivery and depression.

In these low-fat products, healthy natural fats are being replaced with substances that are extremely harmful.

Bottom Line: Low-fat foods are usually highly processed products loaded with sugar, corn syrup or artificial sweeteners. They are extremely unhealthy.

6. You Should Eat Many Small Meals Throughout The Day

The idea that you should eat many small meals throughout the day in order to “keep metabolism high” is a persistent myth that doesn’t make any sense.

It is true that eating raises your metabolism slightly while you’re digesting the meal, but it’s the total amount of food that determines the energy used, NOT the number of meals.

This has actually been put to the test and refuted multiple times. Controlled studies where one group eats many small meals and the other the same amount of food in fewer meals show that there is literally no difference between the two.

In fact, one study in obese men revealed that eating 6 meals per day led to less feelings of fullness compared to 3 meals.

Not only is eating so often practically useless for most of the people out there, it may even be harmful.

It is not natural for the human body to be constantly in the fed state. In nature, we used to fast from time to time and we didn’t eat nearly as often as we do today.

When we don’t eat for a while, a cellular process called autophagy cleans waste products out of our cells. Fasting or not eating from time to time is good for you.

Several observational studies show a drastically increased risk of colon cancer (4th most common cause of cancer death), numbers going as high as a 90% increase for those who eat 4 meals per day compared to 2.

Bottom Line: There is no evidence that eating many small meals throughout the day is better than fewer, bigger meals. Not eating from time to time is good for you. Increased meal frequency is associated with colon cancer.

7. Carbs Should Be Your Biggest Source of Calories

The mainstream view is that everyone should eat a low-fat diet, with carbs being around 50-60% of total calories.

This sort of diet contains a lot of grains and sugars, with very small amounts of fatty foods like meat and eggs.

This type of diet may work well for some people, especially those who are naturally lean.

But for those who are obese, have the metabolic syndrome or diabetes, this amount of carbohydrates is downright dangerous.

This has actually been studied extensively. A low-fat, high-carb diet has been compared to a low-carb, high-fat diet in multiple randomized controlled trials.

The results are consistently in favor of low-carb, high-fat diets.

Bottom Line: The low-fat, high-carb diet is a miserable failure and has been proven repeatedly to be vastly inferior to lower-carb, higher-fat diets.

8. High Omega-6 Seed and Vegetable Oils Are Good For You

Polyunsaturated fats are considered healthy because some studies show that they lower your risk of heart disease.

But there are many types of polyunsaturated fats and they are not all the same.

Most importantly, we have both Omega-3 fatty acids and Omega-6 fatty acids.

Omega-3s are anti-inflammatory and lower your risk of many diseases related to inflammation. Humans actually need to get Omega-6s and Omega-3s in a certain ratio. If the ratio is too high in favor of Omega-6, it can cause problems.

By far the biggest sources of Omega-6 in the modern diet are processed seed and vegetable oils like soybean, corn and sunflower oils.

Throughout evolution, humans never had access to such an abundance of Omega-6 fats. It is unnatural for the human body.

Research that specifically looks at Omega-6 fatty acids instead of polyunsaturated fats in general shows that they actually increase the risk of heart disease.

Eat your Omega-3s and consider supplementing with cod fish liver oil, but avoid the industrial seed and vegetable oils.

Bottom Line: Humans need to get Omega-6 and Omega-3 fats in a certain ratio. Eating excess Omega-6 from seed oils raises your risk of disease.

9. Low Carb Diets Are Dangerous

I personally believe low-carb diets to be a potential cure for many of the most common health problems in western nations.

The low-fat diet peddled all around the world is fairly useless against many of these diseases. It simply does not work.

However, low-carb diets (demonized by nutritionists and the media) have repeatedly been shown to lead to much better outcomes.

Every randomized controlled trial on low-carb diets shows that they:

1.Reduce body fat more than calorie-restricted low-fat diets, even though the low-carb dieters are allowed to eat as much as they want.

2.Lower blood pressure significantly.

3.Lower blood sugar and improve symptoms of diabetes much more than low-fat diets.

4.Increase HDL (the good) cholesterol much more.

5.Lower triglycerides much more than low-fat diets.

6.Change the pattern of LDL (bad) cholesterol from small, dense (very bad) to Large LDL, which is benign.

7.Low carb diets are also easier to stick to, probably because they don’t require you to restrict calories and be hungry all the time. More people in the low-carb groups make it to the end of the studies.

Many of the health professionals that are supposed to have our best interest in mind have the audacity to claim that these diets are dangerous, then continue to peddle their failed low-fat dogma that is hurting more people than it helps.

Bottom Line: Low-carb diets are the healthiest, easiest and most effective way to lose weight and reverse metabolic disease. It is a scientific fact.

10. Sugar is Unhealthy Because it Contains “Empty” Calories

It is commonly believed that sugar is bad for you because it contains empty calories.

It’s true, sugar has a lot of calories with no essential nutrients. But that is just the tip of the iceberg.

Sugar, primarily because of its high fructose content, affects metabolism in a way that sets us up for rapid fat gain and metabolic disease.

Fructose gets metabolized by the liver and turned into fat which is secreted into the blood as VLDL particles. This leads to elevated triglycerides and cholesterol.

It also causes resistance to the hormones insulin and leptin, which is a stepping stone towards obesity, metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

This is just to name a few. Sugar causes a relentless biochemical drive for humans to eat more and get fat. It is probably the single worst ingredient in the standard western diet.

Bottom Line: The harmful effects of sugar go way beyond empty calories. Sugar wreaks havoc on our metabolism and sets us up for weight gain and many serious diseases.

11. High Fat Foods Will Make You Fat

It seems kind of intuitive that eating fat would make you get fat.

The stuff that is gathering under our skin and making us look soft and puffy is fat. So… eating fat should give our bodies even more of it.

But it isn’t that simple. Despite fat having more calories per gram than carbohydrate or protein, high-fat diets do not make people fat.

As with anything, this depends on the context. A diet that is high in fat AND high in carbs will make you fat, but it’s NOT because of the fat.

In fact, diets that are high in fat (and low in carbs) cause much greater fat loss than diets that are low in fat.

Original source: Authority Nutrition

Coke is NOT It! Have a Coke and a Frown.

Posted on February 21, 2014 by admin

Coke is the most valuable brand in history, and “Coca-Cola” is the world’s second-most recognized word after “hello.” However, the beverage itself is an absolute poison to the human metabolism. Coke is very close to the acidity level of battery acid and consequently it can clean surfaces equivalent to and often better than many toxic household cleaners.

It’s cheaper and easier to buy Coke in some third world countries than it is to access clean water. Coke uses “public relations propaganda” to convince consumers and entire nations that it is an “environmental company” when really it is linked to pollution, water shortages, and disease.

People who consume soft drinks such as Coke have a 48% increase in heart attack and stroke risk, compared to people who did not drink the sodas at all or did not drink them every day. A study published in the journal Respirology reveals that soft drink consumption is also associated with lung and breathing disorders including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The carbonation in Coke causes calcium loss in the bones through a 3-stage process:

The carbonation irritates the stomach.
The stomach “cures” the irritation the only way it knows how. It adds the only antacid at its disposal: calcium. It gets this from the blood.
The blood, now low on calcium, replenishes its supply from the bones. If it did not do this, muscular and brain function would be severely impaired.

But, the story doesn’t end there. Another problem with most Coke is it also contain phosphoric acid (not the same as the carbonation, which is carbon dioxide mixed with the water). Phosphoric acid also causes a draw-down on the body’s store of calcium.

So Coke softens your bones (actually, makes them weak and brittle) in 3 ways:

Carbonation reduces the calcium in the bones.
Phosphoric acid reduces the calcium in the bones.
The beverage replaces a calcium-containing alternative, such as milk or water. Milk and water are not excellent calcium sources, but they are sources.

Esophageal cancer was very rare two generations ago — now, it’s common. The basic mechanism works as follows:

Mechanical damage to cells is a huge risk factor for cancer. It’s why asbestos particles, for example, cause lung cancer.
All soft drinks cause acid reflux (stomach acid rising up past the esophageal valve). This is more pronounced when the body is horizontal (as in sleeping), but the sheer volume of Coke and soft drinks consumed in the USA means the acid reflux is well past the danger point. Any time you ingest a gassy drink, you are going to get belching–and acid into the esophagus. How much is too much? The research doesn’t say where the limit is–it only shows that most of us are far, far, far past it.
tomach acid dissolves tissue — that’s its purpose. The stomach lining does not extend into the esophagus, so the lower esophagus gets damaged by acid far more frequently in soft drink users than in non soft drink users. This results in a radical increase in cell mutations, along with a far higher level of free radicals.

20 Practical Uses For Coke

Coke acts as an acidic cleaner. The amount of acid in soda is enough to wear away at the enamel of your teeth, making them more susceptible to decay. In tests done on the acidity levels of soda, certain ones were found to have PH levels as low as 2.5. To put that into perspective, consider that battery acid has a pH of 1 and pure water has a pH of 7.

To prove Coke does not belong in the human body, here are 20 practical ways you can use Coke as a domestic cleaner:
Removes grease stains from clothing and fabric
Removes rust; methods include using fabric dipped in Coke, a sponge or even aluminum foil. Also loosens rusty bolts
Removes blood stains from clothing and fabric.
Cleans oil stains from a garage floor; let the stain soak, hose off.
Kills slugs and snails; the acids kills them.
Cleans burnt pans; let the pan soak in the Coke, then rinse.
Descales a kettle (same method as with burnt pans)
Cleans car battery terminals by pouring a small amount of Coke over each one.
Cleans your engine; Coke distributors have been using this technique for decades.
Makes pennies shine; soaking old pennies in Coke will remove the tarnish.
Cleans tile grout; pour onto kitchen floor, leave for a few minutes, wipe up.
Dissolves a tooth; Use a sealed container…takes a while but it does work.
Removes gum from hair; dip into a small bowl of Coke, leave a few minutes. Gum will wipe off.
Removes stains from vitreous china.
Got a dirty pool? Adding two 2-liter bottles of Coke clears up rust.
You can remove (or fade) dye from hair by pouring diet Coke over it.
Remove marker stains from carpet. Applying Coke, scrubbing and then clean with soapy water will remove marker stains.
Cleans a toilet; pour around bowl, leave for a while, flush clean.
Coke and aluminum foil will bring Chrome to a high shine.
Strips paint off metal furniture. Soak a towel in Coke and lay it on the paint surface.

Now can you imagine what is does to your stomach lining?

Who needs the ‘household and cleaning’ section at the hardware store when we have Coke.

Have you ever wondered what exactly Coca Cola is?

After 10 minutes: The sugar contained in a glass of Cola can cause a devastating “strike” on the body. The cause being the phosphoric acid which inhibits the action of sugar.

After 20 minutes: A leap in insulin levels in bloodstream occurs.

After 40 minutes: Ingestion of caffeine is finally completed. The eye’s pupils are expanding. Blood pressure rises because the liver disposes more sugar into the bloodstream. The adenosine receptors become blocked thereby preventing drowsiness.

After 45 minutes: The body raises production of the dopamine hormone, which stimulates the brain pleasure center. Similar to the reaction Heroin creates.

After 1 hour: Phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in the gastrointestinal tract, which supercharges metabolism. The release of calcium through urine takes place.

After more than 1 hour: Diuretic effects of the drink enters in “the game”. The calcium, magnesium and zinc are removed out of the body, which are a part of our bones, as well as sodium. At this time we can become irritable or subdued. The whole quantity of water, contained in a coca cola, is removed through urination.

When having a cold bottle of Coke and enjoying its undeniable freshness are we aware of what chemical “cocktail” we are putting into our bodies? The active ingredient in Coca-Cola is orthophosphoric acid. Due to its high acidity, cisterns used for transporting the chemical have to be equipped with special reservoirs designed for highly corrosive materials.

Let’s have a look at “the anatomy” of one of the most advertised products of “Coca-Cola Co.” – Coca-Cola Light without caffeine. This drink contains Aqua Carbonated, E150D, E952, E951, E338, E330, Aromas, E211.

Aqua Carbonated – this is sparkling water. It stirs gastric secretion, increases the acidity of the gastric juice and provokes flatulency. Filtered tap water is what is primarily used.

E150D – this is food coloring obtained through the processing of sugar at specified temperatures, with or without addition of chemical reagents. In the case of coca-cola, ammonium sulfate is added.

E952 – Sodium Cyclamate is a sugar substitute. Cyclamate is a synthetic chemical, has a sweet taste, which is 200 times sweeter than sugar, and is used as an artificial sweetener. In 1969 it was banned by FDA, since it, as well as saccharin and aspartame, caused cancer in rats.

E950 – Acesulfame Potassium. 200 times sweeter than sugar, containing methyl-ether. It aggravates the operation of the cardiovascular system. Likewise, it contains asparaginic acid which can also cause an excitant effect on our nervous system and in time it can lead to addiction. Acesulfame is badly dissolved and is not recommended for use by children and pregnant women.

E951 – Aspartame. A sugar substitute for diabetics and is chemically unstable at elevated temperatures it breaks down into methanol and phenylalanine. Methanol is very dangerous as only 5-10ml can cause destruction of the optic nerve and irreversible blindness. In warm soft drinks, aspartame transforms into formaldehyde which is a very strong carcinogen. Symptoms of aspartame poisoning include: unconsciousness, headaches, fatigue, dizziness, nausea, palpitation, weight gain, irritability, anxiety, memory loss, blurry vision, fainting, joint pains, depression, infertility, hearing loss and more. Aspartame can also provoke the following diseases: brain tumors, MS (Multiple Sclerosis), epilepsy, Graves’ disease, chronic fatigue, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, mental deficiency and tuberculosis. Later, this substance was initially illegal due to its dangers but was again made legal in a suspicious manner.

E338 – Orthophosphoric Acid. This can cause irritation of the skin and eyes. It is used for production of phosphoric acid salts of ammonia, sodium, calcium, aluminum and also in organic synthesis for the production of charcoal and film tapes. It is also used in the production of refractory materials, ceramics, glass, fertilizers, synthetic detergents, medicine, metalworking, as well as in the textile and oil industries. It is known that orthophosphoric acid interferes with the absorption of calcium and iron into the body which can cause weakening of bones and osteoporosis. Other side effects are thirst and skin rashes.

E330 – Citric Acid. It is widely used in pharmaceutical and food industries. Salts of citric acid (citrates) are used in the food industry as acids, preservatives, stabilizers, and in the medical fields – for preserving blood.

Aromas – unknown aromatic additives

E211 – Sodium Benzoate. It is used in production of some food products for anti-bacterial and anti-fungal purposes. It is often found in jams, fruit juices and fruit yogurts. It’s not recommended for use by asthmatics and people who are sensitive to aspirin. A study conducted by Peter Piper at the Sheffield University in Britain, found that this compound causes significant damage to DNA. According to Peter, sodium benzoate which is an active component in preservatives, doesn’t destroy DNA, but deactivates it. This can lead to cirrhosis and degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s disease.

Coca-Cola is undeniably a very useful product. The key is to use it for purposes that do not include drinking! Here is a video about Coca-Cola!

Original source: TrueActivist

This Popular Drink Reduces Alzheimer’s Risk by 65% ?

Posted on February 21, 2014 by admin

Being a coffee drinker, and at risk for Alzheimer’s disease, as are we all, I was heartened by this study appearing in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. The researchers followed 1,409 individuals, aged 65-79, for an average of 21 years. The study also looked at each individual’s dietary habits.

At the end of the study, 48 of the subjects had developed Alzheimer’s disease. And it was shown that the risk for developing Alzheimer’s disease was reduced by an astounding 65% in those who drank 3-5 cups of coffee daily. The authors went so far as to suggest that “this finding might open possibilities for prevention of dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease.”

I’m certain there will be a lot of questions from our readers about the effects of tea, other caffeinated beverages, and whether or not decaffeinated coffee would be of benefit. These ideas were not specifically explored in this study. I will say that coffee, like turmeric, resveratrol, and green tea extract, is a powerful upregulator of Nrf2 activity and as such activates gene pathways to both reduce inflammation as well as antioxidant protection. These are important factors in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease.

Original post: David Perlmutter MD

Turmeric A Natural Cancer Killer?

Posted on February 13, 2014 by admin

Turmeric is known for a wide range of benefits, one of the most promising being it’s potential uses in the prevention and treatment of cancer. A new study published in the journal Cancer Letters has taken a new look at the active anti-cancer component in turmeric—curcumin—and found that it can strike at the ‘root cause’ of cancerous tumor formation.

The conventional school of thought has always assumed cancer cells self-renew, that the cells within a tumor are sort of equals. Another school of thought, and one that is gaining more traction, is the one that looks at cells known as cancer stem cells (CSC) and proposes that these sort of “mother” cells are at the top of cancer cell hierarchy and drive the growth of tumors.

Using the conventional model of cancer and treating tumors with surgery, chemo, and radiation, we may be able to “debulk” a tumor, but the stem cells may remain behind. When this happens, not only does the tumor eventually come back, but it does so with a vengeance, being treatment-resistant and often resulting as death.

Instead, the CSC model of cancer development and treatment focuses solely on eradicating these mother cells, and thereby destroying a tumors ability to regrow.

Read: Cancer Doctor Explains How to Get Most from Turmeric

In the study “Targeting cancer stem cells by curcumin and clinical applications”, researchers looked at the various ways curcumin could impact cancer stem cells and help to effectively treat various cancer.

They found that curcumin is able to selectively kill cancer cells while maintaining healthy cells. In some cases, it is actually able to work alongside conventional chemotherapy, giving the conventional treatment more effectiveness and lessening the harmful side effects.

Further, curcumin has been found to alter the expression of microRNAs, which regulate an estimated 33% of the protein-coding genes in humans, effectively working to suppress tumor formation. Finally, according to Green Med Info, “curcumin appears to directly and indirectly influence at least three self-renewal pathways within cancer stem cells, namely, Wnt/b-catenin, sonic hedgehog 89 (SHH), and Notch.”

The study authors conclude:

“Curcumin, as well as its modiﬁed forms (analogues or nanoparticle-encapsulated formulations), has shown great potential to inhibit CSCs in several types of cancer both in cell cultures and in mouse models, including glioma, breast, colorectal, pancreatic, brain, and esophageal cancers. Some analogues (e.g., CDF) and formulations (e.g., nanotechnology-based formulation) have exhibited improved efﬁcacy against CSC-like cells and greater growth-inhibitory capacity in tumors. It is promising to evaluate curcumin and its modiﬁed forms in other types of CSCs.”

Start fighting cancer today with turmeric.
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Original Article Source: Natural Society