As 2011 approaches Live In Motion will continue to use it's blog. Please stay tuned for daily and/or weekly updates of events, recipes, nutrition comments, boot camp info and our fitness getaways. To our clients, friends and family and to new comers we welcome you to comment and share your experiences. We look forward to hearing from you and we hope you can help us grow our blog!
Sincerely Lisa and Jason
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Important Details You Need to Know About Arthritis
Arthritis is a very common health problem that sends over 20 million people to their physician’s office each year. It’s important to realize that “arthritis” is divided into two primary types: osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint disease (DJD); the wear-and-tear form of arthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis.
These two types are completely different, even though they have some similarities.
They both affect the joints and can be connected with joint stiffness, pain, inflammation and swelling.
However, their underlying causes are distinctly different.
What’s the Difference Between Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Osteoarthritis usually occurs in older individuals, but can also be caused by repetitive stress or acute trauma.
Rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, can affect you at any age, including children. Fortunately, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) is relatively rare.
Understanding the differences between the two types of arthritis will help you distinguish which one you have.
Osteoarthritis – Degenerative joint disease usually affects the distal joints, or the joints at the end of your fingers and toes, not the middle ones. Additionally, it’s not symmetrical, so typically you may have it on just one joint, or on one hand or foot and not the other.
Rheumatoid arthritis – RA, on the other hand, is an autoimmune disease that causes your body to break itself down. Therefore, it tends to be bilateral and symmetrical, meaning it’s the same on both sides of your body. If you only have a specific joint affected on one side of your body it is far less likely to be RA.It also affects your middle joints, and is associated with joint deformities, especially your hands and fingers. It can be very crippling, and people do die from rheumatoid arthritis, so it’s not something to be treated lightly.
Treatments that Work for Both Types of Arthritis
Some of the treatment methods available are similar for both, as both involve joint pain, swelling and inflammation. Hence the typical anti-inflammatory approaches such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) and analgesics, like Tylenol, can be used for either.
However, while these can relieve pain – and there’s a lot to be said for pain relief – it’s very important to understand that the regular, chronic use of these types of medications are associated with significant, and very serious, side effects such as kidney and/or liver damage. In the U.S. overuse of analgesics such as these are very common sources of kidney failure.
NSAIDs also kill some 30,000 people every year due to bleeding ulcers, and the oral drugs have been linked to a host of problems, including heart failure -- Vioxx and Celebrex being prime examples of these very real dangers. This is not to say that they are not useful agents in some cases, however you need to use them very cautiously.
This is also why it’s so vital that you seek out the underlying cause of your problem and treat it “at the root,” so you do not need to pursue these types of medications.
With respect to treatments, there are some commonalities even when using natural approaches.
Omega-3 fats – One of the primary treatment methods you’ll want to include for either of these conditions is a high quality source of animal-based omega-3 fats such as krill oil. Omega-3s are an essential component that your body needs to reduce inflammation.
Nutritional typing – Your unique biochemistry and genetics influence the ratio of fat, protein and carbohydrates your body needs to thrive, so eating for your nutritional type will ensure that you get the optimal macronutrient ratio out of your diet.
Safe symptomatic approaches for pain -- There are some symptomatic approaches you can use for both conditions.
One of them would be glucosamine, which is especially beneficial for osteoarthritis. However, understand that although useful, this is also little more than a band-aid and will not treat the underlying cause. But it’s certainly safer than using NSAIDs and other dangerous medications.
Another treatment I’ve found to be particularly useful is the Indian herb boswellia. It is used very effectively to treat joint inflammation, but again, it’s not treating the cause, only the symptom.
Acupuncture is also a safe and typically effective treatment method for pain.
For even more all-natural alternatives for NSAIDs, please see this previous article.
Special Considerations for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis
The methods I mention above can all be used to reduce pain and inflammation, but rheumatoid arthritis with its crippling and deformities is far more severe, and is generally treated with very aggressive medications.
In fact, the drugs used for rheumatoid arthritis are some of the most dangerous drugs used in medicine. High doses of prednisone are common, as well as immunosuppressants and anti-cancer agents to treat the severe pain and swelling.
In my clinic, we use a modified protocol that was initially developed by Dr. Thomas Brown, which is based on treating mycoplasma infection with antibiotics. I had a fair amount of success with his protocol when I was using it. However, over the years I found that including the use of dietary modification has dramatically improved the response rate. We also include NST (Neurostructural Integration Technique) in our protocol, which has been found to be very effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and scleroderma.
One new addition to the protocol is low dose Naltrexone which I would encourage anyone with RA to try. It is inexpensive and non toxic, and I have a number of physician reports documenting incredible efficacy in getting people off of all their dangerous arthritis meds. Please understand though that this is for RA, not for osteoarthritis.
Additionally, nearly all autoimmune diseases have two primary considerations that need to be addressed.
Vitamin D deficiency – Almost universally, autoimmune diseases have an underlying vitamin D deficiency. The further you go from the equator, the higher the incidence of RA becomes in the population. The remedy, of course, is to make sure your vitamin D levels are optimized. It’s virtual malpractice and negligence if you have an autoimmune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis, and your vitamin D levels are not getting checked regularly by your physician. For more information on vitamin D and how to optimize your levels, please see this link.
Emotional trauma -- The second factor, which is also almost universally present in most all autoimmune diseases, is some kind of predisposing traumatic emotional insult that typically occurs before the age of five or six.
And unless that specific insult is addressed in some type of effective treatment modality, then the underlying emotional trigger will not be removed, allowing the destructive process to proceed. Therefore, it’s very important to have an effective tool to address these underlying emotional traumas. In my practice, the most common form of treatment used is a form of psychological acupressure called the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). When you combine these -- especially in the hands of a skilled clinician -- with some of the safer modalities to treat and alleviate the pains and symptoms you can make great progress even with this debilitating condition.
Related Articles:
Your Comprehensive Guide to Treating and Overcoming Rheumatoid Arthritis New Improvement to Rheumatoid Arthritis Protocol How to Beat Arthritis Naturally With Acupuncture, Turmeric
These two types are completely different, even though they have some similarities.
They both affect the joints and can be connected with joint stiffness, pain, inflammation and swelling.
However, their underlying causes are distinctly different.
What’s the Difference Between Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Osteoarthritis usually occurs in older individuals, but can also be caused by repetitive stress or acute trauma.
Rheumatoid arthritis, on the other hand, can affect you at any age, including children. Fortunately, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) is relatively rare.
Understanding the differences between the two types of arthritis will help you distinguish which one you have.
Osteoarthritis – Degenerative joint disease usually affects the distal joints, or the joints at the end of your fingers and toes, not the middle ones. Additionally, it’s not symmetrical, so typically you may have it on just one joint, or on one hand or foot and not the other.
Rheumatoid arthritis – RA, on the other hand, is an autoimmune disease that causes your body to break itself down. Therefore, it tends to be bilateral and symmetrical, meaning it’s the same on both sides of your body. If you only have a specific joint affected on one side of your body it is far less likely to be RA.It also affects your middle joints, and is associated with joint deformities, especially your hands and fingers. It can be very crippling, and people do die from rheumatoid arthritis, so it’s not something to be treated lightly.
Treatments that Work for Both Types of Arthritis
Some of the treatment methods available are similar for both, as both involve joint pain, swelling and inflammation. Hence the typical anti-inflammatory approaches such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatories (NSAIDs) and analgesics, like Tylenol, can be used for either.
However, while these can relieve pain – and there’s a lot to be said for pain relief – it’s very important to understand that the regular, chronic use of these types of medications are associated with significant, and very serious, side effects such as kidney and/or liver damage. In the U.S. overuse of analgesics such as these are very common sources of kidney failure.
NSAIDs also kill some 30,000 people every year due to bleeding ulcers, and the oral drugs have been linked to a host of problems, including heart failure -- Vioxx and Celebrex being prime examples of these very real dangers. This is not to say that they are not useful agents in some cases, however you need to use them very cautiously.
This is also why it’s so vital that you seek out the underlying cause of your problem and treat it “at the root,” so you do not need to pursue these types of medications.
With respect to treatments, there are some commonalities even when using natural approaches.
Omega-3 fats – One of the primary treatment methods you’ll want to include for either of these conditions is a high quality source of animal-based omega-3 fats such as krill oil. Omega-3s are an essential component that your body needs to reduce inflammation.
Nutritional typing – Your unique biochemistry and genetics influence the ratio of fat, protein and carbohydrates your body needs to thrive, so eating for your nutritional type will ensure that you get the optimal macronutrient ratio out of your diet.
Safe symptomatic approaches for pain -- There are some symptomatic approaches you can use for both conditions.
One of them would be glucosamine, which is especially beneficial for osteoarthritis. However, understand that although useful, this is also little more than a band-aid and will not treat the underlying cause. But it’s certainly safer than using NSAIDs and other dangerous medications.
Another treatment I’ve found to be particularly useful is the Indian herb boswellia. It is used very effectively to treat joint inflammation, but again, it’s not treating the cause, only the symptom.
Acupuncture is also a safe and typically effective treatment method for pain.
For even more all-natural alternatives for NSAIDs, please see this previous article.
Special Considerations for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis
The methods I mention above can all be used to reduce pain and inflammation, but rheumatoid arthritis with its crippling and deformities is far more severe, and is generally treated with very aggressive medications.
In fact, the drugs used for rheumatoid arthritis are some of the most dangerous drugs used in medicine. High doses of prednisone are common, as well as immunosuppressants and anti-cancer agents to treat the severe pain and swelling.
In my clinic, we use a modified protocol that was initially developed by Dr. Thomas Brown, which is based on treating mycoplasma infection with antibiotics. I had a fair amount of success with his protocol when I was using it. However, over the years I found that including the use of dietary modification has dramatically improved the response rate. We also include NST (Neurostructural Integration Technique) in our protocol, which has been found to be very effective in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and scleroderma.
One new addition to the protocol is low dose Naltrexone which I would encourage anyone with RA to try. It is inexpensive and non toxic, and I have a number of physician reports documenting incredible efficacy in getting people off of all their dangerous arthritis meds. Please understand though that this is for RA, not for osteoarthritis.
Additionally, nearly all autoimmune diseases have two primary considerations that need to be addressed.
Vitamin D deficiency – Almost universally, autoimmune diseases have an underlying vitamin D deficiency. The further you go from the equator, the higher the incidence of RA becomes in the population. The remedy, of course, is to make sure your vitamin D levels are optimized. It’s virtual malpractice and negligence if you have an autoimmune disease, such as rheumatoid arthritis, and your vitamin D levels are not getting checked regularly by your physician. For more information on vitamin D and how to optimize your levels, please see this link.
Emotional trauma -- The second factor, which is also almost universally present in most all autoimmune diseases, is some kind of predisposing traumatic emotional insult that typically occurs before the age of five or six.
And unless that specific insult is addressed in some type of effective treatment modality, then the underlying emotional trigger will not be removed, allowing the destructive process to proceed. Therefore, it’s very important to have an effective tool to address these underlying emotional traumas. In my practice, the most common form of treatment used is a form of psychological acupressure called the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). When you combine these -- especially in the hands of a skilled clinician -- with some of the safer modalities to treat and alleviate the pains and symptoms you can make great progress even with this debilitating condition.
Related Articles:
Your Comprehensive Guide to Treating and Overcoming Rheumatoid Arthritis New Improvement to Rheumatoid Arthritis Protocol How to Beat Arthritis Naturally With Acupuncture, Turmeric
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Happy New Year!!
Hello All,
Happy New Year 2009! let's create our 2009 New Years goals! tell me about them and let's work together to help you get there!!! I will be adding more great articles to this site and will keep you posted when they go up. Take care and we will chat soon!!!
Sincerely Lisa and Jason
Happy New Year 2009! let's create our 2009 New Years goals! tell me about them and let's work together to help you get there!!! I will be adding more great articles to this site and will keep you posted when they go up. Take care and we will chat soon!!!
Sincerely Lisa and Jason
Saturday, September 13, 2008
My Comments
Hey All,
I posted a really great article by Mercola (see below). I really like the 6 points about lifestyle he makes in the article that relate to overweight problems and unhealthy paths. As most of you know I really try to work with each of you individually when it comes to each of these things. I find that the Holistic Lifestyle questions really help pinpoint these problems and help me help you seek changes. Please read and make comments.
Yours Truly Lisa
I posted a really great article by Mercola (see below). I really like the 6 points about lifestyle he makes in the article that relate to overweight problems and unhealthy paths. As most of you know I really try to work with each of you individually when it comes to each of these things. I find that the Holistic Lifestyle questions really help pinpoint these problems and help me help you seek changes. Please read and make comments.
Yours Truly Lisa
Is a person's weight really a reliable indicator of overall health??
Is a person’s weight really a reliable indicator of overall health?
Some medical research is showing that it isn’t. Last week a report in The Archives of Internal Medicine compared weight and cardiovascular risk factors among a representative sample of more than 5,400 adults. Half of the overweight people and one-third of obese people in the study were “metabolically healthy.” That means that many overweight and obese adults may have healthy levels of “good” cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood glucose.
At the same time, about one out of four slim people in the study actually had at least two cardiovascular risk factors typically associated with obesity.
Being overweight or obese is definitely linked with numerous health problems. Nonetheless, researchers found the proportion of overweight and obese people who are metabolically healthy surprising.
Several studies have shown that fitness, as determined by how a person performs on a treadmill, is a far better indicator of health than body mass index. Some research has indicated that people who are fat but can still keep up on treadmill tests have much lower heart risk than people who are slim and unfit.
Sources:
New York Times August 18, 2008
Archives of Internal Medicine August, 2008; 168(15):1617-1624
Horrendous Health Threat Inside Your Body?
Find Out More
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Your body is designed to operate best when it’s at an ideal weight, which varies slightly from person to person. However, carrying around extra pounds will inevitably increase your risk of developing just about every chronic degenerative disease, so the idea that you can be overweight, or even obese, and still be in optimal health, can easily lead you down the wrong path.
That said, obesity itself is not the underlying cause of any health problem, it is merely a symptom. The underlying cause is usually an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise, which leads to increased insulin and leptin levels. Add to that the strain of unaddressed emotional challenges and you may soon find yourself at an excessive, unhealthy weight, and health challenges can easily develop from there.
These three factors are present in the majority of people’s lives, which explains why two-thirds of the American population is already overweight. If the trends of the past three decades continue, it’s possible that every American adult could be overweight by 2048!
Although surveys have found that Americans attitudes have shifted drastically toward greater acceptance of heavier body types, which is good, I believe it’s a serious mistake to embrace it as a “new healthy norm.” To do so will only add to this health crisis as excess weight goes hand in hand with so many chronic and debilitating diseases that could easily be avoided.
Is it Possible to Be Healthy and Overweight?Yes, while it’s certainly possible to be thin and unhealthy, there are far more unhealthy overweight people than thin people.. The central issue is insulin and leptin resistance, which is far more common in overweight individuals than thin . If you are overweight I would be careful about using this study for reassurance unless you recently measured your insulin, leptin and cholesterol levels, and they suggested you were “metabolically fit.”
I think the health risks of obesity are fairly well-known by now -- obese adults tend to have higher rates of high blood pressure, abnormal lipids, cancer and diabetes. And, making matters worse, the vast majority of people are treated with costly medications that don’t address the real problems but rather cause further deterioration of health.
The side effects alone from all of these medications can overwhelm your system, but even after adjusting for "traditional" risk factors like high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, obese adults also face increased risks of:
Silent vascular disease (blood vessel disease that causes no symptoms)
Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)
Thicker heart walls
Not All Excess Body Fat is Harmful to Your Health
Despite all the health risks associated with being overweight, not all types of body fat represent an inherent health problem.
Researchers have known for some time that fat that collects in your abdomen -- known as visceral fat, which gathers around your internal organs -- can raise your risk of metabolic syndrome, diabetes and heart disease.
However, people with pear-shaped bodies are less prone to these disorders. It seems that their fat may be actively protecting them from metabolic disease.
Recent research has discovered that subcutaneous fat – found just under your skin, which causes dimpling and cellulite -- is intrinsically different from visceral fat in several ways. It actually produces substances that act systemically to improve glucose metabolism, and is able to communicate with various organs to elicit beneficial effects.
Not only is the gene expression inherently different between the two types of fat, but the fats also vary their genetic expressions based on where in the body they’re placed. For example, when the researchers added more subcutaneous fat subcutaneously, there was no major difference in health outcome. But when they placed subcutaneous fat in with visceral fat, in the abdominal cavity, surprising health benefits were seen, such as weight loss and improved metabolic function.
These findings highlight the importance of looking at your body as a WHOLE and not just a collection of separate parts. In order to be optimally healthy, you can’t simply focus on one aspect, such as striving to fit into a size 6. You may be healthy at that size, you might not – depending on how you got there, and how you stay there; i.e. are you exercising, eating healthy, and managing your emotional and mental stress levels, or are you just starving yourself and running on pure adrenaline?
What’s Causing the Obesity Epidemic?There are a number of theories for why so many people are overweight, but when you start to have entire populations tipping the scales toward obesity, it does suggest that something is fundamentally wrong.
Among the theories that are, in my opinion, most plausible are the following:
1. The modern-day diet: It encourages eating big portions of high-fructose corn syrup, refined grains, processed foods and artificial sweeteners, a perfect recipe for weight gain.2. Sedentary lifestyles: Generations ago people had no choice but to exercise; they did it for their very livelihoods or at least to get from one place to another. Today, many people sit behind a desk for most of the day, then get in their cars to drive home. Leisure time involves more sitting, either in front of the TV, computer or video game system.3. Stress and negative emotions: It is very easy to get caught up in using food as a security blanket, a distraction from boredom, or a way to cope with stress -- and once you get used to using food to feel better, it’s hard to break the routine.4. Exposure to environmental pollutants: Exposure to low levels of pesticides, dyes, flavorings, perfumes, plastics, resins, and solvents may make you put on weight.5. The make-up of bacteria in your gut: This is related to your diet, but if you eat a lot of sugar and grains, it can negatively influence the bacteria in your gut and contribute to obesity.6. Lack of sleep: This disrupts vital hormones and proteins in your body, which may also increase your risk of obesity.
I don’t believe that “bad” genes play a major role. Not only has science busted this myth, showing that good nutrition during childhood can cancel out genetic predispositions to obesity, but I’m also a firm proponent of epigenetic medicine and believe our emotions and thoughts have enormous influence over the expression of our genetic code. Exercise: THE Most Important Factor for Optimal Health and Longevity
Study after study confirms that physical exercise is absolutely the key for disease reduction, optimal mental, emotional and physical health, and longevity. So, it’s not surprising to see that this latest study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, also found that fitness is a far better indicator of overall health and longevity than body mass index (BMI).
In conclusion the study reads:
In this study population, fitness was a significant mortality predictor in older adults, independent of overall or abdominal adiposity. Clinicians should consider the importance of preserving functional capacity by recommending regular physical activity for older individuals, normal-weight and overweight alike.
One of the main benefits of exercise is that it normalizes your insulin and leptin levels, with the secondary benefits of weight loss and normalization of blood sugars. These factors in turn cascade outward, creating a ripple effect of positive health benefits.
For more information about getting started, staying motivated, and reaping maximum results, please review the Exercise Guidelines included in my nutritional plan.
Achieving Your Optimal Weight Making up your mind to lose weight is half the battle. From there, it’s just a matter of changing your lifestyle in the following ways:
1. Tailor your diet to your nutritional type. These are the foods that are right for your biochemistry, and these are the foods that will push your body toward its ideal weight. (By the way, these foods may be high in fat, high in carbs, heavy on protein or heavy on veggies, it all depends on YOU).2. View exercise as a drug. When you’re trying to lose weight, a casual walk here and there is not going to cut it. Many studies find that exercising for one hour, five days a week is actually needed, and I tend to agree with that. There is also strong compelling evidence that strength training and high-intensity anaerobic interval training may be especially effective for weight loss.3. Let go of your emotional blocks. Tools like the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) are your friend and ally when it comes to losing weight. For some, emotional eating is more complex, and an experienced EFT practitioner may be able to help unravel some of your deeper emotional issues.
If you’re already at a healthy weight, and want to stay that way, cutting out 100 calories per day, either by diet or exercise, is enough to prevent weight gain in most people.
Some medical research is showing that it isn’t. Last week a report in The Archives of Internal Medicine compared weight and cardiovascular risk factors among a representative sample of more than 5,400 adults. Half of the overweight people and one-third of obese people in the study were “metabolically healthy.” That means that many overweight and obese adults may have healthy levels of “good” cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood glucose.
At the same time, about one out of four slim people in the study actually had at least two cardiovascular risk factors typically associated with obesity.
Being overweight or obese is definitely linked with numerous health problems. Nonetheless, researchers found the proportion of overweight and obese people who are metabolically healthy surprising.
Several studies have shown that fitness, as determined by how a person performs on a treadmill, is a far better indicator of health than body mass index. Some research has indicated that people who are fat but can still keep up on treadmill tests have much lower heart risk than people who are slim and unfit.
Sources:
New York Times August 18, 2008
Archives of Internal Medicine August, 2008; 168(15):1617-1624
Horrendous Health Threat Inside Your Body?
Find Out More
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
Your body is designed to operate best when it’s at an ideal weight, which varies slightly from person to person. However, carrying around extra pounds will inevitably increase your risk of developing just about every chronic degenerative disease, so the idea that you can be overweight, or even obese, and still be in optimal health, can easily lead you down the wrong path.
That said, obesity itself is not the underlying cause of any health problem, it is merely a symptom. The underlying cause is usually an unhealthy diet and lack of exercise, which leads to increased insulin and leptin levels. Add to that the strain of unaddressed emotional challenges and you may soon find yourself at an excessive, unhealthy weight, and health challenges can easily develop from there.
These three factors are present in the majority of people’s lives, which explains why two-thirds of the American population is already overweight. If the trends of the past three decades continue, it’s possible that every American adult could be overweight by 2048!
Although surveys have found that Americans attitudes have shifted drastically toward greater acceptance of heavier body types, which is good, I believe it’s a serious mistake to embrace it as a “new healthy norm.” To do so will only add to this health crisis as excess weight goes hand in hand with so many chronic and debilitating diseases that could easily be avoided.
Is it Possible to Be Healthy and Overweight?Yes, while it’s certainly possible to be thin and unhealthy, there are far more unhealthy overweight people than thin people.. The central issue is insulin and leptin resistance, which is far more common in overweight individuals than thin . If you are overweight I would be careful about using this study for reassurance unless you recently measured your insulin, leptin and cholesterol levels, and they suggested you were “metabolically fit.”
I think the health risks of obesity are fairly well-known by now -- obese adults tend to have higher rates of high blood pressure, abnormal lipids, cancer and diabetes. And, making matters worse, the vast majority of people are treated with costly medications that don’t address the real problems but rather cause further deterioration of health.
The side effects alone from all of these medications can overwhelm your system, but even after adjusting for "traditional" risk factors like high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, obese adults also face increased risks of:
Silent vascular disease (blood vessel disease that causes no symptoms)
Atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries)
Thicker heart walls
Not All Excess Body Fat is Harmful to Your Health
Despite all the health risks associated with being overweight, not all types of body fat represent an inherent health problem.
Researchers have known for some time that fat that collects in your abdomen -- known as visceral fat, which gathers around your internal organs -- can raise your risk of metabolic syndrome, diabetes and heart disease.
However, people with pear-shaped bodies are less prone to these disorders. It seems that their fat may be actively protecting them from metabolic disease.
Recent research has discovered that subcutaneous fat – found just under your skin, which causes dimpling and cellulite -- is intrinsically different from visceral fat in several ways. It actually produces substances that act systemically to improve glucose metabolism, and is able to communicate with various organs to elicit beneficial effects.
Not only is the gene expression inherently different between the two types of fat, but the fats also vary their genetic expressions based on where in the body they’re placed. For example, when the researchers added more subcutaneous fat subcutaneously, there was no major difference in health outcome. But when they placed subcutaneous fat in with visceral fat, in the abdominal cavity, surprising health benefits were seen, such as weight loss and improved metabolic function.
These findings highlight the importance of looking at your body as a WHOLE and not just a collection of separate parts. In order to be optimally healthy, you can’t simply focus on one aspect, such as striving to fit into a size 6. You may be healthy at that size, you might not – depending on how you got there, and how you stay there; i.e. are you exercising, eating healthy, and managing your emotional and mental stress levels, or are you just starving yourself and running on pure adrenaline?
What’s Causing the Obesity Epidemic?There are a number of theories for why so many people are overweight, but when you start to have entire populations tipping the scales toward obesity, it does suggest that something is fundamentally wrong.
Among the theories that are, in my opinion, most plausible are the following:
1. The modern-day diet: It encourages eating big portions of high-fructose corn syrup, refined grains, processed foods and artificial sweeteners, a perfect recipe for weight gain.2. Sedentary lifestyles: Generations ago people had no choice but to exercise; they did it for their very livelihoods or at least to get from one place to another. Today, many people sit behind a desk for most of the day, then get in their cars to drive home. Leisure time involves more sitting, either in front of the TV, computer or video game system.3. Stress and negative emotions: It is very easy to get caught up in using food as a security blanket, a distraction from boredom, or a way to cope with stress -- and once you get used to using food to feel better, it’s hard to break the routine.4. Exposure to environmental pollutants: Exposure to low levels of pesticides, dyes, flavorings, perfumes, plastics, resins, and solvents may make you put on weight.5. The make-up of bacteria in your gut: This is related to your diet, but if you eat a lot of sugar and grains, it can negatively influence the bacteria in your gut and contribute to obesity.6. Lack of sleep: This disrupts vital hormones and proteins in your body, which may also increase your risk of obesity.
I don’t believe that “bad” genes play a major role. Not only has science busted this myth, showing that good nutrition during childhood can cancel out genetic predispositions to obesity, but I’m also a firm proponent of epigenetic medicine and believe our emotions and thoughts have enormous influence over the expression of our genetic code. Exercise: THE Most Important Factor for Optimal Health and Longevity
Study after study confirms that physical exercise is absolutely the key for disease reduction, optimal mental, emotional and physical health, and longevity. So, it’s not surprising to see that this latest study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, also found that fitness is a far better indicator of overall health and longevity than body mass index (BMI).
In conclusion the study reads:
In this study population, fitness was a significant mortality predictor in older adults, independent of overall or abdominal adiposity. Clinicians should consider the importance of preserving functional capacity by recommending regular physical activity for older individuals, normal-weight and overweight alike.
One of the main benefits of exercise is that it normalizes your insulin and leptin levels, with the secondary benefits of weight loss and normalization of blood sugars. These factors in turn cascade outward, creating a ripple effect of positive health benefits.
For more information about getting started, staying motivated, and reaping maximum results, please review the Exercise Guidelines included in my nutritional plan.
Achieving Your Optimal Weight Making up your mind to lose weight is half the battle. From there, it’s just a matter of changing your lifestyle in the following ways:
1. Tailor your diet to your nutritional type. These are the foods that are right for your biochemistry, and these are the foods that will push your body toward its ideal weight. (By the way, these foods may be high in fat, high in carbs, heavy on protein or heavy on veggies, it all depends on YOU).2. View exercise as a drug. When you’re trying to lose weight, a casual walk here and there is not going to cut it. Many studies find that exercising for one hour, five days a week is actually needed, and I tend to agree with that. There is also strong compelling evidence that strength training and high-intensity anaerobic interval training may be especially effective for weight loss.3. Let go of your emotional blocks. Tools like the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) are your friend and ally when it comes to losing weight. For some, emotional eating is more complex, and an experienced EFT practitioner may be able to help unravel some of your deeper emotional issues.
If you’re already at a healthy weight, and want to stay that way, cutting out 100 calories per day, either by diet or exercise, is enough to prevent weight gain in most people.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Cancer Avoiding Points
Please read - pretty interesting points I have seen in the industry before. I like that article and wanted to share it with you. See my comments in red under some of the points.
Update from John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MarylandFri, 14 Aug 2008AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY(TRY IS THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHN HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY.Cancer Update from John Hopkins1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means that the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime3. When the person's immune system is strong, the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.4. When a person has cancer it indicates that the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, food,environmental, and lifestyle factors.5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and this also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.9 When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation, the immune system is either compromised or destroyed,hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply. CANCER CELLS FEED ON:
a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg's aminosor sea salt. I totally agree!! except i want to clarify on WHAT sea salt is, it's not the stuff you see on regular store shelves, you have to get sea salt from the health food store. Celtic and Himalayan sea salt.
b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soya milk cancer cells are starved - i disagree with subbing this with soya milk, the research in the industry i have seen says that commercial soya whether it be milk or not acts as an estrogen mimic - it raises your bad estrogen's and increases further chances of cancers such breast. just stay away from both all together.
.c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic, it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.
I agree, however organic meat is your best choice. small amounts of red organic meat are fine! PORK is questionable!! don't be fooled as most people are EXTREMELY low in meat protein - consult with a nutrition expert to see what best suits you for your current lifestyle.
d. A diet of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains,seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment.About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including beansprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).
A nice mix of VEGGIES is great!! but i question some of the facts here. You can have your body ph levels tested! don't go crazy! Get your body facts first then make changes according to what end of the scale you need to be on. Seek out an alternative medicine doc, Naturopath (ND), or nutritionist to test for you. it's easy!!
e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.
From the research i have read i have to say i agree with the water, and green tea statements. However, make sure it's green tea extract - its amazing for this purpose.
12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines becomes pucrified and leads to more toxic buildup.
make sure you are going to the washroom regularly, you have sufficent HCL:pepsin production in your gut (easily testable), a good digestive enzyme will also help. Please remember to CHEW your FOOD before swallowing.
13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.
14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence,Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed celldeath, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.
15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor.Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit.Learn to relax and enjoy life.
Much of the holistic living and lifestyle education we have come across shows this to be true!!
16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment.Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.
YOGA anyone??
(PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT) CANCER UPDATE FROM JOHN HOPKINS HOSPITAL , U S - PLEASE READ1. No plastic containers in micro.2. No water bottles in freezer.3. No plastic wrap in microwave.Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well.Dioxin chemicals causes cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from theplastic. Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard.He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.. He said that we should not be heating our food in a microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body.Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware,Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners,instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, CorningWare, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper, Dioxin problem is one of the reasons. Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in yourlife.--
No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.comVersion: 8.0.138 / Virus Database: 270.6.10/1638 - Release Date: 8/27/2008 7:06 PM
Update from John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MarylandFri, 14 Aug 2008AFTER YEARS OF TELLING PEOPLE CHEMOTHERAPY IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRY(TRY IS THE KEY WORD) TO ELIMINATE CANCER, JOHN HOPKINS IS FINALLY STARTING TO TELL YOU THERE IS AN ALTERNATIVE WAY.Cancer Update from John Hopkins1. Every person has cancer cells in the body. These cancer cells do not show up in the standard tests until they have multiplied to a few billion. When doctors tell cancer patients that there are no more cancer cells in their bodies after treatment, it just means that the tests are unable to detect the cancer cells because they have not reached the detectable size.2. Cancer cells occur between 6 to more than 10 times in a person's lifetime3. When the person's immune system is strong, the cancer cells will be destroyed and prevented from multiplying and forming tumors.4. When a person has cancer it indicates that the person has multiple nutritional deficiencies. These could be due to genetic, food,environmental, and lifestyle factors.5. To overcome the multiple nutritional deficiencies, changing diet and including supplements will strengthen the immune system.6. Chemotherapy involves poisoning the rapidly-growing cancer cells and this also destroys rapidly-growing healthy cells in the bone marrow, gastro-intestinal tract etc, and can cause organ damage, like liver, kidneys, heart, lungs etc.7. Radiation while destroying cancer cells also burns, scars and damages healthy cells, tissues and organs.8. Initial treatment with chemotherapy and radiation will often reduce tumor size. However prolonged use of chemotherapy and radiation do not result in more tumor destruction.9 When the body has too much toxic burden from chemotherapy and radiation, the immune system is either compromised or destroyed,hence the person can succumb to various kinds of infections and complications.10. Chemotherapy and radiation can cause cancer cells to mutate and become resistant and difficult to destroy. Surgery can also cause cancer cells to spread to other sites.11. An effective way to battle cancer is to starve the cancer cells by not feeding it with the foods it needs to multiply. CANCER CELLS FEED ON:
a. Sugar is a cancer-feeder. By cutting off sugar it cuts off one important food supply to cancer cells. Sugar substitutes like NutraSweet, Equal, Spoonful, etc are made with Aspartame and is harmful. A better natural substitute would be Manuka honey or molasses but only in very small amounts. Table salt has a chemical added to make it white in color. Better alternative is Bragg's aminosor sea salt. I totally agree!! except i want to clarify on WHAT sea salt is, it's not the stuff you see on regular store shelves, you have to get sea salt from the health food store. Celtic and Himalayan sea salt.
b. Milk causes the body to produce mucus, especially in the gastro-intestinal tract. Cancer feeds on mucus. By cutting off milk and substituting with unsweetened soya milk cancer cells are starved - i disagree with subbing this with soya milk, the research in the industry i have seen says that commercial soya whether it be milk or not acts as an estrogen mimic - it raises your bad estrogen's and increases further chances of cancers such breast. just stay away from both all together.
.c. Cancer cells thrive in an acid environment. A meat-based diet is acidic, it is best to eat fish, and a little chicken rather than beef or pork. Meat also contains livestock antibiotics, growth hormones and parasites, which are all harmful, especially to people with cancer.
I agree, however organic meat is your best choice. small amounts of red organic meat are fine! PORK is questionable!! don't be fooled as most people are EXTREMELY low in meat protein - consult with a nutrition expert to see what best suits you for your current lifestyle.
d. A diet of 80% fresh vegetables and juice, whole grains,seeds, nuts and a little fruits help put the body into an alkaline environment.About 20% can be from cooked food including beans. Fresh vegetable juices provide live enzymes that are easily absorbed and reach down to cellular levels within 15 minutes to nourish and enhance growth of healthy cells. To obtain live enzymes for building healthy cells try and drink fresh vegetable juice (most vegetables including beansprouts) and eat some raw vegetables 2 or 3 times a day. Enzymes are destroyed at temperatures of 104 degrees F (40 degrees C).
A nice mix of VEGGIES is great!! but i question some of the facts here. You can have your body ph levels tested! don't go crazy! Get your body facts first then make changes according to what end of the scale you need to be on. Seek out an alternative medicine doc, Naturopath (ND), or nutritionist to test for you. it's easy!!
e. Avoid coffee, tea, and chocolate, which have high caffeine. Green tea is a better alternative and has cancer-fighting properties. Water-best to drink purified water, or filtered, to avoid known toxins and heavy metals in tap water. Distilled water is acidic, avoid it.
From the research i have read i have to say i agree with the water, and green tea statements. However, make sure it's green tea extract - its amazing for this purpose.
12. Meat protein is difficult to digest and requires a lot of digestive enzymes. Undigested meat remaining in the intestines becomes pucrified and leads to more toxic buildup.
make sure you are going to the washroom regularly, you have sufficent HCL:pepsin production in your gut (easily testable), a good digestive enzyme will also help. Please remember to CHEW your FOOD before swallowing.
13. Cancer cell walls have a tough protein covering. By refraining from or eating less meat frees more enzymes to attack the protein walls of cancer cells and allows the body's killer cells to destroy the cancer cells.
14. Some supplements build up the immune system (IP6, Flor-ssence,Essiac, anti-oxidants, vitamins, minerals, EFAs etc.) to enable the body's own killer cells to destroy cancer cells. Other supplements like vitamin E are known to cause apoptosis, or programmed celldeath, the body's normal method of disposing of damaged, unwanted, or unneeded cells.
15. Cancer is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. A proactive and positive spirit will help the cancer warrior be a survivor.Anger, unforgiveness and bitterness put the body into a stressful and acidic environment. Learn to have a loving and forgiving spirit.Learn to relax and enjoy life.
Much of the holistic living and lifestyle education we have come across shows this to be true!!
16. Cancer cells cannot thrive in an oxygenated environment.Exercising daily, and deep breathing help to get more oxygen down to the cellular level. Oxygen therapy is another means employed to destroy cancer cells.
YOGA anyone??
(PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO PEOPLE YOU CARE ABOUT) CANCER UPDATE FROM JOHN HOPKINS HOSPITAL , U S - PLEASE READ1. No plastic containers in micro.2. No water bottles in freezer.3. No plastic wrap in microwave.Johns Hopkins has recently sent this out in its newsletters. This information is being circulated at Walter Reed Army Medical Center as well.Dioxin chemicals causes cancer, especially breast cancer. Dioxins are highly poisonous to the cells of our bodies. Don't freeze your plastic bottles with water in them as this releases dioxins from theplastic. Recently, Dr. Edward Fujimoto, Wellness Program Manager at Castle Hospital , was on a TV program to explain this health hazard.He talked about dioxins and how bad they are for us.. He said that we should not be heating our food in a microwave using plastic containers. This especially applies to foods that contain fat. He said that the combination of fat, high heat, and plastics releases dioxin into the food and ultimately into the cells of the body.Instead, he recommends using glass, such as Corning Ware,Pyrex or ceramic containers for heating food. You get the same results, only without the dioxin. So such things as TV dinners,instant ramen and soups, etc., should be removed from the container and heated in something else. Paper isn't bad but you don't know what is in the paper. It's just safer to use tempered glass, CorningWare, etc. He reminded us that a while ago some of the fast food restaurants moved away from the foam containers to paper, Dioxin problem is one of the reasons. Also, he pointed out that plastic wrap, such as Saran, is just as dangerous when placed over foods to be cooked in the microwave. As the food is nuked, the high heat causes poisonous toxins to actually melt out of the plastic wrap and drip into the food. Cover food with a paper towel instead.This is an article that should be sent to anyone important in yourlife.--
No virus found in this incoming message.Checked by AVG - http://www.avg.comVersion: 8.0.138 / Virus Database: 270.6.10/1638 - Release Date: 8/27/2008 7:06 PM
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Pre - Diabetes!
Hey, another great article on diabetes - please read!
Diabetes or Pre-Diabetes Now Strikes One in Four Americans
The number of Americans with diabetes has grown to about 24 million people, or roughly 8 percent of the U.S. population.
A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on data from 2007, indicates an increase of about 3 million cases since over just two years. The CDC estimates another 57 million people have a condition called pre-diabetes, which puts people at increased risk for the disease. Diabetes results from defects in insulin production that cause sugar to build up in the body. It is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S.
Sources:
Physorg.com June 25, 2008
Were You Aware… 80% of Your Immune System is Located in Your Digestive System?
So, to effectively promote your immune system health, you need to look no further than your intestinal tract. Probiotics (Greek “for life’) can be a great way to start promoting your digestive health and overall health as well.
Find Out More
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
I have been interested in diabetes for many years and actually did three months of an endocrinology rotation at Cook County Hospital during my residency, 25 years ago. I was even going to specialize in it after I completed my residency, but decided to pursue general family medicine instead.
Interestingly, most of my paternal relatives (my dad included), have, or have died from, diabetes. In the late 90s I made the mistake of believing in Dr. Dadamo’s work in Eat Right for Your Blood Type. I since realized that it is a flawed theory based on incorrect presumptions. However, at the time I thought it made sense, so I tried it on myself.
I am blood type A, so I switched to a high grain diet and changed my high intensity aerobic type exercises to walking like he suggested. Well, in a few short weeks my fasting blood sugar rose to nearly 130. This told me two things. The first was that I had diabetes, and the second was that Eat Right for Your Blood Type is a flawed theory that helps some, but can really harm and damage others.
Once I understood insulin physiology better and changed my diet and exercise, nearly ten years ago now; my fasting blood sugar is almost always around 90 or lower. This is far below the 125 required for a diagnosis of diabetes.
My personal experience with diabetes and review of the literature made it VERY clear to me that virtually every case of type 2 diabetes is 100 percent reversible.
And let me guarantee you, the cure for type 2 diabetes has NOTHING to do with giving insulin. Giving someone insulin with type 2 diabetes is one of the WORST things that can be done. Any physician doing this is suffering from profound ignorance of insulin physiology.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of physicians are still seriously confused about this issue, which is why most doctors cause diabetics to D. I. E.
Diabetes Epidemic Continues to Worsen
The latest statistics on diabetes in the U.S. are sad indeed, and in my opinion, they are a very clear sign that conventional medicine has it all wrong, and their standard recommendations – both in terms of medication and nutrition -- are incorrect.
At best, they simply do not work. At worst, they’re aggravating your problem and speeding up the deteriorating disease process.
By some estimates, diabetes has increased more than 700 percent in the last 50 years. What does this tell you about the advice you’ve been given and the direction you’ve been led in by conventional medicine?
There’s no doubt in my mind that if government agencies and the medical community would do the right thing; i.e. stop catering to the greedy demands of the industries of sugar, grain and pharmaceuticals, and start issuing recommendations that actually promote health rather than deteriorating it further, this modern epidemic would be curbed in fairly short order.
The 2007 Stats on Diabetes
The latest statistics on diabetes indicate that the U.S. now has as many as 24 million people with diabetes, or 8 percent of our total population.
Juvenile-onset (type 1) diabetes accounts for 5 to 10 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes, with adult-onset (type 2) accounting for the remaining 90 to 95 percent.
However, a closer look shows that the situation is more bizarre than that, because the average of 8 percent includes all age groups, including children under the age of 10, where the disease rate is still very low.
When you look at the numbers of adults aged 20 and over, the incidence rate is almost 11 percent. And when you look at seniors aged 60 and up, the prevalence is over 23 percent! That’s pretty incredible.
(Add to that the fact that the average senior (65+) is on 28 pharmaceutical drugs and it’s no wonder so few people live more than a decade past their retirement…)
The statistics are even more grim when it comes to the prevalence of pre-diabetes (impaired fasting glucose).
Almost 26 percent of U.S. adults over the age of 20 are pre-diabetics, and more than 35 percent of seniors, 60 and older. In total, that’s 57 million Americans walking around with pre-diabetes, in addition to the 24 million that have already crossed the line.
According to the population clock on the U.S. Census Bureau’s web site, the U.S. currently has just over 304,554,800 people. So, by my calculations we’re looking at a total of just over 26.5 percent of the entire U.S. population having either pre-diabetes, or some form of diabetes.
Wow.
Folks, this is no accident. These kinds of statistics clearly show that we’re actively being led astray.
You must understand and accept that aside from the juvenile-onset variety (which is relatively rare), type 2 diabetes is 100 percent preventable AND reversible by some fairly simple lifestyle changes, all of which are outlined and discussed in detail in my Total Health Program.
Many of the conventional recommendations for treating diabetes are simply wrong, and I discussed the reasons why in this previous article. If you missed it, or need a refresher, please review it again.
Why is Diabetes Such a Dangerous Disease?
Diabetes has become so common that many don’t even bat an eyelash anymore. It’s almost as if diabetes has become “ok.” Just take your meds and you’ll be fine.
Not so!
Aside from the potentially deadly side effects of diabetes drugs, which I’ve covered in previous articles, the additional health complications that diabetes fosters are multiple, and quite serious, including:
Heart disease and stroke – Death from heart disease and risk for stroke is two to four times higher among people with diabetes
High blood pressure – 75 percent of diabetics have high blood pressure (130/180 mm Hg or higher)
Blindness -- Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults aged 20 to 74 years
Kidney disease – Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure. In 2005, more than 45,700 people began treatment for end-stage kidney disease in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and another 178,700 were living on chronic dialysis
Nervous system disease -- About 60 to 70 percent of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nervous system damage such as: impaired sensation or pain in hands or feet, poor digestion, carpal tunnel syndrome and erectile dysfunction
Amputations – In 2004, 71,000 lower limb amputations due to diabetes were performed in the U.S.
Dental disease -- Almost one-third of people with diabetes have severe periodontal disease
Pregnancy complications -- Poorly controlled diabetes before conception and during the first trimester of pregnancy among women with type 1 diabetes can cause major birth defects in 5 to 10 percent of pregnancies, and spontaneous abortions in 15 to 20 percent of pregnancies
Putting a Price Tag on Diabetes
There’s yet another updated study that warrants mentioning here: the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) study on Economic Cost of Diabetes in the U.S. in 2007.
The total estimated cost of diabetes in the U.S. in 2007 tallies up to $174 billion. This includes $ 116 billion in excess (read: unnecessary) medical expenditures, and $58 billion in reduced national productivity.
Having diabetes not only plunders your health, but your pocketbook too. People with diagnosed diabetes incur an average medical expense of $11,744 per year, almost 2.5 times higher than those who do not have diabetes.
Follow the Bread Crumbs
The concept that diabetes is NOT a blood sugar disease is one that I keep striving to make well-known. As you can see by the numbers above, understanding the TRUE underlying cause of diabetes has the potential to save hundreds of thousands, even millions, of lives.
Type 2 diabetes is a disease caused by insulin resistance and faulty leptin signaling, both of which are regulated through your diet.
Until that concept becomes well-known in both the medical community and by the public at large, the misconception about what diabetes is and the appropriate way to treat it will continue to be promoted.
Conventional treatment that is focused on fixing the symptom of elevated blood sugar, rather than addressing the underlying disease, is doomed to fail in most cases. Treatments that concentrate merely on lowering blood sugar while raising insulin levels can actually worsen rather than remedy the actual problem of metabolic miscommunication. It just trades one evil for another.
Since most treatments for type 2 diabetes utilize drugs that either raise insulin or lower blood sugar, the tragic result is that the typical, conventional medical treatment for diabetes contributes to the additional diseases and the shortened lifespan that diabetics experience.
For the last 50 years or so, Americans have followed the dietary recommendations of a high complex carbohydrate, low saturated fat diet.
As an example, WebMD; one of the most visited medical information sites on the web, states that people with diabetes, who also have abnormal cholesterol levels, would be well advised to follow a diet that calls for 50 to 60 percent of your daily total calories to be in the form of carbohydrates.
That’s absurd.
They also state that table sugar is okay, as long as you readjust your medications to compensate appropriately (i.e. take more drugs to increase your fat cell storage capacity). Using toxic artificial sweeteners in lieu of sugar also gets the green light.
Folks, many of these recommendations are not based on what’s nutritionally healthy. They’re based on industry lobbying – just like the USDA’s Food Pyramid, which is fraught with industry conflicts of interest.
The proof is in the pudding as they say, and concomitant with the standard nutritional recommendations the incidence of diabetes and obesity has skyrocketed, and has become one of the worst epidemics the world has ever seen.
Eating a high "complex" carbohydrate, low saturated fat diet for health and longevity has been shown to be wrong. Minimal common sense would say to try something else.
How to Avoid Becoming a Statistic
Getting appropriate and regular amounts of exercise, and adopting an eating plan that emphasizes good fats, and reduced non-fiber carbohydrates and starches as outlined in my Total Health Program, can place you on the right path. Doing so will greatly improve and even reverse type 2 "insulin resistant" diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, many other chronic diseases of aging, all without the use of potentially dangerous drugs.
Related Articles:
How to Finally Make Type 2 Diabetes Disappear Nutritional Typing Prevents and Cures Diabetes The Diabetes Conundrum: What Physicians are Teaching You may be Killing You
Diabetes or Pre-Diabetes Now Strikes One in Four Americans
The number of Americans with diabetes has grown to about 24 million people, or roughly 8 percent of the U.S. population.
A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, based on data from 2007, indicates an increase of about 3 million cases since over just two years. The CDC estimates another 57 million people have a condition called pre-diabetes, which puts people at increased risk for the disease. Diabetes results from defects in insulin production that cause sugar to build up in the body. It is the seventh leading cause of death in the U.S.
Sources:
Physorg.com June 25, 2008
Were You Aware… 80% of Your Immune System is Located in Your Digestive System?
So, to effectively promote your immune system health, you need to look no further than your intestinal tract. Probiotics (Greek “for life’) can be a great way to start promoting your digestive health and overall health as well.
Find Out More
Dr. Mercola's Comments:
I have been interested in diabetes for many years and actually did three months of an endocrinology rotation at Cook County Hospital during my residency, 25 years ago. I was even going to specialize in it after I completed my residency, but decided to pursue general family medicine instead.
Interestingly, most of my paternal relatives (my dad included), have, or have died from, diabetes. In the late 90s I made the mistake of believing in Dr. Dadamo’s work in Eat Right for Your Blood Type. I since realized that it is a flawed theory based on incorrect presumptions. However, at the time I thought it made sense, so I tried it on myself.
I am blood type A, so I switched to a high grain diet and changed my high intensity aerobic type exercises to walking like he suggested. Well, in a few short weeks my fasting blood sugar rose to nearly 130. This told me two things. The first was that I had diabetes, and the second was that Eat Right for Your Blood Type is a flawed theory that helps some, but can really harm and damage others.
Once I understood insulin physiology better and changed my diet and exercise, nearly ten years ago now; my fasting blood sugar is almost always around 90 or lower. This is far below the 125 required for a diagnosis of diabetes.
My personal experience with diabetes and review of the literature made it VERY clear to me that virtually every case of type 2 diabetes is 100 percent reversible.
And let me guarantee you, the cure for type 2 diabetes has NOTHING to do with giving insulin. Giving someone insulin with type 2 diabetes is one of the WORST things that can be done. Any physician doing this is suffering from profound ignorance of insulin physiology.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of physicians are still seriously confused about this issue, which is why most doctors cause diabetics to D. I. E.
Diabetes Epidemic Continues to Worsen
The latest statistics on diabetes in the U.S. are sad indeed, and in my opinion, they are a very clear sign that conventional medicine has it all wrong, and their standard recommendations – both in terms of medication and nutrition -- are incorrect.
At best, they simply do not work. At worst, they’re aggravating your problem and speeding up the deteriorating disease process.
By some estimates, diabetes has increased more than 700 percent in the last 50 years. What does this tell you about the advice you’ve been given and the direction you’ve been led in by conventional medicine?
There’s no doubt in my mind that if government agencies and the medical community would do the right thing; i.e. stop catering to the greedy demands of the industries of sugar, grain and pharmaceuticals, and start issuing recommendations that actually promote health rather than deteriorating it further, this modern epidemic would be curbed in fairly short order.
The 2007 Stats on Diabetes
The latest statistics on diabetes indicate that the U.S. now has as many as 24 million people with diabetes, or 8 percent of our total population.
Juvenile-onset (type 1) diabetes accounts for 5 to 10 percent of all diagnosed cases of diabetes, with adult-onset (type 2) accounting for the remaining 90 to 95 percent.
However, a closer look shows that the situation is more bizarre than that, because the average of 8 percent includes all age groups, including children under the age of 10, where the disease rate is still very low.
When you look at the numbers of adults aged 20 and over, the incidence rate is almost 11 percent. And when you look at seniors aged 60 and up, the prevalence is over 23 percent! That’s pretty incredible.
(Add to that the fact that the average senior (65+) is on 28 pharmaceutical drugs and it’s no wonder so few people live more than a decade past their retirement…)
The statistics are even more grim when it comes to the prevalence of pre-diabetes (impaired fasting glucose).
Almost 26 percent of U.S. adults over the age of 20 are pre-diabetics, and more than 35 percent of seniors, 60 and older. In total, that’s 57 million Americans walking around with pre-diabetes, in addition to the 24 million that have already crossed the line.
According to the population clock on the U.S. Census Bureau’s web site, the U.S. currently has just over 304,554,800 people. So, by my calculations we’re looking at a total of just over 26.5 percent of the entire U.S. population having either pre-diabetes, or some form of diabetes.
Wow.
Folks, this is no accident. These kinds of statistics clearly show that we’re actively being led astray.
You must understand and accept that aside from the juvenile-onset variety (which is relatively rare), type 2 diabetes is 100 percent preventable AND reversible by some fairly simple lifestyle changes, all of which are outlined and discussed in detail in my Total Health Program.
Many of the conventional recommendations for treating diabetes are simply wrong, and I discussed the reasons why in this previous article. If you missed it, or need a refresher, please review it again.
Why is Diabetes Such a Dangerous Disease?
Diabetes has become so common that many don’t even bat an eyelash anymore. It’s almost as if diabetes has become “ok.” Just take your meds and you’ll be fine.
Not so!
Aside from the potentially deadly side effects of diabetes drugs, which I’ve covered in previous articles, the additional health complications that diabetes fosters are multiple, and quite serious, including:
Heart disease and stroke – Death from heart disease and risk for stroke is two to four times higher among people with diabetes
High blood pressure – 75 percent of diabetics have high blood pressure (130/180 mm Hg or higher)
Blindness -- Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of blindness among adults aged 20 to 74 years
Kidney disease – Diabetes is the leading cause of kidney failure. In 2005, more than 45,700 people began treatment for end-stage kidney disease in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and another 178,700 were living on chronic dialysis
Nervous system disease -- About 60 to 70 percent of people with diabetes have mild to severe forms of nervous system damage such as: impaired sensation or pain in hands or feet, poor digestion, carpal tunnel syndrome and erectile dysfunction
Amputations – In 2004, 71,000 lower limb amputations due to diabetes were performed in the U.S.
Dental disease -- Almost one-third of people with diabetes have severe periodontal disease
Pregnancy complications -- Poorly controlled diabetes before conception and during the first trimester of pregnancy among women with type 1 diabetes can cause major birth defects in 5 to 10 percent of pregnancies, and spontaneous abortions in 15 to 20 percent of pregnancies
Putting a Price Tag on Diabetes
There’s yet another updated study that warrants mentioning here: the American Diabetes Association’s (ADA) study on Economic Cost of Diabetes in the U.S. in 2007.
The total estimated cost of diabetes in the U.S. in 2007 tallies up to $174 billion. This includes $ 116 billion in excess (read: unnecessary) medical expenditures, and $58 billion in reduced national productivity.
Having diabetes not only plunders your health, but your pocketbook too. People with diagnosed diabetes incur an average medical expense of $11,744 per year, almost 2.5 times higher than those who do not have diabetes.
Follow the Bread Crumbs
The concept that diabetes is NOT a blood sugar disease is one that I keep striving to make well-known. As you can see by the numbers above, understanding the TRUE underlying cause of diabetes has the potential to save hundreds of thousands, even millions, of lives.
Type 2 diabetes is a disease caused by insulin resistance and faulty leptin signaling, both of which are regulated through your diet.
Until that concept becomes well-known in both the medical community and by the public at large, the misconception about what diabetes is and the appropriate way to treat it will continue to be promoted.
Conventional treatment that is focused on fixing the symptom of elevated blood sugar, rather than addressing the underlying disease, is doomed to fail in most cases. Treatments that concentrate merely on lowering blood sugar while raising insulin levels can actually worsen rather than remedy the actual problem of metabolic miscommunication. It just trades one evil for another.
Since most treatments for type 2 diabetes utilize drugs that either raise insulin or lower blood sugar, the tragic result is that the typical, conventional medical treatment for diabetes contributes to the additional diseases and the shortened lifespan that diabetics experience.
For the last 50 years or so, Americans have followed the dietary recommendations of a high complex carbohydrate, low saturated fat diet.
As an example, WebMD; one of the most visited medical information sites on the web, states that people with diabetes, who also have abnormal cholesterol levels, would be well advised to follow a diet that calls for 50 to 60 percent of your daily total calories to be in the form of carbohydrates.
That’s absurd.
They also state that table sugar is okay, as long as you readjust your medications to compensate appropriately (i.e. take more drugs to increase your fat cell storage capacity). Using toxic artificial sweeteners in lieu of sugar also gets the green light.
Folks, many of these recommendations are not based on what’s nutritionally healthy. They’re based on industry lobbying – just like the USDA’s Food Pyramid, which is fraught with industry conflicts of interest.
The proof is in the pudding as they say, and concomitant with the standard nutritional recommendations the incidence of diabetes and obesity has skyrocketed, and has become one of the worst epidemics the world has ever seen.
Eating a high "complex" carbohydrate, low saturated fat diet for health and longevity has been shown to be wrong. Minimal common sense would say to try something else.
How to Avoid Becoming a Statistic
Getting appropriate and regular amounts of exercise, and adopting an eating plan that emphasizes good fats, and reduced non-fiber carbohydrates and starches as outlined in my Total Health Program, can place you on the right path. Doing so will greatly improve and even reverse type 2 "insulin resistant" diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, many other chronic diseases of aging, all without the use of potentially dangerous drugs.
Related Articles:
How to Finally Make Type 2 Diabetes Disappear Nutritional Typing Prevents and Cures Diabetes The Diabetes Conundrum: What Physicians are Teaching You may be Killing You
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